I started at a pretty low dose of course and it took a while to get to a dose that worked. So I got upped to 4mgs after a year.
About two or three years later I went up to six mgs.
It still works for me just as good ad before. The main goal was to prevent panic attacks and that is why I went with clonazepam. I was later offered to switch to xanax (alzopram) which I declined because I just didn't want to fix something that wasn't broke.
Plenty of doctors have told me to cut my dose and eventually I stopped going to psychiatrist and got it from my physician. They wanted me to take an antidepressant or antipsychotic and/or cut my dose so that didn't work out. Usually they dropped me as a a patient. My physician was already filling in and writing between psychiatrists so he just eventually made it a great deal easier.
As far as tolerance I never got much of a buzz even from the first benzo I took, I just felt like that was how life was long before I had anxiety. I have had really bad anxiety and panic attacks since childhood and its probably PTSD.
Anyways I did learn some coping mechanisms over the years so that could attribute to the fact the medication still works for me.
Ironically my first therapist had recommended the drug to myself and my psychiatrist but it took trying a guantlet of medication that was written off label for anxiety.
My only mental problem was anxiety and panic attacks so I really didn't like taking other medications but I did try them as I was quite desperate.
My life started getting better pretty much as soon as I started with clonazepam, maybe after the first few dose increases.
It had gotten to the point I couldn't sit in class at university and my dating life was mostly one night stands and short relationships, like flings and a casual relationship. So I was not able to handle dating either until I got my anxiety under control.
I suppose I made a mistake starting drinking to deal with anxiety very young. I had to go to medical detox to stop drinking many times (5 I think). I remember I started having DTs when I moved in with my grandparents at 17 and my grandmother gave me valium to get through alcohol detox.
The anxiety kept getting worse and by the time I turned 19 I was rather hopeless about the matter and suicidal. I knew I needed some sort of medication but really knew nothing about medication at the time.
I would not recommend this but I told my therapist that I would kill myself in six months if this didn't get any better. He could have had me commuted but instead referred me to a private psychiatrist as many places do not rx benzos.
This quack believed benzos work but only if you take a shitload of other medications. He did eventually get arrested for overmedicating patients and taking beibes from pharm reps so he was using his patients to provide research data to the pharm companies.
I really couldn't see how a medication (depakote) which required my liver function to be tested twicr a year could be worse for me than a benzo but the medical communities basic notion was that anything written off label was a better alternative.
I am still at six mgs and have been at five or six for most the time. It still works. I do cope better but without the medication I feel awful and do have seizures if I can't get it like in jail but now they give it to me but I really just don't plan on going back to jail ever.
I did skip over all the psychiatrist that wanted to take me off and made me try more medication that didag work in an attempt to lower my dose.
The general consensus with psychiatrist seem to be if they are not tapering you and/or switching you to a non narcotic, least at that point in time.
I have had pain doctors want to cut my pain dose because I was on benzos but now pain doctors in my state won't take people on benzos as patients because its the law as of a few months ago, same deal with methadone/suboxone clinics a doctors.
I should mention I have shity insurance and there are people that get their pain abd anxiety medication from a psychiatrist. Some even get methadone tablets and benzos and I would really like to have an rx like that.
My doctor gives me codeine so I have something for pain and he agrees it's not enough so I had just got referred to a pain clinic and denied to be a patient so I am hoping he will be willing to change my pain medication dose.
Anyways yeah the medication still works. It isn't something doctors like to rx especially at my dose but it is also really hard for them to take me off because I have been on it a long time and now I have some protection from that bs because I am medically classified a seizure risk.
As far as how the medication helped me. It changed my life for the better. I was able to go to university and able to have a good dating/sex life.
It didn't happen overnight and it still took me a long time to be comfortable and confident with myself. I stopped having panic attacks after the dose started to get to the right level but they did decrease immediately.
Everyone is different and I know if I had stayed at a lower dose it wouldn't have worked for me. I do strongly urge you to not go to a higher dose than you need and never to squander the chance to get your life together by abusing rx drugs and I did that with pain medication and am paying a price for that.
My personal experiences do not equate to medical advice. I probably think I know better than the doctors at times but that doesn't mean I do even if I do.
My posts here are in no way medical advice, just the perspective from another patient.
