Connect
Comment receiving replies
I had been taking 6mg of Lorazepam for many many years. When Said I have to stop after my friend's Husband's Psychiatrist told me they were a dangerous drug. I immediately decide. to stop and called my Primary Care Doctor and asked how long will it take to get this out of my system, he said 7 days (very wrong). After 4 or 5 days I was on death's doorstep. I was put on .5mg of Clonazepam once daily because it stays in your body longer than Lorazepam which makes tapering easier on you. I was on .50 for months .25mg in morning and .25 in evening, I decided to stop the A.M. dose, at this time I had started seeing a Psychiatrist which was recommended and best when tapering. I stopped the A.M. and did not feel very well, very jittery etc. I decide to stay on it a while longer. After one month I stopped the A.M. again and had no problem. REMEMBER, YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS IF THE TAPER DOWN AT ANY TIME IS OK based on how you feel. You should not feel any side effects. That 1st taper was almost 6 months. Then after another 2 months I cut the .25mg to .125mg. after another 1-12 months I cut that pill in half, .125 is the lowest amount you can get in Clonazepam. That is .625mg, it will not come out exactly and I always took the larger half. I stayed on .625 for I think, 2 weeks, then cut that in half which is .3125, two weeks after I stopped all and any form of medication. I was taking Benadryl which I stopped at the same time, I had not been on that more than 3 months, that is not good if your are elderly. I could not sleep and that was the only thing that helped me. In the beginning of my taper I was also prescribed Ropinirole, Mirtazepine, and Gabapentin to help with any withdrawals. It has been a few weeks since I finished the tapering and I am unfortunately not doing as well as I thought I would and of course no Dr knows why. I am convinced that very few Doctors or Psychiatrists know much about Benzodiazepines. You will concur should you start researching Benzodiazepines, which is a must. I will be 79 in 2 months and I am bound and determined to get through this, there are no options. Good Luck!
Replies to "I had been taking 6mg of Lorazepam for many many years. When Said I have to..."
Connect
I am very proud of you. It is very hard. I am 53 and been taking Clonazepam for 16 years. I should have detoxed years ago or never got on it. I was on 2mg and cut back to 1mg in the summer. I didn't have a hard time, but I am going through menopause. It's my second year and it's really hard. I had Restless Leg Syndrome back in 2017 and my pain management Doctor prescribed Gabapentin. I took it for two days and stopped when I discovered that exercise worked better. I was also taking Topiramate and Baclofen for migraines and thought the muscle relaxant, Baclofen had made it go away, but turns out that the Restless Leg Syndrome was something that would come and go during peri- menopause and then it went into remission. Now it has come back with menopause and it's in my arms and neck. I've tried to take Gabapentin yet again and I did for 5 days and it was helping, but my heart started racing and I started getting chest pain. This was towards the end of February. I had an EKG February 15 and it was normal, besides right bundle branch blockage, just a minor electrical thing in one's heart. Then I've tried a few a couple other medications and after a few days my heart will race and I will get pain in my heart. It seems like I can only take my own medication nothing new. I've never been sensitive to medication like this before. I've been really foggy. I thought it might be the Topiramate which I found out causes memory problems. I had recently lowered my dose on that 2 weeks ago because that is a seizure medication too, so I thought I should lower the Clonazepam before I get off the Topiramate. I have 1mg pills and cut them in quarters to took a .5mg and .25mg so I'm not good in math but would that be .75 of a 1mg? Gosh, I'm in so much pain and I do feel so jittery. I've lowered the Clonazepam in the last two days and my body feels worse. It's not a good time to detox, and I've been having chest pain and palpitations. I cry everyday from the pain. I've been in pain management for many years so the pain medication doesn't work for the new pain and my pain Doctor doesn't want to give me a higher dose and my Psychiatrist is not very good. He was prescribing Clonazepam 4mg 2 years ago and then cut me off without detoxing me down. He wouldn't be a very good Doctor at weaning me. Three months ago he wanted to cut me off from 2mg down to 1mg, but didn't because I'm in the middle of a divorce. I would have to find a new Psychiatrist. I really want to detox but I'm in so much pain. I just don't want to stay on it. I know it gets harder the longer one stays on it. I'm so sorry you are not feeling good. Oh, I wish that I could take Gabapentin. That helps the Restless Leg Syndrome which has also gone into my arms and neck.