Clonazepam 1 Month Use Withdrawal

Does anyone have any experience of how long the withdrawal symptoms last after 4 weeks usage?

 

I took the Clonazapam daily over a 4 week period, starting at 0.5mg for 1 week, then 0.25mg for two weeks, then 0.125mg for 5 days before stopping.

 

Even though I have tried to restrict the length of time used and amount taken I am now in hell with withdrawal symptoms and I only stopped less than 72 hours ago so I haven't even reached the acute withdrawal stage yet!  I'm very worried.  Symptoms are tight feeling in chest (mega anxiety?), upset stomach, and stomach spasms, which feel like panic type attacks.

 

Also the reason I took the drug in the first place is now back (myclonus) and stopping me from sleeping, so I am currently in a bad way, and don't know what to do

i don't think there is a simple answer to this.  there are some people here who only took a benzo for a week and went through a 1+ year long withdrawal - others seemed to have a shorter one - maybe 4-6 months.  it seems if we are in the situation where we are having severe enough withdrawal to seek out a support group like this - that somehow our brains were more deeply impacted - maybe our genetics made us more susceptible to a bad withdrawal situation.  i would say the shortest timeframe i've read about is 2-3 months and in many cases those shorter withdrawals seem to be related to going onto an antidepressant to help curb the symptoms.    i feel like i've gotten the upper hand on things by 6 months but i took a very aggressive approach to this by eliminating all gluten and dairy and to take things like bentonite clay to help my body remove the toxins associated with eliminating the drug from the liver and tissue, etc,.  my use was relatively short term but high doses related to spine surgery but it did a lot of damage in that short period of time.  it looks like your use was a relatively small dose so hopefully you will be spared the long haul . 

 

The time is unpredictable. Too many factors are involved.

 

I took I higher dose than you (as you can see below), but not daily. Toward the end of the third Month the symptoms stopped being constant and severe. Now I feel normal most of the time, and when I feel bad, it's manageable. I get severe attacks still, but they are short-lived. I'm not cured yet, I have bad days, but I'm not in crisis anymore.   

Thanks for the info.  Sounds like I'm in for a rough ride then :-(

There is no reason at this point to think that you would have a long withdrawal.  Some people become dependent in a few weeks usage, but many of them or only in withdrawal for a couple of weeks, then feel better.  Give it two weeks, and hopefully the symptoms will start subsiding.  Yes, it is possible you could have issues long term, but with only a months usage, it could also be over completely in just a few weeks.  Try to stay positive!

Thanks for the info.  Sounds like I'm in for a rough ride then :-(

 

There is absolutely no reason to believe this. This differs from person to person and also can differ for each person depending on their history, usage, sensitivity, etc. While I'm having great difficulty now after long term usage, way back in the beginning, I did take benzos for about a month, then stopped CT, did not cut down like you...was very uncomfortable and didn't sleep well for a week. But after one week was completely back to normal.

 

YMMV, so don't let other people's experiences scare you.

Thanks for the comments.  Trying to stay as positive as possible but struggling at the minute

 

If the majority is over in a couple of weeks that will be an early Christmas present I guess

Hi Purity, I used Klonopin varying from 0.25-0.5mg for 6 weeks PRN. Within a month I started to have withdrawals but not knowing it was the drugs. I'm a little over 4 months off and feeling better comparing to my first 3 months. I get some of the things you mentioned but no where near as severe as the first 3 months. For me, I try to live life as much as possible and rest when I can. I hope to God it really gets better from here but I felt like I had to tell my abridged story since my timeframe usage was similar to yours. Hope you heal quick. Laters.

My doctor asked me to continue with Clonazepam until after the new year, so 4 days after stopping I'm back on 0.25mg every other day, because of the withdrawal symptoms and my original complaint coming back (Myclonus).  This wasn't helped by the rebound insomnia which was the worst symptom.

 

So far I've taken an additional 3x 0.5mg tablets broken in half over a 2 week period.  I think I've taken a total of 23 x 0.5mg tablets over a month and a half

 

I've felt ok, until last night when I started getting anxiety pretty bad in bed and it has continued into today

 

I've been trying to do things to take my mind off it but it seems like I might have interdose withdrawals on the day/night that I don't take a 0.25mg tablet now.

 

I really need to get off this drug asap, but my doctor wants me to wait it out until January when I'm having more tests for the myclonus.  Also I need to be in a fairly stable state over Christmas and the New Year for my family.  So I feel totally stuck

 

I guess I need to just wait it out until January and then start doing a liquid taper to try and make the withdrawals more managable.  I will need to work in the new year so I'm worried about that aswell :-(

 

This sucks!  Why didn't I look into this before the doctor put me on it!

My doctor asked me to continue with Clonazepam until after the new year, so 4 days after stopping I'm back on 0.25mg every other day, because of the withdrawal symptoms and my original complaint coming back (Myclonus).  This wasn't helped by the rebound insomnia which was the worst symptom.

 

So far I've taken an additional 3x 0.5mg tablets broken in half over a 2 week period.  I think I've taken a total of 23 x 0.5mg tablets over a month and a half

 

I've felt ok, until last night when I started getting anxiety pretty bad in bed and it has continued into today

 

I've been trying to do things to take my mind off it but it seems like I might have interdose withdrawals on the day/night that I don't take a 0.25mg tablet now.

 

I really need to get off this drug asap, but my doctor wants me to wait it out until January when I'm having more tests for the myclonus.  Also I need to be in a fairly stable state over Christmas and the New Year for my family.  So I feel totally stuck

 

I guess I need to just wait it out until January and then start doing a liquid taper to try and make the withdrawals more managable.  I will need to work in the new year so I'm worried about that aswell :-(

 

This sucks!  Why didn't I look into this before the doctor put me on it!

 

Don't beat your self up about not checking the side effects as this is a common theme here, most people are in need at the time of prescription and not thinking completely straight.

Do be aware that most people can stop benzos pretty fast with only a short period of withdrawal so the odds are on your side, if not you are in the correct place to get all the help and information you need.

 

2trusting

 

Thanks.  I have to accept the situation I am in and try and get out of it.  You are right that I was desperate at the time and wasn't thinking straight

 

I have been working out a 3 month tapering plan from 0.25mg, dropping by 10% every 10 days with help from builder, but as I said I'm a bit stuck until January.

 

I am trying to bear the pain of what I'm going through today when I haven't taken a tablet.  I really hope that this is just a blip and isn't the norm from now on, because it will just make the situation worse - I dont want to take a tablet everyday or increase in dosage if at all possible.

 

 

Its been 6 weeks since I started Clonazapem and I think I have hit tolerance

 

I've starting to feel anxiety in my stomach after approximately 14 hours after taking a dosage of 0.25mg, which I was previously stable on before, taking ever other day.  This started yesterday

 

What do I do?

 

From what I've read I've got a couple of options:

 

1) Increase the dosage but this doesn't guarantee that I won't get tolerant quickly on a high dose - say 0.5mg and then I've got a bigger problem to deal with

 

2) Take 0.25mg every day instead of every other day so at least I get 14 hours of being ok out of 24 hours until that starts becoming less.

 

3) I've ordered some bits for a liquid taper that should arrive on the 27th Dec, and start the taper as soon as possible because the benzo is causing me problems already with withdrawal pains, so I may aswell taper as I'm hurting anyway

 

I think 2 and 3 together seem like sensible options?  Any thoughts please?

Any opinions would be appreicated please.  I'm really struggling

I agree you should start the taper ASAP. Do what feels right for you. One thing I've learned is to NOT blindly follow doctors advice.

 

I also have nocturnal myoclonus. In fact, I was diagnosed in 1990 and was prescribed Klonopin at that time. I started on .25 mg and it was gradually increased to 2.0 mg by 1998. I was taking Klonopin/clonazepam for over 26 years. You've been on clonazepam a very short time, but have already felt the withdrawal effects. Accept there will be some difficulty and pain. But it will be worth it to be benzo-free. I take a small dose of Trazodone (I've tapered down after learning it messes with REM sleep) and hydroxyzine (antihistimine) that help me with sleep.

 

Best to you.

That's very useful to know.  I am worried about how the sleep onset Myoclonus will be once I stop the Clonazapam.

 

It does work for me it stopping the jerks but this 12 hours of pain I'm suffering each day I cannot continue with.  There must be other options besides benzos that came help me with this.  You are an example of using other medications

 

 

I have also been taking Xanax for only one month 4-5mg the first two weeks, week 3 .5 4-5 x per day now week 4 .5 3 times a day.. I am also experiencing some crazy withdrawal symptoms.. body aches, kidney hurts, ringing in my ears, head compression... I did not think that this drug would cause me so much harm for such a short period of time... I have abused drugs off and on in the past.. mainly copious amounts of ganja everyday... I started getting really paranoid smoking so I quit a few months ago.. returned home from working overseas.. had massive panic attacks on the flight and immediately went to the ER upon landing... today I have only taken a .5mg and I feel like hell has hit me ... I will and can get off this stuff soon.. regardless of what my body will go through... hang in there stay strong.. breathe in peace breathe out fear... the light at the end of the tunnel is near !!

I started tapering on the 28th Dec, at a bit more aggressive rate than normal to see if I am ok with it.  Currently reducing at 2% per day.  Current at 0.23mg.  Will drop to 1% if I start experiencing difficulties

 

I have had a total of 7 weeks usage today.  I've started taking it every day now which is easier with the taper and the withdrawal symptoms I was experiencing seem to have calmed down at the minute which is good