Cold Turkey it is, then.

[[Am...]]

I took my last 3 Klonopins yesterday and I'm not getting anymore for almost a month. Think I'm just going to try and ride it out and see how I feel after a week or two. I feel really shaky/jittery today but no other symptoms except irritability.

 

I have tried to taper but due to my current situation with my marriage and my life (very high stress) I have been unable to successfully taper off anything. So I'm thinking C/T might not be the most horrible thing in the world.

 

Has ANYONE gone C/T or very rapid taper and been feeling ok? Functional at least? Able to take care of kids and go to work?

[[Da...]]

Hi Amberfire82, I don't know if you have ever cold turkey before but I did it in rehab last November and it has been the hardest think I have never done.  I'm not here to tell you whether you should do it or not, some ppl say don't CT because it leads to protracted withdrawal. All I'm saying is that I did, it will horrible, and it has now been six months and some things are better but I still have a ton of symptoms.

I wish you all the luck in the world and keep posting for support. Thanks!

[[ne...]]

Ufff....if you are going off 3mg of K cold turkey I disagree with you and say it for sure MIGHT be the most horrible thing in the world. I highly recommend to rethink that plan. All the best for you!!!!

[[Am...]]

Thank you Davis. I appreciate the support, I really don't get much IRL - no one I am close to understands exactly what I've been dealing with. My husband thinks because he quit vicodin CT and cigarettes I can quit this. I was on a much higher dose a year ago, so I think I will be ok. I may ask my psych for that anti seizure medication a lot of people take (gabapentin?) even though I am already using marijuana daily and it has great anti seizure properties.

 

Hi Amberfire82, I don't know if you have ever cold turkey before but I did it in rehab last November and it has been the hardest think I have never done.  I'm not here to tell you whether you should do it or not, some ppl say don't CT because it leads to protracted withdrawal. All I'm saying is that I did, it will horrible, and it has now been six months and some things are better but I still have a ton of symptoms.

I wish you all the luck in the world and keep posting for support. Thanks!

[[MH...]]

If you are going to do this ( and let's just be clear I would personally advise you not to), I would highly recommend that you consider getting a lot of magnesium into your diet via magnesium rich foods and supplements. Magnesium is a natural NMDA antagonist and a critical electrolyte for your body. The scientific literature suggests that Magnesium could ( and I am stressing could not will ) help you avoid getting some of the crazy symptoms that I and others have gotten via CT. You might also want to look at getting trans-ferulic acid ( or just eat a lot of veggies especially sweet corn ). This acid  also acts like a natural NMDA antagonist and has anti-oxidant properties that prevent oxidative stress to your receptors. I will post the studies to back this stuff up. However, I would like you to reconsider this plan of action. You are essentially playing Russian Roulette here.

[[sh...]]

Hi Amber,  this sounds scary to me.  I would make sure that I had someone to take me to the er if things get bad.  Try and have a safety net.  Hopefully you won't need it, but you don't want to have your kids experience seeing you in bad withdrawals especially if you have no support.  Can you at least have some emergency medicine on hand.  How I wish you did not need to go through this.  I wish I could send you some real support.  Do what you need to, but please be careful.  Thoughts are with you. 

[[be...]]

A cold turkey withdrawal is ill advised for a number of reason. Several are that symptoms can be severe, and I mean severe, and it can be dangerous, especially in high doses. It should really be done in a detox center. You are on a pretty hefty dose to simply just stop. Because of the long half life of K it can take several weeks to feel the same effect.  Because of something called "kindling" you probably don't want to reinstate if things don't work out at that point. "Kindling" is very real, and the next withdrawal could be worse than the previous one.  From what I have watched here over the years is that those who have difficulty tapering can go through some pretty horrific withdrawals. I would personally recommend taper, especially if you need to function as a parent. Many members who stop suddenly are bedridden in the early months.

[[Am...]]

Thank you for the advice, I will definitely go get some magnesium supplements today. I will also look into the other thing you mentioned. I really do appreciate everyone's concern, I know this is not the ideal way to come off this stuff, but IMO there is no ideal way. I just want to be done with it. I can deal with anything that comes afterwards.

 

If you are going to do this ( and let's just be clear I would personally advise you not to), I would highly recommend that you consider getting a lot of magnesium into your diet via magnesium rich foods and supplements. Magnesium is a natural NMDA antagonist and a critical electrolyte for your body. The scientific literature suggests that Magnesium could ( and I am stressing could not will ) help you avoid getting some of the crazy symptoms that I and others have gotten via CT. You might also want to look at getting trans-ferulic acid ( or just eat a lot of veggies especially sweet corn ). This acid  also acts like a natural NMDA antagonist and has anti-oxidant properties that prevent oxidative stress to your receptors. I will post the studies to back this stuff up. However, I would like you to reconsider this plan of action. You are essentially playing Russian Roulette here.

[[Am...]]

I do appreciate your concern and I know what can happen, it happened to me in January when I had a seizure and my husband took me to the hospital. I was on a MUCH higher dose then though. I really think I will be ok. I can get some xanax if I need to. I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that.

 

Hi Amber,  this sounds scary to me.  I would make sure that I had someone to take me to the er if things get bad.  Try and have a safety net.  Hopefully you won't need it, but you don't want to have your kids experience seeing you in bad withdrawals especially if you have no support.  Can you at least have some emergency medicine on hand.  How I wish you did not need to go through this.  I wish I could send you some real support.  Do what you need to, but please be careful.  Thoughts are with you.

[[Da...]]

Hey, if you decide to detox then you can join the chorus with all the rest of us who have detoxed and are now shouting "Don't detox!  Don't do it!"  Membership is free but the dues you have to pay are a b*&!@!!!! 

 

 

Sorry for the bad humor but I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

 

 

Good luck in whatever you decide.  You may get lucky and not suffer as badly as some of us.  God bless you, Amberfire82, and may he be with you and bring you comfort and a quick recovery.

[[Ch...]]

I absolutely believe in the anti-seizure properties of cannabis, but I'm not sure I'd count on it to keep someone seizure-free in a cold turkey from 3mg of Klonopin, especially since you've already had a withdrawal related seizure.  If I were in your place, I'd go on Healer.com and see if you can post a question to Dr. Sulak about its efficacy in this situation.

[[Am...]]

Thank you Challis, I know you are very wise about this stuff, I will definitely do that. I may actually call my pdoc and see if I can get an emergency appt, he can prescribe me an anti seizure drug and give me more advice too.

 

I absolutely believe in the anti-seizure properties of cannabis, but I'm not sure I'd count on it to keep someone seizure-free in a cold turkey from 3mg of Klonopin, especially since you've already had a withdrawal related seizure.  If I were in your place, I'd go on Healer.com and see if you can post a question to Dr. Sulak about its efficacy in this situation.

[[Po...]]

Hey, if you decide to detox then you can join the chorus with all the rest of us who have detoxed and are now shouting "Don't detox!  Don't do it!"  Membership is free but the dues you have to pay are a b*&!@!!!! 

 

 

Sorry for the bad humor but I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

 

 

Good luck in whatever you decide.  You may get lucky and not suffer as badly as some of us.  God bless you, Amberfire82, and may he be with you and bring you comfort and a quick recovery.

 

I agree with Dave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[[Ch...]]

It'll be interesting to see if you avoid neuropathy by using cannabis.  Not smoking it...taking tincture or oil.

 

Here's a quote from the first paragraph of Cannabis and Cancer, which is under Cannabis Education on Healer.com:

 

Relief From Cancer Symptoms and Treatment Side Effects

When used properly, cannabis can be a safe and effective treatment for nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy1, chronic pain2, and insomnia3.  Animal studies have shown that cannabinoids can prevent the development of neuropathic pain, a common side effect of chemotherapy.4,5,6,

 

That would be huge for people coming off benzodiazepines, too. 

[[so...]]

I'm not doing CT, just stumbled upon this thread, but I am also a medical marijuana patient and I'm also hoping it'll make a difference on the way down. I thought it was helping with my Ativan taper, but then the depersonalization and derealization got to me and I switched to Valium, which I am now tapering as of yesterday. Been off Ativan for a few months now.

 

I'm glad you decided to call your pdoc about this. They're not the most knowledgeable when it comes to benzo WDs, but it's still good to have his or her support and guidance, or at least for them to have the knowledge of what you are doing. Looking forward to good updates from you and wishing you the best!

[[Am...]]

Thank you! I will definitely be updating my progress along the way.

 

I'm not doing CT, just stumbled upon this thread, but I am also a medical marijuana patient and I'm also hoping it'll make a difference on the way down. I thought it was helping with my Ativan taper, but then the depersonalization and derealization got to me and I switched to Valium, which I am now tapering as of yesterday. Been off Ativan for a few months now.

 

I'm glad you decided to call your pdoc about this. They're not the most knowledgeable when it comes to benzo WDs, but it's still good to have his or her support and guidance, or at least for them to have the knowledge of what you are doing. Looking forward to good updates from you and wishing you the best!