how long do withdrawl symptoms last with klonopin?

Happy New Year, I too was prescribed clonipin when I was being weaned off another anticonvulsant. Now for over two years I've been on clonipin & the dosage kept increasing...Otherwise I couldn't sleep. I try using a natural sleeping aid recommended by my Naturopath...such as melatonin. This worked at first; but eventually I could not sleep without clonipin. This fall/winter I have begun decreasing the dosage of the clonipin, about .5mg at a time. This has made a difference, as I am on half of what I was taking. But I recently tried going without any for 2 & 1/2 days. I ended up taking a couple seizures. These could be withdrawal seizures my doctor said. So, I am trying to use it only if The withdrawal symptoms are not too bad...flu-like symptoms, mild headache, constant thirst, lethargic, insomnia. All the Best

I have been taking klonopin for 4 years 3 mg a day. I was on xanax and was drinking and wrecked my car and it almost killed me so my doctor took me off the xanax and put me on klonopin, I never felt the difference from the abrupt switch. I have went through withdrawls and they are horrible, i almost had a seizure. I recently began drinking again and wanted to check myself into a detox center, they refused to take me because I was on klonipin (which is not allowed) and they are not trained to deal with klonopin withdrawls. I couldn't believe what I was hearing but it has really been a big part of my life and the sad thing is I am not even close to coming off of it, maybe never. Good luck to all of you that are struggling.

Please help. I was taking klonopin back in august of last yr and abruptly stopped it in december,then I started taking it again after 2 weeks coz i coudnt sleep, then i weened myself off of it and got on zanax for about 4 days , then i abruptly stpped that too. Now i cant sleep its been a month now. Is this going to last? and is it the zanax or klonopin giving me the problem? please someone tell me. I need my sleep back.

Klonopin is the worst thing I have ever taken. I have had the worst withdraws from it but refuse to ever stay on something that can and will make me feel this way EVER again. No matter how bad the withdraws get. I think its all about how bad you want it! I missed a dosage for one day and thought I was going crazy... That was enough for me! I will NEVER look back... That stuff is truely posion...

I was only on Klonopin for a month... I ran out and 3 days later it was like I had awoken from a long sleep, I went shopping, had my hair dyed and cut, had conversations I have no memory of. After the realization this drug was the start I stopped all types of this med, valium and xanax. My symtoms are horrific, thought I was having a heart attack, went to the ER 2 times and it's just one giant panic attack... I feel excited for no reason, heart is going, feeling of no air is prevalent... I will never take Klonopin again, but I went off all these meds cold turkey... NOT a wise idea, I am back on valium and slowly weaning off. I suggest that if you have any type of memory issue get to your doctor and get off all benz...

OK. I can tell you exactely what to expect from klonopin. I was on it for four years (1mg 3x a day) for anxiety. I also took xanax and valium on the side. Yes, I am a dope fiend. Anyway, my anxiety got 10 times worse as soon as a gained a tolerance to the benzos. I ended up going to treatment to get off them. For the first month, my muscles were so tight that I couldn't run. It just wasn't possible. I was very clumsy, and it was very hard to walk in a straight line. My eyes were always wide open and bugged eyed, and were very sensitive to light. I had the worst anxiety ever and had about 5 full blown panic attacks a day. I really thought that I had turned into a paranoid schizophrenic. I could not concentrate on ANYTHING for about 2 months. It felt like I was in a complete haze. I was extremely depressed, and felt emotionally dead. Nothing mattered to me at all. The doctors gave me trazadone (a non-narcotic sleep aid), which helped me sleep, but panic attacks would usually keep me up at night. It is hard to explain how I felt, it just really really sucked! I didn't feel "right" for about 4 months. It has been about 6 months since i've been benzo free and I feel great! No more anxiety and no more panic attacks! I have also gained about 40 pounds, but 40 pounds that I needed. STAY AWAY FROM THE BENZOS!!!!! THEY ARE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO GET OFF OF!!!!

My boyfriend was prescribed two- 2mg tablets of klonopin for three and a half months for anxiety issues after kicking a heroin addiction. He had been clean for a year and a half but his doctor switched him from valium. Now my dad is on .5 mg a day and has been for several years without any dependency or dosage increase. My dads doctor told him that I he was on 1.5g a day for three months he would be considered addicted, so when my boyfriend told me he was on 4 mg a day I was scared, I thought it was an irresponsible amount to put someone on who already has a history of addiction. But my boyfriend insisted that if the doctor prescribed it he knew what he was doing. I wasn't happy about it, and I reminded him of it often, but went along with it. Now the doctor is taking him off of it because the DEA considers it a "conflict of interest" to prescribe it to recovering drug addicts. They have cut his dosage every month for the last six months and he's been in a perpetual state of withdrawal. He is down to .5 mg now and is trying to get off of it for good right now. He is completely exhausted and pretty irritable, with the occasional set of leg jitters. It's been about three days, how much longer might this go on? Since he's cut back so much it shouldn't be too bad, but honestly the last six months have sucked. It's been a long road, and I honestly think that much of the responsibility lies with the doctor. My father has never had a problem with addiction and .5 mg has done a lot of good for him, but I couldn't imagine putting a recovering drug addict on EIGHT TIMES what my father is on. For anyone who is thinking about getting on this pill especially after a previous addiction I would highly advise you to think again. This is not a bad pill but from all I have read doctors are very generous with the amounts they prescribe their patients, many of which become unintentionally addicted and end up in the same place as my boyfriend. It lingers in your system which makes withdrawal even more difficult. Just be smart about how much you are taking and don't be afraid to tell your doctor that 4 mg a day is overkill. God bless every one of you going through this, it sucks now but it's worth it in the long run :-)

I just want to add my comments to this thread. I was on Klonopin for about 4 years, with a final dosage of 4mg, which is a pretty high dose. I discontinued Klonopin with no tapering, under the close supervision of my doctor and took an anti seizure medication for approximately two weeks after I stopped the Klonopin. While I had no seizures, I did experience intense "rebound" anxiety, a feeling of near panic, insomnia, muscle tension, joint pain, headaches, ringing in the ears, weight loss, dizziness, and a strange sensitivity of my skin- just to name some of the symptoms I experienced.

I have been free of this medication for over has been 6 (SIX) months and I still experience ringing in the ears, which intensifies when I am tired or stressed. I am hopeful that this will go away soon.

Had I known that this would be the case when I started taking this medication, I would have never, ever taken it. Please, please... if you have anxiety, I urge you to examine how well you can develop the needed coping skills rather than take klonopin.

I was on an extremely high doze of clonazepam (Klonopin) for over 20 years (16 mg.) then I changed doctors and I was told it was the time to get off this. I have not been doing well at all. I have been unable to work I don't care about anything and have the usual physical symtptoms. I did not know I was taking such an unusually high doze really until it was too late as I did not know anyone else that was on this particular drug. I knew people on Xanax and ativan. Anyway to make a long story short I know that everyone says well get off this and never touch the evil stuff again but what about someone who had seizures and anxiety both and then they are taken off of it as they have been seizure free for a long time and they are unable to function in the world. The answer in their eyes, give me an anti depressant. (those are the generation drugs now) Well that is not working at all for me and I have been tried on everything. I have been depressed because I lost my life. I disagree with throwing the bath water out with the baby so to speak. If I say life is not worth living this way they immediately give me powerful dozes of anti depressants which don't help me. One of my friends that was on ativan was on a lower doze but has been taken off due to theory that these drugs are so bad. I can't even recognize this woman who was once my friend. She can't leave her apt. and does not care if she ever does. She is a grandmother and does not visit her grandchild and now is being written off as uncaring. I myself have the same problem. I have had to go on "welfare" since coming off the meds, turn down a dream trip as I can't go like this (and won't get the chance again) basicly being on my own in life there are basic things you really need to do and I can no longer do them. My point: I do believe I can't go back and not take the drugs I already did so why take me off them now. I am worse and can't function. Is there anyone who agrees with me on this. After all we cannot change the past but does anyone feel that they don't want to spend their remaining time stuck in their apt. alone and left out of family life, the work force etc.? I would be interested in hearing if anyone sees this point of view. Thanks.

I was on Klonopin for 5 years, 1 mg the whole time. I am now tapering off (.25 mg right now). Valium has helped immensely with the withdrawal symptoms. And I only take 5 mg, 3 times a week. Valium has a much longer half life than Klonopin, so it should hopefully smooth out the rough bumps in the taper.

MUSIC MAN POSTING - 001

I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV ... but I would like to add my experience to this posting which has been going on for, what appears to be, around four years, as I begin my addition to this posting. It will be my objective to come back to this posting and update it with my experience from time to time, as it is my hope that not only can I get off of clonazepam but, perhaps, provide some help to others through my experience.

SOME BRIEF INFORMATION ABOUT ME AND WHY I TOOK CLONAZEPAM

I have suffered with night terrors (very BAD night terrors) since November 1991 (...yes, I can pinpoint the time that accurately). For those of you who do not know what night terrors are, trust me, you do not want to know. Since I want to focus on clonazepam, I will not dwell on the myriad ways that I have had to deal with the effects of night terrors (including sleeping on the floor for five years), and so I will simply state that once I finally started taking the drug clonazepam and got the right dosage (1 MG for me), the symptoms of night terrors stopped...fast. So, does clonazepam work? Absolutely. Did the doctor tell me that it would start to eat away at my memory? No. And, that is why I must get off of the drug. By the way, the chief reason that I began having night terrors, I fully believe, is that my nervous system was severely compromised due to the work load and stress of my job, which was in the world of computers; more specifically IT support. Working 48-hour days over and over (quite literally) essentially destroyed my nervous system. I am no longer in that field as of one year ago. For full disclosure: I am 60 years old, as I begin this posting.

WHAT I TRIED TO DO AND WHAT I WILL ATTEMPT NOW

I did not realize how incredibly powerful this drug is in terms of addiction. A few months back (May), I tried to take myself off of the drug cold turkey. That did not work. What I have done now is enlisted the help of a board certified nutritionist (unfortunately I cannot give his name) who has been easing me off of clonazepam while building up the strength of my nervous system.

DATE BEGINNING

I started this process with my nutritionist on September 15, 2010.

COMING OFF THE DRUG

With the help of my nutritionist, I started by taking 1 MG of clonazepam every other day, then continued to space out the days of taking the drug. Next I cut the pill in half and took .5 MG of the drug every other day. I am currently taking .5 MG of the drug every four days. I took my first "every four days" dosage on November 15 and will continue tonight, the 18th, with my next dosage.

SIDE AFFECTS

When I tried to come off of clonazepam cold turkey back in May, I had the following withdrawal symptoms: shakiness, panic attacks, feeling sick at my stomach, pain in my stomach, night sweats, depression, and headaches. There were probably some more things, but you get the picture...not fun! At that time I had just started a part-time job, which I liked very much. Unfortunately, because of the withdrawal symptoms, I had to leave that job, as it was difficult for me to simply get out of bed each day, due to the withdrawals. I simply could not function. That's how bad withdrawal from this drug can be.

BUILDING UP MY NERVOUS SYSTEM WHILE COMING OFF OF CLONAZEPAM

There is no way that I could come off of clonazepam without doing something to repair my nervous system at the same time, as I would lapse back into night terrors. And, I would rather stay on clonazepam and lose my memory than to go through that again ... truly. I am going to hope that SteadyHealth will allow the following information through, as I am not trying to sell anything and I am not mentioning brands or, at least, not attempting to.

I am taking these natural supplements. Before I list them, I cannot stress enough the importance of having a professional board certified nutritionist (...and I DO emphasize "board certified") guide you through this. So, consider the following informational ONLY. Each person is different and is coming off of clonazepam for different reasons. Here they are:

GABA - dosage is 500 MG capsules; taking one at each main meal, i.e., three times a day

LIPOIC ACID - dosage is 100 MG capsules; taking one with breakfast and one at dinner (aka, supper)

CREAM - I cannot mention the name of the cream as it would be a brand name, but it is used to calm the adrenal glands and contains, among many other ingredients, Phosphatidylserine; this cream is applied three times per day at key "blood" areas (e.g., inside of ankle; back of knee). It is important not to use this cream too many times in one area, as the body adjusts, so to speak, and a new area has to be found. You can, however, return to the former area. For example, you can put the cream on your left inside ankle for three days, then the back of, let's say, your right knee for three days, then your left chest for three days, then your right inside elbow for three days, ... and then you can return to the inside of your left ankle.

VEGETABLES - I cannot stress enough the IMPORTANCE of this. Medical doctors are simply not trained in nutrition and so tend not to give advice on eating properly. But, I can tell you that eating a lot of vegetables at least three times a day (yes, even for breakfast), is critical for calming a person's nervous system and returning the body to an alkaline state. You WANT your body to be alkaline; being in an acid state is just asking for health problems...BIG ones. So, taking the above without eating your vegetables will not work.

GASTROMYCIN - I am hoping that this is not specific to any one vendor, as I do not wish to disobey the rule of SteadyHealth in regards to posting. I do see a particular other name of the company on the bottle, and I will not mention that name. The reason I take Gastromycin is to reduce the pain in my stomach. I mentioned above that the withdrawal causes pain in my stomach. Without Gastromycin, I would constantly be in pain. The dosage on this is one before each meal. It is taken 15 minutes before the meal.

WATER - The first thing upon waking, I drink a full glass of water. I do not sip it. I drink it straight down. This, among other things, helps to clean the stomach of bacteria. And, I continue to drink water in the same manner throughout the day, attempting 6-8 full glasses daily. This is filtered water; not tap water. As an aside, it is not good to drink water while you are eating. Yes, it is OK to clean your palette once you have finished eating by taking a little water, but drinking water while you eat will work against you in attempting to have proper digestion. Water is important, and so be sure to drink it.

SLEEP - Sleep is critical. According to my nutritionist, if you lose four hours of sleep, your immune system's strength is reduced by 85%. Therefore sleep must be a top priority for me. This means not staying up until 2:00 AM but getting to sleep by 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM unless, of course, you work the night shift.

OTHER VITAMINS - Over the years, I have become very tuned into taking supplements other than the ones mentioned above. I would like to tell you that I am very good at taking them each and every day. That would, however, by lying to you. So, I will state that it is my sincere goal to take them every day and, I believe if I do, I will be even better off. To list all of the other supplements would glaze your eyes over. Again...it is my goal...I am not there yet. But, the sooner I get there, the better off I will be.

HOT SHOWER - This is mostly for those of you who might suffer from night terrors. Try to take a HOT shower two hours before bed; not any later. And, it has to be a hot shower. Warm showers don't work. The hot shower releases the body's own relaxing mechanism and will prepare you for a better sleep.

HOW I AM DOING SO FAR

When I first started coming off of the drug, I experienced some of the withdrawal affects but not nearly as severe as when I tried to go cold turkey back in May. At this time (11/18/2010), I have some slight feelings of panic in the mornings when I wake up and a little pain in my stomach, until I take the Gastromycin. I do not have any night sweats or any of the other symptoms.

This has become a long post, and I hope that I have not put you to sleep. I do hope that it will help some of you out there. If you cannot afford to do anything else, e.g., buying supplements, then at least eat a LOT of vegetables as indicated above.

I will attempt to return to this posting to provide updates as to how I am doing in my attempt to get off of clonazepam.

Best wishes to all of you.

MUSIC MAN POSTING - 002

UPDATE

As previously mentioned in my MUSIC MAN POSTING - 001, I am returning to update those who read this as to how things are progressing with my attempt to withdraw from the use of clonazepam.

I left off where I was taking clonazepam every four days. And, I was taking 1/2 a tablet which is 1/2 (.5) MG dosage. Tonight, Friday, November 26, 2010, I am going to be taking the same dosage but only once every five days.

Since my last report, I should mention or perhaps emphasize that one of the side effects of clonazepam withdrawal is flu-like symptoms. I've mentioned the shaking and sweating and feeling of nausea, but I should add to the list stuffy nose. These are symptoms that I only have at night while sleeping and in the morning upon waking. Soon after getting up and going through my morning ritual (e.g., neti pot), the symptoms are gone. That is, of course, because I do not have the flu...only flu-like symptoms.

Even though I had some slight night sweating and stuffy nose since I last posted my report, the episodes were nothing like I experienced in the Spring of 2010 when I was originally trying to come off of clonazepam cold turkey, without the guidance of my nutritionist. So, my current plan IS working.

Also, I am having less and less stomach pains associated with the withdrawals, and I believe eating vegetables and taking the GastroMycin has helped greatly, as the stomach pains can be quite uncomfortable. I have been rather free from them for about a week now.

So...that is my report for this time. I will return to update you on my progress. Again, it is my sincere hope that whatever I add to this posting helps someone down the road in regards to coming off of clonazepam.

thank for your post

my doctor put me on Xanax in May 2010 because I was having anxiety after the other doctor said that I could have pulmonary hypertention. Did not know much about Xanax, I did not take it on regular basis. I have to admit, after taking it once a night for the first 3 nights, I was able to sleep and felt complelty healthy. Then, I stopped taking it...so, in June, i told my doctor that I still felt sick. She then switched me to Clonazapem 0.5mg twice a day. This time, I took the drug consistently and felt very well...but after 2 weeks, i felt sick again...so, when I saw the doctor after 1 month and told her that it stopped working...she asked me if I felt I needed to take it...i said no...so, she gave me sleeping pills and told me to stop clonazapem cold turkey

Man, the next two days, I was miserable...so, i took clonazapem again for the next three months, on regular basis...the drug sure helped me fall asleep easier, but it was a struggle for me to get out of bed in the morning...since i did not want this drug to cover any real medical problems I might have, I decided to get off it in mid Sept (at that time I already reduced the intake to 0.5mg a day)

Again, not knowing clonazapem that well, I quit it cold turkey on Fri, Sept 17th. By Sunday afternoon, I started feeling the cramps in my stomach, my back, my leg muscles...my head felt weird...but was was determined to get off and refused to take another pill. I thought 0.5mg a day is not too much to quit cold turkey...but by Monday afternoon, I started to shake, my tongue was so thick, my vision was weird (the lines on my computer screen did not look straight and i know there's nothing wrong with my computer..it's my vision), I could not talk normally...so i googled and read about clonazapem withdrawl symptoms...after learning that quitting it cold turkey could be dangerous, I decided to pop in 0.375mg (3/4 of the 0.5 pill). I stayed on 0.375mg for 2 weeks then reduced down to 0.25mg for another 2 weeks. Then down to 0.125mg for 2 weeks. Then 0.0625 for 10 days. I finally stopped clonazapem on Nov 14th.

So, it has been 18 days, but I still have the symptoms (vision, balance, chest pain, fatigue....). The bad thing is that I cannot tell whether these are caused by stopping clonazapem or I do have some serious medical conditions...i had a CT scan which found a mass in my lung...I 've been having chest pain. I also have night sweat. Chest pain and night sweat could be symptoms of cancer. However, as I read from your post, clonazapem withdrawal symptoms include pain and night sweat.

Besides musicman, is there anyone in here that also has night sweat because of clonazapem? Is it possible to have night sweat after I quit clonazapem 18 days ago? Is it possible to still have clonazapem withdrawn symptoms after I am off it for that long? I'm trying to figure out if I have cancer or the suffering I'm having is from clonazapem. I'm seeing my pulmonlogist today to follow up on the lung nodule. But I want to find out if you guys (who are heatly otherwise) have night sweat caused by clonazapem.

musicman,
did you have night sweat while you were on clonazapem or after you quit or both? If both, do you remember if the sweating was worse while you were on it?