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Getting off Klonopin (clonazepam)
Would like information of others who have taken this medication. How long prescribed, how you got off this. Did you have side effects following. Any & all information is greatly appreciated.
Tysm!
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@barbrar2
I took Klonopin too.
I was taking 18mg a day for maybe a few years for seizures but it didn't help.
I believe that the best way to taper off a medication is by choosing a compounding pharmacy and taper by a certain percentage. The 5-10% taper is popular and successful. Yes, it often takes a long time but a substantially reduced possibility of withdrawals are worth it to me. I tapered probably over two years. Some people may taper up to 20% or so. A larger taper may seem easy when your dose is large but large cuts seldom are successful as your dose gets smaller. Read back and there are many unhappy and disappointed people who suffered intolerable withdrawal symptoms. Even though my taper was very slow probably slower then necessary at the end I had to chip off tiny pieces to continue to not have any withdrawal effects. I might have started tapering every two weeks but I switched to monthly cuts. Your brain needs time to adjust.
SLOW WINS THIS RACE!!!
Best of luck to you.
Jake
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6 Reactions@irr4et
“My rheumatologist advised me to decrease by 10mgs/mo. That’s what safe.”
I believe that's a brazen comment.
Tapering varies significantly from person to person.
I've known and read of people who could stop by cutting their dose in half then quitting with no problems.
A person here on Connect takes about one-half of one percent and has considerable side effects.
Take care,
Jake
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3 ReactionsWhy is everyone trying to come off of it? Does it not work?
@hhjgreene I think it's only natural to want to eliminate drugs from our bodies. I've done that myself, if only to see if that medication was really helping. Then you find out that either you don't need the drug anymore, or you need to continue it but hopefully at a smaller dose. It's always a trial and error system.
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?
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9 ReactionsYou’re right about prescriptions getting harder to get. As you know they have done the same with opioids. The docs seemed to have replaced pain meds for even post surgical patients with Tylenol. The government wants to control all the medications now . Google the Ashton Manual. It’s the best benzo tapering method there is right now. Doctors are just very anxious to unprescribe even to those that truly need their medication. It’s inhumane.
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7 ReactionsYou have to find a psychiatrist who will help you taper off. I’ve been taking clonazepam for 30 years. We recently moved from Vermont to Pittsburgh. For 22 years in Vermont my PCP kept renewing my prescription. Now suddenly I’m in a system that insists that I have to get off it. I’m 73 years old and I have CFS along with many other health issues. I’m on a quest to find a psychiatrist who will let me keep taking it. At my age it would be sheer hell for years. I refuse to go through that. You can’t do it yourself.
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4 ReactionsI suggest you talk to your pharmacist, who I have found knows much more about such things than my PCP.
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3 ReactionsI am 71 years old. Every comment says my experience, too. Been on benzos for years, cannot find any kind of doctor or health care giver to renew my prescription. I moved to a different state and am looking for healthcare to continue. I paid $1.80 a month for Valium. Every healthcare person I have gone to here is willing to give me Dayc__ (sp) for sleep, which I tried, it does nothing for my anxiety and it knocks me out thus no quality sleep. Also, it is very expensive & addictive, just as addicting as any benzo! The truth is, healthcare everywhere is horrible, if one can even find a doctor.
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2 Reactions1 mg is a very low dose. I was taking 8 mg a day, which was low also, and after 5 years, my doctor was actually being pressured by the clinic he worked for, for 20 years, to get his patients off and to prescribe expensive, addictive, new medications instead. So he went according to Ashton's Manual and switched me to Valium. Valium is shorter acting and does not stay in your system as long. The dosage is different and if I remember correctly, I went from 8 mg to 3 mg of the Valium with the same result. After a year, I am down to 1 mg Valium in the evening, but I will be taking this dose for months as I am 71 years old, been on benzos for years, and my body needs to adjust. Then it will be 1/2 mg for months and then nothing. I have ben cautioned not to taper too quickly. In the meantime, I must substitute holistic methods of dealing with insomnia and anxiety. Which is difficult here as there isn't any group activities, so I got Roku on my TV and do yoga and meditation using the programs on TV. Also, when I wake early, like 2 or 3:00 AM, I get up and do something for about 2 hours and then I go back to bed. And I pray a lot.
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