Interdose withdrawals looking to get off of Klonopin

[[Wh...]]

Today is my last day of Klonopin (hopefully). Took 0.125mg this morning and had really bad brain fog and pressure headaches but took a natural antihistamine supplement and things seemed to have improved a bit. Deathly afraid of days to come, it should come 3 days after it has left the system right? I haven't experienced anything out of the ordinary during the two weeks of tapering but I hope that was enough. Getting through these past two weeks alone have been hell but I hope that was enough time but also prudent enough to help things go smoother.

 

This anxiety over it is of no help but I now find I really do have bad food reactions and am going to strictly maintain this current diet. Will continue updating. Thank you for your support, very scared but desperately want to live. It is insane a small drug could cause something like this.

 

Another question, for people who tapered over a couple of days but felt fine during it, why didn't symptoms catch up to them a couple of days into it? Was it because each cut was so quick the body didn't have time to react? Obviously just guessing here, but if you have any info it would be greatly appreciated. 2 weeks taper isn't much better, but would have expected by the 10 day mark for at least some kind of change.

[[Pa...]]

I wish you didn’t have fear, that isn’t helpful but I can completely understand why.  I’m not sure I understand your question, but the type of benzodiazepine plays a big role in how quickly withdrawal symptoms are felt.  For example, members who take Valium may feel symptoms 10 days after a reduction, Xanax the next day, or Ativan in a couple of days, is this what you’re referring to?

[[Wh...]]

For example, members who take Valium may feel symptoms 10 days after a reduction, Xanax the next day, or Ativan in a couple of days, is this what you’re referring to?

 

Yes, I mean if you are making cuts in between those 10 days say for Valium, would you still feel those effects after 10 days regardless or only after stopping the medication.

 

Today is the first day without taking Klonopin, took last 0.125mg dose yesterday morning. Feeling about the same, woke up a bit early, maybe because of anxiety for withdrawal effects or something else, could be temperature related too as it gets a bit hot during the morning.

 

I am not going to read into anything further but I still worry deeply about protracted withdrawal syndrome since I am not feeling any new onset anxiety. I am deeply afraid of it. I have heard some who've gotten it from a single dose and to have it go like this so far absolutely terrifies me for what is to come. It already happened with Zoloft so who's to say not with this?

 

I did not originally take it for anxiety but for akathisia, even still this all seems really weird. The days are still hard with brain fog and fatigue, but I wish I could know. I will try and update soon, after 3-4 days and see if anything comes about and then 10 days. Does the time during tapering count during the total time of taking the drug?

 

 

Jelly Baby or Pamster, have you seen cases of protracted withdrawal occuring in people taking Klonopin short term or other long acting benzos?

 

[[je...]]

During your taper you should have felt an increase in symptoms. It's highly unlikely to reduce your dose and not feel anything in 2 weeks and then suddenly feel all the symptoms after 2 weeks. Clonazepam does not have such a long half-life.

 

I don't keep track of protracted withdrawal because stressing myself out about who takes more than two years to heal does no good. I just know the majority of people recover within 1-2 years and I hold onto that. I truly don't think you should stress over it.

[[Wh...]]

I am going to be completely candid, today did not go how I was expecting it to. The morning was fine enough, but soon it got to the point where I could not concentrate on what I was watching, so I got up to walk. Took Zoloft. I took a long walk and came back and it helped for awhile and then it came again and could not concentrate. Then came really bad palpitations and anxiety, maybe spurred on or exacerbated already by my fears of tapering and I was absolutely miserable, I kept walking until I could not take it anymore and took 0.125, I am still in the window to take it. A couple of hours later I feel a bit better but still have that restlessness.

 

I didn't know what I was expecting. It took about 36 hours since last dose for this to start and I thought that the state I currently was in was bad. I will admit it, this head pressure and brain fog began when I started tapering, but I ignored it and went through with tapering because I wanted to be done with it. Now I'm here. I'm going to take 0.125mg tomorrow again making it 5 days on that dose and then drop to 0.06 and hold.

 

It either could have been this or a bad reaction to a natural antihistamine supplement I was taking, but I don't think that is likely. Still in withdrawal from Zoloft even after reinstating and wanted to not have to worry about another medication. The head pressure is strong now, it is the symptom that bothers me the most.

 

Is it normal to feel head pressure and brain fog while tapering? If I continue taking 0.125 even though I have those symptoms already can it aid in withdrawal? Have felt about the same with each cut. I believe this restlessness today was a reemergence of akathisia I had before when Zoloft withdrawals started. I am just going to continue with this schedule and get to 0.06 and I don't know if I can cut it further without it being inaccurate, working from a 1mg pill. I would water taper but I'd have to refrigerate it and don't want to be caught. Maybe I could if it were for a couple of days.

 

All in all, it seems like my CNS is too sensitive right now. Going to continue updating.

[[je...]]

Brain fog and head pressure are some of my biggest withdrawal symptoms. I struggle most with brain/head problems. If you're not feeling well, then staying on the Clonazepam is best. If you need to updose and go higher, that's fine too. The moment you're off the meds, you cannot control the intensity of the symptoms anymore. Then you have to suffer through it. It is also important to know that it's better to not start and stop the drug, it's better to stay on it and taper it, as starting and stopping it can lead to worse withdrawal symptoms each time.

[[Pa...]]

I’m sorry you got hit hard but glad you decided to take .125, honestly, I wish you’d stay on that dose for awhile to slow things down.  I really don’t see your outcome being any different than it was if you continue to taper this rapidly.  But if you’re determined to be off the drug, then at least you know what to expect and being prepared for that will help.

[[Wh...]]

Last night was awful. I never woke up multiple times during the night but that is what happened. Feel asleep at 10 and woke up at 11:30, I thought it was morning, extreme restlessness in legs and ideation. Fell asleep again around 12 and woke up at 1, feeling so tired but not able to get back to sleep because of restless legs, it feels as though I'm too late and the process has begun. It was 36 hours before I took that 0.125 and I didn't expect things to be nearly this bad, maybe my cuts caught up to me.

 

Not looking forward to the rest of today. Think I may have to updose because of how bad last night was but I will see. I did my best not to updose and I want to see if my body can readjust. It was an extreme shock. I have never been more scared and I am just going to stay on that dose or a little higher until things improve.

[[Wh...]]

I’m sorry you got hit hard but glad you decided to take .125, honestly, I wish you’d stay on that dose for awhile to slow things down.  I really don’t see your outcome being any different than it was if you continue to taper this rapidly.  But if you’re determined to be off the drug, then at least you know what to expect and being prepared for that will help.

 

I think I may need to updose, I did not expect it to be this bad. I am trying to stay on 0.125 and take it in the morning like I usually do but the panic seems to come back really badly along with heart palpitations, deep urge to walk in order to calm it down but am also sensitive to heat. If I stay and hold on this I think it'll go away but it is so awful right now. Maybe I should go higher and work my way back down from there? How do I determine what dose to updose back to? Do I have to work my way back up or can I just do it outright? I am thinking 0.5mg but I will see. Not feeling good right now.

[[Pa...]]

I’m hoping you can work your way up in stages so you won’t end up on too high of a dose but at this point, I’m sure you just need relief so we’ll stand by while you work this out.

 

 

[[Wh...]]

I’m hoping you can work your way up in stages so you won’t end up on too high of a dose but at this point, I’m sure you just need relief so we’ll stand by while you work this out.

 

Hi, it's been a couple of hours later and I am feeling a bit better but the heart palpitations haven't seem to have gone away. If I lie down for too long they come on and it's really scary. I don't know whether to wait it out because the first 3 days on 0.125 I didn't have them and am thinking it was triggered by taking a dose 36 hours later instead of 24. I have this energy that I need to expend but am unable to. Don't want a repeat of last night but if I can adjust to this dose that would be ideal, but I'll see how it goes. Again, thank you Pamster for your support, as well as Jelly Belly.

[[Pa...]]

I’m glad there’s a bit of relief, I hope you can settle in at .125 but understand you’re still really uncomfortable.  Let us know what you end up on and again, there is no shame in going back up and rethinking your plan, this is how it works. 

 

I know you have fear, this process makes sure of that but what’s happening to you isn’t dangerous or life threatening, its just your body trying to regain balance after being bombarded with a powerful drug. 

[[je...]]

It is very puzzling to me that you had absolutely no increase in symptoms and then it suddenly showed up after two weeks. If we're dependent that's generally not how Clonazepam works. You should have felt some increase of symptoms much earlier. The majority of people feel it within the first 10 days.

 

I can tell you what happened to me with my large reductions. I made huge cuts 75% updosed, then another 50% cut. With these cuts I felt sick in the beginning,  almost flu like - head pressure,  brain fog, headaches,  just off. I was functional but I felt sick. As time went on I became progressively more sick. By day 15 I was bedridden. I was vomiting, diarrhoea, couldn't walk, my body was aching etc. Day 15-17 was much worse than 5-10. I updosed and felt much better.

 

You started out at 1.5mg, so this was extremely fast. There's no telling how this would go. Your symptoms have not followed the traditional track. Updosing should work to make it better. The only way to know is try it. Like Pamster said, work your way up  in increments.

 

Hope it gets better!

[[Wh...]]

I’m glad there’s a bit of relief, I hope you can settle in at .125 but understand you’re still really uncomfortable.  Let us know what you end up on and again, there is no shame in going back up and rethinking your plan, this is how it works. 

 

 

Is it possible that if I'm experiencing bad brain fog and restlessness at 0.125 I can eventually stabilize on that dose? It's been another couple of hours and the worst part right now is the need to walk around and move constantly, but in between that feeling alright but have bad brain fog and headaches. They say the brain fog and head pressure are a sign of tapering too fast but what if you were not stable to begin with?

 

It is very puzzling to me that you had absolutely no increase in symptoms and then it suddenly showed up after two weeks. If we're dependent that's generally not how Clonazepam works. You should have felt some increase of symptoms much earlier. The majority of people feel it within the first 10 days.

 

The thing is I was feeling like that during tapering with the flu like symptoms, brain fog and head pressure, it was what made me want to come off even more, but now it seems that was because of tapering too fast, but at the same time the already present brain fog and head pressure at that time was already bad, so I don't know. After being off of Klonopin past 24 hours it seems to have triggered something, can missing a dose be that drastic? I was wondering if it was the accumulation of rapid cuts that catches up to you once you get off.

 

 

 

If I updosed to 0.25 again, would it be better to split it twice daily or just take it once? My brain fog gets worst in the afternoon and it was why I had wanted to come off so bad. I read what you said about updosing and am thinking it may be better to cut my losses. I read what you said about Do you think there's a chance of the brain fog and head pressure lessening if I maintained that dose? Some part of me wants to stick with 0.125 and push through hoping things improve but not know when it will come or do this which is safer but makes reducing again more difficult. Ultimately I know this decision cannot be made for me, it is hard.

[[Wh...]]

Not doing good today at all. Updosed to 0.25 but the brain fog and heart palpitations are still there. Have to keep walking to alleviate tension every 30 minutes to an hour. I can't concentrate, having bad thoughts, hoping to adjust. Running on endorphins from walking right now. Hope I can adjust to this but don't know how tolerable being like this will be, trying my best to be patient now.

[[je...]]

I'm sorry it's this bad. The dose might not be enough to combat the symptoms as you're under 50% of your starting dose. It's very difficult to know what dose will be sufficient. And it's also difficult to know how long it will take to stabilize. If you're struggling too much then you can updose more.

[[Wh...]]

Do you think it'd be better if I took it at night instead of morning? I originally decided on morning because I'd get bad restlessness the most when waking up and I could fall back asleep for an hour or two more. It helps make the day pass faster as well. If I took it at night I think I'd get better quality sleep but still wake up early and find some way to pass the time. Things not good right now, still need to observe. Have been walking so much.

[[je...]]

Whelmet, I wish I could be more helpful. I wish I knew how to stop the pain. All I can say is you can try, but there's no guarantee the evening dose will be better than the morning dose. Theoretically you should sleep better but I can't guarantee that either. If you take it at night you might run into other issues during the day. That is why we always try and do a slow taper because fixing a fast taper is so difficult.  And the pain can be so excruciating. I know how hard this is, and what you're going through, I was there myself. In this instance I think you just have to do what you feel is best. We'll keep supporting you. If there is something we feel you shouldn't be doing we can definitely weigh in on that. 

[[Wh...]]

Whelmet, I wish I could be more helpful. I wish I knew how to stop the pain. All I can say is you can try, but there's no guarantee the evening dose will be better than the morning dose. Theoretically you should sleep better but I can't guarantee that either. If you take it at night you might run into other issues during the day. That is why we always try and do a slow taper because fixing a fast taper is so difficult.  And the pain can be so excruciating. I know how hard this is, and what you're going through, I was there myself. In this instance I think you just have to do what you feel is best. We'll keep supporting you. If there is something we feel you shouldn't be doing we can definitely weigh in on that. 

 

I love my Mom so much. I'm crying as I type this. This has been the buildup of so many bad decisions culminating up to this. If there were more people like you the world would be a better place. What I would give to start over. I've been feeling this really bad fatigue since 2019, if I didn't have the Zoloft or this to deal with, I could have isolated maybe what it might be, it was part of why I wanted to get off Zoloft to begin with, to feel some more energy. Being on 1.5mg I still felt worse and constantly sluggish and I'm at a loss. I can only stick with this now and hope for the best. It's been a long fight, I got on Klonopin because of how bad Zoloft withdrawals were with akathisia and I had no other options, I didn't know it was this potent. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the message, you two are truly beautiful souls.

[[Pa...]]

Sometimes we on the team have to admit we don’t have the answers and we feel badly about this because we so want to help you.  But we’re here beside you and we’ll be here while you try to find the right path.  I agree with you, jelly baby is wonderful and she truly cares about you and all of us. 

 

It’s just so wrong that you were put on this drug to cope with another drug, I’ve seen that happen more times than I can count and it frustrates me because our doctors don’t understand what they’re doing to us.

[[Wh...]]

Sometimes we on the team have to admit we don’t have the answers and we feel badly about this because we so want to help you.  But we’re here beside you and we’ll be here while you try to find the right path.  I agree with you, jelly baby is wonderful and she truly cares about you and all of us. 

 

It’s just so wrong that you were put on this drug to cope with another drug, I’ve seen that happen more times than I can count and it frustrates me because our doctors don’t understand what they’re doing to us.

 

Not sure how much more I screwed up my body with this now. It is night and restlessness has seem to let up, it is crazy how bad I was feeling a couple of hours ago compared to now, knowing that I will have to face it again tomorrow. Hope I sleep better tonight

[[je...]]

If the pain is too much you may want to consider a bigger updose, somewhere between 0.5 - 0.75mg. I didn't updose in increments I just went back up big. The only reason I'm suggesting the increments is because you're so determined to get off and stay low. I personally don't believe in unneccessary suffering. This journey is difficult enough without adding additional suffering to it if you don't need to. The decision is yours, how much pain you can stand and how much you are willing to taper again. But if you take it slower then usually tapering is not as bad as rapid cuts. Just know there's no shame in making mistakes and no shame in updosing.

[[Wh...]]

If these palpitations would let up I think I would be able to handle it much better but they haven’t gone away yet. I’ve been getting really bad thoughts as of late, especially during the morning. Sleep has improved, got 5 hours last night without waking up, that is good. I think if things continue on like this I may have to go up further, which I hate.

[[Wh...]]

Day 3 of holding at 0.25mg, still have "benzo flu", temperature is 99.9 and sitting hear rate is 118. Don't know if this will improve.

[[je...]]

If it's bad you might just want to go up to 0.5mg. In the bigger scheme of starting at 1.5mg I'm not sure how much you're getting from 0.25mg. Your brain was used to a much bigger dose so you might need more to feel a change in symptoms.