Question about a taper from 1mg Klonopin

[[co...]]

 

Below is a 10% cut of previous dose chart. It starts at 1mg. It takes 35 cuts to get to 0.025mg jump dose. If done biweekly that is 70 weeks. That's 16 months. Is that for real?

I mean the sxs were hell at a 0.125 biweekly cut and I am holding at 1mg until I determine my next taper. So, if this is highly suggested and tried and true, by golly I will do it. Just a long time to keep it in the system for something I want out.

My doc has said he is amendable to rxing a liquid compound.

Start	1.000
Cut 1	0.900
Cut 2	0.810
Cut 3	0.729
Cut 4	0.656
Cut 5	0.590
Cut 6	0.531
Cut 7	0.478
Cut 8	0.430
Cut 9	0.387
Cut 10	0.349
Cut 11	0.314
Cut 12	0.282
Cut 13	0.254
Cut 14	0.229
Cut 15	0.206
Cut 16	0.185
Cut 17	0.167
Cut 18	0.150
Cut 19	0.135
Cut 20	0.122
Cut 21	0.109
Cut 22	0.098
Cut 23	0.089
Cut 24	0.080
Cut 25	0.072
Cut 26	0.065
Cut 27	0.058
Cut 28	0.052
Cut 29	0.047
Cut 30	0.042
Cut 31	0.038
Cut 32	0.034
Cut 33	0.031
Cut 34	0.028
Cut 35	0.025

 

[[sh...]]

Yep.   That's a perfect hyperbolic taper.  You're 50% of at cut 6.  Is it necessary to go so slowly for the next 29 cuts?  Can you let your symptoms determine that?  I won't be going that slowly at the end.  Or maybe I will.   It does seem never-ending though.  

 

[[co...]]

22 minutes ago, [[s...] said:

Yep.   That's a perfect hyperbolic taper.  You're 50% of at cut 6.  Is it necessary to go so slowly for the next 29 cuts?  Can you let your symptoms determine that?  I won't be going that slowly at the end.  Or maybe I will.   It does seem never-ending though.  

Yeah initially I thought why not split 0.125mg tabs to cut by .0625 biweekly for a total of 16 cuts linearly. That would take 8 months. Seems reasonable on its face from 1mg. I came down from 3 to 1 in 4 months but I had very bad sxs. Half that rate seems like it should be attempted but idk I kinda have failed on my own a few times, I want to lean in to peoples experience here.

Edited August 5 by [co...]

[[sh...]]

I cut out 1.5 mg in 11 months, very easily.  Hardly any symptoms.  I was also on Ambien, so I didn't have to deal with the dreaded insomnia. I didn't do a cut & hold, but a micro-taper.  Shit happened and I stopped tapering and wound up going back up to 2.5 (began at 3mg) where I've stayed for about a year.  My taper did get a lot longer with smaller cuts the lower I got.  I once found an online taper calculator that created a spreadsheet of a hyperbolic taper based on my dosage.  It said I would be finished in 2035!!  HAHA.  I've never gotten below 1.5 since I started taking Klonopin 20 years ago, so don't know if it does indeed get harder the lower you go.  Maybe one day I'll find out!

[[je...]]

It took me about 19-20 months to taper 1mg. My average rate was 7.5% every two weeks and when I got to 0.25mg I slowed down to 5%. 

[[Ri...]]

It does get tougher the lower you go. Without a doubt!

[[Ro...]]

I also tapered at a rate averaging about 7.5% per cut.  My taper of 1 mg of Clonazepam lasted 19 months, but I went linear once I hit .124 mg.

You could start out at 10% and see how it goes, and let your sxs determine the best rate to go.  Good luck to you.

[[Ma...]]

This is a solid schedule.  At some point around 0.1-0.2 many people do go with a more linear schedule.  

[[co...]]

14 hours ago, [[j...] said:

It took me about 19-20 months to taper 1mg. My average rate was 7.5% every two weeks and when I got to 0.25mg I slowed down to 5%. 

Thanks for sharing! How did it go?

[[je...]]

My taper was fairly okay. I was functional throughout and jumping was a non-event. It was tough but I wouldn’t say that I was suffering.

[[co...]]

5 hours ago, [[j...] said:

My taper was fairly okay. I was functional throughout and jumping was a non-event. It was tough but I wouldn’t say that I was suffering.

I'm happy to hear that for you and it's encouraging for me after experiencing sxs disruptive to my daily activities and relationships and mental health. Who knew when they rx this to you this would be such a thing to deal with?!

[[je...]]

I couldn’t sustain 10% cuts. Those were brutal. But at lower percentages I was okay. It’s not worth it to rush through your taper and be totally miserable when you can be functional and take longer to taper. I know what benzo hell feels like as I had to updose twice at the beginning when I had no idea what these drugs were. I hope you do well when you start tapering. 

[[Tr...]]

22 hours ago, [[R...] said:

I also tapered at a rate averaging about 7.5% per cut.  My taper of 1 mg of Clonazepam lasted 19 months, but I went linear once I hit .124 mg.

You could start out at 10% and see how it goes, and let your sxs determine the best rate to go.  Good luck to you.

Hello @[Ro...], many thanks for the information! Did you do a dry taper. If so, how did you cut and weigh your pills?

Thanks in advance for your reply!

[[Tr...]]

On 05/08/2024 at 08:38, [[j...] said:

It took me about 19-20 months to taper 1mg. My average rate was 7.5% every two weeks and when I got to 0.25mg I slowed down to 5%. 

 

Hello @[je...], many thanks for the information! Did you do a dry taper. If so, how did you cut and weigh your pills?

Thanks in advance for your reply!

 

[[Ro...]]

3 hours ago, [[T...] said:

Hello @[Ro...], many thanks for the information! Did you do a dry taper. If so, how did you cut and weigh your pills?

Thanks in advance for your reply!

I did a dry cut and hold for the entire taper.  I used a metal nail file to shave the tablets and then weighed them on a Gemini gram scale that I had bought on Amazon.

There were times as I got lower where I would split the tablet and then shave it down to size.

Some would find it tedious, but I saw it as a way to hone my shaving skills and to see how close I could get each tablet to the desired weight.

One trick I used to shave down very small pieces was to rest them on my index finger with the nail file on top and my thumb pressing lightly down to keep the nail file in place.

I hope whatever reducing method you decide to use works well for you.

[[Tr...]]

Hello @[Ro...], many thanks for the very useful information! 
 

 

Edited August 6 by [Tr...]

[[Ri...]]

I’m having a Hell of a time staying at .50x2 per day to hold. Let’s be honest, I’m lucky if I only take 2x 0.50mg per day.  I have so much going on where I need to appear strong & together I end up taking 3x 0.50. Most days. 2 years ago I actually got down to 0.50 + 0.125 per day.

I am retired from LA county Sheriff Department after 27 years and have anxiety + depression (PTSD). 62 yrs old.

[[li...]]

So for your tapering schedule you will jump at .025mg was that weight or active ingredient 

Edited August 13 by [li...]

[[co...]]

On 12/08/2024 at 20:57, [[l...] said:

So for your tapering schedule you will jump at .025mg was that weight or active ingredient 

I believe active ingredient.

[[co...]]

Y'all, let's do this together.

Today I started my liquid compound to taper down from 1mg. My first cut is to 0.91mg which I started today.

I was switched to Ativan equivalent of Klonopin to aid the pharmacy/doc in obtaining the liquid.

Anything to be mindful of when switching between these two?

Let me know how I can support you all.l!

 

[[Li...]]

@[co...] Just checking, have you already made the switch from Ativan to Klonopin in tablet form and are doing ok?  Or, are you just now starting the switch from Ativan to Klonopin using the compounded liquid?  

If so, I strongly encourage you to hold your dose constant at 1mg before starting your taper.  Why?  You have made two changes — a change in benzodiazepine and a change in dosage form.  You would be wise to evaluate how you react to these before adding a third change (dose reduction) into the mix.

[[co...]]

1 hour ago, [[L...] said:

@[co...] Just checking, have you already made the switch from Ativan to Klonopin in tablet form and are doing ok?  Or, are you just now starting the switch from Ativan to Klonopin using the compounded liquid?  

If so, I strongly encourage you to hold your dose constant at 1mg before starting your taper.  Why?  You have made two changes — a change in benzodiazepine and a change in dosage form.  You would be wise to evaluate how you react to these before adding a third change (dose reduction) into the mix.

Thanks, @[Li...]! I see, I see. Well, no I've held at Klonopin 1mg for about a month. But switched straight to liquid Ativan and cut 10% about 2-3 hours ago. Usually I'm feeling the effects of a change by now in the day (like if I'm late taking my dose), but I'm feeling fine so far so maybe that's evidence it's going to be okay?

[[Li...]]

You’re wecome, @[co...].   Am I understanding correctly that you just switched from taking Klonipin (clonazepam) tablets to taking liquid Ativan (lorazepam)?

[[co...]]

8 minutes ago, [[L...] said:

You’re wecome, @[co...].   Am I understanding correctly that you just switched from taking Klonipin (clonazepam) tablets to taking liquid Ativan (lorazepam)?

Yes, that's correct @[Li...]. And doctor did the 2mg Ativan = 1mg Klonopin conversion. So my liquid is 2mg/mL Ativan and I am starting to take .91 mL

[[Li...]]

Thank you for the clarification @[co...].  As you probably know, most individuals switch from benzodiazepines with shorter half-lives to benzodiazepines with longer half-lives. You are doing the reverse.  

Clonazepam has a half-life in the range of 30 hours, so it may take a bit for your body to ‘register’ the declining blood serum level of the clonazepam.  (Depending on metabolism, it can take as many as 12 days for clonazepam to be completely eliminated from the body.)

What is your dosing schedule for the lorazepam?  Many members dose lorazepam 3+ times a day to avoid interdose withdrawal.