I have been in Clonazepam 0.5mg TID for 18 years

Posted by jeanne51 @jeanne51, Jan 7 4:49pm

My psychiatrist retired and I was left to find a replacement. It seems there are a majority of nurse practitioners these days taking patients as providers, many do not take insurance. I found a nurse practitioner with a very good educational background. I saw her in person and she renewed the medications I was in for 6 months. Next month we had a zoom meeting and she told me she wanted me off the Ambien and Clonazepam because I would get dementia or Alzheimer’s with long term use. She insisted I start tapering against my will. I had school phobia in grade school, began having depression symptoms in my 20’s, and in my late 20’s had two major panic attacks. I have been depressed with anxiety most of my adult life. I have been hospitalized twice because of this. I have never asked for an increase in dosage of Ambien or Clonazepam fur 18 years after I found a wonderful psychiatrist who was so good at medication management.
Now, tapering Ambien and Clonazepam I have started self mutilating by picking my fingers raw until they bleed. I can’t sleep at night, I have become socially phobic. I have become isolative and often think of suicide with no plan. I am 73 years old and I think it is so cruel to put me through this when all I want is to have quality of life, not quantity. I live with my husband in adult senior living which I have not adjusted to. Taking these meds away has decreased my desire to exercise and my endurance is decreasing. My new provider told me if I didn’t want to taper my medication that I should find a new one provider. I did manage to taper the Ambien but I am down to half of the Clonazepam and feel like I can’t go on. Please help me. I am on Paxil and Wellbutrin for depression but it is anxiety and insomnia making my life miserable. I am not the same person I was a year ago.
I feel miserable, she has destroyed any quality of life I had. I really don’t want to live anymore.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Depression & Anxiety Support Group.

The only SSRI I had a horrible time getting off of was Cymbalta. I’ve been on so many in my lifetime but this took the prize. There is actually a Facebook group to help people with ways to get off that horrible drug. My hope is that my new provider will not continue tapering my Clonazepam. At my age, I really don’t care if I get dementia, if their claim is really true. I would like to have a quality of life, rather than quantity and staying on Clonazepam is the on,y way I see this happening.
Sorry to hear you suffered brain damage from SSRI’s.

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This is releated to daily living for people living with extreme anxiety.
Today tariffs go into effect for our trading partners. I assure you that if you spend time on social boards or watch CNN or FOX right now there is no medicine that will quell your anxiety, it will go through the roof. My SUGGESTION is to let things that are out of our control or early in the president plan which is unknown at this time play out awhile. You will only create extreme anxiety for yourself. TURN THEM OFF for now. We are suffering enough!!!

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