Drug Name | Doses | Per Item | Go Pharmacy |
Generic Klonopin (Clonazepam) | 2mg | $2.52 | Visit Pharmacy |
Klonopin – Antiepileptic Drug for Adults and ChildrenKlonopin eliminates anxiety syndromes and reduces skeletal muscle tension. It is used for epilepsy, paroxysmal fear syndrome, psychomotor agitation, etc. Find out here how to use it correctly.
Benzodiazepine tranquilizers are widely used today in psychiatry, neurology, general medical practice, etc. This is due to their high efficiency and safety, wide therapeutic index, ease and convenience of use, as well as the prevalence of comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders in neurological and general somatic practice.
Klonopin (Clonazepam) is one of the most common benzodiazepine tranquilizers. The mechanism of its action is closely related to the inhibitory endogenous neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and the GABA-A receptors through which it implements most of its effects in the nervous system. Like all benzodiazepines, Klonopin enhances the inhibitory effect of GABAergic neurons of the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, and other structures of the central nervous system (CNS). The clinical effect is manifested in a strong and long-lasting anticonvulsant effect. The drug has also anxiolytic, sedative, sedative, moderate hypnotic, as well as a moderate muscle relaxant effect. Klonopin is well absorbed from the digestive tract. Bioavailability when taken orally is 90%. The maximum concentration of the drug in the blood serum is observed 1-4 hours after administration. Clonazepam is 85% protein-bound. It passes through the blood-brain and placental barriers and also penetrates the mother's milk. The volume of distribution is 1.8-4.4 l/kg. The drug is metabolized in the liver to pharmacologically inactive metabolites. The half-life is 20-60 hours.
Indications for taking Klonopin: • Epilepsy in infants, preschool and school children; • Epilepsy in adults (mainly focal seizures); • Paroxysmal fear syndrome, a state of fear associated with phobias such as agoraphobia (adults only); • States of psychomotor agitation against the background of reactive psychoses. You can use Clonazepam as monotherapy or in combination with other medications for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, akinetic and myoclonic seizures. It is also effective in treating panic disorders, characterized by the spontaneous onset of panic attacks from several times a year to several times a day and the anticipation of their occurrence. Such disorders are usually accompanied by sudden palpitations, difficulty breathing, chest pain, nausea, dizziness, trembling, fever or chills, fear of going crazy, etc.
The main contraindications to the use of Klonopin include: • Hypersensitivity to benzodiazepine derivatives or any other components of the medicinal product; • Breathing disorders of central origin and severe states of respiratory failure regardless of the cause; • Sleep apnea syndrome, angle-closure glaucoma, impaired consciousness, myasthenia gravis, severe liver or kidney failure, alcohol poisoning, alcohol abuse, drug addiction. You should not start treatment if you have at least one of the above contraindications. It is better to consult a doctor and ask for help in choosing another, more appropriate medication.
Klonopin is intended for oral administration. The dose and duration of therapy usually depend on the nature, severity, and characteristics of the disease, the stability of the achieved therapeutic effect, and the drug tolerability. Patients should start treatment with the minimum effective dose, gradually increasing it until a therapeutic effect is obtained. If it is not possible to evenly divide the daily dose into doses taken throughout the day, the largest dose should be taken at bedtime. Therapy should be discontinued slowly with a gradual reduction in the daily dose.
The starting dose for adults is usually 1 mg per day. The dose must be increased by 0.5-1 mg every 3 days until the optimal effect is achieved. The maximum daily dose is 20 mg. The initial dose for infants and children aged 1 to 5 years is 0.25 mg/day, for children aged 6 years and older – 0.5 mg/day. The optimal maintenance dose is 2-4 mg per day.
Regular use of benzodiazepines or similar drugs, including Klonopin, over several weeks may reduce their effectiveness. The use of Klonopin can lead to the development of mental and physical drug dependence. The risk of developing dependence increases along with the dose and duration of treatment. Patients with epilepsy receiving long-term benzodiazepine treatment should avoid using Flumazenil. Although Flumazenil has little direct anticonvulsant activity, sudden suppression of the protective effect of a benzodiazepine agonist may lead to seizures in patients with epilepsy.
Klonopin may cause paradoxical reactions, including restlessness, agitation, irritability, aggressiveness, nightmares, insomnia, hallucinations, psychosis, and personality disorders. But negative reactions usually occur in those who misuse or abuse the drug.