I have been in Clonazepam 0.5mg TID for 18 years

Sorry to hear of your protracted withdrawal issues with the tremors etc. Just curious, have you noticed any improvement with these over the last 5 years, maybe not as intense as before? I researched the protracted withdrawal issues pretty deeply and everything indicated that these symptoms could indeed last for several years but were not permanent so hopefully they do ease and disappear over time. Evidently the chemicals from this drug can linger in our system and body tissues for a long time. I was at a much smaller dose of only .5MG and mine literally lasted 18 or so months, although I did notice slow improvement after first year or so. Wishing you all the best as I know how frustrating these issues are. Thought this might be helpful to some:

Klonopin (clonazepam) withdrawal can cause protracted symptoms, including body tremors during sleep. Klonopin is a benzodiazepine, and prolonged use can lead to physical dependence. When the medication is reduced or discontinued, the central nervous system can become hyperexcitable, leading to various withdrawal symptoms.

Protracted Withdrawal Symptoms (PWS): Some people may experience withdrawal symptoms that persist for weeks, months, or even years after discontinuing Klonopin. These symptoms can include:

Tremors: Trembling or shaking, which can occur during the day or night.
Sleep disturbances: Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or experiencing restless sleep with physical symptoms like tremors.
Anxiety: Heightened anxiety or panic attacks, which can exacerbate physical symptoms.
Muscle tension: Stiffness or spasms, which can contribute to tremors.
Autonomic instability: Symptoms like sweating, palpitations, and tremors can be part of this dysregulation.
If you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms, it’s crucial to consult a healthcare provider. They can help manage withdrawal symptoms safely and may suggest a gradual tapering of the medication, supportive therapies, or other treatments to alleviate discomfort.

He is off the radar since he retired so I doubt that his help will be accessible.

No nursing staff available.

Please find a provider who will continue the Klonopin and allow you to live a decent life.
It’s no different than someone taking diabetes or high blood pressure medication that works for them. All meds — have a side effect profile but it should be up to YOU as the patient to decide what you are willing to live with.
Best of luck.

I found a new provider but can’t get in to see her for two weeks. My most recent provider was such a disappointment. She was business oriented, went by the rules that haven’t even been confirmed by the CDC. She failed to inform me on my first visit that she was going to titrate me off Ambien and Clonazepam after I was safely and therapeutically on these meds for 18 months with my psychiatrist who retired and was the best provider I ever had in 40 years.
I will be writing a review of her practice, her lack of empathy, for which I have documentation in my texts.
Just a FYI for patients on benzodiazepines, do not agree to go to a provider unless you fully understand and agree to her plan of care.
I continue to suffer with coming off Clonazepam and only hope this new provider will manage my meds with me, the patient in mind, not with her business or the government input.

It is true that you need to understand your providers stance on prescribing Benzos. My primary care stopped prescribing and said I had to go to a psychiatrist to get Klonopin. So I found one and the first visit he told me I needed to taper off this “bad drug” while I argued all the ways it helped me. We did months of talk therapy and then a 10 month slow taper. It went ok from 1mg to .25mg but the side effects hit with a vengeance. He kept telling me that my body knew how to be calm and sleep and offered nothing to ease the problems. Before the taper was complete, he discharged me because the practice doesn’t treat seniors and I was turning 65. I felt kicked to the curb with no support.

Yes, I too, felt kicked to the curb.
Now I am waiting to see another provider with hopes that she doesn’t continue the taper. To me it is unimaginable how a provider can do this. In my search for a new provider many don’t take Medicare and many won’t take “old” patients, most saying no one over 65.
I hope you found someone else to help you. For me, being on Clonazepam for 18 years and being expected to taper off with my long history of depression, anxiety, panic attacks and now social anxiety, it is bordering on negligence to just drop me in mid taper when all I want is to go back to my original dose.

I’m sorry to read about your treatment from the doctor, it’s an absolute outrage that doctors are being so cruel to patients who are suffering and deserve proper medical care. The doctors are purely selfish and only concerned with their own lives and careers, any rapid withdrawal from this drug is destined to fail because the risk of relapse is high. It’s been proven that a very slow withdrawal is what’s needed for it to be successful. I can understand that they are also under pressure from the government to get their patients off these drugs but who is educating them about the risks they are taking to enforce this new decision, this is clearly not being considered and sadly it will only create a serious outcome. I don’t know all the details of the opioid crisis but it seems that these people are also victims of bad decisions and now they realize what they have created by forcing them into withdrawal, what ever happened to live and learn.

Your issues are not permanent.

@sears, I’m very interested in what you know, please elaborate.