Getting off Klonapin (klonazapam)

Hi Chris thank you dearly for your response. See if I can answer your questions as I go along as well as remembering them.
Yes I’m doing this on my own but with my primaries careful watch. This medication is the last one of my regimen. The past 3 years a lot was thrown at me. 2 diagnosis that were hard to swallow. Melanoma skin cancer and Multiple Sclerosis. MS is still on the fence but now they are thinking something worse. I was doing well on the MS meds and anti seizure medications, so I thought. Last year I was in relapse after relapse. Getting steroids infused a lot. It just happened that I kept missing days of the Klonapin or whatever the name is due to not being able to drive myself to the pharmacy. My kids were both at school and husband on the road which left me alone. After going through horrible side effects that was it, I needed off this medication. I had help from my primary and neurologist. Neurologist was against me coming off it but I didn’t care. Once I started lowering it, 2mg to 1.1/2 I was feeling less leg pain. I know this may sound funny but once I got down to 1-0.5mg, my moods, memory were so much better. I didn’t feel like I was in this strange bubble. I was actually thinking clearly too. My leg pain was better. My family started noticing my moods were calmer and I was happier. I felt like myself again. Bc we were lowering really fast I started noticing I couldn’t breathe, chest pains. Never felt like this in my life. After going to the ER, pulmonary doctor, cardiologist etc., no heart or lung issues, I was told I was Experiencing a full blown panic attack. I’ve never ever experienced a panic attack before and now that they have stopped (the medication) I was told this was due to side effects coming off this. That my body was addicted to this medication. Not my head, my body. 😳 I was baffled let alone furious. My own stupidity really. I did a lot of research about this medication and went right back to the original doctor who prescribed this and why. I’m still shocked about what I found. So I took it upon myself and lowered this with a lot of trial and error. I’m now on 4 days completely off it. Praying daily that I keep doing well. I did find out that I will need a good 6 weeks of being off this completely before I feel 100 percent and back to normal. So my plans going forward is to keep myself calm, stress free, away from extreme heat or anything that could trigger a MS relapse. Staying home and away from others that could effect my immune system. Listening to my body and eating healthy. Reaching out to people such as this site for help. I’ve always been to proud to ask for help but I’m finding that this, me cannot do this alone. I truly hope that I can help someone else when I get this behind me. Tysm Chris. Let me see if I answered all your questions.
What I’ve also noticed coming off this medication....
Panic attacks - increased
Hard too breathe, chest heaviness, jumpy, insomnia.
Was told to struggle through this that it was temporary.
No other medications were prescribed too help with this side effects.
Which is probably why it’s taken 1 year so far coming off 2mg’s.

I was on 1mg of Clonasapam for 15 years, tapered to. 50mg on my own, and began tripping, then falling.
I posted a lengthy reply last night.
Perhaps you can find it?
Yesterday was my first day in this forum and I am still practicing navigating it.

xvxbyq315

Hello @rucyrious, Sorry to hear about the panic attack side effects from tapering off of your medications. I'm not sure if this will help but it is a list of techniques to stop a panic attack.

11 Ways to Stop a Panic Attack
-- https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-stop-a-panic-attack

Another site that maybe helpful that has some short videos that may be helpful -- https://www.resilientoption.com/

Hi and thank so kindly for responding. I was put on this medication in 2003 when all my symptoms started. This was prescribed for leg pain and leg tremors. At this time I was diagnosed with transverse myelitis. Very severe leg pain. I really don’t remember the dosage. If I knew then what I know now, I would have researched this medication plus probably never would have taken it either. Last two years I’ve gone from 4 relapses, 4 sets of steroids infusion, almost died from extreme weight loss. After lowering this medication leg pain has disappeared, noticed over all health improvements. Started feeling better. Never suffered panic or anxiety attacks in my life until I lowered this medication. Read that this medication very well is now the cause of these attacks. Coming off this medication has been a year long battle but I’m doing it. I was completely off of it for 10 days feeling fantastic....myself again until I started MS symptoms again. I had to go back to my last dosage amount that I ended off on which is very frustrating. So I’m searching for others who may have come off this, trying to come off etc.,
I’ve noticed a lot of what this medication has caused me and wondering if others have noticed the same thing.

I was put on this medication approximately 6 years ago because of restless legs syndrome, neuropathy and difficulty sleeping. I really can’t tell if it has helped at all. I had to change Doctors and my new Doctor wants me off of this drug. After seeing all the problems people are having getting off, I don’t see why I should just stay on it. I can’t be falling or almost falling I am an above the knee amputee and walking is hard enough with out withdrawal causing me to fall. My Doctor says I’m over medicated. I take two pills for sleep the colazapam, and a muscle relaxer trisanidine. The sleep aids are lanesta and seraquel. None probably spelled correctly. He said that it’s a wonder I woke up in the mornings. He said he will not prescribe the sleep aids any longer,or the colazapam . So I guess I have to come off it. I will have to see a psychiatrist to come off it according to my Doctor. I take 22 pills every night and 8 in the mornings, when I remember them. Do you think I should try to come off the colazapam or just continue on like I am. I know I take too many medicines, over medicated, but some of them I have to take. I just don’t know what the big deal is with him about coming off the colazapam, it really doesn’t help that much but it sounds terrible to try to come off of it now after years of being on it. Just don’t know what to do. Sorry this was so long and if you got this far thanks.

Clonazapam aka clonopin is a terrible drug I hope you can ween off of it with success it’s so easy to become physically dependent on it it’s a wonder Drs even prescribe but unfortunately we live in a prescribe prescribe prescribe world . This isn’t naysaying meds it’s just saying I’ve been overmedicated and it’s no good