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I have been in Clonazepam 0.5mg TID for 18 years
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.
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@jeanne51
I saw a psychiatrist and he put me back on the Venlafaxine and added Valium. Neither of them were good for me. I am going through protracted withdrawal from the Venlafaxine which started to escalate to the point of me being useless. I have already tried Paxil and it wasn’t effective — but until the protracted withdrawal ever ends (if it ever does), then my body might be receptive to a different medication. My brain chemistry may have been ruined going off the Venlafaxine without proper supervision. Meanwhile, I am trying to teach my husband all the financial things I can no longer handle. He is a wonderful, loving man who has endured more in the past 7 months or so than any human being should be expected to handle. So happy you can get the extra medication you needed.
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2 Reactions@frouke my psychiatrist prescribed Valium 5mg twice a day. I took it for about 5 days and stopped. It is a horrible medication. If anything, I felt worse and found it only lasted about 1 hour.
@jeanne51
I forgot to mention, my #1 problem is anxiety. I suffer from social phobia and I was especially vulnerable at work where any new situation would cause me to panic. But, all during the years (thirty) that I was taking the Venlafaxine, I was able survive. I also suffered from a fear of male authority figures.
I think they use Valium for people who are tapering their dosage due to its longer effect than other brands, I used it many years ago when I think it was more popular. I now use Ativan for over 20 years and it works well for me but I’m worried about my doctor retiring and the next doctor might not be very helpful for me. I’m a very stressed person and this medication has always helped me to cope but since I was a cancer patient my anxiety is super high and I really need it to keep me grounded, I have a difficult time with antidepressants so it’s not an option.
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1 ReactionFind a new provider. Keep searching until you get one who can help you,
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4 ReactionsValium is not the drug of choice.
I suggest getting a new provider, trying Ketamine, magnetic therapy, or shock therapy. I am drug resistant and you may too. How long have you been depressed and on psychiatric medication? I am not a doctor and I haven’t gotten your whole picture. I feel bad for you, as I have been through 19 years of this and almost two years of fiddling around with meds I was doing so well with.
Perhaps you need hospitalization, which I have done twice. Jeanne
I have been on Ativan and Xanax and the new psychiatrist prescribed Valium. I don’t like it. I took one today though.
I am an old school nurse and Valium used to be given out like candy. It does have a longer half life to clear your system. It was used for seizures.
And you quit :cold turkey?: WHY? You need a new antidepressant, give it time, 3-4 weeks to work. You also need a shorter acting benzodiazepine, like Ativan or Xanax. Like I said previously, you need to be hospitalized for therapy and medication selection and adjustment. Dosage is crucial for the meds to work. There is a big difference between Ativan 0.5 mg and Ativan 10 mg. given in divided doses, always titrating up.
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