quit cold turkey 1mg of clonazepam. is it ok?

[Guest [jo...]]

Hello friends of the community. I found out today that a site like this exists. That's probably because I'm not an English speaker haha.

I'm writing because I want to ask for advice even though it might be a little weird to write with a translator.

I've been taking a 0.5mg of clonazepam every night for four years for panic disorder. Then about eight months ago, I started having weird and vivid nightmares. When I woke up, I was always exhausted and gasping.

So my doctor changed my prescription to take Clonazepam (ribotril) 1.5mg a day, increasing it by 1mg more than the 0.5mg I originally took. And it didn't work at all.

It's been about a month since I took this prescription. And I want to return this medicine, which has no effect and is hard to stop, to the amount I used to take.

Would the withdrawal be very severe after taking it for a month? Is it a long time to take Clonazepam for a month? Two years ago, I was taken to the emergency room because I felt dizzy and vomited after not taking Clonazepam for two days.

I'm really scared and hate this medicine because of that time. So even if I can't cut it off completely, I want to go back to the 0.5mg I had a month ago.

Do you think it is possible to go cold turkey without tapering slowly in this situation? 

If anyone has similar experience, I'd like to ask for advice Thank you for reading it.

[[Co...]]

Hello @[jo...]. Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

In general, short-term use of benzodiazepines might be ceased quite quickly, or even abruptly. The same is generally true of a temporary increase in dose.

One month's use is probably on the boundary between short-term and medium-term use. Many will be fine reversing the increase very rapidly, but some will not. In your shoes, I think I would apply some caution, but not draw out the taper (reduction to dose) over a too long a period. You might try, for example, reducing your dose by 0.25mg per week and see how you react. This is just a suggestion - you should discuss any changes to your medication and dose with your doctor.

But, in general, most people can manage to reverse a temporary increase in dose of a benzodiazepine (even after a month of use) in a fairly short timeframe. Given your withdrawal reaction in the past, I agree with you that reducing your dose by 1mg in a single step might be too much for you.

[[An...]]

Hello @[jo...] Welcome to BB. I am really surprised your doctor raised your dose of Klonopin due to no other fact that you were having nightmares and vivid dreams. Was the thinking that a higher dose of Klonopin would suppress REM sleep?

If this were me, I would probably updose and do what Colin suggested but I would not stay at these higher doses for too long before tapering back down to .5 mgs.

Do you intend to just stay on the .5 if you can get stable or how you were prior to the increase?

Why did you wait one month to discover it was not working to stop the nightmares? Benzos, unlike ADs, typically work right away if they are going to work.

 

[Guest [jo...]]

@[Co...]

 

Hello, Colin! Thank you for your reply. 

 

Oh, I first noticed that in normal cases, after a short period of use, the withdrawal symptoms do not appear even if the use is reversed. I wish that was the case, but I'm not sure because something happened before🥲. Looking at the prescriptions yesterday, I wondered if I was taken to the emergency room because I suddenly stopped paroxetine, not because of Libotril. I'm not sure yet(Just a little possibility)

You're right It's very nervous to cut 1mg right away... I've got things in the past.

 

How about reducing 1mg right away and taking the medicine again if withdrawal occurs? and then reducing it by 0.25 after that? I know it's right to reduce it little by little, but I really want to quit.

 

[Guest [jo...]]

 @[An...]Hello! Thank you for your answer. Yes, that's what the doctor thought. I asked if I could try anything other than klonopin, but he convinced me that klonopin would work best. The reason why I kept the medicine for a month is also the doctor's judgment. I think I believed that this medicine would help REM sleep in a little more time. I didn't know much about medicines and I regret it. As soon as it didn't work, if I had returned this medicine to the original amount, nothing would have happened.. 

1.5 mg is very many sheep? Oh, if it is, I regret it more. I knew it's okay until 2 mg. I really didn't know anything...

Yes, I want to stay at 0.5 for the time being. Nothing happened when I took 0.5(i guess). This year, I'm worried that there will be panic again to cut it off completely... so I want to quit maybe next year. At least at the end of next year.

 

[[...]]

First of all, we call the gasping for air breathlessness which is medically documented as a adverse effect of clonazepam. Your doctor should have known. 

If it were me I would follow what Colin suggested except maybe 1/2 right away then 1/4 then another 1/4. You may find you need to reintroduce that last 1/4 to stabilize. Hopefully not.

When you find the level you can tolerate, I suggest tapering off completely.BBs will help with that. Just ask.

There are other meds you can take for sleep that aren't so detrimental to life.

Good luck too you.

[Guest [jo...]]

@[...]

Hello! Thank you for your answer. Oh, I first knew it could be a side effect.

Looking around this community, I realized that my doctor might be missing a lot. I'm thinking about changing my doctor because he seems to lack interest in my treatment condition.

Right I think it would be the safest for me to do as Colin said too. Also I'm relieved to hear you. I hope I can find another meds that are secure for me. I'm really glad to know this community. I hope I can stop taking medicine completely and write about it someday. Thank you!

[[Co...]]

You are welcome, @[jo...]. But as I said, be sure to discuss your plans with a doctor. Good luck.