Jump from Klonopin at .03125?

[[pd...]]

Hi friends!

 

I recently cut down to a dry-cut range of .03-.04 +/-. I was hit pretty hard with sleep trouble, anxiety (can be attributed to leaving for the military) and elevated heart-rate. Since then, I have gotten a little better (sleep journal is below). As of this morning, I have had two decent sleeps of 6 hours +/-. Of course I would like a solid 8 hours…but I am happy, as the previous nights were really tough. I plan to stay at .03-.04 +/- through the weekend, as it is my birthday and my family is coming to visit. I ship out to the military on 4/14/2012 so I need to get off Klonopin ASAP.  Most of y'all have read a lot more than I have, but I have tried to read as much as possible. What are y’alls thoughts on how I am doing with my last leg of my taper and with jumping at .03125 on 2/27/2012 and having 6-weeks to deal with the withdrawal phase before I ship out? In other words, I plan to jump completely off at a dosage of .03125 on Sunday.

 

Currently my s/x are slight anxiety (manageable), elevated heart-rate and poor sleep. I work out a lot, work 9-10 hours/day and eat very healthy. I have taken Calmes Forte the last two nights and have felt better after taking it vs. how I felt the mornings after unisom.  Below is the sleep journal:

 

2/16 - woke up after 3-hours, just like the night before, but fell back asleep after a while. Decent 6-ish hours. Took calms forte

2/17 - didn't sleep well, ended up taking a lunesta, 4-5 hours?

2/18 - slept decent with a 2- unisom

2/19 - slept a decent  6-hours, with 2-unisom,  but felt very tired and crappy on Monday...ran 5 miles and got an evening, deep tissue massage.

2/20 - took a calmes forte and slept decent. Took a while to get to sleep; took a potty break around 1:30 AM and took a while to get back to sleep again. But slept 6 hours +/-, so I am happy.

2/21 - worked out and took calmes forte again. Slept a decent 6 hours but woke up an hour before I needed too and couldn't get back to sleep. Still elevated heart rate.

 

[[Re...]]

To me that sounds like a good plan. Try to be gentle with yourself. Give yourself as much time as you possibly can

to recover. It sounds like you have really thought this thru.

 

Congratulations......

[[su...]]

hello pdt2220,

 

Congratulations on making it to .03mg of Klonopin. That is wonderful! Ashton recommends going to 0.5mg of Valium that would be the equivalent of 0.025 mg of Klonopin. So, 0.3 should be low enough to step off and become benzo free.

 

I saw that you took Lunesta to help you sleep. Here is some information posted below that may be helpful. Lunesta is considered a Z drug. Ambien is also a Z drug.

 

I'm also including a link to the Ashton manual and a link to information from Dr. Reg Perts site regarding Medication / Drug Usage During Benzodiazepine Withdrawal and Recovery. There is a lot of information in here about medications to avoid while in recovery and beyond. I hope this is helpful.

 

 

The Ashton Manual

 

http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/

 

 

Chapter II

 

Getting off the last tablet: Stopping the last few milligrams is often viewed as particularly difficult. This is mainly due to fear of how you will cope without any drug at all. In fact, the final parting is surprisingly easy. People are usually delighted by the new sense of freedom gained. In any case the 1mg or 0.5mg diazepam per day which you are taking at the end of your schedule is having little effect apart from keeping the dependence going. Do not be tempted to spin out the withdrawal to a ridiculously slow rate towards the end (such as 0.25mg each month). Take the plunge when you reach 0.5mg daily; full recovery cannot begin until you have got off your tablets completely. Some people after completing withdrawal like to carry around a few tablets with them for security "just in case", but find that they rarely if ever use them.

 

Chapter III

 

Hypnotics and sedatives. Most other hypnotics and sedatives act in a similar way to benzodiazepines, including barbiturates, chloral derivatives (Noctec), ethchlorvynol (Placidyl), zopiclone (Zimovane, Imovane), zolpidem (Ambien), zaleplon (Sonata) and, incidentally, alcohol. None of these drugs should be used as alternative sleeping pills or sleeping draughts during benzodiazepine withdrawal. All can cause a similar type of dependence and some are more toxic than benzodiazepines.

 

 

EXTRA MEDICATION DURING BENZODIAZEPINE WITHDRAWAL

"Is there any medication I can take to help me through withdrawal?" This question is sometimes asked by people embarking on a benzodiazepine tapering program. In contrast, others are so against drugs when they decide on withdrawal that they are loth to take anything, even the simplest pain killer. The answer to the first question is that there is no medication which will substitute for a benzodiazepine, unless it is another benzodiazepine, or a drug with benzodiazepine-like properties (such as barbiturates or zolpidem [Ambien]). All such drugs should be avoided as they only substitute one type of dependence for another. (There is a method, advocated by some US doctors, in which phenobarbitone, a long-acting barbiturate, is substituted for a benzodiazepine and then slowly withdrawn, but this method has no particular advantages over tapering directly from a long-acting benzodiazepine).

 

 

 

Here is the reference from Dr. Reg Perts site. This also includes other medications to avoid:

http://www.bcnc.org.uk/drugs.html

 

Medication / Drug Usage During Benzodiazepine Withdrawal and Recovery

 

The 'Z' Drugs

 

These drugs are fairly new on the market. They are decievingly classed as 'non-benzodiazepines' (because structurally/chemically they are distinct from benzodiazepines despite their almost identical mechanism of action) despite the fact that they bind and act on benzodiazepine receptors. They reportedly have a higher affinity for the sedating benzodiazepine receptor but still bind to the other benzodiazepine receptors and therefore have the same or at least a very similiar addiction profile. Unfortunately doctors and patients mistakenly think of this class of drugs as different from benzodiazepines with unfortunately often disasterous consequences usually re-establishing the addiction / withdrawal process.

See our HOME page for a full list of benzodiazepines and 'Z' drugs and their brand names.

Examples of these drugs on the market are Zolpidem ( Stilnoct, Ambien ) Zopiclone ( Zimovane, Zopimed, Zopivane, Z-dorm, Alchera ) Zaleplon ( Sonata ) Eszopiclone ( Lunesta )

 

I hope this is helpful,

 

Summer

 

PS please take time to read the information about other medications to avoid during withdrawal and recovery. Many people do not know this information, including doctors. Many people here run into problems for instance, taking a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. It's good to feel to be informed so we can help ourselves recover and live happy healthy lives.

 

[[pd...]]

As always, Summer, thank you!

[[su...]]

hello pdt2220,

 

Your're Welcome! I am so proud of you. Let us know how you are doing. We are here for you. 

 

Love to you,

Summer

[[an...]]

Hi pdt2220 - I just wanted to say congrats and I hope things go smoothly for you! I hope to be jumping off .03mg in a couple months.

 

Best wishes,

Anago

[[pd...]]

Thanks! I think I am a bit stabilized at this point. I've slept decent the last 4-5 nights. Monday night is my last pill!!!!

 

I will keep everyone posted, with as many details as possible, for others to reference. Any thoughts on how to do this? should I just keep it going on this thread?

[[su...]]

hello pdt2220,

 

Well, tonight is your last night of taking Klonopin. I'm so happy for you. I'm so proud of you. You have come a long way. This will be more like stepping off of Klonopin not jumping.

 

It would be great to be able to hear how you are doing. This thread would work. I will be coming here to see how you are doing all along with some others. The "general taper plans" doesn't get as much activity as "withdrawal and recovery support". Since you will be benzo free either one of these places would be fine for letting us know how you're doing. "Withdrawal and recovery support" would allow more people to see how you are doing and also be able to interact with you. It's up to you. I will continue to follow your progress. I very much would like to know.

 

If you wanted to, you could start a thread tomorrow in "benzo free celebrations". That's a great place for all of us to be able to celebrate your freedom from Klonopin. If this sounds like something you would like, I will be on the lookout for it.

 

I'm wishing you only the best,

 

Summer

[[pd...]]

Last night was my first night off Klonopin; I jumped from 7 days at .03125 +/-, dry cut. I didn't have much of a problem falling asleep, but i did take Calmes Forte and "mid-night," which has a small amount of melatonin in it. Fell asleep around 11:30 but woke up around 4 AM...did not really fall back to sleep after that. Soo... it is a start. I guess the next few nights will be worse as the drug exits my body? Other than being tired, I am just fine, i.e. no anxiety or other issues, but I did not anticipate that to be a problem. My only concern is sleep, which is turning out to be slightly true. 

 

I will start a new thread under "withdrawals" and I will include my lifestyle, amount and duration on K etc...If you want to know anything else...just let me know!

[[su...]]

hello pdt2220,

 

 

Congratulations on being benzo free. Way to go! I'm so proud of you. It looks like sleep is an issue. From what I've read and seen here, sleep is the first thing to return. It may take some time but, sleep is a very powerful force in our body. The GABA receptors will repair and sleep will return. In the meantime, please do all you can to remain calm and go with any symptoms that come.

 

We are so fortunate to have you here. You're such an inspiration on how to taper and become free from Klonopin. I'm so happy to hear your symptoms are very minimal. Not to minimize the sleep issue. That will return. You will one day sleep as well or better than you used to.

 

Here's to continued healing,

 

Summer