Decided to use ODT 0.125mg tablets for tapering, have questions

[[dg...]]

Hey everybody,

 

I was going to do liquid titration for tapering but  tried doing it myself and didn't trust to get the measurements right. Going to a compound pharmacy to do it would cost me at least $75 a month plus the pills themselves. I found another method that I can use which is oral disintegrating tablets which come in 0.125mg dosage. I like this method because I can do a very slow taper but it's also really easy and really cheap. (I'm tapering off 0.5mg of klonopin so I take 4 wafer taps with 1/4 of a tab cut out to start the taper).

 

The brand I've been taking of klonopin for almost 5 years was mylan but they don't make the ODT so I had to switch to Teva. Now I'm one to worry about this kind of crap of switching between brands because theres threads out there scaring you about it as usual so I wanted to ask if the increased symptoms I'm feeling is because of the anxiety and other crap I've dealt with in the last week or switching to a different style of tablet. This last week has been stressful and I've been really anxious for a couple of different reasons (my company office is moving, got into a fight with my dad, and my therapist tried to say I had secondary gain issues which scared me), so I can't tell if it's switching to this other version of klonopin/different brand.

 

I should mention that I also think I have a cold as well so that could be influencing this, but since its happening all at the time time I can't tell. Stress from the holidays could be part of it too since that can last a while after the stressors are over. So I switched so the disintegrating tablets 2 days ago and cut by 0.03125 to start my taper again since the holidays are over. Do you think its the stress/anxiety of this past week and the holidays of the past 2 weeks or the taper? Please don't write any scary horror stories because I'm just trying to get off the drug safely and I believe I'm doing that the proper way, just wanted to get opinions on this.

[[dg...]]

anybody have any ideas on this? is this all in my head? i woke up again today with a lot of anxiety and higher pain levels, Im contemplating going back to the mylan version of the drug I've been taking for 5 years but I dont want to do that if its just because Im worried about coming off.

[[dg...]]

the only other option i see is to go back to the mylan brand and make 1/8 cuts from the 0.5mg

[[Be...]]

Hi,

 

Sorry for the stressful times. They certainly can compound withdrawal symptoms, all of which sound within the realm of normal. I would say that no matter what brand you are taking, you are likely experiencing withdrawal symptoms. I too take Mylan and I also have .125 mg tabs waiting in the wings.

 

Maybe you can update your signature? It indicates .375 mg clonazapem but I don't get this.  Here's what I figure.

 

.125 mg x 4 = .50 mg minus .03125 mg (1/4 of .125 mg tab) = .469 mg

That is a 6.2 % reduction and I would definitely feel that cut and it's likely you would too. The alternative is to reduce the cut if the symptoms are intolerable.

 

If you cut again using the same increment, that's .469 mg minus .03125 mg = .437 mg

That is a 6.82% reduction. Every .03125 cut will be increasing your percentage of cutting. Which may be fine if you tolerate the symptoms. Though at some point you might slow down, everyone is different.

 

As for symptoms, you may want to hold until you feel that your symptoms are tolerable enough to proceed.

 

Does any of this help?

Bennie

 

 

[[dg...]]

Hey Bennie,

 

Have to update my signature. I went back to 0.5mg and am going to start the taper again. Yes it would be a 6.2% cut but I highly doubt Im going to feel that. I was making 50% and 25% cuts before I hit 0.5mg and I didn't really feel it at all. 0.5mg is the dose I was on the longest though which is why I think its harder to break past this point.

 

Going to the wafers seems to be the most logical option because it comes in 0.125mg which I can cut into 4ths giving me a 6% cut each time. Doing a little bit of reading though I saw there can be a 10% + or - potency between generics. I read one person say there doctor claimed that the wafers don't have the drug evenly distibuted throughout the pill so cutting them wasn't a good idea.. personally I think this is bullshit and more scare tactics. At some point I have to make a decision and either cut directly from the mylan or go to the wafers, adjust to the other generic first, and then taper from there. I'm either looking at a 4 month taper from mylan itself or an 8 month taper from the wafers (teva or par pharma brand). Teva wafers were the first one I tried and maybe it was just the nocebo effect and fear of the taper but I felt worse. But to tell the truth I'm back on mylan right now and feel like shit too so it might not be any difference at all. I might stick to the par pharma brand though because they're based in the US instead of India so Im assuming better FDA regulation. Anybody have any feedback on this? I believe 6% is a slow enough taper for me, Im just sick of dicking around with this drug and want to get off of it once and for all instead of returning to 0.5. I have to shed the fear and just do it one way or another, whether its cutting mylan 0.5mg tablets into 1/8 fragments or using the par pharma wafers.