Tapering Advice

[[Mi...]]

Hello everyone. Here’s my back story before I ask about tapering off klonopin. I had some health issues back in March and took Xanax for the first time ever. Mostly for the last 3 months it was only at night. Mostly .5 but was starting to get to 1mg. Had a doctor stop me on it to use gabapentin Aug 8th for 3 days and that’s when the anxiety attack started. Went back to using Xanax but then about a week ago he switched me to klonopin with 50 mg of hydroxyzine. I stopped the hydroxyzine about 3 days ago because oddly enough I felt it caused more anxiety. I am trying to take .5 klonopin only at night but it only lasts about 3-4 hrs before I wake up and can’t get back to sleep. The most I’ve taken throughout a day would be 1.25 and that was only maybe two days and it never really helped me sleep like the Xanax did. 
Im on my third night of no sleep and still taking .5 klonopin at night. Should I stop taking the medication altogether? I felt that .5 Xanax was the better way for me to go and I’m thinking of going back to that. It knocked me out at least for 5-6 hrs at night. Or do I stop taking the klonopin altogether since it isn’t giving me any relief. I just don’t know how many days I can go without any sleep. 

[[pi...]]

Hello @[Mi...],

Welcome to Benzo Buddies! I'm sorry that health issues led you to having to take xanax, I hope they have resolved.

Are you wanting to stop taking benzos, tapering off? If so we can help you find a plan that will work.

You basically stopped taking xanax cold turkey.  It's no wonder you had a surge of anxiety, that is a very common withdrawal symptom.  I'm not sure why the effect of the klonopin wears off so quickly, it actually has a much longer half life than xanax. 

I would not stop taking any benzo suddenly, I know from experience how difficult that can be.

Let us know what your goals are and we'll work with you.

pianogirl 

 

[[Mi...]]

Hi Pianogirl. Yes I would like to taper off the klonopin but I am not sure how to start getting some sleep. Do I go and up my dose again and taper off? If I just keep at .5 I’m not going to sleep. It’s been this way for 3 days. The Hydroxyzene didn’t work for me and neither did gabapentin. 

[[pi...]]

Hello @[Mi...] again,

Thanks for the response.  Insomnia is a common withdrawal symptom.  In my opinion, you may still be feeling withdrawal from the abrupt cessation of the xanax. That might be contributing to your insomnia.

I am not an expert at tapering, mine was rough since I didn't find this forum until after my jump off. However, it is important to stabilize on one benzo before starting a taper. Some people have successfully tapered from xanax, even though it has a very short duration. Others have tapered from klonopin. 

Since you have been going back and forth between both xanax and klonopin I feel your system is still very confused.  You could taper from either but it will be important to stabilize first. 

pianogirl

[[Mi...]]

Thank you! I’ll speak with my doctor today. 

[[pi...]]

2 minutes ago, [[M...] said:

Thank you! I’ll speak with my doctor today. 

Your doctor seems to favor a far too fast taper. Sadly this is the case for many doctors who don't really understand the withdrawal process.  I was lucky to find a doctor who agreed the drug was making me sick and also agreed to follow the plan in the Ashton Manual. I actually printed parts of it to take to my appointment. You might consider doing this. There are also other plans with slower taper rates using a very small dose reduction.  Why don't you read some of the information on the Taper Board as well. 

https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzsched.htm

[[Mi...]]

Ok I will read it right now 

[[Mi...]]

Hi everyone. This is my first time taking Xanax and now klonopin and I’m not sure what to do with where I’m at currently. I took Xanax about once a day for sleep for about 3.5 mos. Then my doctor sudeenly switched me to klonopin which I thought was no big deal. I’ve been on the klonopin for 9 days now and it’s all over the place with dosage. I seem to do ok on 1mg but I’ve only taken that once a day. I’ve gone from that to .25 in the morning to .5 at night and then I can’t sleep so I take another .25. For the last two days I’ve only been taking .5 at night and I cannot sleep. Had major anxiety right when I first started but I think it’s gotten better. How do I get in a comfortable place to start tapering again? Or will my body adjust to the .5 at night eventually? 

[[je...]]

Hi @[Mi...]

I've merged your two tapering threads together. It's better to have all your taper information in one place so members can see the full picture of what has been discussed. I think it's promising that the anxiety seem to have settled down a bit. The fact that you seem to be fairly okay at 0.5mg Klonopin with only insomnia as the major symptom is a good sign. Your insomnia was a pre-existing condition before you started benzo's and it's also a withdrawal symptom. How much sleep are you currently getting on the Klonopin? And how much sleep did you get before you started benzo's?

[[Mi...]]

I have not slept in two days on the klonopin at just .5 a night. I slept fairly well before this. I did take 1/2 of an advil pm before bed and it worked great. 

[[je...]]

Just to clarify you have been completely awake for more than 48 hours, not even slept 1 or 2 hrs?

20 minutes ago, [[M...] said:

I slept fairly well before this. I did take 1/2 of an advil pm before bed and it worked great. 

When was this?

[[Mi...]]

Hi guys,

I’m trying to taper off. Im in day 3 of reducing my dose by 25%. Im trying to reduce it 25% every week. My question is has anyone used Advil pm at night along with their dose to help get any sleep? 

[[je...]]

I don't use Advil so unfortunately I can't help you there. I do just want to mention that 25% cuts might be too fast. Generally we recommend cuts of no more than 5-10% of each new daily dose every two weeks. 

[[Mi...]]

I’ve been on my taper for a week now and just need some support. I went from .75 mg a day to .5 mg a day as a first taper. I know it was prob a little fast but honesty my anxiety was high no matter what. 
History: was on Xanax for 3 mos. Then doctor switched to klonopin August 19. Between the 19th I would yo yo between .75 and .5. Ive stuck to .5 for 6 days now. First 3 days no sleep. I slept 5 hours night before last I think from exhaustion. Last night I slept 2 hrs and then was up all night and I think I was able to sleep another hour early this morning. 
I feel like the level of anxiety I had is a little less. But I still have anxiety at night between sleep but I manage it. My anxiety is pretty manageable during the day but I get more anxious as it gets closer to dosing time: 8 am and 8pm. 
Am I doing ok at this dose? Should I change my dose to just taking it at night rather than breaking it up so I sleep better?  I don’t want to go back up. Is there an approximate timeline of when I will stabilize and what does that feel like? Is there a level of discomfort during the whole tapering process? How will I know when it’s time to taper again? Also how do I get my taper dosage correct? I am taking pill form. Should I switch to a liquid or just use a scale? 

[[je...]]

Hi @[Mi...]. I've merged the new thread you've started with your first tapering thread. Please read these guidelines:

 

[[je...]]

9 hours ago, [[M...] said:

Am I doing ok at this dose? Should I change my dose to just taking it at night rather than breaking it up so I sleep better?  I don’t want to go back up. Is there an approximate timeline of when I will stabilize and what does that feel like? Is there a level of discomfort during the whole tapering process? How will I know when it’s time to taper again? Also how do I get my taper dosage correct? I am taking pill form. Should I switch to a liquid or just use a scale? 

You are basically the only one that can tell if you're okay at this dose. The only guideline we can give is during tapering we try to be functional. It means you can do what is expected of you - your daily tasks - be it work, cooking, cleaning, chores etc. It doesn't mean feeling great or good, it simply means doing what you have to do. I don't think you should switch up your dosing times to nights only. The fact that your anxiety gets worse before dosing times, suggests you might be having interdose withdrawal which will get worse if you dose only once a day.

Usually after a cut symptoms will start between day 3-5. It will last up to around day 10. Normally we don't suggest cutting again before two weeks are over. 

Most people start their taper by using a scale and weighing and shaving their pills. 

As a side note: please note that reductions have an accummulative effect. You might seem okay after your reduction now, but the next reduction or the one after could be tougher as a result of the accummulation of cuts.