[pfpc]

After a year and a half of taking 1.5-2.0 mg Klonopin daily (a medication I have since become desensitized to), I finally feel stable (stable...not cured by any means) enough to start tapering off. No I'm not going to switch over to valium because that seems like a real pain in the ass and my psych thinks its probably worth a shot trying the simple route first and coming down by 0.125 mg every two weeks.

Of course I've heard of the benzo horror stories and now it's my turn to find if I'm to be victimized next.

Fingers crossed.

Paolo

 

[terri*]

May the Force be with you, Paolo.

I will be very interested in seeing how it goes for you. I have been off of lexapro for about a month now and plan on starting decreasing my klono in another month or so.

Fingers definitely crossed for you.
terri*

 

[David Kozin]

Klonopin is one of the better benzos to taper off from because of its long half-life in your system. Your doctor's suggestion is the recommended method. Abrupt benzo withdrawal is obviously full of horror stories, but slowly tapering like you suggested is a good way to rid yourself of the addictive substance.

A recommendation would be to have a low dose of Klonopin (or perhaps Xanax .25mg or .5mg) to take in the event of an emergency once you have completed your withdrawal from clonazepam. This provides you a level of psychological safety in the event of a panic attack. If you know that you do have that level of safety with medication, then you can feel more comfortable about not having to be on a continous regimine.

Best of luck to you, and I recommend finding a substitute like exercise, Yoga, or another activity that will help keep your mind off of the withdrawal. If you concentrate on the withdrawal and think that it will be difficult, it may seem worse than it really is. Don't underestimate your ability to ovecome the perception of YOUR experience of benzo withdrawal. You are in control and you can always employ cognitive behavioral techniques during the withdrawal and afterwards. Sometimes rushes of panic come with the withdrawal process, but these can usually be treated by taking a bath or shower and just relaxing and telling yourself, "I am making this decision, and I can choose to feel good"

- David

 

[*Alex]

Got my fingers crossed for you too Paolo, all the best and keep us posted

Alex

 

[[rula]]

Good luck! i'm down to .25mg klonopin myself. I recommend joining the benzo forum, extremely helpful and knowledgeable people (http://www.raynimmo.org.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl), although they will probably advise against not switching to Valium.

-rula

 

[dakotajo]

Hi,

A direct taper from klonopin is difficult but possible. A valium x-over would probably help ease the pain. It sounds to me like you are on an intelligent, SLOW withdrawal schedule. I hope it work out for you.

Joe

 

[Chris]

Hi, I'm just wondering why everyone on this board takes so many meds. It oviously does nothing for DP right? I'm sure everyone on this board has anxiety problems and depression, but do you people think meds will help DP? Does it at all?

 

[pfpc]

Chris,

For the two months that the klonopin actually worked, the benefits in reducing my DR and associated nervous symptoms were amazing. Unfortunately, I was unlucky enough for the medication to stop working. Yes, I should have come off it months ago, but I had too much agitation, anxiety and pain to deal with any withdrawal symptoms.

P.

 

[[rula]]

Hi, I'm just wondering why everyone on this board takes so many meds. It oviously does nothing for DP right? I'm sure everyone on this board has anxiety problems and depression, but do you people think meds will help DP? Does it at all?

cuz for some DP is anxiety induced, so taking anxiety meds helps.
in my case lots of ppl said Klonopin works for DP, but it did nothing for mine. i was only on it for 2 weeks, cuz i was about to lose my job and it was worth a try. personally i'm very anti-meds, my body just doesn't like 'em.

-ru

 

[pfpc]

Ok...so it's day 4 and right on target according to the half life of this stuff. Starting to experience some spacyness and agitation, though no anxiety. If this is the extent of the withrdawals then I think I'll be ok.

I knew my threshold was around this dosage 1-1.5mg/day as coming down from 2 mg to 1.5 mg was a piece of cake, but jumping from 1.5 to 1 mg was not a pretty picture. Currently, I'm on 1.375 mg/day and holding steady.

P.

 

[terri*]

Paolo,

Thanks for coming around to let us know how it's going for you. I hope the gradual decrease keeps being just a tad aggravating. I know it's going to take a while.

Sending the most positive of thoughts to you.
terri*