Changing benzos

[looking for answers]

ive been on benzos for years. Lately klonopin feels like a sugar pill. have you had luck switching to a different benzo to regain effectiveness?

[jt07]

I have not had much luck switching benzos when I developed a tolerance. You might try tapering off the Klonopin and talking a break for a while (usually a year or so until your body "forgets" the tolerance). You might find, like I did, that you can live without benzos altogether.

Work with your pdoc before quitting or tapering off or switching any benzo so that you do so safely otherwise it could be dangerous.

[looking for answers]

3 minutes ago, jt07 said:

I have not had much luck switching benzos when I developed a tolerance. You might try tapering off the Klonopin and talking a break for a while (usually a year or so until your body "forgets" the tolerance). You might find, like I did, that you can live without benzos altogether.

Work with your pdoc before quitting or tapering off or switching any benzo so that you do so safely otherwise it could be dangerous.

yeah i know! one pdoc the guy who supposedl thinks im bipolar tried to cold turkey stop me off 2mg] klonopin,

 

for now i dont wanna stop or incrase things, just be calm, ive got enough med changes going on. and who knows what they do with the lithium bc of my thyroid

[CrazyRedhead]

19 minutes ago, looking for answers said:

one pdoc the guy who supposedl thinks im bipolar tried to cold turkey stop me off 2mg] klonopin,

**SIGH**.........Every pdoc should know that benzos need to be tapered, not stopped cold turkey.......Do you have a different doc now?

Edited March 25, 2018 by CrazyRedhead

[looking for answers]

1 minute ago, CrazyRedhead said:

**SIGH**..........Every pdoc should know that benzos need to be tapered, not stopped cold turkey........Do you have a different doc now?

Oh yeah I went to an iop right after then got a new one. That guy was evil

[jt07]

Since you have a tolerance, you are effectively living without the assistance of benzos right now. That's what happened to me and once I tapered down and off, I felt no different than when I was on them so I just stayed off. I'm not telling you to get off benzos now. I agree that you are going through a bunch of med changes and you need to be more stable on your meds before you start pulling out long term meds.

[looking for answers]

2 minutes ago, jt07 said:

Since you have a tolerance, you are effectively living without the assistance of benzos right now. That's what happened to me and once I tapered down and off, I felt no different than when I was on them so I just stayed off. I'm not telling you to get off benzos now. I agree that you are going through a bunch of med changes and you need to be more stable on your meds before you start pulling out long term meds.

No I agree there’s a huge tolerance. Just wanna get steady first.

Just now, looking for answers said:

No I agree there’s a huge tolerance. Just wanna get steady first.

I’m learning a bit lol

[Wonderful.Cheese]

Whenever I go IP I seem to get an anti benzo pdoc. I was taking 1.5 mg at the time but other times I had been on 3 mg and they always cold turkey stopped the Klonopin.

I was given vistaril this last time 2 years ago as a replacement and only PRN. But no mention of tapering when I asked the nurse. Never did get a chance to talk to the actual pdoc. Just talked to his student Dr. each time. I barely came out of my room. They couldn't figure out why. They also didn't give me my medical meds like my thyroid pill or nuvigil nor could I use my CPAP. Well then I slept pretty much all day. They could not understand why and thought I was isolating. Whatever. I begged them to let me go home saying I was safe and much improved. I got freaking lucky and got to go home with no state hospital visit. 

Why do they think they can cold turkey people off of benzos? It happened to me at an IOP place too once and right after meeting with the IOP pdoc I actually walked right out the door and didn't come back. I literally asked the IOP pdoc if it was safe to just stop 3 mg Klonopin and he said yes and that it was a dangerous med and I needed to stop taking it. 

I don't function without it so...a drug holiday or cold turkey stopping it isn't really an option for me and others like me. As much as I'd love to get off of it. Yes it is not ideal to have to take a benzo daily. But it's not ideal to not leave the house ever or never drive or never interact with anyone/anything or never get a one second break from the worrying so you become paralyzed literally like you cannot move an inch overwhelmed or never ending random panic/anxiety attacks, etc. I'm still anxious but I can't go back to that level of anxious. And I can't do AD's because they make me manic. So I'll gladly take the benzo for now and hope I don't get seen by an anti benzo pdoc any time soon. 

[looking for answers]

45 minutes ago, Wonderful.Cheese said:

Whenever I go IP I seem to get an anti benzo pdoc. I was taking 1.5 mg at the time but other times I had been on 3 mg and they always cold turkey stopped the Klonopin.4

god thats awful

45 minutes ago, Wonderful.Cheese said:

I was given vistaril this last time 2 years ago as a replacement and only PRN. But no mention of tapering when I asked the nurse. Never did get a chance to talk to the actual pdoc. Just talked to his student Dr. each time. I barely came out of my room. They couldn't figure out why. They also didn't give me my medical meds like my thyroid pill or nuvigil nor could I use my CPAP. Well then I slept pretty much all day. They could not understand why and thought I was isolating. Whatever. I begged them to let me go home saying I was safe and much improved. I got freaking lucky and got to go home with no state hospital visit. 

vistaril did nothing for me. but why didnt they give u ur thyroid? nuvigil i could see? and no cpap? what suicide risk?

45 minutes ago, Wonderful.Cheese said:

Why do they think they can cold turkey people off of benzos? It happened to me at an IOP place too once and right after meeting with the IOP pdoc I actually walked right out the door and didn't come back. I literally asked the IOP pdoc if it was safe to just stop 3 mg Klonopin and he said yes and that it was a dangerous med and I needed to stop taking it. 

unreal

45 minutes ago, Wonderful.Cheese said:

I don't function without it so...a drug holiday or cold turkey stopping it isn't really an option for me and others like me. As much as I'd love to get off of it. Yes it is not ideal to have to take a benzo daily. But it's not ideal to not leave the house ever or never drive or never interact with anyone/anything or never get a one second break from the worrying so you become paralyzed literally like you cannot move an inch overwhelmed or never ending random panic/anxiety attacks, etc. I'm still anxious but I can't go back to that level of anxious. And I can't do AD's because they make me manic. So I'll gladly take the benzo for now and hope I don't get seen by an anti benzo pdoc any time soon. 

I need it to, sometimes it helps, but it doesnt do much now, i have a tolerance after all these years. i thought maybe a different one would help......

[dtac]

On 3/24/2018 at 11:31 PM, looking for answers said:

ive been on benzos for years. Lately klonopin feels like a sugar pill. have you had luck switching to a different benzo to regain effectiveness?

Depending on your cocktail and what's going on in your life, I've found changing up benzos can make a difference. I take 1-2mg Klonopin QHS insomnia, and it's doing wonders for my sleep and anxiety too, yet a couple of years ago I was on 1mg BID and it did absolutely nothing for my anxiety. But I had different APs, mood stabilizers, life situation, etc.

But if you're facing tolerance, that's a whole different issue... changing around benzos isn't going to do much more than make you miserable, especially since you're on Klonopin. 

[looking for answers]

2 hours ago, dtac said:

Depending on your cocktail and what's going on in your life, I've found changing up benzos can make a difference. I take 1-2mg Klonopin QHS insomnia, and it's doing wonders for my sleep and anxiety too, yet a couple of years ago I was on 1mg BID and it did absolutely nothing for my anxiety. But I had different APs, mood stabilizers, life situation, etc.

But if you're facing tolerance, that's a whole different issue... changing around benzos isn't going to do much more than make you miserable, especially since you're on Klonopin. 

im facing increasing anxiety dunno the cause but the klonopin feels like sugar, but lots of med changes

[Iceberg]

It also depends what anxiety you need to treat...I had much better luck with Xanax for periodic anxiety attacks after switching to it from klonipin 4mg

[looking for answers]

It’s a good bit of the day

[Iceberg]

That's a shitty feeling I've been there. Have you ever tried gabapentin? You can add it to a benzo...it's kind of a toss up but the side effects are mild usually

[looking for answers]

4 minutes ago, Iceberg said:

That's a shitty feeling I've been there. Have you ever tried gabapentin? You can add it to a benzo...it's kind of a toss up but the side effects are mild usually

No it was discussed a while ago three docs back. But I think I need to get my other meds stabile before adding something

[Iceberg]

Are you having other med issues currently? I've read your past posts and I thought the doc was being helpful

[looking for answers]

3 minutes ago, Iceberg said:

Are you having other med issues currently? I've read your past posts and I thought the doc was being helpful

HE is, but stilll

changing things

[mmaryland]

Lyrica is really good as an adjunctive therapy for people on anxiolytics already, even thought it is not FDA approved indication. I had good experience with it and will possibly go on it monotherapy for anxiety after I taper off my benzodiazepines. Unlike gabapentin, you dont have to take such large doses, and I dont get as many side effects from Lyrica compared to gabapentin. Pdocs haven't really come around yet to using Lyrica for anxiety that often, but will use gabapentin in patients often. I switched between benzos a couple times. Xanax to Klonopin, which wasnt great because the Klonopin didnt feel like it was doing anything. Another time I was on Valium at bedtime and switched to Ativan 2mg and it did help for sleep, but I wanted a longer acting benzo such as Valium so it would stay in my system longer and help prevent seizures.

Ativan also didnt produce any effect except a 'loopy' feeling and made it easier to fall asleep but near the end of treatment I was having to take more than 2mg. Ultimately I switched back to Xanax but currently am tapering off of it using Valium alongside to prevent withdrawal and any other complications, such as seizures. Valium 40mg at bedtime honestly doesnt even make me a bit tired, I guess due to my prior high dosage prescription for Xanax, or maybe Valium just doesnt have the propensity to sedate me, but it is definitely helping this journey of getting off Xanax a lot smoother. I am functioning well and fell pretty good, thankfully!

Have you asked or ever tried switching over to the equivalent dose of Klonopin to Xanax? Or possibly Xanax XR with a regular Xanax dose in the evening? Could be beneficial in your case. Hope you find something that works for you!

 

[looking for answers]

5 hours ago, mmaryland said:

Lyrica is really good as an adjunctive therapy for people on anxiolytics already, even thought it is not FDA approved indication. I had good experience with it and will possibly go on it monotherapy for anxiety after I taper off my benzodiazepines. Unlike gabapentin, you dont have to take such large doses, and I dont get as many side effects from Lyrica compared to gabapentin. Pdocs haven't really come around yet to using Lyrica for anxiety that often, but will use gabapentin in patients often. I switched between benzos a couple times. Xanax to Klonopin, which wasnt great because the Klonopin didnt feel like it was doing anything. Another time I was on Valium at bedtime and switched to Ativan 2mg and it did help for sleep, but I wanted a longer acting benzo such as Valium so it would stay in my system longer and help prevent seizures.

Ativan also didnt produce any effect except a 'loopy' feeling and made it easier to fall asleep but near the end of treatment I was having to take more than 2mg. Ultimately I switched back to Xanax but currently am tapering off of it using Valium alongside to prevent withdrawal and any other complications, such as seizures. Valium 40mg at bedtime honestly doesnt even make me a bit tired, I guess due to my prior high dosage prescription for Xanax, or maybe Valium just doesnt have the propensity to sedate me, but it is definitely helping this journey of getting off Xanax a lot smoother. I am functioning well and fell pretty good, thankfully!

Have you asked or ever tried switching over to the equivalent dose of Klonopin to Xanax? Or possibly Xanax XR with a regular Xanax dose in the evening? Could be beneficial in your case. Hope you find something that works for you!

 

I’ve been on many benzos but it’s been a while. I’d rather do Xanax Er so there’s no peaks and valleys but I haven’t taken Xanax for a long time. It’s a thought.