1. < Depression & Anxiety

Tapering off clonazepam (Klonopin, Rivotril)

Posted by mmussak @mmussak, Dec 19, 2018

Hi my name is Mary and I am a first time user of ever using a discussion blog online but have felt in my heart I need some advice and help with an issue I am having. My dr I have seen for many years moved out of state and referred me to another phychiatrist within his office. At the time of his moving away he had me weaning off clorazapam slowly and doing it as slow to not make it not so difficult as you all know , and I was doing well at it until I was having extreme chest pain and they put me in the hospital for 2 days to check to make sure it wasn't my heart, with all this happening I knew it was the weaning off the meds that was causing it so i went back up in dosage and it all went away again, and I was almost off it...My old dr started me on this med 27 years ago and I had no idea what it was but my body anxiety was shutting down my body and it helped it all go away so i didnt question it, well not until I went to school for nursing did I find out what it was all about. He put me on .5 mg three times a day and that stayed that way for 27 years not knowing what It does later in years, so I asked my dr to help me with the weaning off it, so our weaning process was as follows: Take .5 in a.m. ,25 afternoon and ,5 evening dose for 2 weeks then cut morning dose to .25 afternoon to .25 and evening .5 for 2 weeks then finally .25 three times a day for 6 weeks and then starting the last of the wean at this point the same as we did the first .25 till i was off. My new dr went from .50 3 times daily to .25 two times a day starting right away to get off it, that is over 1.0 mg a day off it all in one day and forward , I am already sad and crying because I dont know what to do, I have been there and I know how hard it was just to get off the way my old dr did slowly.....anyone out there that can help me with what to do I am so scared and I don't think she knows how extremely hard it is to get off this stupid stuff or that I really do want to do it, but please make it as painless as possible if there is such a thing with these meds. At 56 I didnt think I would have to go through menapause and this hell(sorry about the word but so true) all at once...at times I think it would be easier to just get cancer or something and die. Sorry but its true if you have been there you will understand. PLease help me!!!

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Lisa Lucier | @lisalucier | Feb 12, 2019
In reply to @dallison1189 "Hi, all. I’m late to the conversation and new to the site. I was recently in..." + (show)
@dallison1189

Hi, all. I’m late to the conversation and new to the site. I was recently in a psych hospital for about 5 days due to meds not working with me. They “tapered” me off of Klonipin, added some meds, took some away. And by that I mean that within 3 days I was tapered off klonopin from .75 mg 2 times a day to .5mg 2 times to .5 for 1 day. They took away the drugs causing the issues (pristiq and Latuda) and I wasn’t taking them more than 2 weeks at MOST. There was no weaning of Latuda. Only cymbalta. And they added Abilify 5mg.

So to make this make sense...
They took my Klonopin down from .75 twice a day to: tues and Wednesday .5 twice, Thursday .5 once and Friday none.
They took me off of Latuda cold turkey after taking it for about 2 weeks (I think?).
They weaned me off of Pristiq.
They put me on 5mg of Abilify.
They gave me Visteril for anxiety and insomnia.

So my question is, is it normal to feel absolutely awful and anxiety ridden? I feel like my site is delayed, my anxiety is worse than it’s ever been (obsessed with if I’m medically okay, shaking, can’t sleep, mind racing, tingling, head feels like a band is on it, etc). And I’m out of it. Is this withdrawal from weaning too quickly?

Danielle

Jump to this post

Hi, @dallison1189 - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. That is a lot of change in medications. I know from my own experience changing from citalopram (Celexa) to buproprion (Wellbutrin) years ago and from what members have shared in this community that any change in antidepressants (or anti-anxiety meds) can truly be a challenge, and potentially include some real setbacks along the way.

If you click on VIEW & REPLY in your email notification, you will see the whole discussion and can join in, meet and participate with other members talking about their or their loved ones' experiences. I believe you will see that many members have had some tough times with their tapers.

Have you had the chance to report back to your doctor about how you are doing now with the symptoms you mentioned - worsened anxiety, shaking, insomnia, mind racing, tingling, head pressure? If so, what did the doctor propose to get you through these transitions with your medications, now that you are back at home?

REPLY
thankful | @thankful | Feb 12, 2019
In reply to @annfsd "THIS IS FOR EVERYONE..... This past week or so has been rough. Monday of last week..." + (show)
@annfsd

THIS IS FOR EVERYONE.....
This past week or so has been rough. Monday of last week I started a new bottle of clonazepam( .5mg tablets) from my local Walgreens. I started to feel really sick and nauseous, benzo flu symptoms, increased anxiety, not sleeping as well as I normally can. Tuesday I woke up feeling depression, which I normally don’t have, as well as being even more nauseous. I had some really strong chest pains after my morning pill (.125mg). Couldn’t eat much due to my stomach and a migraine headache. Wednesday, same thing. I felt so awful Wednesday night and I told my husband I felt like I was in acute WD, but it’s been 8 days since I reduced my dosage which was tiny and I’d been thru the hard part for that cut. Thursday night I slept 3 hours and started vomiting at 5:30 am. My husband thought maybe I actually had the flu, but no fever and no body aches like flu. So I googled the generic pill that I have been on since my taper started and WOW what many people said wasn’t good. I have been taking the ACCORD brand .5mg clonazepam tablet, it’s peach colored. I had a script of Solco .5mg clonazepam that the pharmacy had filled and replaced bc I only use the Accord pill. It cuts better, shatters less. So I took Solco and i realized pretty quick it was different. I didn’t feel drugged like I do after I take the Accord pills, which I always thought was my reaction to tapering and WD. Long story short I have been on the Solco generic since last Thursday and I feel so much better. Slowly these crazy WD side effects that have been dogging me for the last 9 months are easing up. This is now feeling more like my first taper which was very mild in comparison to now. Plus I made my scheduled cut on Saturday only it was 3.5xs bigger than my normal micro cut (which usually puts me in beds for a few days) and I had NO big side effects. Just a mild headache and kinda irritable for 36 hours. No nausea, no stomach ache and I could still eat. I’m 3 days out from my cut and still no big crash. I called the pharmacist and told him what was going on with the 1 brand vs the other. He told me the brands are different, while the active ingredient is the same the rest of the pill varies from manufacturer to manufacture. Also, leagally they can be + or - up to 6% of the active ingredient. Not good in a taper. He said I was probably sensitive or allergic to one of the inactive ingredient in the Accord tablet.!Maybe so but the pills I got definitely came up short on the clonazepam, why else would I go into withdrawal??? Turns out most generic meds are made in India or China with no oversight in the manufacturing process from the FDA. All these companies do is submit an analysis of their drug formulation and get approval to manufacture from the FDA. Yes I’m over simplifying it but that’s the short of it. So if you are feeling horrible maybe consider switching brands and see if you improve. It never in a million years occurred to me that the actual clonazepam pill might be causing some of my misery but I really think it has as I have been on the Solco pill 5 days now and I feel so much less sick and drugged. Kinda makes me 😡 I will now be switching over to entirely simple syrup liquid suspension made with Solco brand clonazepam. Hopefully I can gain some ground in tapering and continue to tolerate a little larger cut as I continue to taper. Hope this helps in some way, definitely food for thought.
Love & Strength
Ann

Jump to this post

@annfsd- Wow, had no idea their was different "brands"? Seems like I have taken the small blue pill forever? I'll have to check to see what brand it is?
Continued success to you as you tapper down! Jim @thankful

REPLY
1 reply
Leonard | @jakedduck1 | Feb 12, 2019
In reply to @annfsd "THIS IS FOR EVERYONE..... This past week or so has been rough. Monday of last week..." + (show)
@annfsd

THIS IS FOR EVERYONE.....
This past week or so has been rough. Monday of last week I started a new bottle of clonazepam( .5mg tablets) from my local Walgreens. I started to feel really sick and nauseous, benzo flu symptoms, increased anxiety, not sleeping as well as I normally can. Tuesday I woke up feeling depression, which I normally don’t have, as well as being even more nauseous. I had some really strong chest pains after my morning pill (.125mg). Couldn’t eat much due to my stomach and a migraine headache. Wednesday, same thing. I felt so awful Wednesday night and I told my husband I felt like I was in acute WD, but it’s been 8 days since I reduced my dosage which was tiny and I’d been thru the hard part for that cut. Thursday night I slept 3 hours and started vomiting at 5:30 am. My husband thought maybe I actually had the flu, but no fever and no body aches like flu. So I googled the generic pill that I have been on since my taper started and WOW what many people said wasn’t good. I have been taking the ACCORD brand .5mg clonazepam tablet, it’s peach colored. I had a script of Solco .5mg clonazepam that the pharmacy had filled and replaced bc I only use the Accord pill. It cuts better, shatters less. So I took Solco and i realized pretty quick it was different. I didn’t feel drugged like I do after I take the Accord pills, which I always thought was my reaction to tapering and WD. Long story short I have been on the Solco generic since last Thursday and I feel so much better. Slowly these crazy WD side effects that have been dogging me for the last 9 months are easing up. This is now feeling more like my first taper which was very mild in comparison to now. Plus I made my scheduled cut on Saturday only it was 3.5xs bigger than my normal micro cut (which usually puts me in beds for a few days) and I had NO big side effects. Just a mild headache and kinda irritable for 36 hours. No nausea, no stomach ache and I could still eat. I’m 3 days out from my cut and still no big crash. I called the pharmacist and told him what was going on with the 1 brand vs the other. He told me the brands are different, while the active ingredient is the same the rest of the pill varies from manufacturer to manufacture. Also, leagally they can be + or - up to 6% of the active ingredient. Not good in a taper. He said I was probably sensitive or allergic to one of the inactive ingredient in the Accord tablet.!Maybe so but the pills I got definitely came up short on the clonazepam, why else would I go into withdrawal??? Turns out most generic meds are made in India or China with no oversight in the manufacturing process from the FDA. All these companies do is submit an analysis of their drug formulation and get approval to manufacture from the FDA. Yes I’m over simplifying it but that’s the short of it. So if you are feeling horrible maybe consider switching brands and see if you improve. It never in a million years occurred to me that the actual clonazepam pill might be causing some of my misery but I really think it has as I have been on the Solco pill 5 days now and I feel so much less sick and drugged. Kinda makes me 😡 I will now be switching over to entirely simple syrup liquid suspension made with Solco brand clonazepam. Hopefully I can gain some ground in tapering and continue to tolerate a little larger cut as I continue to taper. Hope this helps in some way, definitely food for thought.
Love & Strength
Ann

Jump to this post

@annfsd
Hello Ann,
Do not try and make up for lost time in your taper.
What and how often is your regular decrease dose?
Jake

REPLY
1 reply
annfsd | @annfsd | Feb 12, 2019
In reply to @jakedduck1 "@annfsd Hello Ann, Do not try and make up for lost time in your taper. What..." + (show)
@jakedduck1

@annfsd
Hello Ann,
Do not try and make up for lost time in your taper.
What and how often is your regular decrease dose?
Jake

Jump to this post

Hello Jake,
Previous cuts were .0010mg once every week or so. Very micro as I have been able to cut less and less as I became more sick with the progression of the taper. Last cut on Saturday was .0450mg. Still feeling decent compared to last week. Shooting for another cut Saturday after next.

REPLY
annfsd | @annfsd | Feb 12, 2019
In reply to @thankful "@annfsd- Wow, had no idea their was different "brands"? Seems like I have taken the small..." + (show)
@thankful

@annfsd- Wow, had no idea their was different "brands"? Seems like I have taken the small blue pill forever? I'll have to check to see what brand it is?
Continued success to you as you tapper down! Jim @thankful

Jump to this post

Thank you Jim!! My fingers are crossed for continued slow success. I will say this much, tapering off Clonazepam has been very educational to say the least. Best to you!
Ann

REPLY
annfsd | @annfsd | Feb 12, 2019
In reply to @lisalucier "Hi - just wanted to let you know I've added the brand name Klonopin to the..." + (show)
@lisalucier

Hi - just wanted to let you know I've added the brand name Klonopin to the title of this discussion, just so members can find it easily if they call the medication clonazepam, the generic name, or Klonopin, the brand name.

Jump to this post

Thank you Lisa!

REPLY
Parus | @parus | Mar 7, 2019
In reply to @falon "I have been on 2mg of clonazepam for about 10 years. I have tapered to 1.5mg..." + (show)
@falon

I have been on 2mg of clonazepam for about 10 years. I have tapered to 1.5mg in a little over 5 weeks. Is this too fast?

Jump to this post

@falon We all do this a our own pace. If you are comfortable with your taper and not having problems there likely isn’t a problem with how you are tapering. I am not a doctor nor a medical professional.

REPLY
falon | @falon | Mar 7, 2019

I have been on 2mg of clonazepam for about 10 years. I have tapered to 1.5mg in a little over 5 weeks. Is this too fast?

REPLY
3 replies
Lisa Lucier | @lisalucier | Mar 7, 2019
In reply to @falon "I have been on 2mg of clonazepam for about 10 years. I have tapered to 1.5mg..." + (show)
@falon

I have been on 2mg of clonazepam for about 10 years. I have tapered to 1.5mg in a little over 5 weeks. Is this too fast?

Jump to this post

@falon - I've moved your post here to this larger discussion of tapering off Clonazepam (Klonopin) so that you can read through past posts here and get some input on the speed of your taper from many members who been on this taper process.

REPLY
1 reply
falon | @falon | Mar 7, 2019
In reply to @lisalucier "@falon - I've moved your post here to this larger discussion of tapering off Clonazepam (Klonopin)..." + (show)
@lisalucier

@falon - I've moved your post here to this larger discussion of tapering off Clonazepam (Klonopin) so that you can read through past posts here and get some input on the speed of your taper from many members who been on this taper process.

Jump to this post

I have been experiencing rapid heart rate, muscle spasms, severe fatigue and nausea. Is that normal or does it mean I'm tapering too fast?

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