1. < Depression & Anxiety

I have been in Clonazepam 0.5mg TID for 18 years

Posted by jeanne51 @jeanne51, Jan 7 4:49pm

My psychiatrist retired and I was left to find a replacement. It seems there are a majority of nurse practitioners these days taking patients as providers, many do not take insurance. I found a nurse practitioner with a very good educational background. I saw her in person and she renewed the medications I was in for 6 months. Next month we had a zoom meeting and she told me she wanted me off the Ambien and Clonazepam because I would get dementia or Alzheimer’s with long term use. She insisted I start tapering against my will. I had school phobia in grade school, began having depression symptoms in my 20’s, and in my late 20’s had two major panic attacks. I have been depressed with anxiety most of my adult life. I have been hospitalized twice because of this. I have never asked for an increase in dosage of Ambien or Clonazepam fur 18 years after I found a wonderful psychiatrist who was so good at medication management.
Now, tapering Ambien and Clonazepam I have started self mutilating by picking my fingers raw until they bleed. I can’t sleep at night, I have become socially phobic. I have become isolative and often think of suicide with no plan. I am 73 years old and I think it is so cruel to put me through this when all I want is to have quality of life, not quantity. I live with my husband in adult senior living which I have not adjusted to. Taking these meds away has decreased my desire to exercise and my endurance is decreasing. My new provider told me if I didn’t want to taper my medication that I should find a new one provider. I did manage to taper the Ambien but I am down to half of the Clonazepam and feel like I can’t go on. Please help me. I am on Paxil and Wellbutrin for depression but it is anxiety and insomnia making my life miserable. I am not the same person I was a year ago.
I feel miserable, she has destroyed any quality of life I had. I really don’t want to live anymore.

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rosebookay | @rosebookay | 17 hours ago
In reply to @sears "We all needed the medication, all of us in that boat were suffering with something that..." + (show)
@sears

We all needed the medication, all of us in that boat were suffering with something that the benzo easily fixed and other meds didn’t fix. I don’t think anyone actually started on a prescribed benzodiazepine for no reason and stayed on it for years. I showed absolutely zero signs of dementia. It’s never been absolutely proven beyond reasonable doubt that benzodiazepines cause dementia.

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Exactly right! They are however now proving that SSRIS cause cognitive issues

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1 reply
sears | @sears | 15 hours ago
In reply to @rosebookay "Exactly right! They are however now proving that SSRIS cause cognitive issues" + (show)
@rosebookay

Exactly right! They are however now proving that SSRIS cause cognitive issues

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I wouldn’t be surprised!

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catalinaexpress | @catalinaexpress | 14 hours ago
In reply to @catalinaexpress "I'm in the exact same boat and thanks for the heads up. Doesn't change the fact..." + (show)
@catalinaexpress

I'm in the exact same boat and thanks for the heads up. Doesn't change the fact that I need the medication to be able to function and I have no symptoms of dementia or any other reason not to prescribe Klonopin. I took it for years and could have died from other drugs that were forced on me and turned me into a nonfunctioning zombie my daughter was threatening to put into a nursing home! All is relative and an individual situation and the patients needs should be the most important consideration in my opinion!

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❤️

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catalinaexpress | @catalinaexpress | 14 hours ago
In reply to @catalinaexpress "I'm in the exact same boat and thanks for the heads up. Doesn't change the fact..." + (show)
@catalinaexpress

I'm in the exact same boat and thanks for the heads up. Doesn't change the fact that I need the medication to be able to function and I have no symptoms of dementia or any other reason not to prescribe Klonopin. I took it for years and could have died from other drugs that were forced on me and turned me into a nonfunctioning zombie my daughter was threatening to put into a nursing home! All is relative and an individual situation and the patients needs should be the most important consideration in my opinion!

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❤️

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catalinaexpress | @catalinaexpress | 2 hours ago

I am trying herbs as I'm in the same boat. Thesnine and valerian root haven't helped enough do I'm going to try dt johns wort also and I think astragalas

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catalinaexpress | @catalinaexpress | 2 hours ago
In reply to @sears "I tapered completely off after 25 years of Xanax use. Best thing I ever did and..." + (show)
@sears

I tapered completely off after 25 years of Xanax use. Best thing I ever did and I found I really don’t need it after all.

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Trys herbs

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catalinaexpress | @catalinaexpress | 1 hour ago
In reply to @jeanne51 "The only SSRI I had a horrible time getting off of was Cymbalta. I’ve been on..." + (show)
@jeanne51

The only SSRI I had a horrible time getting off of was Cymbalta. I’ve been on so many in my lifetime but this took the prize. There is actually a Facebook group to help people with ways to get off that horrible drug. My hope is that my new provider will not continue tapering my Clonazepam. At my age, I really don’t care if I get dementia, if their claim is really true. I would like to have a quality of life, rather than quantity and staying on Clonazepam is the on,y way I see this happening.
Sorry to hear you suffered brain damage from SSRI’s.

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Try herbs

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larrypains | @larrypains | 57 minutes ago
In reply to @larrypains "This is releated to daily living for people living with extreme anxiety. Today tariffs go into..." + (show)
@larrypains

This is releated to daily living for people living with extreme anxiety.
Today tariffs go into effect for our trading partners. I assure you that if you spend time on social boards or watch CNN or FOX right now there is no medicine that will quell your anxiety, it will go through the roof. My SUGGESTION is to let things that are out of our control or early in the president plan which is unknown at this time play out awhile. You will only create extreme anxiety for yourself. TURN THEM OFF for now. We are suffering enough!!!

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EXCELLENT SUGGESTION!!!¡¡!!¡¡!¡!¡!

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sears | @sears | 37 minutes ago
In reply to @larrypains "This is releated to daily living for people living with extreme anxiety. Today tariffs go into..." + (show)
@larrypains

This is releated to daily living for people living with extreme anxiety.
Today tariffs go into effect for our trading partners. I assure you that if you spend time on social boards or watch CNN or FOX right now there is no medicine that will quell your anxiety, it will go through the roof. My SUGGESTION is to let things that are out of our control or early in the president plan which is unknown at this time play out awhile. You will only create extreme anxiety for yourself. TURN THEM OFF for now. We are suffering enough!!!

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We suffered for many years watching our borders destroyed, God knows who coming into our country illegally and watching the president of the US deteriorate mentally right before our eyes, not knowing who was running the country. The way prices have sky rocketed in the last 4 years! Groceries! Wow! It’s so hard now! We sure need a break soon!

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