Why would my doctor put me on the med I OD'd on?

[Anxiety]

This was back in February but I'm still trying to figure out my doctor's logic.

I overdosed on 6 mg of klonopin, which isn't that much in itself but with the size of my body and the other medications I took with the klonopin I almost died if I hadn't gotten to the hospital immediately after I took them.

After I got out of the hospital, my doctor put me back on the same dose of klonopin but changed the use to as needed. Why would he put me back on the same medication I overdosed on, that's a really stupid decision to me.

[Haydenn3]

He is an idiot doctor

[xXl0sth0peXx]

Did he know you OD'd on it?

[xmojox]

Do you take it for seizure or anxiety? How long have you taken it? What's your body weight? How old are you?

[Anxiety]

Did he know you OD'd on it?
Obviously, he's my doctor...

Do you take it for seizure or anxiety? How long have you taken it? What's your body weight? How old are you?

Anxiety. 6 months. 130 lbs. 17.

[niceguy44]

these tablets should not be stopped suddenly because of possible side affects. he is possibly trying to get you to come off them gradually. talk to him about this. also do you by any chance have an allergy to lactose?

[Harry Smith]

He's a doctor, he knows a lot more about Drugs than you do

[xmojox]

Obviously, he's my doctor...



Anxiety. 6 months. 130 lbs. 17.

Having been on it 6 months (I'm guessing at 1mg a day?) you can't just stop takin it. Benzodiazepines can have nasty withdrawal. It's also possible that he judges the benefits of the Klonopin to outweigh the potential risks. The important thing is to please take it the way it says on the bottle and tell your doctor if anything weird starts happening. Does it work well to control your anxiety?

[Anxiety]

Having been on it 6 months (I'm guessing at 1mg a day?) you can't just stop takin it. Benzodiazepines can have nasty withdrawal. It's also possible that he judges the benefits of the Klonopin to outweigh the potential risks. The important thing is to please take it the way it says on the bottle and tell your doctor if anything weird starts happening. Does it work well to control your anxiety?

I'm actually only on .5mg but yes it does help my anxiety.
Thanks for the explanation, it makes sense!

these tablets should not be stopped suddenly because of possible side affects. he is possibly trying to get you to come off them gradually. talk to him about this. also do you by any chance have an allergy to lactose?

No I'm not allergic to lactose

[xmojox]

I'm actually only on .5mg but yes it does help my anxiety.
Thanks for the explanation, it makes sense!



No I'm not allergic to lactose

Anytime :) I take Xanax...another benzodiazepine. Good luck and take care!

[niceguy44]

I'm actually only on .5mg but yes it does help my anxiety.
Thanks for the explanation, it makes sense!



No I'm not allergic to lactose


just carry on taking them as prescribed & hope things will be ok

[Kirino Kousaka]

he most likely trusts you not to again, just please, take the amount prescribed

[Ben4ever]

Cheers to your good health!

[darkdude41]

some doctors suck. Some get their credentials overseas, which is much easier to do than go to med school here in the states. They aren't as knowledgeable about their field as a result, and then they end up sucking.

Case in point, my doctor prescribed me Seroquel to help me sleep. I woke up while still on it and I was batshit crazy. I thought demons were trying to kill me. It was really bad. Even then we went back to the doctor later that day once I calmed down and he tried to act like it somehow wasn't his fault.

[darkdude41]

This was back in February but I'm still trying to figure out my doctor's logic.

I overdosed on 6 mg of klonopin, which isn't that much in itself but with the size of my body and the other medications I took with the klonopin I almost died if I hadn't gotten to the hospital immediately after I took them.

After I got out of the hospital, my doctor put me back on the same dose of klonopin but changed the use to as needed. Why would he put me back on the same medication I overdosed on, that's a really stupid decision to me.

hold on, I'm actually a bit confused.... the doctor had prescribed you to take 6 mg worth of Klonopin??? Or you didnt realize how much you had taken?

[Anxiety]

hold on, I'm actually a bit confused.... the doctor had prescribed you to take 6 mg worth of Klonopin??? Or you didnt realize how much you had taken?

He put me on .5 mg, I took 6mg as a suicide attempt.
But that explanation of overseas doctors makes sense, I've never actually met a doctor (at least a mental health one) who wasn't from another country

[Jean Poutine]

some doctors suck. Some get their credentials overseas, which is much easier to do than go to med school here in the states. They aren't as knowledgeable about their field as a result, and then they end up sucking.

Case in point, my doctor prescribed me Seroquel to help me sleep. I woke up while still on it and I was batshit crazy. I thought demons were trying to kill me. It was really bad. Even then we went back to the doctor later that day once I calmed down and he tried to act like it somehow wasn't his fault.

It wasn't his fault. Seroquel is an antipsychotic that is prescribed off-label as a sleep aid, this is common practice because one of the side-effects of quetiapine is somnolence. Hallucinations are a very rare side effect of the drug and he couldn't predict your reaction to it. Drugs screwing around with brain chemistry in particular are very volatile and the effects vary wildly from one person to another, that's why people often cycle anti-depressants to find the one that "works" for them.

I was on Seroquel myself for the same reason as you, and I did not undergo hallucinations, although the drug had zero effect on me. I seem to be pretty resistant to pharmaceutical sleep aids. Melatonin, quetiapine and clonazepam do not do much for me. The only thing I've found really working is weed.

As for foreign doctors, to practice in a foreign country, they have to obtain certification from whatever professional organization deals with doctors in the United States to practice, in other words, prove to them that his formation is equivalent to American doctors. It is the same thing for lawyers. When I graduate, I cannot go to America and set up shop as a lawyer, I have to be certified and tested by the American Bar Association and if my knowledge of American law is judged sub-par (it will be), I'll have to go back to school and play catch-up until they are satisfied. A lot of foreign doctors come practice in the US because the pay is ridiculous. In fact, a lot of doctors in New England are originally from Canada because the pay is simply much better on the other side of the border, due to the public nature of health care in Canada.

[darkdude41]

It wasn't his fault. Seroquel is an antipsychotic that is prescribed off-label as a sleep aid, this is common practice because one of the side-effects of quetiapine is somnolence. Hallucinations are a very rare side effect of the drug and he couldn't predict your reaction to it. Drugs screwing around with brain chemistry in particular are very volatile and the effects vary wildly from one person to another, that's why people often cycle anti-depressants to find the one that "works" for them.

I was on Seroquel myself for the same reason as you, and I did not undergo hallucinations, although the drug had zero effect on me. I seem to be pretty resistant to pharmaceutical sleep aids. Melatonin, quetiapine and clonazepam do not do much for me. The only thing I've found really working is weed.

As for foreign doctors, to practice in a foreign country, they have to obtain certification from whatever professional organization deals with doctors in the United States to practice, in other words, prove to them that his formation is equivalent to American doctors. It is the same thing for lawyers. When I graduate, I cannot go to America and set up shop as a lawyer, I have to be certified and tested by the American Bar Association and if my knowledge of American law is judged sub-par (it will be), I'll have to go back to school and play catch-up until they are satisfied. A lot of foreign doctors come practice in the US because the pay is ridiculous. In fact, a lot of doctors in New England are originally from Canada because the pay is simply much better on the other side of the border, due to the public nature of health care in Canada.

they actually aren't as rare as you might think. Some soldiers from my hometown killed themselves after succumbing to acute psychosis due to the Seroquel they were taking.
Oh, I was literally bat shit crazy too. I had to be placed in a damn mental ward for like a week and a half.

Yeah weed is the only thing that works for me as a sleep aid.

I appreciate that knowledge bomb you dropped on me. I now feel like an ignorant little shit. I knew what you said too, I had just totally forgotten about that :D

[endorfin]

You really shouldn't be taking benzodiazepines regularly unless you have serious anxiety issues. It's normal to be anxious & angst-filled as a teenager and it's something you've got to learn to deal with. Unless you feel that you absolutely need klonopin to talk to people/leave the house I'd advise you taper off it immediately.

Benzos have withdrawals, are habit-forming and pose mild-moderate toxicity concerns. Since you've been taking klonopin for 6 months you will likely have mild withdrawals when stopping. Any withdrawal symptoms can be minimized by lowering your dosage each day as opposed to quitting cold turkey. Some helpful supplements include L-Tyrosine, L-GABA, acetyl-choline and phenibut. Phenibut is great for tapering off benzos but take it instead of klonopin and only once every 3 days for a maximum of 2 weeks(else your body begins to depend on the substance).

[Lofiel]

I would ask to change medicine, as those are a very useless medication to be taking with the other options available.

[GigglyAbby]

After I got out of the hospital, my doctor put me back on the same dose of klonopin but changed the use to as needed.

I can see the responses that state the dangers of just stopping a drug like this but if it's prescribed to take as needed -- isn't there a chance if one chooses to not take it for a few days -- that there could be issues?

To answer your question -- I think he kept you on the same drug because in his mind -- the most beneficial for you. It's not like he re-prescribed a script that gave you major side effects. When you were released -- it was decided that you were treated enough in the hospital it was safe for you to go home and were less of a risk to o-d....