Diazepam prn during clonazapam withdrawal

[[Gi...]]

Hey everyone,

I’m currently going through clonazapam withdrawals (went from 0.25mg to 0 about a week ago) and I’m having awful anxiety, panic, restlessness, tremors and agitation (among everything else).

I’ve been taking gabapentin to help with those side effects, but today it’s just not cutting it.

Has anyone had a bit of prn diazepam during clonaz withdrawals? Did it help? How did you feel when it wore off? Did you feel it affected the longevity or progress of the clonaz withdrawal?

Thanks guys

[[je...]]

0.25mg is a pretty high dose to jump from. I'm not surprised you're struggling unfortunately. Personally I don't think it's good to use any type of benzo on an as needed basis after jumping. I think it creates a false sense of security that we can handle it untill  one day our bodies can't and we find ourselves back in withdrawal.

 

If you're struggling badly my suggestion would be to reinstate the Clonazepam and do a slow taper to a lower number which should be more tolerable to jump from. You're only a week out, so reinstating shouldn't be a problem.

 

I hope you feel better soon. 

[[Qu...]]

Hey everyone,

I’m currently going through clonazapam withdrawals (went from 0.25mg to 0 about a week ago) and I’m having awful anxiety, panic, restlessness, tremors and agitation (among everything else).

I’ve been taking gabapentin to help with those side effects, but today it’s just not cutting it.

Has anyone had a bit of prn diazepam during clonaz withdrawals? Did it help? How did you feel when it wore off? Did you feel it affected the longevity or progress of the clonaz withdrawal?

Thanks guys

 

I also am trying to quit clonazapam (Rivotril). Today I am at 0.20mg pretty close to your 0.25mg. My doctor wanted 15 days at that level (I'm 8 days in) and then stop. On my own I've decided to at least stop off at 0.10mg for a little while before stopping.

 

So may I ask. Roughly - at what levels did you step down and for how long ? You mention you stopped about a week ago. How did you feel on the day you stopped ? On your way down to 0.25mg how long did it take for you to 'stabilize' at each level ? I realize we are all different. My 'ladder' has gone from 2.0mg to 0.50mg to 0.40mg to 0.20mg - all within the last 6 weeks. That probably was a little fast. It wasn't all a walk in the park. But today  I feel pretty good.

 

Thanks

 

Edit : I should add I wasn't taking 2 mg Rivotril every day - more like 3 days on, 3 days off. I also hope you feel better soon.

 

Edit Edit : I just read your intro post. You had been at 0.25mg since December ?

 

[[Pa...]]

I agree with jelly baby, using a benzo to cope with withdrawal from another benzo isn't a good idea and will prolong your misery.  These symptoms you're feeling will most likely last for a few months so it would be better to make a plan to address this rather than hoping for a brief respite with Diazepam.  I'm doubtful it will touch your symptoms, it takes a bit of time for Diazepam to build up in your system so you won't get immediate relief but you'll begin building a dependence on the Diazepam if you go this route because even taking PRN can cause dependence.

 

It would be better to go back on the Clonazepam and taper off, our administrator Kate08 jumped at a high dose too, then went back on and used titration and jumped at .01, it worked out very well for her.

[Guest [Na...]]

Although I agree with not taking two Benzodizapines, I feel like the crossover to Diazepam should be mentioned and is a choice to consider.

 

https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha02.htm

 

Some doctors in the US switch patients onto clonazepam (Klonopin, [Rivotril in Canada]), believing that it will be easier to withdraw from than say alprazolam (Xanax) or lorazepam (Ativan) because it is more slowly eliminated. However, Klonopin is far from ideal for this purpose. It is an extremely potent drug, is eliminated much faster than diazepam (See Table 1, Chapter I), and the smallest available tablet in the US is 0.5mg (equivalent to 10mg diazepam) and 0.25mg in Canada (equivalent to 5mg Valium). It is difficult with this drug to achieve a smooth, slow fall in blood concentration, and there is some evidence that withdrawal is particularly difficult from high potency benzodiazepines, including Klonopin. Some people, however, appear to have particular difficulty in switching from Klonopin to diazepam. In such cases it is possible to have special capsules made up containing small doses, e.g. an eighth or a sixteenth of a milligram or less, which can be used to make gradual dosage reductions straight from Klonopin. These capsules require a doctor's prescription and can be made up by hospital pharmacists and some chemists in the UK, and by compounding pharmacists in North America. A similar technique can be used for those on other benzodiazepines who find it hard to substitute diazepam. To locate a compounding pharmacist in the USA or Canada this web site may be useful: www.iacprx.org. Care must be taken to ensure that the compounding pharmacist can guarantee the same formula on each prescription renewal. It should be noted, however, that this approach to benzodiazepine withdrawal can be troublesome and is not recommended for general use.

 

I agree with jelly baby, using a benzo to cope with withdrawal from another benzo isn't a good idea and will prolong your misery.  These symptoms you're feeling will most likely last for a few months so it would be better to make a plan to address this rather than hoping for a brief respite with Diazepam.  I'm doubtful it will touch your symptoms, it takes a bit of time for Diazepam to build up in your system so you won't get immediate relief but you'll begin building a dependence on the Diazepam if you go this route because even taking PRN can cause dependence.

 

It would be better to go back on the Clonazepam and taper off, our administrator Kate08 jumped at a high dose too, then went back on and used titration and jumped at .01, it worked out very well for her.