Lexapro, GAD, Klonopin...need opinions

Hi There,

Just looking for people's opinions/advice. Five years ago I had a pretty bad episode of 24/7 anxiety. Tried zoloft first and suffered for 2 months (did nothing to alleviate any of my symptoms), then a new psychiatrist tried me on Lexapro and it helped so much. I was able to come off ativan without experiencing withdrawals, and just solely rely on the Lexapro. Fast forward 4 years, I weaned myself off because I thought i was better! I survived for 1 year without the medication, and again in August of this year had a major meltdown (anxious all the time, 1-2 hours of sleep per night, depressed). Psych wanted me to try Prozac since she thought it was a better med for anxiety, and again I suffered for 6 weeks and she finally admitted it might have been "too activating" for someone with my amount of anxiety.

I now have have switched back to Lexapro (the generic) and have been on 20 mg for 4 weeks, and am feeling better. The catch though...i am still taking .75 mg of Klonopin for sleep. So i have a couple of questions because I don't feel like I get honest answers from my doctor.

1. I know Klonopin is long acting - but taking .75 at 10pm at night keeping me calm the entire next day as well? I know that's not too high of a dose, but I have been on it for exactly three months so I'm sure my body is used to it.

2. I have started a weaning process with my doctor - .75 one night, .5 the next night. It hasn't been perfect, but I am still feeling better than when I was on Prozac. I have noticed in the last two weeks that I have been doing this - the .5 nights aren't as great sleep wise, and during the day I get a little bit of anxiety, but it's manageable.

I'd really like to be off the Klonopin as soon as possible (for a health reason I'd prefer not to disclose) and let the Lexapro do its thing. I feel like it worked much faster last time, and I was able to come off the ativan quicker.

Any thoughts on weaning? Is .75mg really keeping me THAT calm throughout the next day or is Lexapro kicking in? I hate Klonopin and wish my doctor never put me on it.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Hi

First of I would like to welcome you to the forum you will find good support here.

When tapering of any medication it is best to be done really slowly over the course of a couple of weeks or even months depending on what medication you are stopping. It is import an to keep in close contact with your doctor during this process and report on withdrawal effects you may experience.

Lexapro is a good medication I am considering changing to it myself I was on it a few years ago and had great results with it I hope it works well for you.

Stay with us and keep posting.

Hibee