31yo Male - 6 months 1mg daily clonazepam - Seeking advice on my taper

[[Fo...]]

Here is my plan: http://imgur.com/jRb6bRd

 

Here are some details about myself and my dependence:

 

• I am a 31 year old male

• I used to be able to sleep 7 - 9 hours per night

• I started taking 1 mg Clonazepam nightly 6 months ago.

• Recently, I can only sleep 4 - 6 hours per night.

• I assume this is a result of my GABA inhibitors being disrupted by the benzodiazepines, which I am increasingly tolerant to.

 

So. Decision time. Increase the dose or taper and quit?

 

...I never really had anxiety issues or sleep problems to begin with - I'm just impulsive and enjoyed the relaxed mood and tranquil warmth that Clonazepam offered (for the first couple weeks anyway)...I read the Ashton Manual....

 

Taper and quit!

 

Other factors regarding my taper plan above:

 

• I have wavered between xanax and clonazepam at times and had no ill effects, this is why I plan switch quickly from Clon to Diaz in just 2 weeks.

 

• I usually take my dose at night to sleep, but the result has been tolerance and gaping GABA inhibitors. This is why I want to split my dose to mid-day and evening to an extent - the idea being to allow my GABA inhibitors to start functioning by necessity on their own. Maybe this is misguided.

 

• I am reducing doses by units of 2.5 mg Diazepam because I assume 5 mg Diazepam are the lowest-dose pills I can find at a pharmacy, and I'll just use a pill splitter from there.

 

I hope I am being cogent and my plan is good. I realize it's on the short side for total duration (12 weeks), but I have a very positive outlook and a robust physique - I exercise a lot, socialize, get creative, read books, enjoy my work, etc.

 

I think I can lick these benzos quick.

 

I meet with my doc on Tuesday and I want to walk in with a printed copy of the Ashton Manual and a plan for myself.

 

Feedback and personal experience are very welcome. 

 

EDIT 1: I miscalculated the conversion of Clonazepam to Diazepam. I am updating the table now.

EDIT 2: The math looks good now.

[[be...]]

You didn't add valium in your signature. Please do so. And you can buy 2 mg of diazepam.

[[Fo...]]

Thanks BenzoGirl - it's good to know the 2 mg doses are out there. If things get hairy I'll slow down the pace.

 

I haven't begun my taper yet - I visit my doc on Tuesday. That's when I start with the diazepam.

[[Fo...]]

Bump

[[...]]

You've only been on benzos for six months so maybe it's possible that you can taper that quickly, BUT...I think it is a mistake to begin with that assumption.

 

If it were me, I'd approach this from slow to fast rather than fast to slow.  Try a small cut first and see how you react, then you can think about going a bit faster.

 

Actually I'd advise a daily taper, but you probably aren't ready to hear that yet.

[[Kn...]]

Hey man, I'm about your age.  I tapered from 40mg down, I mapped 30mg-0mg:

http://i.imgur.com/IJrRLLn.png

 

There is really no way to know how your body will react until you start.  I agree with SG57, start with a smaller drop and see how you do.  Those equivalent dose tables aren't perfect, people vary, so it is wise to start slower.  Overall, your plan doesn't seem unreasonable at all, although a lot of people here seem to prefer a slower taper.  Where your taper does seem fast is at the end, I think you'd be wise to slow down a bit.  I was getting pretty shakey at my rate of 1mg/week..but, again, you might be fine.

 

Your attitude sounds awesome, and that will help a lot.  I'm hoping your reasonably short duration on the drug will make things very doable.

 

My method was just to drop as fast as I could tolerate. You'll see that ended up being non-linear.  Sometimes I had to slow down, sometimes I could speed up.  Sometimes I went sideways/stayed the same. 

 

For sure use 2mg pills toward the end.  You can also get diazepam compounded if needed. 

[[Fo...]]

@[Kn...]

 

Thank you for the feedback. That's so cool how you mapped your dose to your sleep levels. I think doing the same thing for myself would offer solace as I began to see some progress.

 

A couple questions you may or may not be able to answer (also anybody else who happens to read this - I'd be grateful for your input):

 

1. Were you working a 9-to-5 while you withdrew? If so, what was the toughest part about dealing with the bothers of work and withdrawal at the same time?

2. Is Diazepam more 'sleepy' than Clonazepam? I was briefly on Xanax for about 3 weeks and man - it knocked my ass out. I'd sleep 9 hours a night easy. But when I switched back to Clonazepam, I was sleeping 4 - 6 hours a night.

3. Did you supplement your experience with any extracurricular activities like exercise, yoga, painting, reading, lifting, running, etc.?

 

Thanks again for the link to your sleep v. dose graph. Super encouraging! 

[[Kn...]]

@KnoThatFeel

 

Thank you for the feedback. That's so cool how you mapped your dose to your sleep levels. I think doing the same thing for myself would offer solace as I began to see some progress.

 

A couple questions you may or may not be able to answer (also anybody else who happens to read this - I'd be grateful for your input):

 

1. Were you working a 9-to-5 while you withdrew? If so, what was the toughest part about dealing with the bothers of work and withdrawal at the same time?

2. Is Diazepam more 'sleepy' than Clonazepam? I was briefly on Xanax for about 3 weeks and man - it knocked my ass out. I'd sleep 9 hours a night easy. But when I switched back to Clonazepam, I was sleeping 4 - 6 hours a night.

3. Did you supplement your experience with any extracurricular activities like exercise, yoga, painting, reading, lifting, running, etc.?

 

Thanks again for the link to your sleep v. dose graph. Super encouraging! 

 

Hey, no problem.  I used sleep pretty often to guage when to drop the dose.  As soon as I began getting some sleep, I knew I could taper again.  If the sleep really suffered, I'd stop for a while.

 

My sleep actually got better as I went down.  I think this was mostly do to me really taking an interest in sleep hygiene and keeping my sleep schedule.  Actually my last "jump" wasn't even a problem.  Also as I went down in the valium, my sleep was more restful (better sleep efficiency due to REM and deep sleep coming back).  Now I sleep about 7 hours and wake up rested, and I've only been off for a month.

 

1. I'm a photographer, so, never really worked a 9 to 5.  I did do some work, but, it surely wasn't my best. 

2. I wouldn't say it is more sleepy. I've been on both.  The half life is longer for valium, so you when you switch over you'll feel more fatigue during the day.  Valium also has muscle relaxing properties, which I think promotes sleep indirectly.

3. I did try to exercise, go for walks and such, but withdrawals were pretty hard on me.  Yoga I'd have passed out, lifting I'd have not been safe (balance), and painting would have been hard with my tremors.  I have a pretty bad anxiety disorder to begin with, so, you may have better luck then me.  I read a lot, listened to audio books, went for walks, tried to get out in the sun.

 

I will say this: the more activity, the better.  Where you see my taper slow, was in the summer.  I live in Florida, and so when it was really hot, it was harder to get outside.  This caused my taper to slow because I wasn't able to burn off as much anxiety walking or doing light exercises, causing my sleep to suffer.  So really push yourself to get activity, it does help (even if it is hard). 

 

I used to opposite rule (I made it up):  If you want to lay on the couch, go for a walk.  If you want to throw something and get upset, force a smile.  My brain would tell me to do the opposite of what helped, so, I had to use some logic to bypass my impulses.

 

 

It's a long road, but the success rate is really high if you just stick to it.  Remember every feeling and emotion passes, that helps a lot.