Benzodiazepine withdrawal success

[[Co...]]

Hey guys I just had a few questions for you I've been detoxing off of benzodiazepine Clonopin I've been taking 4 mg a day for the last six years I've taper down to only .5 for about four weeks and now I'm down to zero none nothing I have a bottle in my drawer  but I refuse to take them because of their withdrawl  I am currently on day 12 of not taking anything and oh my god if it is not strong I can feel everything everything is heightened of the thousand degree but I don't know if there's anything to comment down or to make this a little bit easier of course cannabis will need amplify everything to make it worse but I found that if I nurse a few beers it tends to help and it eases my withdrawal but then the next day if you're a little hung over it's times 10 on everything so if anybody has any other advice CBD oil or anything please don't hesitate to let me know

[[be...]]

Hi  Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

I am so glad you joined. At 12 days in you are likely still in the acute phase of withdrawal. This is when symptoms are their very worst, and it on average lasts 4 to 6 weeks, with some noticeable improvement felt after. Hopefully some will come your way soon.

 

You might like to check out The Ashton Manual it is an authoritative source on what to expect in withdrawal and recovery.  Dr. Ashton is an expert in the field. 

 

Please feel free to post to any of the dedicated boards, we have a wonderful community of people here, who will give sound advice. Members have been through all aspects of benzodiazepine use and withdrawal and are more than willing to share their experiences.

 

Members discuss their symptoms on the Post withdrawal recovery support.

 

Please take the time to Create a Signature.  This will allow others to see where you are in the process so they can better support you.

 

Again Welcome! 

 

benzos-R-cruel

 

[[Co...]]

Thank you very much for the Ashton information pamphlet I have printed it off and have studied it I understand that a lot of The comments that are in there I have experienced all of them. I'm also using voice to text so I apologize if everything is spotty like it was in the last message but today was actually a very bad day day 12 did not work well for me at all on day 12 I ended up having a panic attack on the I 15 Highway and losing my mind thinking I was going to die or not there was thinking I was going to have my seizure I thought that everyone has a seizure and they come off of benzodiazepines and I just really don't have a seizure all driving my new puppy and the car  killing us both so I pulled over and after I pulled over I called my parents and try to have a conversation to comment down but I've never had my hands FREEZE in a way that they did today I've never had my hands contort in the way that they did today in the way that I have never felt and it was overwhelming are you I didn't know what else to do I thought well maybe I'll just take a half of 1 mg Klonopin that of course immediately stopped all symptoms and immediately stop the panic in his tracks but I don't want to be addicted to this pill this pill owns me and I need it to stop I have a drawer full of the pills but I don't want them anymore I'm tired of this feeling I can't afford a counselors you're the best I have

[[fi...]]

Welcome aboard, Cook21!

[[Co...]]

Does anybody know if I am out having the possibility of still having a seizure or is having a seizure only for people who are taking like 12 mg a day I've only been taking a half a milligram a day for about the last month and a half and then now I'm down to zero for 12 days is there still a possibility that I'll have a seizure or is this just anxiety and am I just having panic attacks but Fear of having a seizure causes of fear and panic and the fear of panic I presume is an onset of the seizure so that makes me want to go back and take the pill to avoid having the seizure

[[Lo...]]

The risk of a seizure after 12 days off of 0.5mg K is extremely low, but you may have a host of highly unpleasant symptoms during the acute phase. It does get better as the time goes on thought, and there should be improvements along the way, but it may be worse-better-worse-better-worse. It's not linear....

 

How long did it take you to get from 4mg/days to 0, and how did you taper? Did you reduce by 1mg at a time, 0.5mg or less? How long did you wait between the reductions? How did you feel at lowered doses?

 

Sorry, I don't mean to pry, and you don't need to share if you're not comfortable, but it's good information for people to know because how you tapered may be the key in deciding whether you're just better off enduring the acute withdrawal and never touching those pills again or reinstating on a smaller dose, and tapering down more slowly. Also, having a support of family and friends in real life is a key, because you may need help with some basic things such as shopping, cooking, getting rides to places (driving in acute wd,  is pretty dangerous, as you have figured out yourself)

 

12 mg of Klonopin would definitely be a high seizure risk dose, but 12mg of K is an insanely high dose.

1mg of Klonopin is equivalent to 20mg of valium, so 12mg of Klonopin is about 240mg of Valium. Pretty sure, you can do a general anesthesia & a surgery with that dose on someone with no tolerance.

 

[[Co...]]

Thank you so much for the response and thank you so much for this website this is been the most helpful and calming support.  I have been prescribed 4 mg a day for about eight years and then I started my taper two months ago at 2 mg a day for about two weeks that wasn't too hard I did two weeks on 1 mg and then go down to .5 a day  For about three weeks that was probably the most difficult then I went down to .25 a day for about two weeks and I jumped off at that point and haven't taken anything since the days of gone really hard after day eight of nothing but a day 12 was absolutely unbearable And when I went into a panic attack and started hyperventilating lost control of my hands and got a seizure was coming on it sent me into overdrive panic I lost the ability to know where I was and  I ended up taking a .5 I kept in my wallet and that immediately relieved all symptoms but I'm so ashamed of myself I've been doing so well and now I feel like I have to start all over again

[[Lo...]]

That's actually a very fast taper. No need to be ashamed. You'd gone off from a fairly significant dose in a very short time, so it makes sense that the symptoms are pretty bad. It does sound that you have a very high tolerance for pain/discomfort since you could do what you did. Try not to let the shame get you. If you've taken one dose, that doesn't mean you have to start all over again. Not at all. Even if you need to find a doctor to keep you on 0.5mg or 0.25 and taper you down from there, there is no shame in that either. 95% of people would not be able to do what you did, coming off of several years of 4mg Klonopin like that, so keep that in mind 

[[Do...]]

I notice in your post you mention having a few beers.  One of the most important things during benzo withdrawal is to not drink ANY ALCOHOL!  Not only will it prevent you from healing, it will very likely make you feel worse and cause even more symptoms than you were originally having.  Alcohol works on the same parts of the brain as benzos (GABA-A receptors).  Drinking every day during benzo withdrawal is like taking a small dose of benzos.

 

[[Co...]]

Hey thank you for messaging me back I wanted to add that I really wish I would've known that prior LOL because yes any alcohol will send you into it absolute panic attack  in the next day x100000 😩😩  It's hard because you want something to take the edge off but the only thing that will is a double edge sword and I don't know if anyone else has experienced this before but I am having the worst restless leg and it feels like my left foot is constantly Tingling like it is always asleep has anyone else ever had this I am interested in knowing if it's nerve damage from all the benzo's I've been prescribed but it is a constant tingle in the foot and at night time when I'm trying to fall asleep it gets so bad that it keeps me up and starts to get painful has anybody else ever experienced this before I don't want it to be the first sign of a stroke or something more serious