Desperate for help tapering off Klonopin.

Desperately need help tapering off klonopin.  At tolerance withdrawal and am determined to end this horror.  Know I need to go slow.  Learned lesson.  Also know it is very painful for me and I have never, ever reached a "stable" place since starting the tapering Jan. 2017.  Not a day without pain and anguish.  Please don't tell me to find a stable place.  There's never been one.  Before the accident and surgery and meds, I was very strong, vibrant and happy.  I didn't even take supplements or aspirin.  I ate very healthy and lived very happy, fulfilled life.  Accident on volunteer building project broke knee severely, so since that day until now, my entire life has changed.  Had to move to another state for doctoring and so sick my whole family and social life has changed.  Dr's. and counselors have not been able to help.  Thought I could get off the drug and move on with life, but am finding I am fighting for my very life at this point.  Please help.  Thanks.  Any personal info and encouragement from someone who is at this level of tapering and difficulty getting off would be helpful to my emotional state right now.  Thanks again.

Desperately need help tapering off klonopin.  At tolerance withdrawal and am determined to end this horror.  Know I need to go slow.  Learned lesson.  Also know it is very painful for me and I have never, ever reached a "stable" place since starting the tapering Jan. 2017.  Not a day without pain and anguish.  Please don't tell me to find a stable place.  There's never been one.  Before the accident and surgery and meds, I was very strong, vibrant and happy.  I didn't even take supplements or aspirin.  I ate very healthy and lived very happy, fulfilled life.  Accident on volunteer building project broke knee severely, so since that day until now, my entire life has changed.  Had to move to another state for doctoring and so sick my whole family and social life has changed.  Dr's. and counselors have not been able to help.  Thought I could get off the drug and move on with life, but am finding I am fighting for my very life at this point.  Please help.  Thanks.  Any personal info and encouragement from someone who is at this level of tapering and difficulty getting off would be helpful to my emotional state right now.  Thanks again.

 

I hate to be the person to say it but "GET STABLE"

 

If you really think you can cut or jump when your not

yet stable your in for a shocker

 

Get stable. Go slow and if needed get ready for how EVER long it takes.

 

Took me 6 years to get this far and it's STILL not over for me.

 

My new "GOD"  in benzo withdrawal has only 3 rules now.

 

1. Cut and wait to get stable (Even if I have to wait 6 months.)

 

2. Cut again and wait to get stable.

 

3. Get stable. Get stable. Get stable before cutting again!

 

Your brain is talking to you. Listen to it and remember "JUMPING" does

not heal you.  Jumping is for people who are ready for it that have slowly worked

down to only micro doses already and are feeling pretty good for the most part.

This forum places too much emphasis on 'jumping' and not enough on getting really

stable first in my opinion.

 

This can be a LONG journey and so what, let it be, no big deal. 

After years of research I believe that for the most part if any brain injury happens it's not as direct result of the 'benzo' but more as the result of what I call the:

"Quick taper = Quicker healing" Phenomenon, a false dichotomy in my opinion.

 

Find a member named "BUILDER" and "BART" talk to them.

 

STUDY  'GOOGLE'  TOPICS:

 

Excitotoxicity

Excitotoxic

Excitotoxic storm

Excitotoxic shock

 

 

Hugs

Bird

never stable in 3 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  NOW WHAT?

Hi LynnM

 

As you asked, here are my comments. From your history:

1.

6/16-1/17 1 mg. K. & 15 mg Mirt.

1/17-3/17 Tapered to .5 K. & slow-tapering Mirt.

In 2 months you tapered off 0.5 mg of Clonazepam over 1 mg. It is the equivalent of 50%/8 weeks or 12.5%/14 days. Although it is in the fast end, it is still within the general recommendations to reduce 5-10% every 10-14 days. As you felt rough symptoms, one of the things that come to my mind is that it could have something to do with the way you cut and hold. Did you split a 0.5 mg tablet to 4 and toss away a quarter every 14 days? The other thing is related to the combined use with Mirtazapin but I'll talk about it later on.

 

2.

6/17  c/o K. to 12 mg. V.

6/17-9/17 Tapered off 12 mg. V. & off Mirt.

In 3 months you cross-over to Diazepam and tapered off 12 mg of Diazepam. It does not mention how and how long the cross-over took. Was it a gradual cross-over that spanned 10-15 days (Eg: 1 mg Diazepam per day) or was it more immediate? As for the taper speed, it was 100%/12 weeks equivalent to 17%/14 days. It is fast. Besides this critical point, I wonder again how you made your cut. Did you again split tablets and toss away a quarter at each cut?

 

3.

3/18  c/o .25 K.

You came back to Clonazepam on 3/18. During the period between 9/17 and 3/18 you do not mention what kind of therapy you underwent. As you have stopped Diazepam and Mirtazepine on 9/17 does that mean that you did not have any treatment during 5-6 months?

 

4. 

4-6/18 Psych upped me to 2.75 K.

Directly from 0.25 mg or gradually increasing in a try and feel process? Have you had any feeling that the dose was too strong with symptoms that were not there before (Eg: dizziness)

 

There are af few things I wish to share. In many struggling stories I happened to read in the forums there are some common points that keep coming back, at least for the most destabilizing cases like yours.

1. A taper speed way too fast when not abruptlly discontinued.

2. Frequent taper starts/stops with reinstatements

3. Benzo is used in combination with other beta-blockers, antidepressants, antipsychotics drugs... with patient poly drugged on multiple centrally active pharmaceuticals

 

Back in Mid 2016 and beginning 2017 you were taking both benzo and a well known antidepressant as Mirtazapine. In many cases, the antidepressant has been scripted to address problems MP thought were isolated issues (Eg: depression) but that may be in reality side effects of the use of Benzo and its withdrawal. Said differently, one takes a medication to counter the side effects of another medication. We just forgot that this new medication has serious side effects too and the combination between the two drugs can raise unpredictable effects. It appears when taken together, each drug even in small quantity harmless when taken standalone, the combination might result "explosive" in certain cases with adverse effects seemingly decupled.

 

Why do you never stabilize after 3 years and continue to struggle? When you are on benzo for some time the drug goes into your brain/body and make alterations to your brain/body chemistry. Those are changes that your body adapts to and as it adapts it learns to function that way. As it functions that way, with time it becomes more ingrained into your physiology. When you take that benzo away, be it by a slow kind taper or a fast brutal discontinuation, you are going into your brain and you are making changes to it. When you rip that away that's not something that your body can just snap and go back to functioning the way it did before the drug stepped in. An informed taper gives your body time to gradually adapt to the changes, to the lowering of doses, to allow your body to go back to functioning.

 

In your cases it's probably about damages to your brain/body following the rapid tapers of Clonazepam, the combined use of Mirtazepine, the cross-over to Diazepam, the fast taper of Diazepam, the reinstatement of Clonazepam. Although hugely struggling, your body is actually in the process of recuperating, rewiring itself, re-balancing neuro chemistry. Do not forget, that takes long time, years in certain cases. This is a significant brain/body changing, healing, repairing the brain damages these drugs have inflicted to your organism during long, long time.

 

What to do now? Independently from the number of years you have been holding without apparent stabilization, you need to arrive to a level of equilibrium where you feel some relief before starting any taper. Taper while you are in destabilizing symptoms, is to possibly avoid. During the period of hold where besides benzo you take nothing else that can further damage your body, your body will fight its way to stabilize. Mother nature has equipped our body with the wonderful capability to heal itself in the absence of external aggressors if we give it enough time. It is part of human DNA to get back by its own to an equilibrium and heal in the process. Without that capability developed during an evolution of half million of years human race may have extinguished long time ago.

 

I know it is easier to say than to do but like a number of buddies did, you will need to perhaps develop some skills to cope with those symptoms and wait for the storm to pass. If that moment arrives and you need to talk to somebody about next steps, write me back if you wish. If I'm still there, I'll reply.

 

Hi LynnM

 

1. Please confirm my understanding about your K. doses and how they are distributed during the day:

 

 

If it is correct then please share the logic behind this distribution. I'm really unable to see any benefit to take Clonazepam this constraining way for its elimination half-life is about 30 to 40 hours. For instance, the dose you take early in the morning will continue to have strong effects even the day after. Actually most buddies I read about take their K. dose ONCE a day and only a small number in more doses.

 

About your question if the Liquid Tape method will create problem to you or not, I would suggest to try. I learnt you have tried and failed with Valium. Give it a second chance. If it works it will save you from a lot of stress from dry cut.

 

Should I try to cut my current pills down until I get to a certain plateau and then go to the liquid or is it best to start it now?

You can start now by taking a combination of liquid and tablet for your body to become familiar with liquid.

 

Or can I try the 10% and see what happens.  If it worsens then I will slow down to the 5%

Ok. We can start with 10%/14 days. But when you have symptoms you don't know where they come from: from the 10% cut or from the previous conditions?

 

I know the real trouble comes during the lower doses.

It happened for most buddies who tapered by cutting the same initial quantity even when in low doses. It won't happen if you adapt the cut at the low doses.

 

As you have already syringes, have a look here for what still needs to be bought: http://benzo.alwaysdata.net/titration/titrationHelp.htm?help=Help . When ready please let me know.

 

The doses are incorrect: 

 

I mentioned my mealtimes in relation to the benzo dosage only in the event it has anything to do with the absorbing of the drug and my body's reaction.  Otherwise, my dosage is as such:

 

9:30 a.m.    .75 mg. clonazepam

2:30 noontime      .625 mg. clonazepam

10 p.m.      1 mg. clonazepam

 

The psych thought that spreading it out through the day would keep levels more consistent and easier for me to remain more stable.  Does the dosage not drop throughout the day and leave us feeling more of the withdrawal effects?  I had started out at .25 mg.  If it is taken once a day, isn't the best time to take it at night before bed if insomnia is an issue? I've heard of people taking it several times throughout the day to help keep us on a more even keel.  True or false?

Jim, I just glanced at the forum and saw someone mentioning that Ashton suggests 3 times a day for blood concentration levels, etc.  Check it out.  It is only a few lines down from my message.

 

Thought I'd copy and paste it here for you to see.  I still haven't figured out how to do the quote thing.  Thanks.

 

LynnM

Sorry, Jim, I forgot to paste it on my last message.  Brain not thinking clearly lately.  No surprise, huh?

 

Here is what they wrote:

 

 

Any thoughts about this?

 

Tapering directly off Klonopin, Ashton recommends splitting up your daily dosage into 3 or 4 because she considers Klonopin to have a much shorter half life than Valium, and more frequent dosing better avoids withdrawal between doses.  But I can't figure out what the most logical method would be to taper off.  I could eliminate one entire dose at a time and then move onto the next (ex: Cut the entire afternoon dose, then the entire morning dose, etc.).  Or I could remove some from each dose for the entire taper (ex: A cut from the morning, a cut from the afternoon, a cut from the evening -- repeat until the end).  Essentially I'm unsure about whether I should taper down or across.  I have no idea which approach would better maintain a blood concentration between doses to best avoid withdrawal between doses (interdose withdrawal).

 

Thoughts?

Hi LynnM

 

I tried to search in Ashton's manual about the doses splitting for tapering Klonopin but I have been unable to find it. What I have found instead is this passage:

Some doctors in the US switch patients onto clonazepam (Klonopin, [Rivotril in Canada]), believing that it will be easier to withdraw from than say alprazolam (Xanax) or lorazepam (Ativan) because it is more slowly eliminated. However, Klonopin is far from ideal for this purpose. It is an extremely potent drug, is eliminated much faster than diazepam

I'm the less indicated person to contradict Dr. Ashton. My point is that although it has a half-life elimination that is shorter than Diazepam, it remains long enough to compensate fluctuations due to dose variations during the day. I have taken Clonazepam 0.5 mg/night for 3.5 years with no inter-dose withdrawal.

 

As it is unlikely with 3 doses per day you will have inter-dose withdrawal, tapering one dose at a time or 3 together are not that critical in my opinion. As you need to choose one, I shall propose to taper one at a time (first-dose-first). Which one taper first?. The dose you think you can manage to rid without big impacts on your functioning will be the first candidate. The one that is more needed will be left last (night dose?) The more you badly need one dose, the later you will taper it.

 

Hope I answered your questions.

 

 

Ok, Jim.  Thanks.  Since I had tapered up so fast and wasn't on the higher doses long, I figured I can taper a bit faster instead of dragging it out and remaining on the drug longer making it a longer process that has always only made me feel sick.  I've never felt one day well on this stuff, so it isn't doing its thing for me.  I need to get off.  But now I've learned that it still has to be slow, although painful.

 

I finished my self-proposed taper of 10% from the dose he had me on and as of today by dropping another .125, so I am at 2.25 mg.  It is still within the 10% reduction per 2 weeks.  Now I will wait two weeks and see what happens.  After that, if I still feel the same I will let you know and we can try another .125 for another 2 weeks or start the c/o to titration.  I just seem to have this fear that trying another method of reduction is just going to throw me into another spin and more brain/body confusion and pain.  This past year has been a killer and now I am really hesitant to try anything that I think will set me off with more withdrawal symptoms.  I'd love to try the titration method, but am scared.  Please understand it is my weakened mind that has become very fearful of many things.  This included.

 

I am thankful for your willingness to help with this and hope you are not offended by my hesitancy.  Is there really a significant advantage of titration over dry cutting with a scale?  I watched several demo's on youtube and it appears that with the titration method you have to be very quick to get your syringe to get your med or you mess up the dosage.  One video said that milk had no advantage over water.  And by the way I cannot drink milk.  So, I saw there were other options for suspension, but they all seemed to have something that made them a bit of a challenge.  Water seemed the easiest and cheapest, of course, but they say the drug is not suspended well enough for an accurate dosage unless you can get that syringe in quickly enough.  Am I just being too overly fearful or is it not really that big of a deal?

 

Thanks.

LynnM,

 

I'm not going to give advice.

 

There is a difference between 'duration of action' and 'half life'. The latter refers to how long it takes for blood levels to fall by 50 %, the former to how long it 'works' which means approximately absorption, distribution and often the 'therapeutic' effect of a dose.

 

Some people go by dosing once a day. Some people dose several times a day. I think you need to find a way that works. I noticed that all your doses are different, and I can imagine that causes issues. Something to consider.

never stable in 3 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  NOW WHAT?

 

Wow 3 years?  It does not get any better when cutting more either.  About all you can do is taper at a snails pace.

Hi LynnM

 

I watched several demo's on youtube and it appears that with the titration method you have to be very quick to get your syringe to get your med or you mess up the dosage.

This is typical of using water trying to dissolve benzo.  As benzo cannot be dissolved in water, what user did is to violently stir the solution containing tablet powder and quickly draw up while those particles are somehow still suspended in the middle of the whirl. By putting speed in the game, they hope to draw up the right quantity of drug. Many times they managed to get some benzo, many others no benzo and in no case with the right amount of benzo in the syringe. Next time, the same Stir-and-Hurry operation will have to be repeated again. Unfortunately with the same poor result. It is no longer a medical taper. It is a lottery.

 

One video said that milk had no advantage over water.

Have a look here: http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=204001.0

 

hope you are not offended by my hesitancy

I don't mind. Heal soon and well.

 

 

 

 

 

Liberty seemed to suggest that taking different doses throughout the day may make things worse for me.  Could this be the case with me?

Hi LynnM

 

After dose is swallowed, Klonopin starts working (start effectiveness) in about 60 minutes. The peak effectiveness lasts about 8- 10 hours. The elimination half time is about 20 to 40 hrs.

 

Based on when the dose starts to be effective and peaks, I propose you refine your 3 doses and make sure they are taken with a logic behind. Besides the night dose for sleep, what do you expect the other two (9:30 AM, 2:30 PM) to address?

 

Dr. suggested it. 

 

If peak hours of effectiveness are 8-10 hours, then when I take it at 10 p.m., by 9:30 a.m., its effectiveness is already waning.  With my sensitivity to it, I suppose he feels that adding more, it can help to increase the level in my blood keeping me from the feeling of interdose withdrawal?  And adding more in noontime before bedtime would help keep blood levels elevated, too?

 

I remember forgetting the early noon dose and really feeling it by late afternoon.  I had accidentally left my pills at home and was away from home.  I felt that surely I would't feel bad since the longer half-life would allow this extension in time without me feeling it until I could get it in me later that day.  Well, I was surprised to find that by late afternoon, my head was feeling quite thick and I was feeling sick.  Interdose withdrawal?

 

Since someone had suggested to me to keep my doses more closely the same, I was wondering if I should make my a.m. pill .625 mg. and my mid noon pill .625 mg. and my night time pill at 1mg.

Then when I start reducing, either reduce each one incrementally, or phase out the first and/or second ones and leave the nighttime for last.  If it is helping with sleep, it is the one that needs to go last.  I do very poorly without sleep and don't want to resort to sleep aids if possible.

 

Are you suggesting that I just take the 2.25 dose once a day at night and then slowly reduce it?  Will this mean that my daytime symptoms will not be affected at all?  I feel bad enough all day and not sure I want to feel worse.  If I would feel the same throughout the day without having to take any other doses, I would jump at the chance because I really dislike having to remember to take them and/or carry them with me.  I HATE taking any pills because I never had to before.  This has all become a nightmare and I loathe it all.

 

Thanks for taking the time to care and help me with this.  I really want to make sense of what I am doing, too.  It makes me feel more secure.  Please explain the reasons behind what you suggest--not because I don't believe or trust you--but because my mind has always been that way.  I always want to know the reasons behind things so they make sense and so I can understand better.  This also leads to more security in what I will be doing and hopefully help me relax through it all.

 

Thanks again, Jim.

 

Hi LynnM

 

I remember forgetting the early noon dose and really feeling it by late afternoon.

That means between 9:30 AM and let's say 6:00 PM, after 8-9 hours of peak time elapsed for your organism and as you are very sensitive to drug fluctuation you start to feel symptoms.

 

Between 2:30 PM and 10:00 PM there are 7 hours and it's fine.

 

Between 10:00 PM and 9:30 AM there are 11-12 hours. You should feel the shortage if you are awake. As the dose is high and you are sleeping, you may start to feel symptoms only in early morning.

 

Although there are differences between the 3 doses, I don't see any convincing reasons to make the morning dose and the afternoon dose the same apart the beauty of the figures. After all our body absorbs things differently depending on the moment of the day, besides other variables (Eg: empty stomach, fatty food,...) and the same dose may be absorbed differently. If it is suggested by your doctor, she/he must have good reasons to do so.

 

As you do feel the need for the 2:30 PM 0.625 mg dose, I'd like to suggest to taper first the 9:30 AM 0.75 dose mg and letting the night dose last. Consider this as a Try-and-Feel approach. Depending on how your body reacts, we might fine tune going forward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sounds good.  I will wait a bit and see how I feel.  I notice I feel poor in the very early a.m.  I feel somewhat better and then exremely poor throughout the day--depending.  I just can't figure it out.  I do nothing really that much different and eat very healthy and exercise about the same each day.  I know that's the nature of this beast and just keep trying to remember this and not get discouraged too much when I feel really horrible.

 

By the way, I am always asked to stabilize before tapering down any further.  But what if I am constantly changing throughout the day or from day to day.  My understanding is that this drug, according to Dr. Ashton, can make you feel the waves and windows from-my words-minute to minute from hour to hour, from day do day and even month to month, sometimes.  How can I rate whether I am considered stable enough or not?  Would it be if I am for the most part feeling capable of tapering or should I have most days feeling somewhat capable?  As I explained before, I never feel what I would consider stable-where I feel somewhat normal.  Not in the 3 years since this all started.  I  can find a day where I feel somewhat capable and then as the day wears on, I start to feel absolutely horrible.  Would I consider that day, since I felt mostly capable, to be a stable day, or does the day have to be near normal feeling?  I don't even now if I know what normal feels like anymore.

 

Please explain being stable.  I hear of it a lot on Benzobuddies and there may be people out there that do not understand what that entails.  It appears to be a relative term depending on who is defining it.

 

This will help me to understand better when I have reached that point and can continue tapering down.

 

Thanks.  Sorry for these questions.  I'm still learning.

 

 

Found this post and was wondering if specific generic brands of clonazepam will have any effect on me as I taper?  Or if I am extremely sensitive, could it affect my tapering in a significant way?  Thanks for any help with this question.  Sorry, I still don't know how to do the QUOTE thing.  I keep messing up.  My mind doesn't work like it used to.  View the quote from a benzobuddy below and answer if you can, please.

 

 

Hello

 

I've been on clonazepam for nearly a decade. Most of that time with either TEVA or Mylan. I stopped using Walgreens once they refilled my Rx with Accord. The Accord tablets dissolved instantly and the entire time I felt like a complete mess. I switched to a pharmacy that used Sandoz and my life stabilized.

 

Recently, I switched pharmacies again because of cost. This time I have Qualitest/Solco and they remind me of the Accord tabs. They instantly dissolve on my tongue and they feel less potent or something. My sleep is terrible just like the Accord brand. Last night I randomly woke up at 2 AM and 1 hour before my alarm which is rare as well.

 

I'm freaking out because as I do more research, it looks like TEVA, Mylan and Sandoz all discontinued production...

 

Today I tried exchanging my Qualitest/Solco bottle with another brand but they said state law prohibits this. Makes absolutely no sense because the pills have the markings and what, do they think I'm some Walter White with a pill press trying to pull a fast one to get a free bottle of benzo's? At what point have these pharma laws gone too far... If my antibiotic Rx was making me sick, they would certainly replace that!

 

That 1 month on Accord wasn't very long ago. I'm basically stuck in the same situation with this other brand.

 

I'm aware of the placebo effect. At first I thought it might be placebo because I can't stand the pill dissolving before I swallow it. But randomly waking up at 2 AM? Anxiety spikes between doses, etc.

 

Please tell me someone has experienced this while switching generics. I need some coping strategies. I already meditate on a daily basis which has become slightly more difficult with the uptick in anxiety. I have a bottle of Theanine which was actually from the Accord days. Should I start taking that? Any advice appreciated.

Hi LynnM,

 

In my opinion, stable means not prone to wild fluctuations and those fluctuations if any remain manageable.

 

1. Being stable establishes a reference line. Based on variations from that line in symptoms terms, one can say if a cut is too high or acceptable to fine tune the taper pace. Viewed under this perspective, it is no more than a measuring tool. Being constantly unstable will turn this tool unavailable. Without this good ally, blind we go foward and never know if a taper is harming our body or doing good and whether those symptoms came from pre-existing conditions or from the recent cut.

 

2. Being unstable means that your body is fighting its way to recover and the battle is not yet finished. During this self healing activity our body strives to use all the resources available to reach the natural equilibrium (homeostasis). The moments it wins you have windows, otherwise wages. What if on top of that we add other load of stress by further cutting benzo? This will definitely tilt the balance towards the "foe" side as our weakened body is now called to cope with an additional opponent.

 

I'll be travelling for the next 3 weeks with limited access to computer. I'll reply when possible.

 

 

PS: for the use of quote:

1. Click on the Insert Quote icon. That will generate the tags to use.

2. Paste the text you want to quote in between the tags (see pic)

 

 

 

 

Desperately need help tapering off klonopin.  At tolerance withdrawal and am determined to end this horror.  Know I need to go slow.  Learned lesson.  Also know it is very painful for me and I have never, ever reached a "stable" place since starting the tapering Jan. 2017.  Not a day without pain and anguish.  Please don't tell me to find a stable place.  There's never been one.  Before the accident and surgery and meds, I was very strong, vibrant and happy.  I didn't even take supplements or aspirin.  I ate very healthy and lived very happy, fulfilled life.  Accident on volunteer building project broke knee severely, so since that day until now, my entire life has changed.  Had to move to another state for doctoring and so sick my whole family and social life has changed.  Dr's. and counselors have not been able to help.  Thought I could get off the drug and move on with life, but am finding I am fighting for my very life at this point.  Please help.  Thanks.  Any personal info and encouragement from someone who is at this level of tapering and difficulty getting off would be helpful to my emotional state right now.  Thanks again.

 

I hate to be the person to say it but "GET STABLE"

 

If you really think you can cut or jump when your not

yet stable your in for a shocker

 

Get stable. Go slow and if needed get ready for how EVER long it takes.

 

Took me 6 years to get this far and it's STILL not over for me.

 

My new "GOD"  in benzo withdrawal has only 3 rules now.

 

1. Cut and wait to get stable (Even if I have to wait 6 months.)

 

2. Cut again and wait to get stable.

 

3. Get stable. Get stable. Get stable before cutting again!

 

Your brain is talking to you. Listen to it and remember "JUMPING" does

not heal you.  Jumping is for people who are ready for it that have slowly worked

down to only micro doses already and are feeling pretty good for the most part.

This forum places too much emphasis on 'jumping' and not enough on getting really

stable first in my opinion.

 

This can be a LONG journey and so what, let it be, no big deal. 

After years of research I believe that for the most part if any brain injury happens it's not as direct result of the 'benzo' but more as the result of what I call the:

"Quick taper = Quicker healing" Phenomenon, a false dichotomy in my opinion.

 

Find a member named "BUILDER" and "BART" talk to them.

 

STUDY  'GOOGLE'  TOPICS:

 

Excitotoxicity

Excitotoxic

Excitotoxic storm

Excitotoxic shock

 

 

Hugs

Bird

 

This is a really great reply bird! I agree with everything you said and I'm doing the same with my taper.  I'm halfway through and been here for a few months "stabilizing" before I proceed and I'm taking my time! It took me 14-years to get to this place with Benzo's so I'm not going to hurry the taper process because I want to be done.  Don't get me wrong... I do want to be Benzo free but not at the expense of feeling horrible so I'm going VERY slow! I've ditched the idea that I'm going to be done with my taper on a certain day/month even year. I'm listening to my body and proceeding at my own pace because I feel more comfortable with that approach. Thanks for your advice and suggestions! 

Just out of curiosity, can anyone figure out how long, if there are not holds, it would take to taper from 2.25 mg. K if I taper at a 5% cut every two weeks?  My mind can't grasp that right now and I'd like to know if I am dealing with months or years?  I know that there may be times that I may have to hold and wait it out to stabilize, but if not, how long will it take me to get to the jumping off time?

 

Thanks for all those of you who have either some sort of calculator minds or an actual calculator that can figure that out for me. 

 

 

my thinking is that it is better to keep the doses the same. I think you can then taper one at a time every 3 days as you are on 3x a day.

Hi LynnM

 

how long, if there are not holds, it would take to taper from 2.25 mg. K if I taper at a 5% cut every two weeks?

Start date: Monday 16th of July 2018 - End date: Thursday 18th of April 2019 (Total 276 days)