The Klonopin Klub#2

[[kl...]]

needing some help. As you can see from my signature I haven't been on that fast of a taper. But man at .31mg I feel like it's wearing off faster and faster each day. I'm at the point of trying to go to sleep and getting jerked awake and flu like symptoms all day. Do I just hold at .31mg and this all stables back out again?

 

I've had times I had to hold but damn you get a hint of what is coming. Not this, this is like I'm talk half a dose.

 

Nothing surprises me when it comes to tapering. Every single body out there is just SO different. I'd say to just listen to your body and see what resonates with you. If you feel you should hold, then do it and don't worry about the length of time you hold or what a calendar or friend says. I held like crazy off and on for my entire taper. I just did what seemed natural and then rolled with it all. Sure, there were days I felt like trash, but I just chalked it up to being a part of the entire process. Don't worry about time, speed, or percentages. Setup a plan that seems natural for the time being, rock on with it, then make changes/holds along the way as needed. As they say, "if you're in hell, keep going". This bad time will pass. And also, I strongly believe in the saying, "heal faster than you taper". It took me a long time to get through my taper due to various things, but I felt really good as I got close to the end and up to today. You'll get there!

 

Thanks ultra! 

[[Ul...]]

Anyone still active in this group?

 

Yep, a lot of us are

[[go...]]

Not consistently active like I heard the old Klonopin Klub was.

 

To answer your post, I was was terrified when I started.  I don't know if that contributed to my initial struggles in withdrawal because I also changed methods and rate of tapering.  Once I finally committed to a plan of action, which was a micro taper and rate of taper, things became more consistent.

 

I went to 3 doses a day and then made the choice to even out those doses.  So for awhile, I just concentrated on bringing down my night dose closer to the other two doses.  Sometimes I would hold on the night and do a few cuts on the daytime.  Eventually I got the doses even and would alternate cutting from one dose, and only one dose, when it was time to cut. 

 

So from what you have shared, your feelings and symptoms are "normal" (you know what I mean).

 

So you did a direct taper from clonazepam?

 

Today marks 2 weeks since I started! Hooray! But that also meant another .0625 mg cut, so now my daily dose is 1.875 mg/day. Have a bit of brain fog and like my brain knows something is off. Kind of irritable. So now I'm taking .875 mg in the morning and 1 mg at night.

 

I'm wondering when I should start chipping away at my night time dose. For me that's the scariest because I need sleep to be semi-functional.

 

Also considering switching from 2 to 3 doses a day if I feel inter-dose withdrawal but so far so good. I think switching to 3 doses would be really hard since my body is so used to the 2 dose regime. So this dilemma has me considering the Valium crossover but I feel overwhelmed. Like what if I fail a switch to 3 doses or a crossover to Valium?

 

Just staying positive and taking this day by day.

[[je...]]

Congrats on starting your taper!! That first step is huge. Many of us taper K directly. I know when I started this journey I was so confused and overwhelmed with all the info. I was on one dose only but reading Ashton I thought I had to switch to Valium to taper. I then tried to split my dose and it was a disaster.

 

Like you I need my sleep and splitting up when I had no interdose withdrawal just because I thought I had to get to Ashton requirements did not work. After a week I went back to my single dose. If I were you I would not worry about 3 doses yet if you're not having interdose withdrawal. Just cross that bridge if you ever get there in my opinion.

 

Since I haven't split my doses I'm not of much use but there are many others who can share their experiences.

 

Good luck with your journey. You've got this!!

[[go...]]

Congrats on starting your taper!! That first step is huge. Many of us taper K directly. I know when I started this journey I was so confused and overwhelmed with all the info. I was on one dose only but reading Ashton I thought I had to switch to Valium to taper. I then tried to split my dose and it was a disaster.

 

Like you I need my sleep and splitting up when I had no interdose withdrawal just because I thought I had to get to Ashton requirements did not work. After a week I went back to my single dose. If I were you I would not worry about 3 doses yet if you're not having interdose withdrawal. Just cross that bridge if you ever get there in my opinion.

 

Since I haven't split my doses I'm not of much use but there are many others who can share their experiences.

 

Good luck with your journey. You've got this!!

 

I appreciate it! This second cut is really kicking my butt. I've never struggled with depression but the way I feel might be what I'd think depression would feel like. Brain is foggy and just kind of in the dumps if you know what I mean. Had this feeling when I started my taper but not as fast. Maybe day 2 or 3. It did eventually let up and I have to remind myself it's all about windows and waves.

 

Once again, thank you for the advice and kind words. I got this!

[[Be...]]

Does anyone have dealt with rib cage pain post withdrawal from klonopin?

[[Fi...]]

Not consistently active like I heard the old Klonopin Klub was.

 

To answer your post, I was was terrified when I started.  I don't know if that contributed to my initial struggles in withdrawal because I also changed methods and rate of tapering.  Once I finally committed to a plan of action, which was a micro taper and rate of taper, things became more consistent.

 

I went to 3 doses a day and then made the choice to even out those doses.  So for awhile, I just concentrated on bringing down my night dose closer to the other two doses.  Sometimes I would hold on the night and do a few cuts on the daytime.  Eventually I got the doses even and would alternate cutting from one dose, and only one dose, when it was time to cut. 

 

So from what you have shared, your feelings and symptoms are "normal" (you know what I mean).

 

So you did a direct taper from clonazepam?

 

Today marks 2 weeks since I started! Hooray! But that also meant another .0625 mg cut, so now my daily dose is 1.875 mg/day. Have a bit of brain fog and like my brain knows something is off. Kind of irritable. So now I'm taking .875 mg in the morning and 1 mg at night.

 

I'm wondering when I should start chipping away at my night time dose. For me that's the scariest because I need sleep to be semi-functional.

 

Also considering switching from 2 to 3 doses a day if I feel inter-dose withdrawal but so far so good. I think switching to 3 doses would be really hard since my body is so used to the 2 dose regime. So this dilemma has me considering the Valium crossover but I feel overwhelmed. Like what if I fail a switch to 3 doses or a crossover to Valium?

 

Just staying positive and taking this day by day.

 

Yes, I did a direct taper of Clonazapam. I had read and seen that crossing to Valium caused some people issues and I did not want to experience that.  Also, since Professor Ashton's time, more people were doing direct tapers of other benzos with success.

 

You don't have to switch to 3 doses if 2 doses are working for you.  Stay with what has been working for you.

 

You also don't have to trim the night time dose at this point.  I did so because Clonzapam did not help me sleep and I wanted more even dosing because of that. 

[[go...]]

Not consistently active like I heard the old Klonopin Klub was.

 

To answer your post, I was was terrified when I started.  I don't know if that contributed to my initial struggles in withdrawal because I also changed methods and rate of tapering.  Once I finally committed to a plan of action, which was a micro taper and rate of taper, things became more consistent.

 

I went to 3 doses a day and then made the choice to even out those doses.  So for awhile, I just concentrated on bringing down my night dose closer to the other two doses.  Sometimes I would hold on the night and do a few cuts on the daytime.  Eventually I got the doses even and would alternate cutting from one dose, and only one dose, when it was time to cut. 

 

So from what you have shared, your feelings and symptoms are "normal" (you know what I mean).

 

So you did a direct taper from clonazepam?

 

Today marks 2 weeks since I started! Hooray! But that also meant another .0625 mg cut, so now my daily dose is 1.875 mg/day. Have a bit of brain fog and like my brain knows something is off. Kind of irritable. So now I'm taking .875 mg in the morning and 1 mg at night.

 

I'm wondering when I should start chipping away at my night time dose. For me that's the scariest because I need sleep to be semi-functional.

 

Also considering switching from 2 to 3 doses a day if I feel inter-dose withdrawal but so far so good. I think switching to 3 doses would be really hard since my body is so used to the 2 dose regime. So this dilemma has me considering the Valium crossover but I feel overwhelmed. Like what if I fail a switch to 3 doses or a crossover to Valium?

 

Just staying positive and taking this day by day.

 

Yes, I did a direct taper of Clonazapam. I had read and seen that crossing to Valium caused some people issues and I did not want to experience that.  Also, since Professor Ashton's time, more people were doing direct tapers of other benzos with success.

 

You don't have to switch to 3 doses if 2 doses are working for you.  Stay with what has been working for you.

 

You also don't have to trim the night time dose at this point.  I did so because Clonzapam did not help me sleep and I wanted more even dosing because of that.

 

I appreciate the advice!

 

Today is Day 5 of my 2nd cut and still trying to feel semi-normal. I have a pinched nerve in my elbow and/or tennis elbow. It may or may not be related to my taper. I'm aware withdrawal can bring out all kinds of weird symptoms. I'm also a little dizzy today. Just waiting for that window where I can feel okay for a little.

[[he...]]

I'm considering getting my daytime dose down to .25mg or even .125mg and then starting on my bedtime dose. I wonder if getting that dose down would ease the fog at all... I don't know that it would hurt, and it might give me a mental boost knowing I've hit one of those milestones. Anyone have experience with focusing on one dose and then switching to the other? At that point, I may start tapering both doses concurrently or holding the daytime dose for a bit and focusing only on the bedtime dose.

 

I love to hear all these stories of buddies getting off for good or making big progress. It's encouraging to those of us still tapering looking at what looks like still a long road ahead.

 

For now, I don't get fog every day, which is a blessing, but when I do, it seems to last for less time (a couple to a few hours max). Anxiety can then creep in and mess with me for another few, so despite my dose still being high (PCP would say it's low), I feel like I'm actually feeling the progress, and that is also encouraging.

[[go...]]

So today is Day 26 since starting my taper and Day 13 of my 2nd cut. After 13 years, I've cut my dose down from 2 mg/day to 1.875 mg/day. I'm proud of my progress but it hasn't been easy.

 

Side effects I can remember have been brain fog, increased anxiety, irritability, dizziness and disturbed sleep. Like last night I woke up after only being asleep for 3 hours extremely anxious and fearful. I was able to fall back asleep but today I've been tired like the sleep I got wasn't very solid. Thankfully this has only happened two times and I usually sleep okay. I had something similar happen when I changed generics before I was even tapering, so I've been here before.

 

Is this just how tapering goes?

 

I ask because I have a doctor's appointment coming up and I'm starting to wonder if my taper would be easier if I switched to Valium. I know the answer is something along the lines of maybe and maybe not.

 

If the side effects I've mentioned could happen on Valium as well, I'll just stay the course. But if I should be having an easier time considering how slow I'm going, maybe crossing over to Valium is something to consider.

[[Fi...]]

Yes, the answer is personal and could be maybe or maybe not.

 

I had broken sleep during my taper and go through periods of it now but I haven't been off a year yet.

 

I think what you are experiencing is all part of tapering and could occur no matter what type if benzo you are tapering from.

 

Congratulations on the progress you are making. You are on your way and that is something to be proud of and recognize.

[[go...]]

Yes, the answer is personal and could be maybe or maybe not.

 

I had broken sleep during my taper and go through periods of it now but I haven't been off a year yet.

 

I think what you are experiencing is all part of tapering and could occur no matter what type if benzo you are tapering from.

 

Congratulations on the progress you are making. You are on your way and that is something to be proud of and recognize.

 

Yeah sounds like this is part of the process. I mean if it were easy I would have never stayed on this long. I've cut ~6% of my dose and it hasn't been a month. I might hold this cut longer than the normal 2 weeks but like you said, I'm on my way. Thank you.

[[he...]]

We need to keep this thread alive...

 

First, congratulations on your progress, goya14. That's wonderful. Progress is progress, even if it's slow and you still have a ways to go. I have to remind myself of that fact often.

 

I am down to .603 mg clonazepam today with proportionately less taken in the morning than at night. I'm currently dry DMTing with an analytical scale at 6.3% / 14 days across doses. I was cutting only my morning dose until January 1, when I felt it was time to start to even it out. At this taper rate, I seem to be able to keep the GI stuff and back pain I felt during my first two dry cuts and holds in check so far. Hoping that remains the case.

 

However, I feel like the muscle pain in other parts of my body and general muscle ache (legs, tailbone, jaw, headache) has gotten worse over the last week or so, and the fog hits nearly every day for a few hours if not longer, usually between about 9:30 and 12:30. Some days it can last until late afternoon. The non-linear healing/symptomatology, man...

 

Anyone else have a similar experience at a similar dosage? I know we're all completely different. And not that everyone experiences improvement as they taper down, but for those that have, at what point did you really notice that starting? Below .5 mg? .25 mg? Lower? Imagine it runs the gamut.

[[je...]]

You've made some very good progress hereforhelp!

 

I found my muscle aches (particularly in my jaw which was a pre-existing condition) have increased tremendously since the 0.4 mark. I'm not seeing any improvement in symptoms as I go lower. I would love to be in that category. Maybe I need to be much, much lower. Who knows?

 

Hopefully you'll see some improvement soon!

[[Fi...]]

Hi hereforhelp,

 

I had more muscles aches as I got lower-maybe 0.5mgs after not having them at a higher dose. It got better when I got off completely.

 

I am someone who felt better as I got lower. I felt a slight difference when I got to  0.5 and then much better at about 0.20 and below. The depression and despair lifted and that was a huge relief. I was able to access my logical mind, which helped me through the rest of my taper.

 

I've known other people who experienced the same thing as they got lower.

 

Final healing

[[he...]]

Thank you for your responses. Really appreciate them. I'm so glad you're off, Final healing,  and that you're getting lower and lower, jelly baby.

 

Obviously I hate things could get worse before they get better, but I know that's part of healing, especially from this benzo situation I find myself in. Currently I'm just hopeful my taper rate is still doable across my doses after having some bloating last night I hadn't had in awhile since I was tapering a bit too fast. Hoping and praying today is better and I can continue. I've already shaved tablets through Saturday.

[[Ul...]]

Thank you for your responses. Really appreciate them. I'm so glad you're off, Final healing,  and that you're getting lower and lower, jelly baby.

 

Obviously I hate things could get worse before they get better, but I know that's part of healing, especially from this benzo situation I find myself in. Currently I'm just hopeful my taper rate is still doable across my doses after having some bloating last night I hadn't had in awhile since I was tapering a bit too fast. Hoping and praying today is better and I can continue. I've already shaved tablets through Saturday.

 

Heal faster than you taper (for the most part) and you'll do great!!

[[he...]]

Heal faster than you taper (for the most part) and you'll do great!!

 

Thanks, Ultra. That's my goal. The cog fog seems unshakable, though. It seems to appear when it wants, no matter my taper rate. Think it's one of those tolerance symptoms.

[[Ul...]]

Heal faster than you taper (for the most part) and you'll do great!!

 

Thanks, Ultra. That's my goal. The cog fog seems unshakable, though. It seems to appear when it wants, no matter my taper rate. Think it's one of those tolerance symptoms.

 

I still have cog fog issues and I've been off months now, but it's less frequent and more tolerable. I was an extreme case, but still I'm so much better. Just stick with the program, go as slow as your body requires, and you'll find your finish line as well as awesome improvement. Anything worth while is uphill. Catch ya later!

[[he...]]

Thank you for the encouragement, Ultra. I'm so glad your symptoms are getting better. I know you had a long-fought taper.

 

I have never stopped dreaming when I sleep. I know some people lose their dreams while on clonazepam. I wonder if I should take that as a hopeful sign.

[[Fi...]]

I too have had cog fog since I've been off but it comes and goes.  Though I do think it's part of the healing process, I have also linked it to certain foods. I tried to eat a more plant based diet and my brain fog increased. It indicated to me that either my body is not ready or that I may always need a little animal protein. It may be related to histamine bit I'm not going to overly focus on that and just continue to use my body as a gauge.

 

I didn't dream much on the higher doses of Clonzapam so I do think that's a good sign.

 

You can do this and life will get better. 

[[Ch...]]

I need help with constipation.  I will be on higher dose and nothing seems to help.  Please help me, there has got to be something that helps.

 

Miralax, stook softeners, even the prescriped Linness does not help.  There has to be something.

 

Please help

[[Ch...]]

I need help with constipation.  I will be on higher dose and nothing seems to help.  Please help me, there has got to be something that helps.

 

Miralax, stook softeners, even the prescriped Linness does not help.  There has to be something.

 

Please help

 

Bumb

[[Fi...]]

I'm sorry you are struggling with constipation.

 

It seems like you have tried many things. The only thing I can suggest is perhaps an herbal enema or an herbal product called Swiss Kriss.

[[Pe...]]

I need help with constipation.  I will be on higher dose and nothing seems to help.  Please help me, there has got to be something that helps.

 

Miralax, stook softeners, even the prescriped Linness does not help.  There has to be something.

 

NOT MEDICAL ADVICE

 

I rarely get constipated, but when I do “Smooth Move” herbal tea is my choice. The main ingredient is senna, which does not interact with clonazepam.

Whenever trying an herbal substance, always check for your drug interactions on drugs DOT com.