Why I joined

[[Fr...]]

- BenzoBuddies was mentioned by a redditor when I tried to cold turkey 3 weeks of clonazepam, I got two days before the anxiety was overwhelming and I was shaking. I did drop to 1mg a day so bonus!

- Clonazepam 2mg daily as required.

- 1mg after 2 day cold turkey.

- Starting, needing advice to quickly get off clonazepam (ie drop to 0.5 after a week, then 0.25 a week then off)

- I never want to be judged because of my dependence on benzodiazepines, I already feel ashamed and disgusted in the fact I was told they were addictive but not that addictive.

[[Pa...]]

Hello FreedMan, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

 

Yep, cold turkey hurts, I did it that way too so I understand why you reinstated.  Unfortunately, a rapid taper will feel just like that cold turkey did so are you sure you want to do this?  I need to mention too that getting off the drug is only the first step, next is recovery and that can take as long or longer than the taper.  It takes a long time for your GABA receptors to get back online after being down regulated by the drug, we can't rush that no matter how much we want to.

 

We typically suggest reducing by about 5-10% every couple of weeks but using your symptoms to guide you may keep you functional.  Please don't feel shame, I've seen dependence on these drugs happen in as little as 10 days, I'm sure you had no idea what this drug is capable of, none of us did.

 

I'll provide some links to get you started but we're glad you're here and hope we can help.

 

Pamster

 

Colorado  Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidance

 

Planning  Your Withdrawal (Taper)

 

Withdrawal  Support (during your taper)

 

Ashton  Manual symptom list