Generic name: Clonazepam

Brand name: Klonopin

What is Klonopin?

Klonopin is the brand name prescription medication for clonazepam, a tranquillizer of the benzodiazepine class. The medication is useful in the prevention and treatment of a panic disorder, seizures, and movement disorder called akathisia. It is an oral medication whose effects generally begin within one hour and last for about six to twelve hours.

Clonazepam, the active ingredient of Klonopin got patented in 1960 and went on sale in 1975 in the United States. The medication clonazepam is available in both brand and generic names. The United States declared it the 34th most prescribed medication in 2017, with over 20 million prescriptions written that year. In many places in the world, including the United States, people buy Klonopin online to use it as a recreational drug.

 How does Klonopin work?

Klonopin contains benzodiazepine clonazepam that works by enhancing the activity of inhibitory GABA neurotransmitters in the central nervous system to give the medication its skeletal muscle relaxant, anticonvulsant, and anxiolytic effects.

Klonopin acts by attaching to the benzodiazepine site of the GABA receptors, enhancing the electric effects of GABA neuron binding and resulting in the increased chloride ions influx into the neurons. It additionally results in an inhibition of the central nervous system synaptic transmission.

The medication does not affect the GABA levels in the brain and has no impact on gamma-aminobutyric acid transaminase. However, it does affect the activity of glutamate decarboxylase. This makes Klonopin different from other anticonvulsant medications.

 Side effects of Klonopin

The most common Klonopin side effects are sedation and motor impairment. Other less common adverse reactions of the medication include:

• Irritability or aggression
• Loss of libido
• Confusion
• Lack of motivation
• Psychomotor agitation
• Impaired coordination and balance
• Impaired motor function
• Cognitive impairments
• Anterograde amnesia
• Short-term memory loss

Some users taking Klonopin reported hangover-like side effects of headache, drowsiness, irritability, and sluggishness upon waking up after taking the medication before sleep. It is due to Klonopin’s long half-life, which continues to affect the user even after waking up. Rebound insomnia may also occur after discontinuing the medication.

Benzodiazepines like Klonopin may also cause or worsen depression.

 What does Klonopin do for anxiety?

Klonopin treats anxiety disorders. The primary uses of the medication for the treatment of anxiety include:

• Panic disorder with agoraphobia
• Panic disorder without agoraphobia
• Social phobia (off-label use)

Controlled clinical trials demonstrate the effectiveness of Klonopin in the short-term treatment of a panic disorder. Some long-term experiments (without placebo control) also suggest a benefit of using the medication for up to three years without any development of tolerance. Klonopin is also useful in the management of acute mania.

 How long does Klonopin stay in your urine?

Klonopin is a long-acting medication that has a relatively long half-life of about 20-50 hours. It stays in your body for a more extended time than most of the other drugs. Given below are some general time duration for how long Klonopin will show up in your body on different types of tests.

It is essential to know that the medication may not show up on basic urine tests. Even if it gets detected on a urine test, it will only show its presence and not tell the amount of substance taken.

• Urine tests can detect Klonopin for up to 30 days.
• Hair tests can detect Klonopin for up to 28 days.
• Saliva tests can detect the medication for 5-6 days.

What are the medical conditions that contraindicate the use of Klonopin?

There are several health and general conditions that contraindicate the use of Klonopin pills. They include:

• Current alcohol use
• Current drug abuse
• Respiratory depression
• Coma

People should not take Klonopin if they have any condition, as mentioned above. However, you should tell your prescribing doctor about all the other mental and physical health conditions you have before taking Klonopin.