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11 days at 1mg clonazepam, too late to reduce?


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Hi, I posted before but got no response.

 

Is it too late to drop the clonazepam dose of ice been on it 1-days? It replaced diazepam 6mg and I was put on it for severe akathisia (caused by ssri cts) but feel it’s too much. I have however dropped the 6mg diazepam Id been on since lastJily and not sure if I’m experiencing wds from that (shivering. Lot, extreme extreme depression)

 

Thanks

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You can probably get away with dropping the Klonopin to .25mg if you were only on 6mg of Valium to be honest.

 

In my experience with Klonopin it takes about 2 weeks for it to achieve steady state plasma and start working fully which could be part of your problem but you’ve got a cocktail there from your signature so it’s hard to tell what’s causing what honestly.

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Thanks.

 

I realise there were a lot of typos in my post!

 

So I’ve been on 1mg k for 11 days. You think I could drop it?

 

I’m not feeling good at all and wonder if I am in diazepam wd even though everyone has said it should be covered by the K?

 

Really don’t know what to do.

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Hi, I posted before but got no response.

 

Is it too late to drop the clonazepam dose of ice been on it 1-days? It replaced diazepam 6mg and I was put on it for severe akathisia (caused by ssri cts) but feel it’s too much. I have however dropped the 6mg diazepam Id been on since lastJily and not sure if I’m experiencing wds from that (shivering. Lot, extreme extreme depression)

 

Thanks

 

:thumbsup:

1mgK = 20mg V

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Hi, I posted before but got no response.

 

Is it too late to drop the clonazepam dose of ice been on it 1-days? It replaced diazepam 6mg and I was put on it for severe akathisia (caused by ssri cts) but feel it’s too much. I have however dropped the 6mg diazepam Id been on since lastJily and not sure if I’m experiencing wds from that (shivering. Lot, extreme extreme depression)

 

Thanks

 

:thumbsup:

1mgK = 20mg V

 

So do you think it’s too late to lower my K dose to say .75?

 

I’m highly unstable and have akathisia but feel 1mg is too much for me.

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Hi, I posted before but got no response.

 

Is it too late to drop the clonazepam dose of ice been on it 1-days? It replaced diazepam 6mg and I was put on it for severe akathisia (caused by ssri cts) but feel it’s too much. I have however dropped the 6mg diazepam Id been on since lastJily and not sure if I’m experiencing wds from that (shivering. Lot, extreme extreme depression)

 

Thanks

 

:thumbsup:

1mgK = 20mg V

 

So do you think it’s too late to lower my K dose to say .75?

 

I’m highly unstable and have akathisia but feel 1mg is too much for me.

 

Hi artistprayer-

 

I think you need to do what will work best for you. I was just saying that it should be ok to lower your K due to the equivalency factor. Do what you feel best doing.  :thumbsup:

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Ok thank you.

 

I’m all over the place. Don’t know if I’m dosing twice a day or what. Been on the 1mg k for 11 days. I’ve got a friend who’s been on k for years and scaring me by saying dropping it will put me in a terrible state.

 

Just want to be on a manageable dose not too heavy but enough to get stable and to taper the lexapro then the benzo.

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Ok thank you.

 

I’m all over the place. Don’t know if I’m dosing twice a day or what. Been on the 1mg k for 11 days. I’ve got a friend who’s been on k for years and scaring me by saying dropping it will put me in a terrible state.

Just want to be on a manageable dose not too heavy but enough to get stable and to taper the lexapro then the benzo.

 

Maybe this was your friends experience but will not necessarily true for you. Benzo experience is an individual thing due to how we all metabolize the medication differently. If you are concerned about this best thing to do is to reduce slowly & pay attention to how you feel....symptom based is the way to go  :thumbsup:

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Thanks. He’s an overprotective friend who’s seen me in such a bad place with the akathisia that landed me in er 12 days ago and hence massive benzo change and updose!

 

With K, what would be a sensible drop? He’s big on me keeping even doses. I’d like to try to go to .75 so would I drop a small about from the .25 I’m thinking of dropping?

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That's a 25% drop. Since you are symptomatic maybe try reducing .0625mg(1/8) & see how you feel... give your system a week or so to stabilize then go from there.  :thumbsup:
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I have experience with mirtazapine and escitalopram... Your symptoms sound more like SSRI withdrawal combined with adrenergic upregulation by the mirtazapine than benzodiazepine withdrawal to me. When it comes to people who have had issues with benzodiazepines, we have a tendency to have paradoxical reactions to medications. I can’t tolerate mirtazapine anymore, it causes adrenal upregulation in me even though it’s supposed to be an antagonist. Both it and escitalopram cause intense stimulation for me, I had to cold turkey escitalopram and deal with the zaps for 6 months when I went paradoxical. I wasn’t on mirtazapine long enough to have any problem dropping it.

 

These are my personal experiences, they are worth discussing with your doctor. Also worth discussing is increasing your mirtazapine slightly for a few days to see if you are indeed actually having adrenergic rebound due to tolerance which can be another issue.

 

Either way, equivalency wise, you should be safe to cut the Klonopin to .5mg at a minimum but it’s much more likely that .25mg of Klonopin would cover what the 6mg of Valium did and more - something to take into account is that Klonopin is not only more potent but it’s a stronger benzodiazepine. Valium is a broad spectrum benzo with no real strength in any one area (except for drowsiness - I still get drowsy from it occasionally after 7 years on it even being in tolerance withdrawal) while Klonopin is more selective in its actions.

 

Either way, you haven’t been taking it long enough to have a dependence on the new dose.

 

Again, I’m not a doctor, just someone with a lot of experience to share. Definitely talk anything over with your doctor.

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I have experience with mirtazapine and escitalopram... Your symptoms sound more like SSRI withdrawal combined with adrenergic upregulation by the mirtazapine than benzodiazepine withdrawal to me. When it comes to people who have had issues with benzodiazepines, we have a tendency to have paradoxical reactions to medications. I can’t tolerate mirtazapine anymore, it causes adrenal upregulation in me even though it’s supposed to be an antagonist. Both it and escitalopram cause intense stimulation for me, I had to cold turkey escitalopram and deal with the zaps for 6 months when I went paradoxical. I wasn’t on mirtazapine long enough to have any problem dropping it.

 

These are my personal experiences, they are worth discussing with your doctor. Also worth discussing is increasing your mirtazapine slightly for a few days to see if you are indeed actually having adrenergic rebound due to tolerance which can be another issue.

 

Either way, equivalency wise, you should be safe to cut the Klonopin to .5mg at a minimum but it’s much more likely that .25mg of Klonopin would cover what the 6mg of Valium did and more - something to take into account is that Klonopin is not only more potent but it’s a stronger benzodiazepine. Valium is a broad spectrum benzo with no real strength in any one area (except for drowsiness - I still get drowsy from it occasionally after 7 years on it even being in tolerance withdrawal) while Klonopin is more selective in its actions.

 

Either way, you haven’t been taking it long enough to have a dependence on the new dose.

 

Again, I’m not a doctor, just someone with a lot of experience to share. Definitely talk anything over with your doctor.

 

Hi, many thanks for your detailed response and insights. I’ve not yet managed to drop the l dose through fear, now 18 days on 1mg :/ is it too late?

 

The akathisia is what scares me (other symptoms are hideous but that’s the one that led me to higher benzo dose out of desperation).

 

I was briefly on 30mg Mirtazipine last July and it was awful! However I had just ct’d escitalopram and pregabalin.

 

I also feel those two are the issues esp the escitalopram. Both make me drowsy but the agitation during the day is horrendous. I take mirt at night and it puts me to sleep. Can you explain a bit more about what you’ve said about it?

 

I want to lower my k and start cutting the escitalopram.

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PS the akathisia hit me after cting the escitalopram BUT now I know what it is I know I’ve had it flaring up since at least 2016 when I was only on escitalopram and had been for five years at max dose. It turned on me! But thought it was anxiety hence polydrugging starting.
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