30 years Klonopin use need help please

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Hi everyone, brand new to this forum not sure if I’m posting correctly. I have been on 2 mg of Klonopin for the last 30 years as prescribed. I reached tolerance and instead of increasing my dose, I wanted to get off instead. My Psychiatrist told me the safest way was to go to detox, and in my ignorance, I did six weeks later, I reinstated at the 2 mg and my quest for knowledge that landed me here. I started my taper August 1, 2022 started off a little aggressive but then slow down.

August 1 - 1.875

August 17 - 1.750

September 4 - 1.625

September 27 - 1.5 

October 18 – 1.437

November 8–1.375

January 6 –1.312

January 27– 1.25

June 6 –1.187

August 2 –1.125

i’ve been holding this dose for 5 1/2 months because symptoms are just too intense to cut. as of the last two weeks symptoms getting worse. had a couple window days, but the last three days a bad wave,anxiety all day, Very little sleep I just lay there with electric feeling through my body burning legs and arms. Morning time starts the nausea That last good part of the day, tinnitus, ringing very loud, tension throughout my body, legs, neck back, and most of all my abdomen. and a few more. My question is,is this normal? Should I continue holding till I get back to my baseline? Did I cut too fast? I take no other meds. been feeling pretty bad for the last five months I could use some insight and encouragement that things will get better.

thank you

[[je...]]

Hi @[...]

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

It sounds like you've been through quite a tough journey. Usually when tolerance is in play the only option is to taper off or increase the dose, but you'll eventually get tolerant to the higher dose as well, so you made the right choice by getting off in my opinion. But yes, unfortunately detox can be really brutal. Lots of people reinstate after detox.

I'm sorry your symptoms are getting worse. I'm wondering if it's the tolerance again because you've been holding for five and a half months? How were your symptoms in the 4-5 months before it started getting worse? Or was there any stressful event in the past two weeks that could've aggrevated your symptoms? This whole process is very frustrating because we always have to guess what is causing what.

You did a great job by reducing your dose, let's see how we can help you going forward. 

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Hi jelly baby

All throughout my taper I didn't feel great, but I always returned to a baseline where I wanted to get up off the couch and do things, walk around the neighborhood, household chores, out to dinner with my mom and sis. But now I just want to hang out on the couch anxiety has been tough. After my last cut I just couldn't make another although I did make a small one and my right back to my old dose. I thought because of my 30 years of use my brain needed more time to heal. I was thinking all the cuts that I made had piled up

Thanks geno

[[je...]]

There is an accumulation effect of cuts that will require us to hold, but generally most people don't need 5 months to recover from cutting too much before returning to baseline. You said you suddenly took a turn two weeks ago - were you functional before these two weeks, or was it still pretty bad and you were on the couch?

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The months prior to the last couple of weeks I was having windows maybe two a week or I felt like getting up and doing things Then had a couple days of waves, but not as bad as the last few days. Was hoping that things just got worse before they got better and then I just should hold otherwise I don't think I could make a cut the way I'm feeling. What do you think?

[[je...]]

My guess would be that it's tolerance. But of course with benzo's we never know for sure. But if you had tolerance issues before, I think this hold could've triggered tolerance problems again. 

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Jelly baby
Thank you for your help, I'm really at a loss for my next step. Should I make a small cut and sweat it out. Or hold a bit longer. I never felt this bad during tolerance or after my reinstatement in my previous cuts I returned to a reasonable baseline.

Thanks again

[[ns...]]

[[je...]]

What were your tolerance symptoms before you went to detox? Also, did you start out at 2mg K or did you gradually go up?

[[PE...]]

Nassau and tinnitus was my main problem so on your question I belive yes it's normal.

I also read somewhere that tinnitus is one of the last WD symptoms to leave. 

 

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Before detox I had some abdomen muscle pain, mild anxiety not every day and some sleep disturbance but I got my seven or eight hours in a night. And the same after my reinstatement. I went to a few doctors to find out about my abdomen pain and they knew nothing. talk to my psychiatrist and he knew nothing through my research. I figured it was the Benzo’s so I knew I had to get off. All in all the symptoms weren’t very bad a little worse while tapering, but always returned to a reasonable baseline

thanks much

[[je...]]

Thanks that's very helpful. Did you start at 2mg?

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Yes, that was my starting dosage and I remained on 2 mg .1mg 2x for 30 years

[[je...]]

What was it prescribed for if you don't mind me asking?

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Yes, it was prescribed by a prominent psychiatrist in my area. it was for stress because of my work, commute, and taking care of Problems when I got home

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You are in withdrawal. Your symptoms are normal. Just a question of time until you feel better. Can get worse before getting better. 

I'm 15 months off 30 yrs klon and still struggling.

Hope you don't suffer too much.

 

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Hi Evn

Did you ever have to do any long holds I just can't cut right now and hoping that I hold a little longer I'll feel good enough to resume the battle

Thanks

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No, but I resisted using it throughout the years.

When I was in tolerance and figured out it was the klon I was already at about ½ a milligram a day so I reduced and jumped in a few months. 

I wasn't working.

 

[[je...]]

Your situation sounds similar to mine. I was on 2mg for 2-3 years and I started having anxiety and sleep issues which I never had when I started the drug. I believe it was the beginning of tolerance. I don't think you were in full blown tolerance at the start and I'm not sure whether it's full tolerance now. Members who have full blown tolerance have a myriad of symptoms, but you might have been like me where I suspect it was the onset of it.

I can give you my interpretation of your situation and what I would do, bearing in mind I'm not an expert just a peer. I don't think holding is helping you at the moment. I think 5 1/2 months after your last cut should've been enough to recover. Especially if you're suddenly getting worse. I think you have two options. You can updose or cut. Since you're not stable if it were me, I would try an updose. But this is your taper and whatever you decide to do we will support you. 

 

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Jelly baby
Thanks so much for your support and time. I really don’t want to updose and go backwards, I have a couple doctors appointments I must make in the next couple of weeks, and after that, I will try a cut. Also, tomorrow I have an appointment with my nurse practitioner who is very supportive and see what she thinks.

And thank you very much again for your time

[[je...]]

I completely understand @[...]. This is so hard and you ultimately know what is best for you. If you are more comfortable holding, then let's keep holding for now. The other options will always be there if you need it. It's good you have a NP too and hopefully she can give you some advice. You can also read other threads here on our site that might give you insight into your own situation. We will keep supporting you!

[[Ra...]]

I was in klonopin for 32 years. .5 am and .5 pm

I hit tolerance and struggled for 7 years before I knew what is was. Then I went to a place and found that it was the klonopin  After a 10 day taper he’ll started. After 16 mos I was through it. My belief is that the longer that k is in your system the worse it is. You already hit tolerance. It’s going to get worse till you just drop it all. I’m not saying to just quit what you have left but my experience was that it takes time and might as well not take anything. It’s brutal either way.   I’m so much better now but, that was a journey that I never want to see again!!

good luck. It’s gets better!!!

ranchman,

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Hi jelly baby
you have recommended that I do an updose, I really didn’t want to travel to ground twice but I’ve been feeling so bad. I think I’ll take your advice. I talked to my nurse practitioner this morning. She doesn’t seem to be too knowledgeable about the subject but she was open to the idea. We agreed to try upping the dose by .125 mg and wait for a week if necessary another .125 mg. She also wrote me a script for a bus par. I don’t know if I want to start this med. I would love to hear your insight on these two ideas. The dose does work. How long do I stay at that level before I cut again? how long can I stay at a dose before worrying about withdrawal again? I know these are a lot of questions That probably do not have a clear answer. I love to hear your opinions.
Thanks much

[[je...]]

It sounds like you have a very supportive NP which is great! I'm going to share with you my thoughts and I hope it's not information overload, but you can filter whatever you feel is valuable or not.

I was bedridden initially from withdrawal, I couldn't look after myself and my family had to do everything for me. It was terrible. I updosed and got better. I know what it feels like to be in benzo hell. I don't believe in suffering if there is a way to prevent it. Sometimes there's nothing we can do to prevent it, but sometimes we have options we can try. I would always try and prevent suffering first - that's my philosophy. 

Now you also have to remember there's no guarantees in withdrawal. There's no guarantee that an updose will work. There's no guarantee that holding or cutting will work either. That's what we deal with unfortunately. My best guess is that you might be dealing with tolerance right now. Your symptoms might also be aggrevated by kindling. I'm hoping that by updosing you might feel a bit better so you can start tapering again. You might not get back to your original baseline, but some improvement in symptoms will be a start. I think it will be better to get you to a point where you can start cutting again rather than holding for months making no progress at all. Hopefully if you updose, you'll feel better, then you'll be able to start cutting and make up the grounds you've lost. 

I agree with a 0.125mg updose, but if it were me, I would hold it for 2 weeks. Sometimes updosing can take a while before you feel a difference. If it doesn't work, I would do another 0.125mg like you suggested and hold for another 2 weeks. Then I would start cutting.

I also suggest when you start tapering that you make reductions every 2 weeks. You can taper at a slow percentage, but I think consistent cuts should hopefully keep the tolerance symptoms at bay. 

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Thank you, I surely can relate to everything you said. Glad you made it out the other side, healthy and happy. Thank you for your time and diligence