Hello to all!
I'm most likely asking questions that have been asked repeatedly. There's so much info here and I appreciate that! A few things I'd like to know from those who have experience:
1. If I've been taking 1mg of clonazepam, is it safe to switch over to diazepam only? Or is it generally recommended to combine the two?
2. I typically break or cut my pills with a razor. How do you cut them into smaller increments than half?
3. Once you have successfully tapered off, has anybody EVER found that their anxiety came back more intense and required benzos again? I never want to take this stuff again. At least not on a regular basis. When I needed it once or twice in the past as an "In Case of Emergency" dose I never felt any withdrawl. It was only after I began taking it daily...
Thanks!!
1)I was on .5 klono, and decided to switch half of my dosage to diazepam before I tapered, and here is why: klono and valium are both benzos. However, different benzo’s have different “profiles of action” (klono relaxes your muscles much more then valium, but valium puts you to sleep much better then klono). That being said, I wanted a balance. I know that the biggest problem I would have is insomnia, so switching some klono for valium seemed like a good idea. I also switched because although it would be possible to razor cut my klono till the end, it is often inconsistent and very difficult. Valium comes in 1 mg pills, 2 mg pills, 3, I believe 4, and definitely 5. It will be much easier to cut down on these, as 1 mg, or .5 of valium is often the point when people jump off…where as with klono people often jump off at .05 or less which is virtually impossible to obtain by dry cutting the klono since the smallest form it comes in is .5 mg. ONE CATCH: I am in a hurry (I know that’s the worst thing for someone going through a benzo taper). But I did not want to take an entire month switching my dosage of klonopin to valium because I want to be off before the end of April. I need to be at least half way healed by the end of August which is when I will return to college. In your situation, because you were on .5 more klono then me (quite a bit more), I suggest switching your entire dosage to valium.
2)Here is what I do to cut my klono smaller then halves: I print out a ruler first. Go to google images and type “ruler”, and find picture of one that is scaled correctly and print it out. Then I line the pill up evenly on the ruller, and first cut half. Then I take those halves, but them back on the ruler, and cut those in half. Now I have 4 quarters of a .5mg pill. After that, I will cut the quarters in half very gently, and although it’s not perfect, you can usually judge by the shapes of the little pieces if they are pretty close to each other.
3) I cannot speak on this because I’m not off my benzo yet. However, most people do not return to benzos, and actually find that although there anxiety may be bad for a few months after they jump, they greatly prefer a benzo-free mind. Benzos numb our emotions and thoughts…thus they essentially create an unrealistic picture of life. As Stevie Nicks once said discussing her ordeal with getting off klonopin “I'm very proud of myself. I wish it had never happened. I wasn't myself. Doctors who prescribe these pills are mushing out people's real moods. I discovered that I like me with all my moods.”
