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need help please...


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I have been taking klonopin, along with zoloft , for about 3 years. I want to stop taking the klonopin and so does my dr. i take 100 mg. of zoloft and .5 klonopin one time a day. She told me to do every other day and when I don't take it I started freaking out. I always took one before bed and tonight I can't sleep at all and I almost had a full blown panic attack which I haven't had in a very long time.( I also feel sick) Is it in my head because I keep thinking I didn't take it or is it a real withdrawal symptom. My dose is so small. I am scared I won't be able to stop taking it. My dr. wants me to up my zoloft to 150 mg. which she thinks will take care of the need for klonopin. advice please from anyone who knows something about this. I can't believe how addicting it is. I don't know if the symptoms are in my head or they are from not taking the meds, but they are real.

Thanks

Debbie

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Hi:

First its not in your head, Benzos are supposed to be taken for a short time, also I think .5 Klonopin equals 10mg of Valium, some one will correct me if I'm wrong. Also folks who have been through a taper reccomend cutting only 10% of your dose every 1 to 2 weeks.

Hang in there D

Bobers

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No, this is definitely not in your head! I had all the same symptoms when I tried to cut back on my Klonopin--insomnia, panic attacks, nausea...

 

Klonopin is a very potent benzo, 20x as potent as Valium. So what Bobers said is right--.5 mg Klonopin is like 10 mg Valium. I had been on .75 mg Klonopin for over a year, then tried to cut back on my own. I was able to get down to .25 mg Klonopin and could go no further because the symptoms were so awful. It took me nine months to get off that last .25 mg. So .5 mg might be a small dose in the overall scheme of things, but it is definitely NOT a small dose to someone who is chemically dependent, as your experience suggests you are.

 

You have a few options. You can ask your doctor to switch you to the equivalent Valium dose (10 mg), and then taper from there. Valium doesn't bind as strongly to the GABA receptors as Klonopin, and it has a much longer half-life. (You are getting withdrawal symptoms so soon after missing your Klonopin dose because Klonopin doesn't stay in your system very long.) Valium also comes in smaller strength tablets, which makes cutting small amounts easier.

 

Another option is to have your doctor write a script for a compounding pharmacy to make up a liquid solution of the Klonopin (say, at 1 mg in 20 ml solution), and then you have the flexibility of cutting tiny amounts.

 

A third option is to make your own benzo liquid from crushed Klonopin pills and milk. We have devised a method for this. It requires a 100ml cylinder.

 

The nice thing about using a liquid is you can even cut a tiny amount every day, so that you don't have to worry about being "hit" with a cut. Valium also comes in liquid form straight from the pharmacy, which is nice.

 

I would not up your Zoloft at this time, since your symptoms are caused by benzo w/d. Right now, I would go back on your regular dose of Klonopin so that you can stabilize. Then you can begin a proper taper, which will be very slow-going but much more tolerable. You CAN get off the benzos!

 

You might like to read Dr. Heather Ashton's manual on getting off benzos: http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/index.htm. Heather Ashton is where we get the benzo equivalencies in Valium. Sometimes people find that if they bring their doctor the Manual, their doctor is more willing to help them.

 

Therese

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