Last stage of klonopin withdrawal..advice?

  • Thread starter Thread starter mel486
  • Start date Start date
M

mel486

Guest
I've been on it a few months for what I thought was a withdrawal from my opiate detox earlier this year that caused my abdominal muscles to spasm or contract. Clonazepam does stop the contractions, but it also seems I'm sensitive to it and it caused personality and mood changes in me - even at the low doses I was on. That was when I started to read about it on the net. I didn't see the Ashton manual, but I found a 40 item FAQ that I'm sure was based off of it after comparing them. I'll read the manual tonight to get more information. Scary stuff!!

The good news is even though I've cut back to 0.5 mg, my abdominal contracts are very minimal, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that whatever initially caused them is getting better. Ever try to go to sleep when your abdomen is doing crunches???

So, I'm going to take it slowly dropping the rest of the way. Thanks for the info and I hope you're tapering goes well. We're not that far off dose-wise from each other.
 
I've read the Ashton manual at least ten times in the past year and a half. If it wasn't for that I might not know about Benadryl to help me sleep - my original presciption for Clon. was for insomnia. The difference between us is that I've taken it in some measure for the past 5 years; more of a shock, i'd guess, getting off than a few months. I think as a short term drug it's ok, but very few people stay on it short term. It's an indictment of the american medical system that it allows the benzos to be abused so much. - hope it goes well for you.
 
Welcome bill77,

I have never had to taper off of a Benzo but I have an opiate. The one thing I have learned though by others on this board is to do it slow, slower and VERY SLOW at the end :)

I just wanted to send you a post to wish you much success and offer my support for you!

Keep posting and let us know how things are going for you!

Blessings to you!
 
I'm in the last stage of my very long ( 18 month) taper from Clonazepam (klonopin). March of '08 I was at 2mg. at night for sleep. down to 1 mg. over the winter - where i stayed for 6 months. Resumed in April, and now i am taking .40mg (about 3/4 of one .50 pill). I don't know if it's because there's been some new stresses in my life, but i am really feeling the side effects i've heard about ( but so far haven't experienced) - insomnia, anxiety, neck tension to name a few. I'm making the smallest cuts possible w.o. titration - 1/16 of a pill but i'm pretty sensitive to it. I had been cutting 1/16 every four or five days , but now i'm slowing down because of the above mentioned side effects. wondering if anyone who has gone through a taper has had similar problems, and how they dealt with it. any ideas for a schedule? Thanks!
 
Hi Bill

Great job in tapering down there. I tapered off Xanax and although I thought I was going slow, in retrospect, I wish I had gone much slower. I took 6-7 months, but wish I had taken a year! Long over now, but boy, I know how even a minute cut can produce symptoms.

As I headed toward the finish line from the benzo, I had to allow myself some give and take. I would kind of wiggle some with the cuts.... make the small cut, stay there for a few days... and, if wothdrawal too bad, go back to last cut for a day or two and then move forward again.

I am a big preacher sometimes about once a cut is made, it stays made, but that is concerning opiates. Benzos are just a whole different ball game. I also had to wrok a lot in 1/16ths and even in crurabs to get the dose I wanted. I do think 4-5 days is a short time to level out with a benzo, especially at this stage. I think I would look more to 10-14 days and make sure I really felt level enough to cut again.

I wish you all the best. I know the gnaw at the stomach that signals the anxiety getting ready to raise its head is tough, as well as the insomnia. Please keep posting and let us know how it goes.

The best to you
reach
 
Thanks for the helpful reply. Good to know i'm not the only one pushing crurabs around. I'll stay with it slowly, and go to titration as a last resort.
 
Wow! Is this what I'm headed for?? I'm tapering from clonazepam as well. I'm down to 0.5 mg/day at night now - I varied between 1.5 mg and 1.0 mg a day about 3 weeks ago depending on my symptoms. I'm going to stay at the 0.5 mg for a while before I cut again. So far, no noticeable side effects, other than my motivation is starting to improve and I don't feel as much like a rag doll, laying in a gutter, with a dog getting ready to lift its leg on me. (yes, sense of humor is starting to improve as well.)

Bill, thanks for the update. I am very impatient about staying on drugs and your post is helping me keep my tapering to s low pace. Two people now have expressed that towarRAB the end I need to take it slow.
 
Yes, the key seems to be slow, though some folks can go thru quarters of clony quite quickly, without much adversity....I suppose you've read the Ashton manuel on the internet? seems to be the bible re: benzo withdrawal.
If I understood you correctly you haven't been on it too long, so I doubt you 'll have much trouble getting off. best of luck.
 
Back
Top