how long do withdrawl symptoms last with klonopin?

I have been on Klonopin for about 15 years! Simply because I am not able to get through these horrible withdrawel symptoms you describe. I really tried very, very hard to get off it, but could not do it. The withdrawel symptoms are indeed hell. I wish I had been warned about this. I like to say to anyone who is considering Klonopin, do not take it. Explore any other option for your specific problem before taking Klonopin!

i have been on Klonopin for over 10 years and sometimes i dont feel i need them so i can usually have alot of pills left before its refill time- but i decided to stop them i wanted to be happy without them, the past week i have been so depressed crying at everything, sad- no motivation at all, how long will this take? do i need to taper off?
i was on 0.25 twicwe a day

I had that exact experience. I would be driving and I would smell a strong vinegar smell. It usually happened in the car. I think because it is an enclosed space and the odor is concentrated. I never associated that with klonopin withdrawal until I read your post. Thank you!

I am down to .25 twice a day of clonazapam. I have internal shaking and low basal temp. I am being treated for low thyroid function, so hoping basal temp goes up soon. I cannot tell if shaking is from low temp in a.m. or withdrawals from clon I do sometimes manage to forget the clon in evenings. I honestly hope the shaking is w drawals and not an underlying physical issue. there have been a few days when driving and I really feel I might shake all over. I know that must be the clonazapam. Your view?

Hello everyone, I've never ever written a post in one of these online groups before but now I know why there are years of testimony on here. I am a 34 year old female who has been taking Klonapin for the past 3.5 years. At one point I was taking 6mg/day for sever panic attacks. The past year I have been taking 1mg in the am and 1mg in the evening. For the past 3 months, I slowly lowered my dose to a total of .5 mg/day. My doctor had been prescribing this for me without any hesitation and now I realize that I should have been more pro-active and done the research, but alas, I did not and I am suffering  immensely now. It has been 6 days since my last .5/mg and I am not feeling any relief for these horrendous withdrawals. On the second night, I ended up in the ER because my husband and I were scared for my life. The symptoms could only be described as a living hell; anxiety like never before, tightness in my chest, muscle spasms and ticks, slurred speech, dizzy, sweats and chills, no appetite (I am already small but now I am sickly underweight, 5'7" 120lbs), crying spells and a scary feeling of impending doom, insomnia..you name it, I'm feeling it right now. I am a fitness instructor and I worry that it will takes years to recover. The thought of being in front of a class makes me go into severe panic now and I have not left my house or my bathrobe for a week. My husband is supportive but my sick energy is sucking the life out of him as well. He is scared and I am embarrassed that I am so handicapped now. I am fighting this battle because I will NEVER take any prescription like this again! No one should ever have to go through this. I wish this drug never existed!

I suffer from generalized myoclonus from Lyme's disease. After a week of hospitalization and being unable to control the movement in my limbs and torso, I was put on Klonopin. I've been on it for 23 years now. I know it affects my memory and and my ability to understand certain things has definitely diminished. Sex drive - forget about it. BUT, without it I would not be a functioning human being. I've tried all the other anticonvulsants and still had to take klonopin with them. Many times I've tried to wean myself off this med slowly. The closest I got was eliminating .25 mg. But after 2 weeks I started having myoclonus again. Right now I take 2 - 2.5 mg a day. I think this is the best of all evils. It is a safe drug, albeit a very addictive one. My neuro offered to switch me to something else, but he said getting off the klonopin would not be pleasant and I would have to take another anticonvulsant at the same time. That means missing work for a few months and probably losing my job because of it. I could allow myself to be unhappy because of this med, but I'd rather look on the bright side of things.....so many people have it far worse than I.  :-)

To all those who struggle with depression, anxiety attacks, rapid thoughts as I have...I found a God send in a book called "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall.  I no longer have these or restless leg syndrome anymore.  

I'm so sorry you are going through this! I totally agree this drug is a poison and should NEVER be prescribed! I went through your W/D symptoms. At one point I laid on my floor in a fetal position for a week sobbing uncontrollably because I was so sick and I felt this horrible impending doom. I was so scared and so confused that I didn't even know it was W/D. I now see a homeopathic Dr. Although I still have to go through the W/D it is much better now and I almost can see a light at the end of the tunnel. I am now 4 months off klonopin and things are better. I just pray I can heal totally. Hang in there. You sound like a strong person and you will get through it!

So sorry I didn't see this sooner. I cried for about two days every time I tapered off. Because of this effect, don't just drop the medicine. Your brain needs time to reset itself. Only taper a bit at a time. You can cut the pill in half or in fourths....not like anti-depressants that cannot divide. Most important, make sure you do not have underlying issues, like low thyroid function. No tapering will work and you should not do it if other health problems have not been addressed. I tried tapering ten or fifteen times in the last 5 years, but I had horrible issues because I was truly sick with thyroid disease. I was recently treated for hypothyroid when I saw I had all the symptoms, and that's when I was able to get off the klonopin. Also, it really helps to understand that withdrawals are normal and will go away. I did the same..having a lot leftover at refill time, so I just did not refill. My psychiatrist told me I could take my klonopin (clonazapam) only when I needed it--if I wanted to. This helped me get off of it. I went from two .25 tab twice daily to one .25 tab daily, then started cutting that in half. I took a sixth of a .5 tab just in morning before I was ready to stop completely. But if I needed one dose in between as I was cutting back, I allowed myself that--but I never took more than the amount that I was already successfully weaned to. Don't try to cut back again until the crying stops, and you need to give yourself a week of no crying. Also, worn your family that you are weaning. Were you put on an anti-depressant at the same time as the klonopin?

How are you doing today> I am concerned after reading your post. I have successfully weaned off of klonapin but it takes a long time. I think you need to put your happiness first. I know the pain of panic attacks...real ones... and the dark looming every day, and the closing in, all of those horrible things. I sincerely want to share that you must ask yourself, "what bothers me"? STOP those things until you are well...like the classes. I was a professional voice teacher and had to stop...but it was worth it to get well....then you can start again later if you like. Whatever your triggers are you must find them and try to deal with them. There is nothing wrong with staying home if you can relax and be happy there. We are much too hard on ourselves. Also, I would slow down on tapering off until you are healthy enough to function...I never cut my withdrawing by more than .25 mg klonapin at a time. I had tried 15 times before I figured out how to slowly do this. We are talking months, even a year, not a day or week. Give yourself healthy weeks and months in between the hard ones. If you cannot get back to stable go back to the prescribed dose until you are not scared and then try at a much slower rate. I would also have your thyroid checked. Ask for a full thyroid blood test, and then check the numbers yourself. Over or under-active thyroid can cause horrible depression and anxiety and many anxious people have thyroid issues that have not been addressed. A regular doctor can order this test for you. Have your doctor do multiple testing to make sure there is not an underlying illness. I was so happy to find I had another illness and that after I was treated for it I could get off the anti-anxiety. I have also been able to FINALLY wean off one of my anti-depressants. I NEVER thought that would EVER happen for me. It is not all hopeless...I thought it was once, but it is not ...there will be sunshine for you again. Try to be patient with yourself and your body, and don't be mad at yourself for needing medicine for a little while.

I've been off of this drug for 3 months now cold turkey an it's a nightmare. I was on them over 7 years for anxiety and panic attacks . This has left me without a life without a job and its looking like ill be without a home. I currently stay in Canada with a friend but my time in the country is running out and I have to go back to the US feeling like this. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I want to know when will this feeling end because my life depends on it. 2mg a day of klonipin for over 7 years off for 3 months with severe withdrawels from blurred vision to ichy skin my brain feels like its goin to explode afraid to go out totally detached and ultra depressed . I had a life once I don't know what else I do in in a country with no heatlth insurance and no where to go . A vivacious cycle of either on the meds or on al t of alcohol or both I'm 39 years old and feel like a geriatric . At a total loss

 

 

I am coming off Clonazepam(Rivitrol) this week. I have been on it for 8 years, my Psychiatrist gave it to me for severe anxiety. I know this is going to be hell but worth it as I don’t think I need it, this realisation about meds only became apparent the last three months. I have come off Effexor, Tramadol, Fentanyl, Seroquel and now the Rivitrol. I am a new person, my emotions and feelings have come back - I have feelings again after been medicated for up to 10years - the anger with my Doctors is getting me through this and making sure that I help at least one person, knowing that medication is not the only solution. The Doctors tell you that you need to help yourself, but when you are so medicated it is extremely hard to make a right decision and also you are craving these drugs. I have had no anxiety since stopping my medication, when I was on it my anxiety was sky high. I did introduce a new diet - no dairy, wheat, yeast, or sugar and cut caffeine out. Eating lots of potassium and magnesium for muscle spasms. High strength Vitamin B and Omega3. Yoga every morning helps immensely. I pray that everyone here makes it through the withdrawals - if you medically need this drug then you have no choice, but if you can get off medication it is the way forward. I did come off everything one by one cold turkey, the main reason for this was to feel the withdrawals so that I will never want to go back, unless it is completely necessary and essential. The reason that I was put on the meds to make things clear - I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar for 8 years and they changed it to BPD, PSTD - (they say it was a mis-diagnosis). Fibromyalgia and ME - pain meds. Neuropathic pain in my spine and shoulder. Thinking of everyone here - )

Ray... I definitely understand what you are going through. About three years ago, I came upon this thread that you have posted on. Over time, I created my own thread which details how I was able to get off the drug. The first thing I found out, and which you are finding out now, is that you cannot come off of clonazepam (Klonopin) cold turkey. In fact, it is dangerous doing that. I've said pretty much all I can say in this following post. I'm hoping that it might bring some help and hope to you. There IS life after this drug, but it takes specific actions and time: https://www.steadyhealth.com/Clonazepam_and_Klonopin_Withdrawal___Musicman_Posts_t254306.html?page=1

Good luck to you!

Guest ... I admire your courage to come off of all those drugs (Effexor, Tramadol, Fentanyl, Seroquel, etc). It is not easy. And, you will find that clonazepam is not going to be easy. It really is tough...but you CAN do it. I would encourage you to re-think about coming off of clonazepam cold turkey, however. You might want to take the time to read my thread and see if it helps to guide you on this journey. I any event, I wish you the best. Here is that thread: https://www.steadyhealth.com/Clonazepam_and_Klonopin_Withdrawal___Musicman_Posts_t254306.html?page=1

The highest dose which my doctor prescribed which was terrible all for nerve pain, is 6mg a day so was given 2mg pills to be taken 3x's a day. It is the worst feeling coming off and doctors prescribe this drug like it's candy. I hate the side effects I tapered down to taking 2mg a day. It is the WORST, It affects your daily life, best of luck to anyone on klonopin it is not a good feeling.