Retreading Old Ground?

I was on 2mg of Klonopin a day for about ten years. Recently, my p-doc retired, and when I got a new one, I specifically sought one out who seemed weary of benzos. I always felt my p-doc had been too casual in prescribing benzos, but he was board-certified and a professor at a local university, so I trusted his judgment over mine. The p-doc I have now is maybe even more skeptical than I imagined, and he wanted me weaned off in one month or two.

 

Since starting my taper two months ago, I reduced my daily dose by .5mg every two weeks. Each step down was a little tougher than the last one had been, but I was doing okay. After two weeks at .5mg/day, I went a few days taking nothing. The withdrawal symptoms became basically unbearable. I was experiencing significant and almost debilitating anxiety, depression, ataxia, derealization, insomnia, and other symptoms.

 

While seeking out information about withdrawal, I came across the Ashton Manual. I realized that that the tapering schedule my new p-doc had advised was very fast considering the length of time I was on K. On Friday, I decided to revert back to the .5mg/day schedule. The last couple days have been a little more tolerable, but I still feel very off.

 

I'm now wondering whether it's advisable to go up to 1mg/day, which I was at about three weeks ago, or should I stay where I've gone back to for the near future? I don't want to unnecessarily retread ground, but I want some sense of normalcy to get through this. Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated.

Hi CharliesDad

 

I've also had those rapid reduction from 2mg and I couldn't function, I ended up bedridden (see my signature). I updosed to 1mg. It's a good sign that you're feeling a bit better. The thing I noticed with my reductions was that I progressively got worse - my symptoms got more severe until I hit rock bottom at around 17 days. So it's hard to say whether you'll be okay at 0.5mg or whether you'll need more. I also don't want you to lose the progress you've made, but also don't want you to get worse. You could also consider 0.75mg?

 

How did you feel when you completely stopped? Obviously it was bad enough for you to reinstate. But can you elaborate a bit more?

 

 

Hi! Thanks for the reply. When I completely stopped, I felt like I was starting to lose my mind. In addition to what I was already experiencing, I had brain fog, trouble concentrating, difficulty interacting with others, feelings of despair and suicidal ideation, anhedonia, muscle spasms, and heart palpitations. I already ground my teeth at night, so my jaw was already pretty tense, but I felt like my face was just frozen. I still feel low now and like I'm under water or something, but it's somewhat manageable.

It's good to hear you have had some improvement, so that's an indication the reinstatement/updosing is working. The only thing of concern to me is the accumulation of cuts. When we make cuts it all accummulates and if it's been to much it can hit you like freight train. This is probably what happened to you. The 0.5mg might be enough to counter some of it but not all of it.

 

How do you feel about going up more? Sometimes that's also an indication of where we are in the process. When we're feeling really awful we kind of just need a little nudge to increase. It's almost when somebody tells us it's okay to increase, we are so relieved that there's a way out and we grab it with both arms. When it's not that bad, we are a lot more reluctant to increase. If you're going to feel like you feel now for quite a while, can you manage it (not suffer through it) or do you think you need to feel better?

Yes, I was reading a post just now about half-lives and how, assuming K has a 35-hour half-life, 90% of a dose is gone by day five. That lines up with how I was feeling particularly bad on days 3-6 after I had gone from .5mg to nothing. It definitely did hit like a freight train.

 

I do feel like I'm suffering currently, so I think I'll go back up to 1mg for now, hold there for a few weeks, and then begin properly tapering by 5-10% every couple weeks. I had been leaning that way already, so I appreciate the push.

I think you're making a wise decision. There's no need to suffer through this when we can be functional. My suggestion would be to hold at 1mg for a couple of weeks until your body has had time to recover from this. Would your doctor be okay with a slow taper?

 

Oh and another suggestion, it's very good practice to keep a daily journal with your symptoms. You rate each of your symptoms on a scale of 1-10. Also jot down any stresses or new meds/supplements that could aggrevate your symptoms. This is a very good way of tracking your progress.

That's a great idea about the journal! I will do that.

 

After starting back at 1mg yesterday, today was actually fairly normal thankfully. I felt pretty sharp mentally and didn't feel like any symptoms were overwhelming. I really do appreciate the suggestion you made yesterday.

 

Regarding the doctor, I'm not sure. If, after I explain what I am doing to him, he is not supportive, I will find one who will be. The practice that my old doctor retired from has many like him, I believe.

I am very excited to hear you feel kind of normal. The same happened to me when I updosed to 1mg. Within a day I almost felt the same as if I was at 2mg! It's really good news - I hate to see people suffer through this.

 

Good to know there are other doctors available. I've seen so many people around here, who with a little bit of effort, managed to find a doctor to prescribe. Please keep us updated on your progress and let us know if you need help tapering.