Anyone ever taken Klonopin or Seroquel?

[JadedOne]

Dr. wants me to start these meds as needed for sleep aid as well as anti anxiety.

I have a few friends that say seroquel has the tendency to make them feel really hungry.
I dont know anyone thats taken Klonopin.
Cant seem to find much useful info on the web.
I did find out that the Klonopin has no impact on your blood sugar.

Anyone, anyone experianced with any of these or know anyone who is?

Thanks, I dont plan on taking these until I can get more info and make an educated decision for myself!

[clairtique]

I take Clonazepam usually once a day, but only on the weekdays, when I am at work....teacher, and very stressful...plus, a lot of awful stuff over the last 1 1/2 years has occurred. A girlfriend of mine takes what she always calls Clonopin (spelling)...I always assume she is mispronouncing it and she really means Clonazepam. Maybe I am wrong, and they are two seperate anti-anxiety meds...

Anyone have any info? Anyway, the Clonazepam had no effect weight wise on me.

Clairtique

[JadedOne]

The box is marked Klonopin

[LcThinCyclist]

dd daughter said it just made her tired, it was an apatite supressant.

[Lunatunes]

Clonazepam is the generic of Klonopin. I work in the mental health field and it is usually a very effective drug. It is however addictive so my clients (who have a drug history) are encouraged not to have it prescribed. Many people abuse it.

[JadedOne]

The dr wants me to take the seroquel at night, 100mg, to help me sleep. ( i sometimes have bad insomnia)

She wants me to take the klonopin 3x a day, does that seem excessive to anyone else? I read this drug is similar to xanex, and I couldnt imagine taking xanex 3x a day. BTW, the klonopin is .5 mg.
I was thinking only of taking it as my panic attacks occour.
I dont want to self medicate with my own dosage, but i also dont want to be a zombie!

[clairtique]

Thanks Lunatunes for that info.

Yes, my girlfriend takes it to go to sleep at night. I told her that I only take one "as needed"...and, there are days during the week that I don't feel like I need it, so I don't take it. She said that could put me in the hospital, it is only effective if taken on a regular basis. Well, my psychiatrist said, no, take only when I feel I need it. It is not something like an antidepressant that you need to take daily and give time to kick in. It does not make me tired (the first one...I've never had 2 in one day.) But she did say to be careful because if I took a second, I may get sleepy. An ex boyfriend of mine apparently abused them and had a real problem...he had real bad sleep issues. So yes, I hear how addictive they can be, but I seem to be fine with them, and again, take them sparingly. It seems to calm me a bit, I guess!

Good luck with them.
Clairtique

[smileybrunette]

I don't know your sitch and I'm certainly not a doctor, but I've been on a lot of meds, mainly for anxiety, and am currently on Clonopin for sleep. My dose is .125 mg in a wafer you put under your tongue before going to bed, and that's pulenty! I'm not sure why your doc would put you on .5mg 3 times a day! That's what my daughter was on for a while because she's bipolar and it doped her up all day long. She finally weened herself off of it because she had a veeerrry hard time waking up in the morning. I find that Clonopin also reduces your ability to think clearly, however, the smaller doses don't seem to have a big impact on your mental function. But I can't imagine taking that much all day.

Personally I'd try 1/2 that dose to start and see how that works for you. I don't want to second guess your doctor, cause like I said, I'm not an m.d. But when my doctor prescribes something, I try the 1/2 dose first and if the side-effects are tolerable and if it works for the problem I'm having, my doctor doesn't mind. I tend to be sensative to drugs anyway.

As for Seroquel, I've never taken that one. I have taken other anti-depressants though and they all made me crave carbs. Remeron was the worst one I've ever taken, although it did make me sleep. But I was an eating machine on it, so I had to give it up. So just be aware that this can be a side-effect. However, you can try it for a while, maybe it won't effect you that way, who knows.

[relentless]

Ativan is similar to Klonopin but is shorter acting and in alot of folks leaves them less 'fuzzy' feeling because it is out of the system faster. I also work in the mental health field and a good deal of the folks I've worked with have taken Ativan with less side effects.

I had a bad problem with insomnia for awhile. My doc prescribed me Ambien which was a wonder drug for me. I believe the Seroquel makes you really groggy in the morning, the Ambien wasn't like that at all, put me right to sleep and woke up not feeling sluggish at all. sometimes on the Ambien I had really wacky dreams but it didn't interfere with anything.

Good luck.

[smileybrunette]

Yes, Ambien works great! It puts you to sleep and keeps you asleep. Also there is a newer one coming out that is approved for longterm use called Lunesta. It is supposed to be out at the end of this month.

[Total80sKid]

i was taking klonipin for months. worked fantastic for my anxiety attacks and helped me sleep at night.

i got very addicted though. i was up to 4mg a night to sleep.

when i stopped it, i felt weirder then ive ever felt b4. the withdrawls were terrible.

i was mad for no reason, angry, irritable, i didnt know where i was, shaking, etc.

if u take it, make sure to take under 1mg and only when u really need it. my body ebcame very dependant on it.

[Total80sKid]

Originally posted by smileybrunette
Yes, Ambien works great! It puts you to sleep and keeps you asleep. Also there is a newer one coming out that is approved for longterm use called Lunesta. It is supposed to be out at the end of this month.

i think i must be the only one ambien never worked for

i even took up to 3 pills a night and nada. not drowsy, not sleepy, nothing.

it felt as if i was taking sugar pills. they did nothing for me and serotonin gave me horrible nightmares.

[clairtique]

Hey, totals80kid...

I totally agree.. Use it only when you feel it is needed...
re: Clonazapine...or whatever the hell the spelling is...And I'm a teacher???????????? Lord help us all!

Clairtique

[clairtique]

I take .5 mg of clonazapine (spelling) only once a day...and not every day. Never on weekends. The pill container says "not to exceed 2 tablets per day"...so 3 sounds excessive...but I don't know if this is just the personal opinion of my psychiatrist, and your psychiatrist may feel you need more...I'm not an M.D. so not sure how all that works. But I would be careful.

Clairtique

[AllegraD]

Klonopin (clonazepam) is related chemically related to Valium (diazepam), Xanax (alprazolam) and Ativan (lorazepam) which belong to a class of drugs called benzodiazepines. They differ in their indications (anxiety, sleep, OCD, and more). (Klonopin comes in 0.5mg, 1mg, and 2mg - you the 0.5mg that you are suggesting isn't that high of a dose.) They are "controlled drugs" - there is the potential for abuse/physical addiction. These medications can be given on a routine basis or as needed.

Seroquel is an entirely different chemical entity. It belongs to a class of drugs known as "atypical antipsychotics." Seroquel is usually given on a routine basis. ((Another drug in this class is called Zyprexa - would you believe that one of the side-effects of Zyprexa is the potential for a 20% (YES, TWENTY PERCENT) increase in body weight.)) Seroquel does not cause a weight gain to this extent.

Ambien is probably one of the better drugs on the market for short-term insomnia. I believe the package insert states it should not be used for more than 10 consecutive days.

Words of wisdom from the pharmacy of a psychiatric hospital.

[Horseradish]

Originally Posted by Total80sKid

i think i must be the only one ambien never worked for

Well... my ex-husband used to take it, and he *thought* it worked, but he got what's called "traveler's amnesia," and is semi-common with ambien. He'd take it, do all sorts of freaky stuff, fall asleep like 6 hours later, sleep 2 hours, then wake up thinking he'd slept the whole 8 hours. He'd go places, do stuff, have conversations... it was weird!

A friend's father had similar experiences; he was given ambien in the hospital and had what he called strange dreams. However, he didn't realize that he was actually awake and acting these dreams out in the hospital room. He only remembers them as dreams, but when he described them later to his daughter (my friend,) she said, "but Dad, you really did those things here!"

Klonopin isn't at the top of my "good" list either - my best friend is having a LOT of trouble with it. It's addictive, as mentioned by others here, but also causes tolerance withdrawal, which means that your body needs more and more of it. It's an anti-seizure drug (although they prescribe it for almost anything), and I have a friend who actually took it for seizures, then went through horrible panic and anxiety attacks when he went off it (he'd NEVER had those problems before.)

Of course, everyone reacts differently. What's bad for one person is good for another. (For example, *I* am allergic to Hershey chocolate! There can't be ANYTHING worse than that...)

[Wife of a Vet]

My 13 YO son is taking seroquel, and put on about 30 lbs in 6 weeks. It makes him want to eat constantly. I have an appt with his Dr. next mon and will ask about putting him on something else. It also makes it extremely hard to get up in the morning if he takes it after 7 pm. He needs at least 11 hours sleep after taking it.

[jobeth]

If you are concerned about weight gain and Seraquel, DON'T TAKE IT. RUN AWAY!
I have just weaned myself off with the help of my doctor. I was on it for 3 months and I gained 23 lbs. (only taking 50 mg before bedtime) I was not a fat before either. If I hear one more person suggest making healthy food choices and exercise to combat the weight gain problem I am going to scream. Not only are you hungry all the time, it is an absolute OBSESSION. It is like it is some monkey on your back. I have never had a sweet tooth and I was craving candy even and all I could think about was when I was going to eat again and what I was craving.
COMPLETELY HELPLESS. I have no problem dieting when I feel like I gain a pound or two, and I know how to eat and exercise properly. Went to my doctor and the day after I skipped my dose, the obsession was GONE. I have lost 11 lbs in the past 3 weeks by eating healthy and going to the gym. This factor weighs out any good side effects since you just become fat depressed and want to be a recluse. Klonopin and Xanax will make you hungry, but nothing like this monster....

[CurveControl]

Originally Posted by jobeth

If you are concerned about weight gain and Seraquel, DON'T TAKE IT. RUN AWAY!
I have just weaned myself off with the help of my doctor. I was on it for 3 months and I gained 23 lbs. (only taking 50 mg before bedtime) I was not a fat before either. If I hear one more person suggest making healthy food choices and exercise to combat the weight gain problem I am going to scream. Not only are you hungry all the time, it is an absolute OBSESSION. It is like it is some monkey on your back. I have never had a sweet tooth and I was craving candy even and all I could think about was when I was going to eat again and what I was craving.
COMPLETELY HELPLESS. I have no problem dieting when I feel like I gain a pound or two, and I know how to eat and exercise properly. Went to my doctor and the day after I skipped my dose, the obsession was GONE. I have lost 11 lbs in the past 3 weeks by eating healthy and going to the gym. This factor weighs out any good side effects since you just become fat depressed and want to be a recluse. Klonopin and Xanax will make you hungry, but nothing like this monster....

One post just to tell this?

Seoquel made me gain weight, yes, and crave carbs like crazy, But it was also very instrumental in the initial management of my BiPolar when I was first diagnosed.

If I has been unable to maintain an even mood without it I would still be on it, Fat, but still married and sane.

One has to weigh the good with the bad. And it is not all bad.