Desperate need of help- cannot even handle very slow taper of low dosage

[[Di...]]

Hi, I have been on Clonazepam for 8 years, always a very low dose, 2MG at my max. I CANNOT get off this drug no matter what I try. My system seems to be overly sensitive to this benzo and the doctors have been useless and my tapers have been impossible to sustain. I believe that I am in that very small % of people who have extreme reaction to even low doses of benzos.

 

In the last 3 years I have particularly noticed an overwhelming sense of apathy, lack of concentration and focus, and overall disinterest in almost anything in life. I feel like a zombie and this drug is eating at my brain, I am not depressed in any way, my life is very good other than this issue, it just feels like a physical reaction to long term benzo use. I do not need or want this drug in my life but I can't get off.

 

I am currently on 1mg Clonazepam nightly. My Dr recently prescribed me very low .25mg dosages and suggested that I go very slowly down. First month I tried taking basically 7/8ths- (3 .25 mg pills then split 1 .25mg pill in half) - after a month of that, even at the low level and very slow taper I started to feel very foggy and surreal, anxious, depressed- it is the same reaction I get every time I lower the dosage.

 

I think I could handle the withdrawal if someone could tell me with any confidence how long it would take for me to get to feeling "myself" and if that is even guaranteed to happen. I would do a year long taper if that is what it took but I can't get past the first month,

 

Has anyone experienced similar problems? Extreme difficulty in managing even a very long and slow taper. At this point I am almost considering some sort of rehad/inpatient option - if that even exists - but I can't think of any other options. I would appreciate any guidance or feedback on how to help someone get off this shit who is highly sensitive to even long and slow tapers. Are there other meds that will help? Extreme detox programs? Anything.

 

Thank you

[[Di...]]

In actual fact, 2mg of clonazepam/klonopin isn’t a small dose. It’s equivalent to 40mg of valium, so 1mg would be equivalent to 20mg which is still a fairly high dose. So what you think are small cuts probably aren’t, especially seeing as you have been taking it long term.

 

Clonazepam/klonopin can be difficult to taper by just tablet cutting because even the smallest dosed tablets (ie the 0.25mg you currently have) are still equivalent to 5mg of valium – and it took me well over a year to taper off 5mg of valium.

 

You have a couple of options. If you want to stay on C, which is always the best course of action if you aren’t having any particular problems with it, it would be best to liquefy part of your dose and then you are able to cut much smaller amounts than you can just with dry cutting.

 

Your next option, if you find it too hard to taper off C, is to do a cross over to valium, because you can get tablets in much smaller doses (ie you can get 2mg V tablets which would be equivalent to about 0.1mg of C). You would only want to do a cross over though if tapering off C just isn’t working for you, because C already has a reasonably long half-life and it does take time to do a proper cross over.

 

I’ve only ever done a liquid taper off valium, so I’d rather not give any advice on tapering off another benzo, but there are plenty of people here who will be able to help you. Hopefully SG57 will be along soon to give some advice, or you can go to the Klonopin support forum here…. http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=57791.0

 

[[Di...]]

Thank you for the reply, very helpful advice. I will look into the liquid option.

[[Be...]]

Hi,

 

I agree that 2 mg is not a low dose. I am doing dry cutting of Klonopin and using a scale to measure accurately. Pill cutters and eyeballing are too imprecise—not by a little, a lot. I'd recommend this method for starters until you get to a lower daily dose at which time you might switch to liquid titration. You could practice the steps of liquid titration (without actually taking the drug) to see if this is something you could do. I find dry cutting easier because I don't need a sink or fridge. Most important thing is to choose a method, then stick to a plan that is truly a taper, not a bunch of cuts that make you feel like you're being dropped. It will be slower than you thought slow could ever be, but will minimize withdrawal symptoms to the extent they can be minimized.

 

Best,

Bennie

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[[...]]

I think you have been given very good advice from both DP and Bennie.  To me, the best way to get off is to do a daily taper.  Tiny tiny cuts on a daily basis.  You can do this with K by filing pills, but the pill sizes are not great for this.  A better way is to liquify the K.  This will give you pretty much unlimited freedom in dosing.

[[Bi...]]

I think you have been given very good advice from both DP and Bennie.  To me, the best way to get off is to do a daily taper.  Tiny tiny cuts on a daily basis.  You can do this with K by filing pills, but the pill sizes are not great for this.  A better way is to liquify the K.  This will give you pretty much unlimited freedom in dosing.

 

:thumbsup: