Wide awake after trying Klonopin
Question:
amazing how klonopin affects people differently..i take .5 at night…sleep more sound than ever..it totally took away my nighttime PAs…and i wake up at 6am wide awake..feeling much better than ever…but ymmv 
) good luck with it!!! tami
Response:
Hi, I tried Klonopin at 5pm this evening, granted I only took 1/2 of the prescribed dose, prescribed dose was 0.5mg and I took 1/2..I fell asleep at 8pm and was awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed by 10pm..next time I take my dose which is supposed to be taken at bedtime, only I was too chicken to do this, I will take the full recommended/prescribed dose..At any rate I was expecting to be asleep all night long not up and awake 5 hours later.. Has anyone else experienced this before? Perhaps it is just my panic and anxiety messing with me again, giving me insomnia??? Melissa in Florida
Hi Melissa, Minor tranquillizers in very small doses sometimes produce a "paradoxical reaction", where the opposite effect than expected occurs. This may be due to the brain overcompensating to restore equilibrium. In doing so, it may induce insomnia, agitation, restlessness. My experience on taking 0.5mg on the first night was sedating to the extent that I slept for 16 hours without a break. I am highly sensitive to Klonopin. You may need to discuss your dosage with your doctor to determine the optimal dosage, or you may have to switch to another medication. Regards..Quacksalver
Response:
Hi Melissa. It’s hard to tell until you take normal dose. <snip Hi, I tried Klonopin at 5pm this evening, granted I only took 1/2 of the prescribed dose, prescribed dose was 0.5mg and I took 1/2..I fell asleep at 8pm and was awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed by 10pm.. snip Melissa in Florida
When I started Klonopin about 7 weeks ago, the first week I didnt sleep more than five hours. Sleep then normalized after that…. back to eight hours. It may be a normal SE for some, IMO … YMMV, etc. Good luck on it. I am up to 3.0mg per day (split in 12 hour shifts) and doing just awesome. Use 0.4mgs of Xanax (Asian dose) about twice per week as needed. I hardly feel like I’m on the klonopin, and am asymptomatic. Do have some depression though…. but rarely. YMMV. The depresision doesn’t nearly add up to the panic attacks, anticipatory anxiety, and avoidence behavior that was ruining my life though. Still, it’s def something for pdoc to be aware of. IMO. Jeff – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –
Response:
I used to have really bad insomnia before taking Klonopin. If you don’t take the prescribed dose you probably won’t be able to benefit from it too much. Klonopin won’t knock you out, at such the small dose you’re taking, but should at least calm you down. What I find is the more tired you are when you take Klonopin, the more of an effect it has helping you sleep. But really, trust the Klonopin. I was afraid of taking ALL meds before Klonopin, and since taking it, my life has picked up tremendously.
Response:
Has anyone else experienced this before? insomnia has not gotten any worse. Actually, sometimes, I fall RIGHT to sleep and don’t wake up all night! a VAST improvement of days gone by.
Same for me. Although I take 1.25 mgs at bedtime and 1.5 mgs mid-morning. I sleep better than I ever have in my entire life. I am rested during the day and I do NOT have nocturnal panmic attacks anymore!!! That’s the best part of all. I used to have LOTS of extremely bad nocturnal PA’s. Klonopin has completely stopped these PA’s and could not be happier. ::doing a little happy dance:: <G Jen
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I tried Klonopin at 5pm this evening, granted I only took 1/2 of the prescribed dose, prescribed dose was 0.5mg and I took 1/2..I fell asleep at 8pm and was awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed by 10pm..next time I take my dose which is supposed to be taken at bedtime, only I was too chicken to do this, I will take the full recommended/prescribed dose..At any rate I was expecting to be asleep all night long not up and awake 5 hours later.. Has anyone else experienced this before? Perhaps it is just my panic and anxiety messing with me again, giving me insomnia??? Melissa in Florida
Hi Melissa: Yes, I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. In fact, the PDR lists "SLEEPLESSNESS" as a possible side effect for most benzo’s. IMHO, half of a .5mg tablet really isn’t much. Considering a theraputic dose ranges around the 3mg dose, I might look at slowly building up to your prescribed dose, and if it is less then 3mg, you may want to talk to your pdoc. A VERY small dose of a.d’s for social phobia/anxiety/p.d, like Anafranil, and Paxil, may help at bedtime. Again, SMALL doses are in order here. I found a combo of 5mg of Paxil (20 mg pill split in 1/4’s) and 3mg of Klonipin at bedtime did the trick for me. No "waking up during the night"…no sexual side effects..no weight gain…no fatigue..and best yet..NO P.A’s or nasty ANXIETY!! Anyways..YMMV, IMHO, etc. Talk to your pdoc. (Make sure you mention P.A’s and Social Phobia with the pdocs…they seem to prescribe "russian roulette" meds (ie. try ANYTHING from Effexor (which made my P.A’s go through the roof!!), to other useless meds for people with P.A/G.A.D/Social Phobia) for people who just come in and say they are "depressed" or "anxious". Plus, they seem to be more likely to up the dose of benzo’s in people who seem to have P.A./G.A.D./or Social Phobia. Anyways..hope this helps…and any questions, please feel free to email me! Thanks… James:-) — "You can fight..fight without ever winning.. But NEVER EVER win…win without a fight" Neil Peart, Rush, Resist "DESTROY ANAL RETENTIVENESS: Rid yourself of spell checkers and day planners.." JM
Response:
Hi Melissa: I have panic and anxiety and recently diagnosed with a sleep disorder (sleep terrors) and insomnia. The sleep clinic prescribed Klonopin .25 mg at bedtime. I took it for a couple of weeks and had a restless sleep so I increased it to .5 mg. I woke up a couple of hours later with a rapid heartbeat, visions flying through my head like a fast forward video and tremors. I tried it a few times after and the same effect even though the sleep clinic and my psych said they had not heard of this reaction. So I wonder if that is like what you had? I have since changed to a sleep med Imovane (in Canada) with better results but only allowed to take it every second night. I also had the stimulating effect from Trazadone and OTC sleep aides like Nytol. I have also tried several ADs for my anxiety (Paxil the longest) and all had too many side effects for me. Donna(previously from Florida)
Response:
With different meds but how about turning the lights out at 11:15, falling asleep, and waking up at 11:55. Up for the duration of the night! Thank God I’m not afraid to take a larger dose of medicine now and it never happens to that degree any more. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I tried Klonopin at 5pm this evening, granted I only took 1/2 of the prescribed dose, prescribed dose was 0.5mg and I took 1/2..I fell asleep at 8pm and was awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed by 10pm..next time I take my dose which is supposed to be taken at bedtime, only I was too chicken to do this, I will take the full recommended/prescribed dose..At any rate I was expecting to be asleep all night long not up and awake 5 hours later.. Has anyone else experienced this before? Perhaps it is just my panic and anxiety messing with me again, giving me insomnia??? Melissa in Florida
Response:
Hi Melissa. It’s hard to tell until you take normal dose. All it takes for me is .5 mg and I will be pretty tired.. I used to have to take 2 of those per day when the depression was really deep. I just got it prescribed for me again after being off it for 2 months on an as needed basis. Look out-It sure does enhance my depression a bit. It’s been known to do that. It has no antidepressant effect. Good luck.. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I tried Klonopin at 5pm this evening, granted I only took 1/2 of the prescribed dose, prescribed dose was 0.5mg and I took 1/2..I fell asleep at 8pm and was awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed by 10pm..next time I take my dose which is supposed to be taken at bedtime, only I was too chicken to do this, I will take the full recommended/prescribed dose..At any rate I was expecting to be asleep all night long not up and awake 5 hours later.. Has anyone else experienced this before? Perhaps it is just my panic and anxiety messing with me again, giving me insomnia??? Melissa in Florida
Response:
Hi, I tried Klonopin at 5pm this evening, granted I only took 1/2 of the prescribed dose, prescribed dose was 0.5mg and I took 1/2..I fell asleep at 8pm and was awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed by 10pm..next time I take my dose which is supposed to be taken at bedtime, only I was too chicken to do this, I will take the full recommended/prescribed dose..At any rate I was expecting to be asleep all night long not up and awake 5 hours later.. Has anyone else experienced this before? Perhaps it is just my panic and anxiety messing with me again, giving me insomnia??? Melissa in Florida
Response:
Hi, I tried Klonopin at 5pm this evening, granted I only took 1/2 of the prescribed dose, prescribed dose was 0.5mg and I took 1/2..I fell asleep at 8pm and was awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed by 10pm..next time I take my dose which is supposed to be taken at bedtime, only I was too chicken to do this, I will take the full recommended/prescribed dose..At any rate I was expecting to be asleep all night long not up and awake 5 hours later.. Has anyone else experienced this before? insomnia has not gotten any worse. Actually, sometimes, I fall RIGHT to sleep and don’t wake up all night! a VAST improvement of days gone by. -Horse
