Horrible tapering of Xanax to Klonopin

I'm not sure why I followed this doctor's advice because I had such a bad feeling about him, but I did.

 

I was taking 1mg of Xanax every four hours. I began to experience withdrawal between doses. The doctor I went to suggested Klonopin. He gave me a script for 1mg Klonopin to take four times a day to go along with the Xanax. After a few weeks, we would taper off the Xanax.

 

The basic plan is to cut each does of Xanax in half every three to four days. I'm down to half MG of Xanax three times a day, a full MG at night. This is in addition to Klonopin.

 

The next step is to cut the night time Xanax in half. And then to eliminate the remaining half doses one by one every three days.

 

I am going insane. I feel like I'm crawling out of my skin. I get extremely antsy 90 minutes before the next dose. Some doses don't seem to have an effect at all.

 

I stayed home from work today and it's just... Constant panic. I'm white knuckling it.

 

Does anyone have any advice as to how to cope with this? Take a little extra Klonopin (like 0.25)?

I'm at the point of thinking I'll stop taking the Xanax (I'll be down to 0.5 x 4 over the long weekend and rude it out.

Hi Taper,

I'm not super knowledgeable about the crossover but it sounds like that is extremely quick!  I would consult with the ashton manual for a time line for crossing....  I know that the amounts you were taking are less than what she is talking about but the timetable for the crossovers seem to be fairly consistent with what folks here write about. 

X and K hit different receptors so it takes a while for the body to adjust. .....when I cut Xanax it takes between 3-5 days for me to start to feel the cut, even though it is a short acting benzo  etc etc.....

Maybe a talk with your doc about the pace of crossover?

the general rule is we can't do things too slowly..... and listening to our body gives us cues as to whether it is too quickly....  and 2 mg of Xanax is quite a lot of that medication....

SS

When you say three to five days to feel the cut in Xanax, do you mean you don't feel withdrawal until then, or you start to feel normal then?

I don't feel the results of the cut  for 3-5 days .... that's a pretty common experience of a time frame written here when tapering -- cut and hold-- with Xanax.

Then things stay rough for few days

 

 

It's unfortunate you don't have a signature, that would make everything much easier for the rest of the community. (profile, forum profile ...)

 

 

'He gave me a script for 1mg Klonopin to take four times a day to go along with the Xanax. After a few weeks, we would taper off the Xanax.' Seems like a good way to increase tolerance/dependence.

 

It seems rather messy. Ordinarily, one would take Klonopin twice a day, at most three times. IMO Klonopin is a very dangerous drug and it's best to stay away from it. Most of the time, direct tapers are best.

 

 

I was taking 1mg of Xanax every four hours. I began to experience withdrawal between doses. The doctor I went to suggested Klonopin. He gave me a script for 1mg Klonopin to take four times a day to go along with the Xanax. After a few weeks, we would taper off the Xanax.

 

Yes, signature would be very helpful.

 

So, what was your total daily intake of Xanax? If you took 1mg of Xanax every 4 hours, were you taking 6mg Xanax/day?

 

Also, is he giving you 1mg Klonopin to take per day? (0.25mg x 4) or 4mg Klonopin per day (1mg x 4)?

 

6mg Xanax is rougly equivalent to 6mg Klonopin. Are you being switched to 4mg Klonopin?

 

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