Hullo

[Guest [...]]

Hi, i'm addicted to benzos as prescribed for menieres. I was at 8 mg of ativan given by my idiot ENT when i didnt know better. I got down to 3 mg but then crashed and switched to psych doctor for help. Had to go back to 5 mg to stabilize. Doc put me on 60 mg of buspar which helped a lot with the anxiety. Anxiety no longer an issue now. Then doc switched me over to klonopin (longer half life) and i'm at 2.5 mg a day now. Really struggling at this plateau. Even an eighth mg drop is painful. Withdrawal is exacebated by the dizziness, etc from menieres. I cant take valium as it depresses me, so i'm trying to taper down on klonopin alone.

[[ok...]]

Welcome LC,

 

So sorry to hear about your situation.  You will find lots of support here.  Do you have a plan for your taper?  Most recommend tapering at a rate of 10% every 7-14 days.  There are lots of good people hear to provide you with any support you need.

 

If you haven't already done so, you should read as much of the Ashton Manual for Benzo Withdrawal as possible.  You will learn a lot.

 

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

 

Looking forward to following you on your path to success.

 

Kelly

[[Cr...]]

Hello LC, Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

There are many people who have successfully tapered directly off of klonopin. We will gladly help you find your way off of this drug.  The cuts, however small they be, may still be painful but the only way you will get true relief is to be benzo free.  

 

If you head on over to the General Taper Plans the buddies over there will be glad to help you work out a taper schedule.

 

If you have any other questions feel free to ask    

 

Crono

[Guest [...]]

Hi Kelly

 

Thanks for the welcome. Yes, i read the manual before finding this board on that site. I wish i could do the valium taper, but valium hates me.

 

My doctor is awesome about letting me choose my taper schedule. He makes suggestions, but let's me recover from each drop at my own rate. Since my vestibular system is already fouled up, the withdrawal lasts longer. I've typically taken three weeks to drop .5 mg of ativan before the switch. But the last drop was really nasty from 3 to 2.5 klon. I'm going to drop .125 mg at a time from now on. Does that sound reasonable?

[Guest [...]]

Thanks, Crono. I'll head over there. This site is great. I'm already feeling hopeful again.

[[so...]]

Lc, dropping .5 mg in just 3 weeks is really a quick rate, so its not surprising you could be hit with some xtra wd's or at least increase the severity of the ones you are having.  When I was hooked on Clono, my uninformed doctor had me cut .25 mg. perweek from 1.5mg. of clono down to .75 mg.  the first 2 weeks went pretty well , but then on day one of the 3rd .25 mg drop I got floored.  it took me 3 weeks to even think about going farther, and I gotta say they were the worst 3 weeks of my life. 

I let my shrink talk me into going back up to 1 mg. of clono, and in hindsight , having suffered thru the 3 weeks at .75 mg , I wish I would have stayed there for another week or 2 instead of increasing. 

From the 1 mg. on down I reduced at 10% every 7 days and that worked out ok.

Your best bet , as I see it, would be to reduce by .25 mg every 2 weeks till you get down to 1.5 mg of clono, then do .125 mg. every 10 days till down to 1mg. then try the 10 % reduction from there over the next 10 weeks.

Of course you could slow this down even more if symptoms get too intense.

The thing is , even at the slow speed you should set yourself to expect withdrawl symptoms, and some can be really unpleasant.  This is something we all have gone thru on our way off this drug, and its pure determination coupled with support from this forum when things really get  bad , that will keep you going. 

Once cleared of the drug and healed you will find a whole new appreciation for your health and peace of mind.

You can do it , just don't rush it.

st

[Guest [...]]

Thanks, Softtail. I appreciate the advice.

[[ok...]]

LC,

 

Here are my thoughts on your question.  Don't know how long you have been on the 2.5mgs of Klonopin but I would recommend holding there for a total of two weeks before continuing your taper so that you can stabilize at that dose.  Your plan to drop .125 at a time sounds reasonable.  That's a 5% cut each time and you could try doing that once a week.  You are the only one that can judge how fast you should taper.  You can always hold longer than a week between cuts if you are having bad symptoms.

 

I am cutting from a much lower dose and was only using for a couple months but I still want to do everything to minimize the withdrawal symptoms.  I found a compounding pharmacy nearby that makes me up a month's worth of liquid suspension and I taper my dose every day.  I am on a 10 week taper schedule which is a total of 70 days so I lower my dose each day by 1/70th of the original dose amount.  Since you would be on a 20 week schedule and your tapering at 5% each week you would lower your dose by 1/140th each day (minute daily reductions but you still get there in the same amount of time.)

 

By using this method I have had manageable withdrawal symptoms.  Not fun but manageable.

 

If you have any interest in switching to liquid and tapering daily once you have stabilized at 2.5 let me know and I will help you any way I can.

 

The only thing I know for sure is that we are both going to make it...what other choice do we have?

 

Warmest regards,

 

Kelly

[Guest [...]]

Thanks for the advice. Could you explain what a compounding pharmacy does?

[[Be...]]

A compounding pharmacy is the mixing of drugs by a compounding pharmacist to fit the unique needs of a patient 

[Guest [...]]

So they basically divide up the doses into whatever sizes you want? Is it pill form or liquid? Can i order from an out of state pharmacy with a local script?

 

Thanks!

[[Be...]]

Can i order from an out of state pharmacy with a local script?

Thanks!

 

I don't know the answer to that question, I'm afraid.  The best thing to do would be to find a compounding pharmacy willing to work with you & inquire as to whether or not they will accept your prescription (if they are out of state.)

[Guest [...]]

Ok thanks!

[[ok...]]

LC,

 

I would just do an internet search under compounding pharmacy and your city or state to see what you come up with.  I live in Southern California and found one just a couple miles from my house.  You could also ask your doctor.  Since I was taking .5mg per day they made me what looks like a bottle of cough syrup but contains 30 days worth of .5 mg per day or 150mgs.  They also gave me a very small syringe and a medium syringe so that I could measure out my dose each day.  The medium for the beginning of the taper and the small for the latter part. 

 

However you do it, I look forward to following your progress.

 

Warmest regards,

 

Kelly

[Guest [...]]

Is there some special solution that keeps the medicine from turning bad? It seems that we could just do it ourselves if we knew the ingredients.