How quickly does tolerance to Clonazepam build?

[stupidinthestreet]

I apologize if I placed this thread in the wrong area, I am new here.

I was recently prescribed clonazepam, starting dose .5mg to increase as needed every 5 days up to 1.5mg. I screwed up last week and took 18mg lunesta and 4mg clonazepam, the next day I took about 2grams of phenibut and 6mg clonazepam. I took a 3 day break from it and last night I took the dose I am prescribed and honestly need for my anxiety, it worked ok. However today I overdid it on caffeine in combination with my adhd medication (yeah I'm a piece of work) and while I felt the first clonazepam I decided to take 2 more. I also took 200mg lyrica today. If I go back to .5mg tomorrow will it work or should I take a few days off? I'm not really sure how rapid tolerance builds and was sort of guessing based on other gaba drugs. thank you!

 

[keeping]

i've always found benzo tolerance tends to sneak up on you
take a break before you find yourself in too deep, there's still time

 

[pally pete]

I apologize if I placed this thread in the wrong area, I am new here.

I was recently prescribed clonazepam, starting dose .5mg to increase as needed every 5 days up to 1.5mg. I screwed up last week and took 18mg lunesta and 4mg clonazepam, the next day I took about 2grams of phenibut and 6mg clonazepam. I took a 3 day break from it and last night I took the dose I am prescribed and honestly need for my anxiety, it worked ok. However today I overdid it on caffeine in combination with my adhd medication (yeah I'm a piece of work) and while I felt the first clonazepam I decided to take 2 more. I also took 200mg lyrica today. If I go back to .5mg tomorrow will it work or should I take a few days off? I'm not really sure how rapid tolerance builds and was sort of guessing based on other gaba drugs. thank you!

Has nobody told you yet? Clonazepam is a placebo. They come in all lovely flavours (Mint - Rivotril) (Banana - Clonotril) etc etc

Ask your doctor for a real Benzodiazepine.

 

[dopemaster]

Has nobody told you yet? Clonazepam is a placebo. They come in all lovely flavours (Mint - Rivotril) (Banana - Clonotril) etc etc

Ask your doctor for a real Benzodiazepine.

That's not true.

Clonazepam is a strong benzodiazepine. Mg for mg it is equal to Xanax.

It comes in a wide range of doses.

It has a stronger duration and is far from a sugar pill.

 

[Keif' Richards]

It's a very difficult question to answer, but it's really not even the question you should be worrying about. The question you should be worried most about is "how compulsive is my usage of said substances?" It ultimately won't matter how long it takes for tolerance to build if you simply cannot stop.

Pally, what in the hell are you going on about? Clonazepam (Klonopin; Rivotril) is a highly potent Benzodiazepine. Even if you're trying to be funny, making a comment like "Don't you know it's just placebo?" could easily get somebody killed.

 

[CCM Pro]

From my experience I have not developed any tolerance or dependency on it. I only take .5mg per day...sometimes 1mg if I feel quite anxious or panic like.

However I do have a panic/anxiety disorder and I do think Clonazepam helps. Unlike SSRI's and others if I miss a day or 2 or 3 I do not notice a withdrawal effect.

I've been on it for 5-6 years now and have not had to adjust it due to tolerance.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Keif' Richards]

^This is essentially the definition of proper Benzodiazepine use.

 

[stupidinthestreet]

Thank you for the responses and concern over the compulsivity of my prescription drug use. I am aware of the compulsive nature of my usage, and this is something I am working against. The post about proper benzodiazepine usage has actually motivated me to take my medication as prescribed, and at the lowest dose needed, since I read it.

I do have one issue, part of the reason I agreed to take clonazepam is because I am coming of lyrica. I started taking lyrica almost 4 years ago for chronic pain, it worked for a while and also benefited my anxiety and sleep, but then it stopped working. The dose was increased, and consequently I experienced the lyrica 'high' that some people swear by. I did pretty well on it for a while, but then I started abusing it more and more frequently to recreate that feeling, and the more I did it the more side effects (eating my house) I experienced, eventually when I took a large dose I started becoming hypermanicdepressiveish and horribly impulsive every time. Now it does nothing for my pain, and I want off of it, but each time I go off I do not sleep and it is a nightmare and I cannot function. I suffer from a neurological disorder and it is severely impacted by sleep deprivation. I've tried tapering, but usually I become nearly suicidal, when I go cold turkey I get more anxious and on edge and feel awful, but it is better in some way. The lack of sleep is probably the killer. I told my doctor about all of this and her response was to stop prescribing it right there. No taper, which doesn't really sound like the recommended route to me, but whatever...

So I was hoping that clonazepam would help me get off lyrica, now I'm wondering if my lyrica usage will effect my response to clonazepam, I don't know if I screwed myself over given the actions reported in my original post, but I seem to need 1mg for it to truly help my anxiety and sleep, ive tried to go down to .75mg and it's ok.. anyway, at this point I'm terrified of GABAergic drugs and don't know how to get off them. I mean the horror stories I've heard about clonazepam scare me to death. I do have fairly severe anxiety, so I probably do need anxiety medication, but I don't know if clonazepam is going to be the answer. If I continue with a 1mg dosage will withdrawals be as horrific as some people describe? Is there a way to ease getting off GABAergic drugs? I was going to take a break from the clonazepam for a few days but without the lyrica I do not know if I can deal with it. Thank you!

 

[king kpin]

You should be afraid of gabaergic medications as they can royally fuck your body up, and w/d can even kill you. On that note, try to take a few days off and only use as needed. If you are coming off lyrica it is likely you will experience anxiety, so expect to need some in the coming weeks.

I would say that if you need more than 1.5mg of clonazepam a day you are coming off the lyrica too fast. Don't blow all your pills on fun because when you run out and can't get another script for a couple weeks you will be in for a bumpy ride.

As far as 1mg per day dosage, it all depends on how long you take 1mg a day. Some might have withdrawal after a couple weeks at 1mg a day and others not. Don't replace one gabaergic for another. Ie don't replace daily lyrica with daily clonazepam, because you will have to face withdrawal at some point. I can say with confidence if you don't binge and stick to what your scripted. You will be better off. Every time you binge you make the medication less effective for when you need it.

 

[DoctorMolecule]

Daily use for 7-14days for some I hear, for me personally tolerance built up so fast: day three of continued use and I had to drastically increase the dose (granted for recreational effects)

 

[Melancholy Hill]

That's not true.

Clonazepam is a strong benzodiazepine. Mg for mg it is equal to Xanax.

It comes in a wide range of doses.

It has a stronger duration and is far from a sugar pill.

Agreed. The doctor who prescribed mine actually told me .5mg of Klonopin is equal to 1mg of Xanax. Not quite sure if this is true, but I wouldn't doubt it. It is BY FAR the strongest and longest acting benzodiazepine I have ever taken.

 

[danglesmcgee]

Clonazepam is a very powerful benzo. It has a long half life. its potent. do not take clonazepam for anymore then 5 consecutive days. then do not take any benzo's for min. 14 days. thats my little rule for clonazepam. ive been taking it for 10 years on and off. If 1mg under the tongue doesnt have the desired effect , thats the que to give them a rest. With benzo's one must use them only in emergency situations. If you preserve the effectiveness of your clonazepam it will be a blesssing when you really really do need it, or you can take them all day everyday and mental anguish will eventually avail you from all sides.

 

[danglesmcgee]

Thank you for the responses and concern over the compulsivity of my prescription drug use. I am aware of the compulsive nature of my usage, and this is something I am working against. The post about proper benzodiazepine usage has actually motivated me to take my medication as prescribed, and at the lowest dose needed, since I read it.

I do have one issue, part of the reason I agreed to take clonazepam is because I am coming of lyrica. I started taking lyrica almost 4 years ago for chronic pain, it worked for a while and also benefited my anxiety and sleep, but then it stopped working. The dose was increased, and consequently I experienced the lyrica 'high' that some people swear by. I did pretty well on it for a while, but then I started abusing it more and more frequently to recreate that feeling, and the more I did it the more side effects (eating my house) I experienced, eventually when I took a large dose I started becoming hypermanicdepressiveish and horribly impulsive every time. Now it does nothing for my pain, and I want off of it, but each time I go off I do not sleep and it is a nightmare and I cannot function. I suffer from a neurological disorder and it is severely impacted by sleep deprivation. I've tried tapering, but usually I become nearly suicidal, when I go cold turkey I get more anxious and on edge and feel awful, but it is better in some way. The lack of sleep is probably the killer. I told my doctor about all of this and her response was to stop prescribing it right there. No taper, which doesn't really sound like the recommended route to me, but whatever...

So I was hoping that clonazepam would help me get off lyrica, now I'm wondering if my lyrica usage will effect my response to clonazepam, I don't know if I screwed myself over given the actions reported in my original post, but I seem to need 1mg for it to truly help my anxiety and sleep, ive tried to go down to .75mg and it's ok.. anyway, at this point I'm terrified of GABAergic drugs and don't know how to get off them. I mean the horror stories I've heard about clonazepam scare me to death. I do have fairly severe anxiety, so I probably do need anxiety medication, but I don't know if clonazepam is going to be the answer. If I continue with a 1mg dosage will withdrawals be as horrific as some people describe? Is there a way to ease getting off GABAergic drugs? I was going to take a break from the clonazepam for a few days but without the lyrica I do not know if I can deal with it. Thank you!

oh yes. the withdrawal is a long, painful, horrifying experience. and the worst thing is that there is virtually nothing (except maybe massive amounts of pot teehee) that anyone can do to help you. your gaba and CNS system gets fried and it takes months for your CNS to repair itself. Most people who withdrawal from clonazepam end up in hospital for depression, psychosis induced by insommnia, suicide attempts, seizures.. list goes on.

 

[Nicholai]

If you abuse your medication, or use it with other GABAergics, say the Lunesta, or regularly drink alcohol, your tolerance is going to go up a lot faster than it would otherwise. Try to avoid those things.

 

[nancy145]

It's different for everyone, but benzo tolerance doesn't develop that rapidly compared to most other drugs. I was prescribed 2 mg of ativan a night (they're equally potent) a while back, and it got my high for the first 4 or 5 months I was in it. I took my 2 mg every day, and took extra about once every 10 days. Be careful abusing your clonazepam though, you don't wanna run out before you get your script filled. 3-7 days of daily use will cause you to develop a physical addiction.

 

[Gormur]

Why not take 1mg then 1mg before bed. I don't like this 'under-1mg dosing' business. I mean it's just down-right confusing trying to add all this crap; especially when you're doing this daily for a while

You might think it sounds bad, but just take doses above a milligram.. You're not going to lose

 

[Stillliving1983]

I would like to say that I myself take kolopin at a dose of .5 twice a day but i strongly disagree with the comment that most people with drawling from this medication will be depressed or hospitalized due to withdrawals I must admit that I have serious aniexty and ptsd issues and I find myself taking more of the kolopin then I am supposed too because I don't feel relief from one or two so I take up to six at a time and then finally start to feel some relief but I believe my tolerance is so high because less then six months ago I was taking 5 mg Valium three times a day and two kolopin on top of that but I needed a high dose to help me at the time do to experiencing a death first hand but because I take extra I run out early and I always worry that I will have withdrawals but much to my surprise I have not experienced any major withdrawals symptoms but I do find my day to day life is way to hard without the kolopin so I am trying to find a dr that understands the severity of my problems and will keep me on my meds instead of lowering them like the dr I am seeing now keeps doing I truly believe that some people do need meds to mange their day to day
Lives and every body is different but if your anything like me then you need to find the right Dr to treat you and then you will not Have these on going issues but going on and off the meds will do nothing But confuse your body mind and trigger more aniexty long term I Hope this helped you a little

 

[Ne0]

I enjoy my 4mg kpins. This is my 14rd day on them. But you should not use them longer than 1 month otherwise bad times coming. But I enjoy large dose of kpins, its must bettter than any other benzo, except etizolam ofc. Ozxazepam is also nicei n 100mg doses. I like large doses of benzos, for anxiety small doses are fine like 1mg kpin takes my anxiety away. Wit halrge doses of bensos aI enjoy the little aggressiveness that comes along.

 

[Ne0]

oh yes. the withdrawal is a long, painful, horrifying experience. and the worst thing is that there is virtually nothing (except maybe massive amounts of pot teehee) that anyone can do to help you. your gaba and CNS system gets fried and it takes months for your CNS to repair itself. Most people who withdrawal from clonazepam end up in hospital for depression, psychosis induced by insommnia, suicide attempts, seizures.. list goes on.

Try gabapentin or phenibut or ghb.