Clonazepam

[soupersuzy]

I am just about to start this medication. Does anybody have any info they could share about Clonazepam such as side effects or successes maybe. I'm not quite sure what to expect.

[SueJohnson]

It has a long half life of 40 hours so can make you sleepy the next day.

[soupersuzy in reply to SueJohnson]

Thank uou

[Sunshine458]

What mg are you taking? I have been on and off of it for 20+ years I take 1mg at night now and I am taking gabapentin. I still have Restless legs but Clonzapam does help me sleep.

[soupersuzy in reply to Sunshine458]

I do need something to help me sleep.

[Zyxx]

Clonazepam is a benzodiazepine. I take a Valium (also a benzodiazepine) now and then to sleep through the night but I restrict it to very occasional ‘treats’. Benzos are highly addictive.

[soupersuzy in reply to Zyxx]

Thanks for your reply I think I'll do the same and not take them regularly.

[violetta254]

Why were you prescribed clonazepam.? Is if for RLS because it really doesn't work for long. It may help with sleep for a while but is highly addictive and stops working for RLS after a while if it helps at all. The effort it took to get off of it after it stopped working makes getting off pramipexole look easy. DAWs is no joke, look this up. It seemed like it took 6 months of hell. Where are you and maybe someone can find a doctor for you who has some sense of how to treat RLS? If it is for something else besides RLS, it may be a necessary evil but IMO not worth it for RLS. As per Sue, have you had ferritin and iron panel check and tried gabapentin or Lyrica?

[soupersuzy in reply to violetta254]

I have RLS but worse myoclonus. What is DAWS? I really don't want to start something that is that difficult to stop.

[sigurdur in reply to soupersuzy]

DAWS is Dopamine Agonist Withdrawal Syndrome. Another thing to avoid. Dopamine Agonists. Quitting them can bring on this syndrome that can last from months to years.

[soupersuzy in reply to sigurdur]

Many thanks.

[amrob123]

I sometimes use it as a supplement to pregabalin. I sleep better when I take it however I do notice it contributes to daytime fatigue/lethargy, even at a low dose. My main concern is periodic limb movement disorder.

[soupersuzy in reply to amrob123]

Is your limb disorder the same as myoclonus?

[amrob123 in reply to soupersuzy]

Periodic limb movement disorder used to be called nocturnal myoclonus, however i have also read that periodic limb movements are not myoclonus.

[soupersuzy in reply to amrob123]

So confusing isn't it! Thanks for your reply.

[Claire_lc]

Hi Soupersuzy, I’ve been taking clonazepam (between 0.25mg and 1.5mg) for several years now, in an attempt to get some sleep because of RLS/insomnia. I found it does help sleep, but the RLS still breaks through and wakes you up. The clonazepam itself doesn’t affect the RLS one way or the other.

It does leave you a little drowsy the next day, but if you’re desperately sleep deprived it can be a price worth paying. Also bear in mind that you need to come off it VERY slowly.

If I’d known about Buprenorphine, I would never have needed clonazepam, so if your RLS is severe, I’d investigate this line of treatment before embarking on benzos.

[soupersuzy in reply to Claire_lc]

Thank you I keep hearing positive opinions on Buprenorphine so think I will talk to my neurologist about that first.