Clonazepam

I have been trawling the forums and reading emails sent to me and I thought it was time I said something about the drug Clonazepam. Clonazepam is marketed as Klonopin in the USA and Rivotril in the UK.

Firstly the background info. Clonazepam is a type of benzodiazepine, the type of tranquilizer that includes drugs like Valium and Xanax. These drugs are often used for the treatment or containment of panic disorder and anxiety disorders. This type of drug is known to be habit forming and doctors often only prescribe it for short term use. In is very unwise to buy this kind of drug from an online pharmacy without having a proper face to face consultation with a doctor.

Clonazepam is often prescribed for anxiety and for seizures. Here we concentrate on its anti-anxiety usage.

Here are some quotes I have come across regarding what users and ex-users of Clonazepam think. When you read this you should remember that people rarely use the Internet to discuss how fantastic medication is, it is much more common to use the Internet to complain.

 

“I was prescribed Clonazepam for nearly a year, it was in short the worst year of my life and nearly the last.

This medication was at first massively effective, it led to over confidence, I moved out of home on my own, found a girlfriend who wasn’t right for me and insulted my father and hurt his feelings without need.

During my time on Clonazepam my personality disorder got worse, I developed insomnia, increased paranoia and experienced my first hallucinations, I would recommend to anyone being prescribed this drug that you ask your doctor for an alternative immediately.

At the end of my time on it after several overdoses I managed to stop taking it, there followed the worst withdrawal symptoms of my life, worse than Marijuana, diazepam and co-proxamol. After this I found out the differing opinions from many doctors on this drug but one theme was clear, a constant which all of them agreed upon except for the doctor that originally prescribed it. This was that this drug makes paranoia and personality disorders worse, far worse.

Ever since this I have been more than hesitant to except medication and always seeking more than one medical opinion on my treatment, I will also NEVER accept a prescription from any doctor who is on temporary rotation as this was the original prescriber of the drug. I don’t advocate giving medication the boot if it works for you but I do suggest that everyone seeks a second opinion always ”

“Just wanted to say that when I asked my cpn (community psychiatric nurse) for Clonazepam she went apeshit and said no bloody way as she once worked in a pychiatric hospital and saw for herself just what effects they had on people , I want to add my say about the poxy valiums i am on just now not to mention all the other crap over the years that have been prescibed to me. I am at present suing galaxo smithekline for being put on 50mg of paroxatine for years only to be told that there was no withdrawl effects (stupid shrink stopped them abrubtly thus me now being virtually housebound) as are 100 others due to the effects of this drug. Panorama did a telly programme regarding this drug. The valiums were at first great but like you say the great effects only last a few weeks if that, now i have the misfortunate ordeal of withdrawing from them aswell”

 

So, obviously emotions run high and those not a simple answer to the question. The important message is to question what medication you need and get the full story from the doctor regarding long term use and withdrawal effects. Also be sure not to take more than your doctor tells you to, that is a sure-fire way of getting you into difficulties with addiction.