A tempting suggestion from a psych

[[Ni...]]

I went to see a psychiatrist about my klonopin problem, and what he suggested was... unexpected. He said I should do an extremely rapid taper. Cut my 0.5mg in half and hold that for THREE OR FOUR DAYS and then switch to Zolpidem(Ambien) for insomnia and Escitalopram(Lexapro) for anxiety.

 

His argumentation is that I haven't been on klonopin for that long and that my dosage is, in his own words, "a grain of rice", and that I shouldn't have any mayor problems getting of this way.

 

Now, from what I read on here and other places, this seems like one hell of a risk.

 

I would like to hear your opinions on this matter.

 

(I'm also sorry if I've mistaken the forum section i which I put this thread)

[[NJ...]]

I know this wouldn't work for me, and personally, I think a more sensible taper plan would make sense. I have taken both ambien and lexapro in the past, and neither was a good substitution for my klonopin.

[[Gr...]]

I would not taper at the same time as adding in an SSRI.  I would hold at the same dose while waiting for the SSRI to work.  If you go off the benzo and then on the SSRI at the same exact time you will have a lot of withdrawal symptoms as well as the anxiety and other weird stuff that happens when you go on an SSRI. 

[[Tr...]]

I say what's the rush, and why risk it. Yes, .5mg isn't much comparatively, but being on it for over a year is a long time.

[[Ni...]]

Thank you for your replies. I will visit other psychiatrists and see whether their suggestions match. It does seem like snake oil to me.

[[Te...]]

He doesn't seem like a knowledgeable doctor to me. There is NO LOW DOSE when it comes to benzos. Glad you'll be seeing others.

[[Ch...]]

Clonazepam 0.5mg every night since May 2015

Started tapering June 2017

75% for two weeks

50% for two weeks

massive withdrawal

back to 75% the sixth week

 

The above is your signature.  I think it indicates that you've been on Clonazepam long enough to have developed a dependency.  If it were me, I would continue to taper the Clonazepam at a reasonable and tolerable rate.

[Guest [ch...]]

You've been on a long time (2 years?) and .5mg is a significant dose of Klonopin. Moreover you yourself experienced massive withdrawal when you tried to taper rapidly (your signature says so).  A slow taper is the *only* good way off these drugs. As for adding other drugs in, this is a really really bad idea. Zolpidem especially is a Z drug which is basically the same as a benzo and it is a *terrible* idea to start this during tapering. I had a nightmare experience with taking zolpidem during my taper (also recommended by a completely incompetent psychiatrist). See the Z drug support group http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=97331.0 for about 100 pages of testimony on the horrors of this class of drugs. As for starting an SSRI during a taper, doctors and shrinks love to push this stuff but it is of *no* benefit during benzo withdrawal (see Ashton, see wikipedia benzo withdrawal page, etc etc) and it just puts you on another psych drug that messes up your brain in a different way. See survivingantidepressants.org for a website for people trying to get off those. Again I had bad experiences with SSRI's back when I foolishly listened to doctors giving me bad advice.

 

I'm sorry, but this psychiatrist knows nothing about benzo withdrawal. Unfortunately you'll find that to be common in the psychiatry profession. You can shop around for other opinions, but I hope you have the wisdom to instead listen to me (and other benzobuddies) who have personally been through this. You can get yourself off benzos with a slow taper.

 

Best wishes,

 

CP

 

P.S. Sooner or later I'll be kicked out of BB for my strident anti-psychiatry commentary! But I call 'em like I see 'em.

 

edit: anti-psychiatry

[[Ni...]]

haha, thanks for your replies people. Understand that I've been dealing with some tough withdrawal symptoms, and that miraculous solutions from people who are supposed to be knowledgeable in this subject are pretty tempting.

 

Also, I'm not going to listen to him of course. 

[[At...]]

I agree with the posters who said that you should hold while introducing an SSRI.

I would ask the Psych Doc to administer a GeneSight (or equivalent) test to see if Lexapro is the drug for you.  What sucks about SSRIs is that they aren't "one size fits all" like benzos are.  The DNA test helps them narrow down what should work for you.

I had the GeneSight test done and the more popular drugs like Lexapro, Celexa, Mertazapine (I'm tapering now) and Zoloft were actually way down on the totem pole for me whereas Viibryd, Pamelor and Prisiq where at the top.

[[me...]]

You've been on a long time (2 years?) and .5mg is a significant dose of Klonopin. Moreover you yourself experienced massive withdrawal when you tried to taper rapidly (your signature says so).  A slow taper is the *only* good way off these drugs. As for adding other drugs in, this is a really really bad idea. Zolpidem especially is a Z drug which is basically the same as a benzo and it is a *terrible* idea to start this during tapering. I had a nightmare experience with taking zolpidem during my taper (also recommended by a completely incompetent psychiatrist). See the Z drug support group http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=97331.0 for about 100 pages of testimony on the horrors of this class of drugs. As for starting an SSRI during a taper, doctors and shrinks love to push this stuff but it is of *no* benefit during benzo withdrawal (see Ashton, see wikipedia benzo withdrawal page, etc etc) and it just puts you on another psych drug that messes up your brain in a different way. See survivingantidepressants.org for a website for people trying to get off those. Again I had bad experiences with SSRI's back when I foolishly listened to doctors giving me bad advice.

 

I'm sorry, but this psychiatrist knows nothing about benzo withdrawal. Unfortunately you'll find that to be common in the psychiatry profession. You can shop around for other opinions, but I hope you have the wisdom to instead listen to me (and other benzobuddies) who have personally been through this. You can get yourself off benzos with a slow taper.

 

Best wishes,

 

CP

 

P.S. Sooner or later I'll be kicked out of BB for my strident anti-psychiatry commentary! But I call 'em like I see 'em.

 

edit: anti-psychiatry

 

Second this!

[[Ph...]]

.5 of K for two years is a grain of rice?  Cut 50%, hold for four days then switch to an SSRI and throw in some Ambien?  Where did you find this person?  You've been trying to get off too fast.  Just slow it wayyyy down.  Look into getting a scale, or using a liquid taper, or a compounding pharmacy to prepare small, precision cuts.  See if your nitwit will cooperate and write the compounding or liquid scripts for you.  A grain of rice?  Haha, that kills me.  We need to start compiling these nuggets into a database, copyright them and sell them to standup comedians.