You should not use Klonopin if you have narrow-angle glaucoma, severe liver disease, or if you are allergic to Valium or a similar medicine.

Call your doctor if you have any new or worsening symptoms of depression, unusual changes in behavior, or thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself.

Do not drink alcohol while taking this medicine. Clonazepam may be habit-forming. Never share Klonopin with another person. Keep the medication in a place where others cannot get to it. Selling or giving away this medicine is against the law.

Using Klonopin with opiate medications can result in sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death.

You should not take Klonopin if you have:

• narrow-angle glaucoma;

• severe liver disease; or

• a history of allergic reaction to any benzodiazepine, such as diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), chlordiazepoxide, flurazepam, and others.

To make sure Klonopin is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have ever had:

• kidney or liver disease;

• glaucoma;

• asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), or other breathing problems;

• porphyria (a genetic enzyme disorder that causes symptoms affecting the skin or nervous system);

• depression or suicidal thoughts or behavior;

• mental illness, psychosis, or addiction to drugs or alcohol; or

• use other medications that cause sedation; or

• if you use a narcotic (opioid) medication.

Some people have thoughts about suicide when taking Klonopin. Your doctor should check your progress at regular visits. Your family or other caregivers should also be alert to changes in your mood or symptoms.

Follow your doctor's instructions about taking seizure medication if you are pregnant. Do not start or stop taking this medicine without your doctor's advice, and tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant. Clonazepam may cause harm to an unborn baby, and may cause breathing or feeding problems in a newborn. But having seizures during pregnancy could harm both mother and baby.

If you are pregnant, your name may be listed on a pregnancy registry. This is to track the outcome of the pregnancy and to evaluate any effects of clonazepam on the baby.

Clonazepam can pass into breast milk, but effects on the nursing baby are not known. Tell your doctor if you are breast-feeding.

Do not give this medicine to a child without medical advice. Klonopin is not approved to treat panic disorder in anyone younger than 18 years old.

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction to Klonopin: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Report any new or worsening symptoms to your doctor, such as: mood or behavior changes, anxiety, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, or if you feel impulsive, irritable, agitated, hostile, aggressive, restless, hyperactive (mentally or physically), more depressed, or have thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself.

Call your doctor at once if you have:

• new or worsening seizures;

• severe drowsiness;

• unusual changes in mood or behavior;

• confusion, aggression, hallucinations;

• thoughts of suicide or hurting yourself;

• weak or shallow breathing;

• pounding heartbeats or fluttering in your chest; or

• unusual or involuntary eye movements.

The sedative effects of clonazepam may last longer in older adults. Accidental falls are common in elderly patients who take benzodiazepines. Use caution to avoid falling or accidental injury while you are taking clonazepam.

Common Klonopin side effects may include:

• feeling tired or depressed;

• drowsiness, dizziness;

• memory problems; or

• problems with balance or coordination.