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Tapering from 0.5mg Clonazepam (two years' usage)


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I'm in the UK and have been taking 0.5mg of Clonazepam for over two years for what I understood to be a sleep disorder (waking up shouting, jumping out of bed, etc.).  I've been taking a low dosage of Omeprazole for around eight years for acid reflux, due to voice problems.  I never had any other really bad problems, although with hindsight now understand better why my tummy was inflating at bedtime, etc.  A few weeks back, I had some much worse reflux and had my Omeprazole intake upped to 20mg from 10mg.  I also, at some stage last year, was given Melatonin (2/4mg) as the Clonazepam was somewhat less effective.

 

A month or two back when I expressed to the consultant at the Sleep Clinic that I didn't want to be on Clonazepam as it left me foggy and I was concerned by the long-term effects, he'd suggested moving up to 8mg and then stopping the Clonazepam.  I expected some mild side effects, more than anything disturbed sleep, so wanted to wait until the right time to come off.

 

A couple of weeks back I had foot surgery and decided that this week was the time to do it, as I'm mobile, not on painkillers, and had the opportunity to deal with a week of bad sleep, due to being signed off.  So, on Sunday gone, I went cold turkey on the Clonazepam.  As most of you will know (I didn't), this wasn't a smart move.  Last night, after two fairly sleepless nights, I had the worst acid reflux I've ever had, by some distance, and barely slept.  Having gone for emergency advice this morning at my GP (he didn't seem remotely alarmed at going cold turkey), I was given Lansoprazole 30mg to try and calm the acid reflux.

 

As I today had a very tight chest following the reflux (I've never experienced this before), I Googled to find out whether reflux is a side-effect of withdrawal.  It led me here.  I should have signed up immediately really but spent the whole afternoon ringing my doctor, the specialist, NHS, etc. and have had no joy getting any advice.  Everybody I spoke to seemed to think if I'd got through the first few days, I'd be fine (GP and specialist included)!  I tried explaining about the info I'd read in the Ashton Manual and I was spoken to like I'm just a worrier (I can be, although meditation has made this much better). 

 

In truth, I spent the entire afternoon worrying, feeling tense, slight bad head (I didn't have caffeine until around 4pm, which is unheard of for me, much as I don't hammer it), the occasional twitch.

 

In desperation, I took a Clonazepam tablet around 4pm to try and balance myself out.  It seems to have worked (it's now around four hours later).  I hope it was the right thing to do.  However, I don't know where to go now in terms of getting advice on how to withdraw.  I presume that if I have a tapered withdrawal over a few months, going from 0.5mg to 0.375mg, to 0.25mg, to 0.125mg (or would this be too few drops - more like 0.5mg to 0.4375 - splitting the pill in eight, if possible).  Any suggestions on timescales?  I might be able to do this without other drugs or the support of my GP - in fact, although hope I'm wrong, I suspect I'll have a battle to get an alternative while I wean myself off.

 

After this week's failed attempt, I will stick to my 0.5mg until I work out the best approach.  Any advice is hugely welcome.  I hope it makes sense.

 

I expected that this evening (it was 4pm when I took it) would be spent in a haze, as the 0.5mg dose tends to leave me pretty zonked, but at nearly 8pm I feel okay.  I've never taken a dose so early in the day before.  Acid reflux is still present, I think, which makes me nervous about trying to sleep but hopefully it'll be okay.

 

This looks a wonderful community.  Thanks for having me aboard!

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Hey! I'm coming off of anywhere from .5-1.5 mg of klonopin per day (it varied depending on the day nased on anxiety and sometimes didnt take it) but I was on it for a year and I have done pretty much same taper as you and have had some really side,effects for sure but I'm still here and functioning. So there's that haha. Started at 1 then .75 then .625 (not for long) then .5 and now I'm at .325 and in about ten days ill go down to .25 and then .125 and go off from there or attempt to anyways. May even go lower depending on,how I feel. Alot of people think my cuts are too big and while I agree that cutting less would definitely lessen my symptoms, the urge to be off of this stuff is much stronger. I have 2 babies 1 and 2 and I miss being an interactive alert happy mommy thats not always in pain and I honestly don't want to miss another day with them. So the pros outweigh the cons as of right now. Obviously of my symptoms become,unbearable or disabling I will definitely make smaller cuts. So over all I think its up to you and how your body responds, how you function during cuts, your lifestyle (are you working or do you have kids or are you able to be at home during withdrawals with relatively less responsibilities) to me those are the main factors in peoples tapers. Also, some advice I have found:

Do not stress yourself out from this site. Everyone is different and you will not have the same symptoms of everyone else. Its easy to get scared

Stay active. Try to get in some exercise if you can even a walk.

To outside every day for at least brief moments

Figure out your motto thats going to keep you going when things get really crappy. Mine is "this too shall,pass."

Also, every cut I make when I start to feel crappy my husband always reminds me that every cut is,a victory. No,matter how small. The withdrawals mean that my body is healing. And once I get through this, I can get through anything.

Hope this stuff helps!

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Thanks for the reply!  How long did you give each drop in MGs?

 

I mostly operate okay.  I get up each day at 5:30am, do yoga, meditate, although I do find my concentration isn't great (I'm not sure I can truly blame the drug for that).  My biggest concern is a) not getting genuine sleep and secondary b) masking symptoms of acid reflux, leaving me with oesophageal damage.  Being knocked out by drugs and not knowing what's going on while asleep concerns me a little.

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Well, before I got to .5 I was waiting 2 weeks st least between cuts but I cut to .5 and then after 7 days cut to .325 so a week. Ive been told this is too fast so I will probably stay where in at for 10-14 days depending how I feel just because I'm getting to the lower doses. If I need to go longer even I will. Not in a big enough rush to push it to hard. I'm so sorry about the acid reflux that is awful. I had it during pregnancy and couldnt stand it I cant imagine having it be an ongoing problem. I know zofran and zantac helped for me but I'm sure you know all about that considering how long u have been dealing with this. Is there nothing else the doctors can do? Or is there a change you can,make to your diet?
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@[Ho...]

 

I'm glad I took a tablet and stabilised myself.  I slept for the first time in four nights and woke up to news of a friend's death.  I'm not sure how I'd have handled this yesterday when getting hit hard with cold turkey withdrawals :(

 

EDIT: Now I've been up for around three hours, I've found myself incredibly tired and fuzzy-headed.  More tired than the previous three days, when I had very little sleep.  I've also had a tight chest, much like yesterday, which is unusual (despite being asthmatic, I can't recall the last time I needed to take an inhaler).  I imagine that, given the half-life of Clonazepam, my body still isn't seeing the level it expects?

 

I tuned into this tiredness more than ever after my foot surgery three weeks back.  This is part of the reason I started thinking about getting off this crap.  I imagine I'm already getting a diminished effect from 0.5mg after two years, so wonder if the tiredness is partly a withdrawal symptom from not getting 'enough' Clonazepam?  On reflection, I am always going to bed much earlier than I would imagine is normal and have been for quite a number of months.

 

Can anybody comment on whether it's a good idea to get off caffeine before beginning a taper? 

 

I think I'm already decided on quitting alcohol (I'm not a massive drinker but do usually drink beer at least a couple of times a week).

 

EDIT 2: I've since read about titration and this seems the ideal way to do this.  The videos on the main page are excellent.

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I cut with a pill cutter! I'm so sorry to hear about your friend that is rough especially during these times. Insomnia is a big symptom for most people, the chest tightness is a HUGE symptom, apparently the muscle relaxant properties of the medicine make us forget kinda how to breathe right. Also coming off thr meds will make u more tense causing tension in all muscles of your body including your chest. The tiredness is horrendous for me. I feel like I have been,hit by a bus daily. Sounds to me like you have got every classic symptom. Not unusual. I would cut out caffeine if your prone to anxiety however some that is the general consensus on here,but,some people do find that it actually helps. So to each their own on that one. Just remember when going through this, the symptoms mean your body is healing and pushing this crap out. Healing is good. So symptoms are good even if they don't feel so goos.
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Figure out your motto thats going to keep you going when things get really crappy. Mine is "this too shall,pass."

 

HAHA - that was my motto when I went through menopause.  I was determined to go through it naturally as the doctor was itching to write me out those hormone prescriptions which I feel is more poison (that's just my opinion)!  But everyday I would say, "this too shall pass"

 

I finally got a marijuana medical card  instead and took a hit for the hot flashes and mood swings when I got them.  Hot flashes went away and I was a new person. I don't have to smoke it anymore as menopause symptom free.....

 

(that was my experience and am not recommending it will work for everyone or telling others they should not take hormones)

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