Frustrated-Is it withdrawal?

Hi anyone willing to read! I am EXTREMELY frustrated.  I'm working on my benzo taper (from clonazepam).  I am down to 3/8 mg a day.. on day 7 of that. I was doing pretty well with it but that last two days have been really hard.  A couple of weeks ago I started getting body aches around the same time every day (late afternoon), mostly in my neck head and shoulders. It would subside though so it was tolerable and I thought maybe I was fighting off the flu, but the way it comes and goes is so not typical of the flu. Now.. the past 2 days I've had the aches and burning in my ears and down my left arm along with insomnia.  I'm confused because it seems like I should be stabalized on this dosage since Its been a week and i havent even cut yet. Now I'm afraid to cut. I was going to on tuesday. HELP! Any advice? Could this be from another underlying illness? :'(

Hi Lindsey,

 

It sure sounds like withdrawal symptoms to me.  It sounds like you think it could be that too.  What other illness has this kind of strange progression?  Tapering doesn't necessarily mean you'll be symptom free.  The whole process of tapering from start to finish and beyond can be full of disturbing symptoms appearing out of nowhere and disappearing just as quick. 

 

Here is what Dr Ashton has to say about some of the things you've been feeling.

 

Bodily sensations. All sorts of strange tinglings, pins and needles, patches of numbness, feelings of electric shocks, sensations of hot and cold, itching, and deep burning pain are not uncommon during benzodiazepine withdrawal. It is difficult to give an exact explanation for these sensations but, like motor nerves, the sensory nerves, along with their connections in the spinal cord and brain, become hyperexcitable during withdrawal. It is possible that sensory receptors in skin and muscle, and in the tissue sheaths around bones, may fire off impulses chaotically in response to stimuli that do not normally affect them.

 

Since you didn't plan on cutting again until Tuesday try not to panic and see how you feel the closer it gets.  You might come out of it and feel more comfortable when Tuesday rolls around. 

 

You're doing really well, 3/8 of a milligram is great!

 

 

Also I must add that I was diagnosed with 2 complex cysts on my left ovary and a cyst in my fallopian tube as well that the Dr's are recommending surgery for. I'm already extremely sensitive as it is right now so I keep freaking out that I have cancer and that all these symptoms that I'm feeling may not be from benzo withdrawal but from my body fighting off cancer, even though the dr's said they're not really worried about it being cancer. I'm a mess! Any helpful words would be appreciated.

I'm so sorry you've got cysts, I know the Dr's can tell you they're not worried, but you can't help but worry.  When do you think you'll have the surgery?

 

The stress you're feeling about this could be what is amping up your symptoms.  The more we worry, the worse the withdrawals get.  That's why we're always telling people to try to be calm, to keep a positive attitude.  Benzo withdrawals make us worry even more.  When I was hurting, I felt like I'd lost my normal coping skills.  I was scared all of the time, I couldn't believe that the pain I was feeling was still from the Klonopin. 

 

I know it's not much to offer, but educate yourself about your cysts, it might help you to know that your fears of cancer are benzo based fears.  If you can accept that what you're feeling is withdrawals and that these feelings won't kill you, maybe you can help yourself feel better. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi anyone willing to read! I am EXTREMELY frustrated.  I'm working on my benzo taper (from clonazepam).  I am down to 3/8 mg a day.. on day 7 of that. I was doing pretty well with it but that last two days have been really hard.  A couple of weeks ago I started getting body aches around the same time every day (late afternoon), mostly in my neck head and shoulders. It would subside though so it was tolerable and I thought maybe I was fighting off the flu, but the way it comes and goes is so not typical of the flu. Now.. the past 2 days I've had the aches and burning in my ears and down my left arm along with insomnia.  I'm confused because it seems like I should be stabalized on this dosage since Its been a week and i havent even cut yet. Now I'm afraid to cut. I was going to on tuesday. HELP! Any advice? Could this be from another underlying illness? :'(

 

I'd be very surprised if it were anything but benzo withdrawal, LP.  You've been tapering fairly quickly so there's certainly no harm in holding for another week or two.  Many people find that the last .5mg or so are particularly rough (I did).  I had intermittent muscle cramps that were quite intense.  The one that reoccured in my right foot an leg actually made it impossible to walk flat on that foot; I'd walk by kind of dragging it along.  Just as I was starting to wonder if I had MS or something, it stopped. 

 

BTW, I can identify with your fear about the cysts and cancer. My mother died of ovarian cancer and that gives me a much greater chance of getting it.  When the doc found a cyst, that's what I started thinking about, too.  It was removed in a same-day, non-invasive surgery and it was benign.  Most of the time they are, you know.  Is your surgery scheduled yet?

 

 

 

I agree with Pamster and Beeper..it sure sounds like withdrawl.

 

I was forced to taper very quickly from 2mg to 1mg....when my doc after eight weeks of 2mg....changed my prescription to 1mg.  I assume this was to try to stablize me on a lower dose of the klonopin and I understand why he did this, in fact, it helped after I stabilized at that dose.  It was easier to taper from 1mg to 0mg. 

 

What I am getting at is...you may have tapered too quickly....I stabilized at 1mg for about 3 or 4 weeks before I started to titrate off the medication and even then, I am not sure if I was 100 percent stabile on the 1mg.  I still had some issues during the inital part of of my titration, not due to the titration, but because I had a fifty percent cut really quickly.  I am two weeks off of klonopin and still have some s/x lingering around, but for the most part its much better than when tapering.

 

I know you want to get off of this junk...but it may be neccessary to stay at your current dose for a little longer to make sure you are stabilized....I am sorry to hear about your other medical problems..I hope everything works out for you...and I wish you well....

 

Tim