Tapering from Xanex. Does Klonopin help or am i just jumping into a hot kettle a

[[Bu...]]

Hi People

I am a ocd sufferer and take Prozac and Xanax. I have been on both about 8 months now. .25 a day and sometimes more of Xanax and have just been switched from 40mg of Prozac to 60 mg. My Dr. suggested I stay on the Xanax through the increase, but I am tired of it. I want off it. So instead she gave me 10 1mg Klonopin. She said I should take two Klonopin a day, but I was hoping they would help me ween off Xanax. I have 7 .25 Xanax left and 9 Klonopin. She said If I needed more Klonopin she would subscribe. Any suggestions how and if I should be tapering off through my Prozac increase? Should I use up the Xanax first you think?

 

Any help appreciated

[[Tr...]]

I just wanted to answer since I know when I first posted I couldn't wait for someone to respond. By no means am I an expert, but I am currently withdrawing from Klonopin. All I can say is that it's no fun at all. I feel like if you switch to Klonopin you're just changing your dependancy from one Benzo to another, and will probably still feel withdrawals while crossing over.

 

I originally took the Klonopin to help with Lamictal withdrawals, and the Klonopin ended up being ten times harder to get off of. If I were you I'd bite the bullet and try not to introduce any Klonopin into your system, but that's just my two cents!

 

Regardless, I wish you luck on getting off of Xanax, and hope your taper goes smoothly. One more thing, there's no way you're going to be able to do a slow taper with just 7 pills of Xanax left, so there's that to think about too.

 

I also agree that you should try not changing two meds at once, as then you won't know which drug is causing which side effects, and may get yourself into a worse spot than if you just waited.

[[Bu...]]

Thanks for the quick reply. I agree that tapering is a no go with 7 Xanax left. I have just read switching over may make the process easier with a longer term benzo, but shorter duration of taking it. I hear Xanax is the worst. I guess I need to choose which I want to taper off more easily.

 

 

Anymore input much appreciated 

[[mi...]]

I'd have to agree with Troubled, I would not try to switch over. You say you hear Xanax is the worst... but unfortunately no benzo is fun to get off of and I feel that changing over may just prolong the process of tapering.

 

Also, I find it strange that your doctor prescribed you 1mg pills of Klonopin and told you to take two per day. According to most online sources, the equivalent dose between Xanax and Klonopin is roughly equal. If you are currently taking 0.25mg Xanax a day (usually) and she's saying take 2mg of Klonopin per day instead... theoretically that's 8 times the dosage. I don't have any experience tapering off of Xanax, but I'm currently tapering off from 3mg of Klonopin and it's certainly not fun . 2mg can take a long time to taper off from. If you do decide to make the switch, I'd be very wary of increasing your dosage by that much if your plan is to get off of it right away.

 

I've been on a few different SSRI's and SNRI's in the past and would also agree that you may want to hold out for a bit while you stabilize on your new dose of Prozac. SSRI's come with their own woes and trying to change both at the same time may just compound the symptoms.

[[Ch...]]

I would agree with your doctor as far as staying on the Xanax just a bit longer to cover the increase in Prozac.  Just my opinion.  The dose of Xanax you're taking is the lowest you can get, but I would still taper it carefully after eight months of use.

 

1/4 of a tablet is .0625mg, and that was an easy-ish cut for me and most of the others I tapered with.

 

MindofSound gave excellent information about the Klonopin...your doc has accelerated your benzodiazepine intake up the wazoo.  If it were me I wouldn't touch the stuff.  In my opinion, based on what I've read on this forum from others, Klonopin is even worse than Xanax.  Just my opinion again...

[[be...]]

I've been tapering off of Xanax since March (4 mg a day!).  I started to hit some really bad inter dose withdrawal symptoms as I was getting down to a lower dose.  I could not convince my doctor to do a full cross over to Valium as is often suggested; but, she did agree to give me a little Valium to see if it would help.  She added 5 MG of Valium at bed time (equals about .25 MG Xanax).  With that added, I have been able to continue my Xanax taper with very little withdrawal symptoms. Everyone is an individual and reacts differently to these meds; but in my case, that little bit of Valium has made a HUGE difference in my withdrawal symptoms.  Many days I don't feel any symptoms at all.  I'm now down to .625 MG of Xanax total per day.  I just cut to that today and I'm feeling some withdrawal symptoms - but nothing too severe; hoping that in a few days my body adjusts and my taper will continue as planned.  I try to make a .125 MG cut every 5 days.  Sometimes I have to hold longer if I'm not feeling well; but I'm happy with my progress so far since adding that little bit of a longer lasting benzo to my system.  While I realize that I will  have to taper off the Valium next; it was worth it to me to get some relief from feeling so sick in withdrawal all the time every day.  I don't know if Klonopin would do the same for you as Valium did for me, but just thought I'd share my experience so that you know sometimes it can help to add a longer lasting benzo in your system to help with the Xanax taper. 

[[Ho...]]

Taper off from one benzo.  I've been on Klonopin and the side effects are horrible. OCD will get worse with Klonopin.

[[Bu...]]

Thanks to everyone. It's given me a lot to consider. Maybe I'll just stick to Xanax until my body gets used to the increase of Prozac. Prozac will be a lifelong pill for me, but I'm not wanting a benzo to add to that. It scared me to hear that Klonopin makes your ocd worse. I certainly don't want that. Perhaps valium will help. I hope my Dr. will understand I need to taper off Xanax. How much Xanax should I ask for to start my taper? I have been on and off it for 8 months. Mostly just .25 a day, rarely more.  But they always say I've been on such a low dose that I don't have to worry about seizures or anything like that. I'm still worried about withdrawals.

[[Ho...]]

Thanks to everyone. It's given me a lot to consider. Maybe I'll just stick to Xanax until my body gets used to the increase of Prozac. Prozac will be a lifelong pill for me, but I'm not wanting a benzo to add to that. It scared me to hear that Klonopin makes your ocd worse. I certainly don't want that. Perhaps valium will help. I hope my Dr. will understand I need to taper off Xanax. How much Xanax should I ask for to start my taper? I have been on and off it for 8 months. Mostly just .25 a day, rarely more.  But they always say I've been on such a low dose that I don't have to worry about seizures or anything like that. I'm still worried about withdrawals.

 

Bugsy, can you get Xanax in liquid compounded form??  The liquid has to be refrigerated all the time.

[[Ce...]]

I've taken Xanax and I've taken Klonopin. Xanax is sooo different than Klonopin, IMO! The 1/2 life in Xanax isn't close to the 1/2 life in Klonopin. After taking both, I questioned whether they were of the same family or not! Although, I'm sure neither are easy to w/d from. 

[[Ch...]]

Thanks to everyone. It's given me a lot to consider. Maybe I'll just stick to Xanax until my body gets used to the increase of Prozac. Prozac will be a lifelong pill for me, but I'm not wanting a benzo to add to that. It scared me to hear that Klonopin makes your ocd worse. I certainly don't want that. Perhaps valium will help. I hope my Dr. will understand I need to taper off Xanax. How much Xanax should I ask for to start my taper? I have been on and off it for 8 months. Mostly just .25 a day, rarely more.  But they always say I've been on such a low dose that I don't have to worry about seizures or anything like that. I'm still worried about withdrawals.

 

Even on and off can cause dependency.  I'd try staying strictly at .25 for 5-7 days. If it's fine (or okay) there, then I'd start the .0625mg cuts.  Since you have .25m tablets already, you don't need to ask the doctor for them.

 

A schedule might look like this:

 

.25mg for 5-7 days

.185mg (3/4 of the tablet) for 5-7 days.

.125mg (1/2 tablet) for 5-7 days.

.0625mg (1/4 tablet) for 5-7 days.

 

You'll have to play it by ear to see if 5-7 days works for you.  Xanax is fast-acting and leaves the system quickly, so it's different than needing to hold for 2 weeks like the long-acting benzodiazepines.