1. < Depression & Anxiety

Klonopin taper

Posted by dawgbone @dawgbone, Jul 31, 2017

I have been on some kind of benzo for almost 40 yrs. I am trying to taper from 1.5-2 mgs of klonopin daily . Began in mid may 2017 and my last cut was very small on 7-2-17 to get to 1mg. Honestly feels like i am dying. I also take trazodone 75 mgs and 4 drugs for high blood pressure. I have been researching gabapentin and seroquel to help with the withdrawal symptons. Please offer any suggestions or help. I am 69 yrs old and cant even leave my house to visit my kids and grands. Thank you for any help!

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fluffykitty | @fluffykitty | Mar 6, 2019
In reply to @parus "@1mountaingirl86 As I read your words I was reading your fears. There are times our fears..." + (show)
@parus

@1mountaingirl86
As I read your words I was reading your fears. There are times our fears can overtake and consume us. I understand and even feel your fears. All you can do is your best. Not everyone experiences difficulties in weaning off of benzodiazepines. Oft we only hear about the negative things. Try to do something you enjoy to help you get through this time. A hard thing to do with the not knowing what to expect.

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Hi Parus. I have been on Clonazepam for 20 years. It helped me thru my rough years. Change of life was hard. It helped me get thru. I was afraid to go off of 1.5 mil a day because of all the videos I watched of people withdrawing. Fear of going off kept me taking it. But I decided to go for it because of all the bad news on Benzos today. I started in November 2018. I am tapering 8/10% every week or 2 weeks. I decided to let my body tell me if I was going too fast. Well, I am down to .25 mil. at bedtime. I also take melatonin at night. I am doing great. I have not had any withdrawals. I just wish I would have gone off sooner. Tell everyone that not all people have difficulties weaning off. Just like you posted. Best wishes to everyone. Keep up your good work, you can do it. @parus. @lisalucier

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1 reply
gettingbetter75 | @gettingbetter75 | Mar 6, 2019

Thanks @fluffykitty, appreciate the positive follow up. Good to have some a success story on this thread.

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1 reply
fluffykitty | @fluffykitty | Mar 6, 2019
In reply to @gettingbetter75 "Thanks @fluffykitty, appreciate the positive follow up. Good to have some a success story on this..." + (show)
@gettingbetter75

Thanks @fluffykitty, appreciate the positive follow up. Good to have some a success story on this thread.

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@gettingbetter75 Sounds like you are doing really good on your taper too. Keep up your good work. We both will be free before summer.

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gettingbetter75 | @gettingbetter75 | Mar 7, 2019

Hi @fluffykitty, I am curious to know if you've had any sleep issues and if so, are you doing or taking anything to help fight this off?

As I mentioned, I'm taking CBD and Melatonin at night for varying degrees of success for sleep specifically. It's not bulletproof but it absolutely helps. If I could get a handle on my sleep issues I think I'd be set.

I'm also using the Headspace app. They have some great guided meditations on both sleep and anxiety. I highly recommend both packs.

Thanks.

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2 replies
fluffykitty | @fluffykitty | Mar 7, 2019
In reply to @gettingbetter75 "Hi @fluffykitty, I am curious to know if you've had any sleep issues and if so,..." + (show)
@gettingbetter75

Hi @fluffykitty, I am curious to know if you've had any sleep issues and if so, are you doing or taking anything to help fight this off?

As I mentioned, I'm taking CBD and Melatonin at night for varying degrees of success for sleep specifically. It's not bulletproof but it absolutely helps. If I could get a handle on my sleep issues I think I'd be set.

I'm also using the Headspace app. They have some great guided meditations on both sleep and anxiety. I highly recommend both packs.

Thanks.

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Good morning @gettingbetter75 I am doing better sleeping. When I first tapered I would wake up 3 hrs. later. Then take a couple hrs to go back to sleep. I had to turn my clock away from me so as not to look at the time.

I try not to look at any electronic devices at least 2 hours before bed. And I take Melatonin, 5 ml with my .25 ml Clonazepam. Also in the past I listen to Letting Go of Stress CD. By Emmett Miller and Stephen Halpern both MD and PH. D. I like the muscle relax/tension one. These helped me a lot. Also I walk a lot in the fresh air and try to get tired everyday.

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fluffykitty | @fluffykitty | Mar 7, 2019
In reply to @gettingbetter75 "Hi @fluffykitty, I am curious to know if you've had any sleep issues and if so,..." + (show)
@gettingbetter75

Hi @fluffykitty, I am curious to know if you've had any sleep issues and if so, are you doing or taking anything to help fight this off?

As I mentioned, I'm taking CBD and Melatonin at night for varying degrees of success for sleep specifically. It's not bulletproof but it absolutely helps. If I could get a handle on my sleep issues I think I'd be set.

I'm also using the Headspace app. They have some great guided meditations on both sleep and anxiety. I highly recommend both packs.

Thanks.

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Thanks for the heads up on the Headspace app. @gettingbetter75

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scruffy1 | @scruffy1 | Mar 7, 2019
In reply to @thankful "@falon- Greetings! Just noticed your post and thought I would connect with you. I've been on..." + (show)
@thankful

@falon- Greetings! Just noticed your post and thought I would connect with you. I've been on klonopin and then the generic clonazepam for over 20 years. I started taking it for anxiety and panic attacks. It took me about a year to confront my issues. They began to have such a big impact on what I thought I would do each day and because each time I had an attack depending what Iwas doing those things I began to cross off my list of "no go's". It wasn't till I had several sessions with a physiatrist that he perscribed the 1mg. klonopin.
Slowly, but surely after taking it I began crossing things off my "no go" list and felt like I was getting back my life.
For me Falon I never felt the need to increase my dosage for some reason. I think because it made such a difference in my life I just got used to it and really didn't give it a lot of thought. I found it real helpful (and still do) that I keep a half a pill in my pocket when I know I'm gonna fly or do other things that were on my list.
In all the years I've had it with me I think I took it once. It just helps me mentally know I have it just in case.
Sorry to hear about what you are going through and please know we here on Mayo Connect care about you & each other!
Please try and erase those harmful thoughts about dying. I understand how you feel, but that is a terrible option to consider.
Keep talking with us and we will do our best based on our own experiences how we got through it and I know you will as well!
Most seem to take their clonazepam before bed, but I chose to take it in the morning. You might consider that if you take in the evening. Jim @thankful

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@thankful I, too, went to a physiatrist but for back issues. In June 2018 he told me that my clonazepam, which was prescribed by a neurologist for my neuropathy, could no longer be prescribed with my pain meds (new DEA regs), so he tapered me off the 2mg./day IN TWO WEEKS. Life was hell for almost 6 months after, and 9 months later I still have a few issues. Be careful of doctors working out of their specialties, i.e. tapering off a drug he's not that familiar with in orthopedic work.

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thankful | @thankful | Mar 7, 2019

@scruffy1- Can't believe a Dr. can be that much in the dark, but from reading so many other posts that seems to be the case in many cases!
So sorry you had to endure that fast taper! Hoping your hell is over and you see the light at the end of that long tunnel you've been through!
May God bless your efforts! Jim @thankful

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scruffy1 | @scruffy1 | Mar 7, 2019

@thankful the way he explained it to me was that for everyone/every time?? he prescribes opioids to me knowing I am on clonazepam, DEA gives him a "strike, and 10 "strikes" and they go after his license to prescribe. From conversations later I doubt that knew the consequences for ME of a 2-week taper. But even if he knew about the 6-month Ashton schedule and thereby prescribed the stepdown drug of Valium, he'd be in trouble. My guess is that he needed me off one or the other ASAP and rather than push back for an exception, he just told me I had to do it. I spent 4 years on a DEA (illegal drug - mostly cocaine) task force and 23 years in the fed gov't: bureaucrats make decisions in a vacuum, so I blame them equally.

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thankful | @thankful | Mar 7, 2019
In reply to @scruffy1 "@thankful the way he explained it to me was that for everyone/every time?? he prescribes opioids..." + (show)
@scruffy1

@thankful the way he explained it to me was that for everyone/every time?? he prescribes opioids to me knowing I am on clonazepam, DEA gives him a "strike, and 10 "strikes" and they go after his license to prescribe. From conversations later I doubt that knew the consequences for ME of a 2-week taper. But even if he knew about the 6-month Ashton schedule and thereby prescribed the stepdown drug of Valium, he'd be in trouble. My guess is that he needed me off one or the other ASAP and rather than push back for an exception, he just told me I had to do it. I spent 4 years on a DEA (illegal drug - mostly cocaine) task force and 23 years in the fed gov't: bureaucrats make decisions in a vacuum, so I blame them equally.

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@scruffy1- Very interesting! I've never have come up to anything like that for all the many years I've been on clonazepam. Every few years my PCP asks me whats my thoughts on continueing and I tell him why change what works and that seems to be the end of that.
I'm due for my yearly checkup and I plan on bringing this up. I'll keep you posted on what I hear.
I agree with you about it's not just the doc's fault. It seems like every time our govt. trys to control problems they overstep and that hurts many who are not abusing the drugs they are on and suffer greatly because of the govt. pressure on doc's. Jim @thankful

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