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1 week using 1 MG Klonopin. How to taper?


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Hello community,

 

Unfortunately, I was guided by a new doctor to taper off a SSRI (Fluvoxamine) that I was taking for anxiety for 2 years from 100 mg to 0 mg in only 3 weeks (too quick). A few days after the last dose I started to feel insomnia and the anxiety was back. I could reach to my old doctor in my home country who guided me to go back to Fluvoxamine at 50 mg and take 0.5 MG Klonopin to sleep tapering it off for 1.5 months. The reason she prescribed Klonopin was to deal with Fluvoxamine side effects (I've done this safely before).

 

I'm in the 2nd week taking Fluvoxamine and feeling way better for anxiety. Started taking Klonopin 1 week ago after trying my best to not take it, but it was the only thing that made me sleep (tried Seroquel with no luck). So my plan to taper Klonoping was this (I have both 1 MG and 0,5 MG tablets):

 

1 MG - 1 week

0.75 MG - 1 week

0.5 MG - 1 week

0.375 MG - 1 week

0.25 MG - 1 week

0.125 MG - 1 week

 

My first week with 1 MG was good. I could sleep 7 hours rarely waking up in the middle of the night. Yesterday I tried to start the second week of Klonopin taking 0.75 MG but woke up 2 to 3 times and had difficult to fall back asleep. My question is if it's better to keep trying 0.75 MG and see if it gets more stable or take 1 MG for another week before reducing it? Also if anyone thinks that's a better taper plan, please share.

 

Thank you!

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Hi dan327,

 

I've read through your posts and now have a better understanding of your situation, I'm concerned you're encountering kindling which is described as:

Kindling due to substance withdrawal refers to the neurological condition which results from repeated withdrawal episodes from sedative–hypnotic drugs such as alcohol and benzodiazepines.

 

Each withdrawal leads to more severe withdrawal symptoms than in previous episodes. Individuals who have had more withdrawal episodes are at an increased risk of very severe withdrawal symptoms, up to and including seizures and death. Long-term use of GABAergic-acting sedative–hypnotic drugs causes chronic GABA receptor downregulation as well as glutamate overactivity, which can lead to drug and neurotransmitter sensitization, central nervous system hyperexcitability, and excitotoxicity.

 

It scares me that the only reason you're taking this drug is to help you off of another drug, because I consider Klonopin to be the worse of the two.  I don't know if you'll be able to do the rapid taper you're looking to do, your symptoms may not allow you to do this. 

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Hi Pamster, thanks for your answer.

 

I was having waves of anxiety and insomnia after the wrong taper of Fluvoxamine so I went back to it and I don’t plan to taper it off soon. I will wait at least one year to think about it and do it in the right way (reduce 10% every month).

 

The reason I was put in Klonopin was to sleep, as taking Fluvoxamine back didn’t improve it, even when taking 50 MG Seroquel. I also tried magnesium, melatonin, L-Theanine, CBD oil and nothing worked. Without sleep I was not able to function and the anxiety was even higher.

 

I’ve used both Klonipin twice in the past. I was able to stop it for the first 2 to 3 months except for the last time, where I took longer.

 

If I cannot reduce it as I’m planning, what do you think would be a better taper plan?

 

Thank you!

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Good to hear you're not planning to get off of the Fluvoxamine for now, you have enough on your plate with the Klonopin.  Unfortunately, withdrawing from benzo's produces terrible insomnia and since it's been a problem for you in the past, you're pretty much guaranteed to experience it.

 

Tapers are personal individual endeavors so even though you've only been on the Klonopin for a relatively short time, given your past use of Klonopin I feel you're going to need to slow this way down. 

 

Have you considered using dry titration, crushing your tablets and weighing them in order to make smaller cuts to your dose?

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Thanks Pamster. Actually, I had to take meds in the past because of anxiety and insomnia (related to intrusive thoughts). I had these events 3 times in the past. Every time I was put in Fluvoxamine and Klonipin for the first 2-3 months, then I could went off Klonopin (as Fluvoxamine was already acting). And continued with Fluvoxamine long time without insomnia issues.

 

The most recent event of anxiety I think it was caused because I went off Fluvoxamine too fast (I was not having intrusive thoughts or anxiety at all). The fact is that the anxiety and insomnia were back after a few days  and now I’m in Fluvoxamine and  Klonopin again. I tried my best to only take Fluvoxamine, but it was not working as I’m still in the second week. Without sleep everything was worst, I was feeling hopeless and depressed.

 

I tried to reduce from 1 mg to 0.75 mg after 1 week but in the past I remember that I waited at least 2 weeks. So I think I will hold the 1 mg for at least another week. My worry is, if I can’t not make the reductions that I’m planning, what do you think would be a safer pace considering dry titration?

 

Thank you!

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I think you're smart to try whats worked for you in the past, I hope it works for you.  What size dose are your pills, are they 1 mg?
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I have 10 pills of 0.5 mg and a refillable prescription of 1 mg. In the past I reduced from 1 mg to 0, going down 0.25 mg every 2 weeks.

 

Yesterday I tried to reduce from 1 mg to 0.75 mg after taking 1 mg for one week, because I was already taking the SSRI for 2 weeks and thought it would work, but I woke up 2x and had trouble falling asleep again. My doubt is if I keep trying the 0.75 mg or if I stick with 1 mg for one more week until hopefully the SSRI takes more effect.

 

Thank you!

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I support your plan to try what has worked for you in the past but if it doesn't, I'd suggest perhaps not making such a big cut to your dose, you could cut one of your .5 mg pills into quarters and reducing by .125, that might be a little gentler on you. 

 

Remember what I mentioned about kindling, the more times you start and stop the drug, the more you increase your chances of having a difficult withdrawal. 

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Thanks Pamster, using 0.125 to reduce definitely makes more sense.

 

Yesterday was bad for me, as you know I’ve been taking 1 mg for 1 week and being able to sleep 7-8 hours, it was pretty good. Two days ago tried to go down to 0.75 mg and woke up 2x with trouble falling back asleep. Yesterday I went back to the 1 mg at 11pm, slept around midnight and woke up at 5 am with trouble falling back asleep. It felt like the same way when I tried to take 0.75 mg.

 

Now I’m confused and scared if I will have to go up to 1 mg to make it work. Can you please advice me?

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Our brains crave consistency, this is why we tell people to go slow, make small reductions, hold longer instead of going up in dose, we need to give our brain what it needs to function and to heal.

 

It may very well be that you'll need to go back up to the 1 mg to stabilize but it's also important to accept that insomnia is going to be your constant companion during this process and beyond.

 

Once your body becomes tolerant to this drug, you'll either need to give it more to achieve the same effect or taper from it, you have two choices.

 

I'm sorry, I know this is not horrible for you, but do everything you can do educate yourself about what you're facing, make a plan, get support from your family if you can and be willing to adjust as necessary if your body directs you to with increased symptoms.

 

 

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Thanks for your words Pamster. I spoke to my doctor and she said that what I’m feeling will tend to improve in the next weeks as I’m still in 2.5 weeks of taking the SSRI (Fluvoxamine). She said I may increase the clonazepam to 1.5 mg before bed. As I said, 1 mg was working fine for one week until two days ago when I reduced to 0.75 mg. Yesterday I went back to 1 mg and felt like the same when I took the 0.75 mg (waking up in the middle of the night).

 

Not sure if it’s too early to tell that the 1 mg is not working for me anymore. Don’t know if o should stick to it or start taking 1.5 mg for a longer time, create consistency and reduce it slowly as you said..

 

I understand that insomnia will be present during this time for me, but it’s playing a huge toll on me as I’m feeling anxious and depressed during the day when I don’t sleep well.

 

Thank you.

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Glad to know you're working with your Dr, I don't know anything about Fluvoxamine but I do know about benzo's and my suggestion would to NOT go up to 1.5 mgs, that's a huge jump in your dose.  I feel you should give the 1 mg a chance to work and if that doesn't then 1.25.  Every little bit you add now could add weeks or months to your taper.
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I'll do that Pamster. I will give 1 mg one more chance. If not I'll go up to 0.25 and not 1.5.

 

Thank you for being so kind and following my history.

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Hi Pamster and fellow members,

 

Yesterday tried 1 mg and it didn’t work. I woke up 40 minutes later with problem falling asleep. Then I took extra 0.5 mg (needed to be fine next day to study for an exam). But it didn’t work as well. I could not fall asleep. Until I took 2 mg of melatonin and sleep for 2 hours. Then woke up again.

 

I’m feeling hopeless, just wanting to get a good night sleep to function. All of this started after I stopped taking 100 mg of Fluvoxamine in 3 weeks guided by a doctor. Now it’s been 2.5 weeks that I’m back to 50 mg Fluvoxamine. Clonazepam 1 mg worked great for the first week and now it seems that it’s not working anymore. Did I develop a tolerance so fast like this? I’ve taken Clonazepam before 2x for 3 months and 1x for 1 year. But it was one year ago. What should I do? Should I keep taking it? What other alternatives do I have to try to get a better sleep? Tried to reach my doctor today but without success. Please help.

 

Thank you!

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Hi dan,

 

Could it be your rapid taper from 100 mgs to zero, I've read about SSRI's and how they need to be slowly tapered, could you still be suffering from your rapid taper?

 

I hate to see you keep increasing your dose of Klonopin, what about the Fluvoxamine, is there a possibility of going back to your 100 mg dose?

 

 

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Probably I’m still suffering the consequences of the fast tapper Pamster. The doctor (a new psy one) wants to evaluate the 100 mg updose of SSRI Luvox after 1 month (its been only 2.5 weeks). Besides that it messes with sleep and appetite and now might not be a good time, as both are still not good for me. Today she suggested take the Luvox in the morning instead of night and increase Klonopin to 2 mg. I know you will not like it, but it’s my only hope to function in the next day.
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I'm just so sorry you're suffering, we'll support you whatever you need to do because we understand the need to remain functional.  Hopefully you can get stabilized soon and when you feel you're ready we can help you taper from the Klonopin, you certainly don't want to be on it long term.

 

We're here for you, no worries about judgement, okay?

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Thank you so much Pamster, you are helping me a lot. Yesterday I took 3 mg of Klonopin at 11 pm and 5mg of Ambien at bedtime because at 12 am I still was not sleepy and I was so desperate to sleep. I woke up later with the bad taste of Ambien. I regret to have taken it. But then I could fall asleep again quickly and woke up at 7 am. That was a huge improvement for me and I’m feeling way better today. My doctor wants me to go down to 2.5 mg today (She assumed that the SSRI that I’ve been taking for  2.5 weeks at 21h was interfering with Klonopin, although I was taking 1 mg of Klonopin with success  for the last week). What do you think about that? Better stick with 3 mg for a while and then start to taper? There are some things going on in my life that definitely triggers huge anxiety (visa stuff processing and currently I’m not authorized to work, hard course to study and upcoming exam). So I’m afraid it’s not a good time for change.

 

There’s something that I’m afraid and I’d like to ask you. As you know I’ve used 1 mg of Klonopin for 3 months in 2014, another 1.5 months of 0.5 in 2017 and 1 mg tapering for 1 year in 2018. I’ve never went above 1 mg. Now after 1 month using sporadically 1 mg for one month and everyday for the last week, I failed trying to reduce it to 0.75, then also failing to go back to 1 mg and also 1.5 (woke up several times sleepless. I don’t know if it’s enough to say that I’m tolerant to it or it was some kind of unusual anxiety to try to reduce it, or maybe really the drug interaction with the Fluvoxamine that I was taking at 21h (the doctor told me to take in the morning yesterday). Do you think if I’m tolerant, how long it’s likely for me to be with the 3 mg without having to increase it again to achieve the same effect? If this happens, better to switch to another drug?

 

Thank you!

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Hey dan,

 

Here's what I'm thinking, there have been too many changes, it's time to hunker down pick a dose and stick with it until things settle down both in terms of medication and what's going on in your life.  Stress is a huge trigger for those dependent on or tolerant to benzo's, so for now, I'd say you'd be smart to do your best to minimize yours.

 

As for tolerance, I don't know if this is what you're experiencing but I do feel that giving stabilization a chance is your best option for now.  It scares me to know you added Ambien to your Klonopin.  As you probably know it's considered a non-benzodiazepine but it acts similarly to a benzo so in effect, you took more than 3 mgs of a benzo last night.  I have experience with Ambien and it's all bad so please use caution.

 

I don't understand Fluvoxamine at all nor your Dr's use of benzo's to manage it but this is between you and your Dr so I'll leave this be.  If you do become tolerant, switching to another benzo isn't the answer, tapering from it is.  A benzo is a benzo and while they each have different properties and actions, they all affect the brain in pretty much the same way.

 

I wonder if you would benefit from reading some posts on https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/, perhaps you could get some insight into your SSRI.

 

 

 

 

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Hello, dan327.  I agree with Pamster. You would be wise to stop making changes and give your system a chance to stabilize.  PS Thank you for lending a helping hand to new member Holly hock.  The question you asked was spot on.
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Thank you so much Pamster and Libertas. You're really helping me to cope with this difficult times and rationalize correctly.

 

Today psy from where I am located and is doing my prescriptions returned my call and she agreed with the one in my home country that the SSRI dose may be interfering with my sleep. So I will be taking it in the morning.

 

Regarding the Klonopin dose, as you know I took 3 mg yesterday (along with Ambien - bad choice, but I was desperate). I remember I woke up feeling the bitter taste of Ambien. I felt a little bit stressed, but could fall asleep quickly). Both of the doctors want me to be in the 2 mg dose of Klonopin. Since I took the 3 mg dose only for yesterday, do you think it would be safe to take 2 mg today and stick with it until the taper? Or is it better if I keep taking 3 mg and decide to taper from it?

 

The doctor from here told me I could take Benadryl 25 mg along with the Klonopin dose to help me sleep? Do you think it's worth it?

She also told me I could try 12.5 mg of Seroquel along with Klonopin (I have tried Seroquel once in the past in 50 mg and it jut gave me a clog nose and grogginess but no sleep). Not sure if it would make any benefit.

 

Thank you for the link of survivingantidepressants.org. I actually came to BB from there. I could read a lot about Fluvoxamine. Tried to reinstate as suggested with a lower dose, but didn't work for me. At least I know how to taper it correctly for the next time.

 

Thank you!

 

 

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I'm glad to hear your Dr's are in sync, I hope taking the SSRI in the morning will help with your sleep. 

 

I can't speak to the other medications you're thinking about taking since I don't have experience but if you'd like to get feedback from the greater community you could ask questions on the Other Medications board.  From what I've read about Benadryl, it seems to be fairly benign.

 

As for the Klonopin, I'm not crazy about you going on the 3 mgs permanently, that's a huge jump in dose but I'm not walking in your shoes so my suggestion is to make your decision and give it time to work and see if you can stabilize enough to allow you to get some rest.

 

It's good to hear you've done your research on the Fluvoxamine and know how to taper from it when you're ready. 

 

 

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Hello Pamster and everyone,

 

Not good news again. Yesterday I took 2.25 mg according to doctor's direction. I didn't took Benadryl or Seroquel. I took Klonopin at 23h, slept at 12:30am but woke up at 03:30 sleepless. Tried my best to sleep again. Took 300 mg of L-Theanine and I think I could sleep an additional hour. I regret to not have taken the 3 mg that worked one day before (you know I also took Ambien and woke up once in the middle of the night, but could sleep 7 hours). Today as always after a bad night sleep I'm feeling really bad, anxious, depressed, just obsessing about sleep and how my life will be for now on. I can't function. By now the SSRI that I'm taking for 2.5 weeks should be working but it seems it's not. I feel I just need to be sleeping well to live my life again. I know it will be hard to withdraw of any drug in the future, but I think is better to function now, wait the SSRI take effect and then work with the withdraw in a more stable situation.

 

My question is, given your experience if I take back the 3 mg or more of Klonopin, will I develop a tolerance quickly? As you know I've taken no more than 1 mg of Klonopin during 12 months one year ago. And short term use 2x in 2014 and 2017.

 

If I decide to not take Klomopin anymore and try Valerian Root or another natural path, will I have to keep taking Klonopin to avoid W/D even after being using it around 1 month from now?

 

Thank you so much for your patience.

 

Thanks

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I'm so sorry to hear how badly things are going for you but to answer your question, I don't know how long it will take tolerance to set in if you stay at the 3 mgs of Klonopin, we're all so different.  I've seen members who have taken these drugs for years not develop tolerance until late in their use and I've seen members who have only taken it for a few months suffer from it. 

 

This is your decision and it sounds like you've made it and that's okay, an informed decision is all we can ask or expect of ourselves.  As for using a natural substance to replace the Klonopin at some point, I doubt it will be useful and would expect you to have to taper.  Pay attention to what your body is telling you if you do decide to stop taking it and if you begin to suffer, go back on and taper it.

 

A word of caution about supplements, many of our members have found that they can rev up symptoms, our central nervous system is highly sensitized when we become tolerant to or dependent upon benzo's, it would be a good idea to check out our Alternative Therapies & Supplements board to see how members have reacted.

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