No Withdrawals so Far??

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Hello All Good People

 

I started a taper on the 17th of last month (July), and as of writing this, have had zero withdrawal effects/symptoms.

I was taking 4MG of Clonazepam per day. As of the 17th of July I've been doing 4MG>3MG>4MG>3MG on alternate

days, which is a 21.4%  reduction/taper over the past 27 days. I'm pretty flummoxed as to why I've felt no withdrawals??

I was first prescribed Clonazepam in 1989 for night starts and anxiety and TLE....I've tried to taper in the past, but always

had to bail after several days due to severe withdrawals...go figure??

 

Any comments, ideas or just to say g'day will be much appreciated.

 

Cheers...Clive

 

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I don't know what that type of tapering would do, don't know a thing about it except I would ask if you've read the Ashton Manual, or looked at the Index to zoom in on types of tapers.  We have types of tapers in the menu under Withdrawal Methods you can look at.  It sounds like you might not truly be tapering, but confusing your CNS?? I am no one to ask about it, but others can chime in on this that know much better, more experience and knowledge. Denise

I should add my type of taper, and it's just the one I chose for me.  It's a slow-dry taper.  I read just this a.m. that even after 2 weeks of Clonazapam, for example,  that's long enough not to go cold turkey as it can cause wd sxs.

I taper just 6% per month, I taper down 3% and hold that amount for at least 14 days, give or take a day, until I feel stable enough to cut again.  There's other ways, and you could maybe choose another if you want to.

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Personally, my withdrawal symptoms have gotten much worse towards the end of my taper. I've been going fairly slow over about 8 months and that last month has been extremely hard. I'm currently at about 15% of what I started at. Not trying to throw a wet blanket on anything; just pointing out that trying to predict an individual reaction to benzo tapering is impossible and it can vary over time. I think it would behoove you to pick a solid, regular, slow taper. That's the best bet for long term success.

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Hi, Clive. Interesting! The half-life of clonazepam is fairly long, so that may be why you’re not experiencing wd sxs early on, at these higher doses. Heather Ashton wrote, “As far as possible, never go backwards” (see the Ashton Manual, p. 35), and I wonder if an “alternating dosages” method could be interpreted as doing just that. On the other hand, there are folks who take different dosages of benzodiazepines at different times of day, so perhaps your method of alternating is not all that different: it’s just stretched out over 48 rather than 24 hours. Regardless, I concur with fellow “buddies” who recommend a slow taper. There’s not nearly enough research on benzo wd, but what we do know so far supports that method. You are clearly doing a great job of monitoring sxs, which bodes well for a successful taper. Also, if you have a moment, could you explain how you calculated the 21.4% taper? Just curious!

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Thanks everyone for your input and comments.

 

I've actually mistyped the numbers of my taper in my original post. The correct numbers are:

 

My Ongoing dose was 4MG per day.

 

Starting on the Monday the 17th of last month, I had 2 MG.

Tuesday the 18th  4MG.

Wed the 19th 2MG.

Thursday the 20th 4MG.

Friday the 21st  2MG.

Saturday the 22nd  4MG

Sunday the 23rd  2MG

 

I have maintained this regime over the ensuing weeks, without withdrawals.

It's coming up for a month since I started, and as mentioned previously, I'm

totally at a loss as to why I'm not experiencing any adverse effects.

 

Thanks again peeps...

 

Kind regards...Clive