Getting off Klonopin (clonazepam)

I am so pleased for you, that you can do all kinds of wonderful things and enjoy your life. Unfortunately, I am not so lucky, and I am not bitter. You don’t even know me. I have been left with conditions for which they can do nothing about. I have been housebound for 25 years, and I can’t do anything now. I don’t have the luxury of having a life. I will be having MAiD sometime within the next couple of years, so that’s what I have to look forward to, but I don’t whine and complain to anyone. It is what it is. I’m glad you have a happy life. I won’t bother you with the details of my miserable existence.

Ive been on 1mg of Clonazepam for about 8 to 10 years. I moved from my home state 4 years ago and ive had i couple of different drs where i moved that would continue my treatment plan but both Dr's have left the practices and its just getting hard to keep changing and finding a Dr who will prescribe it. Ive been on the same dosage since i can remember but now i feel like i should just come off of it instead of worrying whether im going to find a Dr who will continue with the treatment. Im just afraid i wont taper right or ill have extreme withdrawal and the thought of seizures is terrifying - ive never abused it - i have only ever taken what a Dr told me to take for anxiety and panic which has never been over 1mg. How should i taper?

I think you are right! At the age of 86, I think I will continue taking the .5 mg pill of Clonazapam before bedtime together with 200 mg of Gabapentin because it helps me to sleep for about 7 to 8 hours each night and I need that sleep. Even though I am quite old, I still have a lot of energy, I still clean
and decorate my 2 bedroom townhouse, cook my own meals , attend weekly Bible Study at the Club House, attend Sunday Mass, play my favorite game of Scrabble at the Club house,continue to visit my 62 year old developmentally disabled daughter every Tuesday and last Thanksgiving I flew down to Bell Buckle Tenn, all by myself (with my Rollator) and I continue to keep busy (with the help of God) and live a rather happy life. My only regret is that I am no longer able to drive due to my right leg still being too weak but with the help of friends and a local cab company, I still get around. And so, my suffering friends, it is all about attitude. Try to be thankful for what you can do and not dwell on what you cannot do and try to live as busy and happy a life as possible. Don’t be bitter,,,…. ………..
be better.

Don’t remember how long you were on 1 mg but reducing from 1 to .5 is very dangerous. These drugs need to be reduced very slowly. The songs you are hearing are probably from withdrawal. You are playing a dangerous game as you can have a seizure if you don’t come off slowly.
They do sell a .25 disintegrating tablet but not regular. I broke my .5 pills in half and only ever took .25 at one time. You were taking three times as much. Please be very careful.

How was taking .25? I’m considering halving my .5. I haven’t tried it yet and am sensitive to meds.

When I decreased to .25mg from 1 (slowly at .75, .5, .375) , my withdrawal started big time with irritability , jitters, and insomnia. I stayed on that dose for longer than the other tapers, and found that .125mg did absolutely nothing. I then found CBD/THC gummies were a real help with the insomnia. I've been off Klonopin for almost a month and using the gummies only when needed. I am starting to feel pretty normal. This has been a 10 month process. I never knew how my body was reliant on this drug. Sometimes I miss it (only 1mg at bedtime).
But knowing that I was dependent makes going back to it no option. Once you go to .25mg, just stay there as long as you need to. It has to be a slow process to work, in my opinion. Best of luck.

Thanks for your input. I should have been more clear. I actually haven’t taken it until now. I did half the .5 and thought it relaxed me fine. I felt so calm. I was having a lot of fasciculations before, but they faded after I took the pill. I’ll take the .5 next time. I’m inly taking them as needed for a couple of weeks. I have started therapy and will likely need a daily med. I have to address my anxiety. It’s causing me a lot of troubles.

I'm now taking 0.5 mg Alprazolam after decades of taking 2 mg of Clonazepan with some Ambien often taken as well; note: had been living overseas and doc's were prescribing the stuff like candy. The 0.5 mg Alprazolam does pretty much nothing for me except for possibly acting as a placebo for my severe social anxiety. With the tremors I get from Parkinson's, it's often difficult for me to differentiate an anxiety attack from a bad PD day, and to top it off I need to be watchful of rapidly changing moods due to being Bipolar. Yeah, I'm a royal mess, overwhelmed by too many feelings and emotions bouncing around in my head and body. I came back to the states to file a claim for both Agent Orange exposure in VN and toxic drinking water from my time stationed at Camp Lejeune. At 73, I'm still working because the government took 10% out of my Social Security for each year that I didn't have Medicare Part B--useless for an expat who never expected to return to the US, and now I need to take care at work lest I be reported by my fellow fascist co-workers tell management that I'm 'unwell.' So, here I am trying to tytrate off Benzo's while wishing I could get my hands on a higher dose. At work, I'm getting paranoid and being reclusive, and by the time I get home, I'm too agitated to enjoy time with my wife. I don't even know where to begin. My main complaint is that healthcare in the US continues to worsen--more and more expensive, with fewer providers willing to take on new patients. Also, I live in CA where my wife is licensed to practice (burnt out on her job), yet the cost of living is getting way out of hand; we pay nearly $4 K/month for rent, are unable to save up enough to move, and have no plans beyond making it from day to day on survival mode. We both worked hard our entire lives and now have become redundant; I'm currently training interns (most of them working for free) what they'll need to learn in order to take over my job for half the pay. I was talking about getting myself off of Benzodiazepines, and now I wish I could get my hands on.... no, can't think of that; my wife would be devastated.

When I decreased to .25mg from 1 (slowly at .75, .5, .375) , my withdrawal started big time with irritability , jitters, and insomnia. I stayed on that dose for longer than the other tapers, and found that .125mg did absolutely nothing. I then found CBD/THC gummies were a real help with the insomnia. I've been off Klonopin for almost a month and using the gummies only when needed. I am starting to feel pretty normal. This has been a 10 month process. I never knew how my body was reliant on this drug. Sometimes I miss it (only 1mg at bedtime).
But knowing that I was dependent makes going back to it no option. Once you go to .25mg, just stay there as long as you need to. It has to be a slow process to work, in my opinion. Best of luck.

It sounds like you are going through a lot. I really hope things improve for you. It seems your doctor would want to help you feel better. Have you asked about options? I have a primary that I trust and admire. It gives me much peace of mind. It’s actually my neurologist who prescribed the clonazepam. He’s a pain specialist.