Muscle twitches: Normal during taper or sign I am going too fast?

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Good morning, all from a frigid part of the world,

My pdoc wanted me to reduce .25 every 5 days since I last saw her and I have been and yesterday, after 15 days, my arms and legs have been having horrible twitching/pulsing? Is this normal sx or because I am tapering too fast?

Thanks,

SC

[[Co...]]

I definitely had twitching/muscles spasming at random times.  It has improved since stopping ativan July 2014 - but on occasion a random muscle with "jump".  Also the internal jitters and shakes - that also waxes and wanes.

[[Cu...]]

I am very curious about this side effect.  I was on low dose Ativan for several months prior to switching over to clonazepam for past 6 months.  Just started tapering today, but have had sporadic muscle twitches all over throughout treatment.  Not constant, but they happen everyday, while I am on the med.  I wonder if it is interpose withdrawal or just a general side effect of treatment?  I know it's a side effect of withdrawal, but I am wondering how many others twitch during their benzo treatment phase? 

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Thanks, Curious and C!

Is there someone who has tapered and experienced this while tapering or knows a thread that might address this?

[[me...]]

Hi,

 

Muscle twitches are extremely common in withdrawal, they're harmless (though perhaps irritating), and they'll go away as you heal.  This is from The Ashton Manual:

 

Muscle symptoms. Benzodiazepines are efficient muscle relaxants and are used clinically for spastic conditions ranging from spinal cord disease or injury to the excruciating muscle spasms of tetanus or rabies. It is therefore not surprising that their discontinuation after long-term use is associated with a rebound increase in muscle tension. This rebound accounts for many of the symptoms observed in benzodiazepine withdrawal. Muscle stiffness affecting the limbs, back, neck and jaw are commonly reported, and the constant muscle tension probably accounts for the muscle pains which have a similar distribution. Headaches are usually of the "tension headache" type, due to contraction of muscles at the back of the neck, scalp and forehead - often described as a "tight band around the head". Pain in the jaw and teeth is probably due to involuntary jaw clenching, which often occurs unconsciously during sleep.

 

At the same time, the nerves to the muscles are hyperexcitable, leading to tremor, tics, jerks, spasm and twitching, and jumping at the smallest stimulus. All this constant activity contributes to a feeling of fatigue and weakness ("jelly-legs"). In addition, the muscles, especially the small muscles of the eye, are not well co-ordinated, which may lead to blurred or double vision or even eyelid spasms (blepharospasm).

 

None of these symptoms is harmful, and they need not be a cause of worry once they are understood. The muscle pain and stiffness is actually little different from what is regarded as normal after an unaccustomed bout of exercise, and would be positively expected, even by a well-trained athlete, after running a marathon.

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Thank you, Megan, you are always so reassuring and helpful.