Is this a Benzo Tapering Symptom?

Hi! 

I successfully (and slowly, over a period of months) tapered off Clonazepam, from 14mg per day(!) to now 5mg per day, by Myself (Cuz my stupid shrink replaced me with a SSRI and told me to stop Benzo almost cold turkey -- where I knew I'll gonna die if I did what he had said). No Huge withdrawal symptoms. Though after reducing below 8mg, I get this sensation of "Heightened body heat". It feels like I'm kinda dehydrated, and I get somewhat constipated, and the feeling of bloated stomach (though physically my belly does not look like it's bloated, it's just a sensation). I did not take ANY other drug while I'm tapering. I really think this is a symptom of Benzo tapering(?). Has anyone experienced this specific symptom while Tapering Benzo off? And do you think the dehydrated sensation is a result of reduced Benzodiazepine?

Thanks for any input!

Hi OmShanti,

Those are all common symptoms. One is called "Benzo Belly". For me, it feels like I'm never hungry (I've lost 10kgs) or like I've eaten a bunch of clay and it's just sitting there stubbornly.

I've also gotten some low-grade fevers around 37.5 C. I also sometimes feel too warm or too cold.

I'm glad you're doing so well on your taper. Keep an eye out for tougher symptoms the lower you go. Not all people have trouble at the lower dosages, but many do, myself included.

Cheers,

Matt

Hi OmShanti,

 

Those are all common symptoms. One is called "Benzo Belly". For me, it feels like I'm never hungry (I've lost 10kgs) or like I've eaten a bunch of clay and it's just sitting there stubbornly.

 

I've also gotten some low-grade fevers around 37.5 C. I also sometimes feel too warm or too cold.

 

I'm glad you're doing so well on your taper. Keep an eye out for tougher symptoms the lower you go. Not all people have trouble at the lower dosages, but many do, myself included.

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

Thank you so much Matt, for the reply. Yes, what you've described is exactly what I have! (like the feeling I have a lump of clay in my bowls, etc), minus the fevers. And yes, it's a miracle I've pretty much survived from such a high dose (probably cuz I tapered it very slowly). Yes, I'll gonna keep eye if it'll worsen, thanks. I'll update after lowering the dosage even more. I'm so much relieved I've even lowered the dosage to this level. At this rate I'm going, I should be free of this poison in like another year.

Anyone else has some tips or something for dealing with these bowel symptoms, Please do post.

Much appreciated!

I want to thank all of you who commented on this post, and op for throwing it up in the first place (hope your taper is going well). Have been taking Clonaz (+/- .5mg) for about 8-10 years, daily for the past 5-6. Recently decided to quit, and found that cold turkey is a real silly thing to try. Tapering is slowly working, but there's an issue:

At night, every night, I wake up burning hot, palpitations, etc... drinking water fixes the issue but the damage to my rest is pretty much done.

I only ever experienced this with alcohol before, so I quit drinking (alcohol). I do drink about 96oz water per day during the day, so it's hard to believe it could be dehydration but... now I'm reading posts from people saying it is a wd side effect and you are all putting my mind at ease.

Thank you.