My Story/Need Help Planning Taper from .5mg Klonopin Taken Almost Daily Approaching 4 Years

Good Evening,

Almost 4 years ago I was 19 in my freshman year of University when I was first prescribed .5mg Klonopin.

I was prescribed as I have been smoking marijuana daily since 15 years old and was over-consuming. I have always had some anxieties and can remember a few panic attacks when I was young but a manageable amount. This freshman year when I was 18-19 I was smoking as soon as I woke up even before classes and until I went to sleep. This harmful cycle along with insecurities I had at the time led me to become quite anxious (relative to before smoking so much). 

I eventually reached out to a psychiatrist and was prescribed .5mg of Klonopin at 1 dose per day (omitting mention of my marijuana use). At the time and not until recently did I really understand how destructive and addictive the drug could be and I saw it as a logical solution.

Almost 2 years into starting my .5mg prescription I was at a time in my life where I made a series of stupid decisions that ended up with me abusing powerful pressed street xanax along with hydrocodone mixed in on the occasion. This was merely a binge that lasted about 2 weeks but own my behavior was so jarring I decided to stop the street drugs along with my prescribed klonopin cold turkey. I went through hell from day 3-6 and experienced nearly every symptom except a seizure. I was actually pretty successful in this attempt as despite how hard it was I didn't take a benzo dose for nearly a month. Unfortunately I ended up going back on my klonopin as I still didn't have the perspective I do now.

I continued to smoke marijuana daily and continued to take my klonopin at a near daily rate as well. THANK GOD I never upped my dose past .5mg. My anxiety has gotten worse over these past 2 years. I used to be such an extrovert and over time social anxiety became an issue. I just found myself needing klonopin for more regular activities than ever previous. I graduated university last year and decided I needed to fix my anxiety. I went to a good school and was time to look for a job but knew I needed to fix something first. My solution at the time was to quit smoking marijuana. I ended up quitting smoking marijuana for 2 months cold turkey and actually did see some improvements with anxiety and didn't need to take klonopin as much.

At the end of this past summer I ended up landing a job and getting into my first serious relationship around the same time. The job is perfect for me but since I've started I have had to take my klonopin before I go in each day. I have a fairly long bus commute and have had panic attacks on the bus as I feel trapped and have severe anxiety about making a fool of myself at work and getting fired due to anxiety antics which I have always feared would cause me to need to abruptly leave.

Now that I am done with school (major source of anxiety), have a girlfriend (previous insecurities no longer issue), and have a job (no worries about money, career path, etc.) I am finally facing the music to myself along with now educating myself on Klonopin and realizing that is what is holding me back.

I did start smoking again and continue to use too much which I intend to cut down but klonipin and benzos need to be cut out of my life once and for all.

As it currently stands:

I work in person 4 days a week and damn near require a .5mg dose to get through the day. On the weekends/WFH I haven't necessarily needed as there is quite literally no reason I would need it except for my addiction. I can feel that I am needing it more on these non work days which is what started these red flags for me again. I had never heard of Ashton and didnt realize how to properly taper. Sometimes over the past few years Ive attempted 2-5 day stints of quitting cold turkey where I am basically just torturing myself. It is now clear to me that I need to taper.

I have had times where I take my dose 2x in a day and other times im taking .25mg for majority of days for weeks. As it stands now I am pretty reliant on the .5mg esp on work days.

My questions are really regarding tapering and my relationship with marijuana.

How should I taper from .5mg I take now?

Should I switch to valium for down the road, I dont want to be sleepy as I have needed to dose before work which is the aspect of my life that is making me most anxious.

I think I should try to quit or slow MJ but is doing that at the same time a bad Idea?

Im very new to taking this seriously and I want to get tf off of this. Im ready to do what it takes.

Any and all advice is welcome.

Hello sugarcanepanda, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

First its important to know that once our body becomes dependent on the drug, it begins to cause anxiety and not just ordinary anxiety, its anxiety on steroids so I'm hopeful that once you taper from the drug and recover from your use that you'll find your anxiety is manageable.

We suggest reducing your dose by about 5-10% every couple of weeks or whatever your symptoms dictate, this will hopefully keep you functional.  I don't see a reason to cross to Valium unless you're dealing with severe interdose withdrawal but with Klonopin, you shouldn't need to.

I wouldn't try to stop the cannabis now, we suggest only tapering one medication/supplement at a time so try not to rock that boat.  Many members find cannabis useful, others not so much but since you're already using it, I'd suggest you continue.

I'll provide some links to help you get started but we look forward to working with you.

Pamster

Colorado  Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidance

Planning  Your Withdrawal (Taper)

Withdrawal  Support (during your taper)

Ashton  Manual symptom list