Clonazepam taper help im in way over my head

[[Mo...]]

I need help i recently was hospitalized 3/7/23-3/22/23 which I took prn of Klonopin 1mg tablets once a day for 10 days. On release from their care I was prescribed additional 10 1 mg tablets

That I spread out for 18 days the last one I took was 2 days ago. I am having memory issues arms feel like their burning at times,palpitations and unable to sleep at all. I'm pretty dumb and all of this very overwhelming. I was also hospitalized in January till February a month long stay, god knows how many I had during that time. How would I go about doing a taper. I'm again pretty dumb now can someone explain it to me. I have a extra 28 pills if I need them but I'm absolutely terrified of taking them. Won't have appointment with my doctor until the 27 or my psychiatrist until next week. I'm scared don't know what to do

[[ho...]]

I need help i recently was hospitalized 3/7/23-3/22/23 which I took prn of Klonopin 1mg tablets once a day for 10 days. On release from their care I was prescribed additional 10 1 mg tablets

That I spread out for 18 days the last one I took was 2 days ago. I am having memory issues arms feel like their burning at times,palpitations and unable to sleep at all. I'm pretty dumb and all of this very overwhelming. I was also hospitalized in January till February a month long stay, god knows how many I had during that time. How would I go about doing a taper. I'm again pretty dumb now can someone explain it to me. I have a extra 28 pills if I need them but I'm absolutely terrified of taking them. Won't have appointment with my doctor until the 27 or my psychiatrist until next week. I'm scared don't know what to do

 

Hi and welcome-

 

It doesn’t take long for benzo “dependence” to develop unfortunately.  I would suggest getting your medical records from your hospital stay in January to February to see if you were on any benzo’s and if so, what mg’s and for how long. 

 

If you have indeed developed a dependency, it is prudent to wean off of them safely instead of going cold turkey.  Would this be your first time weaning off of benzo’s?  Your psychiatrist should be able to help you wean off of them safely, if you bring them all the information (previous hospital stay) and make sure they are on board to do a taper that is safe for you and comfortable too.  You may be just fine coming off of them with no problems if you don’t have any previous history (not always the case) with benzo’s.  So don’t panic right now. 

 

You might want to take a look at the Ashton Manual for weaning off of benzo’s (just a guideline) and has a lot of other information as well. 

 

Since you were taking 1mg, and it sounds like you have missed a couple of nights, you maybe now having side effects..no fun.  So that seems like dependency is an issue. Going forward you “might” want to try 1/2 of the pill and see how that goes.  It may not be enough, but try. Obviously, I am not a doctor, and this is just a suggestion until you can talk with your doctor(s).  If you were on it for only those few weeks in the hospital, you may get away with this.  It is a better starting point to wean off of than the 1mg.  1mg of K is equal to 20mg of Valium.  The rule of thumb is not to go faster then 5-10% reduction every 10-14 days, and that can even be to fast for some people.  So what I am saying is, try to start at as low as dose as comfortably possible, to start your wean.  It is not advisable to skip doses. 

 

If your psychiatrist or doctor doesn’t support you, or tries to brush you off in anyway and says that you can’t become dependent in just a few weeks…RUN!  Find a benzo savvy psychiatrist that will help you taper off.  You have time, and enough pill’s to get you through. 

 

Marie

[[Mo...]]

I should have my medical records next few hours for my January stay which will be posted to help give everyone here a more accurate timeline. I know for certain they gave me 1mg K during my January hospitalizations how many times I took it is another story. The reason why I spread my script was the 10 they gave me would have ran out 6-7 days before i could meet with my psychiatrist or my pcp. So I had to make them stretch. Thank for the information I purchased the Ashton manual on my Kindle will try and give it a look over but concentration is hard atm. An no, this will be my first time trying to wean or taper benzos

[[Br...]]

Moppie - You're not "dumb" - this is new territory for you and it can feel overwhelming. 

In your Introduction thread Libertas said you may be able to simply stop taking clonazepam if you aren't feeling any withdrawal symptoms.  From what you describe in this post it sounds like you may be experiencing symptoms.  If that's the case you may want to start a taper.

We typically suggest tapering with cuts of 5-10% of your most recent dose every 10-14 days or so. You can try to use a pill cutter to cut your pills.  Some members use a scale like this one for greater accuracy:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012TDNAM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[[Mo...]]

Does length of use factor in how long or fast I can taper? Say if it's only been a month and some weeks would I be able taper faster? Does it only matter how well I can manage/deal with Withdrawal symptoms?

[[ho...]]

Does length of use factor in how long or fast I can taper? Say if it's only been a month and some weeks would I be able taper faster? Does it only matter how well I can manage/deal with Withdrawal symptoms?

 

Hi - Well that is good news that you haven’t previously had to wean off of benzo’s before.  For some reason, this can make it harder. 

 

There doesn’t seem to be an answer to your question unfortunately.  There are some people who have only taken benzo’s for a couple of weeks and become dependent and had to completely wean off, meaning: slowly.  Then there are those who have taken benzo’s for years and have been able to wean off fairly quickly.  Weaning off isn’t linear. 

 

Don’t get nervous or start reading the scary stories….you might just be fine and come off with out much trouble, plenty of people do. 

 

What country to do you live in?

 

Like I mentioned earlier, you may be experiencing symptoms, and if it were me, I would start out with just 1/2 of the dose and see how that goes. No reason to go right back up to the 1mg, if .5 would work for you.  In case you do end up having to wean off. 

 

Marie

[[Mo...]]

I'll try the .5 first. Does it matter the time of day? Say if I suffer from insomnia should I just wait till the night to take it? Or do I half the half and take .25 in morning and night

[[Sc...]]

Hi Moppies, it's totally your decision but I can tell you what's been working for me. I've been on ~.5mg K for the past 10 years and I've only ever taken it at night, before bed. The long half-life of K allows for a single daily dose. I've been managing fine on my taper only taking it at night and I'm down to .328mg. This might change down the road as my dose gets smaller but if I can make it work, I plan to only dose once daily, before bed. I was put on the meds for insomnia so that's still my area of focus. Best of luck!

[[Mo...]]

Makes sense.I normally try to take it during the afternoon. Which normally tires me out mid way. I'm gonna try and take another .5 tomorrow evening to see if I can get some sleep. Which right now had been evading.

[[ho...]]

Makes sense.I normally try to take it during the afternoon. Which normally tires me out mid way. I'm gonna try and take another .5 tomorrow evening to see if I can get some sleep. Which right now had been evading.

 

I agree, try and take it at night.  It does have a long half life and should carry you through.  Keep us posted on how you are doing on the .5mg over the next few days.

 

Marie

[[Mo...]]

May I ask what.made you think I Might be able to drop down 5mg of my script? I'm just trying to figure out where I'm going or is it safe to do so. I'm pretty overwhelmed with just the measurement parts hard time and how to use the Ashton manual for short term use. Just have self doubts and anxiety

[[ho...]]

May I ask what.made you think I Might be able to drop down 5mg of my script? I'm just trying to figure out where I'm going or is it safe to do so. I'm pretty overwhelmed with just the measurement parts hard time and how to use the Ashton manual for short term use. Just have self doubts and anxiety

 

Hi…I was thinking that maybe with your short term use and going those days w/o and “minimum” w/d symptoms that you “might” be able to get away with .5…It can be hard to wean off and take a long time, so I was just trying to see if .5 would bring you relief and a starting point for you to safely begin to taper off. 

 

If you are still really suffering with w/d symptoms than it may not be a large enough dose for you, and you may already be dependent on the larger dose.  Maybe try .75mg and see if you can stabilize on that, and go from there…..Just remember what goes up, must come down.  You however, may have developed full dependency on 1mg and need that to completely stabilize, and will just have to wean off from 1mg.  Until you stabilize at a x dose, you won’t know for sure. 

 

It can be hard to measure K.  You can get a good pill cutter and also a scale on Amazon to help weigh out doses as well.  That is something to consider when you decided what kind of taper you want to do.  Please try not to get overwhelmed at this point, and let anxiety get a hold of you.  There isn’t much you can do at this point but go forward and figure out a plan to wean yourself off.  This forum is a great place to get a lot of support too.

 

Marie

[[Mo...]]

Hello again, I was just curious i wasn't having issues with the .5 more of I was being cautious and wondering the reason. Wasn't trying to offend. I probably should have worded it differently. Again my apologies.

[[ho...]]

Hello again, I was just curious i wasn't having issues with the .5 more of I was being cautious and wondering the reason. Wasn't trying to offend. I probably should have worded it differently. Again my apologies.

 

Hi..No worries.  I wasn’t offended at all.  I apologize if it came across that way. 

 

I am so glad the .5 is working out for you.  The less benzo’s you have in your system the better. 

 

Marie