Starting Klonopin Taper, Scared of the Horror Stories
Hi all- I am expecting to get a plan from my psychiatrist to begin tapering down .5mg of klonopin 2x daily that I have been on for 4 months (I have been taking buspar for a month and hope to use that as my anxiety med, also am on 225 mg effexor daily), the stories on the internet about doing this are horrifying and right now i feel like the prospect of doing this is the #1 cause of my anxiety, feel like I’m getting ready for surgery or something. Has anyone gone thru this process and found it manageable? I need to hear it’s possible. Thanks.
Good to hear! I agree that with what’s going on right now are causing people without anxiety disorders to now have one!
Yes it is a challenging time for sure. I’ve made use of every tool I have learned many times in the last week. I’m glad I already have medication and therapy for support.
If you don’t mind my asking what medication are you now taking?
Effexor 225 mg/day, buspar 20 mg/day and klonopin .25 mg/day
njp:
Let us know how you are doing. This is a time of stress, but we are strong.
I think of our ancestors who came to this country and built a new world.
Carry on! We are stronger than we sometimes know💪 helen
nj,
How are you doing?
I bet you are adjusting well to the 2 halves. I have to admit that I took an extra 1/2 on one or two occasions. Now strictly 2 halves a day. Some days I only take one half!.. and find the second half in my pill case.
A pill case is a great tool… available in some version from pharmacies. I have a small case which has a plastic container for each day of the week.
Each day is divided into
Morning
Noon
Evening
Bed
They may also be available on line.
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This titration down made me realize that I looked for medication when I was anxious.
I am looking forward to seeing a new doctor who treats anxiety. He is very thorough and contacted the doctor who prescribed Clonazepam. 👏🏼
Keep us posted.
You have a plan!! Hooray 🙏
Hi helen actually I’ve only been on one half now for about ten days but we will see might go back to two halves. This lockdown is rough stuff but I’m hanging in there. Good to hear that you are doing well!
Also I really miss the days where my klonopin taper was my #1 concern 🙄
How are you doing in your taper?
Thank you for writing! I am also tapering off a med.
No support from prescriber who is on vacation.
I have tapered from 4-5 pills a day to 1 (2 halves)
Per day. I keep saying that I am going to take 1/2 daily next week!
My Gastroenterologist was SO helpful!
She told me that I may get stomach cramps from withdrawal and not to think it was from the celiac (wheat allergy)………..and to go slowly. Thank God for her.
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Bravo! for
connect.mayoclinic.org
We all need the support from others who have or are experiencing tapering from a pharmaceutical from which we have developed a dependence. Thank you to all who have shared your efforts and wisdom.
Thanks also to Mayo mentors!
Njp,
How are you doing? I read through this thread and was following your progress. After March 20th there were only a couple comments and we are at the end of April. I am just hoping all is well and stress over this covid -19 hasn’t gotten the best of you. I am joining this group because I also take clonazepam, 1 mg at night before bed. Once I learned about how highly correlated it is Alzheimer’s I decided to wean myself. That was five years ago. I got down to 0.5 mg once, but it always seems my anxiety worsens and I go back up to 1 mg. But now, I can’t remember things in the past to save my life. I’ve developed panic attacks. I became less effective at work as a result and am on medical leave. Instead of getting better or at least remaining the same my condition has worsened dramatically. I want to get off of clonazepam once and for all! Now I have panic attacks just thinking about it. I’m happy to hear not everyone on here has had these side affects as I know many who have.
Hi @jody01, good for you for reading through 6 pages of messages. I'm tagging @njp1013 by his/her @username to make sure they got your lovely message and concern for how they are doing.
Jody, one thing that I've learned from reading the posts in this forum, is the importance of tapering slowly. It's not a race. Given your concern about the correlation to Alzheimer's, have you considered talking to your doctor about changing medications?