I am 61 and just started clonazapam for GAD. I cannot take SSRIs, can't tolerate side effects. I managed to not need a benzo for 21 years by taking Buspar, but it is not strong enough for my recent problems. I have to be on something lifelong now to keep from relapsing. I am hoping to find members who are my age and need to be on clonazapam for life, as I feel alone in my age group. I do not have panic attacks, just GAD. I hope to live into my 90s and wonder if I can take this at that age? Hope so, I am very healthy otherwise and my mom is 91 and grandma died at 97. I really like the clonazapam and how it makes me feel, if I could just stop worrying about it. I would like only positive feedback as I don't want to add to my anxiety. Thank you for listening.
How many years have you been on Klonopin? Who is the oldest person you know taking Klonopin?
Question posted by iamalady on 22 July 2013
Last updated on 3 April 2025
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
208 Answers Page 12
I see this thread is still active. I have been tapering klonopin 1 mg for the past 2.5 years and am now taking .4 mg. It has been a horror show. Along the way I added remeron to help me sleep (it doesn't help with that anymore) and now use medical marijuana twice daily to deal with the 24/7 nausea I have been experiencing for eight months. I am also so depressed I have nearly checked myself into a hospital. I am so on the fence of what to do. The K at one milligram was no longer helping me sleep and was not helping me with anxiety. I would prefer to be off--worry about getting a prescription continuously. Yet I had some of the best years of my life while on this drug. I have no idea of what to do, keep going down, go up a little, a lot, I have no idea. Even my doctors that wanted me off now are recommending me to go back on because I am such a mess. There is so much pressure to get off.
Maybe it's the pressure that clon is bad that makes you feel it's not working, when maybe it is working but we worry so much about being on it that we actually feel sick from worrying. I'm a worrier. My husband has never read any side effects of the drugs he is on and he says I should stop worrying about clon and then it would work better. Withdrawal is real tho just the same. It is hard to taper. And SSRI's are just ashard to taper, but because it's not a controlled substance, no one makes a big deal about it. I've read plenty of those horror stories.
Glad you had those good years, that tells a lot that you made the right decision when you had to.
my guess is that your constant worry about getting a prescription probably had an effect. The fact that it worked for many years makes me think it is a good drug for you if doctors didn’t make it so difficult! Maybe you needed a slight increase at the time instead of changing to Remeron. Why do doctors always think antidepressants are superior to anti-anxiety meds? That bias hurts patients who have high cortisol levels but are not depressed ( in my opinion). I bet you’d feel better if you got back on the Klonopin and had a supportive doctor.
I went through a period of time where the K was not helping me sleep, too. I casually mentioned it to a nurse friend I know. She told me that for many people it DOES stop working only because they are so stressed about taking it. She told me to relax and quit worrying about taking it. She said she knows patients well into their 80s who have used it for sleep for more than 30 years with no problems at all. So, I decided to take her advice and see if she was right. Guess what... Within a few days, it started working again, just like she said. Great sleep and feel good!
I am 43 and have been on Klonopin for about 5 years now. I take 1-1.5 mg/day,
along with 150 mg/day of Zoloft, for anxiety, depression and panic attacks. I have been starting to worry about the side effects lately as I have felt overly tired and short of breath. I really try to focus on exercising and eating well, which has a very positive impact on my depression. I also have three kiddos (in middle and high school) that keep me extremely busy. Anyone else currently taking Klonopin with Zoloft? I plan to address my issues with my PCP at an appointment I have scheduled for a few weeks from now.
I’m 77. Been on K/5mg/day for 7 or 8 years. Take it before bed. Wake up a bit groggy. My cocktail for my bi-polar is Lamictal and Klonopin. They work ok. Keeps life fairly manageable.
Robfur, when I read answers like yours it makes me feel better about taking my klonopin at my age of 66. My cousin takes lamictal, she's 74. She also takes Lexapro and likes it, it made me nausea, but I only took it for 2 days, scared me. The anxiety thing again. Ugh.
I meant .5 of K, not 5.
Lamictal (lamatrogine) and Klonopin (clonazepam) are the only two psych drugs I've taken over 40 years that work immediately and effectively without obnoxious side effects. They are both extremely difficult to discontinue. Since there is no such thing as a 'happy pill' in life, occasionally I've tried to wean off both, thinking my mood might improve if I just get 'those awful meds' out of my system. The w/d effects have always been way too much for me to handle. So I just continue with them, occasionally adjusting the dosage, and try not to be concerned about what damage they might be doing. Many of my friends are dead. Why worry about the side effects of meds which are otherwise quite helpful? But I think most humans have a innate distrust of anything unnatural which we put in our systems, and hope to be able to get off them at some point.
I think this is unrealistic for many of us judging from the message board comments relating to certain psych drugs. Life is what happens while we are worrying about medicines we are taking. :)
Robfur, My husband is 74, a diabetic, many of his friends have died, actually just last month his bestie friend died of cancer, he has one good friend left who is in his early 80s and not well at all. I don't want to be sick with anxiety, so I keep taking my meds hoping to have as much quality time with my husband as possible. I joke I'll die first cause of my anxiety meds, he says no they will help me live longer. We'll see. I wish I could get them out of my system too, but I do good for several weeks while reducing and then either withdrawal starts or I just really need them. So I go back to my regular dose. Wish you best of luck. Hang in there with the rest of us ...
I’m going to add to my comment just to let you know more about my situation... years ago I started to have severe ocd/anxiety over sleep so I started on .5 klonopin which over the years was able to wean myself down to a quarter of .25 mg... I was on this for 7 years..I’m 39 now... I started to read how many ppl said this was the worse med to be on and things spiraled out of control for me... klonopin no longer worked... docs put me on 5 different SSRIs and that was a nightmare ... finally a doc told me to take .5 klonopin again and it worked ... but I still have this hidden fear of taking it... afraid to read horror stories... right now my anxiety is really crazy ... my 14 year old is now type 1 diabetes relaying on a pump to stay alive and my 13 year old was just diagnosed with Crohn’s disease ... it’s been rough but hearing positive stories makes me feel better about taking this medicine for a long time ... hoping it stays positive because when I’m having a bad day I like to read some of ya”ll stories
Nkcsweetie, I take .25 at 9am and ..25 at 4pm. I too agonize over taking Klonopin and I know it would work better if I did not do that. I'm sorry for your kids. My nephew has crohns disease, he does lead a fairly normal life with medication. Diabetes is scary, but they have new ways to treat it. I wish you the best and we need to stop reading the scary stories. I actually need to raise my Klonopin, but I keep putting it off as I'm afraid to. I've tried 3 antidepressants and Klonopin works best. I also take 30mg of buspar a day.
It’s hard not to stress about taking it.. when I was put on SSRIs the doctors kept telling me that benzos were not the answers, they said horrible things about them. My family doc put signs all over her office saying they DO NOT prescribe benzos that freaked me out!! well SSRIs made my anxiety 10 times worse! I managed to find a good doc about 1 1/2 hr drive and out of network
Thank goodness for docs who still believe in them. I have one of them, but my heart doc also will prescribe them. Im in Michigan
Hello, I am a 56 year-old male who has been taking clonazepam for 25 years. I take it responsibly and as recommended by my doctor. I intend to take it forever. It controls my panic disorder effectively and even the severest of anxiety. I don't have any cognitive difficulties with it that I am aware of... what I am certain is that my brain without it... in the throes of panic or severe anxiety... is being detrimentally impacted. Those unmanaged stress chemicals will wreak havoc on your brain. Unrestrained cortisol is pernicious. You will be fine if you stick to your doctor's recommendations and treat the drug responsibly.
Thanks clonazepam! That's another good way of looking at it.
I'm so sorry you feel alone in this as do I. I'm 40 years old and I started taking Klonopin about 13 years ago and I was told about 6-7 years ago it's not a long term med and I must of slipped thru the cracks and that at this point it would be deadly to ever come off. Right now I take 0.5mg three times daily for anxiety and maintenance dose. I've been on as much as 3mg three time daily. Every doctor I've spoken with since says the same thing. It's very discouraging to think you were over looked to the point you have to stay on this med.
I'm so sorry Wendy. But is the clonazepam generic still helping you. It sounds like you have come down a long way down in dose and if .5 t.i.d. is helping you that is a normal dose for anxiety. It's also possible that if you did go off successfully, your reason for going on might come back. I know I have been on it for 5 years and when I try to wean down I have my tackycardia symptoms act up. I have been offered a beta blocker for this instead of clonazepam, but at the time 5 years ago the beta blocker side effects scared me worse than the Klonopin. Beta blockers can change things in your heart. Five years ago my anxiety got worse after a painful shoulder injury which in turn set off the tachycardia which now would be chronic without some medication to block adrenaline. I was on buspar, but it was not strong enough
Klonopin does the trick. I did wean off 4 years ago for 4 months and felt great, but then one night when. I was very upset about something, no details, too long, I had a severe tachycardia and went to ER. So back on Klonopin til now and so glad it controls it. So what I'm trying to say is maybe you are better off on the medication especially if you had severe anxiety. I don't know your history, but my pharmacist said I would die from something else long before Klonopin would hurt me. It gets a bad reputation, but is it really even that worse than SSRI's or SNRI's, or Adderall, Lyrica, etc. Just want you to try and not feel so bad about being on it. It has saved many lives too. Bless you and please try not to worry...
I’m 65 and been taking clonazepam for about 6 years. I take .5x1 and a half or two. 3-5 nights a week on average as needed for sleep. I take an SSRI daily for general anxiety. I’ve had 0 side effects other than waking up a bit groggy.
We are about the same age now. I'm 66. We are on the same dose too pretty much. I won't add you as a friend as I've found it seems to scare people, but if you ever want to compare notes on Klonopin please add me as your friend and I will except.
I’ve been on and off klonopin for 10 years ... my biggest fear is staying on it but it’s the only thing that has works.. I take .5 at night.. nice to hear positive stories
I am 57 and took last dose early July after a six month tapering. Still dealing with withdraws. Worked good for 20 years but major issues the last 4 years. Never would have started had I known how it would affect me.
How much were you on? How long were you on it.
I'm 66, if I get 20 good years I'll be 86, sounds good to me. There are still people posting longer than 20 years doing well on it. Sorry you started having problems. Are you on other medications, or was it just Klonopin?
I am on Effexor but starting to wean off of that. I agree with you, if it works don’t mess with it. Best of luck!
It seems to be harder the longer and higher the dose is. Withdrawals are bad from 1 mg a day for 8 years and pure hell from 4 mg a day for 1 year.
Been on Klonopin for a while. Was taking daily now just a rescue med. I'm 33
I am a mere 55 years old but I have been taking Klonopin for 25 years with zero side effects. 4 mg per day and I will be taking it for the rest of my life. Assuming that I make it to my 90's I have been told that my dosage may need to be adjusted.
I'm almost 60, take it for nerve pain in a tooth. I'll be on it for life. I take .5 at night and many .5 daytime. I believe there are many worse drugs than Klonopin as long as we are not abusing it
Wow, I had this one tooth checked a lot, they kept saying it was okay and since being on Klonopin it quit hurting. I wonder if it was nerve pain. Another reason to stay on my Klonopin.
Do you have a doctor that will agree to keeping you on for life? Do you go to a psychiatrist or GO for them . Are you not afraid of some doctor wanting to reduce your does or trying to taper you right off them. They were acceptable meds in past years and now they are made out to be the devil incarnate. This trend frightens me after so many years of doctors telling me I needed them and that there would always be a doctor to take over ,,, this is not true anymore. Looking for feedback.
I'm 66 and have been on it 30+ years. I hate it. I've never abused it but think it's had bad effects on me.
Sorry it had bad effects on you. It blocks my tachycardia caused from anxiety, nothing else works. I'm thankful for it. Many people forums are on antidepressant's that stop working with terrible side effects and they say withdrawal is just as bad from them, so I figure I'm sticking with Klonopin. Hope you feel better...
I don't know the oldest but I am 55 and taking Klonopin for 25 years. 4 milligrams a day.
Thanks for your time to comment George! It helps us all who come back to read positive posts on Klonopin.
Don’t be afraid. Im 58 and have been on Clonazepam for 18 years for GAD. Down from 3 mg to .60 for the past year. I’ve tried everything else but this is what works. It’s been a life saver, but I can’t go any lower in dose or I literally go back to panic attacks and debilitating anxiety. There are so many mixed reviews in long term use, so I continue to cope the best I can and stay at the level I’m at.
Be well, and if that means a Benzo, then so be it.
Thanks Jon, it's great that you have been able to reduce and still it works for you.
I'm curious Jon how you break it to get .06mg. I'm at .05mg a day, but have days where I fight to keep it that low, as I feel extra stressed, and other days it works really great at that dose, so I don't raise it yet as I seem to be okay again once I get through the bad days.
I wrote that wrong. I'm on 0.5mg and I guess yours is 0.6mg?
Well it’s a battle the last few weeks at .60/.62. It was not to bad to taper from 3 - 2 mg. 2 - 1.5 was tougher. 5 years ago my wife couldn’t deal with me anymore (now divorced, it wasn’t all me. lol) so I decided to to drop to 1.0. 1.0 - .75 was a year in the making. 6 months to taper to .60.
I use a .50 pill. Cut for .25 at night, and .25 in the morning. I split the .25 in the morning so actually taking .35 - .37 mg’s in the morning.
It’s not an exact science but close. I don’t know what happened but I’m having a lot of trouble at .60 now. It’s been about a year. I cut my dose because I read too much. Benzobuddies scared me to death. Also I have a new girlfriend and I find staying under .75 does not affect my sex life. Don’t worry, you can laugh. I do as well but I’m totally serious.
Something tells me .75 would be better for me but I’m trying to tough it out.
My mother, brother, cousins are all on C. Nothing else had worked for any of us. My mom is now 86. She’s been on C since 40 yrs old. Maybe Valium originally. She has slight dementia now but had no symptoms until 83 so docs don’t believe the C was the cause.
I know I’m rambling but I haven’t been in this state in awhile. I guess I just had to get it out.
Thanks for listening.
Its good to let it out. The benzobuddies scared me too. I will be 67 in a couple of months. I've always been a nervous person but at 61 it got worse after a bad shoulder injury. Anxiety from that caused tachycardia. Well, my doctor wants me to up my dose of C from .5 to .75 to try. I've done good for 6 years on the lower dose, but sometimes with age you worry even more and I do have serious GAD. So one of these days I might just raise it and let come what may. Everyone of my friends are on antidepressants. I have cousins on C and other relation on antidepressants. It can run in families. This is a good place to tell your story if you want, glad you unloaded some. Good for you.
Thanks for your response. It was so hard to find a forum where people were living and adapting as well as possible while on Clonazepam.
The one thing this journey has taught me is “compassion” for others. I can live with that. I may not always be able to help myself but I’ve helped others over the years.
Be well!
Jon, may I ask how many mg of C your mom has been on through the years? Increases, decreases?Shes 86. My doctor wants me to increase my dose from 0.5 a day to .75
or higher if needed. My husband just diagnosed with cancer, my anxiety has gone up considerably and depression. He's actually taking the news well. I'm not. He will be starting chemo. I'm 66 now, I really need to relax and suddenly .5 is not working so well. Only answer if you want to. I always respect ones privacy. Thanks.
Jon, may I ask how many mg of C your mom has been on through the years? Increases, decreases?Shes 86. My doctor wants me to increase my dose from 0.5 a day to .75
or higher if needed. My husband just diagnosed with cancer, my anxiety has gone up considerably and depression. He's actually taking the news well. I'm not. He will be starting chemo. I'm 66 now, I really need to relax and suddenly .5 is not working so well. Only answer if you want to. I always respect ones privacy. Thanks.
I don’t mind answering at all. My mom had been on .50 mg’s until about 4 years ago when her anxiety got really bad due to illness. She’s on .75 mg’s.
I adjusted to .75 the last couple days. I’m feeling better but as usual doctor not happy. Wants me to go on a SSRI and get off benzo.
Odd after 18 yrs the C has decided not to work. I’m wondering if it’s due to extra stress or tolerance has finally set in?
I have friends in their 60’s who have been on C for over 10 yrs. Most of them at 1.0-2.0 mg. All are happy with the benzo. They tell me it’s better to feel better than to feel guilty and like crap due to a doctor. I agree.
Hi, may I ask what dose you take and if you have taken it every day for that long. I have to take mine every day, just increased to .75mg. I tried an antidepressant Lexapro for 2 days, got so sick I stopped and my doctor said increase your Klonopin just a little until your symptoms are back under control and that I do much better on Klonopin but she let me try Lexapro even tho she knows how sensitive I am to drugs and she was right, I could not take it. She's fine with me on Klonopin, thank goodness.
I’m 62
I’ve been taking Klonopin since I’m 35
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buspar, klonopin, anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, clonazepam, side effect
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