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Deb
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I am so thankful to have found this site. I took klonopin for 18 years, about 6mg a day. I took it to supposedly help with a severe stuttering problem and anxiety and panic disorder. I finally decided to come off of it and went into a treatment center to come off of it safely. It has been the most horrible experience. I am now drug free for 4 and 1/2 months and still experiencing the most awful withdrawal side effects. I am told that it could take me anywhere from 6 months to 2 years to fully recover and all I can do now is pray that I will feel better than I feel now in a couple of months b/c I honestly don't see how I could handle this for 2 years. I am experiencing a lot of the same symptoms already mentioned like trouble breathing, feeling like I am having a heart attack, (I know this is anxiety, but it is AWFUL)...much worse than the anxiety that I was experiencing BEFORE ever trying klonopin!!! There is no comparison. Since I stutter, my speech has been so much worse, to the point that I really cannot PHYSICALLY speak or form syllables. Then the mood swings are not even what I would call a "swing." I am pretty much almost always on the brink of losing my temper. I hope that no one else has to go through what I have been through, but if you have, I would greatly appreciate any feedback. Like, when should I feel better. I have not met anyone who took benzos for as long as I did. Most people took them for months to a couple of years and I feel really stupid for taking it as long as I did, but that is irrelevant now! Any insight? Thanks!
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The doctor knew exacly what it was. Said it's normal drug withdrawal.... especially with Klonopin.
Please don't stop cold turkey.... Dangerous! Not to mention absolute torture.
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What scares me is the violent dependency on this drug. I had resigned myself to being on some type of medication for the rest of my life to avoid having seizures. I don't mind being "addicted" for purely medical reasons, but I am very frustrated at being addicted just for "chemical" reasons.
I empthize with everybody in this posting and with anybody who is not. I have no idea how many people are in similar situations but have no idea that others are in the same boat, give or take. Whether short-term or long-term, taking this medicine seems to have negative effects, both while one is taking it and when one tries to quit. In my case it was very necessary at the time I began to have some way to control my seizures. This drug was a godsend. Now that I know another drug can do the same thing without some of the negative side effects, it is very frustrating to still be "addicted." I hope I was (or will be) even remotely helpful to somebody. Everybody's stories were helpful to me. Thanks.
RF
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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!
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