Clonazepam Klonopin Review

People may initially like Klonopin... when it helps them sleep better and offers some relief from anxiety - HOWEVER... There are many "caveats" to this very powerful drug. First very important note to keep in mind: Klonopin IS NOT MEANT FOR LONG-TERM USE. It just isn't; bottom line. It is highly addictive, even for those who do have a history of substance abuse problems. Don't kid yourself into thinking that it won't be a problem for you. 

When you read the pro-Klonopin reviews that say, "Ooooh, I feel better now" and "Really makes things nice," you see that the "allure" is very deceiving. Those reviewers likely have not been taking it more than a week or so. This substance does not take long at all to cause you to develop a physical tolerance, and you will need your dosage increased for it to have the same effect.

Within weeks, others will begin noticing a marked change in your personality, cognitive abilities, memory problems, etc. - although you won't immediately notice them, because you're too buzzed and "out of it" to realize. Klonopin causes terrible memory problems, impaired thinking, changes in your overall personality... and can even cause serious depression and bizarre behavior. It can even cause visual and auditory hallucinations. 

If your doctor considers this medication for you (Klonopin or generic clonazepam), you owe it to yourself, your loved ones and your friends - BEFORE you fill that prescription - to thoroughly research all the side effects - even those that the FDA considers to be "rare" - and carefully weigh all the many negatives against the benefits your doctor presumes it may provide. My doctor even told me, "Stay off the internet, and don't read all the negative things people say; problems are rare." He was WRONG. Drug companies have a way of schmoozing up to doctors and fooling them into thinking that only a very, very small percentage of people have adverse reactions to THEIR company's medications. If doctors had to take all the medications they prescribe, they would be much more careful and deliberate before recommending many meds - if they had to experience all these side effects.

Not only should Klonopin not be used any longer than a couple of weeks intermittently, it is also CRITICAL to understand that under no circumstances should Klonopin be stopped cold turkey. If your doctor does not tell you this, he/she should. Do not abruptly discontinue this drug. There is a method for tapering off Klonopin. Otherwise, the withdrawal symptoms will sentence you to a veritable living hell.

Among the array of bizarre, debilitating symptoms, there is facial numbness, severe memory loss, ataxia, seizures, severe depression, muscle spasms (sometimes clonic spasms/seizures requiring emergency medical treatment), the feeling of "bone rubbing against bone," extreme cognitive impairment and a host of other nasty, frightening, debilitating problems. Even if you have taken Klonopin for only a short time, abrupt discontinuation and failure to taper off properly will result in these and more impairing symptoms.

Klonopin should be pulled from the market. I would not recommend it to my worst enemy. Doctors are too quick to write prescriptions for medications such as this one that have the almost guaranteed potential to not only offer no relief for the primary health complaint, but critically, to cause a vast array of very serious, dangerous and possibly permanently impairing side effects. I was prescribed Klonopin for mitral valve prolapse, for which I never even experienced any symptoms... and I took it exactly as it was prescribed. I've never abused substances; I've never even been drunk before. Despite taking it properly, I suffered severe problems that required emergency room treatment.

I complained of the side effects, but these reports were ignored - and my dosage was not changed. I was told that I "would get worse before I got better." I waited more than a year to "get better," but was only getting worse. I should have listened to my gut and stopped it long before I did. I finally told the doctor, "NO MORE." However, they said NOTHING about tapering off Klonopin. After two months, I am still having frightening, very painful and extremely debilitating problems from withdrawals, although I was on a very, very low dose, and as I stated, I was very careful to take no more than the prescribed amount.

Bottom line... Don't think you will be the exception and make the mistake that Klonopin will be safe for you. It's too much of a risk. If for whatever reason(s), you decide to begin this drug, all I can say is that you have my sympathies and best wishes. Just please... Do online searches and read what the hundreds upon hundreds of other Klonopin victims have to say about their experiences. Don't just take it from me.