New* beginning taper from clonazepam

[[Ra...]]

Hi all. I’ve been taking clonazepam for almost 3 years, and before that was on Xanax. So I’ve been on benzodiazepines for about ten years. My psychiatrist is helping me taper down starting in a few weeks. I am absolutely petrified. I’m not good with bodily discomfort, and I’m wondering if anyone has taken clonodine (she recommended that to lessen withdrawal symptoms) have found it helpful?

[[je...]]

Hi @[Ra...]

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

I know tapering can be really scary in the beginning. But once you're in rhythm, and it's part of your daily routine, the initial fear subsides and it becomes easier to manage. It's also worthwhile to know, that not everyone suffers when they taper. I was functional throughout my taper - it wasn't easy - but I definitely wasn't in benzo hell. My starting dose was 2mg Clonazepam and I'm now just over a year off.

I don't know much about Clonodine unfortunately, but I hope some of our members will be able to share their experiences. Did your psychiatrist say what symptom she will be prescribing it for?

[[Ra...]]

Thank you so much this definitely calmed my nerves. The clonidine is supposed to help lessen symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, headaches, etc. 

Also- I work with autistic peers and I’m very nervous about how I’m going to feel at work when I need to be alert and basically on the ball for every 1:1 therapy session. Would you recommend giving my boss a heads up?

Thankfully they have proven to be very understanding and kind. 

[[je...]]

I don't think there's medication to help with a range of general withdrawal symptoms. If there was, we'd all be using it. If I were you I'd wait and see what symptoms I get. From your list, I only got headaches and there's absolutely nothing that helps my headaches. Granted, I haven't tried Clonodine, but I haven't read anywhere on the forum of people with headaches using Clonodine.

About your work situation and whether you should tell them about withdrawal. That is really a decision only you can make. Only you know your work environment. I was not in a supportive environment and was scared they would use it against me, so I never mentioned it to anyone. I have no idea how they would react so unfortunately I can't help you here.

The most important thing in my opinion is that your psychiatrist knows what he is doing, so you can remain functional. It's very seldom that we see doctors who are knowledgeable in benzo tapering and most taper their patients way too fast. Then people end up non functional and in acute withdrawal. That's one of the reasons BenzoBuddies exists and why most people end up here. 

[[Ma...]]

Hi, I was put on clonodine and beta blockers too and I just posted the same question about clonodine, hopefully we’ll get some answers 💕