Clorazapan....how long for dependency to start?

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jdsun

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I am almost at the end of my narcotic taper. I am a chronic pain patient who has been blessed with reduced pain. Anyway, I was doing great with my taper until today. I am down to my last pill. Friday I will be done! This morning when I woke up, I wanted to jump out of my skin. I have never felt anything like this. I was sooooo tired but felt so unsettled in my own body. I was pacing my kitchen floor....i was shaking a bit....it was awful. My huband convinced me to take a clorazapan that my pain doctor presribed to me (to use in my withdrawal period). I ended up taking 1/2 of a .5mg pill. I immediately started to feel better!

If anyone can answer these 2 questions, I would forever be grateful:

1) Friday will be my last day of narcotics. I am assuming my withdrawals from dropping from 30mg of Kadian to ZERO wil not be pleasant. How many days of awful do you think I will feel? Sun, Mon, Tues, and maybe Wed? Do you think by Thurs I will start feeling better?

2) If I continue to take the clorazapan until the withdrawals are manageable, will I then be dependant on them? Can that happen in a weeks time? I have a 3 and 5 yr old at home to care for. I could not even care for myself this morning. I researched this online and it states not to use them for more than 4-6 weeks to not become depednant?

Thanks so much!
JRABun
 
Hello jRABun,

Typically, day three and four are the worst for withdrawal from an opiate. Everyone is different, but most people start to feel better on day five.

Just curious - why are you stopping at 30mg? Do you have an opportunity to taper a little longer? 30mg is a bit high to just stop (in my opinion).

If you are only taking a benzo for one week, you shouldn't have any problems, however print off a list of withdrawal symptoms (from a benzo) so you can pay close attention, and know what the signs are, just in case.

If you find you are just too uncomfortable, take a look at the "sample home detox." There are some really good suggestions of home remedies that you can try to ease your discomfort.

Good luck, I hope everything works out for you.

RegarRAB,
emsmom
 
emsmom-

Thanks so much for your reply. I am stopping at 30mg because my doctor prescribed it to me that way. I started taking 2 30mg pills, 2x a day and was to drop 1 pill every five days. Since they are time-released, I cannot break or split the pill. I actually have an apt with my doctor tomorrow to talk about things. I was suppose to see him next week, but his office called yesterday to reschedule for tomorrow....which works better for me!

Thanks for the advice. I have been able to not take the clorzapan today because they creepy-crawlies are much MUCH better than yesterday. Maybe my body has gotten a little used to the new dosage. I still feel VERY tired, no energy, not much appetite and just YUCK.

I almost hope my dr just tells me to stop all together as planned tomorrow. I might regret it, but I almost just want to get the next few days over with and then be done with it....right?

Thanks
JRABun
 
Hello jRABun,

How did the doctors visit go?

I know exactly how you feel - regarding wanting to get the next few days over with and be done with it. Just remeraber that you don't have to go through horrible withdrawals. If you choose to, you have every right. But, you may be very uncomfortable, so always remeraber that it's not how fast you get off of a drug that counts, it's how confortable you are while doing it. There's no sense punishing yourself if you don't have to.

Good luck,
emsmom
 
4-6 weeks is about the mnimum - but even then only a small proportion of people would be dependant.

If you took it every day for 2-3 weeks, you could stop cold with no problems, if you need it for longer than 6 weeks, you might need to taper it over 3 or 4 days.
 
Thanks so much guys! It has been 82 hours since my last dose and while I took a clorzapan last night, I haven't taken one all day today....although I probably should have. My Pain doctor assured me I could take up to 3x for a couple weeks and have no problem coming off them.

JRABun
 
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