Do I need to change my schedule so I can take meds?

[kdmar]

I was just prescribed klonopin 0.5 mg  for anxiety and to help me sleep and I am not sure when to take it. I have been babysitting for some extra cash and some nights I babysit until 2 or 3 am then drive home to sleep. So some nights I am laying down for bed around 11pm and other nights it is around 2 or 3am. I didn't know if you have to take klonopin at the same time everyday or if I could just take it when I get home then wake up? Or should I just quit babysitting so I can take klonopin at the same time every night.

[Paxiled]

The safest way to take benzos is to only take them when you absolutely need to.  Taking them every day will make it very hard to stop taking them when the time comes.  Benzos are also not a great sleep remedy, as they can interfere with REM sleep and can make you dependent on them even more quickly, and any sleep medication taken regularly can result in rebound insomnia, which means a worse problem.  I don't know how disruptive to your life your anxiety is, as you haven't said, but if you're still functioning well but not optimally, the first thing to try is therapy with a psychologist who specializes in anxiety treatment.  There are other ways as well to mitigate your anxiety in the meantime, again depending on just how much it has disrupted you life, such as meditation, exercise, natural relaxants, breathing exercises, hypnosis, etc.  These should also help with sleep, as well as trying natural remedies such as melatonin.  Benzos are an addictive drug when taken regularly, so think on this before you do it.  If your anxiety is that bad that you can't function without medication, a psychologist will tell you that and refer you to a good psychiatrist, and you will probably end up on an antidepressant, which, while no picnic to stop taking either, aren't addictive drugs.  As for the time for taking any drug, your doctor should have told you that.  It depends on why you're taking it.  Obviously, if it's for sleep, you take it before going to bed because these meds don't last forever -- klonopin lasts longer than other benzos, but they do wear off.  If it's for anxiety, you take it when your anxiety is so bad you need something to get you through.  If you take a benzo every day, which used to be done regularly but not so much anymore, you have to take care to take it as prescribed because when if you let it  wear off and your brain is now used to relying on the drug you can suffer withdrawal effects if you wait too long between doses, depending on the individual taking it.