What Do You Do When Your Symptoms Never Stop?

[[Se...]]

I’ve held, slowed my taper, even took a tiny rescue dose recently. NOTHING relieves the symptoms of extreme nausea, dizziness, hissing tinnitus and insomnia.  Paresthesia (burning skin) isn’t as bad as it has been but that never really interfered with my every day existence.  Existence.  Not living by any stretch of the imagination.

 

I’m getting low in dose.  Just a few more cuts and I’ll be at jump off.

 

The most horrific symptom is the non stop nausea.  I’ve taken every prescription and over the counter remedy known to mankind  I just get more symptoms like yesterday and today.  I have 8mg but took just 4mg of Zofran and get a wicked, debilitating headache on top of the withdrawal/tolerance symptoms.  If it would have relieved nausea, I may be okay with the headache. Oh...yes.  Add constipation into the mix as a side effect too.  Sorry for the TMI.

 

What’s the common consensus when this situation arises?  I guess I have to move forward.  All other options have been depleted. 

 

Right now I am doing a bit of a rapid taper trying to get off the poison and hopefully stop symptoms.  Nausea has been going on all the way back to before I even started tapering.  It has gotten worse over the months..actually, almost two years now.

 

I just don’t have a good answer for this dilemma.

 

Thanks.

 

SG

💜

 

[[He...]]

Hi September

 

So sorry you’re going through this.  It’s brutal.  I understand.  You’ve tried everything.  Your tapering such small amounts, too.  I know you want off and over it.

 

I had a very bad wave yesterday.  Ugh.  I do not advise on meds to help or what anyone else should do.  I have no medical expertise at all.  That said, I have been taking gabapentin since I got to .125 clonazepam.  I resisted.  I was opposed to adding anything, especially a gaba type support. 

 

It’s not a benzodiazepine.  It has helped with taper withdrawals.  I do worry about tapering it later.  I’m reassured by several drs , including a naturopath, that it’s nothing like a benzo taper.  I take a very low dose at 300 mgs once at night.  I am willing to go up to 600 if I keep getting hit with waves like yesterday. 

 

It did knock my withdrawals right out at that .125 dose. I started at 900 mgs gabapentin.  That was too much, so I tapered back to 300 early on.

 

Please know I’m not saying do this.  I would really not want you to do something you later regret.  I can’t advise.  But for me, in order to tolerate benzo withdrawal, I needed help.  There are no promises, though.  It may be worth researching.

 

Whatever you do, I wish you healing. 

[[Se...]]

Hi September

 

So sorry you’re going through this.  It’s brutal.  I understand.  You’ve tried everything.  Your tapering such small amounts, too.  I know you want off and over it.

 

I had a very bad wave yesterday.  Ugh.  I do not advise on meds to help or what anyone else should do.  I have no medical expertise at all.  That said, I have been taking gabapentin since I got to .125 clonazepam.  I resisted.  I was opposed to adding anything, especially a gaba type support. 

 

It’s not a benzodiazepine.  It has helped with taper withdrawals.  I do worry about tapering it later.  I’m reassured by several drs , including a naturopath, that it’s nothing like a benzo taper.  I take a very low dose at 300 mgs once at night.  I am willing to go up to 600 if I keep getting hit with waves like yesterday. 

 

It did knock my withdrawals right out at that .125 dose. I started at 900 mgs gabapentin.  That was too much, so I tapered back to 300 early on.

 

Please know I’m not saying do this.  I would really not want you to do something you later regret.  I can’t advise.  But for me, in order to tolerate benzo withdrawal, I needed help.  There are no promises, though.  It may be worth researching.

 

Whatever you do, I wish you healing.

 

@ Healing64

 

Funny you mention gabapentin.  I was researching that yesterday, it sounds promising. My ONLY hesitation is I’ve read it can cause nausea.  I really can’t take any more of that. 

 

I’d be willing to try a small dose, maybe start at 100mg and see how I react.  I’d worry about any taper once I’m off clonazepam and feeling somewhat human again.  I may call the psych nurse and see if she’d be willing to prescribe.

 

What are your symptoms?  I have them all. I’ve read gabapentin does not affect the same gaba receptors as benzos. I hope that’s true.

 

Thank you for responding.

 

SG

 

 

[[Jo...]]

Its the ugly nature of klonopin I admire you that you can taper directly from it klonopin on low doses makes your nerveus system very agitated i know that after i ct and tried to reinstate i would get panick attack and ask my brother to take me to the hospital mybe you can take a low dose of valium instead much calmer drug and not so harsh on your cns

Good luck

[[Se...]]

Its the ugly nature of klonopin I admire you that you can taper directly from it klonopin on low doses makes your nerveus system very agitated i know that after i ct and tried to reinstate i would get panick attack and ask my brother to take me to the hospital mybe you can take a low dose of valium instead much calmer drug and not so harsh on your cns

Good luck

 

 

@Jonedoe

 

 

A few months ago I took 2mg Valium for an MRI.  It didn’t do a thing for me except I felt more nauseated afterwards and for the next few days.

 

I’m seriously considering crossing over to alprazolam. I’ve been off of that for more than 7 months and never felt this horrible!  I was on clonazepam back then too but after I jumped at .17mg I didn’t feel much worse. 

 

I have enough alprazolam left over to complete a taper. I brought this up to the nurse and she said no but she doesn’t know I have any left.  I told her I didn’t. She said she won’t prescribe benzos the first time we met. I’ve been seeing her for less than 3 months.

 

I put a call into the psych nurse to try gabapentin.  I need something to change. Suffering every day with no relief is killing me.

 

Thanks for your comment.

 

SG

💜

[[He...]]

September,

 

I would avoid using a short acting benzo to support your taper.  Just trading one beast for another.

 

Gabapentin side effects at 300 mgs are zero for me.  If I take it on an empty stomach, I may get very mild upset stomach.  So I eat a banana with it.  No problems.  Don’t drink milk with it, or any dairy.  Calcium blocks the gabapentin.

 

At 900 mgs I had lots of side effects.  No nausea.  I had blurry vision, clumsiness and I even fell over once, diahrea ( sorry tmi), long deep sleeps,  a huge appetite, spaced out.  I didn’t like the side effects.  But I reduced to 600 then to 300.  300 has been good.  Really helps with sleep.  I will updose gaba if I need to.  My side effects from benzos went away immediately with the gabapentin.

 

100 is a very low dose.  Not sure it would be enough, but you could start there to see how you feel. 

 

Again, to be very clear I hesitate to say you should do this.  But it’s an option and sometimes we need help.  My naturopath is very comfortable with this option. 

 

 

[[Se...]]

September,

 

I would avoid using a short acting benzo to support your taper.  Just trading one beast for another.

 

Gabapentin side effects at 300 mgs are zero for me.  If I take it on an empty stomach, I may get very mild upset stomach.  So I eat a banana with it.  No problems.  Don’t drink milk with it, or any dairy.  Calcium blocks the gabapentin.

 

At 900 mgs I had lots of side effects.  No nausea.  I had blurry vision, clumsiness and I even fell over once, diahrea ( sorry tmi), long deep sleeps,  a huge appetite, spaced out.  I didn’t like the side effects.  But I reduced to 600 then to 300.  300 has been good.  Really helps with sleep.  I will updose gaba if I need to.  My side effects from benzos went away immediately with the gabapentin.

 

100 is a very low dose.  Not sure it would be enough, but you could start there to see how you feel. 

 

Again, to be very clear I hesitate to say you should do this.  But it’s an option and sometimes we need help.  My naturopath is very comfortable with this option.

 

@Healing64

 

Thanks.  I have a call into the psych nurse.

 

Praying she’ll call back soon.  I’m desperate for any relief.  I understand what helps you may not help me.  I’m willing to try based on my own research. 

 

I’m not switching back to alprazolam for that very reason.  It may not be the same this time around.

 

Thanks again.

 

SG

💜

 

 

[[Ma...]]

Is THC out of the question. Obviously it has risks for lots of people.

[[Se...]]

@[Ma...]

 

I’ve tried CBD with and without THC from two different reputable manufacturers.  I also tried medical marijuana.  I get too paranoid/anxious and my symptoms aren’t relieved. 

 

Back in the day, I smoked marijuana recreationally and was always laid back and relaxed.  Not so now that I’m much older.  I wish it worked but it doesn’t.

 

Thanks for your suggestion.

 

SG

💜

[[He...]]

I can’t handle thc or cbd either.  It ramps up anxiety big time.  Have you heard back from the nurse?

[[sh...]]

Hello,

I tried gabapentin (100mg) and did not cause nausea. Made me feel spaced out, less anxious, kind of slow in thinking. Apparently many people gain weight while on it and they sleep better. I had different experience. It decreased my appetite and I was bouncing off the walls (even while feeling spaced out and feeling slow). It gave me energy for some reason.

[[Se...]]

I can’t handle thc or cbd either.  It ramps up anxiety big time.  Have you heard back from the nurse?

 

@Healing64

 

She won’t prescribe it.  She said it causes nausea and has to be tapered. I told her I knew all of that.  She was adamant.

 

She just called again.  She spoke to the Medical Director.  He said try buspar but she won’t prescribe it until she speaks to my primary or our Telemedicine visit on Monday morning...whichever comes first.

 

Buspar causes nausea too but she said it doesn’t need to be tapered. I’ll need to push through the nausea she said.  She thinks I should go to rehab.  Nope.  Not at this point in my taper and not during a pandemic.

 

I might try buspar.  I’ve read about it and a lot of people say it’s junk.  I just don’t know what to do.

 

Thanks.

 

SG

💜