5+ years on Klonopin

[[Gr...]]

Hello. I have been reading your helpful posts off and on for over 2 months and now have a question, so joined. At first I was doing my own taper off of my .5 mg. per day dose and it was too much. I read that 6% every two weeks was the max to try. At the time I read that, I was at .25 mg. after having gone 2 weeks at .375 mg. before that. So, I cut 6% off of the .25 mg. after ordering the jeweler's scale someone recommended. I've been at that dose for over 3 weeks now as I can't taper any more right now because of extremely poor air quality that is itself making me sick as it does every October-early Nov. Shortly before I tapered to the current dose, I got my very first ocular migraine and went to the ER because I was afraid it was a detached retina. It lasted 5 days and I still have the flashing lights and floaters in my left eye. My question is, am I doing this right now that I have the scale? Do I take 6% off whatever the current dose is, every 2 weeks? Or do I take 6% of the original dose of .5 mg. off the current dose every 2 weeks?

 

I do have some experiences to contribute on things that have mitigated anxiety symptoms to almost nil. They have to do with brain-frequency retraining. One is very expensive and required 4 EEGs over a period of 5 weeks, and one is not expensive and can be done at home after purchasing a device that costs less than $375. If anyone else has tried brain-frequency retraining or wondered about it, I'd be interested to know how it worked for you.

 

I'll add that I was only on Klonopin to help me fall asleep at night. If I had known it was addicting and that it could cause Alzheimer's (according to the recent French study), I would never have started it. My doctor actually told me, and still maintains, that it prevents Alzheimer's. He believes the study is flawed and has a very in-depth explanation of why it is helpful to his patients, which is a narrowly defined group of about 300-400 people from around the world with chronic fatigue syndrome. He is a research doctor and was a bio-chemist before becoming an M.D. I still want to be off of this drug. I'd also appreciate hearing from anyone else who meets the CDC's or the Canadian criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and has tapered off of Klonopin.

 

Sorry, I know this is way long for an intro, but it's going to be time soon for me to taper again. Thank you all for your very informative posts. Without this site, I would have done something really harmful.

 

GrannyL

[[be...]]

Hi GrannyL  Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

The recommended reduction rate is 5 to 10 percent every two weeks. One can always adjust it from there.

 

You might like to check out The Ashton Manual it is an authoritative source on what to expect in withdrawal and recovery.  Dr. Ashton is an expert in the field.  She describes and explains withdrawal symptoms.

 

Please feel free to post to any of the dedicated boards, we have a wonderful community of people here, who will give sound advice. Members have been through all aspects of benzodiazepine use and withdrawal and are more than willing to share their experiences.

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

 

 

Please take the time to Create a Signature.  This will allow others to see where you are in the process so they can better support you.

 

Again Welcome! 

 

benzos-R-cruel

 

[[Gr...]]

Thank you for the reply. So if I went 5% reduction, what am I taking 5% OF --- the current, reduced dose, or the original dose? If it's the original dose of .5 mg., then each time I would reduce my dose by .025. If it's 5-10% of the current dose, then each time I would be reducing it by a different number.

 

If I hadn't come across this group, I probably would have tried to go cold turkey, too. I will check out the manual. Thanks.

[[ea...]]

Good for you, knowing not to go cold turkey!

I strongly believe your doctor is very wrong. There have been several studies linking benzos with dementia, just like alcohol can do. And as for CFS - nonsense. I was diagnosed with CFS years ago, after I had already been on a benzo for many years. I had every symptom of it, too. Well, those symptoms have completely disappeared since getting off benzos entirely! I now believe that my symptoms were being CAUSED by the benzos - what we call tolerance withdrawal. Few doctors know about tolerance w/d. Most discount it. But, I am living proof it exists and so are many of our members.

east

[Guest [ma...]]

Hi Granny L,

 

As far as CFS I "had" that while on Klonopin and even worse while in w/d and recovery. I don't know about the Canadian Guidelines. I looked up online but some of the links are dead. In any case, all those symptoms related to that mis-diagnosis for me "magically" left after removing the drug and getting some recovery time under my belt. Not saying that you don't have CFS but benzos can affect many aspects of the body and can result in all kinds of strange symptoms even while on the drug and before tapering.

 

Not sure if you are Canadian or not but if you live in BC the Ashton Manual is available on the website of the BC College of Physicians and Surgeons and it's actually recommended reading for ALL drs. That does not mean that any of them know about it. Well some do b/c I told them personally after my ordeal. Also in BC every pharmacy was at one time given a copy of the Ashton Manual.

 

In SK, not sure what year, the Ashton Manual was sent to every pharmacy and every drs office in that province. Those are just examples of two provinces that I know about, but there is no excuse for any dr in Canada or elsewhere to not know about benzos.

 

As far as I am concerned it does not matter whether your dr agrees or disagrees with the recent study regarding benzos and Alzheimers. There are many other reasons to substantiate the fact that benzos are not and never were meant for long term use. Good for you for working on your taper. All the best with the rest of it. You will find a lot of information and support on BB.

[[sc...]]

I think your doctor is wrong also, my aunt is a nurse and she said they have known for years that it causes dementia,,hence why are they still passing it like candy?  Good luck with your taper

[[Gr...]]

Thanks, everyone, for the replies. Has anyone ever had their brain fog symptoms get better after getting off benzos, or is it that once you start feeling demented, it's too late? The last 6 months or so, my brain fog symptoms have gotten worse and there's no other reason I can think of. I do have CFS and have for decades, much longer than I've been taking Klonopin. Hepatitis brought it on in 1981, although I've had the fibromyalgia symptoms since I was 4. Giardiasis, mold exposure, working with RoundUp (herbicide), pushing myself and major stress all made it get to the point where I couldn't really function much at all. The past 11 years I've worked on getting some functions back. I've recently been able to walk for exercise for the first time since 2003. Yea! This is all thanks to my research doctor's protocol. But, he disagrees with my tapering off Klonopin. I'm not from Canada, but he goes by both the CDC's guidelines and the Canadian guidelines for diagnosis of CFS. I think the only difference is one of them has a pain requirement and the other doesn't. Anyway, thanks for all the encouragement. I will continue to taper.

[[De...]]

Thanks, everyone, for the replies. Has anyone ever had their brain fog symptoms get better after getting off benzos, or is it that once you start feeling demented, it's too late? The last 6 months or so, my brain fog symptoms have gotten worse and there's no other reason I can think of. I do have CFS and have for decades, much longer than I've been taking Klonopin. Hepatitis brought it on in 1981, although I've had the fibromyalgia symptoms since I was 4. Giardiasis, mold exposure, working with RoundUp (herbicide), pushing myself and major stress all made it get to the point where I couldn't really function much at all. The past 11 years I've worked on getting some functions back. I've recently been able to walk for exercise for the first time since 2003. Yea! This is all thanks to my research doctor's protocol. But, he disagrees with my tapering off Klonopin. I'm not from Canada, but he goes by both the CDC's guidelines and the Canadian guidelines for diagnosis of CFS. I think the only difference is one of them has a pain requirement and the other doesn't. Anyway, thanks for all the encouragement. I will continue to taper.

 

Hello GrannyL,

 

I too would like to welcome you to the forum 

 

During my latter years of benzo use I was convinced I had a form of dementia because my memory was so poor but I'm pleased to tell you that I'm now 17 months benzo free and my memory is so much better and cognitive skills are much improved also so in answer to your question if benzos have had an adverse effect on your memory then this is temporary not permanent, the brain is very resilient and these problems will resolve once you are benzo free and on the road to recovery.

 

I'm glad you found us and I wish you success with the taper.

 

Debbie

[[Gr...]]

Debbie, Thank you. That's very encouraging. GrannyL

[[ba...]]

Hello Granny L,

 

i wanted to stop by to say hello to you, activating and light exercise helped me most be successfull in quitting my similar medication Xanax i cut my pill into tiny fragments 0.0625mg to get that size i cut a 0.50mg pill into 8 pieces i took a tiny fragment once a day . Mrs Granny L i strongly suggest that you not rush the dose reductions i also strongly suggest that you get a large syringe that has measurement numbers on it, i have one thats 150ml large and a small one that is 5ml with measurment #s on it with those syringes you can do a water taper, you do this when your tablet is too small to cut accurately . like you can get your klonopin dose add it to the 150ml syringe filled with water , you mix it well and drink all 150ml . then afer a few weeks fill the 150ml water tube with your klonopin in there drink all of it except 5ml you can use a secondary small syringe to extract the 5ml a few weeks later do the same procedure again except remove 10ml from the 150ml syringe .  I regret not doing this slow water taper i just quit the 0.0625ml xanax. i quit xanax 9/14/14 im still going through a tough difficult time with constant tinnittus that is a buzzing ringing sound in my head , . i strongly suggest that you reduce your klonopin into a very small cut dose or do this water taper to make it even smaller so you dont have to suffer long with bad withdrawals & tinnittus i take a few vitamins bcomplex biotin b7 magnesium and a 1 a day centrum , i try to drink several cups of milk each day so vitamins are more affective , try to avoid excess sugar, sugar along with smoking tobacco is a bad stimmulant it agrivates the brain and withdrawals worsen for me with those. you may feel sensitive to lights what i do for this is wear sunglasses indoors the best ones that work best for me is sunglasses from the $1 dollar tree that have amber (light brown) colored lenses . another suggestion i reccomend is eat a smal piece of parsley it can help heal your nervous system (source - http://www.care2.com/greenliving/7-surprising-health-benefits-of-parsley.html 

 

i also highly recommend drinking some chamomille tea every supermareket has that in the same area where coffee is sold i like to make my tea strong i get coffee cup fill it with water i add tea bag in water microwave 1 minute 45 seconds i leaev the tea bag in that cup 20-30 minutes before i drink while waiting for my tea to be ready i shower then after shower i fill my bathtub with hot tub temperature water i lay in the bathtub for 20 minutes i add a few drops of lavander oil on my neck after i dry off . Also one more tip you may have difficulty sleeping after you quit klonopin i slept quite well getting melatonin 10mg from walgreens , 10mg is a bit too strong so i cut one of those into 4 pieces and take 1/4th walgreens melatonin is good since it has vitamin B6 added to it to prolong sleep i also changed my pillow im now using a contour pillow from target its a pillow shapped like o-O

im sorry this is a long letter for you to read Mrs Granny L i just wanted to help as much as possible what helped me. it was a pleasure to meet you Granny L,  God bless you and your family ,

Katie (babyangel)