My clonazepam story: More regulation seems to be coming

Hi @deedee080799, so good to hear that Pristiqu and Adderall are working for you. I know that the feeling of "being hooked" may have you nervous. But is there any reason not to continue if the combo is working for you?

I live in Canada and we are also getting controlled as well…the past three years were awful, my family doctor started pushing me to reduce my dosage, he actually reduced it without talking it over with me, no plan on how to properly take me off them, best part is, he’s the doctor that introduced me to benzodiazepine over 20 years ago. I was recently contacted by the pharmacy where I go, they wanted to review my meds and she asked me a lot of questions about Ativan which is what I use..she remarked on how long I’ve been using them and went further by saying how bad these drugs are especially for older women like me.. I definitely could feel that this was different from other times. I asked her questions about what she was doing, I thought perhaps she was a government official but she said she’s working for the pharmacy. In Canada they are also cracking down on pharmacies and doctors..the drug is now a “black box” label which really makes me feel uncomfortable…long story short, I also want to live out my life without another pressure of withdrawal.. I’m diligent with my meds, I stay on the same dose for years and God only knows I don’t have the strength to do a withdrawal…I have battled cancer twice in the past three years and I also have long covid from an infection last year November…I just want to be left alone in the few years I may have left.

@frouke

I’m like you. It’s been 30 years now. I’ve probably experienced side effects by now!

WHAT 🤯 ANXIETY?! (lol)

I said a couple of years ago that I dealt with the challenge of juggling MS contin and Klonopin prescriptions. I still have a prescription for 1mg of Klonopin bid, but I take 1/2mg in the morning and 1 at bedtime. But I got really tired of the hassle of dealing with Ms contin, so I tried buprenorphine with no success and now I'm trying Topamax - not sure how much it's helping. I wish I could go back to the ms contin that actually treated my pain. Then my neurologist and pain specialist wouldn't have to keep trying new meds on me. But about the Klonopin - there's been no indication from any of my doctors that there is coming a restriction on it. My mail order (Center Well Pharmacy, formerly Humana Pharmacy) takes care of getting it refilled every month and mailed to me on time .

Have to stop for a video appointment with the pain specialist.

Jim

You may indeed have a problem with the Klonopin should your current doctor retire, die or move. Due to pressure from the DEA doctors are just not prescribing benzodiazepines like they used to. Finding a new doctor to prescribe could becomes very problematic. Beware. The various benzo forums are full of people that this is happening to right now. The doctors now now are shifting to antidepressants and antipsychotics to deal with anxiety.

I asked the pain specialist if there was anything in the wind about Klonopin regulations and she said she hadn't heard anything about any changes in Oregon. I was prescribed 1mg bid in 2006 by a psychiatrist for anxiety disorder and the prescription has never changed. My neurologist also encourages me to continue it for RLS and whole body limb movement (and so does my wife, as it keeps me from acting out my more violent dreams).

Every time I visit my various specialists I press the question of pain pumps. There's hope that the pain clinic will hire a doctor to maintain pumps in the next year or two. I've been approved for all of it but there's only one doctor in my area who does maintenance, and he's fully booked. I'll write more later.

Jim