Feel Like I’ve already failed

[[Buddie]]

I have been on .25 - 5 mg of clonazepam for the past 3 years and have tried several times to stop by tapering. But every time when I get to .125mg I cannot sleep and I feel like I’m going insane by day 3. And then I panic and take more again.

This time I really thought I could hang in there but last night I just could not take it anymore and took .25 mg of clonazepam at 2 am. About an hour before that I took .12mg of trazadone in desperation but it did nothing. I was sweating and having heart palpitations. Now I feel like I’ve totally failed.

I don’t know what to do… do I stay at .25mg and do a slower taper? It was 2 1/2 weeks. I went from .25 to .19 to .15 and then .125. I also had covid during the taper which was rotten timing and got a sinus infection and a headache that won’t budge.

I’m also thinking should I add Remeron 7.5mg to help me sleep? I also take 20mg of Paxil, which I’ve taken for about 10 years.

My only withdrawal symptom is lack of sleep, well, I mean I have heart palpitations and feel restless and my mind won’t shut off. But its only at night. I am fine in the day.

I guess I should start tapering from .25mg again? And maybe do a water titration method?
I feel like I’m losing my mind.

It sucks cause I was almost off clonazepam when the doctor had me cross over slowly to Trazadone at night but unfortunatlely it caused such bad dry sinuses and congestion that I ended up with an infection. I feel like I can’t win.

[[Buddie]]

Can you describe your taper for us, how fast are you going?  You mentioned going down in dose over 2 1/2 weeks, I’m concerned you’re tapering too quickly.

 It would help us help you if you put your taper and medication history into your signature, here are the instructions. Add your history/signature

[[Buddie]]

It sounds like your body needs you to go slower. You're cutting 50% going from .25 to .125. That's a huge cut, if you're sensitive like the most of us, and your symptoms tell me you probably are.

[[Buddie]]

You're going too quickly. Perhaps a jewellers scale or water titration. a 50% cut is massive! 

Remron can sometimes speed people up. Do you mean you split a 25mg trazadone in half which is 12.5mgs? That's not failure.

I take a high dose of effexor and 3-4 times a month I take 100mgs of quetiapine to get some deep sleep. I am a life long user of SSRI or SNRI. I also take sleep aids occasionally. Of course, I recommend NO medication but as a last resort, it has saved my life. You have not failed at all.