Connect
Comment receiving replies
I took 1mg of klonopin for 20 years and had no problem with tolerance. It worked for me. But as I age, and deal with autoimmune issues, getting off as many drugs as possible became necessary. I also had severe issues with antihypertensives, so cleaning up my diet and getting off of any drugs absolutely not necessary was essential.
I started taking a few nootropics that have helped me since tapering down to .5mg of klonopin. The withdrawals were horrible even going down .25mg at a time. .75mg was much easier to do than .50mg. And .25mg was an absolute nightmare.
I am back up to .5mg with a few nootropics and am feeling better than I have in a very long time. I want to stay comfortable for a while before trying to go down again from .5mg of klonopin.
Whether to take a benzo or not is a personal decision. Living a hellish existence inside is not worth it. Taking what we need to be comfortable and not "gorked" is healthy.
Replies to "I took 1mg of klonopin for 20 years and had no problem with tolerance. It worked..."
Connect
@judith2 - I've been on klonopin for about 15 years and similarly have had (what I still think is) no problem with tolerance. My dosage has been 0.5BID - but usually take 0.5-1mg most nights. I recently saw a psychiatrist to help me taper off Effexor (which has an awful reputation) - because the Effexor had stopped working for me about 5 years ago - and my diagnosis changed to ADD (which still haven't figured out what the right drug will be).
The reason I mention this, is that the psychiatrist (and because she was so concerned I told my therapist) was alarmed at how long I have been taking the klonopin - and that I take it daily - so they both want me off it....my therapist thought I took it a couple times a month - and believes that taking it more than four days in a row indicates a tolerance/habit etc. So my therapist is alarmed...which of course has me alarmed - ick.
I'm in my early-mid 50s - but so far healthwise have few issues (lipitor 10mg and 1500mg metformin to help with residual PCOS after I got fat on Paxil almost 20 years ago)...but I also want to get off what I can. I love the idea of getting off klonopin completely AND be able to fall asleep without too much trouble....but of course now I am anxious that I won't be able to do it...but I agree with you. If a little bit makes one comfortable without affecting one's functioning - then I am all for it. But also if one wants to get off and it takes a bit longer than expected - that's okay, too.
It strikes me that the challenge is figuring out what's right for you...and reaching a consensus with one's medical team.
Good luck with your journey and I hope to catch up dosage-wise soon.