Using either CBD and/or THC during Clonazepam discontinuance

I was only taking .5 mg before bedtime but after only a month or so I noticed changes in my system, body tremors first and then body buzzing off and on throughout the day, and then serious eye twitching developed. It was obvious this was affecting my central nervous system so I stopped cold turkey after 7 months on the drug (6 or so months of effects). The eye improved 100% and stopped within a couple days of stopping. Body buzzing lasted for 2/3 months after stopping but tremors, although much better, are still noticeable a little bit. I am off 5 1/2 months but the cold turkey stopping can definitely lead to long term withdrawal symptoms. My sleep doc said based upon my symptoms he would have stopped drug cold turkey as well but a neurologist I recently saw said he would never stop that drug cold turkey, go figure. That said I went to a neurologist just to make sure something else might be going on, although I was pretty certain it was the clonzapam. I am a very healthy 65 year old so this defintely threw me for a loop. Neurologist went on to say, he can't imagine why sleep doc gave me this drug for insomnia I was experiencing? He also told me to just stay away from doctors which I had to laugh at, but I think he was serious. I have 3 docs in my family and I remember my one nephew telling me to be leary of physicians as well. He is brillant, went to Harvard etc. and told me he was frankly shocked at what he saw in his field. BTW, I feel like I'm rambling now, but the 4th leading cause of death is physician malpractice, although you will never see that listed in top 10 causes of death. That is 100% true.

I’m interested in the black out you said you have had in the past. I have a friend we went to a Dinner theater in Branson. While we were eating she passed out at the dinner table. she says she has been doing this since she was in her 20’s. (76 now). I’m concerned it seem ‘s she is not concerned

<p>I have been on clonazapam for over 30 years to help with sleep and anxiety. I’m currently taking 1.5 mg at night. I also take Mirtazapine 7.5 mg for sleep. Even at this dose I am up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep. In order to seal off these meds because they cause weight gain I was wondering if a CBD oil or gummy would help me wean off of these weight gaining addictive drugs. What can I do? I believe if there is a safe gummy to take would I be able to reverse weight gain and medicine that causes me to need more and more. So, can it be done with safe CBD oil or gummies and how can I do this? I also have IBS and don’t want more diarrhea.</p>

Don't take this the wrong way, but not sure anyone on this Board should or would be qualified to answer your question. Secondly, why are you assuming these two drugs are to blame for your weight gain for 30+ years of usage? Unfortunately, due to our lifestyles, most people gain substantial weight over 30 year period without using any meds? Best to you!

Up until a year ago I weighed 131, have been this weight or less my whole life. I know that My clonazapam was increased and I managed to reduce the Mirtazapine. I exercize all day, every day and eat minimally nutritious foods with no decrease in my weight. I’m just asking what else can I do? I felt that you dismissed me with your email. You know nothing about me. So thanks for nothing,

Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you by any means! I guess it's possible that clonzapam is responsible for your more recent weight gain but I would be skeptical if it didn't affect you for many years, although you did say your dose had been upped. I personally despice that drug, was only on it for 7 months and it screwed me up big time, although things have improved after being off of it for 8 months now. Anyone, including myself, who has been on this drug for more than a few months is most likely dependent on it which I say, shame on the docs who prescribed it for long term use. It's only supposed to be used for two weeks or less. But I would not accept anyones input on CBD oil or gummies as these also affect everyone differently. I would discuss with a medical physician. BTW, my physician was quite upset when he found out some idiot sleep disorder doc gave me this medicine. It is a nasty benzo that is way past it's time. I do wish you well and I hope you find out what caused your weight gain.

One last thought. If your weight gain has occured over a rather narrow time frame, as it sounds like it has, I would suspect one potential cause be as simple as an issue with your thyroid gland not working properly. This will often materialize in weight gain when everything else seems constant, such as exercise/diet etc. A simple blood test will tell your doc if that's the problem, and good news is it's often easily rectified!!

All psych meds cause metabolic issues, the science is irrefutable.

The overwhelming majority of psychiatric meds cause weight gain to one degree or another, Wellbutrin being one notable exception, it has other side effects to worry about.

I my experience most, yes most, physicians dismiss these issues as trivial. The worst of them blame the patient. Unfortunately there is no easy way to determine the cause of the metabolic problems, the simply do not know!

Better to dismiss the issue or blame the patient. If the trade off is weight gain versus suicide I guess a little weight gain is to be tolerated. However, it is seldom that simple.

The side effects of psychiatric medications are broad (just about anything) deep (can cause, yes cause, the problems for which they were prescribed) and long lasting. Sometimes the negative effects never go away.

Reliable unbiased information is a Google search away.

I have posted on this subjected extensively. In deference to other members who are sick of reading about it I won't rant any further. You can click on my username and see all the posts.

I will leave you with this; everything you want to know will be on page one of a Google search.

Why don't providers know?

I have a number of theories. I'll leave that for another post.

I hope you find the peace you deserve.

Welcome, @queenlori. There are many discussions on Mayo Clinic Connect where members are supporting members as they taper of clonazapam. You can see a list of them here:
- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=clonazapam

To help you connect with other members like @lisabass @falon @con123 @frouke @dfb who asked about using CBD to help with a taper, I moved your question to this existing discussion. Click the link to read from the beginning.

- Using either CBD and/or THC during Clonazepam discontinuance
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/using-either-cbd-andor-thc-during-clonazepam-discontinuance/
I agree with @arthur57 that finding a "bridge" option to help you with your taper is best discussed with your prescribing doctor. I'm sorry that you felt dismissed by the original reply to your post. I don't think that was the intent. Unfortunately, we only have words on the screen without the benefit of tone and body language. That said, words matter and I want you to feel supported in your efforts.

Thank you for clarifying your weight gain pattern and explaining that the weight gain is new and possibly linked to an increase in dosage. I would be concerned about that too. It is frustrating that eating well and exercising routinely has not helped mitigate the problem.

Have you had a chance to talk with your doctor about a safe tapering schedule and a possible bridge to help with the taper? What is your tapering schedule?

I totally understand what you are going through. I have been on clonazepam 1 mg 3xday for 23 years. Suddenly now every doctor wants me off of it when it was always helping me. I had no side effects with clonazepam. Getting off of it was the worst thing I had ever been through. A year later and I'm still a mess. I had a psychiatrist that put me back on it and I was so much better, like a new person. Now he retired and this new one wants me off of it. Why can't they just leave us that do better on it alone? I have 3 chronic illnesses and my life quality should matter but today I don't think they care. I think that people like me are being punished because of the drug addicts. It is so not right 😕