Clonazepam taper after zyprexa

[[So...]]

hello

 

Helping out my mother to taper her meds..she is into tolerance withdrawal I think.her age is 74...

 

So scared on her behalf as i have been a past benzo user myself.

 

any help would be much appreciated.Thanks in advance

[[pi...]]

Hello someonesomewhere,

 

Welcome to Benzo Buddies and thank you so much for being an advocate for your mother.  It really helps having someone who knows about benzos and how they can affect people.  Try not to be frightened and scared,  we have many older members who have successfully tapered off benzos.  It can be done.  I am in my 60's and tapering off benzos was the best decision I have made for my health.

 

Is your mother still on zyprexa?  What dose of clonazepam is your mom taking? 

 

With a slow taper, your mom can come off clonazepam.  It is suggested to taper 5-10% every 10-14 days.  A good place for you to find information about these types of drugs and how to withdraw is the Ashton Manual. I'll give you a link to it.  I'll also provide a link to the General Taper Plans for further information.

 

Please let us know how we can help, that's what we're here for.  I look forward to hearing from you again.

 

The Ashton Manual

 

General Taper Plans   

 

 

pianogirl

[[be...]]

Welcome  your mother is so lucky to have someone like you. A tolerance withdrawal can be pretty miserable.  That is how many of us found their way here. Have you discussed a tapering plan with her doctor?

[[So...]]

Thank you for your kind words and warm welcome

 

I have been reading this forum for quite a while ....there is so much information and help...you guys are really helping people ....from empowering them to taking better decisions ....bravo and thanks.

 

I myself am a doctor but taking a break from it for awhile ....I am not a fan of the way drugs are currently being prescribed and how the health just keeps deteriorating in the long run...the wholistic definition of health is just not being addressed in the current system i guess....so its like swimming against the tide in healthcare.

 

I weaned her off zyprexa (the highest she went was 5 mg for three weeks...total use three months including tapering)because she was developing TD ....her last dose was yesterday.

 

my mom has a history of taking antidepressants.....mostly cipralex 5 mg and anxiolytics Xanax 0.5 for atleast 8 years.before that she use to take antidepressants and anxiolytics but not on such regular basis.about two years ago she CT both drugs while visiting my brother .....went through severe withdrawal but lasted without them for a year after which her GP reinstated her cipralex 5 mg .

 

It all started with a psychotic break last year whereby her GP upped her cipralex to 10 from 5  and added xanax 0.5 and she got manic in two weeks....then the psychiatrist just labelled her as bipolar ,stopped her cipralex...no tapering...and started her on haldol ....zyprexa....abilify what not....she got worse and worse and again CT from 10 mg abilify feb of this year....in all she never took any drug more than six weeks.

 

She started valium 5 mg by feb to sleep ...by May her GP again switched valium to clonazapam .5 and even upped her dose to 1.5 i think.....by june she got psychotic again...but was better after reinstating only 2.5 mg of zyprexa so maybe withdrawal or super sensitivity psychosis....I slowly weaned her off since then because of her movement disorders...deep down in my heart I know that all this is iatrogenic induced injury and more drugs are not the answer for her....her brain needs time to heal....but it is heart breaking to see my mom who was fully functional, happy, outgoing, active ,social to what has become of her now....a shell of a person scared, tired, in pain .....emotional, psychological, physical....she was suicidal when she was psychotic and even now when she goes into physical withdrawal....total fatigue, weakness anxiety she says how life has become so unbearable for her...it breaks my hear because she is the most courageous ...always a fighter person i know and love..I know its all chemical anxiety and one day it will clear up ...i hope and pray God keeps her safe and paves the way out of the this abyss into light.

 

Thanks once again for the motivation and kind words.

 

God bless

[[So...]]

Oh and now she is just taking 0.5 clonazapam

 

Her current symptoms are no energy, burning pain in feet, weakness, agoraphobia, anxiety mostly in mornings, on and off nausea, headache ....some vertigo spells in the past but not constant...no joy...sometimes severe body pains ...this has amplified with clonazapam...she was a Xanax user but it never got so bad in the past.

 

she was a very active person but has been bedridden for at least three months now.no motivation ....very depressed...she feels she will not survive longer....has health anxieties....I try to explain to her that these are withdrawals and many people have exact same problems but get through but I am not sure if she believes me or not...Its just that she had been chronically ill for so long she does not believe that her previous level of health is attainable...so basically she has lost hope....Is there someway i can help?I would really appreciate a perspective....how to bring her to hope again...

[[pi...]]

Hello again,

 

I'm sorry for all your dear mom has had to endure.  All the drugs she has been put on seem to be too strong for her. I can relate to that because I can only take very small doses of anything because of my ultra sensitivity.  Anti depressants can be very stimulating and the increase could have contributed to the episodes your mom experienced.

 

I had a lot of the symptoms your mom had when I was in tolerance, that is where the dose is no longer effective.  In fact I was sick for almost two years and had a myriad of medical tests all showing normal results.

 

Benzos can cause cognitive issues and that is why it is tricky for elderly people to be on these kinds of medications. I don't know what to suggest to you except to start a very slow taper.  You could help by showing her some of the Success Stories here, how people rose from some pretty dark places to reach a place of wellness.  It's hard to feel bad all the time, I know.  I would come home from the er and after another round of tests with all normal results I would weep on my husbands shoulder because I was so sick.  Withdrawal can be a long process and recovery can take a while but in my opinion, it is worth it.

 

pianogirl