Cut or hold, please help

[[Za...]]

Hello, please help.

 

I’ve been holding klonopin dose for one month now. First week was fine. Then I had to quit lexapro (bad side effects, was on it for 3 weeks, tapered 1 week - maybe too fast).

Then my doctor upped my trazodone dose. (From 62 mg to 75 mg) It gave me  this horrible symptom - total lack of emotions, feeling disconnected from myself, empty inside, feeling like a robot, like an empty shell, as if I had dead brain. This aggravates my anxiety but I cannot do anything about it because I can’t connect to it and calm it down. It is impossible to meditate, to relax...

I don’t sleep because of that, although I have trazodone and klonopin in the evening. Klonopin doesn’t work anymore (0.177). And trazodone might have started this problem, so I returned to the lower dose.

Today I didn’t sleep even at the lower dose.

 

My question is - should I still hold? Can one stabilize although symptoms are getting worse during the hold?

 

Or should I cut and hope this symptom gets better as the drugs go away? I feel poisoned by klonopin and lexapro combination.

 

It is so difficult to figure this out. It might be because of:

 

- Too many changes in medications, lexapro withdrawal

- Or upping trazodone - taken together with klonopin started to make problems

- Sleep deprivation

- all of the above mixed

 

Anyway, is it a bad idea to taper? Should I still hold? Please help.

[Guest [...]]

Hi Zazie

 

Your brain is trying to find its equilibrium, but if your playing around with different medications, doses, or ceasing one of your medications over a very short period of time, your brain just won’t know if it’s Arthur or Martha, its constantly trying to reach its goal in finding balance while you are continually going about moving the goal posts.

 

I’m not telling you to hold or to taper… I’m just saying that it’s difficult to find your balance if you are continually playing around with your brain chemistry.

 

I definitely think you tapered the Lexapro too fast. I know you were only on it for a short time, but three weeks is three weeks, which is well and truly enough time for someone to develop a dependency to benzodiazepines, so is it really any different with other medications?

 

I’ve been tapering 20mg escitalopram for 8 months to minimise any symptom onset. I had only been on it for a few months before I began tapering.

 

Maybe you could hold for period, but this time… without altering or ceasing any additional medications.

[[Za...]]

Thank you, Winters Sun,

I know, I did what my doctor told me. “You had low dose and only three weeks, you should stop cold turkey”… I didn’t do it but gave it at least 10 days. It was probably still fast.

Should I be afraid of tolerance if I hold klinopin for more weeks?

[Guest [...]]

Thank you, Winters Sun,

I know, I did what my doctor told me. “You had low dose and only three weeks, you should stop cold turkey”… I didn’t do it but gave it at least 10 days. It was probably still fast.

Should I be afraid of tolerance if I hold klinopin for more weeks?

 

I can’t see how Tolerance would be any more likely to occur whilst holding for 2 to 3 weeks than it would be if you continued tapering.

 

I think you probably owe it to yourself to at least hold long enough (without altering other medications) to give yourself a chance to stabilise properly before beginning your taper again.

 

WS

[[Za...]]

Thanks. It is already four weeks that I’ve been holding the klonopin dose. So do you think I can wait a little more? I will do that.

[Guest [...]]

Thanks. It is already four weeks that I’ve been holding the klonopin dose. So do you think I can wait a little more? I will do that.

 

I’d wait a little longer and just watch my symptoms closely for any slight improvement.

[[Pa...]]

I know you say you’ve been holding four weeks but as Winters sun pointed out, you’ve changed your medications during that time.  I believe truly holding is what is needed right now which means no changes until you begin to level out a bit.

[[Za...]]

Thank you Pamster and Winters Sun.

I would like to ask Winters Sun:

I think I messed it up with trazodone. It was on doctor’s advice but I feel sick today.

I upped the dose from 62mg to 75 and back. Do you think I should updose back to 75? Or somewhere in between?

I went like this:

62 - 67 - 67 - 62- 67 - 75 - 75 - 75 - 67 - 67- 62

75 was giving me horrible brain fog, this empty feeling. But now I think I am in withdrawal.

What would you do? Please help. Does returning to higher dose help?

Thanks

[[Pa...]]

I actually believe your symptoms aren’t coming from the Trazadone, they sound like benzo symptoms to me so I suggest holding your Trazadone dose as well. 

[[Za...]]

Holding at the higher dose? Today I am very agitated, nervous and have panic.. I think it is from the lowering of trazodone.

[Guest [...]]

Hi Zazie

 

Before I read Pam’s response, I had the very same feeling… my intuition is that it’s benzo withdrawal rather than trazodone withdrawal.

 

Since you are trying to find your balance and level out, I wouldn’t be upping your trazodone dose again right now, or you’ll just keep your brain in a guessing game as it tries to play catch-up…

 

If I were in your situation, regardless of symptoms, I would maintain all doses right where they are, and just wait until you level out…

 

You can also have waves whilst your brain is trying to find its balance, so, try not to panic, it’s rarely a perfectly linear path to stabilisation.

 

 

[[Za...]]

Thanks,Winters Sun. This can happen that after a month, it suddenly worsens? And then it can improve? What if it is interdose withdrawal?

[Guest [...]]

Thanks,Winters Sun. This can happen that after a month, it suddenly worsens? And then it can improve? What if it is interdose withdrawal?

 

Inter-dose withdrawals would be another issue altogether.

 

Are you dosing only the once a day?

 

If so… when are your symptoms increasing? Are they increasing in severity as you get further away from your previous dose and closer to the next…?

 

 

[[Za...]]

I am dosing at 9 PM, I take my 0.177 klonopin and at 9:30 I take trazodone. I sleep only every other night (since beginning, this isn’t benzo.. this is my anxiety).

So far the symptoms were bad but still somehow manageable, anxiety, insomnia.

But now that I upped the trazodone, it gave me this blank feeling like I have no emotions and I am empty inside, brain fog and feeling like an empty shell that doesn’t belong here. This made my anxiety worse and I lowered the trazodone back. I am also exhausted, this anxiety has been going on since January and no antidepressant helped, I tried several, lexapro was the last one. I haven’t relaxed since then.

But today the anxiety is much higher (I also didn’t sleep, only 3 hours). I am agitated, feel pressure in my head, panic. God.. is this lexapro, trazodone or benzo?

But usually my anxiety is better in the evening.. so it shouldn’t be interdose actually. But today it doesn’t improve, I am terribly anxious. Afraid that I screwed it up with the trazodone.

 

[Guest [...]]

I would stick to what was suggested… hold all doses and just wait for things to settle down.

 

I know it’s incredibly difficult, but just try your best to not spend all your time focussed on your symptoms, or your fear around the symptoms…. the more you focus on them, the more it will stimulate your CNS, creating a cycle where your fearful thoughts will intensify your symptoms.

 

Any increasing disturbance of sleep as a result of dosage changes and fast tapering the escitalopram will also cause stress and impact symptoms.

 

[[je...]]

Hi Zazie

 

You asked me to check in on your thread and I'm sorry I'm late to the discussion.  I'm in Australia so there's quite a time zone difference.

 

I 100% agree with everything that's been said. On your previous thread I've told you that you've made some huge reductions on your Clonazepam plus the Lexapro so this will take some time to settle.

 

Your anxiety isn't doing you any favours either and I know you don't have control over it. It seems to me you are trying to control your symptoms by adjusting your meds. I get the feeling you feel completely out of control and the only way you do feel you have some level of control is constantly changing your meds. I might be wrong. But the thing about benzo tapering is you need to surrender to the process. You don't have control over symptoms and you never will and you know what, THAT'S OKAY.  And you're going to be okay.

 

I know it probably doesn't feel right to hold all your doses and do nothing when you're feeling sick. But that's probably the best thing you can do right now. Try not to think about other worse case scenarios such as tolerance and interdose withdrawal. Anxiety makes our symptoms worse. If you can do something to distract and not think about your symptoms that should help a lot. 

[Guest [...]]

Hi Zazie

 

I totally agree with JB… you also made large reductions in the clonazepam. Hold.