I have been separately diagnosed with OCD, depression and anxiety. I've been under alot of stress recently, and yesterday I had what I can only think was my first anxiety/panic attack. My doctor put me on Klonopin for my anxiety and future attacks. During ou visit I was so concerned bout the attack I forgot to mention my OCD has recently got worse again as well. I know they all pretty much coincide with eachother however, I'm concerned how the Klonopin will affect my OCD and depression or will it help in addition to the anxiety?
Does Klonopin treat OCD and depression as well as anxiety?
Question posted by sabrinajazz on 6 Oct 2010
Last updated on 1 August 2020 by Vanillavirtue
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5 Answers
Vanillavirtue
1 Aug 2020
I’m sure you have gotten enough responses by now, but Klonopin is usually taken as needed and not daily. People who have depression take meds daily. The reason why klonopin is taken as needed and not daily is because, it’s best to skip several days when taking klonopin so your body won’t get adjusted to it, and prevent having to take several milligrams to feel the affects. Klonopin can help with an anxious mood or feeling blue. I sometimes take klonopin around my menstrual cycle time to keep calm and to help relieve moodiness around my cycle time. I don’t have depression, but sometimes during a menstrual cycle moodiness can happen and klonopin does smooth and balance that out.
Inactive
6 Oct 2010
Hello Sabrina and everyone else,
Well, I guess by now you know about klonopin.
For OCD you should ask your doctor about selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs--- antidepressants in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, and some personality disorders) such as Paxil (paroxetine), Zoloft (sertraline),Prozac (fluoxetine), Lexapro (escitalopram).
Ask your doctor about Prozac ( fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxitine) and Zoloft (sertraline) the benefits of these drugs is that they treat OCD and depression at the same time among other, let us say conditions such as panic disorders, etc...
As you have not mentioned what type of depression you have e.g. (manic depression(bipolar disorder) , clinical or major depression, endogenous... just to name a few) it is hard to advice you which medication to take if you have not been properly diagnosed yet.
Going back to prozac, paxil or zoloft, I, from my own personal experience , believe them to be a good alternative, the reason is very simple ... you take less chemicals,less side effects and less drug interactions because they do treat OCD and depression as I previously mentioned, depending on what type of depression you have. Combined with klonopin.
I am 42 male, manic depressive or bipolar as it is called now, suffer from ocd, ptsd, anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia.
I have been on medications half my life, and I am only speaking out of my experiences with medications, and have come to learn , that the less chemicals one takes the better off one is. Of course if your psychiatrist believes that you need more than two medications for your own benefit well, it must be done.I am not a doctor nor pretend to be one at all.
All I have mentioned with regards to the possible medications you may take for your OCD and depression, you must discuss it with your doctor.
Do make a list of questions when you go next time so you do not forget to inform yourself in the best way possible (benefits, risks, interactions, alternatives if medications prescribed do not work well on you... we all react in different ways to the medications what might be good for me may not be for you).
All the best and take care.
Springer10
7 Oct 2010
Hello, Sabrina, maso4169 knows this stuff very well. I have taken many great instances of solid advice from maso. Taking as few meds as possible is definitely the best way, but I understand that there are times when that is not feasable.
The SSRI's are a godsend to many and well worth investigating those options for OCD, depression & a good deal more disorders. If you decide to try the SSRI's don't get disheartened if one or several fail to work. They are a blessing but it can take time & patience to tweak the correct dosage and finding the right anti-depressant that works for you.
Good luck ,don't give up & a new world can open up for you.
Inactive
7 Oct 2010
Very well put springer.-
booter46
9 Oct 2010
Springer10 you are a great man and maso you are too. Great answer and comment.
brian8874
6 April 2011
every person is different paxil made me nod all the time had to come off it you have to find something that works for you keep in touch with ur doctor about how u feel on them. i have 4 boys and sleeping all day will no benefit me i take celexa or zoloft works with wellbutrin plus klonoping for anxiety. I have clinical depression and anxiety
dawnsonlyemail
6 Oct 2010
Klonopin is better than Valium. Klonopin stays in your body longer than other types of that medicine. I use to take it for a Panic Disorder and it was a godsend. It isn't for OCD, but it can relax you and easier to breathe with it.
Rajive Goel
6 Oct 2010
Klonopin is part of a group of medications called benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines have various effects on the body, including:
Reducing anxiety; Causing sleepiness; Relaxing muscles; Stopping seizures; Impairing short-term memory.
All benzodiazepines can have these effects to some degree, depending on the specific benzodiazepine that is being taken. They work in the brain by enhancing the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a brain chemical that is naturally calming. GABA can slow down or stop certain nerve signals in the brain. This is why Klonopin and other benzodiazepines are known as mild tranquilizers, sedatives, or central nervous system depressants (CNS depressants).
For more details it recommended that you talk to the doctor who prescribed the med, take care, be well & safe!
sabrinajazz
6 Oct 2010
thank u
Rajive Goel
6 Oct 2010
Pleasure
rawboots
6 Oct 2010
Hi sabrinajazz,
Im currently on the klonopin for my panic/anxiety attacks. It treats only the anxiety. Not the depression or the OCD. Ive been diagnosed with a slight mood disorder as my therapist calls it. I take bupropion (wellbutrin) for the depression, zoloft for the OCD and the klonopin as i said. I had my first anxiety attack about a month ago. It was scary and I had no clue what to do. I immediately got onto this site and amazingly someone answered right back. Anxiety attacks are no game. Im sorry you had to go through that. May I ask , Are you on any meds for the depression and OCD ?
hit me back. Rawboots
sabrinajazz
6 Oct 2010
Thank u, it was very scary. No I'm currently not... got off all my medication about 2 yrs ago and was doing very good up until 6 months ago. Uncontrollable life events just kept happening one right after another rapidly making everything worse again. Had been meaning to go to the doctor about it, had just been to busy. Before I knew it, I was to busy with trying not to have what felt like a total meltdown I couldnt stop! It was awful... but thank u so much for your help, I'm definately going to be making another appt first thing tomarrow. Take care
brian8874
6 April 2011
yes klonopin for the anxiety hun. im on celexa and wellbutrin for depression I also have chronic back pain so I am on pain medication. depression anxiety and pain equals not a happy individual lol.. hang in there im here if you need to talk .. ocd no that wont help but it will calm u down wont help directly but will help u chill a bit. I dont get how some people get high from it I have been on xanax and klonopin for years but i guess people with no anxiety it gets them high or something beats me.
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