What is Urbanol used for? Uses, dosage, side effects and dependence

The insert asks for a review within 4 weeks and keeps the whole course, taper included, to 8 to 12 weeks.

Taken every day, clobazam can cause dependence within a few weeks at ordinary doses, and a sudden stop can bring on withdrawal, in severe cases with seizures. Do not stop suddenly on your own: the taper is set by a doctor. At Renewed Life Center in Lakeside, Cape Town, coming off Urbanol safely is the first step of residential treatment.

What is Urbanol, and is it an antidepressant?

Clobazam is the generic name for Urbanol, a 1,5-benzodiazepine that the South African register files under tranquillisers. It comes as Urbanol 5mg capsules and Urbanol 10mg tablets. People also search for it as “Urbanil”, which is the same medicine. Abroad it is sold as Frisium and Onfi.

Is Urbanol an antidepressant? No. It acts on the nervous system within hours, while antidepressants work on mood over weeks. In people with depression the insert allows it only alongside proper treatment for the depression, because a benzodiazepine on its own can precipitate suicide in such patients.

As a Schedule 5 medicine, Urbanol pills are dispensed only against a prescription.

Urbanol uses, dosage and side effects: common questions

Urbanol is swallowed as a capsule or tablet, adults take 10 to 30mg a day, sleepiness is its commonest side effect, and it stays in the body for days. The details below come from the South African package insert.

Does talk therapy help anxiety, with or without Urbanol?

Yes. Therapy works on why the anxiety is there, which a tablet cannot do. Urbanol turns the volume down for a few weeks, but the fear, the grief or the drinking it was prescribed around is still waiting when the course ends. The insert itself warns that after a loss or bereavement, benzodiazepines can hold back psychological adjustment. That is why, with us, the anxiety is treated while you come off the tablets, not left for later.

When must Urbanol not be used?

According to the package insert, Urbanol must not be used in these cases:

Can you take Urbanol on an empty stomach?

Yes. Urbanol can be taken with or without food; food slows absorption by about an hour but does not change how much is absorbed. Capsules are swallowed whole with a glass of water.

What are the most common side effects of Urbanol?

Tiredness and sleepiness are the most common Urbanol side effects, listed as very common, especially at the start and on higher doses. The same list applies to Urbanol 10mg and Urbanol 5mg; the higher the daily dose, the more likely the effects.

Which Urbanol side effects need attention?

Mood changes are the side effects to act on. Rage, hallucinations, suicidal thoughts and a sudden drop into depression are all listed, and the insert says treatment must be stopped if they appear. Call the prescriber the same day rather than stopping suddenly on your own, because how to stop is their decision. Thoughts of suicide need a professional’s attention soon, whether they come from the medicine or from a depression that Urbanol was covering: the insert warns that a benzodiazepine on its own can precipitate suicide in people with depression.

If someone might harm themselves now or cannot keep themselves safe, get emergency help immediately and do not wait for a reply from us. The SADAG Suicide Crisis Helpline, 0800 567 567, answers day or night.

When the tablets have become part of the problem, you, or a relative on your behalf, can talk to our team about the situation and whether treatment could help. With us, your own counsellor works on the depression or anxiety under the tablets every week, and a doctor reviews the medication you already take.

Serious skin reactions are watched for especially in the first 8 weeks, and blistering or peeling skin needs a doctor straight away.

How long does Urbanol stay in your system?

Urbanol lasts a long time: clobazam has a half-life of about 36 hours and its active metabolite, N-desmethylclobazam, about 79 hours, according to the package insert. With twice-daily dosing the metabolite builds up about 20-fold, and levels only settle after about 2 weeks. That is why Urbanol withdrawal can start later than with shorter-acting benzos.

How is Urbanol taken, and what is the dosage for adults?

The normal Urbanol dosage for adults is 10 to 30mg a day in total, with doses of 20mg and above best taken at bedtime or split through the day, according to the package insert. In tablets, that means one to three 10mg tablets a day in total, never more than prescribed.

There is no separate Urbanol dosage for sleep. Insomnia is not one of its approved uses; the bedtime advice exists because Urbanol 10mg and higher doses make people drowsy. If a 10mg tablet at night has become the only way you sleep, that is worth a conversation before it becomes a habit you cannot drop.

What does Urbanol 10mg cost?

Urbanol 10mg tablets and 5mg capsules come in packs of 100. Your pharmacist can tell you the current price for your strength.

Urbanol for anxiety: how long does it take to work?

Blood levels peak between 15 minutes and 4 hours after a single 20mg dose, the package insert reports, so the first effect comes within hours. For anxiety, the approved course is a review within 4 weeks and 8 to 12 weeks in total.

Two other South African tranquillisers are often compared with it. In Stresam vs Urbanol, the difference is the class: Stresam is etifoxine, which is not a benzodiazepine. In Espiride vs Urbanol, Espiride is sulpiride, a benzamide registered for depression, schizophrenia and vertigo. Neither is a swap to make on your own.

Is Urbanol used to treat childhood epilepsy?

Not according to its South African label: the approved uses are anxiety, pre-operative sedation and alcohol withdrawal. The insert’s only line on epilepsy is a warning that when benzodiazepines, clobazam included, are used to treat epilepsy, the anticonvulsant effect can weaken over time. If you or your child take clobazam for seizures, never stop it or lower the dose without the doctor who prescribed it.

Is Urbanol addictive?

Yes, Urbanol can cause physical and psychological dependence, and the package insert says the risk is present even with daily intake over periods of only a few weeks¹, at ordinary prescribed doses. The risk grows with dose and duration, and it is higher in anyone with a history of alcohol or drug problems.

For most people who end up dependent, Urbanol was doing a job: quieting a mind that circled the same fear late at night, or carrying someone through the first days of stopping drinking. Because it worked, it is hard to give up.

There is a physical reason too. Clobazam acts on GABA-A receptors, the brain’s braking system, and with daily use the brain’s own brake does less of the work. Stop suddenly and the original symptoms can come back in a stronger form, which the insert calls rebound.

A prescription usually slides into dependence quietly: months pass without the 4-week review, a tablet is taken earlier or doubled to get the same calm, and cutting down brings a worse day or two, so the dose goes back up. If that is where you are, tell us what happened when you tried to cut down. That is where the first conversation starts, and it is worth having before you change the dose.

Can you mix Urbanol and alcohol?

No. Alcohol raises clobazam’s bioavailability by 50%, according to the package insert, so the same tablet acts like a bigger one, and the insert asks patients to avoid alcohol for the whole course.

Opioid painkillers are the other dangerous partner: together with benzodiazepines they can cause sedation, slowed breathing, coma and death. If you drink every day as well as take Urbanol, do not stop either suddenly on your own; both have to come down under one medical plan.

If someone who has mixed Urbanol with alcohol or opioids cannot be woken or is breathing very slowly, that is a medical emergency: get emergency help now rather than waiting for a reply from us.

Urbanol dependence and anxiety treatment in Cape Town

At Renewed Life Center, Urbanol dependence and the anxiety under it are treated together, because if the tablet goes and the fear stays untreated, the fear comes back. Ruby Weber, the psychologist who heads psychology at the centre, has more than 20 years in the addictions field.

A doctor examines you after you arrive, and if you need a medical detox, our medical team runs it, from three days to two weeks depending on what your body needs. Dr John Wulz, our GP, has a background in mental health and emergency medicine and reviews the medication you already take. Then the work moves to the cause: CBT to catch the thought that used to send you to the tablet, DBT for the moment panic hits, schema therapy for old patterns, EMDR and TRE for trauma, and 12-step meetings in the evenings. CBT, DBT and 12-step groups are all on the list of approaches that WHO and UNODC’s 2020 treatment standards⁵ say have proved effective for drug use disorders.

In the first month you live at the centre and get safe and steady, with therapy every weekday and your own counsellor one-to-one every week. Most clients stay into a second month, which goes deeper into what the tablets were covering. Then the Recovery Integration Programme lets you go out on your own in the afternoons while you still live with us and keep the therapy. Sober living on the same property then lets you work or study by day and come back in the evening. Every discharge includes a written relapse-prevention plan built for your home.

A relative can talk to our team before the person has agreed to come, and families join a support group by video every week. The fee depends on the programme and how long you stay; we give it on the first call and send it in writing the same day. More on anxiety and depression support in Cape Town.

Been on Urbanol longer than planned, or unsure how to come off it? Talk it through with our team.Been on Urbanol longer than planned, or unsure how to come off it? Call +27 79 880 0045, free and confidential.

What are Urbanol withdrawal symptoms?

Stopping Urbanol abruptly after dependence has developed brings headaches, disturbed sleep, extreme anxiety, tension, restlessness, confusion and irritability, and in severe cases hallucinations, psychosis and epileptic seizures, according to Urbanol’s package insert¹. Numbness, muscle pain, tremor, sweating and a painful sensitivity to light, noise and touch are on the same list.

If someone stopping Urbanol has a seizure, becomes confused, starts seeing things or cannot be woken, or talks about ending their life, call local emergency services immediately. Do not wait for a WhatsApp reply.

Seizures can follow an abrupt stop once physical dependence has developed, for example when the tablets run out, and the insert warns that abruptly switching from a long-acting benzodiazepine like Urbanol to a short-acting one, such as a friend’s Xanor, can set off withdrawal too. Running low? Speak to your prescriber and message us before the tablets run out, not after. If they have already run out and withdrawal has started, see a doctor or clinic today, and message us at the same time about a medically supervised detox here. How benzo withdrawal runs in general, and how long it lasts, is covered in our guide to benzo withdrawal.

How does a safe Urbanol taper work?

A safe Urbanol taper lowers the dose gradually, in steps a doctor sets, which is what the package insert asks for after prolonged use. Stopping benzodiazepines abruptly or reducing the dose too quickly can cause withdrawal reactions, including seizures, which can be life-threatening, the FDA’s boxed warning³ says. A 2025 joint guideline gives prescribers a starting pace of reductions of 5 to 10% every 2 to 4 weeks⁴. That is a guide for the doctor, not a schedule to follow alone.

Two things usually wreck a taper: speeding up after a few good days, and topping up with alcohol or someone else’s pills. If sleeping tablets are part of the picture, see Stilnox.

When should you get help with Urbanol?

Get help as soon as Urbanol stops feeling optional: when you need more for the same calm, cannot sleep without it, or are past the 4-week review with no end date. You do not need to be sure.

For many people the usual route off Urbanol is a slow taper with the doctor who prescribed it. Residential treatment makes sense when that has not worked: the dose keeps creeping back up, you are months past the planned course, alcohol or other pills are part of the picture, or the anxiety underneath has never been treated. With us, the medical side and the work on the cause start together.

The first conversation is free and confidential and takes 20 to 40 minutes by WhatsApp, video or phone, and we reply the same day. Most often you speak with John Roberts, our Senior Recovery Specialist and Operations Manager, who has 39 years in recovery. Admission can be immediate and typically happens within three days of first contact. Our house is in Lakeside, in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs, close to Muizenberg beach. Send us your dose and how long you have taken it, and we will set up that first conversation.

What else do people ask about Urbanol?

Is Urbanol a benzodiazepine?

Yes. Urbanol is the South African brand of clobazam, a 1,5-benzodiazepine, the same family as Xanor and Valium, with the same dependence and withdrawal risks.

Is Urbanol a sleeping tablet, and is Urbanol 10mg for sleep safe?

No, it is not approved for insomnia. Doses of 10mg and higher cause drowsiness, which is why 20mg and above are taken at bedtime. If it has become the only way you sleep, do not change the dose on your own; talk it through with us first.

Does Urbanol make you sleepy?

Usually, yes. Tiredness and sleepiness are listed as very common, especially in the first days and on higher doses. Do not drive until you know how it affects you.

Does Urbanol cause weight gain or weight loss?

Weight gain is listed as uncommon and reversible, mostly with high doses or long use. Weight loss is not listed, but decreased appetite is common.

How many Urbanol can you take a day?

The normal adult range is 10 to 30mg a day in total, one to three 10mg tablets, and half that for older, frail or light-weight people. Never go above what was prescribed.

Can I stop Urbanol on my own?

Not if you have taken it every day for more than a few weeks: a sudden stop can bring on withdrawal, in severe cases with seizures. The taper is set by a doctor. Message us before you change the dose, and we will talk through what coming off it with our medical team would look like.