Clonazepam and Klonopin Withdrawal - Musicman Posts

Also what does the pregnenolone do? I remember reading something about it converts to testosterone in the body? How will this help my taper? Thanks again for all of your help I need someone like you to help me thank you again

Timeheals... When I first saw your reply, I almost fell off my chair. There is a HUGE difference in taking 125 mg and .125 mg. If you were taking 125 mg, you'd be a zombie at this point and it would take you decades to come off of it. I'm glad you put .125 in parenthesis. LOL!!! To answer your questions: Yes, you should use that dosage, which is/was about 1/8 of what I was taking back in the day, as they say. I like GABA, but I want to re-emphasis the Pharma GABA formulated by Dr. Michael Murray. This is important. In fact, I just took some a few minutes ago, as I'm slowly winding down for bed-time. Yes, I actually followed that exact schedule in tapering off. Like you, I had tried it cold turkey, and I was REALLY not doing well AT ALL. In the end, I had to leave my job. It was quite bad. But, I was on my own with no one to guide me, until my board certified nutritionist helped me. I had originally been with him due to my Crohn's Disease. And, I want to add that, thanks to him, I have been completely free of Crohn's for about 18 years now. So, he has helped me a great deal over the years. So...no more cold turkey. Try to do all that I had suggested in my first response to you. Take it slow. This is not a race. Eventually, you WILL be free of it. Keep us posted.

You mentioned that you have trouble sleeping. Pregnenolone, another suggestion of my nutritionist, will help you to relax and, thus, sleep. If all of these items I am suggesting overwhelm you, then just start with one and add on as you need.

The point I am trying to make is that you want something(s) to help you not only get off clonazepam (Klonopin) but to replace it...and not only with supplementation but with good, nutritious food, plenty of rest, less or no caffeine, and some exercise (walking outdoors is great).

Timeheals...

I replied to this post, and then I rethought my answer in regards to "did you follow the same schedule". I did, but slightly different. Here's what I mean.

I was taking more than you. So, what I had to do was to get my 1 MG tablet dosage down to .25 MG, i.e., 1/4 of the 1 MG tablet.

What I did was buy a pill cutter at a drug store ($5 or less and very helpful). So, what I would do is take my 1 MG tablet each day for a month, then cut it in half with the pill cutter and take 1/2 a pill or .50 MG per day for a month. Then, I took 1/2 a pill every other day for a month. Next, I took the 1/2 a pill and cut it again, giving me 1/4 of a pill or .25 MG. I would take that pill every other day and then proceed to taper down as I had explained earlier, e.g., 1/4 pill every other day, 1/4 pill every three days, and so forth.

Obviously, there can be slightly different ways to do it, but the idea is to simply taper down in a slow, consistent manner. And, if you have to stay at a certain dosage for two months instead of just one, that's perfectly OK. Again...this is not a race. Take your time. You can do it!!!

i have been taking clonazepam for 10 years without any problems.
this helps me sleep well but I am quite tired in the daytime.
I was given this as an add on for tegretol because I am an epileptic.
I also take co-codamol for headaches and limb pain.

This is a response to let musicman know his post was very helpful to me.  I am also determined to stop taking clonazepam.  After a cold turkey approach, I knew I was in for the fight for my life.

Thank you musicman.  You have given me hope.  I am trying the schedule you used to taper, and get off of this medication.  The nutritional basis for healing is important.  I am a medical professional and know modern medicine does not recognize nutrition. 

I am now copying the information as I went to find it and could not.  Today I did find it.  Please keep this post up for people like me who need some encoragement and a plan. 

musicman... thank you for putting up the original thread. I was looking for it and could not find it. Yours is a confident voice among the many. Sooo glad I found it. Your story and suggestions have helped me greatly!

Because you are taking other medications, I must be careful in making any suggestions. Perhaps if you talk with your doctor about some of the suggestions I've made on this post, you can get a conversation going. I will say this, though, considering what your dose of clonazepam might be, it could make you tired during the day. As I went through the withdrawal process and and pulled back from 1 MG to 1/2 MG to 1/4 MG, etc., I found that I was less tired during the day, as the dose went down. Perhaps you could talk with your doctor about CAREFULLY reducing the dosage of the clonazepam and see if that helps with your daily fatigue. Best of luck to you.

I am pleased that my post has helped you. It has done the same for many around the world. I am pleased to know that you work in the medical profession and understand that medical professionals are simply not trained in nutrition as board certified nutritionists are. PLEASE never try to go cold turkey with clonazepam again. It is a VERY BAD thing to do...includes seizures, etc. Keep us posted on how you do. The thing to remember, and you must remember this, is that coming off of clonazepam is a VERY slow process. Care must be taken. Don't get discouraged. But, do move forward bit by bit. You can do it!!!

I'm glad you found my post, too. It pleases me that, after all the work that I put into it, that it still continues to help people after so much time has passed.

MM, took me 18+ mos, but I am off the Klonopin. I used liquid tritration.

Thank you for your support. I was abusing xanax and after hospitalization to detox me was prescribed Klonopin upon my release. My abuse of xanax was extremely high and all of the literature seems to support the idea that I couldn't be taken off of benzos immediately after years of use.

However, I am on a 2-year protocol of reduction of Klonopin. After the first year I will just say that I am still having acute withdrawal symptoms that are consistent with the literature. I'm going through what experts say is common.

So, here is my question for anyone. I am supervised by my psychiatrist. He is willing to let me participate in the decisions to speed up my reduction. He says that for many people, the withdrawal symptoms aren't increased that much, and that once the use of benzos has been completely terminated that your recovery speeds up. The issue is whether I want to increase my reduction rate.

I'm wondering if anyone out there has gone through this. I'm looking at another year of reduction. But my xanax reduction was massive and I survived that.

Any comments? I would appreciate them.

steady and slow. do not hurry. It took me 2 yrs, 18 mos was liquid tritration. you tube shows how to do this. I always held till I felt better. dont suffer ok? there is light at the end of the tunnel. K8

Hello musicman, I am the medical professional to whom you responded in December. I am not a doctor either, and there was a time when I managed health problems with natural remedies. Yes, a type A personality led me down a path to destroying my own health and as they say you need to "show up" in your own life first and foremost. I want to share what you have helped me to accomplish and what has worked for me.

First, I love that you remind us we need to put ourselves first before friends, or even family. Expectations can lead us away from healing ourselves due to the stress of so many expectations we put upon ourselves. I gave myself permission to take some time for me, and took a leave from work (really difficult for a Type A person). I did try to quit cold turkey before finding your thread on this site. So, as I said this is what is working and it has been a blessing!

I began taking 1mg of clonazepam for several years when due to hormonal imbalance I had a hard time sleeping. I cannot take traditional synthetic hormones due to side effects. That is how I began my experience with this medication. The thing that finally led me to research my health issues, and there were many, was the brain fog, then memory loss. This was really frightening, and like so many others I thought I had some terrible disease.

Now, after obtaining some of the natural remedies you recommended I am amazed that this has been somewhat easy for me to drop from 1mg of clonazepam to 1/2 mg in 2 weeks.

I take the PharmaGABA, and the B12, at night. I also tried the Melatonin. I found that you need to go to a dark room (no lights) as that tells your body it is time to rest and sleep. It really works for me. I usually wake up around 2 or 3 am and will take 1 PharmaGABA, and 1 B12, both dissolve in your mouth and work quickly. The first time I took 1 PharmaGABA during the day I felt calm and focused, so it really works without causing a hangover or groggy feeling if you have anxiety during the day. Fortunately the anxiety has really gone away for me I think as a result of everything I am doing, not just 1 thing.

I have started a workout routine 30 minutes a day, and I walk also, weather permitting. At first I was so weak I couldn't believe it. Now I finish a 30 minute workout with almost no problem. This is all in about 4 weeks of good nutrition, a good women's supplement, I found by the same manufacturer, and those supplements for sleep and relaxation I mentioned.

I hope this helps anyone looking for hope, and a way to recover the most important thing in life...our health and well being. I will continue my process of cutting down my dose as my body allows, and I know I will succeed!! These natural supplements made a huge difference for me.

Thank you for all the information, and your caring enough to share your success!!

I am interested in more info regarding the nutitionist. I have a few questions if we can private chat or email. Ty rqadir