Klonopin is a brand name medication for clonazepam, useful in preventing and treating a panic disorder, seizures, and a movement disorder known as akathisia. The medicine is a tranquilizer that belongs to the class of benzodiazepine drugs. Klonopin is an oral medication whose effects begin within one administration hour and last six to twelve hours. Klonopin is a short-term use medication as dependence occurs in more than one-third of the people who use it for longer than four weeks. Clonazepam, the active ingredient of Klonopin, got patented in 1960, and its sale started in the markets in 1975 in the United States. You can Buy Klonopin Online in both brand and generic forms.
Klonopin Uses
Doctors prescribe Klonopin for the short-term management of epilepsy, seizures, and panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. Klonopin, like other benzodiazepines, is a first-line treatment for acute seizures. However, it is not suitable for the long-term treatment of seizures because of the development of tolerance to its anticonvulsant effects. Klonopin effectively treats epilepsy in children, and the seizure activity inhibition seems to be achievable at low plasma levels of clonazepam. Consequently, Klonopin is sometimes useful for certain rare childhood epilepsies. However, it is ineffective in the control of the infantile spasm. The medication got approved for the treatment of typical and atypical seizures, myoclonic, infantile myoclonic, and akinetic seizures. Klonopin is useful in the short-term treatment of the panic disorder. It is also effective in treating other anxiety disorders, such as a social phobia. However, Klonopin is not FDA-approved for treating any anxiety disorder other than a panic disorder. Muscle disorders that can be effectively treatable by Klonopin, including restless leg syndrome, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, acute and chronic akathisia, spasticity, and alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
Contraindications
There are several conditions that contraindicate the use of Valium. These include:
Current alcohol abuse
Current drug abuse
Respiratory depression
Coma
Side Effects
The most commonly occurring side effects of Valium include sedation and motor impairment. Other effects include:
Confusion
Aggression
Irritability
Psychomotor agitation
Lack of motivation
Impaired motor function
Impaired coordination and balance
Cognitive impairment
Short-term memory loss
Hangover-like symptoms of headache, drowsiness, irritability, and sluggishness
Occasionally, Valium may also cause dysphoria, induction, or increased frequency of seizures, personality changes, ataxia, and behavioral disturbances. The long-term adverse effects of Klonopin include disinhibition, depression, and sexual dysfunction.
Klonopin overdose
Taking excess doses of the medication may result in Klonopin overdose. It may result in mental confusion, difficulty staying awake, nausea, respiratory depression, impaired motor functions, dizziness, impaired balance, low blood pressure, and coma. Coma caused due to Klonopin overdose can be cyclic, alternating from a comatose state to a consciousness state of hyper-alert. The combination of Klonopin with some barbiturates at prescribed doses may result in a synergistic potentiation of each medication’s effects, leading to severe respiratory depression.
Medication interaction
Klonopin decreases the levels of carbamazepine, and as a result, its levels get reduced by carbamazepine. Azole antifungals like ketoconazole inhibit the metabolism of Klonopin. The medication affects phenytoin levels, and it, in turn, lowers the Klonopin plasma levels by increasing the speed of medication’s clearance by approximately 50% and decreasing its half-life by 31%. The combined use of Klonopin with a certain antidepressant, sedative antihistamines, anticonvulsants like phenytoin, phenobarbital, carbamazepine, antipsychotics, opiates, non-benzodiazepines like zolpidem, and alcohol may result in increased sedative effects.
Mechanism of Action
Klonopin enhances inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA activity in the central nervous system to impart its skeletal muscle relaxant, anticonvulsant, and anxiolytic effects. It works by binding to the benzodiazepine sites of the GABA receptors that enhance the electric impact of neurons that bind the GABA receptors, resulting in increased chloride ions influx into the neurons. It results in the inhibition of synaptic transmission in the central nervous system.