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Klonopin Taper Plan


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Happy 4th all!

 

I was admitted to the hospital due to panic attacks on 5/24/19. I was there for three weeks

 

Through out my visitation I was prescribed to take 0.5 mg of Klonopin twice a day for a total of 1 mg a day. I was then lowered the dosage of the Klonopin to 0.25 mg twice a day for a total of 0.50 mg a day for the second and third week of my hospital stay. Prior to being discharged I was advised to increase my Klonopin dosage to 1 mg twice a day for two weeks for a total of 2 mg a day until the lexapro kicked in and I would stop taking the Klonopin.

 

I was seen by an out patient psychiatrist who prescribed me to take Prozac instead of lexapro and advised me to ween off the Klonopin since it seemed to not really do anything beneficial for me. I hadn’t noticed much positive or negative side defects while taking Klonopin.

 

My Klonopin duration is as follow:

 

5/24/19 - 5/31/19 - 1 mg Klonopin per day

6/1/19 - 6/14 - 0.5 mg per day

6/15 - 6/29 - 2 mg a day

6/29 - present 1.5 mg a day

 

I have yet to speak to my doctor about how he plans to continue to taper me off Klonopin until my appointment next week.

 

Is taking Klonopin at the dosages mentioned above for almost 2 months enough for my body to build a tolerance to when I do fully get off the drug I don’t experience severe withdrawal symptoms? Has anyone that has taken Klonopin not notice the drug do anything for them even at 2 mg? How would someone that has taken Klonopin for almost two months at the highest dosage of 2 mg for two weeks safely taper off?

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Im fairly new. I only took .25mg a day for about it 5 weeks. I got the advice to still taper. Even if it’s quicker (for my case, since it was a low dose). For 2 months and the higher dose I would assume they would tell you to stabilize there and then start dropping your dose 5-10% every 10-14 days. They have many methods that people use. I’m currently using a my scale I got off amazon . Measure my pill and will reduce it once I begin my taper by weighing the pill. Others will be more help, just chiming in since there hasn’t been a response yet.

 

I am not sure about not feeling the medicine though. Could always mean your body is accustomed to it . But not sure with the duration and stuff .

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Thank you for your advice. This is my first time experiencing drugs of any sort of have yet to experience any side effect whether negative or positive. Just out of curiosity, how long would it take for you to completely stop taking Klonipin given your smal dose?
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I believe if i stick to a plan of about 10% of the current cut and stabilize for 10 days it could be close to 6-7 months. It varies i know how much you cut and side effects. That’s the part that has me so confused about taking for 5 weeks daily then taper for 6 months. Feel like having it in my body 6x as long wouldn’t be beneficial. I may try tapering at a faster pace. Currently feeling good after I set my dose to .39
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Given that I have been on this medication for almost two months. How long would it take for me to completely come off of Klonopin?
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Given that I have been on this medication for almost two months. How long would it take for me to completely come off of Klonopin?

 

Given that you were on it for such a small period of time, In my opinion you could easily get off it in 3 months. I say that from experience, I've been on it for 7 years daily with 5 of that 4mg a day. I'm 7 months into my taper and down to just .50 mg and I'm doing great with almost no side effects or withdrawals at all apart from rebound anxiety! The majority of people will not experience any severe or acute withdrawals if they taper properly, you honestly should not worry about it.

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Good luck with your continued success. I spoke to my doctor yesterday  and I wanted to lower the dosage of the Klonopin but he believes I should continue to take 1.5 mg daily until the Prozac kicks in. But I really don’t notice any benefit of taking the Klonopin. The only thing that worried me is the withdrawal symptoms.
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  • 4 weeks later...
After taking 1.5 mg of Klonopin for a month my doctor wants to cut my dosage to 1 mg a day? Is that too quick to cut to 1 mg?
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That's way too much of a cut! 33%. You don't want to cut over 10%. I would actually cut lower around 5%. Back in late May, early June, I accidentally cut by .5mg from 1.75mg and at day 5 I was heading into bad withdrawal. My math was off and Builder corrected it. Thank you Builder! I went back up. Please ask your Dr to reconsider and let you taper low and slow, so you can not have symptoms.

:)

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Thanks for your input I also tapered down from 2 mg after taking it for two weeks to 1.5 mg. I didn’t really even feel any different on Klonopin.
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Thanks for your input I also tapered down from 2 mg after taking it for two weeks to 1.5 mg. I didn’t really even feel any different on Klonopin.

 

So you've only taken it for a short time? I still think that it is a big cut, but maybe you can handle. I just don't know.

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Yeah I was admitted to a psych unit of a hospital for 3 weeks due to continuous panic attacks. I was taking various dosages of Klonopin at different times. My schedule was as follow:

 

5/24/19 - 5/31/19 - 1 mg Klonopin per day

6/1/19 - 6/14 - 0.5 mg per day

6/15 - 6/29 - 2 mg a day

6/29 - 8/1 1.5 mg a day

8/1 - present would be at 1 mg.

 

Not sure show long I should take 1 mg before lowering the dosage again. The only time I have truly felt an effect on any benzo was when I was given 1.5 mg of Xanax in one sitting. Other than that I haven’t really felt the effects of klonpin im also a 5’9 male and weight 180 lbs

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After reading all the posts,  Just realize .5mg K = 10 mg V (Dr. Ashton) and from my perspective, she is in the ballpark.  www.benzo.org.uk    I'll simply say I've have learned to taper on the side of caution.   
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Personally I would be hesitant to drop .5mg K.....however your history is very, very different and that's a good thing.  You and the doctor will work it out and I'm confident you'll get off the K without the hassle that many of us longer term users have.  You've got this !  :thumbsup:
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I believe if i stick to a plan of about 10% of the current cut and stabilize for 10 days it could be close to 6-7 months. It varies i know how much you cut and side effects. That’s the part that has me so confused about taking for 5 weeks daily then taper for 6 months. Feel like having it in my body 6x as long wouldn’t be beneficial. I may try tapering at a faster pace. Currently feeling good after I set my dose to .39

 

You absolutely should not taper for 6-7 months if you were only on for 5 weeks. This is not good advice. You were also on a low dose. I was on for 7 years daily and 5 of those at 4mg/daily of klonopin. I am currently at .25 mg and doing great since I started my taper in November. It will have only taken me 1 year to get off when I'm done very shortly. A lot of people I've seen actually go faster then myself, and I could have if i wanted too myself but I didn't need to go faster.

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After taking 1.5 mg of Klonopin for a month my doctor wants to cut my dosage to 1 mg a day? Is that too quick to cut to 1 mg?

 

No that is not that big of a cut. You were on for a very short period of time, not going through interdose withdrawals at this time and your body could absolutely handle .5mg. I've been cutting .5mg A MONTH since Last November. And I'm doing absolutely fine. It's not as hard as people claim it to be. Not nearly.

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Everyone is going to be different but I would start cutting .25 mg and try to get off within a few months if you can - I personally would not drag a taper out for a long period because you risk tolerance.  With that said, everyone is different.  If you are stable, and your CNS in a good place, you may not have any issues whatsoever with a faster taper. 
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Just an update after a week of cutting from 1.5 mg to 1.0 mg of klonopin.

 

I seem to be slightly more anxious in the morning for some reason but that seems to go away as they day progresses. I have no problem falling asleep I just may wake up 2 - 3 times a night. Not sure if these are related to cutting down to 1 mg but no noticeable major side effects.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I went to see another psychiatrist today. He informed me that since I was taking such a low dosage of the klonopin for 3 months I can stop taking it. He also prescribed me to take Xanax at .5 mg if needed. Like I said previously the klonpin didn’t really do anything for me even when I was taking a max dosage of 2 mg total a day. He informed me that I can take 1.5 mg of Xanax if needed since that was the dose that I felt a benzo work for me. Even when I took 0.5 mg of Xanax prior to taking klonopin the Xanax did not really do anything
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  • 3 months later...

Just an update,

 

I have been taking klonopin 1 mg daily but I don’t really notice a difference when I take it. I have been taking Prozac 60 mg daily and buspar 10 mg 2 times a day. I have been doing this for about 2 months.

 

My ocd tendencies are still there even after taking Prozac since June.

 

My doctor wants me to increase to 80 mg of Prozac and take buspar 3 times a day and klonopin as needed.

 

Anyone go this route?

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When you say you don't really notice a difference when you take the Klonopin, what do you mean?  Are you referring to your OCD?
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