Is this normal?

[[de...]]

Hello,

 

I took Clonazapem 2-3 mgs daily for 7 years. More than 4 years ago, I quit taking it. But, the withdrawal by my psychiatrist was pretty fast (in one month we were done with it, from 2-3 mgs daily to zero). 

Apart from all the strange symptoms all these years, currently I am having Panick-like attacks. I don't call them Panick attacks because they last 5-6 hours rather than 30 minutes.

 

It usually begins by the heart rate going up. When the heart rate goes up, the fingers in my hands start shaking, sometimes the arm also shakes. Sometimes other parts of the body shake. Then I feel like I am getting impules implanted which are asking me to do wrong things, which in turn drives the heart rate up, and sometimes I also get a voice or two. When these things happen, they drive the heart rate up. It is a vicious loop, and in periods where I don't have impulses/voices, my heart rate seems to still be high, it seems to be the trigger for what are 5,6 hours of hell. This has been happening since the last year or so, but recently the attacks have got more severe and more common. It has happened twice a week (almost) when at its worse. I don't know what to do- I have tried all the anti-anxiety medications to no avail, and my doctor is recommending me a benzo. I gave benzos up after trying so hard in that period and suffering so much, I don't know what to do.

 

By the away I have social anxiety and Bipolar Disorder, which were the reasons they gave me benzos in emergency for....but after that it became a habit, and these strange things are happening, and other stranger things have also happened because of benzos. 

[[de...]]

Welcome to Benzo Buddies!  Glad you are here.     What anti-anxiety medications are you currently taking?    Can you tell us a little more about the timeline of medications you have taken.   It sounds like you had a very rapid taper four years ago from Clonazapem.   Have you been symptomatic the entire four years since you stopped a benzo?    

[[de...]]

Thanks for your reply.

 

I am currently taking Hydroxyzine as PRN for these attacks. I have also tried Buspirone, Pregablin, etc before to get relief from these attacks but I had no successs.

 

Yes, in hindsight it was a rapid taper, for years I got shocks in my brain, my hand would go numb while sleeping at night, other strange things would happen, which were very, very painful...I currently have Irritable Bowel syndrome. My hands still sleep sometimes but not as often as before. On Clonazapem, I had no sex drive, and for the past 4 years after quitting it, it has come back and gone many times. Right now it is there more consistently, but I still suffer from ED to some extent. 

[[An...]]

OP said>>>

Quote

I took Clonazapem 2-3 mgs daily for 7 years.

During the 7 years you were on klonopin, were you still having breakthrough attacks? You said you wanted to stop taking the klonopin and your pdoc withdrew you too fast. What was the main reason you wanted to stop taking it? They say if you have ever taken benzos, drugs like Buspirone typically will not work for anxiety management.

Welcome to BB @[de...].

 

[[Br...]]

1 hour ago, [[A...] said:

They say if you have ever taken benzos, drugs like Buspirone typically will not work for anxiety management.

Hi @[An...] - This is interesting - do you have a citation for this?

[[de...]]

Well, I wasn't having these type of attacks in those 7 years I was on Klonopin. They started sometime after stopping Klonopin-- first they were less often and mild, and the intensity and the regularity both increased with time. 

 

I wanted to stop taking it because I had no sex drive on it. that was the primary reason I wanted to give up on them. Unfortunately, I cannot recall much now, and the memories of the last many years are just a blur. 

[[Br...]]

@[de...] It would be helpful to have a clearer picture of your med history. For example, have you discontinued any other meds in the time since you quit Klonopin?  Please fill in your medication history, taper details and any other pertinent information.  This will help others provide the best feedback for your situation.  

Profile - click on your avatar, => Edit profile (top-right of profile banner) => Add succinct use/taper/withdrawal history to 'History' text box => click 'Save' (bottom-right).

 

[[An...]]

On 20/10/2023 at 20:27, [[B...] said:

Hi @[An...] - This is interesting - do you have a citation for this?

Hi Brighter,

I recall reading it in several places. I will see if I can find and post a link. I don't know if it is true or not but I have read it several times. If this is true, I don't know why it would be true. I have personally tried Buspar several times and it had no effect on me from what I could discern. After about a month of taking it, I simply stopped CT. I don't recall any side-effects from taking it but a little dry mouth. I simply felt it was not helping.

[[de...]]

My apologies for the delayed response. I didn't login for the past few days.

 

Yes, I am taking antipsychotics since I am also Bipolar, and I was taking them when I discontinued the Klonopin.

 

I have taken various APs during this period, and in the last 12 years. The recent ones include Abilify, Amisulpride, Haldol, Latuda, and Saphris. Currently, I am on the Abilify/Amisulpride combination.

Sometime, though I cannot recall the exact date, my psychiatrist and I decided to taper off Klonopin (daily usage of 2-3-4 mgs for the past 6,7 years before that) in May 2019. Sometime around June we were off it completely. 

Meanwhile, at first, I got sleepless nights, but that didn't last for long. Then my latent inhibition decrease, almost disappeared, because of which I had experiences I can't describe. Then, when someone would speak for a minute or two, I would get pain in the brain and feel like shouting if the conversation continued (my auditory attention span couldn't take in verbal stimuli for sustained periods). This lasted for 2 years, and all the pain along with it. 

Then at some point I started getting brain zaps or brain shocks. That also lasted for 6 months. 

My arm, which would also sleep at nights while sleeping, while on Klonipin, kept on sleeping for the last 4 years or so...but it went in waves or windows, like my arm would die while sleeping at night, completely numb, and I would wake up finding it dead. This has improved 80-90 percent now, but happens to a milder degree occassionally now.

My sex drive didn't exist on Klonopin. Now it is back, but in the last 4 years, it went and came back, again in waves and windows.

 

Since the last 1-2 years, I am getting these attacks, which have become more frequent, and more ferocious.

Basically, heart palpitations for 4,5 hours, I feel like someone is planting impulses to harm others in me, fingers of my hands start shaking, sometimes the arm shakes, and a feeling of dread takes over in those 4,5 hours when this strikes. 

 

I am trying Hydroxizine currently, and though it seems to help somewhat, these attacks are present and I don't know what to do about them. 

[[de...]]

By the way, my memory, especially retention and visuo-spatial memory, is really terrible these days. I don't know if it is because of Bipolar, APs, or benzo withdrawal or a combination of the three. 

[[de...]]

Has anyone got any advice regarding these "attacks"? Also, are these anxiety attacks? And, any idea about how long after stopping Klonopin do they last?

[[Br...]]

Hello @[de...] - I'm so sorry your doctor put you through such a fast taper from clonazepam and that you're suffering with these symptoms.  Are you currently taking any medications other than Abilify/Amisulpride and hydroxyzine?  Have you started and stopped any medications since you stopped clonazepam?  The reason we keep asking about other medications and tapers is to try to understand what other factors such as side effects from current medications or withdrawal symptoms from other medications might be contributing to your current symptoms.  

Have you discussed your symptoms with your doctor?  

When members are suffering with withdrawal symptoms we often suggest trying a variety of coping techniques like deep slow breathing, moderate gentle exercise, eating a healthy diet with limited sugar and caffeine, yoga, and meditation, to name a few examples.

[[de...]]

@[Br...]

Thank You for your response.

I know it was a fast taper, but at that time I wasn't aware it was fast, as some other pdoc had also suggested an even faster taper. He was trying to stop Klonopin in a few days basically. The one I had lasted a month to month and a half. But, I had no clue that these are the sort of problems that can arise from a fast taper.

 

As for medications, only one medication has been a constant since then. Abilify. 

Incidentally, I had no sex drive on Clonazapem, and just before my taper I visited a urologist who put me on testesterone replacement therapy. The testesterone levels were coming pretty low then, but after I started taking testesterone, and after having withdrawan from Klonopin, they started going up again. Six months or so into testesterone replacement therapy, a doctor advised me to stop it, as the levels were coming very high. Gradually, over years, my sex drive recovered, but I still do have problems with erections.

 

Coming back to medications, I remember trying perhaps 7-8 medications along with Abilify in the last 4 years. They were all antipsychotic medications. I also take Metformin and a weight loss medication, by the name Contrave. 

I know I am still getting withdrawal symptoms because my hands go numb while sleeping at night. This side effect or withdrawal effect was much more intense during the early phases of withdrawal. It used to wake me up 5-10 times a night, with my hands dead basically. A doctor even diagnosed me with Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, but it wasn't that, it was Klonopin. Now this wihdrawal effect happens once in a week or once in two weeks. So, it is lessening in intensity. I find that other withdrawal effects are much milder now, while these 'attacks' have become more intense relatively more recently. 

Can my memory, which is terrible right now, also be affected by Klonopin withdrawal?

 

Thank You

 

By the way I have tried the following medications in the last 4 years: Latuda, Saphris, Ziprasidone, Haldol, Androgel, Clomid, and some others I can't recall. 

[[Br...]]

I'm glad some of your symptoms have become less intense.  

On 28/10/2023 at 12:51, [[d...] said:

heart palpitations for 4,5 hours, I feel like someone is planting impulses to harm others in me, fingers of my hands start shaking, sometimes the arm shakes, and a feeling of dread takes over in those 4,5 hours when this strikes

I don't have an answer for you about these incidents. I would discuss this with your doctor.  When you describe your symptoms it may be helpful to say whether you are experiencing one long unrelenting episode versus whether you are experiencing several episodes over a period of hours.

Memory problems are common during benzo use and withdrawal.  According to The Ashton Manual it can take a while for memory to improve after benzos.

[[de...]]

My pdoc is suggesting benzos as prn for these attacks.

I tried so hard to quit them. We have tried basically everything else. No other options, I guess. 

[[Br...]]

Hello @[de...] - I understand that you're in a very tough position.  It's hard to see you go back to taking benzos since you've said your withdrawal symptoms had improved. But the attacks have continued and it's been very difficult to manage.  If you decide to go back on benzos prn I hope the episodes go away very soon.  No matter what, we will be here to support you if you with a plan to taper off safely.