Bad withdrawal from klonopin

Hi!1 I am new to this board. I too am withdrawing from Klonopin. I took 1.5 mg per day (.5 3 times a day) I am now down to .25 3 times a day. I was cutting .25 per week. I think I will go a bit slower though. Feeling some anxiety, have had a couple of headaches, some muscles aches and feeling edgy and shaky. I am on 40 mg of Paxil for just over 2 weeks as well so that probably is helping. I have been on 20 mg Paxil for years then I think it stopped working so well. So I went on 30 mg for about 3 weeks and been on the Klonopin for about 3 months. No up to 40 mg Paxil for a little over 2 weeks. Wish me luck. I am praying for all of you as well!!

Guest wrote:

Has anyone had a real bad experience with withdrawals from klonopin? Like feeling like you cant breath, severe anxiety-almost like u are gonna jump out of your skin feeling, severely aggitated/irritated, chest pain, etc? What can you do to ease the symptoms? And how long does the withdrawal last?

Im going through this , that why Im looking this up, I have the worse shakes and I stopped about 2weeks ago.Maybe we can help each other.

Boy am I glad I found this site I hust went off through the best hospital in the country and I am so out of it...they told me it was worse than going off herion...I never used herion so I can't compare...I feel dixxy, wobbly, my legs weigh a 1000 pounds...they gave me trazedone for sleep..but it gives me awful dreams...I also am twitching and have developed a twith when I speak...I keep hearing hang-in there...but it is so awful....

I have taperede off benzos 3 times. It can not be rushed. I believe in crossing to valium from Klon if you are taking over 1mg day. 1/2 mg equals 10 mg of valium. It is easier to taper off valium and you can get 2 mg pilss and break them in quarters. Also the long half life of valium 50-200 hrs makes tapering smoother. Check the Ashton Manual. Avoid Hospital detox. They get you off in 10 days but you are a mess for a long time depending on dose and duration.

Hi-

I too have been on Klonopin for awhile - about 7 months - I started noticing some strange side-effects while on Klonopin - an aching pain in the outside of my hips - As I have tapered off Klonopin this has gone away completely! (Proof that it was the Klonopin and not some other medication!) I have a wonderful doctor who has been very careful in trying medications as I had a precious baby girl last Feb. and had serious complications which pushed me into postpartum depression and panic attacks - Horrible!!! This past January I felt well enough to start weaning myself off the meds - with doctors guidance! I knew I didn't want to stop cold turkey - but wasn't sure what to expect. I was on xanax and klonopin - I started weaning myself from these and felt the xanax wasn't too bad during the weaning process - Oh! By the way - my doctor says The Recommended weaning dosage is .25 mg every two weeks - so even .25 every 1 week is too much for your body! I needed that time to adjust! After doing it slowly like that I have not experienced too many side-effects. The Klonopin was much worse than the xanas - probably because it was a 12 hr medicine. After tapering off both these med, and a sleeping pill at night - (all benzodiazapin drugs!) I did notice some withdrawals - mainly from the klonopin. When I went from .25 down to nothing (about a week and a half ago) it was about three days after dropping the med that I started feeling depressed, plus it was raining outside and that depressed me more - claustrophobic napping between my little girls in the bed, and anxious - not a full blown anxiety attack by any means, but a rapid heartbeat and an upsetting mood - it reminded me of my previous panic attacks. Each days since has been better - not drastically- but definitely better. It has been about 2 weeks now and I am still on my Lexapro (which is a great medication!) and will taper off that last. But I am totally off Klonopin - I have since been reading and researching this med and am finding out some serious negative stuff! I would definitely hesitate to use this in the future - even for an extreme situation! [/b]

i've been taking klonopin for 15 years for sleep (chronic fatigue syndrome). i also take flexeril. i originally was taking 3 mg. of klonopin and 2mg flexeril. i've been down to 2-1/2 mgs of klonopin for years. i've cut down further 1/4 less for about 4 weeks and now another 1/2 less. i'm on my 3rd week. i'm feeling very tired, irritable. my husband says i'm still in withdrawal. i'd like to get off completely.

Please help! I have been on klonopin for nearly eight years now and am currently trying to taper off. At one time i was taking 3mg daily and have successfully tapered down to 1mg daily. It seems that when I try to drop to .5mg I have the most horrific time. I tried unsuccessfully about a year ago and went back to 1mg due to lack of sleep and numbness in my face and hands. I am in the 5th day of my second attempt and having a terrible time all over again. I could not sleep a wink last night and feel like crap. I am afraid to take a sleep aid as it would be substituting one problem for another. Can anyone tell me how long it takes to get over these withdrawal symptoms and when I may actually get a good night's sleep. thanks so much and good luck to the rest of you out there fighting the same battle.

Guest wrote:

I hope you are doing better. I went off my Klonopin after taking it for two years, one pill a day, every day. I did not see a doctor about how to get off the stuff, but I did know that it had to be done gradually. Maybe that is why you are having such symptoms? did you suddenly stop taking it or gradually go off from it? I too had a difficult time getting off the stuff even when I was cutting back. I had chest pains/difficult breathing, increase of panic attacks. I also kept getting twitches in my brain, which are kind of hard to explain. that was the worst of the withdrawal symptoms, I believe. it was like a popping sensation every time I moved my head. Unfortunately I have relapsed back into using the medication again to help me sleep, but I wish that I hadn't. I do not take it regularly, and I've been having weird symptoms. the worst one is this throbbing sensation in the side of my head, a very localized pain. I do not understand it, but believe that it is caused by irregular use and thus could be a withdrawl symptom. I feel like I'm suffocating a lot of the time too. If you are still having problems, you may want to talk to your doctor about how to cut back gradually and safely, but I do hope you are better now, as that post was written almost a month ago. I think when I quit the first time, my withdrawal symptoms lasted just about two weeks.

Relapse? I am no longer taking klonopin, but I think I may need it , and we are not talking about relapsing, some people actually need it, although it is addictive, some people may need it, and I am not just talking about addiction. I have not taken it in months because I dont like being dependent on a drug, I no longer have any withdrawals, and I can honestly say I may need it....some people do need to use it long term, so I wouldnt use a word like relapse, unless you were abusing it, or really didnt need it to begin with....some people do that as well.

I have been completely free of klonopin for about 3 1/2 months but not from the withdrawals. I suffer from depression, severe anxiety, rapid heart rate at night and just feeling out of control. The reason I took Klonopin was for stomach seizures that caused severe pain and weight loss. My stomach problems have improved but I wish that I would have NEVER have taken this medication. I went to my doctor today and she prescribed Wellbutrin ! I really hope and pray this works. It really made me feel better to read about other people on the website because I know that it is the withdrawals and I am not lossing my mind. Thank Goodness!!!

I recommend using the road back program. Go to theroadback.org. It is a very informative site and it worked for me.