Hi there - Beginning 60mg diazepam / 3mg clonazepam daily taper this week (very scared)

[[ho...]]

Hi everyone,

First, I am so happy that this community exists. For so long I had no idea what was wrong with me and blamed my symptoms on other things. Thank you so, so much in advance for help you can give me. I'm grateful to be here. Apologies if this message is long. 

I'll give a brief overview of my story. I'm a 36-year-old gay living in the Castro District San Francisco, and I am originally from Massachusetts. I am a survivor of child abuse and many other abusive relationships throughout my life. My diagnoses are C-PTSD (chronic), GAD, Major Depression, Panic Disorder, and ADHD. I would say the C-PTSD is the most insidious, but as some of you may have felt, they all blend a bit. 

I was not on any benzos until 2021 and led a healthy life until then. But in late 2020, I entered into a very abusive relationship which completely tore me to shreds. That lasted just under a year when I ended it, but I was then a shell of my former self. So for about 2 years I was prescribed 3mg of clonazepam daily to control panic and anxiety. At one point I had a psychiatrist cold turkey me for a month and a half and I was bedridden. Acute trauma, like stalking from my ex and chronic self-isolation, made it much worse.

All that is to say, I have a new, compassionate, well-informed psychiatrist (and a therapist who coordinates with him) who increased my dose so I could get through the day after my father died about 7 months ago. So the jump went from 3mg of clonazepam daily to now: 3mg of clonazepam + 60mg of diazepam per day (essentially, a total of 120mg of diazepam or 6mg of clonazepam dails) for a 60mg increase in diazepam. 

I've realized that it's not the benzos that are causing me the most destruction in my life, and my doctor and I agreed that it is time to begin the taper. I meet with him every week and we can stop or start as I please, he said. He recommended that we start with a reduction of 0.5mg of clonazepam per week, give or take a week, so after about 7 weeks I would just be on the 60mg of diazepam (20mg three times a day, or otherwise). He then said that once I am down to that level, we will drastically slow down the taper, to what he says will likely take 6-9 months. I was hesitant about the initial clonazepam withdrawal speed, but he said we will do it smart, and stop for weeks where it is especially difficult. I've scoured the literature and I realize it may be a bit fast, but he has successfully tapered dozens of folks of benzos, and he said he would be by my side the entire time. 

I was hoping to get folks' thoughts on the speed of this taper and any general suggestions. I'm especially afraid about self-isolation and not being able to go out and be with people, which I already have trouble doing. I'm also especially afraid of the pain I'm about to endure - but hoping a slow taper will help.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I'm also excited to cheer everyone on and learn from you all. Thank you so much, everyone. 

Warmest regards,

Andy

[[Bu...]]

Hello @[ho...],

Welcome to Benzobuddies.

I am so sorry to hear of all of the trauma that you have experienced.  I'm glad that you have found a supportive mental health team to help you.  Having a supportive doctor who understands the importance of letting you guide this process is priceless and about half the battle.  

The details of a taper are not my strong suite, but I can give you some general suggestions/guidelines.  We usually recommend that you cut your dose by 5-10% of your current dose every 2-3 weeks, depending on your symptoms.  The pace that your doctor has suggested is rather fast.  You are on a very high dose, so I would recommend going slowly and really paying attention to your symptoms. 

Something I've learned is that if we go too quickly, the effects of the cuts can catch up with us.  Meaning that sometimes, especially in the beginning of tapers from high doses, people don't always feel the full effects of the absence of the medication right away but over time those effects can pile up and hit much later.  This happened to me the first time I tapered off Clonazepam.  I was slammed with major withdrawal a few months after I was off.  My second time off was much slower, but still too fast and I am dealing with that now.  But I had not found this site then, so you are in a much better spot to start this process than I was.   

I know how frightening this can seem in the beginning, but with proper planning and support it really can go quite smoothly.  We have a very kind, knowledgeable community here, so I am sure other folks will be along soon to offer their support and thoughts as well.

We're so glad you found us and we'll do our best to help you with this.

 

[[Ro...]]

Hi @[ho...],

  I'm sorry to hear about your past and present struggles.  Hopefully, your taper from benzos can go smoothly.

   I, too, think the taper plan is rather fast.  But it sounds like you have a knowledgeable and compassionate doctor who will allow you to have your symptoms guide your taper.  That is key.

   Usually, a taper from benzos is more forgiving at the high end.  That is to say, you may very well be able to sustain a taper rate exceeding 5% - 10% when you are, say, around 3 mg of clonazepam.  You may have to slow down, however, once nearing the end of your Valium taper.

    I also tapered off clonazepam (1 mg).  I went at a slow and steady pace of about 7.5% per cut and finished 19 months later.  I'm not saying you have to do it my way, but going slow and steady can really pay off.

    So, if I were you, I'd continue keeping in close contact with your doctor.  He sounds like someone who'd be amenable to change, if necessary, and be genuinely interested in the details of your progress.

    I wish you much luck in ridding yourself of these meds.

[[Ch...]]

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

He recommended that we start with a reduction of 0.5mg of clonazepam per week, give or take a week, so after about 7 weeks I would just be on the 60mg of diazepam

Has your doctor considered replacing (in step-wise fashion) the 3mg Klonopin with 60mg Valium so that you could then taper the resulting 120mg Valium? (See the Ashton Manual, Schedule 1 - please review). This might be a good option for you, since you already know that you can tolerate Valium. Trying to taper .5mg of Klonopin a week is very aggressive and I doubt that the 60mg of Valium that you're already taking will be enough to compensate for the 3mg Klonopin you're already taking. Theoretically, you'll need an additional 60mg of Valium for that...

[[ho...]]

Hi everyone,

Thank you so so much. I will inform my doctor about the rapidness of the taper, and based on my research, it was my gut reaction, too. I've begun with the 0.5mg reduction this week per his instruction. When we meet next week I will suggest these options and reference the Ashton manual as well (I am going to look that up now).  

Thank you so much. I may need to post again. I am not sure if this is how the community works (posting wise) here but I'd love to keep everyone updated and also help others. 

Did folks have trouble leaving the house / attending to daily chores etc. during the taper? Any guidance on that would also be super appreciated.

Again, thank you so much. Your guidance has already made a huge difference. 

[[ba...]]

My situation in a nut shell was I abused Ativan for almost 30 years (ashamed even saying it here). Multidoctoring and the awareness around benzos for Me as I hadn't a clue my family doc was given me 20 1 mg Ativan for saying I was getting nervous alot (didn't even think i knew term anxiety fully).

Anyways I finally qgreeed and wtupid me moves with family and I cant even leave the house it's basically supervised unwritten house fulll of parwnta and others makes it hard and a 5 year old boy whom I suddenly am full custody as his mom left and hasn't come for 42 days). Awful setting. 

The tapering doctor whom I found by luck telehealth phoning around started me on 8 mg clonazepam. Only good thing is Ativan stopped working two years before taper ao I was on clonazepam prior so it helps my mind.

It's hard and I'm scared badly. My parents and family are playing doctor my dad now has me on finishing in 4 months. That makes me even more scared. I am scared reading stories. U read last night magnesium helps alot didnt know that.

My taper was fast considering the past. Doctor now has me on 0.5 decreases every 3 weeks. 

Sorry about your dad situation must be hard and more of a reason to start someone than mine. 

So again as per your speed you can take my story or past someone like me should be on a longer taper but what can you say to people (dad brother mom sister) who just don't support you. 

I think you should be fine if you follow a nine months taper. 

I've also had doctors at least three that attempted super fast tapers. Two private treatment centres scammed me and did 45 Day tapers.

Just hang in there you will be ok. You've been through a hard life.

I WILL NEVER KNOW IF AT THE END OF THE TAPER OR EVEN NOW THE WITHSRAWALS ARE HOW I JUST AM OR FROM BENZOS. FRIGHTENING AND NOTHING YOU CAN DO.

SELF ISOLATION AS YOU STATED IS HARD FULLY AGREE. BEING AROUND MY 5 YEAR OLD WILL BE HARD AS WELL. SO BEING AROUND FRIENDS WOULD HELP LOL FAMILY JUST WANTS ME OFF THEY WILL TEST ME WITH HOME KITS I BET. JUST SUCKS.

 

 

 

[[Ch...]]

20 hours ago, [[h...] said:

Did folks have trouble leaving the house / attending to daily chores etc. during the taper? Any guidance on that would also be super appreciated.

I tapered 60mg of Valium (after having switched over from 3mg Xanax) using the Ashton Manual method. Before the taper and during most of it, I had agoraphobia and couldn't drive, and tried to keep all activities to a bare minimum. (I couldn't handle multitasking and stimulation). It's important to note, however, that all of this increasingly improved the lower I got, and most especially after I was all the way off. As an example, I went from not being able to drive at all to driving all the way across the United States twice within 18 months post-taper. You have reason to believe you'll only get better.

You will probably feel discomfort during the taper, but the Ashton method is safe. Keep us updated!

[[ba...]]

Reasons to believe!

[[ho...]]

Hi everyone,

We are going a slower route. Still, the pain is incredibly bad, and it's hard to maintain friendships and do things normally. I'm often alone but have some friends over when I can (the ones that stick around).

Since I'm already experiencing heavy symptoms just being on my NORMAL dose, (3mg clonazepam + 60mg diazepam daily) both my psychiatrist and eskatamine psychiatrist suggested pushing myself a bit harder, reducing the dosage of clonazepam by 0.25mg per week, followed by a much slower diazepam taper. I am using esketamine treatments (https://numapsych.com/spravato/) twice weekly which they both agreed will help this immensely. So that would be an initial reduction of 8% per week for the clonazepam, and then a much slower taper for the diazepam. thoughts?

 I was also wondering how people cope with their daily pain of withdrawal. Do you push through the pain and get things done, or retreat to bed, or both? I am trying to find a balance. 

Thank you for any advice. I appreciate you all.