The Klonopin Klub

[[Bo...]]

Hey guys I need your advice on how to taper off the rest of this klonopin.  ...  I almost have dizziness all day.

 

LynnR,

 

I am so sorry about the dizziness!  From the research I've done and what I've read here from people's testimony, everyone has different WL symptoms.  Some have severe depression (often all day long), others constant panic attack, others regular GI problems.  (I have all three, though usually not at the same time.  :-)

 

This is a good thread to get feedback and info from.  Thanks for posting.

 

—BL

[[Bo...]]

Am NOT having good day. No motivation, hit with morning depression, can't get anything done. Scared to go out tonight (have two engagements). Supposed to be ramping up job hunt—no motivation. Missed morning K dosing by 1 hour; that definitely contributed. Don't know how to stop the increasing depression today; don't know how to handle going out tonight. 

[[li...]]

Hi Booklamp,

 

Sorry you are having a difficult day. 

 

Have you tried prioritizing the day and getting rid of anything that absolutely doesn't have to be done today? 

 

Have music on, meditate if time, and focus on your achievements. 

 

You know how proud of yourself you will be after achieving those engagements tonight.  You will feel great afterwards!

 

Lizie

[[li...]]

Hi Lynn,

 

If it were me, I would taper further just to try to encourage a safe landing.

 

I think the dizziness sounds very like w/d.  Sometimes, I get 'rocking boat' as well  - very disconcerting!

 

Take care,

Lizie

 

[[Sk...]]

@[Ja...]

 

@KlonnopinEd:  I hope your interview went well and you get selected.

 

@All Other Klubbers:  Hey Guys!  There is always hope! 

 

My day is going well.  My last day of 1.75mg before the dose change to 1.5!  I am both excited and nervous at the same time.  But i know all will be well and that I will soon be one step closer to not taking this crap on a daily basis!

[[bb...]]

Hey everyone! I eliminated my morning dose yesterday and today is going OK! Yay! I hope it continues to go well!

 

bballmom

[[ta...]]

Lynn, 

 

I have found my anxiety to be different while cutting klonopin.  It just feels different.  It has taken me years to figure it out, but one of the driving forces in cutting out the med for me was that I realize the difference in withdrawal anxiety and regular anxiety.  It actually came to me when I was almost in an accident on the highway a few months ago.  I had the typical adrenaline rush, head spinning, started sweating, etc, but it was different then the withdrawal (or even interdosal) anxiety I'm feeling today.  Can you, (and I don't want to upset you so don't do it if you shouldn't) think back to the bus accident and think how you felt just prior to it?  Does that anxiety feel like you do today, or in the morning? 

 

I want to say that I have had lots of anxiety in the morning, panic upon waking and what I thought might be cortisol rushes, or adrenaline rushes from withdrawal of klonopin.  I've also had general anxiety and dizziness where I just can't get out of bed or do not want to.  I think I am getting past it, 4 months out, but I still wake up at 4 AM thinking about it and how my day is going to go.  I know other people who have had morning anxiety that typically ruins their day have gotten past it.  You will get past this!  Give it time after your last dose, but it will

[[Sk...]]

Hey Klubbers!

 

Day 14!  Final day at 1.75mg.  I am a little nervous about my next dose reduction tomorrow, but am excited at the same time.Divine Power is with me, so what mustI fear? Today went well.  No withdraw symptoms at all.  I do notice when I smoke a cigarette, I get nervous and my heart beats faster but other than that, All is well.  I have an electronic cigarette that doesn't make me feel like that, so I guess I will just have to quit and just puff on that.   

 

 

[[ja...]]

Morning!  7.5 hours of sleep, NO sleeping aids!! Coup, I tell you.  Between that and a new mostly-veggie diet, I feel awesome. You really are what you eat, I think. So that makes me broccoli...lol.

 

It was great to wake up to all these positive attitudes this morning.  You guys inspire me. I wish luck to all of you who are cutting, hang in there. Tablasco, you are right on with the difference in anxiety. When I was on Klonopin, I woke up every day in a panic, to the point that I would wake up and crawl into a ball while I waited for my morning 1mg dose to take hold. And even then. I would tell myself that there was no reason for the panic, but then my mind would alight on something to blame it on, and I'd drive myself crazy all day - my head would spin. Five months out now, when I have real anxiety, it actually goes away faster and I don't obsess over it. Once in a while I wake up in a panic, but it's normal now, maybe? The only thing I deal with right now is trouble sleeping sometimes.

 

Sky...meditation calms me so much - it has been my saving grace in withdrawal. I started meditating right after I jumped, and every day when I was twitching, I concentrated on the different muscles that were twitching - kind of breathing into them, calming them.  Now I'm at a point where I'm actively practicing mindfulness, beginning Zen (I downloaded a mindfulness bell onto my droid to calm me during the day) and even if this sounds hokey I feel part of the bigger picture of the world and nature. I just give myself to it, even if it feels risky. Being part of this world means I CAN succeed in life, I'm allowed to notice beauty. I deserve it.

 

I mentioned before that I think this Autumn is more beautiful than any I can remember. I checked with my husband as to whether or not this season is particularly beautiful this year...he said it was normal for Fall. But this year I'm overwhelmed with the colors. I was thinking that in the Winter I would be appreciative of how the snow falls on the trees, and the blue of the sky against the white.

 

I believe that this is what you can look forward to when you get off the Klonopin. The world is amazing.

[[Sk...]]

@[Ja...]

 

 

[[Bo...]]

Hi Booklamp,

 

Have you tried prioritizing the day and getting rid of anything that absolutely doesn't have to be done today?

 

Thanks, Lizie.  I should do this the night before, so I can run it on autopilot the next day. My current challenge is that I don't know when one of these daily K WL depressions will hit, how long it will last, etc. I'm usually caught off guard.

 

Music...well, it's scary, but when I get really down I often listen to Sunn O))). If anyone knows their music, you will understand. They make The Cure and Joy Division's darkest songs sound chipper (like the Beatles) in comparison.

 

But more often than not, if the depression is REALLY bad, I just put myself to bed. I can't hurt myself there, and it's a safe place.

[[li...]]

Hi everyone!

 

Glad Booklamp that you coped ........ did you make it to the two engagements?

 

I agree with you, Jax, meditation and a veggie diet really help.  That makes me spinach today !! lol

 

I am down to just below .125mg now ....... can't wait for all this tapering to be behind me. 

 

Still having benzo-flu but distraction seems to be helping to create gaps.  The sea is really comforting ........ puts everything into perspective .........  lots of walks and fresh air while on  vacation in Florida.  My husband really needed a break - probably because of all my benzoitis!

 

All for now,

Lizie

 

 

[[sk...]]

Hi everyone-- I am new to this board and site.  I have been on klonopin for a couple of yrs for anxiety and sleeplessness.  Just started to taper off about one month ago from 1mg to 3/4 tab.  It was fine until 3 days ago when I went down to 1/2 tab and my whole world got rocked and I feel just awful.  The last 3 days have been awful and sleepless.  Last night I decided to find another sleep specialist and go back to the 3/4 tab as I think I am tapering too fast.  I was ok (not great but better) on the 3/4 than the 1/2 tab and now Im a complete mess.

I think I have had every side effect of withdrawl in the last few days possible! I am a wife and a mother to a young child and I need to slow down the taper so I can run my life more effectively.  I am feeling pretty awful and crying a whole lot.  I just wish I did not find myself in this position but I am, so I need to figure out how to safely be free of it.  I am here because I really need a lot of support, and I am happy I found this site and board. 

 

[[bb...]]

Sky,

I have been where you are. When I first started tapering, I was cutting my tabs like you - a quarter at a time and boy was I sorry! I was having the same symptoms; fearful, crying, no sleep... the works. Slow down and only cut 10% every 2 weeks. You will see a huge difference. I did, and now I am almost off! Take care and keep us posted.

 

bballmom

[[li...]]

Welcome, Skyblue.  Sorry to hear that the last couple of days have been so difficult.  That happened to me when I cut 25% at the start.

 

I agree with bballmom ........ smaller cuts and slowing down makes a big difference in the symptoms.  Have you tried titrating?  It improved

 

things for me because pill cutting was so inaccurate - it crumbles and makes reductions less precise.

 

One day at a time .......

Take care,

Lizie

[[Fi...]]

Dear Brain:

 

Please let me sleep. Please!?

[[kl...]]

Dear Brain:

 

Please let me sleep. Please!?

 

I feel you on that one.

[[Fi...]]

Thanks klonopinned. Brain not listening to me. Having a rough day.

[[Ly...]]

Hey guys I really need your support .

Yesterday after trying to figure out how to

Cut my .0325 dose down I decided f- it and I jumped ship.

I have been benzo free since yesterday . My

Psychiatrst said I would be ok to do it . I tapered about 36 days off of .25

Klonopin .. I stayed at the last dose of .0325 for 10 days...

Second day out I'm starting to feel the usual headaches and dizziness and a bit of some bursts of panic ... Not full fledged panic attacks ....

Seeing psychiatrist tommorow . Hoping I make it thru this without it

All getting worse . I'm ready to be free

[[Sk...]]

My first day of dose reduction from 1.75mg/day to 1.5mg/day.  Some nervousness but other than that, Things seem to be okay. Karaoke Tonight!!! 

[[Du...]]

Hello everyone....

 

Just wanted to give an update and ask for your opinion.... My doctor called me today after consulting with the psychiatrist in the same building (regarding using the Ashton Method to taper off) and he told me that both he and the other doctor felt that replacing the klonopin with valium during the taper wasn't a good idea. Mainly because they are concerned that since Valium is stronger, I could become addicted to it, leading to more problems. His suggestion was as follows:

 

Take .50 klonopin in the morning and .25 xanax in the evening for 2 weeks.

 

Afterwards, stop taking the klonopin and replace the dosage with .25 xanax in the morning and keep the same .25 dosage (of xanax) at night for 2 weeks.

 

After those 2 weeks are over, he wants me to only take .25 xanax at night for 2 weeks, then eventually wean me off the xanax soon after. (Almost immediately, I believe.)

 

What do you think of this tapering plan? I am a little worried, as this whole nightmare began by another doctor prescribing me .25 xanax initially, which led to an increased dosage eventually up to 3 mg per day before another doctor switched me to klonopin 2 years ago to "help me" get off all medications together.... you can see how well that turned out. 

 

Rehab is not an option for me, as I do not have insurance nor the money to cover the costs.

[[Ge...]]

Good grief, more evidence that they really don't know what they're talking about far too often.

 

I'm pretty sure that standard thinking is that one moves from Xanax to klonopin if necessary, but not the other way around.  Klonopin has a much longer half-life, so there are usually fewer problems with interdose withdrawal issues.  My psychiatrist switched me from Xanax to klonopin several years ago because of what she called "rebound anxiety" from xanax's shorter half-life.

 

What you describe sounds like kind of a knee-jerk reaction to Valium.  I've heard and read that US doctors are often reluctant to prescribe it because of its reputation for abuse from years ago.  Not because it's actually any more or less addictive than any other benzo (unless I'm mistaken, they're all exactly equally addictive).  I think in the UK and Austrailia, for example, it's less of a problem to switch.

 

The rate of taper has to be whatever you're comfortable with, but whether it's from klonopin or Xanax, the rate they're recommending sounds fast to me.  There are also ways to taper directly (and at whatever rate you feel comfortable with) from klonopin.  Some of us use titration, others dry cut (which is easier in the US because we have access to smaller-dose klonopin wafers than many other countries).  But you have to do what seems reasonable for you. 

[[...]]

It sounds like you went there with and an idea of what you wanted to do and  they came up with something very different.

 

And I'm surprised that the two of them together don't know that it's Xanax that has the most potential for addiction not Valium (due to it's fast action/short half life). Putting you back on xanax only to take you off of it in a couple weeks when he is concerned about addiction ?? I don't see the logic.

 

Also like Genoa said there are more interdose w/d issues with Xanax. It has a short life so it's hard to get even consistent doses in your system.

 

And also like Genoa said it's not necessary to cross over to Valium.  In fact some people find it difficult to make a transition to a different drug.  It's possible to w/d directly from klonopin.

 

I think you should stick to your guns.

He sounds nice enough. I wish there was a way he could work with you.

 

 

[[Ly...]]

Hey guys I really need your support .

Yesterday after trying to figure out how to

Cut my .0325 dose down I decided f- it and I jumped ship.

I have been benzo free since yesterday . My

Psychiatrst said I would be ok to do it . I tapered about 36 days off of .25

Klonopin .. I stayed at the last dose of .0325 for 10 days...

Second day out I'm starting to feel the usual headaches and dizziness and a bit of some bursts of panic ... Not full fledged panic attacks ....and alot of burning sensations

Seeing psychiatrist tommorow . Hoping I make it thru this without it

All getting worse . I'm ready to be free

[[ja...]]

:'( Last night I jammed my bad foot and fell at 2:00 AM. It really hurts today. I'm so upset. Why did this happen? I tossed and turned and finally took a half an Ambien at about 3:00 AM. I woke up completely late for work and now I need to stay late. Going to the doctor today. I'm pissed, I'm angry and I'm hurting.

 

Sorry not to respond to you guys today...you all know I care. I just really need your thoughts and prayers today that I won't have to wear the surgical shoe again, stay home again or realign my foot again. I'm freaking crying at my desk here. This is so not cool.  :'( :'(