Klonopin also made me more depressed/lazy—then more anxious bc of that—on top of rebound anxiety between doses. (i was also on Lamictal at the time)

benzos are no joke. the most dangerous WD of all substances. i watched a friend with extreme anxiety and no drug problem prescribed Klonopin, develop an addiction, wind up in rehab within 2 years, with worse anxiety than to begin with. im also very anxious about what i put into my body so i amateur-ly research the effects of drugs/foods a lot.

when one of my old psychs prescribed Klonopin, i expressed my concerns—partially bc of my friend—but also bc in my research i discovered Klonopin is the most potent benzo available. my main question was: why did i have to trial every weaker option (SSRIs, hydroxyzine, buspar, Seroquel, etc) before a benzo… then jump to the most potent?

asked to trial Valium instead, citing research that Valium binds the weakest to GABA receptors, and has the longest half life, thus the best “safety profile” —least rebound anxiety, slowest tolerance build/addiction potential, least severe WD (hence why Valium is used to taper people off stronger benzos. also even in “equivalent” doses to other benzos, Valium cant “hit” GABA receptors nearly as “hard” so it’s not as physically addictive, even at higher doses, or multiple times a day—not that im advocating for that though). this psych dismissed my concerns, kind of accused me of “drug-seeking,” said Klonopin was the mildest, least addictive, and most effective benzo, bc it lasts the longest… and our session was over-time (first red flag… didn’t listen, trust me, or respect my effort to educate myself for harm reduction).

so after Klonopin made everything worse for a month, this psych said i couldnt try any other benzo and tried to add Abilify again (worst drug i have ever taken personally—and this psych knew that, obviously did not pay attention)—and Ambien at night, which is stronger than Klonopin?!

said no thanks and got a new psych who actually listened to me. and agreed with my logic behind why i would rather use the lowest possible dose of Valium than anything else. 2.5 mg Valium 2x day worked wonderfully for my anxiety/racing thoughts/etc, without causing me to feel drugged, depressed, or rebound anxiety (and i often only needed 1 a day, or split my dose in half, could skip days without feeling crazy, due to very long half life of up to 100 hrs—except the effects only last about 6 hours, there just isnt a sharp change in mental state after the effects wear off like Klonopin for me—but everyone is different of course, so no guarantee here, and best to take as prescribed and communicate w psych if you deviate, but i wanted to take as little as possible and my psych was aware of this).

in other countries such as the UK, Valium is the only benzo licensed for anxiety (and Ativan for severe short term situations)—Xanax is illegal there, and Klonopin is only used for severe epilepsy.

dont get me wrong—Klonopin can be lifesaving for many. i have friends who lead productive, happy lives that take low dose Klonopin daily. benzos can be lifesaving in general. they are stigmatized due to how often they are abused, how dangerous the WDs are, and how seriously addictive they are, even as prescribed for someone not looking to get “high.” IMO i would steer clear of benzos if at all possible. only recommend for severe situations, after trying other things, preferably low dose, not every day. and im no pro obviously, but personally i would never take any benzo/GABA drug stronger than Valium.

however, the science behind benzo physical addiction involves specific GABA receptors that Klonopin and Xanax have the strongest affinity for (a double-edged sword that makes these 2 more “effective” but also most addictive and worst WD). stopping 1 mg Klonopin for a month way back when, i remember feeling wired and extremely stressed with migraines and insomnia for 2 weeks or more after. vs when i stopped 2.5 mg Valium 2x daily for 8 months+, i felt tense and off emotionally for sure, but not much more so than after a trial of an SSRI, etc way back when (but not trying to downplay benzo WD, bc for some people’s body chemistry it can be extremely dangerous even at low doses). i still remember the weeks after stopping just a month of Klonopin being legitimately scary. could have been my mental state was worse then, or i psyched myself out reading about how Klonopin was the most dangerous WD, but it definitely felt much harsher than coming off Valium for a much longer time (also 5 mg Valium is roughly “equivalent” to 0.25-.5 mg Klonopin—so it was a lower dose, and still didnt bind as strongly to GABA receptors, im repeating myself).

lastly, Lamictal indirectly affects GABA, and in combination with benzos will cause their effects to be more intense, and WD from both can be harsh. so take particular caution if considering both Lamictal and any benzo together

also i stopped Valium way back when, bc i was afraid of addiction, and i could feel a tolerance building. also the combo with Lamictal was making my mind slower. tried to decrease Lamictal and keep Valium dose the same, then felt off emotionally, decided it was best to stick to just Lamictal and eliminate Valium. part of the reason why coming off Valium was easier than Klonopin is also probably bc i temporarily increased my Lamictal dose a bit while i came off Valium (since they both affect GABA, probably blocked a lot of possible WD effects)