What is the best way to taper off Klonopin?

Posted by kittymama @kittymama, Apr 7, 2019

Can anyone tell me the best way to taper off Klonopin? I feel it does nothing for my anxiety

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@chelle54

My current withdrawal symptoms are upset stomach, lack of appetite and severe depression.

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@chelle54
What is your plan to deal with the depressionn? Why did you start taking Seroquel? If you can get along without it I think it's wise to get off it.
I know a man who has Seroquil induced diabetes.
Jake

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I’m not taking seroquil it’s clonazepam. I was put on it for severe anxiety due to not knowing what was wrong with me for three months and lots of dr tests. I woke up one morning with severe dizziness nausea and unable to walk straight. After several tests I was diagnosed with vestibular neuritis. It’s caused be a virus. The virus caused permanent damage to the nerve in my left ear. I had to do physical therapy to recalibrate my brain so my right ear made up for my left side. This can be caused from any virus even the common cold. The clonazepam helped some with the dizziness and nausea. I never intended to stay on it long term. My prior doctor also told me it wasn’t as addictive as other benzos but I think they are all addictive. The depression should get better once I’m through the withdrawals.

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@chelle54
Oops, sorry.
If you’re going through with drawls from the clonazepamyou may be tapering too quickly. Also, you may not be waiting long enough for your brain to adjust to the new dose. I took each dose for 4 weeks.
Would you mind sharing your taper schedule?
I tapered without any withdrawal symptoms but I did it very slowly.
Good luck,
Jake

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@jakedduck1

@chelle54
Oops, sorry.
If you’re going through with drawls from the clonazepamyou may be tapering too quickly. Also, you may not be waiting long enough for your brain to adjust to the new dose. I took each dose for 4 weeks.
Would you mind sharing your taper schedule?
I tapered without any withdrawal symptoms but I did it very slowly.
Good luck,
Jake

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I was doing 0.125 every two weeks. I did that three times. After the third cut I was a train wreck. So I’m going to try and hold for a month to stabilize. It’s been an awful two weeks. I’m going to try and do 0.125 every four to six weeks and see if that helps.

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@chelle54

I was doing 0.125 every two weeks. I did that three times. After the third cut I was a train wreck. So I’m going to try and hold for a month to stabilize. It’s been an awful two weeks. I’m going to try and do 0.125 every four to six weeks and see if that helps.

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Also how much were you taking

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@chelle54

Also how much were you taking

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I was taking 18 mg for seizures but it didn't help so I quit.
My taper took probably over 2 years.
Jake

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Wow that’s a lot but I can see why for seizures. I was only on 1.5. I must be a real weakling since it’s so hard for me.

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@chelle54
No, not at all. Everyone is different. I usually get off meds with no problems.
Jake

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@jakedduck1

@chelle54
No, not at all. Everyone is different. I usually get off meds with no problems.
Jake

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My doctor took me off it very slowly. For me ,at least it took quite awhile. Everyone is different. It depends how your body handles changes. Ask your doctor.

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@jakedduck1

@archermac15
The best option for quitting in my opinion would be using a compounding pharmacy. Of course your doctor would have to be on board with that because he’d have to write a prescription and chances are he wouldn’t be willing to write it for a slow enough taper. Another possible downside is not all insurance companies pay for compounded medicine.
I was about 30-40 when I tapered.
I'd say it's a gamble on how long to taper. It also depends on your dose, length of use, age. Some say it depends if your male or female. At the end when I chipped off pieces it probably wasn’t necessary to do that as long as I did and it was a guess as to how much I was taking a that point but it was an infinitesimal small amount.
I usually don’t have any problems going on to her coming off medication and rarely have any side effects from them. Although I went off this medication slower than what I normally would it was because I was having so many status seizures at the time and when you have epilepsy you can’t just stop your seizure medication. also I was on an extremely high dose.
I don’t know if your other illnesses or medication would interfere in anyway that’s a question you’ll have to ask your doctor.
Take care,
Jake

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Thanks so much, Jake. I probably will have to ask another Doctor to help me with the Detox. I am 53 years old. You were a lot younger than me and were probably in much better health. I was taking it for anxiety, but I recently developed Restless Leg Syndrome. It's really bad. I had it back in 2017 but it went into remission and now it's back with a vengeance. I was taking 2mg for 16 years but went down to 1mg in the summer. I didn't feel any difference. I get 1mg Clonazepam twice a day, so for the last 3 nights, I've cut my dose down by 25%. The smallest I can cut a 1mg pill is in quarters, so I've been taking 3/4 of a 1mg of Klonopin for the last 3 nights. This morning when I woke up, the Restless Leg Syndrome, that's also in my arms and neck since February was so much worse this morning and I felt really anxious. Ugh, this is bad timing to do a detox. Ive tried to take medication for RLS since February but for some reason maybe because Im in menopause my heart starts racing after a few days and then I get chest pain. It seems like I can only take the medications I already take. I've never been sensitive to medication like this before. I've never developed palpitations nor chest pain to any medication in my life before this. I spoke to my Cardiologist about this problem hoping he could give me something that would help me so I could be able to take the Gabapentin or Lyrica, but he didn't believe me and told me to call my Psychiatrist. I was shocked. I shouldn't have to seen him. He made a mistake in 2020 when he said my Perfusion Scan showed a blocked vessel in my heart and had me undergo a Angiogram. Not only was I allergic to the dye and needed to take Benadryl, but I was in pain and kept requesting pain medication and didn't receive very much, and after it was over he was gone. Didn't even say Goodbye. Later when we spoke, he said that my heart was fine and that my perfusion scan turned out to be normal. Obviously he was too proud to admit that he made a mistake reading my Perfusion Scan or reading the wrong Perfusion Scan. So I went through a painful procedure for nothing and got a rash from them shaving the inside of my arm. I don't have very much faith in Doctors. The only thing I had was Right bundle branch Blockage an electrical thing which he had said was minor. I don't know what to do. I feel depressed and anxious about my situation. I'm in a lot of pain. I've been in pain management for a long time and on pain medication for 16 years and on the same dose, so it's not helping me with this new pain. Every day I cry. My pain Doctor doesn't want to give me more pain medication. I have extra because these past years, I've gone down when my pain wasn't that bad and I have extra so I've had to take extra just to deal with the excruciating pain, but it's not going to last me. I'm eventually going to run out and I will be out. I will be out. I'm terrified. I can't live with all this pain. This is too much to bear. I've even considered suicide. It's just that I'm a Christian and it's against my religion. How can I do this to my mother. Will God understand? I don't want to be damned.

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