Has anyone tried Klonopin as a primary defence? I finally broke down on my anti-medication stance and tried a Klonopin last night, It decreased my pain a little last night (maybe from a 10 to an 8), but this morning, back to normal (normal as in pain is a 10). My question is: Is this one of those meds that has to build up in your system, should I continue to use it, or should I chalk this one off to a failure and start on the Neurontin. My MD has given me choices and prescribed accordingly. I am trying one med at a time to see what works for me. He also gave me a compounded cream which I have yet to try, anyone have luck with the creams? I know lots of questions, but I appreciate any feed back, as I am kind of new to this.
Also as advice to anyone else who is new, or unsatisfied with their trreatment. When I saw my MD yesterday, I had to tell him what I wanted, and make suggestions to him, which he was open to. This is unchartered territory for many doctors and we as patients have to be our own advocates!
It's taken a lot of research on my part, because it would be rare for a doctor to research that much for just one patient!
Doing your own self education on TN is the ONLY way to go. I have followed the same path with this site and with the book "Striking Back" by Dr. Ken Casey-- he is the one who eventually did my MVD -- the book covers natural methods, pills, procedures, etc.
Knowing what I know now, one pill will not be a sufficient test. I'm not sure what dosing - but usually more than one pill per day. Many will disagree with me because of addictive properties, but I would keep trying the Klonopin first as far as pills. If you can get used to driving on it, etc. I've taken it every night for restless legs, and sometimes anxiety for years - low dose.
If you have topical - use it as much as needed - I use a cream and a patch intermittently. It helps fill in the gaps where meds can't. I like patch better because it gives more med.
Neurontin is good for Type I and better perhaps for type II - as trileptal is #1 agent for Type 1.
These meds have way more side effects than the K --
ANY questions about med specifics -- call pharmacist -- FREE - advise - they are the Med Guru's !
Although used as an "adjunct" medication in specific types of seizure disorder, Klonopin is a benzodiazepine primarily used in social anxiety and panic disorder, Catherine. It does have dependency potential and may cause withdrawal symptoms when you taper down from more sustained doses. I would suggest that you look it up on rxlist.com or drugs.com. I am not personally aware of what dose levels are recommended for the off-label use of this medication in moderating pain.
It's not a med that has to build up in your system, it works within an hour of taking it. It's "as needed." I would never take it as my primary med, but I do find it helps with the burning pain. Also, if it keeps me calms, my nerves are a little calmer too, which helps the pain. I don't care at all if it's addictive. What isn't?
If it helps, use it.
And definitely try the compound cream. It might be just what you need.
Thank you all for your comments, they have been helpful. I think I'll give it one more day and if it doesn't work I will switch to the Neurontin. I took it last night and felt wiped out all day, so what ever else they are offering is hopefully not this bad. Or is it...
Yes Nir Morita, Klonopin(clonazepam) is the same a Clonex (Rivotril). My goal is pain free, I can worry about addiction later. I actually quit taking my xanax (alprazolam) to take the Klonopin, I have had anxiety issues for 11 years know, so I am hoping to kill 2 birds with one stone. I can say I'm not as bad today, for some reason i'm bad in the morning and at night, but during the day it seems to be more tolerable.
Catherine, my doctor and his colleague prescribed clonazepam for me a few months ago. When he was answering my questions about this medication, he told me that it is an anti-seizure med that is most commonly used for treating anxiety and panic attacks and then said specifically "we are not treating you for anxiety" but that the goal was to try to get the burning pain that I was experiencing under control. When I got home, I came to this site and did some research. After I learned here that clonazepam is not typically prescribed for treating TN (or ATN, in my case), I did not expect it to be very effective. That said, I decided that I would give it a fair chance because I trust my doctor and value his opinion as someone who has a great deal of experience in treating orofacial pain. When I first started taking it I was uncoordinated and exhausted, but within a few days, this dissipated. More importantly, the horrendous attacks I had been experiencing stopped almost immediately. After taking it twice a day for a few weeks, my pain levels dropped overall. I still have some level of daily pain, but it is tolerable, and I even have blocks of time where I don't notice it at all. Clonazepam does make me feel tired sometimes and I have occasional dry mouth, but I generally feel "normal" on this medication. For whatever reason, this med seems to be a good fit for me and it is the only one I need to take at this point in time. This is only my personal experience. I am not a medical professional nor am I advocating for this med. Just because it works for me, that doesn't mean it will have the same effect on other people. There are some people here who have had a unpleasant experience with it, so, as with any treatment, it pays to do your research and proceed with a reasonable amount of caution.
Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions. I'd be happy to help however I can.
Take care, Chris
ps. There was another thread about this med a while back in case you are interested in checking it out:
Red what do you recommed to take along with your main med like i'm on Gabpentin 400 mg a day....i really don't like the benzo either.....
Richard A. "Red" Lawhern said:
Although used as an "adjunct" medication in specific types of seizure disorder, Klonopin is a benzodiazepine primarily used in social anxiety and panic disorder, Catherine. It does have dependency potential and may cause withdrawal symptoms when you taper down from more sustained doses. I would suggest that you look it up on rxlist.com or drugs.com. I am not personally aware of what dose levels are recommended for the off-label use of this medication in moderating pain.
Guys, let's be sure you understand my qualifications and or lack thereof. I can tell you what common medication practice is from having researched literature and talked to many patients. But I am not medically qualified to "recommend" a medication.
In this context, I can inform you Donna, that 400 mg of Gabapentin per day is below the range commonly identified as therapeutic in trigeminal neuropathic pain and neuralgia. The mainstream "primary" meds for TN that seem to be the most often prescribed are Tegretol, Trileptol (Oxcarbamzepine), and Neurontin. When your TN is Type II (Atypical), many neurologists treat for neuropathic pain, commonly using drugs in the class of tricyclic antidepressants, which have a cross-action on neuropathy. But there must be 15 or 20 medications that are used by some doctors in some patients either as the primary therapy or as boosters for a primary med. Chris K has just pointed out (for which "thanks", Chris) that Clonopin is sometimes used successfully in treating ATN pain -- and it's one of those 15 or 20 .
The recommendation here needs to be made by a licensed physician who has training and experience with chronic facial pain patients. I can't legally or ethically do more than refer you to authoritative literature sources as a check on such recommendations.
Thanks Chris, and Red for your comments. I was prescribed Clonopin 0.5mg at night and my Xanax 0.25mg for the day (I quit taking the xanax all together), so I only take the Clonopin at night. I did notice some improvement, for my Type 1, and was actually able to slowly eat some solid food (1/2 of a McDonald cheeseburger). But...I felt like a zombie all day long! I cut the dose back to 0.25 of the Clonopin to try and get more accustom to it, and then at that point maybe raise it back up to the 0.5mg, then maybe I can go up to twice a day. I still have to work, it is not an option, as I am the sole bread winner at this point in our lives. Due to the nature of my job, I have to be able to think clearly as lives literally depend on me! My dream is a med that stops this pain with no side effects. If anyone has tried the Clonopin, and feels that there is something out there that is more effective, with less side effects, I am open to opinions. Meanwhile I have started taking the Colloidal Silver spray, in case this is some sort of virus, I let you know if it works. Thanks for all your support, and I'm so glad that the Clonopin is working for you, I don't think I've given it a fair shot yet.
I have been on Klonopin for the last 2 years for pelvic pain. I think it kept the TN in check until recently. All I felt was a pressure in my cheek and thought it was an infection. When the pain finally reared it's ugly head and Klonopin was no longer helping. I was referred to a neurologist. I was finally diagnosed and am now taking trileptin. But I still am on the Klonopin for the pelvic pain. So I know it's great for some kinds of pain and although it can be addicting you can go off of it slowly when needed.
Catherine please be careful using colloidal silver. It can actually turn your skin gray permanently. I am not kidding about this. It is called argyria and can ruin your life. Please look it up.
Catherine said:
Thanks Chris, and Red for your comments. I was prescribed Clonopin 0.5mg at night and my Xanax 0.25mg for the day (I quit taking the xanax all together), so I only take the Clonopin at night. I did notice some improvement, for my Type 1, and was actually able to slowly eat some solid food (1/2 of a McDonald cheeseburger). But...I felt like a zombie all day long! I cut the dose back to 0.25 of the Clonopin to try and get more accustom to it, and then at that point maybe raise it back up to the 0.5mg, then maybe I can go up to twice a day. I still have to work, it is not an option, as I am the sole bread winner at this point in our lives. Due to the nature of my job, I have to be able to think clearly as lives literally depend on me! My dream is a med that stops this pain with no side effects. If anyone has tried the Clonopin, and feels that there is something out there that is more effective, with less side effects, I am open to opinions. Meanwhile I have started taking the Colloidal Silver spray, in case this is some sort of virus, I let you know if it works. Thanks for all your support, and I'm so glad that the Clonopin is working for you, I don't think I've given it a fair shot yet.