Has Clonazepam (Klonopin) helped anyone with their MAV symptoms? I used to take it for anxiety, and it seemed to help a lot with my MAV symptoms (which I didn’t realize until later). Then I switched to a milder anxiety med (Citalopram), and started trying different meds from my neurologist for MAV (nortriptyline 25, nortriptyline 50, and now propanolol), none of which have helped with my MAV symptoms. I am thinking about stopping my current meds, and starting Clonazepam again to see if it helps with my MAV. I wouldn’t think it would since it’s not a MAV med, at least that I know of, but it seemed to have helped before. Anyone get help with their MAV by taking Clonazepam?
Hi
Clonazapam, aka klonopin, is a mild anticonvulsant. It is great for anxiety because it calms the brain. The problem with this type of medicine, benzodiazepines, is that you can build up a tolerance and need more of the medicine to get the same result. That is why most docs prefer you to take an antidepressant or beta blocker, like you are trying, as you can be on them long term.
With that being said, I personally take a low dose of klonopin daily and it calms my brain down… Just takes that last bit of dizzy away.
Kelley
If the word “anticonvulsant” freaks you out (it sounds pretty bad as though you’ll wind up having fits and running down the street naked), you can use the term “neural stabiliser”.
Anyway, most here will tell you that a benzo is very good for taking the edge off of attacks.
Clonazopan helps me a lot with dizziness and focus…also on Celexa and Doc would like me to improve to the point I can stop the clono, but it is working now!
Clonazopan helps me a lot with dizziness and focus…also on Celexa and Doc would like me to improve to the point I can stop the clono, but it is working now!
— End quote
Ditto for me. The Celexa is great all day but at night I feel the rotation slightly and some sensation of disorientation and fear. A tiny dose of Valium (2mg) or klonopin (1/4 pill) really smooths me out. But I worry about tolerance, yet I have not gone up over the course of 14 months, even decreased from everyday to every other day. Just can’t accept that I might need to take it for a really long time. Doc wants me to quit, but as I never drink, I don’t see how it is much worse than a nightly drink.
the right mix is just .25klonopin during the work day and 2 beers after work at home…feel pretty good, but ready for bed by 9… Not too exciting, but it is working so no changing right now!
Dr. Hain wright on his website:
“Benzodiazepines are GABA modulators, acting centrally to suppress
vestibular responses. In small doses, these drugs are extremely useful.
Addiction, impaired memory, increased risk of falling, and impaired
vestibular compensation are their main shortcomings. Lorazepam is a
particularly useful agent because of its effectiveness and simple kinetics.
Addiction, the biggest problem, can usually be avoided by keeping the
dose to 0.5 mg BID or less. Similarly, low doses of diazepam (Valium)
(2 mg) can be quite effective. Clonazepam (Klonopin), is as effective
a vestibular suppressant as lorazepam (Ganaca et al, 2002). The author
prefers to avoid use of alprazolam (Xanax) for vestibular suppression,
because of the potential for a difficult withdrawal syndrome. Long
acting benzodiazepines are not helpful for relief of vertigo.”
I also found another article some day about it. A study, were it helped alot of people.
I’ve been taking Clonazepam for 12 days now, and it is helping with my dizziness. I had 24/7 dizziness, and the clonazepam is making that about 90% better. HUGE difference. It also seems to be helping with the fatigue. I’m still getting headaches though, and may need to get on a second med for that.
Hi Lauren,
It does seem that so many get relief from klonopin. I don’t know why more people are not on it. My doctor seems resistant to it for some reason. How much do you take?
So glad to hear it has helped. Did you also have the rocking/dysequilibrium as part of your 24/7 dizziness?
Christine
I will go against the grain here, and say it again. If you look up klonopin it states that vertigo maybe a side effect.
I didn’t know this until I started taking it and had a few quick spins. First time I took it, it was after the 3rd dose. I stopped.
Tried again, and after the first night. I talk to two doc’s about it and they said "oh ya, that’s why I dont give it out, and if
someone comes into my office complaining about dizzy/vertigo, and is on it, rx’d from a different doc. I insist they stop.
Normally I would be like pffft whatever, it lists that on quiet a few drugs. But I experienced it first hand and hate the stuff.
Very interesting Kristina. I will have to ask my doc about this the next time. My feeling was that he didn’t want to create an addict but he didn’t say this outright.
Have you found a med that works for you?
Christine/Rockergrl, Im no way 100% but I have found that Nortriptyline is helping me. I tried topamax, and celexa first.
Then I moved on to xanax. After a few days, I wasn’t afraid of going to bed. But then I started worrying about taking
a benzo for the rest of my life. I heard to many stories about getting off of them, or all of a sudden having New issues
because of them. I guess there is a reason they are termed to use for short time only, or for once in a while. I also worried
about the fact that they are a vestibular suppressant, and the more you suppress your system the harder it is to recover.
This is all so hard and frustrating, benzo’s work great, but seem to come with a price. Hidden ones.
Klonopin helps a lot of people on here. Honestly I wonder though, how many are having spins from the klonopin and not the Mav.
My friend takes xanax, and her shrink even said that klonopin is some nasty stuff. Hmm… To each there own I say.
Yes, part of my vertigo symptoms are a rocking sensation, like I am a bobble head, like my head is constantly moving around and back and forth, or like a feeling as if I’m on a boat. The summation of my MAV symptoms are: 24/7 dizziness/vertigo/off balance, headaches about 50% of the time, chronic fatigue, an overall shaky feeling, a feeling of a heavy head, and sometimes brain fog. Honestly, the Clonazepam has helped with almost all of my symptoms except the headaches. I’m not 100% better, but there are times where I am 90% better. But some of the time I start feeling worse, like if I haven’t gotten enough sleep or am in a loud room. I take .5 mg of Clonazepam in the morning and .5 at night.
My neurologist didn’t want to prescribe it to me because she said that it’s not a “MAV medication” and she doesn’t know much about it, but she supported me trying it again to see if it would help. She wrote a letter to my primary care doctor who originally prescribed it to me 7 months ago, and so I am now getting it from my primary doctor. I have never had this med make me feel spells of vertigo or anything like that, it has only helped. Maybe it doesn’t help long term, but if it is helping now, I am all for that. I have had 8 months straight of feeling like hell, I lost my job because of this, and feel like my life is falling apart. Hopefully it helps for a long time, I’m crossing my fingers.
If it works for you, then that is great! I wouldn’t worry too much about Kristina’s bad reaction, as she seems to be the odd woman out on this one. Most people on this board are helped immensely by benzos, whether it be as needed or daily use.
They are vestibular suppressants and will help calm things down, as you’re finding. If you have true vestibular loss that your brain needs to compensate for, then doctors typically don’t allow bezo use. But as MAV sufferers, we have no compensation to do here–our brain is not going to do any work to accommodate to this dizziness. It just needs to stop the migraine cycle to stop the dizziness. So benzo use is not going to hurt.
quote=“Anne”]If it works for you, then that is great! I wouldn’t worry too much about Kristina’s bad reaction, as she seems to be the odd woman out on this one.
— End quote
Yes but it can actually cause vertigo. You cant ignore that. I found it in online AFTER I was told by a few different Doctors that they dont use it for that reason. So yes it helps people on here, but not for me, but I wouldn’t belittle facts either.
quote=“Anne”]If it works for you, then that is great! I wouldn’t worry too much about Kristina’s bad reaction, as she seems to be the odd woman out on this one.
— End quote
Yes but it can actually cause vertigo. You cant ignore that. I found it in online AFTER I was told by a few different Doctors that they dont use it for that reason. So yes it helps people on here, but not for me, but I wouldn’t belittle facts either.
— End quote
My docter also said that vertigo could be a sideeffect. But she also said that with the dose I am taking, it would be unlikely. I take 0.25 when needed (1-7 times a week).
Dizziness is listed as a side effect for so many meds-Topamax, Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac–all of which I have been prescribed at some point for MAV. I would imgine all meds for MAV have dizziness listed as a side effect!
Drug companies have to list all potential side effects for liability reasons. It doesn’t mean everyone is going to experience them.
I’m not belittling facts, she said it works for her so clearly she has no issue with this potential side effect.
You are correct almost all medications list dizziness, I’m not talking about dizziness, Im talking about actual vertigo.
It states Vertigo as a side effect, and it actually says, mostly in people with high anxiety/panic attacks.
That is also what the doc’s told me as well. It’s known to cause vertigo.
I thought they were wrong at first, why would a doc give that to me for vertigo…
So I checked it out myself, and since asked several doc’s about it including a physchiatrist that knows probably more about these
types of meds than doctors do, and that is one of the doc’s that will only give xanax or valium due to the problems with klonopin
causing vertigo in some people.
The Clonazepam is not working as well now as it was in the beginning. Ugghh. And I am getting bad headaches every single day. Back to the neurologist. I think I am going to try a neurologist at a different hospital, so I can get a second opinion.
