Clonazepam taper - starting over?

[[Wi...]]

I have been on clonazepam for 11 years.  I had no idea it was as addictive as I've learned it is.  I'm on a 0.5 mg dosage.  I had reduced down from 1.0 to

0.5 4 years ago without incident.  I tried to reduce to .25 mg in Feb 2023 and after 3 months or so became so anxious I asked my Dr to return me to prior 0.5 mg.  I've begun taking the 0.5 mg again.  I've had a lot of trouble sleeping and begun taking Trazodone to

help with sleeping.  I'm still extremely anxious and am

concerned the anxiety is getting worse. Don't know what to do.  I'm 61, considering quitting my job to retire and deal properly with this withdrawal process.  Any suggestions?  There are other stressors in my life - elderly parents, money worries about retirement, etc.  I am physically active, married with a sensitive spouse but don't quite know where to turn and getting worried about how long I'm going to feel this way.  Thanks in advance for any help and advice. 

 

 

 

[[je...]]

Hi Wlliam1961!

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

Glad you've reached out, we're going to try and help you the best we can. I have a couple of questions for you:

 

1) When you cut to 0.25mg and you made a 50% reduction, how did you feel? Were you functional and did you manage your symptoms?

 

2) When you updosed around May do you feel the anxiety got worse even at this higher dose?

 

3) Were you experiencing anxiety and sleeping problems on 0.5mg prior to cutting your dose in Feb?

 

Again, welcome, we're glad you're here and happy to help!

[[Wi...]]

Hi - good morning.  1.  When I cut to .25 in Feb I was a little jittery but was functional.  2.  Since I've updosed to .5, I've gotten very anxious; much worse at this .5 dosage.  3.  I wa not experiencing anxiety or difficulty staying asleep prior to cutting dose in Feb, but was having very restless sleep and nightmares- yelling while sleeping, etc.  Thanks for your note below. 

[[je...]]

You situation is quite interesting William1961. Not many people dependent on benzo's can make a 50% cut without experiencing quite severe withdrawal symptoms.

 

The fact that your anxiety and sleep are getting worse after increasing your dose makes me wonder if you might be showing symptoms of the beginning of tolerance withdrawal. I suspect I had this at the start of my taper because I too experienced anxiety, insomnia and memory loss - things I never had before but gradually seemed to be getting worse. It is hard to tell for sure though.

 

I do think your best option is to start tapering slowly. Generally we recommend a taper of no more than 5-10% cuts of each new daily dose every two weeks or so but it's best to let your symptoms guide your taper. This way you should be able to remain functional.

 

I know you made big cuts before but seeing that some symptoms are really bothering you, I would suggest going much slower this time around. If you need help with tapering you can start a thread in Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper).

[[Wi...]]

Thanks very much for your message.  I'm going to begin tapering much more slowly this time around and will keep you posted on my progress!  Have a great weekend!

[[je...]]

Your welcome. Hopefully it will go fairly smoothly like your previous cut!