jpk84 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 (edited) Hi guys/gals, I'm 29 yr old male. Type 1 Diabetic. Very good shape and eat healthy. Due to an epsode I had in college I have been on Clonazepam for about 9 years. Started with .5mg twice a day and upped to 1mg twice a day. I've been at this dosage for about 8 of the 9 years and never upped it since. I have recently been getting slightly more anxious and I am against upping my dose. Due to various considerations I told my GP that I wanted to taper off (he has been prescribing for last 6 years.) I told him that I did research about the process for benzos and how many people typically need 6 months or longer to ween down. He is generally a nice guy but out of nowehre said something to the effort of "If you take 6 months you might as well just keep taking it." I was concerned and confused because coming off a constrolled substance is not the easiest thing. He set a timeframe of 1-2 months and already decreased my prescription from [60 1mg tabs] to [30 1mg tabs+60 .25mg tabs]. I read www.benzo.org.uk for tapering ideas and they are far different from what my GP is recommending. He recommeneds keeping my morning dose of 1mg constant and tapering the afternoon dose down by .125/.25/.375/.5/etc every 3 days until no afternoon dose. Then, moving onto the morning dose and repeating. I feel this may be too quick. Any thoughts? Thank you sincerely, Jonathan Edited December 3, 2013 by jpk84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeremonyNewOrder Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I would see a psychiatrist who specializes in these things. They will probably give you a more appropriate taper schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndieVisible Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 (edited) That might be ok, it is a gradual lowering. I was taking Klonopin 1mg 3 times a day for one year and stopped cold turkey on my own because I was stupid and thought I could do any thing. I was lucky, no withdrawal but my doc was a little upset with me I didn't discuss stopping with him first. But in your case 8 years, I dunno. If your doc suggested this give it a try if you find it's not working let him know. Edited December 4, 2013 by IndieVisible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtclms Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 That does seem fast. If you titrate properly, you shouldn't really notice that you are coming off of it. The first time I used Xanax, it took me almost as long to taper off of it as I had used it for treatment. I used it for 3 months, and it took me 2.5 months to taper. I assume if I ever have to taper again (I've been on 2mg Xanax per day, with 1mg PRN, for 7.5 years), that it will take several months. Xanax is supposed to be a bitch to get off of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderful.Cheese Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 I agree that consulting with a psychiatrist would be ideal. They are the experts with psych meds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooster Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 If I recall correctly, I had a two to three month taper when discontinuing klonipin that was supervised by a psychiatrist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Klonopin took me a very long time to wean down from. From w hat I recall I took 0.25 less every 1-2 weeks, then another 0.25 for another 1-2 weeks, etc. But all under pdoc supervision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndieVisible Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Klonopin took me a very long time to wean down from. From w hat I recall I took 0.25 less every 1-2 weeks, then another 0.25 for another 1-2 weeks, etc. But all under pdoc supervision. Klons are my favorite, you back on them? I'm trying to get back to klons, not happy with xanax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Klonopin took me a very long time to wean down from. From w hat I recall I took 0.25 less every 1-2 weeks, then another 0.25 for another 1-2 weeks, etc. But all under pdoc supervision. Klons are my favorite, you back on them? I'm trying to get back to klons, not happy with xanax. Yes, I am on klonopin now, but on a much smaller dose. I take klonopin on a scheduled basis (not PRN), and use the xanax only when needed, PRN only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndieVisible Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 (edited) Klonopin took me a very long time to wean down from. From w hat I recall I took 0.25 less every 1-2 weeks, then another 0.25 for another 1-2 weeks, etc. But all under pdoc supervision. Klons are my favorite, you back on them? I'm trying to get back to klons, not happy with xanax. Yes, I am on klonopin now, but on a much smaller dose. I take klonopin on a scheduled basis (not PRN), and use the xanax only when needed, PRN only. I use to be on klonopin scheduled 1mg 3 times a day with lithium. The klons really kept me pretty stable and anxiety free. This time around I got Xanax PRN. My only problem with xanax is they wear off so fast I go thru them like aspirins. Some times I think docs just don't want to admit they are wrong! Edited December 4, 2013 by IndieVisible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 I use to be on klonopin scheduled 1mg 3 times a day with lithium. The klons really kept me pretty stable and anxiety free. This time around I got Xanax PRN. My only problem with xanax is they wear off so fast I go thru them like aspirins. Some times I think docs just don't want to admit they are wrong! Because klonopin is longer-acting than xanax, I can see where the xanax wouldn't be helping you for a longer period of time than it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grasshopper Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) I took Klonopin for 4 years total. 2mg a day at first, then 2 years later i tapered down to 1mg. and from one miligram i tapered off super slowly to nothing. my psychiatrist told me that the best way to get off klonopin is by downing your dose by 10% a month. which is really hard because you have to cut that pill so darn much. i had a friend, who took this kind of stuff and he said he did it slowly too, by shaving off, at first, part of the pill. and then you can begin to cut the pill with a decent pill cutter and cut a quarter off. and so on.... i did it pretty much for from summer till now. so it took a while. with multiple attempts.. cold turkey?? nooo.. it's a pretty lengthy process. i was able to move by quarters if that makes any sense. good luck. Edited December 12, 2013 by grasshopper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bam Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 jpk84... I was on Clonazepam for 6 years. It took me a year to successfully get off Clonazepam, and the last 4 months I was taking half of a .5mg pill. And even after being on that low dose for 21/2 months, I still had to take Neurontin for the akathasia. I would also suggest seeing a psychiatrist, who prescribes psychotropic medications, as well. That kind of doctor is your best bet on understanding the situation with Clonazepam. Also, understand that the tapering process might be different for yourself than for other people (because the chemical dependency will be different). When you start that taper, you want to listen to your body & what it is telling you so the process is as harmless as possible. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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