Increase Klonopin or hold?

[[fi...]]

Was on klonopin 2 mg a day for 10 years then 3 mg a day for 6 months. I was taken off the Klonopin and put on 90 mg phenobarbital. Was on for 4 days then went off(after leaving psych ward). Two days of terrible withdrawal symptoms, mainly heart pounding and terrible sleeping. Was put back on phenobarbital 90 mg a day. Tapered down to 15 mg over the course of three and a half weeks. After I was on 15 mg for 4 days I got too depressed and read on BB that I should have stayed on klonopin so I went back on it. Was on .75 for 3 days now this is my 3rd day on .5. I do have depression and anxiety and really want to go up to maybe 1 mg of klonopin to relieve my depression and anxiety. I also know that you aren't supposed to go up but I might not have reinstated at a high enough dose. The hardest part is knowing how good I can feel when I get all the way off, because I actually enjoyed my wife and kids when I was off of both phenobarbital and Klonopin for the 2 days. I like having emotions🙂. Increase or hold?

Thanks for any replies!

[[Pa...]]

I hate that you were given so much Phenobarbitol for no good reason, the best course would have been to taper directly from the Klonopin in a safe slow manner, not take another addictive drug to get off of an addictive drug! 

 

Okay, now that that's out of the way I'd like to see you get stable on Klonopin then begin a taper.  It seems to me that you're not taking enough, you were at 3 mgs and now you're only on .5?  I understand you felt okay when you were off the drugs for those 2 days but you'll feel that again when you've recovered from this nightmare.

 

If you feel 1 mg would be a good dose to try, then you should do it because this is your life and you know yourself better than anyone.  This process is all about listening to the cues your body is giving you, we're all different and while we have a general set of guidelines we talk about here, you're the best person to judge what you need.

[[fi...]]

Ok thanks pamster! I was kind of just making sure that it's not dangerous to be this low already but I'll stay on this dose for awhile. So even if go  down slow I should expect the same withdrawals when I jump that I had the first time? I read the Ashton manual but not sure if it clearly stated withdrawal symptoms are less intense once you jump off if you taper slowly..

[[Pa...]]

What you need to understand is that getting off of the drug quickly doesn't mean you heal quickly, being benzo free doesn't mean symptom free, it will hurt until you heal.  Your brain and central nervous system have to repair the damage done by this drug and there is no way to rush this process, it takes what it takes.  The purpose of a taper is to try to lessen the symptoms as you go but once you're off of the drug, you're at their mercy. 

 

 

 

[[fi...]]

I understand that I am tapering fast and should hold until the depression gets better. But if I'm going to feel the same post Klonopin withdrawals as when I basically went cold turkey, am I doing the right thing by tapering? I know everyone is different, but if someone tapers for 3 months  and then goes completely off won't the rebound symptoms be more tolerable than if they tapered for a couple weeks?

Thanks again for the replies!🙂

[[Pa...]]

I wish there was a pattern I could point to which could help you make the right decision but we're all so different.  I've seen slow tapers result in stepping off of the drug with little to no symptoms, I've seen others who taper slowly suffer horribly after their last dose, there is no way to know which group you'll be in.  I quit cold turkey and while I don't recommend that because it was horrific, I think I was lucky in the fact that I healed in only 14 months. 

 

We'll support whatever decision you make, just be flexible and make adjustments if you feel you need to.

[[...]]

Pamster is right. Everyone seems to have a different experience. My only concern for you is the fact that sometimes the symptoms get worse a couple of weeks after you cut the dose. It sounds like you have cut a lot. How long has it been now? How do you feel? I have never been able to cut more than .5 of my dose at once and that was tough because I had rough side effects after a couple of weeks. Now I taper much slower and less at a time. I think you should base it on how you feel and how you are coping. Good luck!

[[fi...]]

SRR I was also worried about a delayed reaction to a reduction. While I was tapering off the phenobarbital for 3 and a half weeks it seemed to just be anxiety and depression. I was on 15 mg phenobarbital and was to depressed so I switched to Klonopin and will taper off. That was a week ago, I started taking .75 mg a day. Three or four days ago I switched to .5 mg a day. The only thing I have is anxiety and depression.

[[di...]]

You're trying to cut too quickly and coming unstuck.

 

You reinstated at 0.75mg and quickly adjusted to 0.5mg. Why? You need to reinstate at a realistic dose that won't make you ill. Judging from this thread, you have it wrong with 0.5mg. You need to choose an amount that you can handle and take that until you are stable. If it's your aim to get off benzos and other hazardous drugs, you're going to need to be more patient and more realistic. Hopping from one drug to another and constantly adjusting doses up and down only sets you back. It does you absolutely no good. You're jerking your nervous system all over the place. You need to give it a period of calm before you can hope to make further progress. From your description, 0.75mg might be challenging at first. Why not settle on 1mg Klonopin as a starting point? Take that until symptoms have settled down, which might take up to a couple of months. Then cut down SLOWLY. Try 10% roughly every 10 days. You might need to get some equipment e.g. milligram scales to measure out the right doses. There are other ways and plenty of people here to help with something that might seem daunting. You really don't have a choice but to figure out how to make the dose reductions more manageable.

[[Pa...]]

You're trying to cut too quickly and coming unstuck.

 

You reinstated at 0.75mg and quickly adjusted to 0.5mg. Why? You need to reinstate at a realistic dose that won't make you ill. Judging from this thread, you have it wrong with 0.5mg. You need to choose an amount that you can handle and take that until you are stable. If it's your aim to get off benzos and other hazardous drugs, you're going to need to be more patient and more realistic. Hopping from one drug to another and constantly adjusting doses up and down only sets you back. It does you absolutely no good. You're jerking your nervous system all over the place. You need to give it a period of calm before you can hope to make further progress. From your description, 0.75mg might be challenging at first. Why not settle on 1mg Klonopin as a starting point? Take that until symptoms have settled down, which might take up to a couple of months. Then cut down SLOWLY. Try 10% roughly every 10 days. You might need to get some equipment e.g. milligram scales to measure out the right doses. There are other ways and plenty of people here to help with something that might seem daunting. You really don't have a choice but to figure out how to make the dose reductions more manageable.

 

Hello diaz-e-BAM,

 

While we appreciate your efforts to help fishermartin, it's important to remember to phrase your suggestions as suggestions in order to avoid being too prescriptive. 

 

Please adopt a non-prescriptive writing style. Relating your experiences, stating options, or posting suggestions of what other members might do are all welcome. However, advising members of what they should or must do is against the ethos of the BenzoBuddies Community.

 

Pamster

[[fi...]]

If my depression gets worse in the next few days I plan on upping the dose so we'll see

[[Pa...]]

Good thinking, we just don't want to see you suffer anymore than you have to, I'm glad you're open to being flexible. 

[[di...]]

You're trying to cut too quickly and coming unstuck.

 

You reinstated at 0.75mg and quickly adjusted to 0.5mg. Why? You need to reinstate at a realistic dose that won't make you ill. Judging from this thread, you have it wrong with 0.5mg. You need to choose an amount that you can handle and take that until you are stable. If it's your aim to get off benzos and other hazardous drugs, you're going to need to be more patient and more realistic. Hopping from one drug to another and constantly adjusting doses up and down only sets you back. It does you absolutely no good. You're jerking your nervous system all over the place. You need to give it a period of calm before you can hope to make further progress. From your description, 0.75mg might be challenging at first. Why not settle on 1mg Klonopin as a starting point? Take that until symptoms have settled down, which might take up to a couple of months. Then cut down SLOWLY. Try 10% roughly every 10 days. You might need to get some equipment e.g. milligram scales to measure out the right doses. There are other ways and plenty of people here to help with something that might seem daunting. You really don't have a choice but to figure out how to make the dose reductions more manageable.

 

Hello diaz-e-BAM,

 

While we appreciate your efforts to help fishermartin, it's important to remember to phrase your suggestions as suggestions in order to avoid being too prescriptive. 

 

Please adopt a non-prescriptive writing style. Relating your experiences, stating options, or posting suggestions of what other members might do are all welcome. However, advising members of what they should or must do is against the ethos of the BenzoBuddies Community.

 

Pamster

I do understand where you're coming from and I will try to keep that in mind for the future. I was just trying to answer the question that was posed. It's an opinion, which I hope will be taken for no more than it is worth. I am sorry if I crossed a line with my encouragement. On reflection, I can see why you would make that judgement. I will be mindful of this.