Benzos Klonopin and motivation

[TonyDanzaExtravaga]

I'm on klonopin 1mg 2x/ day. It makes me so sluggish and unmotivated. Does anyone know what I can do to counteract this side effect without bringing back my crippling anxiety?

 

[twotoomany]

2mg a day is a lot. .5 in the morning is perfect for my anxiety, but yours may be more severe. How long have you been on this dose? Is it effective?

 

[I Love Lamp]

I had to make a new screen name because I didn't want bluelight linked to my school email. Just in case. Honestly, 1mg BARELY cuts it. I still feel the anxiety through my dose, but I don't dare take more, for fear of running out early. I've been drinking energy drinks to try and give myself a boost, but then my anxiety worsens. I'm thinking maybe taking Kratom with it might help?

 

[belfort]

lol yeah you cant expect to dose over 1 mg of klonopin and not feel a little on the slow or sluggish side..welcome to the world of anti anxiety drugs..sure, they may dampen your anxiety but will also usually slow you down physically and mentally and cause other side effects..

u need to take as low a klonopin dosage as possible..benzos are notorious for causing you to feel unmotivated and apathetic..i have yet to find out how to feel good while also having low anxiety..seems to me you must take one or the other..

 

[belfort]

I had to make a new screen name because I didn't want bluelight linked to my school email. Just in case. Honestly, 1mg BARELY cuts it. I still feel the anxiety through my dose, but I don't dare take more, for fear of running out early. I've been drinking energy drinks to try and give myself a boost, but then my anxiety worsens. I'm thinking maybe taking Kratom with it might help?

u need to accept the reality that you will still have some form of anxiety even after dosing klonopin.i know i do unless i take 1.5 mgs or higher but then bad cognitive problems and tiredness occur.. .thats just the way we are wired..it really sucks but u need to accept it instead of trying to stack more drugs on top of it..i can see adding kratom or phenibut to the mix if you are going out to a party atmosphere but not for everyday purposes..

i highly suggest getting a hard workout in every day, that helps me..

 

[I Love Lamp]

Thanks for the tips!! Before my back injury, I treated my anxiety with a 6-12 mile run, at least 3x per week.

 

[twotoomany]

Kratom isn't a great road to start on in my opinion. It has opiate and snri properties, which can make withdrawal a bitch. It's also been at least partially linked to a few cases of liver failure. But that's just me. I've found doing something I can get lost in reduces my anxiety. For me it's fishing. I've also found low dose mushrooms to help, and for extended periods of time, but your anxiety sounds way worse than mine, so I'd do some SERIOUS research before considering that option.

 

[I Love Lamp]

I use Kratom anyway when I run out of my oxy early, unfortunately.

 

[belfort]

I use Kratom anyway when I run out of my oxy early, unfortunately.

lol so how many drugs are you currently taking?name em all if u dont mind..

i have found kratom to be a pretty good herb when it comes to boosting mood and motivation but for anxiety, ehh its just ok..i wouldnt get into using it every day..

 

[I Love Lamp]

It's terrible for anxiety, but it's better than nothing when in severe WD. I was planning on using it to get myself out of the klonopin
"slump." No motivation, depression, irritability, etc.
10mg Oxy 4x/d
350 soma 1x/d
300mg lyrica 2x/d
1mg klonopin 2x/day

 

[bobby1978]

Wow, you take a fair bit of CNS depressants, no wonder you're sluggish.

How about some coffee? (I'm not asking you out, I'm suggesting you drink some coffee)

I mean, it's not a going to be a huge kick, but I wouldn't want to suggest powerful stimulants on top of that pile of downers. I find a cup or two of strong coffee helps me when clonazepam makes me a bit slow.

I'd spread out the different dosages, as much as possible, that might help too.

 

[Mycophile]

Yeah join the club.

I take between 1.0--1.5mgs, sometimes a LITTLE over 1.5mgs but I don't usually go as high as 2.0mgs all at once, maybe I might take that much in 24 hours if I take an extra 0.5 to help me sleep but that's not a good idea IMO.

I had a super huge caffeine addiction BEFORE I started using Klonopin but it has only increased over the past decade or so of taking Klonopin for the EXACT reason you mention but it's just a vicious cycle because too much caffeine causes anxiety and interferes with Klonopin and then I'd want to take more Klonopin and get more tired lol...OR if I take too much Klonopin I'll get too tired and want more coffee, not to mention caffeine ALSO interferes with sleep just like Klonopin so isn't this a great vicious cycle?!?! LOL

I AM surprised that Kratom doesn't help with your anxiety as for me it's sometimes even BETTER for anxiety than Klonopin BUT I refuse to get a daily dependency to Kratom because I just think that would really fuck up my life.

I don't think Kratom is probably all that bad for you but there have been some pretty extreme negative side effects for people who take it Daily for years that may be based on a bad reaction but might not...who knows...either way Kratom IMO isn't a DAILY solution for the anxiety.


I mean I am obviously dealing with the same thing you as plus the issue is I want to cut back on coffee because it has a very negative impact on my cardio some contact sports that I do and aspire to be better at but I am SOOOO addicted to SUCH a large amount of coffee daily that while ALSO taking Klonopin cutting back is REALLY hard.

But here's the things I suggest for you, and to a lesser extent myself lol:

1) Work out as much as you can and as hard as you can (within reason), preferably at least 20 cardio and also maybe some weights preferably in the MORNING so you have lower anxiety all day, there's no question it helps with anxiety.

2) Good diet will also help your anxiety SOMEWHAT

3) Since you don't seem to have the problem I have with caffeine effect your cardio for sports you can drink coffee and it's easiest and most obvious way to counteract your tiredness BUT...as I mentioned you'll get addicted and your tolerance will go up and then you'll need to drink even more coffee and crash etc etc.... so beware....it's a very hard cycle to get out of and caffeine DEFINITELY counteracts the anxiety reliveing effects of Klonopin so you are basically messing yourself up more but welcome to my world LOL

4) The best possible thing is to limit your intake of Klonopin as much as possible...but obviously this is hard because your anxiety is severe and sounds even worse than mine as I usually don't take as much as you AND I personally know that SOME of my anxiety is CAUSED by my caffeine consumption and that IF I could cut down on caffeine I'd have less.

To tell you the truth, during the brief periods where I have been able to both cut down on caffeine AND exercise every day hard I have found my anxiety GREATLY relieved and often found I don't need Klonopin at all...BUT, your anxiety is NOT in any way caused by caffeine...so you are different there.

5) Cut those other CNS depressants down to the lowest dose or out of your life altogether IF POSSIBLE.


6) Take all your CNS depressants as soon you wake up in the morning so there is less of them in your body at night to effect your sleep cycle.


That's all I have.

It REALLY sucks that benzos make you tired.

I'm personally hoping I can cut down on them but cutting down on coffee which exacerbates my anxiety but I'd need to cut down on the Klonopin at the same time or I'll still be too tired.....It's fucked up and quite difficult but at least I get a lot of anxiety relief from the Klonopin or else I wouldn't take it but its been a life saver.

 

[Man in the Dark]

I take 1mg 3 times a day once after my morning coffee and 2 mg later in the evening. Your tolerance will eventually build as 1mg used to put me right to sleep, but now my anxiety and panic attacks are much better and I take the 1mg and don't feel tired at all.The Lyrica and the Oxy mixed with the benzos is a recipe for sleep. I am on almost the exact same doses as you when I take the Lyrica and Klonopin close together it knocks me out. Maybe if you try separating the Klonopin and Lyrica by a couple hours it would help. Your tolerance will build and you not get tired at all from 1mg.

I have been on 3 mg a day for quite some time and I haven't needed increase in dosage to decrease anxiety.

 

[EnlightenedOne1]

I take 4mgs a day (0.5mg upon waking and 3.5mgs 2-3 before bed) and I never get demotivated from them. After a certain point (6 weeks or longer of daily use) they just become sugar pills that your life becomes dependent on. I've tapered down to nothing from 6mgs before so I know all about it...Took 7 years off benzos and now I've been a slave to them the past 2 years....I could take 50mgs of Clonazepam and besides more amnesia like effects, I'd feel the same as if I took 4mgs.

 

[I Love Lamp]

I understand and I really don't want to get to that point. I suffer from GAD and panic disorder, having up to 5 panic attacks a week. I can't even leave the house or make a phone call without taking something to tone it down. It makes it so hard to care for my children. My son has SEVERE food allergies. When he has his first anaphylactic reaction, where was I? On the floor, sweating and white as a ghost. Thank goodness my boyfriend's was there.

 

[Znegative]

It's funny because benzo's have always had the tendency to make me kind of hyper, maybe that's because I'm normally an uptight twat and benzo's make me lose inhibition, allowing those clamped legs to spread wide.

Anyway I've always found caffeine and benzo's make for a nice combination.

 

[Man in the Dark]

It's funny because benzo's have always had the tendency to make me kind of hyper, maybe that's because I'm normally an uptight twat and benzo's make me lose inhibition, allowing those clamped legs to spread wide.

Anyway I've always found caffeine and benzo's make for a nice combination.

Now that is a fucking post! Kudos!

 

[I Love Lamp]

Klonopin is the only one that does this to me.

 

[belfort]

It's terrible for anxiety, but it's better than nothing when in severe WD. I was planning on using it to get myself out of the klonopin
"slump." No motivation, depression, irritability, etc.
10mg Oxy 4x/d
350 soma 1x/d
300mg lyrica 2x/d
1mg klonopin 2x/day

jesus christ man, no wonder you are lethargic and lack motivation..if i took that many downers id be lethargic too!the last thing u want to do is add another drug to the mix..those are all very potent drugs u are taking..they all can cause the symptoms you are describing, no motivation, irritability..you might want to look at tapering off of some of those drugs..

when it comes to gabapentin or lyrica, when i took small doses of gabapentin daily for a few weeks i started noticing bad lethargy and mood swings..

dont add any more drugs and try getting off 1-2 of the ones you are taking now!are al these meds scribed to you by the same doctor?

 

[belfort]

I understand and I really don't want to get to that point. I suffer from GAD and panic disorder, having up to 5 panic attacks a week. I can't even leave the house or make a phone call without taking something to tone it down. It makes it so hard to care for my children. My son has SEVERE food allergies. When he has his first anaphylactic reaction, where was I? On the floor, sweating and white as a ghost. Thank goodness my boyfriend's was there.

what about therapy?give therapy a try, hat can it hurt?and yes, exercise hard every day, it will help..i know you are tired from the meds but we all are, you gotta force yourself to just get up and run or hit a punching bag or lift weights..do something to get your heart rate up..