First cut, tolerance withdrawal?

[[al...]]

I was experience moderate symptoms of tolerance withdrawal before even starting my taper, I don't know if this is even common?

Anyway, it's been 2 weeks since my first cut and symptoms are unbearable (constant anxiety and panic).

The sensations are so strange that it gives me the impression that I'm going to have a seizure (I feel really wired and sometimes i feel like im losing consciousness), and this makes me panic more.

I'm not epileptic and I have never had a seizure, so obviously this must be just an impression of my own making.

 

However, my question is, if my withdrawal is already so bad, whats the point of even tapering slowly?

I'm already non-functional and squirming in my bed almost all day.

How are my receptors going to heal if i keep feeding them the benzo..

I don't feel any "stabilization" at my current dose (1.25mg clonazepam)

 

 

[[sa...]]

It is very common for people to start feeling symptoms before even starting a taper. That' s why a lot of people start weaning off.

 

A .25 mg cut is a pretty big one. You may want to wait until you get stable and then go for smaller .0625 cuts or look into daily taper.

 

I hate to suggest up dosing to 1.5, but it's an option if things are horrific, but most people here are against up dosing, not all.

 

I would say do not cold turkey! I think what you might experience would make what your experiencing now look like a walk in the park.

 

It is described as extremely horrible torture that lasts at least for months.

 

Once you are more stable whether you hold or up dose, you can do a slow and steady taper. Something like .0625 every two weeks or look into a daily taper.

 

Receptors heal as you taper slowly and while you hold most people agree.

[[Be...]]

OUCH! I too started in tolerance. You still need to respect your body trying to rebuild the GABA receptors. Otherwise it's a game of catch up with symptoms after you are off. Reasonable cuts and symptom-based tapering is not only to get off the drug but to minimize symptoms. Have not been wired until now, at about .40 mg K. But the panic came pretty early on. Some of this will lessen, IMO if you can go gradually. Hang in there.

[[co...]]

I agree, I would still take it slow. In the past I couldn't tolerate a cut above .25 mg of diazepam. Cold turkey is a completely different ball game. Tapering slowly will be much more gentle on your body  .

[[my...]]

Alexander,

Just another voice chiming in....slower is better, listen to your body....I agree with all the people who have answered this question.  And yes, I too began my taper in response to tolerance withdrawal.  It dawned on me that, after doubling my dose of Klonopin for one year and then beginning to have the same symptoms again that something wasn't working.  That is when I decided to get off of it, found BB's, etc etc.

 

I have a question for Saul...when you began your smaller taper (I think you said .0625) how was your experience going down since each time you cut .0625 it was a larger percentage of the remaining dose?  I had asked a similar question of Clona on another thread...she was tapering at .0625 from Clonazepam/ Klonopin and until she got down to I think it was .59 mg, it seemed to work for her.

 

I am going to begin my next taper after holding for almost 6 weeks( waiting for the w/d symptoms to subside which they have for the most part, plus we went on a vacation for my husband's b-day plus the holidays....many kind and caring people here advised me to hold).  I plan to cut .0625 until I am at least under 1 mg and hopefully will be able to cut that much until .75 or less and then I will begin some kind of microtaper too. At least that is the plan... It will take a while, I know and it's hard not to be discouraged but people on these boards as well as my doctor say that it IS possible to taper and not be horribly uncomfortable.  I think one of the hardest parts - for me at least - is thinking it may take a year or more after already tapering and holding for two months.  But like you, I believe my first cuts were too big and done too quickly and we are experiencing the aftermath of that -- kind of a mini version of what people go through when they go off cold turkey. From all reports you do NOT want to go there.

 

Good luck --

Mana

[[sa...]]

I have not noticed any difference each time I make a .0625 cuts. Actually my past 3-4 cuts have been .09375 and I have not noticed anything.

 

I get depressed sometimes that I am going through this. Worry about what is going to happen when I get closer to lower doses.

 

I read about people who take 6-8 months going from the equivalent of V of where I am now with Xanax and I get discouraged. I worry how I am going to feel after I jump and when I am going to jump. I am hoping to jump sometime between 1 1/2 - 3 months, but everyone says to each other here to take it slow. But they also say listen to your body and if things continue as they are, I should be OK to jump in about  1 1/2 - 3 months.

 

Although the .0625 linear cuts do increase a lot as I get lower, many people I hear have used this linear method to get off Xanax. Very similar to the linear 1 mg of V cut every 1-2 weeks Dr. Ashton describes in her manual when under I think it was 20 or 10 mg of V. Her method also increases a lot in percentage as you go down. I think .0625 of Xanax and K is equivalent to 1.25 of V, so pretty close there.

 

But everybody is different. My symptoms are occasional depression, some anxiety in the morning ( not too bad ), sadness at times, but have never felt severe physical symptoms others have described. I also never felt a " wave" . Just what I described.

 

Back in the summer, I had weak & numb hands making it difficult to type at times. It bothered me a lot. One night I could not even use my right hand for typing at all. My right leg also felt weak at times.

 

My hands are fine now and so is my leg. Back then I was so tired all the time and had much worse anxiety, now my anxiety is almost non existent other than a little in the mornings and in certain situations. I am not tired all the time and most of the time feel fine with energy.

 

Sorry for the long answer, but a chance to communicate with somebody and how I am feeling. The .0625 cuts or .09375 cuts have been fine for me and I have not really noticed any difference.

 

On the positive side, maybe I am one of the lucky ones whose symptoms improve as I go down or at least stay where they are at right now which is not bad.

[[je...]]

Your withdrawal is so bad probably because it was too big of a cut.  No more than 10% cuts (maybe slightly more as you get below 1 mg) every 1 - 3 weeks appears to be the key. 

 

I recommend starting fresh once you stabilize at the last dose you were good at.

[[Fr...]]

I, too, decided to wean-off after experiencing tolerance withdrawal, only I didn't know what it was. I just knew enough that I'd either have to take more or stop. I was on low-dose, but very long-term, so I couldn't just stop, despite what my doctor believed. I cut in half with each cut, but on small dose that might be possible. As for feeling like you might seizure, I was worried about that too, but didn't experience anything frightening enough to actually convince me to up-dose. You might try holding where you are for two more weeks. The theory is that you have to bridge the gap between what GABA the drug provides you and what GABA your brain will produce. Going slowly trains your brain to make enough GABA (hope I'm phrasing that right) to replace what the drug gave you.

[[be...]]

I was experience moderate symptoms of tolerance withdrawal before even starting my taper, I don't know if this is even common?

Anyway, it's been 2 weeks since my first cut and symptoms are unbearable (constant anxiety and panic).

The sensations are so strange that it gives me the impression that I'm going to have a seizure (I feel really wired and sometimes i feel like im losing consciousness), and this makes me panic more.

I'm not epileptic and I have never had a seizure, so obviously this must be just an impression of my own making.

 

However, my question is, if my withdrawal is already so bad, whats the point of even tapering slowly?

I'm already non-functional and squirming in my bed almost all day.

How are my receptors going to heal if i keep feeding them the benzo..

I don't feel any "stabilization" at my current dose (1.25mg clonazepam)

 

 

I was in tolerance for a very long time. It is the reason why many of us decide to get off benzos. Tapering can greatly reduce the chance of severe symptoms. Anxiety and panic unfortunately not that uncommon, but  perhaps you cut too much? You are currently still on a pretty high dose to stop at this point to just stop. Have you considered updosing at all, at least till you feel a bit more stable?

[[al...]]

Thank you all for your replies. I have been on 1.25mg clonazepam for 2 weeks now so I don't really want to updose.. But today I experienced a panic attack so bad that it felt like I was going to start having a seizure, I tried to wait it out but I just kept intensifying to the point where I felt like I was losing consciousness (I was afraid of having a seizure and dying) so I took 1mg ativan.. because of this fear.. Its pretty much my only road block that's preventing me from tapering.. This fear of panic attack induced seizure.. Im not epileptic but it still freaks me out to the point where I can't taper .

[[Be...]]

Sorry to hear this. The fear of and possibility of seizures and all the other ugly symptoms can be minimized with tapering much slower than you are going. Such a little pill, you wouldn't think it'd pack such a punch getting off, but it can. The support you need is here. Most of us are suggesting a 5-10% taper rate. There are many taper plans to choose from. You'll probably want to stabilize—hold—to the best of your ability at a level of tolerable symptoms, and then start again, much slower.

Best to you,

Bennie