I am having a VERY difficult time with Klonipin withdrawal

@frouke Yes, the Ashton Manual recommends adding a low dose of Valium while tapering off Klonapin, then once off the Klonapin, tapering off the valium. There is a chart in the Manual outlining the tapering schedule for each benzo. The Manual also goes into the half-life of each.

@william81 Yes, you can taper down but it needs to be very slow. Usually it is exactly as you say, maybe even longer than 4-6 weeks, but if you are not getting off Ativan completely, I believe you will have an easier time. Be sure and do it slow and take it one day at a time. If you have been on it for anxiety, try and find another way to reduce that anxiety...mindfulness, exercise, breathing exercises. Good luck and keep us posted.

I have had a paradoxical (which I read only 1-2 % experience) reaction to clon. almost since I started it which means it creates more anxiety than it cures. i am about to start a liquid taper with it and am scared. Has anyone got off this benzo this way and how did you feel in the process, I've been on .5 mg for about 4 months and feel terrible most of the time.

@gunshy - That sounds like the clonazepam (Klonopin) is not helping with a calming and non-panic response in you. Sorry to hear that. It does seem that response to mental health medications can vary by person and that you sometimes have to try more than one to find the right fit.

If you've not gotten to read this before, you may be interested in some Mayo Clinic information on this medication:
- Clonazepam (oral route) https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/clonazepam-oral-route/description/drg-20072102

gunshy, has the doctor who prescribed the clonazepam given you any feedback on how you've responded (or not) to this medication so far? Has he or she given you a tapering schedule they feel would be safe and help you avoid challenging side effects?

Thanks Lisa for responding to my post. After several months he finally heard me. We are going to be working together on the taper. I decided to go with the liquid rather than switch to a longer acting benzo as I have not done well with changes of benzos before. Frankly, I am terrified of the process but I have to get off it. First step is do the liquid in the am and half a tab in the pm to see how I do with the liquid. Then he plans to decrease at .02 and hold it there until I feel stable, should there be any reaction. I am thinking I would like to start at a decrease of .01 as I am extremely sensitive to medication period. I want to keep the total decrease to 5 percent a month. Did you taper off clon. and if so, how did you do it? And was it difficult?

@gunshy - I actually did not taper off that one. I tapered off citalopram (Celexa) years ago, as it left me too bland, with no high highs or low lows. My doctor directed my taper, but even so, I still had to call his office a time or two and report that I was feeling off, and then my taper was tweaked. One time during my taper I felt really off over the weekend, and I asked my husband to take me to urgent care. I was given an anti-anxiety you evidently can only be prescribed short-term.

So, even with the doctor's advising, I still had to communicate really well and be ready to act if I ever felt really off. After the taper off of the citalopram, I also then had to go on buproprion (Wellbutrin), which was also a wild ride. Thankfully, the pharmacist who filled it for me warned me it would be a bumpy ride for 3-4 months till my body got used to it. That was the case, but I didn't quit because of what the pharmacist had said. I've been taking it for a couple of decades now.

So, this taper will be in a different form - the liquid - than what you've done before? Do you have a way to get ahold of your doctor or anyone on call if you need help on any day or hour of your taper?

@lisalucier

@gunshy - Hi - I believe your message to me did not all come through in your post. Would you like to repost it?

I need to get off .5mg of clonazpam after five months. I have had a paradoxical response to it. My doc suggested swiitching from tab to liquid. I think even doing .25 liquid and .25 tab might put me over the edge. I can't split a .5 pill into quarters equally so I can't go slower that way, i.e. 3/4 tab, 1/4 liquid. Have you had or know about this process? If, so could you share it.
The other option is the Ashton method with the gradual switch to diaz. Do you know how that has worked for people. It takes a really long time and i am not sure how I would react to the switch in meds even though it would be very slow.
There is the ORO house in CA, but I live on the east coast.
I am very much afraid of the liquid plan, even though I have the bottle for it. I have suffered so much that I cannot take much more any longer.
Please help me. Thank you!!!

@gunshy
I have been on klonopin since 1996. 1 mg 3x a day. Been to 3 detox centers but had to go back on klono due to PAWS. The Ashton Method is hailed as the best option. The manual is available on the web. It’s a long process but apparently works. I wouldn’t take anything until you read that. Doctors have no idea how to detox people from klono. My PCP has seen what I’ve gone through trying to get off it and said I’ve been on it so long and I’m 71 years old that I should just stay on it for the rest of my life. If I try to detox again, I could die. So check out the Ashton Manual. You don’t have to read the whole thing. It has chapters that relate to how much you are taking. Valium in combo with klono is used.