Failed at first attempt to taper off 1mg Clonazepam. I had been on it for 3 months but it wasn’t working and so my doctor started a taper while putting me on Trazodone. I’m also on 10mg of Lexapro. . Suggestions on taper schedule?

[[Su...]]

So about 11 months ago I tried to get off over the counter sleep aids. I had no anxiety at the time and was just trying to figure things out. Went to my doctor and he put me on Ambien at first but I didn’t like that after a few weeks and then he put me on 10mg of Lexapro. Well very quickly I had insomnia and he then put me on 1mg Clonazepam.  I started taking that at night and I was getting sleep and functioning well. After about 3 months of being on that he switched me to Hydroxozine for sleep. I transitioned just fine with no side effects and did fine through the summer. Should have had a CBT at this point to deal with next steps but didn’t. Then the Hydroxozine stopped working and my doctor to my naiveness put me back on .5 mg of Clonazepam twice a day and 50mg of trazodone at night. After a stint with that I started a taper process off of the Clonazepam and after 7 weeks apparently went too fast and suffered bad withdrawal symptoms along with horrible anxiety and shakes and benzo belly. I then had to start back over per my doctor. My question to anyone is if my focus is to get improved sleep and minimize the anxiety effects. Can I take a 3/4 dose at night and 1/4 dose in the morning so that I don’t get the tired effects in the morning? Seems when I take half dose in the morning and half at night, I’m somewhat tired during the day and not getting my ideal sleep at night. Second question if I go that route and I get to feeling back to normal after a month or so. Should I go the route of having a compound pharmacy do 5% or 10% reductions per month until complete reduction is achieved?  Will my body normalize at each pause of reduction or will the longer I draw out the taper my body crave the medication more and withdrawal symptoms start to happen?

Edited January 30 by [Su...]

[[je...]]

Hi @[Su...]

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

I am sorry to hear you are struggling with withdrawal symptoms but we can help you with tapering. We have quite a lot of personal experience and knowledge in our community.

When it comes to dosing it is really up to you what works for your symptoms. Clonazepam has a fairly long half-life so yes, you can dose 0.75mg at night and 0.25mg in the morning. If you don't have interdose withdrawal, you can take the full dose at night. I tapered Clonazepam and I only dosed at night. But some people need to take it multiple times a day. Ultimately it depends entirely on how it makes you feel. But we recommend you try and then decide on a schedule and stick to that. Irregular dosing can cause fluctuations in your blood serum levels and it can increase withdrawal symptoms. 

There are different ways to reduce your dose. You can dry taper and use a nail file and scale to weigh your pills and reduce to the end. Or you can get a compounding pharmacist to assist. Generally most pharmacists will assist with liquid formulations. Once again, it's really up to you how you want to approach it. 

Please let us know if you have any other questions.