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william81 avatar

Tapering off of Benzodiazepines after 25+ years

Mental Health | Last Active: Sep 28 8:37am | Replies (10)

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Profile picture for ngk1 @ngk1

I think you should discuss tapering with your prescribing physician. I was placed on Klonapin years ago for insomnia (I was so desperate I didn't do my due diligence to learn that it is a benzo and I should have known better; Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata etc didn't help). I was on 2 mg for years from what I recall. I learned about the Ashton Manual which provides guidance as to how to taper. That's an easy Google. A psychiatric nurse then prescribed Remeron (mirtazapine) which helped me slowly lower my dosage to 1 mg and then .5 mg. I now take .25-.45 mg nightly. I liked the Remeron in its ability to help me lower the dosage but the trade off was a very large weight gain. I reluctantly went off of it as the weight gain caused other issues. I have an appointment with my sleep specialist later this month to see if he can help me taper off the rest and substitute something else for the insomnia. Tapering .25-.45 mg to even .15 mg was very difficult. I understand that there may be more difficulty weaning off with the last remaining small dosage. Or I may just need to stay on a low dose as it helps my anxiety as well. Good luck to you.

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Replies to "I think you should discuss tapering with your prescribing physician. I was placed on Klonapin years..."

Thankyou for the response I appreciate it!

@ngk1 there is a new med for insomnia that helps me. To my knowledge it is the first (there are actually two new drugs that act the same way, I can only remember the name of the one I take) drug approved for long term use. Its trade name is belsomra. Retail price is $400 per month. With my Medicare advantage plan I pay $131 for 3 months. So not cheap. Maybe something to keep in your back pocket in case you need it