Hello fellow BenzoBuddies

[[Be...]]

Hello. I am joining BenzoBuddies because I have been on Clonazepam for about 15 years now and I am sooo ready to be rid of it! I have an anxiety disorder which took over my life and forced me to quit working it got so bad. I was originally put on 0.5mg 3x a day, then cut back to 2x a day about 5 years ago. I am to the point where I am just tired of being tired from it ALL THE TIME and my memory is horrible. My doc told me to quit taking my night time one and I did. Well holy crap! Never knew what was going to hit me. The dizziness and vertigo was so bad and 2 nights of no sleep at all. Long story short, I ended up doing a bunch of research which led me here to you all. I now know I need to sloooooow taper. Why don't doctors tell you this!? Do they not understand?? Anyway, I have now been tapering for 2 weeks; 1/4 of a 0.5mg lower. Still have some vertigo but sleeping better. I am hoping by reading your stories and not going through this alone, I will be able to get these out of my system for good. I am also on an anti-depressant/anxiety medication that I'm hoping will help so I don't dive into horrible anxiety again. I have huge support from my family, as they as well all struggle with anxiety and they know what it feels like. Here's hoping for a better future off of these horrible benzos!

[[Br...]]

Hello Bellatrix20 and welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

We're glad you've joined us!  You've come to the right place for good information as well as support from a community of members who understand what this process is like.  This forum has been a lifeline for many of us - I know it was for me. 

 

It's so good you've been doing research into benzo tapering and withdrawal, and understand how important it is to plan a slow taper off of Clonazepam.  We typically support tapering with cuts of 5-10% every 10-14 days or longer as a way to minimize withdrawal symptoms and help you function as well as possible during your withdrawal.  Some members taper with even smaller cuts, holding a dose until symptoms become more manageable - a symptoms driven taper.

 

Please browse the forum and post when you're ready.  The following are links that are especially relevant for you:

 

We recommend members familiarize themselves with The Ashton Manual written by a leading researcher in the field, it provides an overview of withdrawal.

 

To see tapering methods we support:Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper Plans)

You may want to start a new topic and reach out for support on these boards:

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

Anxiety 

 

It’s helpful to create a signature so other members who want to reply to your posts can see where you are in the process. Here’s how to add your benzo info automatically to your posts: go to Profile, then Forum Profile, write your info (which benzo, dose, taper history) in the text box and save. Thanks! Let us know if you need help with this.

 

Welcome!  We're glad you're here!

Brighterday