Clonazepam Side Effects

My doctor prescribed clonazepam for me when I told her that I have trouble falling asleep at night because my legs hurt so bad. She told me that this should help me get to sleep and also take care of some of the pain so that I could get to sleep more naturally on my own. She told me to take one to two 0.5 mg tablets at bedtime. I started off by taking just one tablet to see if it would help. I did that for about a week. It helped a little bit but not that much so I decided to try to take two tablets at bedtime.

I had no problem falling asleep that night. The two tablets put me to sleep a lot faster than I would have been able to on my own and my legs did not hurt nearly as bad as they normally do. The next morning I was so tired I did not want to get up. I had trouble the next night deciding if it was worth it to take two tablets. I ended up taking two tablets again that night and the same thing happened. After that I went back to taking only one before I went to bed. Now, I rarely take the clonazepam because just taking the one tablet barely makes a difference in my pain or sleep and it's not worth it to feel like I did in the mornings after I took two the night before.

To make the side effect of drowsiness better, you could try taking the tablet(s) a couple hours before you go to bed or decreasing your dose (with your doctor's permission). You could also try just taking it at night instead of during the day.

Some other side effects of clonazepam are clumsiness, dizziness, and slurred speech. I did not have any of those when I was taking it, but they are some known side effects that people can have or have had.

All of the comments from people who have taken this drug have mentioned something about the drug being extremely addictive. One person even referred to trying to get off of it harder than quitting smoking. I have tried to quit smoking myself, so I know how hard this is. I have made the decision after reading that comment that I will no longer take it and I will be throwing that bottle away tonight!