Oh my that makes me feel better…..all the benzo sites scare the hell out of me! I’m going to taper off Primidone in a week, that will take a month then the Ativan.
I will have been on it 3 months then….hoping to decrease one dose at a time….it will take a bit of time. Will I still be ok?
I DO know that I cannot drive well, I feel loopy except when I’m home.
Falling and auto accidents are a side effect of Benzodiazepines. I have fallen many times and had 5 auto accidents in the last 6 years. Hows that! Took Lorazepam for 12 years at least. Taper was nightmare due to Medical not up to Benzodiazepine knowledge and how to treat and help.
You won’t have to crush or make a liquid. I really feel at your low dose and the amount of time you will be taking the Ativan, you’ll discontinue easily.
It is strongly advised to taper off a Benzodiazepine, especially Lorazepam after only a few weeks of use. It's much better to be safe than sorry, believe me. Every one is different but not worth the off chance abruptly stopping could have a terrible affect.
Yes I have discussed this with my doctor. He feels sure my unsteadiness and coordination is benzo related. I’m in the process of tapering. My doctor believes in very slooooow tapers. I hate the unsteadiness and was just wandering how these meds affected others on this site.
You are lucky your Doctor believes in a slow taper. Please make sure with your Pharmacist that the drug your Doctor tapers you with if he changes you to a longer half life like Clonazepam or Diazepam is equal to your current milligrams. My Psychiatrist switched me from 6MG Lorazepam to .5MG Clonazepam, it should have been 3MG CLONAZEPAM. I have suffered untold problems because of the incorrect tapering dose I took for 9 months. This is a problem many sites warn you about.
You are lucky your Doctor believes in a slow taper. Please make sure with your Pharmacist that the drug your Doctor tapers you with if he changes you to a longer half life like Clonazepam or Diazepam is equal to your current milligrams. My Psychiatrist switched me from 6MG Lorazepam to .5MG Clonazepam, it should have been 3MG CLONAZEPAM. I have suffered untold problems because of the incorrect tapering dose I took for 9 months. This is a problem many sites warn you about.
That is so sad. These doctors are so uneducated when it comes to tapering. Fortunately mine was correct with the dosage. Actually I researched and knew what the correct dosage should be before I even went to the appointment . Luckily we were both on the same page. I was taking 3mgs. Xanax per day. I switched to 20 mgs. Valium 3x per day per the Ashton Manual. I’m now down to 7.5 mgs. total per day.
I have exactly what you’re describing. I’m on Clonazapan (Klonopin) and it is a benzo and I’m 69 years old. My psychiatrist gave me a prescription for klonopin. 1/2 mg in the morning and 1 mg at 4 pm.
I recently had to spend 20 days in patient at a local hospital for something unrelated to this.
When I went to the hospital I gave EMS a list of my current medications. The hospital lost my medication list and relied on an older list from 3 years ago. I was not on klonopin then so the hospital refused to give me some of my current medication. Klonopin being one of them.
They gave me lorazepam instead (adavan benzo). At first the adavan helped to relieve me of my Klonopin addiction. Slowly that was not klonopin but adavan. Both benzodiazepines. Adavan started to wane. It stopped from doing its job. I went through extreme withdrawal symptoms that only Klonopin took away.
I admit that I am addicted to klonopin. I can’t even taper off even if it takes a year. I cannot get off klonopin at all. I was a nutcase because they still wouldn’t give it to me. The symptoms are a nightmare. I started bugging the nurses to get me some klonopin. Still, the doctor refused.
I became a person that I didn’t like. I became aggressive and dangerous to others and myself.
Klonopin (and adavan and Xanax) are very dangerous drugs and should not be available to anyone. Benzodiazepines need to be taken off pharmaceutical shelves. It’s a poison.
While Klonopin takes away some of my generalized anxiety disorder known as GAD, it’s not enough for me. I can’t get a dose increase but as soon as I got home from the hospital I took a 1 mg pill and before I knew it. My anxiety level dropped significantly although I became a zombie. That’s what I have to look forward to. (Possibly the rest of my life) I’m 69 so it may no longer make me feel like a zombie when I’m dead. It’s bad.
While losing your balance and being wobbly is probably part of getting old, I believe that benzodiazepines have exacerbated it. And I am light headed and have to use a cane, not because of my legs but because of my klonopin use.
Thx for your reply!
I’m so scared reading all the stories of crushing, making liquid and all that, I just can’t figure that out 🙁
Am on .25 three x/day, 1/2 of a .5. Wondering if I can taper by 1/4’s of a tab…..
Hope by now you’re off lorazepam. I was on .5 mg for over two years. Started when diagnosed with cancer then stayed on it for sleep. Benzo sites were so scary and tried to get off it but taper was too fast and sleep was awful.
With help of sleep medicine Dr am doing a slow taper and should finally be off early June.
I have exactly what you’re describing. I’m on Clonazapan (Klonopin) and it is a benzo and I’m 69 years old. My psychiatrist gave me a prescription for klonopin. 1/2 mg in the morning and 1 mg at 4 pm.
I recently had to spend 20 days in patient at a local hospital for something unrelated to this.
When I went to the hospital I gave EMS a list of my current medications. The hospital lost my medication list and relied on an older list from 3 years ago. I was not on klonopin then so the hospital refused to give me some of my current medication. Klonopin being one of them.
They gave me lorazepam instead (adavan benzo). At first the adavan helped to relieve me of my Klonopin addiction. Slowly that was not klonopin but adavan. Both benzodiazepines. Adavan started to wane. It stopped from doing its job. I went through extreme withdrawal symptoms that only Klonopin took away.
I admit that I am addicted to klonopin. I can’t even taper off even if it takes a year. I cannot get off klonopin at all. I was a nutcase because they still wouldn’t give it to me. The symptoms are a nightmare. I started bugging the nurses to get me some klonopin. Still, the doctor refused.
I became a person that I didn’t like. I became aggressive and dangerous to others and myself.
Klonopin (and adavan and Xanax) are very dangerous drugs and should not be available to anyone. Benzodiazepines need to be taken off pharmaceutical shelves. It’s a poison.
While Klonopin takes away some of my generalized anxiety disorder known as GAD, it’s not enough for me. I can’t get a dose increase but as soon as I got home from the hospital I took a 1 mg pill and before I knew it. My anxiety level dropped significantly although I became a zombie. That’s what I have to look forward to. (Possibly the rest of my life) I’m 69 so it may no longer make me feel like a zombie when I’m dead. It’s bad.
While losing your balance and being wobbly is probably part of getting old, I believe that benzodiazepines have exacerbated it. And I am light headed and have to use a cane, not because of my legs but because of my klonopin use.
Andy, wishing you all the best and sorry about your klonopin issue. Only being on it for 7 months, it was affecting me in a major way. I did notice the loss of strength in my legs at times which was concerning, no wobbling, but definite weakness. I am 65 but in pretty good shape so it was new territory for me. I truly believe if you can ever come off of this benzo, you would see slow improvements. Just so happened I had appt. with new sleep disorder doc (she's also a neurologist) yesterday and I told her of my issues with Klonopin and my sudden withdrawal. She agreed that this drug can effect people in various ways, although she does occasionaly prescribe but watches patients reactions closely. After 2 1/2 months I do still feel some withdrawal symptoms but they are gradually getting better. My leg strength has returned. The drug is terrible in my opinion. Wishing you the best.
Thanks for sharing. Clonazapan (klonopin) and lorazepam (adavan) and Xanax are all benzodiazepines and very addicting. I’m actually afraid of weaning off of klonopin because I had my klonopin stopped abruptly then another 20 days while I was an inpatient in our local hospital. I was never given one. I’m not going to relate my withdrawal symptoms here but it was nightmarish to say the least. And I was only on a 0.5 mg dose in the morning and 1 mg in the afternoon. I’m seeing my psychiatrist tomorrow and I want to know if he can wean me off gently but sometimes it takes a year to be completely cleared of klonopin. By the way, I do have weak legs and some sense of falling back attributable to the klonopin.
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1 ReactionFalling and auto accidents are a side effect of Benzodiazepines. I have fallen many times and had 5 auto accidents in the last 6 years. Hows that! Took Lorazepam for 12 years at least. Taper was nightmare due to Medical not up to Benzodiazepine knowledge and how to treat and help.
It is strongly advised to taper off a Benzodiazepine, especially Lorazepam after only a few weeks of use. It's much better to be safe than sorry, believe me. Every one is different but not worth the off chance abruptly stopping could have a terrible affect.
You are lucky your Doctor believes in a slow taper. Please make sure with your Pharmacist that the drug your Doctor tapers you with if he changes you to a longer half life like Clonazepam or Diazepam is equal to your current milligrams. My Psychiatrist switched me from 6MG Lorazepam to .5MG Clonazepam, it should have been 3MG CLONAZEPAM. I have suffered untold problems because of the incorrect tapering dose I took for 9 months. This is a problem many sites warn you about.
That is so sad. These doctors are so uneducated when it comes to tapering. Fortunately mine was correct with the dosage. Actually I researched and knew what the correct dosage should be before I even went to the appointment . Luckily we were both on the same page. I was taking 3mgs. Xanax per day. I switched to 20 mgs. Valium 3x per day per the Ashton Manual. I’m now down to 7.5 mgs. total per day.
I have exactly what you’re describing. I’m on Clonazapan (Klonopin) and it is a benzo and I’m 69 years old. My psychiatrist gave me a prescription for klonopin. 1/2 mg in the morning and 1 mg at 4 pm.
I recently had to spend 20 days in patient at a local hospital for something unrelated to this.
When I went to the hospital I gave EMS a list of my current medications. The hospital lost my medication list and relied on an older list from 3 years ago. I was not on klonopin then so the hospital refused to give me some of my current medication. Klonopin being one of them.
They gave me lorazepam instead (adavan benzo). At first the adavan helped to relieve me of my Klonopin addiction. Slowly that was not klonopin but adavan. Both benzodiazepines. Adavan started to wane. It stopped from doing its job. I went through extreme withdrawal symptoms that only Klonopin took away.
I admit that I am addicted to klonopin. I can’t even taper off even if it takes a year. I cannot get off klonopin at all. I was a nutcase because they still wouldn’t give it to me. The symptoms are a nightmare. I started bugging the nurses to get me some klonopin. Still, the doctor refused.
I became a person that I didn’t like. I became aggressive and dangerous to others and myself.
Klonopin (and adavan and Xanax) are very dangerous drugs and should not be available to anyone. Benzodiazepines need to be taken off pharmaceutical shelves. It’s a poison.
While Klonopin takes away some of my generalized anxiety disorder known as GAD, it’s not enough for me. I can’t get a dose increase but as soon as I got home from the hospital I took a 1 mg pill and before I knew it. My anxiety level dropped significantly although I became a zombie. That’s what I have to look forward to. (Possibly the rest of my life) I’m 69 so it may no longer make me feel like a zombie when I’m dead. It’s bad.
While losing your balance and being wobbly is probably part of getting old, I believe that benzodiazepines have exacerbated it. And I am light headed and have to use a cane, not because of my legs but because of my klonopin use.
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3 ReactionsHope by now you’re off lorazepam. I was on .5 mg for over two years. Started when diagnosed with cancer then stayed on it for sleep. Benzo sites were so scary and tried to get off it but taper was too fast and sleep was awful.
With help of sleep medicine Dr am doing a slow taper and should finally be off early June.
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1 ReactionWhen I can't sleep, I take a 1/2 of a benzo. I never feel wobbly. I think it depends upon how much you take.
Andy, wishing you all the best and sorry about your klonopin issue. Only being on it for 7 months, it was affecting me in a major way. I did notice the loss of strength in my legs at times which was concerning, no wobbling, but definite weakness. I am 65 but in pretty good shape so it was new territory for me. I truly believe if you can ever come off of this benzo, you would see slow improvements. Just so happened I had appt. with new sleep disorder doc (she's also a neurologist) yesterday and I told her of my issues with Klonopin and my sudden withdrawal. She agreed that this drug can effect people in various ways, although she does occasionaly prescribe but watches patients reactions closely. After 2 1/2 months I do still feel some withdrawal symptoms but they are gradually getting better. My leg strength has returned. The drug is terrible in my opinion. Wishing you the best.
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1 ReactionThanks for sharing. Clonazapan (klonopin) and lorazepam (adavan) and Xanax are all benzodiazepines and very addicting. I’m actually afraid of weaning off of klonopin because I had my klonopin stopped abruptly then another 20 days while I was an inpatient in our local hospital. I was never given one. I’m not going to relate my withdrawal symptoms here but it was nightmarish to say the least. And I was only on a 0.5 mg dose in the morning and 1 mg in the afternoon. I’m seeing my psychiatrist tomorrow and I want to know if he can wean me off gently but sometimes it takes a year to be completely cleared of klonopin. By the way, I do have weak legs and some sense of falling back attributable to the klonopin.
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2 Reactions