# Brain Fog: Those Who Have Recovered



## +[ thedeadpoet ]+ (Jul 23, 2006)

Over the past three months I've gradually transformed into a withdrawn, apathetic, stagnant zombie...devoid of all thought, reason, memory and inspiration...I cant *create* anymore. I cant collect information...

I've come to realise the sole reason for my brain fog and dp/dr is indeed anxiety, as I've altered my diet, taken vitiman supplements, insured at least 10-12 hours sleep, and still to no avail.

This is just a plea to those who have recovered from this life destroying condition to list the most effective anti-anxiety medications they've tried, because so far nothing has worked for me excuding Xanax which lost its effect after about two weeks.

So far Clonazepam looks good, but I'm sure my psychiatrist will come up with some reason not to prescribe it :roll:


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

Well i had pretty severe brain fog and clonazepam cleared it up. Even after 7 or 8 months of being on the drug its still working as good as it ever was.

I would see no reason why your shrink would not prescribe clonazepam especially if you got prescribed xanax before. But then again some shrinks are pretty goddamn weird.


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## +[ thedeadpoet ]+ (Jul 23, 2006)

Tell me about it. She completely blanked me today while I was waiting in the waiting room.

Anywho, I was right after all, which feels good in one sense because I can barely recall my own phone number these days and devestating in another because I'll be like this even longer.

But yeah, she claims they don't prescribe it because its addictive and although you'll feel fantastic for about 6-8 weeks, they have to continually up the dosage as its extremely easy to build up a tolerence to it. 
I said I honestly dont care if its addictive, I'm desperate and as of late becoming increasingly agoraphobic and even developing social phobias to which I get "Its not an option".

To be honest I couldnt grasp much of what was said because I was so muddled, but I remembered that part...just about :roll:

I'm even contemplating ordering them online...I know its not a very wise thing to do, but I've deteriorated so much within the past couple of months, that if it continues to worsen...I'll probably forget how to speak :shock:

Perhaps new doctor is in order...we'll see.


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

You got the old it's addictive so we dont prescribe it no matter how miserable you are routine. Ive gotten that alot with trying to get my chronic pain treated and it pisses me off to no end. It's addictive but so what if your life is crap and a drug can improve it who cares if you become dependant on it.

Clonazepam isint even really addictive in the traditional sense. Unlike narcotics benzodiazepines offer little in the way of euphoria. Your also much less likely to become addicted to clonazepam then xanax because you have to dose with xanax much more often. So i dont know what to think about that.

You can build a tolerance to clonazepam but it doesent stop working for most people. You usually build a tolerance to the sedating and the so called euphoric effects pretty fast but you wont build a tolerance to the anti-anxiety effects that fast.

You may have to up your dose afterawile but you wont just have to keep going up and up. Ive been taking clonazepam going on 8 months now and im only at 2mg's a day which is shag all. The maximum dose is 20mg's a day but ive never heard of anyone needing that much.

After taking it for awile you will become physically dependant on it so you have to becareful not to run out or you will get withdrawal symptoms. But the much beloved ssri's also produce dependance and withdrawal symptoms yet most docs hand them out like candy.

So i dont know really what you should do. You could go back and argue with your shrink and tell her how horrible your life is and that your willing to accept the risks of going on clonazepam. But if her mind is closed off to it you might just have to get another doctor.

I wouldnt advise getting them online thats very risky. Alot of sites selling benzodiazepines online are just scams and because you cant legally get benzos without a script you will have nooone to complain to if you get ripped off.


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## MarkR (Aug 11, 2006)

Yes, you might consider a new psychiatrist. One who doesn't rely on what medical organizations say about certain meds but what his or her own experience says. I have often brought up my concerns to my doc, about something I read somewhere, and he logically and intelligently dispells them as very infrequent. Remember here and in other publications we tend to hear the negative side of something more than we do the positive. Clonazepam for me has been a life saver. I am careful to not overuse it. I use the disolvable version so the reaction time is more than quick enough for me. I wait until I know I really need med help instead of me doing it alone.


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## bournemouth (Sep 12, 2005)

What kinda dose of Clonazepam are you guys on?


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## usedtobe (Sep 8, 2007)

just so you know, I don't think the above post is correct. 20mg of klonopin would put you in a coma and could kill you.

klonopin comes in .5mg 1mg and 2mg. Max dose is 4mg per day.

I am on .5 mg


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## Guest (Sep 13, 2007)

Perhaps you can reach that due to a strong tolerance of klonopin? I believe that?s what comfortably numb means.


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## Guest (Sep 13, 2007)

bournemouth said:


> What kinda dose of Clonazepam are you guys on?


I started on 1mg... but I started to feel my brain fog again... so I increased to 1.25mg... but again my brain fog returned... so now i'm on 1.50mg...

humm


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

usedtobe said:


> just so you know, I don't think the above post is correct. 20mg of klonopin would put you in a coma and could kill you.
> 
> klonopin comes in .5mg 1mg and 2mg. Max dose is 4mg per day.
> 
> I am on .5 mg


 Ah no it's correct. 20mg's is the max dose of clonazepam taken in a day but thats mostly for seizures or mania. 20mg's of clonazepam would not even come close to killing you or put you in a coma. You might stagger around like a drunk on payday for a day and a half or you might just go to sleep but it won't kill you.

Benzodiazepines especially the non hypnotic ones like clonazepam are basically non lethal unless combined with alcohol. The LD50 of clonazepam is somewhere around 4000mg's i think which would clear out an entire pharmacys stock.

As for what dose im on im on 6mg's of clonazepam now. I didnt get it upped to help with anxiety really just to help various chronic pain issues i have.


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## Guest (Sep 13, 2007)

comfortably numb said:


> Benzodiazepines especially the non hypnotic ones like clonazepam are basically non lethal unless combined with alcohol.


*Sips his Stella*... erm... how many of these is "kinda" safe... :roll: ? You know... beer helps ease the way of the world... "I need it"... lol.

Being stupid is good at times.... (few times thought... lol)


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## 17545 (Feb 14, 2007)

6


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

Emulated Puppet}eer said:


> *Sips his Stella*... erm... how many of these is "kinda" safe... :roll: ? You know... beer helps ease the way of the world... "I need it"... lol.
> 
> Being stupid is good at times.... (few times thought... lol)


 A couple of beers like 1 or 2 ain't gonna hurt you on the dose your taking. I don't know how well you can handle alcohol or clonazepam so i have no way of knowing what your tolerance is. You will get drunk faster while taking clonazepam though thats for certain and clonazepam is one of the worst benzos to mix with alcohol in my experience. The combo just makes you feel dumb.

On my one alcohol relapse i drank half a 26oz bottle of whiskey and a 6 pack of beer in about half an hour. I was on 6mg's of clonazepam a day at the time and not only did it not kill me but i didnt even pass out.

I have a inhumane tolerance to alcohol though (during my drinking days i could finish a 40oz bottle of rum or whatever and then go drink some more at a bar) and i have a naturally high tolerance to CNS depressants in general. So thats probley why i am still alive that much booze and benzos mixed together could very well kill you or put you into a coma.

So don't be stupid enough to do what i did for the love of god.


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## ghosting (Apr 4, 2007)

Wouldn't recommend it. Klonopin has helped my DP/DR significantly. I don't even take it every day, but it seems to smooth things out on a daily basis and helps me function like I used to. It also lightens my mood and relieves depression, which is great because I refuse to take SSRIs. I take .25MG every other day - a sliver of a dose, really, but I'm a small person who is a super sensitive to meds, so I try to take it easy. I'm not a heavy drinker, but I've altogether quit drinking now that I'm taking medication. I tried drinking a strong IPA (my favorite) once an hour after taking my .25MG of Klonopin, and I basically turned into a incoherent, giggly buffoon. It wasn't fun, because I prefer to be articulate and in control, and I just felt stupid. It made it difficult to form thoughts, which only served to elevate my anxiety. I couldn't remember much the next day.


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