Withdrawal Side-effects From Klonopin

I was prescribed clozapham 8 years ago for anxiety. It did seem to help me get through a very difficult time in my life. After 4 or 5 years I was taking 2 mg every night and realized I was getting more and more dependent on this drug to help me sleep. Simply decided to titrate down slowly. Took me about 5 months to finally end them completely . Started 1.3/4 then 1 1/2 then 1.25 and so on. Just took my time. I recently had to work really hard at 61 years old, and drank a lot of caffeine and couldn't sleep so again after being off this med for 5 years I had medication left over from 2009, and started taking it .05mg now a few months later I'm already up to 1mg every night. So I will start again the same program as I did before. Prayers to all to get off this medicine.

Your story is my story...

I was on clonazepam for years. I started taking. 25 3x per day to prevent my panic attacks. I also started to drink with them and was sent to rehab by my counselor and social worker, which the rehab did nothing and took me off cold turkey and let me suffer without answering my questions or taking my vitals. It was the most awful time of my life. I suffered fro extreme anxiety, heart palpitations, extreme sweating especially from my feet, brain zaps, numbess and tingling, high pulse rate, feeling like I'm dying, blurry vision, stomach pains and extreme depression because of it. I am 17 weeks off and still having symptoms incuding my body feels like it's trembling from the inside which makes me have more panic attacks. Is this normal? I want to go back on and taper off...

Great critical advice!

From my reading on the topic, which include peer reviewed publications the idea behind tapering down Clonazepam intake instead of stopping cold turkey is to avoid the most severe and life threatening withdrawals symptoms (seizures...) and deal with more manageable and less dangerous symptoms over a longer period of time. Knowing that the acute phase symptoms picks between 7 to 14 days and start subsides around the 3rd week, each down transition should last at least 3-4 weeks (or until you feel comfortable, symptomatic free and confident enough to start the next step down). A decrease of 1/4 of the dosage at each daily intake seems to be effective (one just need a good pill cutter). Keep in mind that each transition will promote withdrawals symptoms, which also bring a lot of apprehension and anxiety. It seems that the most recurrent symptom is the one for which the drug was prescribed for, with insomnia and many others more or less easy to deal with... The idea is to stick to a functional plan ideally established with a competent health care provider (unfortunately not always easy to find). Nutrition, supplements (sleep aids, GABA enhancers (Valerian roots...), vitamins, minerals etc...) physical activity, supportive social environment make a huge difference in the symptomatic phases (all of which are easier to list than to actually get). Push through because it gets better even though many of the lengthy symptoms tends to make us feel otherwise.

I was prescribe Clonazepam for severe anxiety by my Dr. at 0.5mg twice a day. Because I am aware of the side effects of Benzodiazepines, I asked for no refill please. However, we have tens of vials of 0.5mg pills at home, because this drug is prescribed to my mother in-law for anxiety resulting from 2 severe strokes, which left her without speech, and entirely paralyzed on the right side. She is been living with us for 4 years now, and my wife, her care giver, is giving her the medicine only at about 0.5mg/week only when she becomes symptomatic. Consequently, the vials have been pilling up for years without use by any of us...

I stopped taking the 2x0.5mg pills/day after 6 weeks of use. Because of the relatively short time of use and low dosage I decided to stop all at once, knowing that the risk of life threatening symptoms were unlikely, and shortening thereby the time of exposure which was my priority to prevent addiction and dependence. I had an onset of symptoms picking up at 11 days, with insomnia, anxiety being the most predominant. I honestly admit that the acute phase was very difficult to deal with, but the symptoms progressively subsided after. I suppose that my symptoms were greater or similar in intensity than the ones experienced during some of the tapering transitions. Fortunately, I didn't develop any addiction and I actually find this medicine pretty repulsive so I leave these pills we have at home alone. I still have anxiety exploring alternative ways to manage it... I suppose that some patients really need this medicine to manage their disease and I don't see any wrong as long as it's used with appropriate awareness.

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Can you share the steps you took to get there. Congrats, it is really hard to do!

Wow! this sounds all of what ive been experiencing for over 5 months,withdrawling from both drugs at the same time. I havent taking opiates in 8 months and klonopin for about 6 months. And this life HAS NOW been feeling worse the a LIVING HELL!

I just cant believe other people are experiencing this same life since withdrawl from klonopin! I only took .5 1 -2 times a day, for about 8 months. I never knew how bad benzos were or klonopin specifically after had takin it of and on for years, but never felt that i was addicted just happened without even see it becoming.