I have never tried klonopin so I can't comment on that for the hug or anything else. This has been my experience.

Neurontin - Helps me quite a bit. It takes care of the nerve pain in my ribs. I am fortunate that this works for me as long as I don't increase my dosage. (I'm at 900 mg a day).

Baclofen - Gave it a week trial. Did nothing for the hug and made me hungover and grumpy and irritable.

Valium - Is great if you don't mind being knocked out for a few days. Even at 1/4 dose I sleep a lot. Whether I had pain or not I have no clue and it really didn't matter. But, I'm a light weight so things effect me easier.

Ativan - Works good for the hug and decreases the spasms. It doesn't get rid of all of it but takes the edge off of the pain. It also keeps you calm during the pain. The good thing is that you can still function on a small dose and yes, it lasts a while. If I take it at night I seems to last me well in to the next day.

Xanax - Did nothing for the pain and I was still well aware of it when I took Xanax. I've only had 2 in my entire life so I don't know if I'd be the best to answer that one. However, like I mentioned, I was still well aware of the pain/discomfort when I took it.

Some other things that help me . . . Ice. I put ice on quite often. It helps the nerve pain as well as the muscles and inflammation caused by the intercostals constantly going in to spasm.

Epsom salt baths - These really help me a lot and recently I started using magnesium cream. (I found some recipes on line and there is one on NT). It really helps a lot. I apply it a few times a day to the rib cage area.

Pressure - For me, applying slight pressure to the area seems to help. My hug is on the left side. I sleep on that side and it just feels so much better. If I switch to the right side, I can feel the pull on the muscles. I have heard of others putting pressure on the area and/or wearing a girdle. And, I have also heard that for others putting pressure on it makes it worse.

Bras - Go braless if you need to. I only wear one if I leave the house. They just hit right where one of the nerves goes through the ribs. There are many times when I have been out that I have had to loosen my bra.

SalonPas - These are great too and I have used them many times on the hug. They really do work on breakthrough pain as well as other muscular type pain. DD19 loves them.

TENS Unit - This is a tricky one. My TENS unit works great most of the time. BUT, if the area is nervy OMGoodness!!!! The pain will take your breath away. If you have one, start out slowly before upping the "amps" so that you know whether some of the pain is muscular or nerve.

In the meantime, I hope you feel better. The hug is my constant daily companion. Some days are better than others but it is always there. And, the nerve damage extends in to my stomach causing spasms in my stomach too. It is not fun to deal with but once you find something that works for you, you will feel so much better and much more in control of the pain.