ambien to Klonopin?

My neurologist is suggesting I quickly taper ambien after being on it for 9 months and cross taper to klonopin.  Thoughts?

The way I understand your post you would taper quickly off Ambien and then start taking Klonopin.  If this is what your neurologist is suggesting I think if you did a quick taper off Ambien after you've been on it for 9 months you would most likely be hit with very rough withdrawal symptoms.  This is not an approach we would recommend.  We typically suggest a slow, careful taper with cuts of no more than 5-10% every 14 days or longer - this, and allowing your taper to be guided by symptoms is the best way we know of to keep you functional during your taper. 

Do you mean that the neurologist is suggesting you crossover to Klonopin and then taper?

 

Please see below for the horrible advice I am getting from my neurologist.  He is recommending Klonopin instead of diazapam because I have generalized dystonia. (movement disorder). I am extremely worried because I know this is not the correct way to stop ambien and do a crossover.  I would appreciate any advice.  There is not a direct crossover for Ambien in the Ashton Manuel, so I am very confused about how to go about this the correct way to minimize withdrawal symptoms.  I have taken 10 mg. for about 9 months.

 

Ambien downtaper:

5 mg (1/2 pill) nightly for 1 week

Then every other day for 4 doses

Then stop it

 

Klonopin 0.5 mg nightly - start this when the Ambien goes to every other day

- then after 1 week, you can increase to twice a day

- then after 1 more week, then you can increase the evening dose to 2 pills at a time

 

MAX to increase on your own: 2.5 mg over the whole day

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I agree with you this is a very bad taper plan.  I'm going to ask one of the team members to step in here.

Is Klonopin the drug your neurologist wants to use to treat your dystonia, I feel this is the more important issue.  What I’ve seen here in my many years of activity is once we become dependent on or tolerant to these medications things change.  Oftentimes, the conditions we went on them to correct become worse then we’re faced with withdrawing from the drug which in many cases turns out to be much worse than our original complaint.

 

I’m concerned your doctor could be putting you in a worse situation than you’re currently in.  Are there any other treatments for your condition other than off label benzodiazepines that are only recommended to be taken for 2-4 weeks?

I just read more of your posts and believe that taking a drug like Klonopin which is known to cause symptoms resembling dystonia and tartar dyskinesia is a risky idea.  It appears drugs caused your condition and taking more drugs off label could compound them.

 

You’re very early in recovery from your Seroquel cold turkey, my suggestion would be to allow your brain the time it needs to recover without bombarding it with drugs that have carry the risk of making things worse.

 

Of course, I’m not a doctor and this isn’t medical advice, I’m simply speaking as one who has taken both Klonopin and Ambien and recovered.

I also find your doctor's recommendations to be wrong as you might face rough withdrawal symptoms. Do you have the possibility to consult another doctor to find out other thoughts on your condition and further treatment? Maybe check the info about these meds online (I usually use the Canadian Pharmacy site for this purpose). Of course, we can share our experiences and thoughts here, but we are not doctors and everyone knows that self-treatment is dangerous.

im not saying its a bad decision cause im not a Dr either, but man that sounds like a really bad plan.

 

There are so many Dr.s out there that proclaim they are "benzo experts". I know i am with one now (who is a very nice lady) but her plan to get me off of Xanax was to take half a pill every other night for a month. The plan after that was even worse. How taking half a pill every other night for a month is a smart plan i have no idea....talk about a roller coaster. When i mentioned Valium to her she had never even heard of switching someone over to it for tapering....so im walking her through the whole thing. I am lucky in fact that she is letting me. She doesnt seem particularly happy about me turning down her expert plan then suggesting my own plan but god bless her for letting me.