Having problems

I am looking for help and support in continuing with my tapering off Klonopin which I was taking for about four years in the dosage of 1 mg twice daily.  Doing a taper supervised by my psychiatrist, I was successful in getting down to 0.25 mg twice daily without any symptoms at all. After I dropped down to 0.125mg six weeks ago, two weeks later I started having awful withdrawal symptoms of nausea, edginess, and severe paresthesia.

Hi badtime.  Welcome to the forum.

 

Congrats on tapering off the Klonopin!  Symptoms can show up after the taper is over, especially with long-acting benzodiazepines like Klonopin.  The symptoms you describe are typical benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms and will go away with time.  In the meantime, there may be ways to cope with these symptoms to make them more tolerable until they do subside.

 

Let me give you some links to get started, including a link to the Ashton Manual for detail information on withdrawal and recovery.

 

    General Taper Plans 

    Withdrawal Support

    Ashton Manual

 

 

Please take some time to Create a Signature. This will help other members understand your history so they will be better able to support you.

Go to the top of the page and select Profile, then choose Forum Profile, insert drug history/timelines into the text box and click Change Profile.

 

If you need help or have questions, please let us know via the Helpdesk. 

 

Take care,

Challis

I am looking for help and support in continuing with my tapering off Klonopin which I was taking for about four years in the dosage of 1 mg twice daily.  Doing a taper supervised by my psychiatrist, I was successful in getting down to 0.25 mg twice daily without any symptoms at all. After I dropped down to 0.125mg six weeks ago, two weeks later I started having awful withdrawal symptoms of nausea, edginess, and severe paresthesia.

 

You're so close to being done! Are you taking .125mg twice a day? If so, you made a 50% cut. If not, you made a 75% cut.

 

You may want to go back to .125 x2 or .125 and .25, depending on how you cut, to stabilize, then try going slowly from there.

I am still taking 0.125 twice daily, the oral disintegrating tabs.  Have been talking w/ my psych every two weeks and she is trying to help me through the w/d symptoms which can be ghastly some days. Remeron 3.75 was prescribed four weeks ago to combat the nausea and insomnia and is helpful.  I will cut that in half soon so I don't become dependent on that. Worst symptoms are the paresthesias that hit my head, feet and sometimes hands.  My head feels severely thick and heavy and it's hard to ignore the sensations. Keeping busy seems to help somewhat, but that isn't always possible.  Neither my psych or my PCP thinks I should decrease the dosage at all unless I stabilize for a short time.

 

Right now, I have added stress in my life.  My husband, a 17 yr stroke survivor, fell again and this time fractured his L proximal humerus.  His arm is restrained and I am trying to care for him and prevent future falls- easier said than done.  I know one of my choices now is to up my dose by another 0.125 once daily but it seems like such a step backwards. My adult children think I should increase the dosage so I can feel better and function at a more comfortable level.  I desperately want off this wretched medication.  I am tempted to micro-taper very slowly and see if the w/d symptoms stay the same.

Hello badtime,

 

Welcome from me as well. I'm so sorry to hear about your husband. You know, many people hold their dose for a while if they have additional stressors in their life. You have a lot on your plate right now, so holding might be a good idea.

 

Staying busy and distracted is a great idea. Distraction was a tool I used the most during withdrawal and while it didn't take away the symptoms, at least I didn't dwell on them 24/7.

 

My heart goes out to you and your husband.

 

pianogirl

Thank you so much pianogirl!!  It helps to hear encouraging words at a time like this.  After a long discussion with my psychiatrist, I may be decreasing my K dosage, now 0.125 mg twice daily.  I was advised to cut my morning dose by one-quarter, but it seems like a lot so I'm holding off for now.  I've been feeling crappy for almost three months, and I can't believe I tapered easily from 1.0 mg twice daily down to .25 mg twice daily without any problems at all.  Only when I went down to 0.125 twice daily did I begin to have withdrawal symptoms.  The edginess has decreased, but the paresthesias seem to be getting worse.  Tinnitus that sounds like chirping birds is non-stop.  I know this may take quite some time, but I just want to feel somewhat normal soon.

I agree in that's it's smart to hold off for a while longer.

Tinnitus is a sign for me that ive been cutting too fast. And usually a bit of a hold will fix the increased symptoms.

You got a lot going on right now. So try to distract as good as you can and be gentle on yourself.

 

Cuts can catch up with us. Faster isn't always a quicker during a taper.

 

Hoping you'll get some relief soon. Welcome !

I am interested in learning if going backwards for a bit might be helpful; that is increasing my dosage a bit to see if the withdrawal symptoms can be cut back.  Right now, my paresthesias are getting worse, not better, and I don't know if I can continue.  My scalp itches like crazy, as well as my eyes.  My head feels numb.  I have varying degrees of numbness over my hands, feet, and torso.  It's only been three months and one week since withdrawal symptoms started and I am losing my resolve.  I can't stand the paresthesias.

sorry to hear of all you have been through, life is not always pleasant, i have read your story several times, and i guess i would tell you from experience, that it would be better i think to hold right now, because from what i have read, each time you reinstate, it can and may get worse the w/d, i have read here that all w/d are different but we will have some, the degree can vary. but you have come so far, and i am beginning to wonder does anxiety and other stresses cause us to have worse w/d, i think so. it seems to be a key for the terrible w/d our buddies have, how do we get rid of anxiety, well telling it to go away does not help, but if you can try to do something each day that takes you away in your mind from all the sad and hard times. mediate, walk, just anything. i wish you peace and hope your journey is lightened. try to do the best for you and whatever you decide please go slow, that is what i have been doing, it has been hard, but the w/d even if i have them are much lighter than before, do i want to pull my hair and nails out at times some days yes, but i have a RESOLVE that this is my LAST TITER.