Interdose Withdrawal?

[[Je...]]

Hi I'm new to this forum, but has anyone heard of or experienced Interdose Withdrawal?

Apparently it happens when you have been on the same dose of a benzo long term to the point you actually go beyond tolerance and suffer some withdrawal symptoms in between your regular daily doses.

I've been on and off (mostly on Klonopin) for 10 years for GAD and PTSD. Just this past year I've been on 1 mg twice a day. Now during the day off and on between doses I experience a range of symptoms from migraines to GI issues and brain fog, confusion, visual problems (blurry or light sensitive or  slightly dimmed) vertigo, and chronic fatigue.

Am I indeed experiencing Interdose Withdrawal or could I have some other underlying neurological disorder or do I even have brain damage from 10 years of prescribed Klonopin use?

My anxiety and these symptoms have gotten so sporatic that it is interfering with my quality of life and I can't maintain a job right now and am broke with a wife and kid.

I just wanna be normal. I envy those who never took benzos and wish I never did. I get depressed seeing everyone else live normal happy lives and here I am cant even feel good enough to play with my 8 year old. It's killing me. And I'm still kinda young I'm 37 soon 38 in Oct.

[[Pa...]]

Hello JeffJayBW, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

I believe you've accurately described interdose withdrawal and its very common.  The symptoms you describe are a normal result of dependence on and tolerance to benzodiazepines.  You can take this medication for sometimes years before it turns on you, others, it can happen in weeks and months. 

I doubt you're experiencing an underlying neurological disorder but if you're concerned, you can always get checked out by a medical professional to give you peace of mind.  Many in the medical field don't understand what we experience so it can be frustrating when they don't know or they label you with disorders and conditions you don't have.

It sounds like you're at the point where the drug is causing what you take it to address, the anxiety, depression and fear is much worse than our original condition so you may want to consider tapering off of it, your only other option is to try to take your dose several times a day, but if you don't increase it, I doubt this will provide much relief.

I'm sorry you're faced with this, it can be hard on families but they can also be a good support and incentive to free yourself.

Let us know how we can help.

Pamster