I am having muscle spasms in the neck and chest after taking clonazepam.

by Ka
(USA)

I am prescribed 2mg of Klonopin as needed for anxiety and panic attacks. Tonight I felt a panic attack coming on and I took 2mg of the Klonopin. After half an hour the panic was getting worse, so I took another 1mg pill. It has been about an hour since the last pill. I am now having muscle spasms in my chest, neck, and arms. It is a bit difficult to type due to the shakiness. Every other minute or so my chest will jerk or spasm and my neck will jerk to the side. Just now my chest contracted - it was as if my sides under my armpits were being pulled towards the center of my chest. Is this something I should be worried about or is this a paradoxical side effect of the medicine?

I have been diagnosed with major depression and was prescribed a light dose (50mg) of Prozac for nine months, although I am now off the medication and am doing just fine after being free from it for a month now. I have also been diagnosed with panic disorder with agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. I do have a pending diagnosis of bipolar II, but my symptoms are still being monitored. I have no history of physical illness, surgery, or other health problems, and am within healthy ranges of weight and blood pressure for my height, gender (I'm female), and age.

I am currently only taking the Klonopin as needed. I usually require it every two to three days, and the number of times I've needed it has been decreasing over the past few months. I sometimes take Benadryl capsules for my allergies and Tums for upset stomach.

I smoke around one or two cigarettes a week, if that. I would estimate maybe 6 or 7 per month. I used to drink alcohol regularly (to the point of vomiting/being beyond legally drunk) but have been completely sober for a month.

Anxiety runs in my mother's family, but that's as much as I know. My paternal medical history is completely unknown other than alcoholism in my father.

I have Googled "klonopin muscle spasms side effect" but have gotten only descriptions of how the drug is used to treat muscle spasms, not whether it can cause them. I understand that Klonopin is an anticonvulsant, so it is curious to me that it would be causing these spasms. If they continue or worsen, I intend to go to the emergency room, but they seem to be subsiding as I type this so mostly I'd just like to know what was happening with the spasms and why they were occurring.

Thank you for your help!

Klonopin and Panic Attacks

Klonopin or Clonazepam is a benzodiazepine. It is used in the treatment of epilepsy, but can be used for panic attacks. Benzodiazepines are muscle relaxants so it would not account for your muscle spasms. However, panic attacks can cause muscle spasms so I suspect that is the reason for your symptoms. When you have a panic attack, you hyperventilate and this results in a lowering of carbon dioxide levels in the blood. Your blood levels also drop and you develop a compensatory acidosis in the blood. As a result of this and salt imbalances, muscles can cramp and this is what you are experiencing.
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