Klonopin and Drowsiness: What Users Say

• Hop...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 6, 2018

For Panic Disorder "I started taking this medication due to having all sorts of problems with anxiety. I had agoraphobia, panic attacks, and the whole bit. I began taking this medication, and it was a lifesaver for me. I use this medication responsibly, but even though I use it exactly as prescribed, there’s always this doctor who comes along who wants to take me off of it and have me take 3,600 mg of Gabapentin instead and put me to sleep. For some reason, Klonopin doesn’t put me to sleep, but it does calm all the anxiety, making life livable... Always trust your doctor, but you are always the best decider on what works for you."

• Gli...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 1, 2016

For Anxiety "I have tried every medication under the sun for anxiety! I was born anxious, I have always said. My doctor put me on Klonopin as more of a long-term anxiety medication in her mind. It was such a miracle for me. I was prescribed 1mg x 2 at night, if needed for anxiety and insomnia, at the time of my divorce. I found I was able to wake up the next day without feeling groggy if I had taken it the night before. When the panic and anxiety set in, it allowed me to calm down and get through the hardest moments. I only take it once in a while these days, but it truly helped me."

• D-m...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 26, 2012

For Anxiety "I was initially prescribed Klonopin (Clonazepam) for generalized anxiety disorder. It works very well, not quite as quick as Xanax, however, it is well worth the wait. I also have panic disorder. It prevents them from happening in the first place. I developed a tolerance to the sedative effect after a month or two. Two years strong. I take 1-8 mgs a day. Use it sparingly. It has a long half-life and stays in your body longer than alprazolam. I feel like Xanax lasts a few hours, then rebounds."

• Tif...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 1, 2021

For Panic Disorder "I am a 26-year-old woman who has been struggling with panic disorder and social anxiety. I have been on Klonopin (1 mg 3x a day) for about a year. This medication really does help me calm down my nerves. Unlike other benzos I have tried in the past, it does not make me as tired. Lately, it has been making me a bit more drowsy than usual, and I think the only reason I’m feeling that as a side effect is because I’ve been losing weight and I am on other antidepressants. I plan to talk to my doctor about lowering my dose a bit, but otherwise this is a great medication to manage my anxiety!"

• ana...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 19, 2013

For Bipolar Disorder "Helps balance antidepressants with sleeplessness and twitching and stuff. Helps me calm down, take the edge off the other medicines. This is not to be used by itself for bipolar disorder. It's used in combination, so don't take Klonopin and think it's going to help you that much. It works best with other medications."

• Pil...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 30, 2012

For Insomnia "I have severe and chronic insomnia that has caused me little (if any) sleep per night, leading to confusion and irritability in the morning, leading to delirium, if prolonged exposure to sleep deprivation was to happen to me. My doctor first prescribed me Seroquel (quetiapine) for my insomnia, which worked a little bit TOO well, as it was too heavily sedating, and left me with too many 'morning-after' effects. At my doctor's reluctance (due to substance abuse history in not me, but my family) I was given a prescription to a starting dose of 1 mg a night of Klonopin. This was amazing. As opposed to being forced to sleep by Seroquel, Klonopin lulled me to sleep. It's a wonderful medicine."

• Ash...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 4, 2025

For Panic Disorder "I have suffered with anxiety, OCD, and panic for most of my adult life. Klonopin definitely helps bring my anxiety and panic way down so I can think clearly, it helps my thoughts not race without making me super drowsy, but it will help me sleep if I take it at night. I recommend this for anyone with panic or extreme anxiety who needs to bring it down. It also helps very quickly :)"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 26, 2021

For Panic Disorder "When I developed severe panic disorder, I tried Ativan. However, because my brain could feel when the medication took effect, it made me panic more. Klonopin was a lifesaver! You don't notice it taking effect until it's already working, and it was amazing! I took it daily for several months and then was able to just take it when needed. I wish this medication was not addictive because I could have benefited from it longer on a daily basis. But to be safe, I slowly dropped down frequency over 6 months. I had no issues with drowsiness or impairment. I took it while I was on Lexapro, and I still carry it with me just in case, but my panic disorder has subsided to almost none."

• fra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 24, 2015

For Anxiety "I'm taking this in combination with Zoloft. I take 0.25 mg of Klonopin (half a pill) twice a day. It's a very low dose, but in combination with the Zoloft has been effective at managing my anxiety. I was originally taking 0.5 twice a day, but that was making me too drowsy to concentrate on work. Overall, this is a great med for anxiety, especially when waiting for an SSRI to start working."

• CPe...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 6, 2013

For Anxiety "Klonopin has been instrumental in getting my anxiety disorder under control. I take 0.25 milligrams three times a day. Taking 0.5mg at once is too much and causes me to be a space cadet. It doesn't work as well on my rare panic attacks, but I have found other ways to cope with breathing exercises and such. Without it, I was nearly non-functioning and about to slip into a deep depression. It has leveled my mood swings and just made life much more bearable (even joyful!). I would much rather have dependency on this medicine and be happy than feel that I am constantly in crisis (and occasionally suicidal)."

• Dai...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 9, 2020

For Panic Disorder "I took Klonopin for the first time because I had a panic attack while driving on the highway. My emergency room physician prescribed me 0.5 mg prn as needed. I read some of the reviews before I took the medication. There were more negative comments than positive. So I broke the pill in half and took 0.25 mg because I didn’t know how the medication would make me feel. After I took the medication, 30 minutes later, I began to feel a warm sensation through my body. I started shaking, I was nauseated for 7 hours. Then throughout the day, I felt sedated for 2 days. During this time, I was at work and couldn’t function like I wanted to, so I had to leave my job because I didn’t feel safe at work and I couldn’t stay awake. This medication didn’t work until 8 hours later, I felt normal, back to the old me. After I took that one dose, I started having withdrawal symptoms and anxiety. I felt horrible. Please stay away from this drug."

• Ran...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 16, 2020

For Panic Disorder "Klonopin was a great medication. I was crazy anxious and couldn't sleep at night at all. I would stay up and just read or cry with my dogs. I was also terribly anxious and depressed. Whenever my doc recommended Klonopin, I was eager to try it. I was on it only for a month though, just so I could get back on my sleeping patterns. It helped my sleep and anxiety so much! I was so thankful for Klonopin. The only reason I stopped taking it was because my sleep was once again regulated and the med caused severe drowsiness. But other than the drowsiness, it worked just fine!"

• Mis...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 31, 2017

For Bipolar Disorder "When a person has mental symptoms, they're supposed to have a medical workup always. The reason is that many medical conditions mimic mental illness until treated. Then zero symptoms forever (mentally). If a person has myxedema (severe hypothyroidism), gets misdiagnosed as mentally ill (schizophrenia, bipolar, delusional disorder, depression, anxiety ... all common misdiagnoses in thyroid disease), Klonopin can induce coma. This happened to me, and then they realized I was not mentally ill. Had no symptoms since healing from this dreadfully dangerous drug. Read 'Physical Illness Presenting as Psychiatric Disease' before taking any psych drug. Any sedative, hypnotic, even Advil, can cause myxedema coma 40% chance death. See iatrogenic coma & other articles."

• SES...
• August 23, 2017

For Panic Disorder "Although this drug can help with panic attacks/anxiety, it is extremely dangerous and is for SHORT TIME USE ONLY. I have recently stopped taking it (I took it for 5 years) and have gone through the worst withdrawal, both mentally and physically. Using it long-term can lead to dependence and even addiction. It also prevents you from truly living your life because you just go through the motions in a daze and do not learn valuable anxiety/depression coping skills. The moment you are without it, your world comes crashing down. I had severe physical pain (vomiting, muscle aches, fever, sleeplessness, headache) and suicidal thoughts. Use it ONLY when necessary and for a short time. Please be careful and learn about your medications before you start them."

• Tes...
• April 30, 2017

For Panic Disorder "Have been taking Klonopin for nearly 20 years. At one point, my doctor was prescribing 3 mg per day. The past couple of years, I've been taking 0.25 mg (1/4 mg) per day. It has been very helpful in preventing panic attacks and reducing my anxiety in general. My only side effect has been mild drowsiness. My doctor has tried to help me go off this medication completely on two occasions. The first time, I developed muscle spasms throughout my body, including rapid heartbeat. The second time, I became unable to sleep, and anxiety attacks resumed. Both times, my dosage was decreased gradually over a period of 2 to 3 months after I'd been taking 1 mg per day. Since then, when my doctor suggested trying to wean me off it again, I reminded him of the prior problems."

• CW2...
• April 25, 2017

For Panic Disorder "I was prescribed Klonopin for my sleeping anxiety. I just have a fear, I guess you would call it, of going to sleep. My mind constantly races over really bad things and keeps me up all night. I can't fall asleep until I'm extremely drowsy. However, this is an anxiety medication, so would I be okay to take during the day at work to calm my anxiety, or will it knock me out like it does at night? Just curious that maybe since I have the mentality that I'm going to bed soon is why it makes me so drowsy as opposed to being up and busy at work. I get overwhelmed with anxiety at work sometimes and have nothing to help with it."

• bul...
• July 10, 2016

For Anxiety "I am a middle-aged man who has had anxiety my whole life. In addition, I have a very stressful job. About three years ago, my wife convinced me to see a doctor. I had never taken any sort of anti-anxiety medication previously. The doctor prescribed Klonopin but was very adamant about taking it only as needed. The prescription says 1 mg, twice a day. But I only take, on average, two pills a week when I'm really stressed. As many people here have said, it started out great, then faded with time. Although it definitely helps, it's not pleasant. It's almost as if it makes me so sleepy I'm too tired to be stressed. Two years ago, I would have given it a 9. I still recommend it. Other than sleepiness, I have no other adverse effects."

• kim...
• June 21, 2016

For Seizure Prevention "Sleepiness, memory loss."

• Jac...
• November 8, 2015

For Bipolar Disorder "I was diagnosed at the age of 15 with bipolar. I really never understood why that was my diagnosis. Maybe because of my horrible depressions at a very young age and, well, having to go through a lot very early in life might have been the cause of that. I suffered a lot from anxiety or panic attacks, and I must say that Klonopin has been the best drug I have ever had, even better than Xanax. It relaxes me instead of that sedation feeling Xanax used to give me and also lasts longer. I can now sleep better as well. So, in conclusion, Klonopin is amazing and way better than Xanax, and of course, this is to my opinion."

• Ano...
• March 26, 2015

For Anxiety "This medicine helped with my anxiety a lot. I tend to get very anxious during the night, and it can keep me up at times. I'm on 0.5 mg, and it works great! I finally get to sleep and not constantly worry about things. Although one downside is when I wake up. I still feel sedated and tired for about 3 hours, but overall a very good medicine."

• Eri...
• October 29, 2014

For Anxiety "Made me extremely sleepy/drowsy and didn't really feel a difference in my anxiety. Still searching."

• Joh...
• March 21, 2014

For Anxiety "Klonopin has been a wonderful medication for me. I'm a young male who gets social anxiety and overall anxious feelings about situational matters that I just couldn't stop. Well, I take 0.5 mg of Klonopin once daily and haven't had a hint of social nor general anxiety since. I can now focus on school, interact with others with confidence, sleep well at night, and enjoy my life again. The medication gives you a steady sense of calm and tranquility without making you feel sedated (at least it does for me), and its effects last between 6-8 hours! Xanax worked as well, but it made me too sedated to adequately perform my daily schedules, plus didn't last as long."

• Ano...
• November 26, 2013

For Anxiety "I take 2mg Klonopin 4-5 times daily along with Adderall XR 20mg 2 each morning. The combination of the two works great. I suffer from Bipolar disorder, Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and ADHD. I would get so bad I would lock myself in my room at home and cry, afraid to speak to people, just full-blown terrible anxiety. Klonopin is very effective if taken properly. It's a miracle medicine. I used to just be on Xanax 1mg 5 times daily, and it started making me angry and aggressive. Some people react differently to medications. Klonopin controls my mood, stops the worst anxiety you ever experienced in its tracks. Wonderful medication with just drowsiness as a side effect."

• swe...
• September 29, 2013

For Bipolar Disorder "I started taking Klonopin recently, and I'm mixing it with Viibryd and Lamictal. It helps so much. At night, it takes the edge off. I take 0.5mg, sometimes 1mg, to help me out more. I haven't had as bad of racing thoughts while I'm trying to fall asleep, and I end up sleeping like a baby. The after-effects are a little bit of grogginess but it's worth it. The only thing that bothers me is that I feel like smoking cigarettes after I take it. Overall, it's great and stops the mania as well as depression."

• Chr...
• June 2, 2013

For Anxiety "This has single-handedly eradicated my free-floating anxiety/stress issues. I have experienced occasional fatigue/sleepiness as the sole side effect. I'm able to function without worry and anxiety about anything. I was wary about trying it but it has been a godsend. I have not taken it for any other purposes other than to rid unwanted anxiety and would recommend to anyone suffering with anxiety issues."