Help with Clonazepam Taper

[[Ma...]]

Been on Klonopin 0.5mg for around 8 years. Life changes in September prompted me to begin taking more than usual (was prescribed up to 2mg a day but only started doing so recently). Would estimate that I was using on average between 1 and 1.5mg a day for 2 months after steady usage of 0.5mg prior to that. 
 

Had surgery on Nov 15 and was told not to take my klonopin the day of surgery. Was prescribed Percocet for pain and read that I shouldn’t mix the two, so I went cold turkey off the klonopin for a week (no one warned me that this would be an issue). One week after surgery, I took amitriptyline (tricyclic antidepressant) for nerve pain and began having an adverse reaction. Heart palpitations, shortness of breath, etc led to extreme anxiety and culminated in a panic attack that landed me in the ER. Bloodwork and EKG came back normal and was instructed to go back on the klonopin. 
 

Was not given great instructions and thus I began taking greater doses than my usual 0.5mg because I was so anxious. It took me almost 2 weeks later to realize that the increased dosage wasn’t effective and that I was in tolerance withdrawal. Tachycardia was the biggest issue during that time - I had originally chalked it up to my hormones being imbalanced from my surgery, but it didn’t add up. Once I figured out that it was related to the benzos, I dropped myself back down to 0.5mg with the intention of doing a slow taper. 
 

Today is Day 11 on 0.5mg and it’s been rough. In addition to the tachycardia, I am experiencing benzo belly (indigestion, abdominal cramping, gas pains, irregular bowel movements, nausea, decreased appetite), insomnia, nerve pain at my surgical incision site (that didn’t show up until almost 4 weeks post-op), sensitivity to noise/movement/light, anxiety, and depression. I refuse to updose, so this will be my starting point. 
 

I’m getting pretty impatient about getting off this drug. I was going to wait until I was at 1 month stabilized on the 0.5mg dose, but I’m not sure if I will stabilize at all. I’m just wondering if I should start sooner rather than later. And whether I need to microtaper super slowly. I plan to get a more expensive scale that goes to 0.0001mg. I know this might be overkill but I am paranoid and I can afford it. I do not want to be doing a 2 year taper as I turned 36 today and would like to start a family with my husband, which can’t happen until I’m off this devil drug. 
 

Any advice is appreciated - the only other Rx I am currently taking is 10mg propranolol 2x/daily for the tachy. I probably should mention that I also discontinued adderall on Day 2 of this current dosage, not sure if that makes any difference. Was already tapering off the adderall for the past 2.5 years so it wasn’t a horrible jump. 

[[de...]]

@[Ma...]Welcome to Benzo Buddies!  Glad you found us.   You will find lots of support here from other members.

So sorry you are having to go through this.   Here are a couple of observations.  Of course, I don't know this for certain, but I bet what you were thinking was an extreme reaction to amitriptyline was actually withdrawal symptoms starting from the Klonopin cold turkey.   Also a high heart rate and palpitations are extremely common when withdrawing from a benzo.   All of the other symptoms you mentioned are common as well.  

My advice to you as you continue to lower your dosage is to go very slowly.   As you get toward the end your symptoms could ramp up.   Your cuts should probably be smaller and the time between cuts should also be longer.

I don't have anything to offer about the adderall withdrawal, but it could also be causing some symptoms as well.   

Hopefully other members will chime in and give you their experiences and support.  

[[Ma...]]

@[de...] I definitely think the high heart rate that led to the panic attack was partially related to the cold turkey, but it just seems bizarre that I only began having the symptoms an hour after taking the amitriptyline. I am now terrified to take it again, even though I suspect it may help with my insomnia because of its sedative effect. The issue is that it works on other neurotransmitters and that makes me nervous. 
 

My plan was to do a dry microtaper cutting roughly 10% every two weeks, but now I’m scared that’s going to be too fast based on some of the stuff I’ve seen posted. And that’ll be a really long time. 11 days in and I’m already exhausted, I can’t imagine doing this for over 6 months. 

[[de...]]

I completely understand why you would be scared to try the amitriptyline.  Just do you know, it is not assured that it would help with the benzo withdrawal induced insomnia. 
 

Your taper plan is pretty fast.  Usually we recommend 5-10% every two weeks, and as you get lower the slower you should proceed.  
 

 

[[Ma...]]

@[de...] The reason I am prescribed amitriptyline is interstitial cystitis and nerve pain, which I’m experiencing a flare up of right now - the sedative effect would just be a bonus. I am really tempted to take a little for relief from my pain, since I know it usually works to take the edge off my pelvic pain. I’ve just convinced myself that I’ll have another episode of tachycardia if it take it but everyone I’ve spoken to seems to think that the amitriptyline WASN’T the culprit. I’m not sure what to think. 

[[or...]]

Hello Marina, I wanted to welcome you to BB and also, I am a long-term user of Clonazepam at 1 mg.  From past experience with one Cold Turkey, and later, an MD was tapering me too fast, I've learned, thanks to BB, that slow tapers are best for me.  I know my use of the 'script was much longer than many here, but I've also heard from even short-term users that a person can have pretty extreme wd sxs after a few weeks or months as well.

The best thing I've learned here is that it is best for me to find my own way in tapering off the C.  I read all the methods, and many folks stories, so I gathered it all together and decided for myself.  I found a sort of "happier place" by tapering just 3% twice a month, about every 15 days.  But that's not written in stone as the very best thing for me is to go by how I feel, and to be as stable as possible before I taper again.  So sometimes I'll hold longer.  I've also learned that "rescue doses" made things worse for me and I did a few earlier on in my almost 9 months of tapering.

I've also felt very anxious, bored, wanting to do a much faster taper, but, I tried doubling my percent recently and started having much worse wd sxs.  So now it is slow and steady.  I've been taught it's best for me to take my doses as close to the same time of day as possible, and I've also learned I can survive from insomnia   I kept wanting to take more of the C early on because I let "not sleeping" freak me out.  But I can tell you I am doing so much better in every way now, I'm 71, and figured I'd never feel really good again, but it's working.

I won't hesitate to slow my taper if it gets tough for me, as long as I just keep moving ahead, not retreating and going backwards, I should be close to finishing my taper by Summer 2024.  That's the goal, but most important, for me is to live life now, do the things I love, Oregonlady sending hope and encouragement

[[or...]]

On 15/12/2023 at 10:14, [[d...] said:

@[Ma...]Welcome to Benzo Buddies!  Glad you found us.   You will find lots of support here from other members.

So sorry you are having to go through this.   Here are a couple of observations.  Of course, I don't know this for certain, but I bet what you were thinking was an extreme reaction to amitriptyline was actually withdrawal symptoms starting from the Klonopin cold turkey.   Also a high heart rate and palpitations are extremely common when withdrawing from a benzo.   All of the other symptoms you mentioned are common as well.  

My advice to you as you continue to lower your dosage is to go very slowly.   As you get toward the end your symptoms could ramp up.   Your cuts should probably be smaller and the time between cuts should also be longer.

I don't have anything to offer about the adderall withdrawal, but it could also be causing some symptoms as well.   

Hopefully other members will chime in and give you their experiences and support.  

I hadn't read this one from you @decatur but I have had two experiences during my taper with C, of palpitations, and now I can relax more as I know they will stop as I continue to adapt to each taper.  I also can't agree more with a slow and steady, just can't agree more with your info, Oregonlady

[[Ed...]]

On 15/12/2023 at 14:07, [[M...] said:

I definitely think the high heart rate that led to the panic attack was partially related to the cold turkey, but it just seems bizarre that I only began having the symptoms an hour after taking the amitriptyline. I am now terrified to take it again, even though I suspect it may help with my insomnia because of its sedative effect. The issue is that it works on other neurotransmitters and that makes me nervous. 

Hi, @[Ma...],

So sorry you're going through all this! I wish I had wise answers for you, but all I have to offer is a personal experience that has some parallel to part of your ordeal.

Your panic attack after the amitriptyline reminds me of my first severe panic attack - many, many years ago - it was about an hour after Zoloft, an SSRI. I must have already had plenty of serotonin, because my post-Zoloft panic attack had all the signs of acute serotonin syndrome. I just double-checked that amitriptyline might also cause serotonin syndrome - and that benzos are sometimes used to treat it. And indeed, I was given a single dose of Ativan in ER and it worked. I just wonder if maybe a similar chemistry is involved in your awful experience.

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

The best thing I've learned here is that it is best for me to find my own way in tapering off the C.  I read all the methods, and many folks stories, so I gathered it all together and decided for myself.  I found a sort of "happier place" by tapering just 3% twice a month, about every 15 days.  But that's not written in stone as the very best thing for me is to go by how I feel, and to be as stable as possible before I taper again.  So sometimes I'll hold longer.  I've also learned that "rescue doses" made things worse for me and I did a few earlier on in my almost 9 months of tapering.

This is exactly what I've found to work for me! So nice to read this, @[or...]! My best drug managers have always worked with me like this - flexible tapering always taking into consideration the ups and downs of my life, going with how I feel, holding until I really felt ready to cut again, but nothing written in stone, no rigid tapering schedules, stability the most important factor. This is how I tapered from 8mg to 2mg. It took a few years, but now I find it unbelievable that I was ever at 8mg a day.

I also appreciate your comment about being afraid of insomnia. That has often been my major fear along this long path down. But it has taught me to seek and develop other, healthier ways to get good sleep.

Edrek

 

[[or...]]

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

Hi, @[Ma...],

So sorry you're going through all this! I wish I had wise answers for you, but all I have to offer is a personal experience that has some parallel to part of your ordeal.

Your panic attack after the amitriptyline reminds me of my first severe panic attack - many, many years ago - it was about an hour after Zoloft, an SSRI. I must have already had plenty of serotonin, because my post-Zoloft panic attack had all the signs of acute serotonin syndrome. I just double-checked that amitriptyline might also cause serotonin syndrome - and that benzos are sometimes used to treat it. And indeed, I was given a single dose of Ativan in ER and it worked. I just wonder if maybe a similar chemistry is involved in your awful experience.

This is exactly what I've found to work for me! So nice to read this, @[or...]! My best drug managers have always worked with me like this - flexible tapering always taking into consideration the ups and downs of my life, going with how I feel, holding until I really felt ready to cut again, but nothing written in stone, no rigid tapering schedules, stability the most important factor. This is how I tapered from 8mg to 2mg. It took a few years, but now I find it unbelievable that I was ever at 8mg a day.

I also appreciate your comment about being afraid of insomnia. That has often been my major fear along this long path down. But it has taught me to seek and develop other, healthier ways to get good sleep.

Edrek

Hi @[Ed...] and it's always so comforting to know someone understands, and I look forward to reading more of your posts, Oregonlady