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The Klonopin Klub#2


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WIP,

 

What served me well with tapering is to not go too terribly fast for safety's sake but to keep the momentum up as much as seemed reasonable.  Staying functional and involved in life were also important for me. 

 

Kate  :thumbsup:

 

Thanks Kate....having a functional and involved life is already a challenge for me during Covid. I hear you though and appreciate your sharing that. I have a birthday coming up and it’s honestly been making me nervous...I hope I’m not feeling like crap and having to force a smile during a zoom birthday. Lol. I’ll be grateful if they want to sing to me.

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Thanks for all the well wishes! I’ve had some trouble falling asleep at night but nothing disabling. It’s amazing that I’ll be free now for the first time since 2005. It’s very exciting. I’ll check back in and see how everyone is doing. Please hang in there!
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Wow, I was wondering today if I’m becoming more of a jerk while tapering off. I felt more road-ragey while driving today. And I haven’t felt that way in a long time. Then it made me think *what if* after I’m off K (one day, fingers crossed) and discover that I’m a jerk of a person and that the K was keeping me from being the true jerk that I am.

 

But then I thought, I’d rather deal with fixing my jerkness while K-free rather than being dependent on K. I’m sure none of these thoughts are new for this forum. Lol. But yeah ... I kinda thought I was being a jerk. Note: jerk is not the word I was thinking of today. But I reviewed the forum guidelines and no profanity. Got it. I’ll let you use your imagination. :)

 

 

 

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I get like that too! Then I think what is my problem. I would say. We get irritated easier in wd. I, sure your not a jerk or you wouldn't care. If we have things to work on when off then that's ok too.
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Agreed Dehytq2 :) Definitely get irritated easier. Haha

 

Switching gears here but wanted to mention...

 

When my Mom needed a quarantine break from my Dad, she came and stayed with me for a week. I put up one of those suction cup shower handles so she had something to hold onto. I didn’t want her slipping in the shower. (You need to make sure it’s always secure before each shower bc it can become loose.)

 

Anyways, that handle has become quite handy for ME during this when I’m feeling a little w/d wobbly. I kinda love having it there.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all,

 

I'm returning after having been here several years ago for a little bit. I spent several years tapering down my K from 3mg to .5 mg where I currently am. I did cut and holds from around 2014 to 2017 then held there needing a break. I hadn't really given serious thought to restarting my taper until recently given the hell it was back then. But now I'm thinking maybe doing a slow daily micro taper would be far more tolerable. I went pretty slow before and had a lot of difficulty with it. I would say it took me until around 2018 to start feeling much better and more normal most of the time. I had started taking K in 95. Nobody told me they were dangerous. Didn't realize it until 2013. God I wish I knew back then. I broke my leg on monday, so I'm home and trying to keep busy and ended up thinking about restarting my taper again.

 

I hope you are all doing well and staying safe right now!

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Hi all,

 

I'm returning after having been here several years ago for a little bit. I spent several years tapering down my K from 3mg to .5 mg where I currently am. I did cut and holds from around 2014 to 2017 then held there needing a break. I hadn't really given serious thought to restarting my taper until recently given the hell it was back then. But now I'm thinking maybe doing a slow daily micro taper would be far more tolerable. I went pretty slow before and had a lot of difficulty with it. I would say it took me until around 2018 to start feeling much better and more normal most of the time. I had started taking K in 95. Nobody told me they were dangerous. Didn't realize it until 2013. God I wish I knew back then. I broke my leg on monday, so I'm home and trying to keep busy and ended up thinking about restarting my taper again.

 

I hope you are all doing well and staying safe right now!

 

I get it. I started in '94 and mercy what a ride! I wish I had been informed too, but at least you and I are headed in the right direction now. I'm well over 5 years in this taper thing. Sounds like it's time for you to heal from the benzo and the leg, as well. Keep listening to your body. It won't steer you wrong!

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I get it. I started in '94 and mercy what a ride! I wish I had been informed too, but at least you and I are headed in the right direction now. I'm well over 5 years in this taper thing. Sounds like it's time for you to heal from the benzo and the leg, as well. Keep listening to your body. It won't steer you wrong!

 

I think I might have been tapering for close to five years before I took a break. I think I was from 2014 to 2017. It was a very slow taper. Between 4-5% a month approximately. Sometimes I cut that to 24 days IIRC. Going to try Daily Micro Taper now as I think cut and hold might have been too dramatic. But I need to wait till my leg heals from this break. I'm not fond of dealing  with a taper and a broken leg.

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I get it. I started in '94 and mercy what a ride! I wish I had been informed too, but at least you and I are headed in the right direction now. I'm well over 5 years in this taper thing. Sounds like it's time for you to heal from the benzo and the leg, as well. Keep listening to your body. It won't steer you wrong!

 

I think I might have been tapering for close to five years before I took a break. I think I was from 2014 to 2017. It was a very slow taper. Between 4-5% a month approximately. Sometimes I cut that to 24 days IIRC. Going to try Daily Micro Taper now as I think cut and hold might have been too dramatic. But I need to wait till my leg heals from this break. I'm not fond of dealing  with a taper and a broken leg.

 

The liquid tapering has been great for me since it allows such tiny cuts at low doses. To each his/her own! You'll find your way. For now, heal that leg!

 

Bless ya!

 

Jeff

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Thanks ultra! Cut and holds were terrible. I think DMT would be far better for me. So many people have found them to be much better.
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Hello,  I am brand new here.  I am looking for some guidance on making the crossover from 1.0 mg Clonazepam to the longer acting Valium as a first step to getting off Benzos.  I have been on Clonazepam for 16 years and, although my PCP has convinced me I need to get off it, he is hesitating on helping me do a crossover to the longer acting Valium.  I'd love to hear from anyone who has done it successfully as an initial step.
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Hello,  I am brand new here.  I am looking for some guidance on making the crossover from 1.0 mg Clonazepam to the longer acting Valium as a first step to getting off Benzos.  I have been on Clonazepam for 16 years and, although my PCP has convinced me I need to get off it, he is hesitating on helping me do a crossover to the longer acting Valium.  I'd love to hear from anyone who has done it successfully as an initial step.

 

My personal experience was that k had/has a long enough half-life to get through the taper. I went crazy at first trying to find a doc who'd give me a script for valium for my crossover, but it was a mess. Finally, a friend said that many people susceptible to depression do far worse on valium, and to stick with the k. I did that and was glad I did. With liquid tapering you can make such tiny miniscule cuts (which I've had to do) all the way to the end, so it's really user-friendly. Still, you'll have to listen to your instincts and do what's best for you. Just take a look at the big overall picture and see what feels best. I'm sure others on here would be happy to help with the crossover. I know it'll be good to get going and establish a plan :)

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Hello,  I am brand new here.  I am looking for some guidance on making the crossover from 1.0 mg Clonazepam to the longer acting Valium as a first step to getting off Benzos.  I have been on Clonazepam for 16 years and, although my PCP has convinced me I need to get off it, he is hesitating on helping me do a crossover to the longer acting Valium.  I'd love to hear from anyone who has done it successfully as an initial step.

 

As you can see from my sig, I was on Clonazepam for a long period of time. Originally I tapered too fast which caused serious issues.  I'd hit a wall with K, so over time (with the help of my therapist) I decided to follow Ashton's advice and used her K to V timetable and directions.  My crossover took about 5 weeks (.75 mg K = 15 mg V).  Diazepam isn't a magical "symptom free cure all" but in my case - the taper has been much smoother (compared to last year). 

Currently I'm doing well and cutting .5 diazepam every 7 to 14 days (depending on my symptoms).

I have a mix of 5.0 V tabs and 2.0 V tabs (It's much easier to cut these low dose V tabs). 

My suggestion is to study that Ashton manual well.  Do your research and you'll decide what's right for you.

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Hi Klonopin Klub,

 

I too am looking for a Klonopin-Valium crossover!  If I can find a doctor to write a prescription for Valium and design/oversee a taper plan.  I wouldn't trust my life on my own math.

 

In my case, I'm only taking 0.375 mg Klonopin a day.  That's 3/4 of a 0.5 pill.  I dry cut this into 6 little doses of 0.0625 mg each, and take them at 7 am, 10:30 am, 2 pm, 5:30 pm, 9 pm and 1:30-2:30 am (whenever it is that I wake up in the middle of the night.)

 

The brilliant idea behind this schedule was to keep the dose low to avoid dependence/addiction.  And keep it regular and frequent to avoid "interdose withdrawal" or rebound anxiety.

 

Only problem......IT HASN'T WORKED.

 

Instead, I'm guessing that 0.375 mg Klonopin a day has kept me in a constant state of "interdose withdrawal."  If anyone is wondering what that feels like......you know how it feels when you're driving down the highway and a car ahead of you swerves into your lane?  I feel like that ALL THE TIME.  And now it is invading my sleep.  Moreover Klonopin gives me heart palpitations, headaches, HYPER-SENSITIVITY (can no longer watch TV, movies, read, listen to music, etc. cause too stimulating. Can't drink coffee, tea or wine.  Quit smoking but can't use nicotine replacement therapy.)  I have to get off this #%$#$!!!!

 

But.......how do you convert 6 tiny doses of Klonopin a day into a Valium schedule?  I've seen the Ashton charts and still don't get it.  I'm not stupid.  I'm just an artist.  Well maybe the same thing, I don't know.  I can design my own knitting patterns into mathematical grids of rows and stitches.  But pharmacy.....no.  Maybe it scares me.  I am not comfortable with drugs to begin with, which is why I figured out a low Klonopin dose schedule, which is what got me into trouble to begin with apparently.......

 

PLEEZ ADVISE!

 

clearbluesky

 

 

 

   

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Hi Klonopin Klub,

 

I too am looking for a Klonopin-Valium crossover!  If I can find a doctor to write a prescription for Valium and design/oversee a taper plan.  I wouldn't trust my life on my own math.

 

In my case, I'm only taking 0.375 mg Klonopin a day.  That's 3/4 of a 0.5 pill.  I dry cut this into 6 little doses of 0.0625 mg each, and take them at 7 am, 10:30 am, 2 pm, 5:30 pm, 9 pm and 1:30-2:30 am (whenever it is that I wake up in the middle of the night.)

 

The brilliant idea behind this schedule was to keep the dose low to avoid dependence/addiction.  And keep it regular and frequent to avoid "interdose withdrawal" or rebound anxiety.

 

Only problem......IT HASN'T WORKED.

 

Instead, I'm guessing that 0.375 mg Klonopin a day has kept me in a constant state of "interdose withdrawal."  If anyone is wondering what that feels like......you know how it feels when you're driving down the highway and a car ahead of you swerves into your lane?  I feel like that ALL THE TIME.  And now it is invading my sleep.  Moreover Klonopin gives me heart palpitations, headaches, HYPER-SENSITIVITY (can no longer watch TV, movies, read, listen to music, etc. cause too stimulating. Can't drink coffee, tea or wine.  Quit smoking but can't use nicotine replacement therapy.)  I have to get off this #%$#$!!!!

 

But.......how do you convert 6 tiny doses of Klonopin a day into a Valium schedule?  I've seen the Ashton charts and still don't get it.  I'm not stupid.  I'm just an artist.  Well maybe the same thing, I don't know.  I can design my own knitting patterns into mathematical grids of rows and stitches.  But pharmacy.....no.  Maybe it scares me.  I am not comfortable with drugs to begin with, which is why I figured out a low Klonopin dose schedule, which is what got me into trouble to begin with apparently.......

 

PLEEZ ADVISE!

 

clearbluesky

 

 

 

 

 

My guess is that it's not interdose withdrawal if you're taking it 6x/day. It's probably just tolerance. I started at 6+ mg/day of k and have done the liquid taper down to what I'm at now which is about .0110 mg/day. I always refer people to Bob7 on the boards here to get help with dry cutting all the way down to jumping. He has it perfected, and maybe he can direct as far as doing a V crossover too. Just search these Support Group boards and find him (or just a basic search) and reply to one of his posts to get in touch. Currently, I just mix my k tablet in a tiny amount of vodka to dissolve, then add water to make my mixture, then just reduce from there. Very easy to do and very user friendly at low doses. To each his/her own, huh? Don't stress things too much. You'll find some great help here on BB's. I'm not an expert at all on crossing over to V. K has a very long half-life too, so I just went with it. Keep the faith!

 

Jeff

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Hi Klonopin Klub,

I too am looking for a Klonopin-Valium crossover........

In my case, I'm only taking 0.375 mg Klonopin a day.  That's 3/4 of a 0.5 pill............

But.......how do you convert 6 tiny doses of Klonopin a day into a Valium schedule?  I've seen the Ashton charts..........

PLEEZ ADVISE!

clearbluesky

 

In short:

.5 mg K = 10 mg V

(3/4) 75% x .5 mg K = 75% x 10 mg V

.375 mg K = 7.5 mg V

 

For ease of calculation (doctor, pharmacy, patient) I'd recommend the 2.0 diazepam tabs

As you know, the 2.0 V tabs are also "scored", thus easy to split into halves (1.0 V) and quarters (.5 V)

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Hey all -

 

I am just 2 weeks into a taper of .25mg a day of klonopin. I have been on klonopin for almost 30 years. My new doctor (psychiatrist) recommended that I get off klonopin 1) because it is probably not doing anything for me anymore 2) bad side effects as I age.

 

I was lucky enough never to have any issues (that I know of) that I can attribute to klonopin use (guess I was very lucky). When I originally went on it decades ago, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. 

 

My Doctor recommended skipping my .25mg dose every other day. It has been a struggle. I have suffered small bouts of anxiety (not as bad as when I was first diagnosed), insomnia, hyper sensitivity/self awareness, headaches in the afternoon, and some tinnitus when I lay down to rest.

 

I am worried because I generally dont feel great/ have a 'foggy brain' and will be going back to work soon. 

 

Some questions for the klub:

1) are these symptoms all pretty normal?

2) do you think the taper was too aggressive/not following the Ashton Manuel?

3) 2 weeks in, should I just 'make the jump' and quit altogether since I am already feeling crummy? 

 

Thank you all.

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Hey all -

 

I am just 2 weeks into a taper of .25mg a day of klonopin. I have been on klonopin for almost 30 years. My new doctor (psychiatrist) recommended that I get off klonopin 1) because it is probably not doing anything for me anymore 2) bad side effects as I age.

 

I was lucky enough never to have any issues (that I know of) that I can attribute to klonopin use (guess I was very lucky). When I originally went on it decades ago, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. 

 

My Doctor recommended skipping my .25mg dose every other day. It has been a struggle. I have suffered small bouts of anxiety (not as bad as when I was first diagnosed), insomnia, hyper sensitivity/self awareness, headaches in the afternoon, and some tinnitus when I lay down to rest.

 

I am worried because I generally dont feel great/ have a 'foggy brain' and will be going back to work soon. 

 

Some questions for the klub:

1) are these symptoms all pretty normal?

2) do you think the taper was too aggressive/not following the Ashton Manuel?

3) 2 weeks in, should I just 'make the jump' and quit altogether since I am already feeling crummy? 

 

Thank you all.

Jscan,

I hope you get some answers soon. I'm too cog fogged, anxious & lacking knowledge to be the one to advise you, but with the little knowledge I have, I'm concerned For you. Especially since you mostly Havnt had any issues throughout your use. I'm not knowledgeable about every other day tapering, I don't see many doing that here. We are all different. I am not a medical professional & this is not medical advice.

If it were me, I'd think

1)Those sound like normal withdrawal symptoms that could possibly be avoided with a slower taper of a different approach than every other day

2)Y

3)N

Don't want to alarm you. I feel you need someone with more experience & a clearer head to discuss this with, In more depth, soon, before you proceed any further. 

You could try posting in the withdrawl support section, too. Maybe copy paste your post there.

Best wishes, SC

 

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Thanks SC. I have an 11am teleconference with my Doctor, so I will know more tomorrow on what direction he wants to go in. I want this to be over and off this drug, but the side effects at a more rapid taper suck.
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Hey all -

 

I am just 2 weeks into a taper of .25mg a day of klonopin. I have been on klonopin for almost 30 years. My new doctor (psychiatrist) recommended that I get off klonopin 1) because it is probably not doing anything for me anymore 2) bad side effects as I age.

 

I was lucky enough never to have any issues (that I know of) that I can attribute to klonopin use (guess I was very lucky). When I originally went on it decades ago, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. 

 

My Doctor recommended skipping my .25mg dose every other day. It has been a struggle. I have suffered small bouts of anxiety (not as bad as when I was first diagnosed), insomnia, hyper sensitivity/self awareness, headaches in the afternoon, and some tinnitus when I lay down to rest.

 

I am worried because I generally dont feel great/ have a 'foggy brain' and will be going back to work soon. 

 

Some questions for the klub:

1) are these symptoms all pretty normal?

2) do you think the taper was too aggressive/not following the Ashton Manuel?

3) 2 weeks in, should I just 'make the jump' and quit altogether since I am already feeling crummy? 

 

Thank you all.

 

Congratulations on your decison to taper, its a empowered decison to make for your health. 

 

Unfortunately, doctors are not informed enough on how to taper a benzo.  Its not recommended on this site to skip doaages and go every other day.  It is recommended that you keep a consistent daily dose and taper down from there.  The symptoms you are experiencing seem to be about the taper being too rapid for your body and brain to handle.

 

Most tapers have symptoms so you will or may experience them to some degree while tapering.  You just want to keep them tolerable enough for you to keep going. 

 

Also, in my opinion, jumping from a dose of .25 is high and especially for someone who has been on it 30 years.  That would basically be a cold turkey jump and if you have done any reading about people who have cold turkeyed on this site, it can be a very rough ride. 

 

We all want to get off this medication as fast as possible but not at the cost of your ability to function. 

 

I suggest creating a taper plan and then working your way off the medication.  Many, many people have done so and been successful.

 

Wishing you lots of luck. 

 

Final Healing

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Thank you Final Healing. I thought the taper was aggressive too, but I didn’t do much research before starting (I found this blog and the Ashton Manual after). I will check with the Dr tomorrow and bring up my concerns/symptoms.
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You're welcome jscan. Good to hear. Final healing said what my brain couldnt. Hopefully that helps for tomorrow & throughout the rest of your taper.

Good luck.

 

Thanks, Final healing.

 

SC

 

 

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Thank you Final Healing. I thought the taper was aggressive too, but I didn’t do much research before starting (I found this blog and the Ashton Manual after). I will check with the Dr tomorrow and bring up my concerns/symptoms.

 

You're welcome Jscan1.  Most of us received such poor advice about tapering, which is why we turn to each other here.

Its important to be prepared that your doctor may dismiss your concerns about your symptoms.  I'm not saying that he or she will but its good to be prepared.

 

Think about how you want to taper, even if you don't have a detailed plan yet. Just that you want to do a slow, steady taper, which you feel would be best for you to get off the med. You have the right to advocate for yourself and your needs.

 

Afterwards you can get suggestions for a taper plan, whether its dry cutting or liquid.  Lots of good and experienced people who can help you with that on this site.

 

Wishing you a successful doctors visit.

 

FH

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