some questions please

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Hello again,

 

I am still working on my withdrawal.  I am having a rough go of it and had a few more questions.  Just to recap I was on  .25 mg of clonazepam 2xs per day off and on for the past year.  I am down to .125 mg 2xs per day, so basically half of what I was.  I am on these meds for ptsd and mainly now for Generalized Anxiety Disorder NOS (the PTSD is under control).  I am also on amitryptaline and cipralex.  My psychiatrist had also put me on Seroquel but I wasn't sure if the side effects were from the clonazepam withdrawal or the Seroquel so I went off of it.  I was wondering if anyone had some experience with Seroquel and if I should go back on it as I am pretty much a wreck.  I really hate not functioning.  I couldn't even remember my password to this website!  I am really not handling this well and need some suggestions.

 

thanks

Lori

[[Th...]]

My personal experience with Seroquel has been very limited. My doctor gave me some samples, and even at the lowest dose (25mg), it totally knocked me out. I called a pharmacist to find out more about this drug, and it sounds like it affects LOTS of neurotransmitters in the body, not just a couple like most antidepressants.

 

As far as your taper goes, I would stay away from the Seroquel if possible. It can affect your taper.

 

Regarding the memory loss--that is classic benzo w/d. One of our members just posted the other day that at times he couldn't remember his own phone number.

 

Have you considered switching to Valium to get off the clonazepam? I switched over when I was at the same dose as you (.25 mg/day), and it worked well for me. I could make much smaller cuts in the drug and not get such severe symptoms.

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Thanks for the advice!  I am on my way to go see my doctor soon and will ask about the valium crossover.  I will also talk to her about the seroquel.

 

I will keep you updated.

 

Lori

[[je...]]

hi lori, seroquel is a major tranquilizer.. benzos are minor tranquilizer.. bad news. it will definately complicate the w/d but if you have been on it long... it should be taperred i think.. i really don't know much about it but i do know that it should be taperred. i hope a mod can answer that. i don;t think it should be stopped c/t.. but like i said.. i don;t know much about it. did you read the ashton manual. colin has talked of a water titration with klon or valium crossover. i have read it is hard to w/d from a direct taper of klon.. i hope a mod will come by and help you with the seroquel question regarding if it should be taperred and how. i wonder if the benzo should go first .. then that or visa versa. i am not sure if things should be taperred together,. it is all so confusing. i was glad to meet you in the chat room last night.  if you are off the seroquel and wasn't on very long.. good riddence!    jennifer

[[je...]]

hi lori, seroquel also works on the same receptor sites as benzos and can cause tardtive dyskinesia.. a side effect that is a uncontrolled movement disorder that is not reversible!. very bad news. same drug class they gave jack nicholson  in the movie "one who flew over the cukoos cukoos nest". vey bad stuff. the md wanted me to take symbryax.. antidepp with a major tranquil. never took one! and am i ever glad. this stuff is considerred worst then benzos i think! check in on you later. let us know what the doctor said.  jenn

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Hi Lori,

 

Just to be sure - you are not taking Seroquel now, are you?

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Hi all, thanks again for your replies.

 

I am not taking Seroquel now and my doctor has agreed to not put me on it, BUT only if I go back up on the Clonazepam.  She feels that I am too unstable at this point to continue with the taper and has told me I need to go back up to where I was .25 2xs per day.  She told me I may even need to go higher to stabilize myself and then once I am stable we will start the taper over again.  :'(

 

I have read the Ashton manual and I did talk to her about the addiction and side effects.  She said "you are already physiologically addicted, you are not going to get any more addicted"    She also said that at this point the risk of continuing this taper is going to be more harmful.  She also said that there was very little risk of becoming psychologically addicted for me because I am so darn careful to always do what I am told.  I won't sneak in a little extra here or there.  She said once I am stable then we can go over a slower taper.

 

So thats what the doc said, here's how I feel about it...

 

YOU MEAN ALL THIS CRAP FOR THE LAST MONTH HAS BEEN FOR NOTHING!!!!! :tickedoff

:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

 

I am not sure really what to do at this point.  I am desperate and angry and most of all very sad.  more than anything I just want to be normal again!!

 

Lori

[[je...]]

hi lori, i am sorry you are sad. i hope a mod comes by soon to advise you. this is all so complicated. i am glad you aren't doing the seroquel. that would complicate things. was she recepetive to a cross over once you are stable. maybe the klon taper you were on was too fast... how fast were you cutting? i am thinking of you !! jenn

[[Co...]]

Lori, of course we should take note of a doctor's advice, but doctors should respect that we are in charge of our own bodies. Read around, weigh up the options, and make your own decisions based on the advice you have received, your own research, and what you think is right for you. Personally, outside of some very narrow (but important) exceptions (Status epilepticus; Stiff Baby Syndrome; etc.), I think benzos are less than worthless.

[[Th...]]

I have a real problem with doctors threatening us with drugs. I had a similar situation with a doc--he told me that he would not help me with my Klonopin w/d unless I went on another, more dangerous med (antipsychotics). As I look back, I can see he was really intimidated by a patient who knew what she was talking about.

 

Lori, what you have gone through this past month will not be for nothing. If you are improving as time goes on--even though it be slowly--I would just sit at your dose until you stabilize, then continue. But if you feel that you are getting worse as time goes by, you could try correcting this last cut by taking a little bit more Klonopin, but not as much as you were on before. When did you make this last cut?

[[Th...]]

I'm a bit of an idiot. I assume your cut was one month ago. If this is the case, you might still be able to correct the cut if you like, by going back on a bit more Klonopin. This is what I did in my taper. I was going too fast--I was cutting .125 mg Klonopin every month, and the cut from .25 mg to .125 mg really killed me. After a month of agony, someone suggested I go back to the .25 mg step and see if I would stabilize. I took the advice, and it worked. I felt so much better, was able to recover from all the trauma of the previous month, and then continued with my taper by switching to Valium.

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Hi Therese

 

I think the cut was about a month ago but to be honest I am in a kind of time warp right now.  It feels like years!  I have decided to go up only 1/2 of where I was and take it in the evening dose.  So I will be .25 in the evening and .125 in the morning.  This makes more sense to me because I can control my symptoms alot better during the day than at night.  I will try this for a few more weeks and see how this goes.  My doctor was not too receptive about changing to valium because she feels that the switch might not go smoothly for me.  I am not sure what she meant by that.  But I guess my next step down I will need to start titrating instead of just splitting the pills.

 

Sorry for the long delay in the response, but it was the may long weekend in Canada and so we were away.

 

Lori