Klonopin taper

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!

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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.

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I recently found out I was under dosed when transferring from Lorazepam 6mg to Clonazepam to start tapering. I was prescribed .5mg Clonazepam, which should have been 3mg to start my taper. All along I felt something was wrong because after just a bit I starting having tremors and a multitude of other problems. My Psychiatrist would tell me no you are not having withdrawals, they are over. No you are not having protracted withdrawal. No my hair falls out too. I could go on and on. All I can say is we need to do our own research, as much as we feel our Doctors have our best interest in mind, they very well may not have had much training on Benzodiazepines. I truly feel it is almost Criminal what has happened to me. My Primary Care Doctor and the Psychiatrist at UCSF which worked thru my tapering had no idea what was going on with me. It was because I was not on the correct amount of Clonazepam.

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Yes, I was surprised that they switched you from 6mg of Lorazepam to .5mg of Klonopin. That is such a huge drop. I agree that most Doctors don't know how to detox or taper down a patient from Benzodiazepine. We're you given them for restless leg Syndrome and how many years did you take it? Does the new medication help with Restless Leg Syndrome? I'm assuming you have it because you mentioned you take Gabapentin and Ropinole. I recently developed Restless Leg Syndrome after developing Neuropathy in my hands in feet. It came on slowly in January and by February it was really severe. It's all day and night. Plus I have pain in my legs too. I have to constantly walk and pace. Menopause makes it so much worse. I'm trying to get this under control so that I can start tapering down off the Clonazepam. You're so Lucky you are off the Clonazepam. How do you feel now?

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I was euphoric the first week off. Then I woke up in the middle of the night with horrible Dry Mouth, Burning Tongue, and Receding Gums. This happened all of a sudden. Its as though I am going through WITHDRAWAL. When I told my Dr. that I realized I was being tapered for 2mg of Lorazepam when it should have been 6mg, he said you should see your Dentist. Nothing else, no I"m sorry let see if there is anything we can do about what you are going through. Same response from my Psychiatrist, no one taking responsibility. I read this could happen when switching to a longer half life of a Benzodiazepine which Clonazepam is compared to Lorazepam. They mess up the equivalent in MG'S. I am going to be 79 in 2 months and am very scared about my future, never, ever felt anything like this before. I am back worse then when I started the Taper. I was prescribed Lorazepam for RLS and it worked immediately. But you must know after researching that being on a Benzodiazepine for we'll over ten years is DANGEROUS, IT IS FOR SHORT TERM USE ONLY. No nothing else helped with RLS, it has come back, I rub VOLTAREN GEL and it helps, not as much as it should because it inso long prescription strength.

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We're you able to get help with the dry mouth, burning tongue and receding gums? How bad is the RLS? Is it only at night? I developed neuropathy in my hands and feet in January and that's when the RLS started up. I've been on pain medication for 5 herniated discs in my neck and 3 in my lumbar and I'm still in chronic pain, but now the RLS is severe. It's in my neck and back too and arms. I have it all day and night. I have to keep walking and pacing. I've tried several medications and after a few days I get palpitations and chest pain. The one that helped a lot was a Parkinson disease medication called Benztropine but I had to stop it. Then The same thing happened when I increased the dose of my own pain medication. I went to my Cardiologist and told him. I was hoping he could prescribe me something that would enable me to take one of these medications and he didn't believe me. He said because I had chest pain in January then it must all be in my mind. I really need these medications. I have RLS really bad and I'm going through menopause. Why would I make it up. Then I took Lyrica and same thing happened to me. I stopped after two weeks. I've been going out of my mind with this RLS 24/7 and the palpitations, so I went back and took the Lyrica yesterday. I have a heart monitor on but I'm seeing a new Cardiologist on the 11th. I want to get off the Clonazepam so bad! I'm glad I went down to 1mg but I need to taper more. I find it hard right now with RLS and painful muscles. Do you get pain in your legs with the RLS? I use icy hot. Is Voltaren stronger? You're right no Doctor takes responsibility for prescribing Benzodiazepine for years and years. It makes me so angry. I'm so angry at myself too.

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No, never received a diagnosis or the cause. Still have it. My Primary care Dr told me to see a Dentist, he'll look at me like I'm crazy if I tell him it started after stopping Clonazepam, he probably knows nothing about Benzodiazepines and withdrawal and tapering off this DRUG. MY RLS CAME BACK AFTE GETTING OFF THE LORAZEPAM AND CLONAZEPAM, which is why I was taking it. I have had it for 40 or more years. The worst part of RLS for me is when you are not sleeping, your body is not healing. I am enclosing the Restless Leg Syndrome Foundation, you should join, its only $35 and they are incredible. They cannot prescribe anything but they can educate you. info@rls.org. 1-512-366-9109. Im truly sorry you are going through a miserable time and I wish for you a solution. Laurine

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