Doctor wants me to taper off meds; I don't understand why

@hopeful33250 Thank you for being encouraging. Maybe that phrase “good things come to those who wait” will come to be or how about “just say no to drugs”. Yes,yes there are drugs that help. I do have a fear of them. Trust you have a restful sleep.
I do appreciate the input. This is all so new. I do have trouble adapting to change.

@hopeful33250 @parus As we know, each person's system responds to medications in different ways. It sounds like you are super sensitive, and having been your own advocate for so long, you are hyper vigilant. Please find a way to relax, and get your drawing started again [or some outlet for your creativiy]; we know we like your pictures and you cope easier when you can draw.
Ginger

@lorraine59

Hello Lorraine and welcome to Connect,

Klonopin was originally made to be used as a short term medication. That may be because it’s a Benzodiazepine. I’not really sure why, unfortunately they use many Benzos long term now. People often become dependent on that class of drugs. Especially if a patient has/had problems with dependency issues with drugs or alcohol.
I took Klonopin for seizures which was of no help and I never had such a hard time starting or stopping any other medication as I did Klonopin. I was literally taking flakes at the end. Your most likely stopping to quickly.
Didn’t the psychologist teach you the coping tools necessary to control your Panic Attacks? They are after all for the most part based on irrational thoughts and fears. After one starts, reassurance is very helpful in stopping them. It is often difficult to cope with many situations but you must. Life isn’t always easy but it does go on. Everyone has been through traumatic experiences in life far worse than mine and possibly yours but they chose to get through it and go on living a happy life in spite of whatever tragedy they went through. I’m not saying they will or can ever forget. I’knew a man who lost his legs, another man lost his arms and legs, my close friend hung himself, my best friend lost her young daughter from a rare disease. My very active father became a Quadriplegic after avoiding a drunk driver. Another friend lost his little brother in a drive by shooting. But they went on to enjoy life. Although some may resent what I’m going to say but I truly believe anyone is capable of getting through anything and usually without. Not saying it’s easy but pills should be a last resort after everything has been tried and failed. It takes time and even more effort to get better. Also, alcohol is only going to preclude you from getting well. I’m glad you understand that.
God Bless you and wishing you the best possible health and happiness.
Jake

Even though panic attacks may be based on irrational fears they are real. I know my skills and use them. It seems that the use of benzodiazepines by some is seen as a weakness. A type of crutch it seems. Even skills are not always enough and I no longer use benzodiazepines as groveling for them did not seem at all ladylike. I admire anyone trying to go off of them. I do NOT see anyone using them as weak or inferior. I can say I get around people even less than before. All of the health reasons do not help one bit with fears. There are those of us here with compassion for what you are experiencing. Skills can be helpful but not always enough. Try not to be too hard on yourself or feel a failure if you have fears. They are real to for some of us. Not any easier as we grow older either.

I so appreciate your compassionate post, @parus. Well said~

After some research, I found this forum, a safe place to connect with people, who are living with the same anxiety, panic, and depression I experience.on a daily basis.But this post left me in tears! @jakedduck1 unless you have actually experienced how debilitating these attacks are, you cannot say they that they are irrational, because they are to us.As for treatment, 2 years of seeing a Physiologist,the coping skills I was taught only helped me while in his office. I also did not mean to initiate a debate over who has had more traumatic experiences in their lifetime As to .my addiction to alcohol, I thought I dealt with many decades ago,and I now feel the same shame and guilt I feel now dealing with Clonazepam taper,. My prayer for you is that you take into consideration that if you have not gone through the paralyzing fear that those of us suffer, you give a great deal of thought before posting something that makes me feel more shame about .being drug addict,as well, because I cannot seem to cope! I apologize if this sounds harsh, but after letting this post sink into my brain for days, I have debated deleting this group!

@lorraine59 You are NOT a drug addict just because you are addicted. Please do not feel ashamed or repelled from the connect community. There are those of us who “get it” and those with chips on their shoulders which says they are hurting and find it hard to not come across as critical to a weakness in another. We are here to support and encourage. I am sad this has happened. I have had it happen as well. I am still here and hope you will be too.

Hi @lorraine59, indeed you are right. Connect is a safe place to connect with people. I believe you know that and this allowed you to come back and let Jake and all of know how his message made you feel. Thank you for sharing how deeply hurt you are. No post should make you re-experience shame and guilt. For that I'm sorry.

I have to admit that when I read @jakedduck1's message 2 days ago, I had a different interpretation. I felt that he was trying to welcome you and to share his experiences of how hard it was for him to get off Klonopin. But I am not experiencing your challenges, nor do I share your triggers. I agree that sharing about the difficult situations others have experienced is not helpful for many people. Your reality is your reality; it is not diminished by comparison.

Lorraine, please believe me when I say I know your hurt is real. On this forum, we only have words to connect us. I'm confident that if we were all in one room and had the benefit of body language and tone of voice, Jake's message would have delivered and received differently. I'm confident that @jakedduck1 will respond here and apologize.

Like @parus, I encourage you to stick with the forum and continue to benefit from the support you have received as well as the support you offer others. Moments like these remind us that words matter and how fragile we all are.

@lorraine59 @jakedduck1 A couple of days ago I liked Jake's post. Each person has their own set of experiences. I truly do believe this in my heart and no one else can walk in the shoes of another person. While Jake's post felt accusatory and to Lorraine, there were a couple of points that I agreed with, there were also points that I disagreed with. After heading a discussion group yesterday, I experienced some of what Lorraine stated in her post. And once again I realize that each person colors their comments and their response to situations from their own personal experience. There's nothing we can do about that one person to another. I hope that each of you will stay here at connect group because it is important to all of us to hear all points of view, those that support and those that sting alike, because it helps us see our world. We all have something to learn from each other. Our hurts and our joys can be shared in this environment that allows others to learn and grow from them also.
Ginger

@lorraine59

Hello Lorraine,

First I want to say I am grateful for letting me know how I made you feel. I am as sorry as I can possibly be for hurting you and making you cry. There is never any excuse for hurting another person. Obviously that wasn’t my intention. You have my sincerest apology. My original thoughts were to encourage you but looking back I see I failed miserably. Somewhere I got off track. I never met to be accusatory. If we had been able to talk one on one this wouldn’t have happened. A couple posts mentioned compassion which appeared to be aimed at me. Those were hurtful to me. If I were not a compassionate person I would not be here. I care deeply about everyone here on connect and all who are suffering.