Help me out of this Well of Clon I fell into

[[hu...]]

Hi, I'm Hush.

 

I'm 24.  Had been using clonazepam "as needed" throughout March for anxiety(I refer to this month in my memories as "March madness" because of all the crazy stuff that went on).  So for a total of about 6 weeks I had been using on and off.  I stopped cold turkey only to fall into a well of paralyzing anxiety a few days later- I didn't know this stuff could be so...cruel.

 

I have for the past week been stabilized at 1 mg per day.  I take a .5 mg pill in the morning and a .5 mg pill in the evening.

 

Just yesterday I tried to cut my tablets up to about 80% of my regular total dosage.  It was very inexact- the pills don't cut well.  Everything went fine until I was just ending my shift at work and had to go ralph.  Proceeded to go home and be sick all night, having amazing diarrhea and ralphing my whole stomach contents every few hours.  (then I would chug water or sprite to try and stay hydrated)

 

I would really appreciate if anyone has experience with clonazepam withdrawal if they could offer me some advice.  Even though I have been using it for only two months, it seems like 1 mg per day is enough to have me very dependent on this stuff.

 

Here are my questions, even though I'm sure they are answered in other blogs I have been reading all night and my eyes hurt so forgive me but it's always sort of a putdown when people say "refer to this..." because- clearly I just need some human support and helpful answers.  Then if you want to put a link I guess that's fine:

 

+Is it okay to keep my dosage at twice a day? (I notice some people on clon go 3x per day)

 

+I plan to do a titration with milk- should I try cutting .1 mg off my daily total per week (linear) or should I try and go for the 10% (God that seems like it would take forever).  Any help with a schedule would be...er..um...helpful.

 

+From what I can tell Ashton seems to recommend switching to Valium- do you think this would be worth it at my current dose and length of use? (I'm thinking not...but I've never used that drug before)

 

Thank you so much.  This community is so supportive.  My psych thinks I'm just being a wuss (he said "clonazepam is a good drug- people can be on it for years and get off without any problem") and I don't have anyone else who has experience with this sort of issue.

 

All the best to everyone out there.

-You can call me Hush

[[Th...]]

+Is it okay to keep my dosage at twice a day? (I notice some people on clon go 3x per day)

 

Some do fine taking clono twice a day. I took mine 3X/day. If you are feeling bad between dosing, you may need to take it 3X/day.

 

+I plan to do a titration with milk- should I try cutting .1 mg off my daily total per week (linear) or should I try and go for the 10% (God that seems like it would take forever).  Any help with a schedule would be...er..um...helpful.

 

Most titrate at a rate of 1% every 7-14 days, with ten days being about in the middle. You can always slow it down or speed it up depending on how you are feeling.

 

+From what I can tell Ashton seems to recommend switching to Valium- do you think this would be worth it at my current dose and length of use? (I'm thinking not...but I've never used that drug before)

 

Most doctors in the US will not prescribe Valium and most do fine directly tapering off clono.

 

Thank you so much.  This community is so supportive.  My psych thinks I'm just being a wuss (he said "clonazepam is a good drug- people can

 

Some people don't have a problem coming off benzos but those that do, it can be pretty rough. It is referred as Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome.

 

If you would, could you add a signature line to your profile. It will help others that drop by see your benzo journey in one place. Here are the directions.... http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=9432.msg119713#msg119713

 

T2

[[Be...]]

Hi, I'm Hush.

 

I'm 24.  Had been using clonazepam "as needed" throughout March for anxiety(I refer to this month in my memories as "March madness" because of all the crazy stuff that went on).  So for a total of about 6 weeks I had been using on and off.  I stopped cold turkey only to fall into a well of paralyzing anxiety a few days later- I didn't know this stuff could be so...cruel.

 

I have for the past week been stabilized at 1 mg per day.  I take a .5 mg pill in the morning and a .5 mg pill in the evening.

 

Just yesterday I tried to cut my tablets up to about 80% of my regular total dosage.  It was very inexact- the pills don't cut well.  Everything went fine until I was just ending my shift at work and had to go ralph.  Proceeded to go home and be sick all night, having amazing diarrhea and ralphing my whole stomach contents every few hours.  (then I would chug water or sprite to try and stay hydrated)

 

I would really appreciate if anyone has experience with clonazepam withdrawal if they could offer me some advice.  Even though I have been using it for only two months, it seems like 1 mg per day is enough to have me very dependent on this stuff.

 

Here are my questions, even though I'm sure they are answered in other blogs I have been reading all night and my eyes hurt so forgive me but it's always sort of a putdown when people say "refer to this..." because- clearly I just need some human support and helpful answers.  Then if you want to put a link I guess that's fine:

 

+Is it okay to keep my dosage at twice a day? (I notice some people on clon go 3x per day)

 

+I plan to do a titration with milk- should I try cutting .1 mg off my daily total per week (linear) or should I try and go for the 10% (God that seems like it would take forever).  Any help with a schedule would be...er..um...helpful.

 

+From what I can tell Ashton seems to recommend switching to Valium- do you think this would be worth it at my current dose and length of use? (I'm thinking not...but I've never used that drug before)

 

Thank you so much.  This community is so supportive.  My psych thinks I'm just being a wuss (he said "clonazepam is a good drug- people can be on it for years and get off without any problem") and I don't have anyone else who has experience with this sort of issue.

 

All the best to everyone out there.

-You can call me Hush

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies, Hush. 

 

It is amazing how quickly those little pills can mess with you.  Some people become dependent in as little as 2 weeks.  And everyone's withdrawal (w/d) symptoms can be so different, though most everyone gets varying degrees of anxiety.

 

You asked very good questions and obviously have been doing some reading.  I second everything that Theresa2 said.  If you aren't having a problem with interdose withdrawal, I wouldn't switch to 3x/day.  Especially titrating, it can be a pain to dose more than 2x/day, although it is, of course, possible.

 

If you want help with a titration schedule, just post a request here with the following information:

 

Start date: when you would like your titration to start. (Allow at least 48 hours from posting the request.)

 

Dose: the dose you anticipate you be taking at the start date (in mgs).

 

Tablet dose: the dose of your individual tablets.

 

Number of tablets: the total number (and/or fractions) of tablets you take per day. Examples: 2 tabs; 2.5 tabs; 0.75 tabs. These are the number of tablets (not doses), and the tablets used must be of the same dosage (strength).

 

Taper rate: if you are unsure, ask for the input of others. The majority of people probably titrate at a rate of about 10% of their dose every 7-14 days. If you are unsure of where to start, and unless you have good reason to think you need a particularly slow taper, 1% per day is probably a good starting point. The taper plan can be altered later if need be.

 

Cylinder details: I will need to know the size of the cylinder you are using (100ml is recommended). I will also need to know that size of the marked increments. Just make sure that there enough increments for the given cylinder to ensure that the pill can be divided into small fractions (100ml cylinder with 1ml increments is always fine; 100ml with 2-5 increments is probably fine; 50ml with 5ml increments is not very useful). If you are using very large dose pills (for your given benzo), such as 10mg Valium or 2mg Xanax, you will absolutely need lots of increments. This usually means a 100ml cylinder with 1ml increments.

 

I think titration is the way to go, especially since you are on just 1mg/day.  You can use 1mg tablets if that's all you have and reduce at any weekly rate you want by making teeny reductions every day rather than inexact cuts every week or so.  Make sense?

 

 

[[hu...]]

Thank you so much T2 and Beeper.   

 

It really means a lot to me that you take my post so seriously and respond so quickly. 

 

I'm going to have to give a couple days to make sure the 1 mg per day (.5, .5) is an okay starting point for me, and in the mean time I'll find some kind of beaker or flask and maybe tell my roommate that I'm mixing up protein shakes and like to be precise about calories.  (it's funny...I'm actually trying to bulk up and go to the gym a lot...and this ralphing isn't exactly helping)

 

And then you'll see a post from me with the specifics of want I want (need, rather) to accomplish.

 

Thanks again.

 

I feel so lonely in this cold dark clon well, but at least they have internet access down here. 

[[Co...]]

Hi Hushplease,

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies. Let us know when you require further help with titration. Good luck.

[[la...]]

Hey Hush,

 

Just wanted to wish you luck on crawling out of the Klonopin well!  It's a dark gloomy place, but you are not alone.  If you look around closely you'll see alot of faces there now that you've found Benzobuddies!  I have no clue what I'd do without internet access either. If I had not found BB I'd be one ugly mess! 

 

You've found a great support group to help you through your journey!  You may want to go over to Buddie Blogs and start yourself a blog both to keep up with your progress, and to get more support from others. 

 

Good luck on your journey to benzo freedom! 

 

 

Phyllis