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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oakbourne | @oakbourne | Oct 14, 2019
In reply to @jakedduck1 "@oakbourne Hi there, Can’t walk down the street without tripping over a law, rule or regulation...." + (show)
@jakedduck1

@oakbourne
Hi there,
Can’t walk down the street without tripping over a law, rule or regulation.
Jake

Jump to this post

Whoa, little doggie. I am speechless.

REPLY
1 reply
Leonard | @jakedduck1 | Oct 14, 2019
In reply to @oakbourne "Whoa, little doggie. I am speechless." + (show)
@oakbourne

Whoa, little doggie. I am speechless.

Jump to this post

@oakbourne
lol, with almost 40 million people here, more than any state, no offense but stay put. California has the highest state tax rate, highest sales tax, highest gas tax, high cost of living, high crime. California has about 12% of the US population but 33% of people on welfare and the highest number of illegals who you will have the privilege of paying for their health care and nearly everything else.
Not to mention California is a desert with too little water, traffic, homelessness, English becoming second language, earthquakes, forest fires, droughts, floods, mudslides, liberals oops shouldn’t have said that🤐 The list goes on & on.
Glad to hear you couldn’t live here.
Jake

REPLY
1 reply
Ellen | @helenfrances | Nov 21, 2019
In reply to @hazelblumberg "Abby, I'm pretty sure that my body is physically addicted to clonazepam after all the years..." + (show)
@hazelblumberg

Abby, I'm pretty sure that my body is physically addicted to clonazepam after all the years I've been on it. And y'know what? I don't care! It helps me.

I have had panic/anxiety disorder for as long as I can remember, even as a kid. I had no idea that I had "something." I just figured everybody felt that way and that they were better at dealing with it than I was. When we lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, the University of Minnesota was conducting a study on panic/anxiety disorder. My husband saw the ad for it in the paper, decided it sounded a lot like me, and suggested I go. I got into the study. I have no idea if I was on a placebo or a drug. No matter what, I learned a lot about the illness, and I could get medical help after the study ended.

If clonazepam helps you, there is NO NEED to get off it. As to being an addict--I mean, who cares? We're not talking any kind of dangerous addiction here. We're talking about something that's life saving.

And you would NOT be better off dead! You would have last-minute regrets, and you'd pull yourself out if you could. So, don't do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure that all of us with clinical depression have been there. It sucks. But things do get better. And docs do eventually find the right combination of meds. See my post below: I had to spend 3 1/2 weeks in a psych ward to find the combination of meds that help me, and I am actually grateful for my time in the psych ward.

Keep writing to us, OK?

Hazel

Jump to this post

Clonazapam affects both MEMORY and mood.
The prescriber did NOT tell me the side effects.

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1 reply
Moderator
Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | Nov 21, 2019
In reply to @helenfrances "Clonazapam affects both MEMORY and mood. The prescriber did NOT tell me the side effects." + (show)
@helenfrances

Clonazapam affects both MEMORY and mood.
The prescriber did NOT tell me the side effects.

Jump to this post

Hi, @helenfrances - I have had some minor memory problems from taking fluoxetine (Prozac), and I don't think my doctor warned me about that, either. I think that doctors really do weigh the pros and cons for you in prescribing, but I don't believe they always spell out all the side effects possible. In fact, I think that they really assume you read all the paperwork from the pharmacy on side effects, and they never know for sure what, if any, side effects you will experience (e.g., I've read a lot on Connect about patients having side effects from gabapentin, and when I took it for postherpetic neuralgia, I experienced no side effects while taking it or while tapering off). I've found pharmacists in their consults when you get a new medication seem to warn a bit more about side effects.

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Mentor
Jim, Volunteer Mentor | @jimhd | Nov 22, 2019
In reply to @jakedduck1 "@oakbourne lol, with almost 40 million people here, more than any state, no offense but stay..." + (show)
@jakedduck1

@oakbourne
lol, with almost 40 million people here, more than any state, no offense but stay put. California has the highest state tax rate, highest sales tax, highest gas tax, high cost of living, high crime. California has about 12% of the US population but 33% of people on welfare and the highest number of illegals who you will have the privilege of paying for their health care and nearly everything else.
Not to mention California is a desert with too little water, traffic, homelessness, English becoming second language, earthquakes, forest fires, droughts, floods, mudslides, liberals oops shouldn’t have said that🤐 The list goes on & on.
Glad to hear you couldn’t live here.
Jake

Jump to this post

@jakedduck1 My, don't you sound like a representative of California Tourism!

REPLY
repeterb47 | @repeterb47 | Dec 7, 2019

I would like suggestions on who to contact at Mayo Psychiatry to help my 40 year old son taper off of his prescription for Klonopin. Does Mayo offer a program for this?

REPLY
Moderator
Justin McClanahan, Moderator | @JustinMcClanahan | Dec 7, 2019

Hello @repeterb47. I sense your concern and care for your son's wanting to taper off of klonopin. Mayo Clinic also says,

"If you have been taking this medicine for a long time, do not stop taking it without checking first with your doctor. Your doctor may want you to gradually reduce the amount you are using before stopping it completely. This may help prevent worsening of your condition and reduce the possibility of withdrawal symptoms, such as seizures, hallucinations, stomach or muscle cramps, tremors, or unusual behavior." The best way to get information on an appointment with Mayo Clinic or to ask if Mayo has a program is to contact any of the three sites, http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63.

You may notice I moved your discussion and merged it with an existing discussion titled "Klonopin taper." I did this so you could meet the many members discussing the tapering of this particular medication.

@repeterb47, has your son been advised by a provider or pharmacist to stop the medication? Or is it a desire?

REPLY
2 replies
scruffy1 | @scruffy1 | Dec 7, 2019

DO NOT stop quickly. My doctor's mistake in a 2-week taper produced the worst 6 months of my life. If memory serves correctly, the Ashton schedule for 2mg. of klonopin is 6 months with a step-down to valium.

REPLY
1 reply
scruffy1 | @scruffy1 | Dec 7, 2019
In reply to @JustinMcClanahan "Hello @repeterb47. I sense your concern and care for your son's wanting to taper off of..." + (show)
@JustinMcClanahan

Hello @repeterb47. I sense your concern and care for your son's wanting to taper off of klonopin. Mayo Clinic also says,

"If you have been taking this medicine for a long time, do not stop taking it without checking first with your doctor. Your doctor may want you to gradually reduce the amount you are using before stopping it completely. This may help prevent worsening of your condition and reduce the possibility of withdrawal symptoms, such as seizures, hallucinations, stomach or muscle cramps, tremors, or unusual behavior." The best way to get information on an appointment with Mayo Clinic or to ask if Mayo has a program is to contact any of the three sites, http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63.

You may notice I moved your discussion and merged it with an existing discussion titled "Klonopin taper." I did this so you could meet the many members discussing the tapering of this particular medication.

@repeterb47, has your son been advised by a provider or pharmacist to stop the medication? Or is it a desire?

Jump to this post

https://benzo.org.uk/manual/bzsched.htm#s5

REPLY
1 reply
repeterb47 | @repeterb47 | Dec 7, 2019
In reply to @JustinMcClanahan "Hello @repeterb47. I sense your concern and care for your son's wanting to taper off of..." + (show)
@JustinMcClanahan

Hello @repeterb47. I sense your concern and care for your son's wanting to taper off of klonopin. Mayo Clinic also says,

"If you have been taking this medicine for a long time, do not stop taking it without checking first with your doctor. Your doctor may want you to gradually reduce the amount you are using before stopping it completely. This may help prevent worsening of your condition and reduce the possibility of withdrawal symptoms, such as seizures, hallucinations, stomach or muscle cramps, tremors, or unusual behavior." The best way to get information on an appointment with Mayo Clinic or to ask if Mayo has a program is to contact any of the three sites, http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63.

You may notice I moved your discussion and merged it with an existing discussion titled "Klonopin taper." I did this so you could meet the many members discussing the tapering of this particular medication.

@repeterb47, has your son been advised by a provider or pharmacist to stop the medication? Or is it a desire?

Jump to this post

Thank you for your reply! My son has been taking 1mg of clonazepam daily for over 6 years for anxiety/panic attacks. Unfortunately he needs to get off of it as he is facing some jail time in about 3 months for his second OWI in 10 years. The jail will not allow him to take the clonazepam while doing Huber.

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