Do I Need To Taper?

[[Su...]]

Hello,

I have been taking klonopin on and off for about 7 years total. Dosage varied anywhere from 1mg-2mg at a time, but it wasn’t daily use. I did take it often in 2020-2021. I did a quick taper in the fall of 2022 and was off for a few months until I rapidly tapered Lexapro and all hell broke loose. I went back on Klonopin last April as a PRN for severe insomnia. Since then, I reinstated Lexapro, but have tapered that and have been off since  April 17th of this year. 
 

Since going back on Klonopin last April, the use was consistent with taking 1mg twice a week in order to get some sleep. For the last month or two, I try to only take 1mg every 5 days and less than twice a week. I have horrible withdrawal symptoms from Lexapro with insomnia, anxiety, and obsessive thoughts being the worst. I know SSRI withdrawal and benzo withdrawal can be similar, so I’m unsure if my sporadic dosing of Klonopin is contributing to my symptoms and causing inter-dose withdrawal or not.

My question is do I taper klonopin if I take it only once every 5 days? And if so, how? What dose would I begin with?

Thank you

[[je...]]

Hi @[Su...]

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

I am very sorry for the struggles you're going through. It is very difficult to determine if and how much the Klonopin is contributing to your symptoms considering the AD withdrawal. I think you have two options, you could either just stop it altogether or alternatively you could try for the next two weeks to take 0.5mg every 5 days instead of your 1mg dose. Generally a taper involves daily use and I would be hesitant to recommend that you start a daily regimen without knowing with some certainty whether or not you have developed dependency. 

I hope others will provide their input as well. 

[[Su...]]

Hi @[je...],

Thank you for your input. I had thought of possibly going down to .5 every fifth day. I haven’t taken any since Saturday night and it’s impossible to tell if I’m having symptoms from klonopin or not. I felt okay yesterday, but I only slept for 2 hours last night, although that is not a new symptom for me being in Lexapro withdrawal. 
 

Sleep is by far my biggest issue in this and I average about 3 broken hours a night. Sometimes I can get 6, but it’s usually the day or two after klonopin use. I want to stop it all together, but it’s the consistent nights of 2-3 hours of sleep that make me cave in and I’ll take 1mg when I’m at my wit’s end. 
 

I think I’ll try to go without, but if I am experiencing an uptick in symptoms, I’ll try the 0.5. 
 

 

[[je...]]

Hi @[Su...]

if insomnia is your biggest problem then my suggestion would be to just stop the Klonopin. It is highly unlikely that your sleep will improve by continuing to take or taper the Klonopin. Unfortunately whether or not the benzo is causing this symptom there is no easy solution to this. 

I have been on this journey for 3 years and I was on Klonopin as well. During my 20 months of tapering I only managed 1-3 hrs of sleep per night. This pattern continued for about 1 year and 4 months after I completed my taper. It’s only in the past two months that I’m now getting up to 5 hrs sleep per night but there are still 3 hrs nights in between. 

I know how difficult insomnia is and I completely understand. But continuing to rely on benzo’s for sleep is very dangerous in my opinion. I would also like to warn you about the possibility of kindling. I don’t know when our bodies start registering it as regular use when we use it as needed. It would probably be best to avoid any future use of benzo’s or z-drugs. 

[[Su...]]

Thanks @[je...].

I have been dealing with the insomnia for about 15 months now and have started my taper 18 months ago. It’s been rough, but it actually has gotten a little better recently where I don’t have sleepless nights anymore.
 

I’ve been off Lexapro for only 6 weeks, but the taper was brutal as I had initially tapered too quickly as a result of my doctor’s not so sound advice. Some days are good, some are terrible, some are okay. Nothing has been linear, but hope to be on the right track to healing.
 

I don’t want to take the klonopin anymore. I just wanted to know if stopping would cause severe symptoms or if a taper was needed. But once again, my situation is a bit complicated so we will see. 

I appreciate your input!

[[je...]]

You're welcome @[Su...]. I know AD withdrawal can be just as brutal as benzo withdrawal and I'm so sorry this happened to you. 

I think it's quite promising that you have not taken the Klonopin more regularly. Unfortunately we just cannot say for sure whether a dependency has developed or not, but I would hate to see you get dependent if there was nothing to begin with. The only way to know is if you stop it. If you notice a significant increase in your symptoms, then we can consider a taper. Usually withdrawal symptoms kick in on day 3-5 for people who are tapering. 

I'm also glad to hear you're seeing some improvement in your insomnia. It absolutely sucks, but after 3 years dealing with it, I'm finally seeing some improvement too. Usually the only thing that helps when our sleep has been affected by medication is time.