Hi Folks :)

[[Ja...]]

Hey everyone. I'm Jake. Newbie here. I was recommended this site from a couple nice folks over at psychcentral. Currently weaning off of Klonopin, which I will post about. Feel free to say hi!

[[pi...]]

Hello JakeMo,

 

Welcome to Benzo Buddies! I'm glad you've joined the forum, you'll get a lot of support as you continue your taper and as you recover.  Withdrawal can be challenging but with a sensible taper plan it is doable.  In my opinion, it's well worth the effort. Being benzo free and healed is pretty amazing.

 

What dose of klonopin are you taking and what taper plan have you followed?

 

A slow taper can help to minimize withdrawal symptoms.  Generally, a reduction of no more than 5-10% every 10-14 days is suggested. I'll give you a link to the General Taper Plans for additional information.

 

I don't know if you have come across the Ashton Manual before but it is an excellent resource about these types of drugs and how to withdraw. It was written by Dr. Heather Ashton, an expert in the field. I'll provide a link for easy access.

 

Once you give us some additional information we can offer support based on your unique circumstances.  Please do ask questions, we're here to help.

 

General Taper Plans   

 

The Ashton Manual

 

pianogirl 

 

[[Ja...]]

Thank you very much! I appreciate all the support and info. I will post my "agenda" that I recently posted on another site that details what I'm going through, my dosage, and all that good stuff.

 

"Well, I won't get into my whole story. That would be a short novel. So I'll get down to the nitty gritty. I am currently weaning off of Klonopin. I'll actually be completely off of it this Saturday, which I will admit is a little scary, but also a relief. It has been quite the experience. I was on 1-1.5 mg for probably a little over 2 years, so naturally my body became accustomed to it. I found out it was addictive and harmful to your liver and other things, and really wanted to be done with it. I was feeling pretty good mentally, and still am, so I knew I was ready to go for it.

 

How I have felt physically has been a different story. Per my doctor, I have been bumping down my dosage 0.5 mg every two weeks. I'm sure some of you know, but the first couple weeks were pretty awful. Especially the 2nd. Naturally, I expected that, but not to the extent. My doctor didn't mention a single thing about it, but that's another story. The funny thing is for a couple of those two week periods, I felt fine. Not this past Saturday, but the one before, I bumped down to my final 2 week dosage of 0.5 mg a day. I take it in the morning.

 

This is the first time I haven't taken anything in the evening for a very long time. I also take Duloxetine, the generic for Cymbalta. So, the first week of being on this final dosage was kinda hairy, but not terrible. Jump to last Friday, and I have pretty much felt awful ever since. It's been really bad this week. Multiple Discontinuation Syndrome symptoms have hit me like a freight train. My whole body is pretty much messed up. I probably felt the worst on Tuesday, and don't feel quite as bad as I did that day. I still just can't seem to shake the flu like symptoms, slight wooziness, fatigue, etc.

 

To wrap this up, has anyone else had a similar experience? This is pretty rough. I'm definitely hanging in there and battling, but wow it's been hard. Another thing, I had a nosebleed in the middle of the night. That's the first one I've had in a very long time, and it could be completely unrelated to coming off of the medicine. Just thought I'd put that out there. I have really bad allergies and sinuses.

 

Anyway, if you've read this whole thing, thank you very much. I would really like to hear other people's experiences. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has gone through this. It's nice to know there are others. Not that I want anyone to have gone through this! Haha. Any responses and help/info is much appreciated. Thank you!!"

 

Thanks again!!

[[ma...]]

Hi and welcome from me JakeMo,

 

How long you been tapering? sounds like your reducing quite fast...benzodiazepines  should be tapered off slowly.    Most of the symptoms you describe are common withdrawal symptoms.  I would get the nose bleed checked out though!. If you familiarise yourself with Prof Ashtons Manual, It will help with understanding the effect benzo’s have on our body. 

 

As well as providing tapering and withdrawal information, the manual also includes a list of common symptoms 

 

Withdrawal can be quite tough, some symptoms can be scary but they are temporary. Hang in there, it does get better

 

 

Magrita

[[Ja...]]

Hello I've been tapering for a couple months now. That's seems to be what I keep hearing, that I've been reducing too fast. My doctor gave me this tapering shedule, so I've just been following her orders. Sounds like she might not know as much as she should. Even though this is her profession...that's not good.

 

I've been looking at the Manual this morning, and definitely doing a lot of research. It's definitely help me understand what's going on. It's been rough. I've just felt like I've had some kind of extended bug, and more. Nice to know that these things are common. Thanks for the support! Really nice to hear words of encouragement. Much appreciated!