Struggling 6 weeks off Clonzepam

[[Kl...]]

 

Happy New Year to everyone on BB. I wanted to write to seek out advice and perhaps get some reassurance (yes, I'm reassurance seeking).

About 6 weeks ago (46 days) I jumped from 0.25mg of Clonazepam, after tapering from 0.5 that I was on for about a year. I updated my profile with my whole history, best I can remember it. The tapering had its ups and downs, but I jumped because I was feeling really well after adding in a B Vitamin Complex and didn’t want to switch over to Diazepam, as was recommended by my Psych NP, who has years of experience helping folks off Benzos and is very supportive. I just felt like adding another medicine wasn’t the right thing to do, given how well I was feeling at the time.

In the last few weeks, I have been feeling quite awful, and wondering if this is to be expected with where I am in my discontinuation of the Clonzaepam.  I aslo had the flu a couple weeks before Christmas, so was feeling pretty bad.  Since then, I have gotten better from the flu, but have had the following symptoms:
•    Bad Anxiety in the mornings.  Butterflies in my stomach, along with what feels like surges of adrenaline flowing through my veins.
•    Crazy energy swings through the day.  After the morning “surges”, I am often exhausted.  Then toward the evening, I feel much better.  I have been sleeping well for the most part, minus a couple nights where I felt Wired and had to take Zzquil to sleep.
•    Tingling Sensations in my corroded arteries in my neck, which usually occur sometime in the middle of the day
•    Dizziness/Lightheadedness.  Sometimes to the point where it is impacting my coordination and even speech, and leading to nausea and knots in my stomach
•    Along with the dizziness, comes general mental confusion.
•    Left Sided Head issues.  I don’t want to call it a headache, so much like the left side of my head feels like it is not balanced with the right side.  It is the symptom I have that is most difficult to put into words…

I believe I have been trying to do things right.  I have been eating healthy.  Within the last week, I have cut out my morning Red Bull in Favor of Green Tea.  I have also cut out other sodas.  I have drank Alcohol in moderation (which honestly has made me feel better when I have a drink or two).  And I have been exercising when I am not excessively fatigued, including running, walking, and using the stationary bike.  I have also been doing a lot of deep breathing and meditation.

Despite the above, it has been a challenging couple of weeks.  So my questions are:
•    Does this align with withdrawal symptoms of Clonzapam, and could a lot of the symptoms be attributed to that or
•    Is this more likely to be related to my underlying anxiety given it has been 6 weeks?

I am also likely going to bump up the Prozac to 20mg, hoping that will give me some relief.  Anyone have experience in that regard either?

Thanks for any support anyone can offer.  Reading the success stories here has really given me hope that this is not a permanent state, although it certainly feels like it.

-Klonobye

 

[[wi...]]

totally normal.

[[Bu...]]

Hey @[Kl...],

Welcome!  You've definitely come to the right place.

And, yes, this lines up perfectly with Clonazepam withdrawal.  I was on Clonazepam, too, and your experience is very, very similar to mine, right down to the weird left side head issues that are difficult to put into words.  Six weeks is very early in recovery, so IMO, your symptoms are probably more from withdrawal at this point.  

It will get better with time.

[[Kl...]]

@[Pa...] Tagging you for any advice. I see you provide feedback quite often and wondering if you can offer anything? The last few days have been increasingly more difficult. The mornings I wake up and immediately I’m just hammered with a pit in my stomach, followed by headaches/dizziness/nausea like I have never had before in my life. It is to the point now where I am struggling to work. I meet with my Psych NP today (who is “Benzo Aware”) to hopefully get some advice, and my GP next week, but don’t know what they can really do to help. Seems like it is just time, if this really is all related to the Clonazepam (which I honestly am not sure I fully believe based on how awful I feel). Appreciate any guidance. This is one of the few places I feel like someone can relate to what I am feeling.

It is so bizarre. I wake up with this crushing anxiety, like poison flowing through my veins. The morning is then spent exhausted, headaches, like I will be sick. Then, usually around 5, it wears off and I start to feel normal. Yesterday I went for a walk at 4, felt exhausted, sick, like I would pass out. Then, it wore off and I was able to do a bunch of housework.

My psych NP thinks it is all somatic response to underlying anxiety, and I do have a lot of faith in her, but I can’t say I have ever felt quite like this before. I have been told once before it is likely somatic, but I have been under tremendous stress in the past (job, running marathons) and this is something very different.

Initially, A 0.25mg of K used to completely calm me down. Maybe I am just very sensitive?

With Hope,

Klonobye

[[Kl...]]

@[Bu...] Thanks for the response. Are you able to share your experience in a little more detail, especially in regards to the similarities? What was it like for you 6 weeks out? Were you able to work, and/or do basic daily tasks? I am really feeling discouraged at this point. I am “functional”, but I seem to be getting worse, and would have expected that at week 6 the worst of the acute would have already passed. Thanks in advance. 

[[Bu...]]

Hey @[Kl...],

Ok, for similarities, these are spot-on:

On 02/01/2024 at 12:14, [[K...] said:

Butterflies in my stomach, along with what feels like surges of adrenaline flowing through my veins.
•    Crazy energy swings through the day.  After the morning “surges”, I am often exhausted.  Then toward the evening, I feel much better.  
•    Dizziness/Lightheadedness.  Sometimes to the point where it is impacting my coordination and even speech, and leading to nausea and knots in my stomach
•    Along with the dizziness, comes general mental confusion.
•    Left Sided Head issues.  I don’t want to call it a headache, so much like the left side of my head feels like it is not balanced with the right side.

Overall, I would say that at 6 weeks out, you are in much better shape than I was.  I had brutal insomnia.  My insomnia started at the beginning of last June and was so bad by August, that now I don't really remember much of August, September and the first 2 weeks of October.  I was pretty non-functional then.  I have not worked for 13 years due to health issues, so that hasn't been a factor during this process.  

I have some symptoms that have come back in the last week or so (probably from stress over the holidays) that had disappeared a couple of months ago, though they are much milder this time.  I am much improved now from the insomnia, but I am still struggling with many symptoms.  They have lessened in their severity, though.  As for acute, I think that can vary a lot from person to person.  It really is true when everyone says that healing is non-linear. 

[[Wa...]]

Not to scare you, but .25 is a really high dose to jump from. Most people jump at either .05 or .025

[[Br...]]

On 02/01/2024 at 13:14, [[K...] said:

Happy New Year to everyone on BB. I wanted to write to seek out advice and perhaps get some reassurance (yes, I'm reassurance seeking).

About 6 weeks ago (46 days) I jumped from 0.25mg of Clonazepam, after tapering from 0.5 that I was on for about a year. I updated my profile with my whole history, best I can remember it. The tapering had its ups and downs, but I jumped because I was feeling really well after adding in a B Vitamin Complex and didn’t want to switch over to Diazepam, as was recommended by my Psych NP, who has years of experience helping folks off Benzos and is very supportive. I just felt like adding another medicine wasn’t the right thing to do, given how well I was feeling at the time.

In the last few weeks, I have been feeling quite awful, and wondering if this is to be expected with where I am in my discontinuation of the Clonzaepam.  I aslo had the flu a couple weeks before Christmas, so was feeling pretty bad.  Since then, I have gotten better from the flu, but have had the following symptoms:
•    Bad Anxiety in the mornings.  Butterflies in my stomach, along with what feels like surges of adrenaline flowing through my veins.
•    Crazy energy swings through the day.  After the morning “surges”, I am often exhausted.  Then toward the evening, I feel much better.  I have been sleeping well for the most part, minus a couple nights where I felt Wired and had to take Zzquil to sleep.
•    Tingling Sensations in my corroded arteries in my neck, which usually occur sometime in the middle of the day
•    Dizziness/Lightheadedness.  Sometimes to the point where it is impacting my coordination and even speech, and leading to nausea and knots in my stomach
•    Along with the dizziness, comes general mental confusion.
•    Left Sided Head issues.  I don’t want to call it a headache, so much like the left side of my head feels like it is not balanced with the right side.  It is the symptom I have that is most difficult to put into words…

I believe I have been trying to do things right.  I have been eating healthy.  Within the last week, I have cut out my morning Red Bull in Favor of Green Tea.  I have also cut out other sodas.  I have drank Alcohol in moderation (which honestly has made me feel better when I have a drink or two).  And I have been exercising when I am not excessively fatigued, including running, walking, and using the stationary bike.  I have also been doing a lot of deep breathing and meditation.

Despite the above, it has been a challenging couple of weeks.  So my questions are:
•    Does this align with withdrawal symptoms of Clonzapam, and could a lot of the symptoms be attributed to that or
•    Is this more likely to be related to my underlying anxiety given it has been 6 weeks?

I am also likely going to bump up the Prozac to 20mg, hoping that will give me some relief.  Anyone have experience in that regard either?

Thanks for any support anyone can offer.  Reading the success stories here has really given me hope that this is not a permanent state, although it certainly feels like it.

-Klonobye

Hi @[Kl...] - Congratulations on quitting Klonopin.  The symptoms you describe are very common withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms can be really miserable but it can be enormously comforting to know that they're normal.  The Ashton Manual chapter on withdrawal symptoms lists and explains many common symptoms.  It's not exhaustive but it's pretty comprehensive.

At 6 weeks post jump you're likely in the thick of withdrawal.  Your taper sounds like it was pretty rapid and that might also set you up for some intense symptoms unfortunately.  But the good news is that the symptoms are temporary and will fade over time. 

It sounds like you're doing some good self care and practicing several coping techniques.  In my experience, moderate exercise, meditation, deep breathing techniques, yoga, a healthy diet, & minimal caffeine and sugar are all helpful in coping with the challenges of withdrawal. Personally, I found it was best to avoid alcohol (which is believed to act on the same receptors as benzos) because I found it revved up my withdrawal symptoms the next day and it wasn't worth it.   

Keep reading Success Stories!  You will get through this. You will heal and in time all of this will be behind you.