Benzos and seniors

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,
You are not addicted. Your body/CNS is dependent on a horrendous benzodiazepine. None should be prescribed for more than 3-4 days, but that’s a moot point for most of us. You are not stuck on them. You had a horrific ordeal at the hospital because doctors know very little about these drugs beyond 3 months of use. It’s despicable, but they weren’t taught and are very slow to admit they need to change.

I urge you to go to https://www.benzoinfo.com/
You will find information on safe, slow discontinuation tapers under Resources. You might be lucky and NOT develop tolerance (the meds stop working and throw you into withdrawal anyway), but most do. If you’re not in tolerance, you could start a very, very slow taper off. Read the Ashton Manual. It’s the gold standard, but there are a ton of others who have either gone through what you did, which was unforgivable, or abruptly cut off. Most hit tolerance after years of the drug working and decide to taper. You can do it the wrong way (super fast) or the safe way (low and slow) or just continue to feel like crap. It does get better when you finally get off, but it’s a marathon. Plus, if you’re taking a generic, some have been discontinued and new brands are causing issues.

I’d suggest reading Ashton first and making sure you are prepared on all fronts if you want to get this poison out of your body. I’m 66 and am doing a slow taper from 35 years of 1mg clonopin. The longer on and the older we are, the slower we should go.

I wish you the best, but don’t think you have to be on this s**t for life. There are plenty of coping skills for GAD. I know and I know they really help MORE than a pill.

Also, stay off any FB groups. There’s a lot of good info, but too much negativity AND IT’S FROM THE YOUNGER PEOPLE! Go figure. They have it much easier and they can’t even cope with one anxiety attack. Wisdom has its advantages.

Andy,
You are not addicted. Your body/CNS is dependent on a horrendous benzodiazepine. None should be prescribed for more than 3-4 days, but that’s a moot point for most of us. You are not stuck on them. You had a horrific ordeal at the hospital because doctors know very little about these drugs beyond 3 months of use. It’s despicable, but they weren’t taught and are very slow to admit they need to change.

I urge you to go to https://www.benzoinfo.com/
You will find information on safe, slow discontinuation tapers under Resources. You might be lucky and NOT develop tolerance (the meds stop working and throw you into withdrawal anyway), but most do. If you’re not in tolerance, you could start a very, very slow taper off. Read the Ashton Manual. It’s the gold standard, but there are a ton of others who have either gone through what you did, which was unforgivable, or abruptly cut off. Most hit tolerance after years of the drug working and decide to taper. You can do it the wrong way (super fast) or the safe way (low and slow) or just continue to feel like crap. It does get better when you finally get off, but it’s a marathon. Plus, if you’re taking a generic, some have been discontinued and new brands are causing issues.

I’d suggest reading Ashton first and making sure you are prepared on all fronts if you want to get this poison out of your body. I’m 66 and am doing a slow taper from 35 years of 1mg clonopin. The longer on and the older we are, the slower we should go.

I wish you the best, but don’t think you have to be on this s**t for life. There are plenty of coping skills for GAD. I know and I know they really help MORE than a pill.

Also, stay off any FB groups. There’s a lot of good info, but too much negativity AND IT’S FROM THE YOUNGER PEOPLE! Go figure. They have it much easier and they can’t even cope with one anxiety attack. Wisdom has its advantages.

Andy, I noticed that you ARE probably in withdrawal already from you symptoms, plus you were forced to updose or reinstate after being off for almost 3 weeks. I do hope your doctor is willing to listen and let you guide the taper. BTW, 25% cut every other week or month is not slow, but it’s what most doctors are taught (for now). 5-10% a month off of your last dose is the recommended cut. You’ll probably want to get your Klonopin from a compound pharmacy. It makes things much easier. Otherwise, you need a jeweler’s scale, metal file and pill cutter. Direct Dry Cut and Hold is how some go, but it’s tedious. BTW, Ashton recommends switching over from short acting to long acting, but most find that doesn’t work and isn’t necessary. You can cut directly from Klonopin. And 1.5 mg is equal to 30 mg of Valium, so not such a small dose. Big Pharma marketing ploy.

Ok thanks. I will check that out. Thanks for making me feel like there maybe a light at the end of the tunnel

Just start with the basics and Ashton Manual. Don’t read the horror stories. They are not common and more from abrupt withdrawal from the drugs (cold turkey).

Andy, I noticed that you ARE probably in withdrawal already from you symptoms, plus you were forced to updose or reinstate after being off for almost 3 weeks. I do hope your doctor is willing to listen and let you guide the taper. BTW, 25% cut every other week or month is not slow, but it’s what most doctors are taught (for now). 5-10% a month off of your last dose is the recommended cut. You’ll probably want to get your Klonopin from a compound pharmacy. It makes things much easier. Otherwise, you need a jeweler’s scale, metal file and pill cutter. Direct Dry Cut and Hold is how some go, but it’s tedious. BTW, Ashton recommends switching over from short acting to long acting, but most find that doesn’t work and isn’t necessary. You can cut directly from Klonopin. And 1.5 mg is equal to 30 mg of Valium, so not such a small dose. Big Pharma marketing ploy.

What is a “big pharma marketing ploy?”

cking56 - You are amazing and so helpful with the information you provide on this topic. I wish you and Andy and others success in getting off this medicine.
After stopping cold turkey (last dose March 3rd) I still am having subtle withdrawal symptoms but I read these could last many months when stopped as I did. In my case the tremors/body buzzing/ eye twitching had already started after being on the medicine for just a short time (6 weeks or so) which prompted me to just stop. It's really interesting how this medicine affects everyone so differently.

BTW, I did have first appointment with Sleep Disorder doctor (also a Neurolgist as well) last week and she was surprised last guy put me on this medicine based upon my sleep issues/tests that I brought along. She did say, they do occasionaly prescribe Klonopin but only in certain patients (I didn't ask for details) but that I would not have been in that category. It also amazes me at how physicians see things differently as well.
Thanks again for providing knowledge to those in need!

Marketing Klonopin in seemingly smaller doses. Commonly 0.5 and 1mg in the US. Not actually a small dose. I’m not against pharmaceuticals, but I am against some of their questionable tactics.