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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by patc on October 10, 2002, at 17:45:35
Does Klonopin help or cause depression?
And how many weeks would it take to get off 2 mg of it?
Thx.
Pat
Posted by BrittPark on October 10, 2002, at 20:07:59
In reply to Klonopin and Depression, posted by patc on October 10, 2002, at 17:45:35
As monotherapy I'd say that Klonopin is mildly depressogenic. In combination with an AD, assuming that you have depression with anxiety, it can be very effective.
Now as to getting off of 2mg Klonopin, its best to do it slowly over a month or two reducing your dosages slowly. Klonopin is one of the easiest benzos to discontinue because of its long half-life. I've been able to stop taking 2-4mg of Klonopin cold with no ill effects, but that was after a period of only a few weeks, and I seem to be strangely resistant to discontinuation syndromes. So play it safe and go slow and you shouldn't notice anything at all unless the underlying symptoms that klonopin treated are still there, in which case you shouldn't be discontinuing Klonopin.
Feel Better,
Britt
Posted by patc on October 10, 2002, at 21:41:41
In reply to Re: Klonopin and Depression » patc, posted by BrittPark on October 10, 2002, at 20:07:59
Hi.
What does depressogenic mean?
Does it help depression or cause it?
Pat
Posted by Simcha on October 10, 2002, at 21:55:36
In reply to Re: Klonopin and Depression, posted by patc on October 10, 2002, at 21:41:41
Patc
I've been told by my current pdoc that it has been shown to cause depression. Also it can interfere with sleep cycles so that you might not feel refeshed in the morning when you wake up after sleeping on it. This is why he is currently taking a look at other medicines to combat the Bruxism that I have.
I hope this helps,
Simcha
Posted by viridis on October 10, 2002, at 23:33:43
In reply to Klonopin and Depression, posted by patc on October 10, 2002, at 17:45:35
I think it depends on the cause of your depression. I have anxiety problems, and episodes of severe anxiety seem to cause a tailspin into major depression for me. Before K, this was a regular pattern. Klonopin helped tremendously with the anxiety and knocked out the worst of my depression in the process. The mild depression that was left was mostly alleviated by low-dose Adderall (added for mild ADD, but it also turned out to be great for depression).
But apparently, for some people, K can induce depression -- so, their chemical imbalances are probably different than mine. There's some evidence that Xanax (also great for relieving anxiety, but feared by many doctors because it's sometimes considered "addictive") is less likely to induce depression than Klonopin. It really seems to depend on the individual and the underlying cause(s) of depression, which appear to be diverse.
Posted by patc on October 11, 2002, at 7:11:43
In reply to Re: Klonopin and Depression, posted by viridis on October 10, 2002, at 23:33:43
Thx.
Is Adderall a stimulant like Wellbutrin?
Pat
This is the end of the thread.
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