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My psychiatrist wants to switch me from Ativan to clonazepam to taper
Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: Apr 4 1:28pm | Replies (60)Comment receiving replies
Hi, I understand that your doctor wants to take you off Ativan 1 mg. and switch you to Clonazepam 0.5 mg., I’m not very successful with this option because I know that Clonazepam stays in your system longer than Ativan but you are reducing the dose by half and that’s the reason I didn’t succeed with this option. I also think that there’s a risk of experiencing withdrawal symptoms even though they are both benzodiazepines because they work differently. If you want to get off this medication, there are many options available, i.e., a book called The Ashton Manuals which is available online and YouTube is also amazing with many helpful resources. I noticed that you have only been using the medication since February, this is very helpful for your success because there is a big difference with long term usage. Always remember to go very slowly when reducing and if your doctor has experience with this it would be beneficial to listen and see what they suggest, good luck.
Replies to "Hi, I understand that your doctor wants to take you off Ativan 1 mg. and switch..."
I have been on Klonopin/Clonazepam for over thirty years and because of all the horrific stories on this site I asked her about tapering off it.
I don’t drink or smoke and exercise vigorously for 2-3 hours six out of seven days a week.
She told me to stop looking at the site. I am 74 and in good shape.
I know I am going to get angry comments but along with the medication I take for my depression this works for me.
Good luck to everyone. We are all different and handle drugs differently.
I say if it is not broke why fix it and my PCP agrees with me.
The Ashton method does recommend switching from a short acting benzo to Valium as it is longer act and thus results in a smoother transition off benzos entirely. There is other information in support of switching to a longer acting benzo such as Valium which is too lengthy for this forum. You can easily download the manual and save it to the cloud to review at your leisure.
@frouke Sadly 😥 I am a professional Peer Recovery Advocate due to the fact I have first and second hand experience in addiction and mental health. There are so many different keys to chemical dependency.. First and foremost it depends on why your stopping the Benzo whether your doing it on your own choosing/Want to Stop taking it or being forced too.. Also matters why ur taking it in the first place is it just to get high or do you need it for severe CPTSD and Panic disorder like myself I take a .5 mgclonazapam and break it in half which makes it a .25 mg only when im having a actual panic attack its better than the equivalent of Ativan I believe anyways and the best thing u can do if u actually need them is to get put on prazosin
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i was on low dose .125 of klonapin, once a day. i was getting off and my hearing started to diminish. there are articles that said hearing can get worse after tapering from klonapin.