My clonazepam story: More regulation seems to be coming

My personal opinion is that doctors are now and will be even more pressured to taper their patients. I saw it coming awhile back with my doctor. I told him I wanted to start tapering Xanax. I wanted to start on my own and not be forced into a taper. Long story short he basically abandoned me and it took forever to find a new doctor to assist In a slow taper. I’m still trying to stabilize after the trauma of having to find a new doctor after 25 years and what I had to go through to find a new one. I wound up in the hospital for 3 days. I do think the day is coming just like the opioids. I’d like to hear others opinions on this.

Thanks for the reply, sears. My doctor believes (and I am inclined to agree with him) that this has nothing to do with patient safety. As always, one should "follow the money", he says. Groups (I won't say who he suggests) are putting pressure on government bodies with campaign contributions to get people off the legal stuff in hopes of pushing them to the streets. I believe that, just as with hydrocodone, previously a Schedule 3 which was rescheduled to Schedule 2 in 2018, benzos, currently Schedule 4, will be put into Schedule 3 and then to Schedule 2 and when that happens the Fed will do what it did to physicians who were prescribing Schedule 2 painkillers: pay any doctors who are prescribing benzos a visit and in a very forceful way, explain to them that if they continue prescribing benzos they will be at risk of losing their license to practice medicine.

I don't want to turn this into a political discussion. I'll just say I don't like the direction this government is pushing people who depend on such medications for their quality of life. I am in a position where if doctors threatened to cut me off completely unless I involuntarily agreed to a taper program (and benzos taken for years cannot be weaned down in a matter of months--it literally can take years) then I would be forced to look overseas for countries that might have much more relaxed laws for foreigners who are bringing in retirement money to spend in their countries. That's a worse case, but like you I can see the writing on the wall and I won't wait around hoping things get better because I saw what happened to chronic pain patients and how the rates of suicide skyrocketed when they were cut off and I don't want to be any part of that.

I’m just so sad and sorry I suffer from a mental disorder that required me to even begin taking medication. I’m now 67 years old and see my life getting worse by the day. Tapering a benzo for years at my age? I’m trying but my life is miserable and sad.

I feel for you, sears. I am pushing 70 and it's crazy the Feds have not tried to exercise some judgment in who they subject this change in law to. People older than 65 should be given some leeway instead of being lumped in with 20 year olds who SHOULD be taken off these drugs. The bottom line is shortly no one in the United States will have access to these psychotropics. I mean what's next? Insulin? Interesting side effect of these de facto bans on tranquilizers/painkillers: more suicides save billions of dollars for Medicare/Social Security.

I think you may have a point unfortunately.

Jackt. The government want senior citizens to go find drugs off the street? Can you clarify?

No, no that's not what I said, or meant to say. What I was saying was that the government, by making it near impossible for people who have a legitimate need for them to get access to these drugs, will inadvertently, push people to the streets to get what the people need in order to keep their quality of life at a subpar level. People who live in fear of blind panic descending will do almost anything to avoid having it. That's not the case so much with seniors, who have no street smarts to be able to navigate the mean streets as it is with young people who do. And I don't want to say anymore about this, sears because I don't want to turn this into a political discussion.

I understand Jackt. Thank you for the clarification. You made a very interesting point.

I am 63 and have taken clonazapam since 1997. I take 1.0 a day and am able to take another.5 in afternoon if I feel the need. My psychiatrist has never said I will need to taper. I have talked to him and he says it works and all good. Three months ago he did add buspiron as I have had some serious stress and anxiety. I have not heard anything about clonazapam being taken less like opioids. Where are you hearing this? My visits are scheduled every three months for renewal of prescription. He says he is required a face to face to renew but I have gone six months at times.

Elina, read the internet, newspapers, etc. Benzos are becoming the next “opioid crisis” the government is starting to get involved. At some point Benzos will not ever be prescribed for more than two weeks.