Lonapam 2, 1 Strip

✔️ How Lonapam works?

Lonapam 2 belongs to the benzodiazepine class. It enhances the activity of GABA, a calming neurotransmitter in the brain, which helps to reduce abnormal electrical activity and control seizures or anxiety.

✔️ Common side effects include: Lonapam

• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Impaired coordination
• Other possible effects: are confusion, memory impairment, and increased risk of respiratory issues, especially in children.

✔️ How to Use: Lonapam 2

• Take as prescribed by your doctor. Swallow the tablet whole, without crushing or chewing.
• Can be taken with or without food, but try to take it at the same time each day to maintain consistent blood levels.
• Do not stop abruptly, as it may lead to withdrawal symptoms and increased seizure frequency.

✔️ Missed Dose:

• If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember, but if it’s close to the time for your next dose, skip the missed one. Do not double the dose to make up for it.

✔️ Dosage: Lonapam 2

• The dosage depends on the condition being treated and the patient's response.
  • For epilepsy, initial doses may start at 1 mg at night and increase gradually.
  • For panic disorder, the starting dose is typically 0.25 mg twice daily.
  • The maximum daily dose for adults can go up to 20 mg depending on the condition.

✔️ Interactions: Lonapam 2

• Caution is advised when combining Lonapam 2 with other CNS depressants (e.g., alcohol, opioids, or sedatives), as this can increase side effects like sedation or respiratory issues.
• May interact with medications like tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), MAO inhibitors (MAOIs), and certain antipsychotics.

✔️ Pharmacology:

• Clonazepam enhances GABAergic neurotransmission at inhibitory synapses, increasing the effect of the neurotransmitter GABA. This leads to anticonvulsive, sedative, muscle relaxing, and anxiolytic effects.
• Animal studies have shown that clonazepam affects serotonin and suppresses paroxysmal activities like spike and wave discharges in epilepsy.

✔️ Overdose Effects: Lonapam 2

• Symptoms include drowsiness, ataxia, dysarthria, and nystagmus. Severe overdose may cause coma, hypotension, or cardiorespiratory depression.
• Treatment involves monitoring vital signs, activated charcoal to prevent further absorption, and possible use of flumazenil to reverse CNS depression.

✔️ Interactions:

• Does not significantly alter the pharmacokinetics of phenytoin, carbamazepine, or phenobarbital.
• Concomitant use with valproic acid may lead to absence status.

✔️ Contraindications:

• Hypersensitivity to benzodiazepines.
• Significant liver disease.
• Contraindicated in acute narrow-angle glaucoma, though it may be used in patients with open-angle glaucoma on appropriate therapy.

✔️ Pregnancy & Lactation:

• Pregnancy: Clonazepam may cause congenital malformations, and its use should be carefully evaluated against the risks. In high doses during late pregnancy, it may cause fetal issues like hypothermia, hypotonia, and poor feeding in the newborn.
• Lactation: Small amounts pass into breast milk. Breastfeeding should be avoided if clonazepam is necessary.

✔️ Precautions & Warnings:

• In patients with multiple seizure types, clonazepam may increase the frequency of tonic-clonic seizures.
• Special care must be taken in pediatric patients to avoid excess salivation or bronchial secretion, which can obstruct airways.
• Elderly patients may experience stronger effects, requiring close monitoring.
• Hepatic impairment may reduce the clearance of clonazepam.

✔️ Storage:

Keep in a dry place, away from light and heat, and out of the reach of children.