Failed Reinstatement/gone paradoxical, emergency Detox RT, can anyone relate?

Hi dear fellow Buddies,

 

I'm new here on benzo buddies,  I got hooked on Klonopin! I took it since November 2022 to taper down from Ativan that I took 4 1/2 months before...

 

I did a fairly rapid taper, over almost 3 months...not knowing better.. Actually the Klonopin taper was quite easy first... Got only hit by more severe withdrawal at 0.3mg of Klonopin... So I slowed down then and tapered the rest all 2 weeks via 0.1mg Clonazepam ... had many windows...

 

But then at Day 14 after complete cessation,  I got hit with such severe and scary withdrawal that set me in panic like hell!!! I had Dystonia, Akasthisia and parkinsonism.... I couldn't think of from before while still tapering I would get so badly hit, as there was no real sign!

 

I called my doctor and he said reinstate! So I did! First I had a bit of relieve, but not long and things would go extremely paradoxical! It was worse than before!!! I tried to updose a bit ... but the more Klonopin the more paradoxical! I thought I'd jump out the window!!!

 

I called the ambulance,  I was a real case of emergency! They brought me over to the psych ward to rapid taper me from 1mg of Klonopin (I was on for about 5 weeks) down to 0mg in 4 weeks! I am still there... today is Day 11 after complete cessation... my Akasthisia is much better, my mood,  too. But of course I also feel full blown acute withdrawal... but better than the paradoxical reaction! I feel sick, weak, hella anxious, Tinnitus,  muscle pain and derealisation and extreme nervousness...

 

They want to discharge me on day 14 or 15 after cessation... that is probably acute withdrawal peak time... but I absolutely wanna go home!!! Also they forced no other medication on me!

 

Anyone here on the board who has gone trough that also (Failed reinstatement and gone paradoxical/ Emergency RT) ?!

 

Feel free to share your story and how you got through that!

Anyone  got some tips for me how to get through acute withdrawal now again?!

 

I won't touch that stuff ever again! I know it would just make it worse and definately not help!

 

I'm glad I am off again! I talked to Jennifer Leigh... she said some of us never stabilize at whatever dosage... that would have happened to me! Really this stuff just made me nuts!

 

I woner why reinstatements fail so often?! Is it because the system started to heal already and the GABA receptors have partly a bit upregulated in a slightly different form and now less sensitive to benzodiazepines?!

 

I heard that some people need a very long time to stabilize- if they do at all! It could take a whole withdrawal timeline until stabilized! And you won't even know before whether it works or not! My choice was better get off ASAP in this special case, (otherwise I would really recommend Ashton Taper)

Your experience is fairly common, this is why we try to discourage people from reinstating, we never know if it will help or makes things worse.  The good thing is you’re benzo free and your body can concentrate on recovery. 

 

As for tips, just keep distracting yourself as best you can and try to avoid stress, that makes things worse. 

 

 

How in the world did you get through the second detox without assistance from other meds? How did you sleep? How did the movements stop? I am so so sorry that you experienced this hell but grateful that you are coming out the other side. And yes, who wants to be in a psych hospital for a month...at least they acknowledged the issue and didn't call you manic. Thank goodness you are OK.

Hi there buddies,

Thanx for your replies! Well, the 2nd detox wasn't easy atvall and I had different symptoms this time but it worked -better than I thought! And I expected a lot, I expected hell...

 

And since I'm only 12 days out, it's definately not over yet... I had my peak at Day 14 the last time...

 

Well I knew that other adjunctive medication will only make it worse! That's how I got accidentally got hooked on benzos again! I do have some medication metabolism problem that makes me react so paradoxical on medications. It's  this CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 kinda thing that doesn't function properly in me!

 

Anyways from what I've learned being on places like BB and some others I don't really think there is any other medication that really helps with benzo withdrawal, it often rater excerbates the situation I think, as the CNS is already so sensitized!

 

I really want to go home now... I can't distract at this place! Don't feel good there anymore and therapies are not suitable for someone in acute withdrawal! As they have no clue about benzo withdrawal! I have more energy now and don’t know where to go with it! They wanted to discharge me Wed or Thu but I wanna go home now! I told my mom to toss the Klonopin and Valium I still have at home... but since that failed reinstatement I wouldn't touch it anyway...

 

Hi again, to answer the missing questions:

 

I sleep quite well for that it is acute withdrawal and the akasthisia stopped again while 2nd rapid taper!

 

I am really happy to be off of Klonopin again, ready to start healing! Was the best and only option! But I'm scared in withdrawal as I shouldn't be -because it adds up to symptoms if you are too scared in it!

I hope you can go home soon, distraction will be easier there and good call on clearing the house of benzodiazepines.  Even though you’re determined never to take them again, its best to remove all temptation in case (or when) you get desperate, I’ve seen the strongest among us break.

Hi again, to answer the missing questions:

 

I sleep quite well for that it is acute withdrawal and the akasthisia stopped again while 2nd rapid taper!

 

I am really happy to be off of Klonopin again, ready to start healing! Was the best and only option! But I'm scared in withdrawal as I shouldn't be -because it adds up to symptoms if you are too scared in it!

 

Did the movements just stop on their own or did they have to give you Benadryl?

They really stopped on their own! Just by tapering down rapidly again. It was probably just a severe paradoxical Reaction upon reinstatement... Now I rather have some opposite problem instead of akasthisia... which is jelly legs and weakness and flu like feeling! I am finally home now for a couple of hours, gladly! I just lay on my sofa... that's all I can do right now. though I could at the least work a tiny bit in my bird room at home a couple of hours ago! That 's quite good!

 

I really fought  hard to not be given any other medication, since I know I react paradoxical on it anyway! They wanted to offer Benardryl for akasthisia first but I declined and soon it was gone anyways because I was rapidly tapered nearly all 2 days or sometimes 3...

I just read that discontinuing the use of stimulants can make akathisia worse. FYI you might want to look into this further.

Oh thanx, didn't know that.. but that's not hard to imagine... Akasthisia would also mix up with ADHD Rebound symptoms...

 

But my ADHD medication dosage was not changed. I wasn't taken off of that... or changed anything about it in dosage before the failed reinstatement attempt or now... but actually I wanted to get off it first...but they didn't want to get me off of Stimulants... but probably it would have been too much if both Klonopin and methylphenidate were layed off at the same time...

 

But as soon as I'm stable and further in my recovery I wanna get very slowly off of methylphenidate, too! I'm really so extremely fed up with taking any medication right now... I am no longer willing to supress my ADHD nature only to be more functional around people to not strike out so much...

 

 

How are you doing?

Hi Rebecca, 

Today I feel withdrawal more than yesterday.... the day before yesterday was actually quite a "good day" for that I am still in acute stage... But even this morning I wasn't feeling so bad and wanted to listen to music  and I could do some cleaning in my Bird room... but then after that I was hit by another wave... I now deal  with rather mild anxiety and especially tiredness and total exhaustion to the likes of a very extreme version of my fibromyalgia and jelly legs ... these are actually my worst symptoms right now... Somehow still feeling very sick (flu like)... I cannot stay up long... but I would love to just do something... but it's hard feeling like crap...

 

Tremors are gone, lightheadedness and derealisation are gone ...and the constant feeling of being or living in a dream or a nightmare have also disappeared... as well as the Tinnitus is less intense and I don't have that "scrambled egg" feeling in my head/brain anymore

 

I hope that the worst is over for me at this point... some days are better than others... if  I wouldn't know for sure that I am a Klonopin poor metabolizer (I actually am!) I'd say maybe I am out of the woods concerning acute withdrawal peak... but...yet anything could happen... I don't trust these things as long as a couple of weeks haven't passed, yet... Still scared of akasthisia or dystonia... but this time around I (gladly) seem to have an opposite problem as WD symptoms instead of akasthisia that is easier to deal with... so I really really hope akasthisia will never come back! Really hope so!!!

 

And I hope that was the peak now for me... if so I could really call it (rather) mild... but how knows... 18 days off is very early in acute stage or recovery timeline...

 

How are you doing, Rebecca? In your History I read you went through Detox, too, last year... I really hope you are doing well now and the worst is over for you!

I am suffering and trying to figure out what to do.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=277878.msg3458129#msg3458129

Oh I'm so sorry Rebecca for what you have to go through with the Seroquel.... That's a really tragic story... but actually not really uncommon... I know one similiar case like yours on my german Taper forum... It was a girl who also went to detox for getting off Ativan and she was given Doxepine for benzo withdrawal... Actually she had a rather mild withdrawal from the Ativan but then got badly slammed when she tried to taper the Doxepine then... She ended up reinstating Doxepine to the original dose to try again later... They said that happens quite often that people who were given other psych meds for benzo withdrawal help who develop big problems in tapering these medications after...

 

As far as I know AP's are also known for that they can cause akasthisia when tapering... I hope you can get off as soon and best as possible.... I read all the posts in your link... I wish I could tell you something to help you...but for the moment I don't know anything...

 

Did you decide now what to do?

Apart from AP withdrawal....could your akasthisia be a side effect from the Seroquel? (that would be the better case, then... but akasthisia can be caused by both AP withdrawal and side effects as far as I know...)

 

I also have one psych med left over to taper... It's Ritalin... I'm also scared to get such problems when getting off... but at least I know that in the past I never had any problem in getting off Ritalin... I always went on and off... again and again... cannot wait to get off that one as well!

I haven't decided what to do yet. Still looking at options.