crying spells

is this typical? since i started my taper (substitution: xanax to klonopin) everything and i mean EVERYTHING is making me cry. i'm talking commercials, books, the tiniest things are making me bawl. don't get me wrong, in a way it feels GOOD to let the tears out, something i've been suppressing so long. i'm just wondering, is this a typical side effect of tapering off benzos?

Yes! This is one of my very worst sx. I cry constantly. I can't stop. My dad gave me a good way of looking at it since it is a common sx of wd. Its just like peeling an onion. Your eyes are gonna tear no matter what. Its like a reflex.that's all it is. Chemically induced crying. Its gets better I hear.

Hey, I'm jealous of you both!  When I was suffering I couldn't cry!  The couple of times I could it felt wonderful.  I was so dead inside that crying seemed to open me up, release some of the anxiety.  I decided to rent cry movies to try and bring on the tears, but it didn't work that way.  It didn't have the same effect.

 

Isn't it weird how all of us react differently in our journeys?  We have the benzo as the common denominator, but it can affect each one of us in opposite ways.  Case in point, many have the burning feet, many have the freezing feet.  Same with crying, some can't some can't stop.  What a strange and horrible situation.

OMG me to Pam- WW would have to help me find the way to cry so I could release the enormous tension and fear inside. I'd know I was deeply sad or struggling but couldn't cry unless she helped me. She did that by finding music with me that had deep feeling and meaning to it.

 

It changes as it goes guys and it really does get less distressing with time and acceptance.

 

Stay strong.

 

KID

yeah, pam, like i said, it feels good to cry. it's seems weird to say that but it's probably been the most pleasant wd symptom, just getting out emotions and FEELING it. i see from your signature that you went cold turkey though, wow...i've tried that before and i know i wouldn't be able to cry if i did that. cold turkey always lasted only about a day for me and then it was back to the xanax because i'd sit there and just feel like pounding my head against a wall over and over.

 

did you ever write your story about your cold turkey experience? that would be a really interesting read!

is this typical? since i started my taper (substitution: xanax to klonopin) everything and i mean EVERYTHING is making me cry. i'm talking commercials, books, the tiniest things are making me bawl. don't get me wrong, in a way it feels GOOD to let the tears out, something i've been suppressing so long. i'm just wondering, is this a typical side effect of tapering off benzos?

It was typical for me to cry at EVERYthing.  If I heard a song on the radio that I liked, I would cry.  I would cry at seeing a pretty bird.  I would cry watching the news, which I had to stop watching.  I would cry if I saw the color red.  Every minute neural stimulation, good or bad, would make me cry.  It goes away over time.  After I figured out what was going on I started to turn it into a game.  I'd look at something, or talk to someone and see how I would react.  I'd see how strongly the involuntary crying spells were and  used them as a sort of neurological/emotional thermometer.  I quickly learned that things I thought did not really bother me, did in fact cause me stress.  

 

Hi

I don't believe cold turkey is considered cold turkey if you just stop for one day. I asked this ques recentley. I think you have to be off the drug for at least a week to qualify as cold turkey. Not that your experience wasn't painful but I don't think one can understand cold turkey unless they have gone w out it for a bit.

 

Hi

I don't believe cold turkey is considered cold turkey if you just stop for one day. I asked this ques recentley. I think you have to be off the drug for at least a week to qualify as cold turkey. Not that your experience wasn't painful but I don't think one can understand cold turkey unless they have gone w out it for a bit.

 

oh i know. the longest i went cold turkey was 2 weeks(my dr had me go off ct because i was pregnant)..i was promptly put back on my xanax because i was experiencing wd induced psychosis, lost 10 lbs in 5 days and was seriously considering throwing myself out a high window. its hands down the worst thing i've ever experienced in my entire life and the tapering i'm doing right now is nothing compared to it.

Omg ok! So you have gone through it! I'm so sorry! Thank god you are here now and doing it the right way! I'm sorry I can't see from my phone but what are you on and how are you coming off etc.?

it's ok. i was prescribed 1mg of xanax 3 x daily but most days i took up to 4 or 5 milligrams. i took xanax for almost 10 years, tried to quit a few times it just never worked. this time i'm serious about it. my dr took me straight onto klonopin. at first she wanted me to take .25 twice a day for two weeks but there was NO WAY that was happening, it was way way too drastic. so i took .5mg klonopin for 5 days, i started .25 twice a day today and i'll probably do that for about a week and then either jump off or cut to 1/8 mg twice a day, depending. It's a pretty rapid taper but as long as it's not completely unbearable i just want this all over with as quickly as possible.

it's ok. i was prescribed 1mg of xanax 3 x daily but most days i took up to 4 or 5 milligrams. i took xanax for almost 10 years, tried to quit a few times it just never worked. this time i'm serious about it. my dr took me straight onto klonopin. at first she wanted me to take .25 twice a day for two weeks but there was NO WAY that was happening, it was way way too drastic. so i took .5mg klonopin for 5 days, i started .25 twice a day today and i'll probably do that for about a week and then either jump off or cut to 1/8 mg twice a day, depending.

 

I was thinking earliar as I was looking at your signature that your taper seems a bit aggressive.  Now that you tell of your plan I'm sure of it.  I hope you know that there is a logic to tapering.  By taking it slow you're giving your body time to adjust to the changes gradually.  If you try and rush the process you end up at the end of your taper but still suffering because the change has not been gradual enough.

 

I'm sure you've heard people here say that slow and steady winds the race, well it does.  When I did my CT yes, I was done, but it took me 14 months to heal because my body was in shock. 

 

I know you'll do what you think is best for you, just wanted to add my thoughts.

 

Pam

Talk about crying - have just had a major crying session today.  Feel very angry at the psychiatrist who put me on this poison and for the fact that he has taken away two years of my life.  I guess it's kind of a grief thing really, grieving for all the lost holidays, loss of freedom, loss of a happy life etc. etc.

Anyway feel better now that I have had a good cry and others are right - a good cry is such good therapy!

I too am extremely sensitive, like walking on egg shells.  Find it difficult to watch the TV news, read newspapers, watch any TV or movies about murders, crime scene investigations, sad animal stories etc.  Very sensitive to music that has happy memories for me, can bring on the tears in an instant.  Can't even concentrate on reading, somehow my mind just wanders and I can read a couple of pages and not remember what I have read.

 

LB -

 

Do you know that they make klonopin in a .125mg tablet?  That is what I ended up switching to.  I had to change pharmacies, because my usual place did/would not carry the .125's.  Just a thought...

LB -

 

Do you know that they make klonopin in a .125mg tablet?  That is what I ended up switching to.  I had to change pharmacies, because my usual place did/would not carry the .125's.   Just a thought...

 

The .125mg are orally disintegrating tablets. If you are able to get them, splitting them are not recommended. I believe it is because the medicine is not evenly distributed throughout the wafer. I think that titrating them shouldn't be a problem.

LB -

 

Do you know that they make klonopin in a .125mg tablet?  That is what I ended up switching to.  I had to change pharmacies, because my usual place did/would not carry the .125's.   Just a thought...

 

The .125mg are orally disintegrating tablets. If you are able to get them, splitting them are not recommended. I believe it is because the medicine is not evenly distributed throughout the wafer. I think that titrating them shouldn't be a problem.

 

Ooops.  Oh well, too late.  Pretty much every thing I did trying to get off this stuff has been the hard way.  Thanks for clarifying that T2!

Going to my GP for a new prescription of the poison tomorrow.  Will ask about .125 tabs.  I don't live in the US so maybe we don't have them here as he knows I dry cut the tabs down to .125.  I do know you can get liquid c/pam and can use the measure provided to ensure a correct dose.  Might ask about that.

pam - yes it is a bit aggressive but i don't really have a choice :

 

the reason i'm being tapered so rapidly is because in may i took 2 overdoses in one week and then ended up in a psychiatric hospital for 4 days. long story short, i'm getting therapy, groups and meds free because i have no health insurance but in the state of idaho, if you're getting psychiatric help through the state (free) they will not prescribe benzos. they can't legally prescribe them. so anyway, i was wanting to quit my xanax anyway and when i have my first appt. with the free psychiatrist (july 14) i won't be able to get prescriptions from my family dr for mental issues anymore because it would be a conflict of interest. so she's trying to get me off the xanax by the time i go in to see this psychiatrist. it's kind of messed up, i know. i'm just trying to be optimistic and make the best of it i guess.

pam - yes it is a bit aggressive but i don't really have a choice :

 

the reason i'm being tapered so rapidly is because in may i took 2 overdoses in one week and then ended up in a psychiatric hospital for 4 days. long story short, i'm getting therapy, groups and meds free because i have no health insurance but in the state of idaho, if you're getting psychiatric help through the state (free) they will not prescribe benzos. they can't legally prescribe them. so anyway, i was wanting to quit my xanax anyway and when i have my first appt. with the free psychiatrist (july 14) i won't be able to get prescriptions from my family dr for mental issues anymore because it would be a conflict of interest. so she's trying to get me off the xanax by the time i go in to see this psychiatrist. it's kind of messed up, i know. i'm just trying to be optimistic and make the best of it i guess.

 

Only in America.  A psychiatric hospital that can't prescribe benzo's to help people ween off them gently?

 

Well, others here have done aggressive tapers and we're getting through it and improving!  So you can do it.  None of this is fun, but it can be done.  I keep saying that four-letter word:  time.  It all just takes time...

pam - yes it is a bit aggressive but i don't really have a choice :

 

the reason i'm being tapered so rapidly is because in may i took 2 overdoses in one week and then ended up in a psychiatric hospital for 4 days. long story short, i'm getting therapy, groups and meds free because i have no health insurance but in the state of idaho, if you're getting psychiatric help through the state (free) they will not prescribe benzos. they can't legally prescribe them. so anyway, i was wanting to quit my xanax anyway and when i have my first appt. with the free psychiatrist (july 14) i won't be able to get prescriptions from my family dr for mental issues anymore because it would be a conflict of interest. so she's trying to get me off the xanax by the time i go in to see this psychiatrist. it's kind of messed up, i know. i'm just trying to be optimistic and make the best of it i guess.

 

I'm sorry, I didn't realize.  Well, then if this is the way it's to be then it can certainly be done!!  Not everyone has the luxury of doing a slow taper and some of us were unaware that a taper was even a necessity. 

 

You're going to do just fine, it sounds like you're at least getting some help.  The best thing I hear you say is that you're optimistic, so you've already won the battle.

 

Just keep posting when you have questions or concerns.  The State of Idaho can take care of their part of your recovery and we'll take care of ours.

 

Pam

yep. it's pretty ridiculous. the reason they aren't able to prescribe benzos is because of the high amount of people who try and get them for free  and sell them. it's really sad that these people are ruining it for the rest of us...

 

anyway, if this new psychiatrist knew that i was tapering i'm sure she'd be more than happy to help me do a slow taper but like i said, the law says no. i'm not sure if there are any exceptions...they made it seem like there aren't but if i'm having a real hard time on the 14th (my appointment with the new psych) i will ask.

 

i cut from .5mg of klonopin to .25 the other day. it's been...interesting...not unbearable but it's not anywhere near easy either..

Love the way you phrase that "it's been interesting....not unbearable".  We all know what interesting means!!  Good job of downplaying the horror, it helps to keep positive!

is this typical? since i started my taper (substitution: xanax to klonopin) everything and i mean EVERYTHING is making me cry. i'm talking commercials, books, the tiniest things are making me bawl. don't get me wrong, in a way it feels GOOD to let the tears out, something i've been suppressing so long. i'm just wondering, is this a typical side effect of tapering off benzos?

 

Hi 7seven,

 

Yes, the benzos can make us quite emotional and crying is a natural thing. It gets better so hang in there.