2nd Withdrawal - Clonazepam - Rebound Symptoms

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I decided to join this forum because I'm experiencing some withdrawal/rebound symptoms.  I'm prescribed to 1mg Clonazepan (two tablets per day).  I did not experience any significant anxiety until I started law school.  I've been taking this dose for a couple of months, and was originally prescribed the 0.5mg (Clonazepan) about a year ago, and before this I occasionally used a relative's prescription. Last summer I experienced my first withdrawal as a result of taking more than two tablets per day and having a few days before I could refill my prescription.  During this period, I primarily experienced insomnia and increased anxiety, but did not have significant "cloudy head" symptoms or decreased cognitive function.  I ultimately decided to refill my prescription after doing some research, as I was not entirely sure that I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

 

Last Friday, I again ran out of my prescription early.  Over the last few days, I've experienced the same insomnia and increased anxiety, with some nasty additional symptoms: primarily a "cloudy head," decreased cognitive function (lowered ability to retain info while reading), a heightened sensitivity to sounds, and shaky hands.  Fortunately I've avoided caffeine during this time, which was a trigger of my anxiety to begin with.  I did drink a little bit of alcohol tonight which helped, but I understand that this is not a good idea during a withdrawal (according to Wikipedia).

 

Tomorrow I'm planning to disclose the situation to my doctor.  I have concluded that I'm experiencing real withdrawal symptoms, and it appears that my symptoms are worse than the previous withdrawal.  I think I should cease taking the drug completely and try to find (1) a medication that can alleviate the withdrawal symptoms; and (2) a non-benzo alternative for my anxiety/insomnia.  I fear that if I try to "taper" the withdrawal with a lower dose, I will end up having a 3rd withdrawal that is even worse.

 

Looking for some advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

[[me...]]

Hello lawstudent8.  Welcome to the forum, we're glad you found us! Running out of one's prescription a few days early is one of the first danger signs of benzodiazepine "tolerance," which is when your prescribed dose no longer works and has to be increased to get the same effect as before.  I remember going through this with Xanax.  Since you're been taking clonazepam for a year or so, it's important to taper off, and we generally suggest a taper rate of about 5-10% every 10-14 days. This may seem slow, but tapering faster can bring about severe withdrawal symptoms.  I hope your doctor understands the need to taper slowly, but unfortunately many if not most doctors do not.  Here are a few links you may find useful:

 

General Taper Plans

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper).

 

The Ashton Manual 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, and there is also a section with withdrawal/taper schedules.

 

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!

 

 

[[De...]]

Hello lawstudent8,

 

Welcome to the forum from me too 

 

I agree with Megan, in view that you've been taking the clonazepam for a year, a slow. careful taper wold be the way to go to ensure that the withdrawal effects will be kept minimised. A cold turkey or too rapid a taper off benzos after long term use is never a good and idea and some nasty symptoms can result, I'm sure that you'd fare much better by tapering off the clonazepam.

 

Perhaps you could copy the pertinent pages from The Ashton Manual to show to your doctor, many members have done this very thing as a lot of doctors dont appear to be benzo wise. There is a withdrawal schedule for klonopin (clonazepam) with diazepam substitution within the manal, chapter 2 to give you an idea of taper rate. However it isn't essential to crossover to diazepam for tapering purposes, many members here have tapered successfully directly from the clonazepam.

 

With relation to alcohol, alcohol is cross tolerant with benzos and many members avoid alcohol while they are tapering and for a while once their taper is finished because they find the alcohol causes a rev up in withdrawal symptoms so it might be an idea to avoid alcohol if you can

 

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

 

Debbie

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Welcome  stopping suddenly could cause severe or prolonged symptoms.  I would strongly recommend a tapering slowly. In my opinion this can reduce withdrawal symptoms.

[[la...]]

I now agree with the above posts and have refilled my prescription.  The night I originally posted my intro, I suffered some severe symptoms as a direct result of drinking alcohol--it seems that on a hyper-sensitive nervous system, alcohol calms you down initially, but later it can trigger major anxiety and insomnia when the inhibitory effects are done.  That was a pretty scary night and morning.  Fortunately I'm not prone to severe panic attacks.

 

In terms of the tapering, I'm not sure what my doctor will think.  It probably isn't advisable to simply cut 1mg pills into the desired portions, yet this seems easier.  I'm also not very keen on the idea of giving up alcohol for potentially months on end...I guess this is doable though.

[[De...]]

Hi again lawstudent8 and thank you for the update.

 

I'm sorry to hear about the severe symptoms, alcohol can have this effect when one is in withdrawal from benzos.

 

I think you're very wise to have decided to taper, I hope that your doctor will be cooperative. There are a couple of ways of making very small, very accurate cuts to the daily dosage other than breaking up the pills, titration is one of them where you crush the pill and mix with fluid, usually milk, to make a suspension, this way very small cuts are easily made. Also some members use a jeweller's scale to assist with making small cuts and I believe clonazepam is available in liquid form also, this might be another option for you, if not now when the dosage gets lower again.

 

I hope this helps and good luck with the taper 

 

Debbie