Klonopin (Clonazepam) is a prescription medication (benzodiazepine) used to treat anxiety, panic disorders, and certain types of seizures. It acts on the brain to produce a calming effect. Use only as directed due to risk of dependence. Do not stop suddenly, as this may cause withdrawal symptoms or seizure recurrence.
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One of the biggest benefits of Klonopin is that it is one of the longer lasting drugs in the benzodiazepine class. Commonly, doctors prescribe Klonopin as a way to treat panic disorder, agoraphobia, and seizures. This oral tablet contains the active drug clonazepam.
The FDA approved it to treat seizures for adults and children and was designed to treat atonic seizures, myoclonic seizures, and certain types of absence seizures.
They received approval to treat panic disorder as well for adults. Still, they primarily use Klonopin to treat seizures. The government treats Klonopin as a controlled substance because of the potential for misuse, addiction, and abuse.
The FDA classifies it as a Schedule IV drug, which means that while it does have acceptable medical applications, it still comes with some level of risk.
Medical experts don’t know exactly how Klonopin works to stabilize the mood or reduce seizures. However, they believe that it has to do with helping the activity of the GABA neurotransmitters.
The drug is believed to produce a trancelike effect that reduces the abnormal electrical activity within the brain. Klonopin helps to calm and sedate you.
The one thing to beware of with it is that it can cause physical and psychological dependence. In some cases, people have gotten addicted to this drug with as few as two weeks of use.
When your doctor prescribes Klonopin, they will most likely give you a small dose of it to start. Doing it this way, they can monitor the side effects to avoid the most dangerous ones. This especially becomes true of people 65 and older since the side effects for those over 65 can be more severe.
For panic disorder, you will usually take 0.25 mg twice daily. If the panic disorder still feels out of control after 3 days, your doctor may increase the daily dosage to 0.50 mg twice a day.
Most people will find that they can control their panic disorder with that dosage. In some cases, a doctor may adjust it until they find what works best. The maximum daily dosage for panic disorders is 4 mg daily.
For seizures, your doctor will start you off at 0.50 mg of Klonopin at 3 times per day. The maximum daily dosage for a seizure disorder is 20 mg divided throughout the day with the goal of making the seizures well managed. Follow your doctor’s directions on how many hours in between each dose.
Klonopin is also used to treat children who have seizures. The dosage depends on their age and weight. For children 11 to 17 years old, they will receive the same dosage as adults.
Children 10 years and under weighing 66 pounds or less will receive a starting dosage between 0.01 mg to 0.03 mg for every 2.2 pounds. Consult with your child’s doctor to get the right dosage. They may continue to adjust the dosage until they see that it manages the seizures.
Despite its approval for seizures in children, the FDA did not approve it for use of panic disorder in children.
With some drugs, you need to exercise caution because they weren’t meant for long-term usage, and they lead to serious side effects. You can take Klonopin long term, but there are risks of addictions and dependence on the drug.
Some have also reported the drug as increasing the risk of Alzheimer’s later in life with some studies suggesting the risk increasing as much as 51%. To reduce the risk, some people will take a lower dosage when they use it over the long term especially in cases where they use it to treat seizures.
Some researchers also question the effectiveness of long-term use, and no one has studied Klonopin for longer than 9 weeks of usage.
Klonopin has a few dangerous side effects that you may want to know about. The more common side effects that you can encounter include:
Some side effects may require medical attention. Tell your doctor if you notice any of the following side effects:
Seek immediate medical attention if you feel like you’re struggling for breath.
Klonopin is a drug known as an antiepileptic or an anticonvulsant drug. Talk to your doctor if you take any other medications, and you will want to speak to them about your medical history as well to ensure that Klonopin is right for you.
In some cases, Klonopin can lead to life-threatening breathing problems, coma or sedation when mixed with the wrong medications. They sell this drug as Klonopin or Rivotril. An estimated 3.4 million people suffer from seizures across the US with 470,000 of them being children, according to the CDC.
