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Help with Taper Plan-Very Loud Tinnitus


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Hello Everyone,

 

I have a very loud Tinnitus (very likely due to stopping off benzos abruptly), as well as other less bothersome symptoms compared to it. I describe my previous situation in my signature.

 

I'm looking for your suggestions regarding a taper plan (I'm supposed to jump off the medication this week, but I don't feel ready, my tinnitus is making my life unbearable.

 

Here's what happened more recently:

 

Last week I was supposed to cut down to 0.37 mg of clonazepam, but I ended up repeating the previous weekly dosage: 0.5 mg since I got an extremely loud Tinnitus, electric and reactive. 

 

In other words:

 

Instead of doing: Tuesday: 0.125 mg; Wednesday: Free; Thursday: 0.125 mg;  Friday: Free; Saturday: Free;  Sunday: 0.125 mg I just added 1/8 of a pill (0.0625 mg) on Friday and Saturday to easy the bump (at least was able to sleep). 

 

I'm currently tapering, but it seems that is kind of abrupt since my tinnitus is getting more aggressive every time I taper. I suspect I'm also building tolerance quickly.

 

I'm cutting the pills with a precision knife. For 0.125 mg I cut the 0.50  mg clonazepam pill in 1/4. The days I took the mini dosage, I split the 1/4 pill by half, resulting in 1/8.

 

My symptoms do not increase right away after taking the benzo, it takes a day or 2. When I first stopped abruptly Alprazolam it took about 4 days. The Tinnitus started soft, but then started to increase. At present with Clonazepam, I notice that every second week the T worsens badly, then I have a few days OK (not great, still with hissing T).

 

More recently, on Sunday when I finally took 0.125 mg I went to bed and woke up on Monday with a much lower T. The whole Monday (yesterday was relatively a good day with moments of almost silence). The day before I had taken the 0.125 mg of clonazepam.

 

On Tuesday I did not take the pill yesterday-I had a louder hissing, still bearable. However, yesterday I took 0.125 mg of Clonazepam and woke up with a very loud T. Today is still loud. I suspect I've developed tolerance to the benzo. I also have a little bit of back pain, nausea and lack of appetite.

 

I don't know if it's because of benzo withdrawal or because the nervousness of having this loud tinnitus. I have gone to several ENTs and they don't seem to find anything. The only thing I've done to have this loud tinnitus, is to stop benzos too quickly.

 

I still believe there's a relation of not taking the pill and my loud tinnitus, but is not immediate. To make things worse: It's loosing it's effect quickly.

 

I'm not sure if I experience withdrawal effects during the day, I think it's more from one day to another/one week to another.

 

I do have a good supply in case I need to slow down. Considering I've been splitting the pills, I have a full box of Rivotril (Clonazepam) 60  pills of 0.5 mg. So I'm good with that.

 

I'm looking forward to your suggestions.

 

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Hi Ben!

 

The following blog post link pertains more to antidepressants than benzos. But for the purpose of discussing ototoxicity, the author tends to lump these drug classes together since both put patients at risk of tinnitus.

 

He includes tapering schedules that he considers least likely to result in tinnitus.  Maybe you can adapt your taper accordingly. 

 

https://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/tapering-off-citalopram-safely-without-side-effects/

 

The "one day on, one or two days off" strategy may be complicating your withdrawal.  It's hard enough to correlate WD symptoms with a particular dosage reduction and/or hold time without the added variable of staggered dosing. 

 

As you reach progressively lower doses, taking clonazepam daily should help you maintain a more consistent blood concentration and a more predictable response.  In fact, although clonazepam is among the longer-half-life benzos, some people find it beneficial to dose twice daily to alleviate suspected interdose withdrawal.   

 

Best of luck to you, however you choose to proceed!  :thumbsup: 

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Thank you Koko Lee; I'll check it out.

 

Yesterday had to updose to 0.25 mg of Clonazepam. My T was incredibly loud, and on top of that I started having high blood pressure, along with a painful anxiety.

 

On Monday I'm seeing a Psychiatrist to help me taper slowly and try to minimize my symptoms. O Hope you're doing fine and your Tinnitus, if you ever had any, finally resolved.

 

Hi Ben!

 

The following blog post link pertains more to antidepressants than benzos. But for the purpose of discussing ototoxicity, the author tends to lump these drug classes together since both put patients at risk of tinnitus.

 

He includes tapering schedules that he considers least likely to result in tinnitus.  Maybe you can adapt your taper accordingly. 

 

https://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/tapering-off-citalopram-safely-without-side-effects/

 

The "one day on, one or two days off" strategy may be complicating your withdrawal.  It's hard enough to correlate WD symptoms with a particular dosage reduction and/or hold time without the added variable of staggered dosing. 

 

As you reach progressively lower doses, taking clonazepam daily should help you maintain a more consistent blood concentration and a more predictable response.  In fact, although clonazepam is among the longer-half-life benzos, some people find it beneficial to dose twice daily to alleviate suspected interdose withdrawal.   

 

Best of luck to you, however you choose to proceed!  :thumbsup:

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Hi BenThrottle,

 

I'm sorry I've been absent, I've been busy off the forum.

 

I see you had to up-dose, I'm sorry.  Would you like to take about tapering or do you feel you'd like to speak with your Dr?

 

I'd really like to see you take the Clonazepam every day, I don't know if it will improve your tinnitus but conventional wisdom around here is you're not doing yourself any favors by taking your doses intermittently.  We've been here many years and have seen thousands of members find benzo freedom, I hope you'll consider changing your taper schedule.

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Hello Pamster,

 

Thank you for catching up. I have an appointment with a psychiatrist on Monday. Yes, I had to updose 2 days ago to 0.25 mg of Clonazepam because I started having rapid heart beats, high blood pressure, and could see the veins on my forehead like Hulk.

 

The Tinnitus was freaking loud, electric, I could feel my head vibrating. I also felt nausea. After I took the 0.25 mg my T continued high volume for a while, and then it became a hissing (not an electric wire). I was able to sleep.

 

At present, I'm not sure what to do until Monday when I see the Dr.

 

I will follow your advice and just take the medication everyday. I'm thinking about 0.125 mg (1/4) of 0.5 mg of Clonazepam.

 

Let's see what the Dr. have to say. If the plan happens to be abrupt, or he's dismissive about my problem, then I'd really appreciate if you could help me with that.

 

 

I only hope this tinnitus is due to Benzo withdrawal and not something else.

 

I have no hearing loss, blockage or abnormality, so I'm crossing my fingers is due to benzos. I also believe it wasn't so much the dosage but the irregularity, interruptions which caused  all this havoc and is making me suffer so badly.

 

Besides my fluctuating T, I feel anxiety, and sometimes feel lightheaded. I do notice that sometimes at night when I move my eyes from one place to another quickly, I see flashes...I don't have any vision condition, besides having to wear glasses to see far.

 

Anyways, any input from you is greatly appreciated. Again, I'll wait until Monday and keep you posted.

 

Thank you again for your concern.

 

BenThrottle

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It sounds like raising your dose of Clonazepam improved your symptoms, I hope this will reassure you that it's the source of your problems, not something else.  Fear is a huge part of this process so what you're feeling is normal, you just need to keep assuring yourself that when you recover from this, you'll be back to your old self.

 

We'll be here for you, I'll be very interested in hearing what the Dr has to say.

 

One last thing, if you take .125 each day, this will increase your dose, are you comfortable with that?  It might be time to invest in a jewelers scale to weigh and measure your dose or to speak with your Dr about getting the liquid version through a compounding pharmacy. 

 

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Hello Pamster,

 

Thank you so much for your support. Yes, when I increased to 0.25 mg it did improve my symptoms. Made my tinnitus less metallic-loud. Same has happened before.

 

However, yesterday I took the 0.125 mg and I'm not seeing any changes...at the contrary, the tinnitus fluctuated a lot yesterday and today it seems to be screaming, becoming almost electric.

 

I don't feel comfortable up-dosing at all. At the contrary, I feel miserable. I just don't know what to do after taking 0.25 mg two days ago.

 

I hope the Doctor on Monday is compassionate and supportive. I've encountered way too many Doctors dismissing my problem (which makes me doubt whether it was caused by benzos).

 

The other thing is that I'm seeing the 0.125mg is not working anymore. At the contrary, my Tinnitus is louder. So naturally, I'm scared.

 

I'm not sure whether I should take 0.125 mg today (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday), therefore increasing my weekly dosage to 0.85 mg of Clonazepam, or just take 0.0625 mg.

 

I like the idea of the scale (more than the liquid, since I don't know what they my put on that).

 

I'll keep you posted. Again, thank you.

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You're going to see waxing and waning of your symptoms that won't be tied to a specific dose or situation, this is what our symptoms do.  Many try to assign a reason to what they're feeling such as I took this supplement or medication or I ate this food or any of the many things we do or try each day.  In most cases, it doesn't matter what we do, our symptoms change, lessen or increase in severity or disappear in a window only to come back in a wave.  Please try not to react to your symptoms and base your decisions on them, they don't make sense so using them as a barometer for your dose decisions isn't the best way to go.

 

I'd much rather see you take the .0625 if you can manage to get it that small.

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Hello Pamster,

 

Hope you're doing fine.

 

Today I went to the Doctor to review my taper plan.  Last week I ended up increasing my weekly dosage to 0.75 mg of Clonazepam instead of the previous one which was 0.50 mg of Clonazepam per week.

 

After reading about the kindling effect, and cases of worsening tinnitus when up-dosing on benzos I experienced the worse anxiety I've ever had in my life. I felt I ruined my brain and I would pay the consequences badly.

 

I felt so anxious, that when I was at the Doctor's Office, I was the only person in the waiting room who couldn't control himself.

 

I was walking from one place to another, monitoring my tinnitus, feeling lightheaded, extremely anxious, and with nausea. I even I cried in front of the Doctor (never happened before, not even when I was a teenager).

 

The Doctor was kind, but as usual, couldn't believe I developed such a withdrawal symptoms due to the amount I was taking. He did say, however, it could've been to the fact I quit Alprazolam  cold turkey in May, but then again, very unlikely.

 

Nevertheless, when reading at the comments and watching the videos, I do believe my withdrawal symptoms (mostly my terrible Tinnitus) is due to benzos. I feel I have an overstimulated nervous system, where I can listen to my bones moving, and little sparks inside my head.

 

Going back to the Doctor's Office, he told me the doses of Clonazepam I was taking per week was safe, but to get off the vicious circle, he prescribed me  low doses of Prozac to be gradually increasing, and once I felt better I could just quit the benzos. He insisted that in the state I was, it was basically impossible for I would end up up dosing.

 

The week I was supposed to jump off benzo ended up taking: 0.75 mg per week. The Doctor did not offer to switch me to Valium (I understand it's a milder, longer acting benzo).

 

He says I could just keep taking the Clonazepam as needed within the weekly range (it's such a small dose, he insisted)...he said, the important thing was I could feel better, and take it from there. But then again, I'm terrified of the kindling effect, and messing up with my brain even more.

 

I do agree with the Doctor, I don't feel ready to quit the benzo (I'm feeling extremely depressed, scared and negative), but I definitely need a plan to taper off for good, and it seems that I"m not going to get it from a Doctor....at least not the type of plan that is gradual and compassionate.

 

So tomorrow I'll start taking Prozac (10 mg) and in the mean time, while I feel more optimistic, I'd need to have a real plan to taper. Last week's total dosage was 0.75 mg of Clonazepam. I guess I need to take it from there.

 

I take your advice/suggestion, and I would really appreciate it if you could help me with the taper plan.

 

Another concern that I have...Prozac might cause tinnitus if taken at very high doses, so I'll be extra careful.

 

Anyways, thanks for reading me. Any input, comment, would be greatly appreciated. If you can suggest a taper plan, that would be of great help. I need to get the jewelers scale (one that is easy to use). I have the cutter, and plenty of Clonazepam.

 

Best.

Ben

 

 

 

 

 

It sounds like raising your dose of Clonazepam improved your symptoms, I hope this will reassure you that it's the source of your problems, not something else.  Fear is a huge part of this process so what you're feeling is normal, you just need to keep assuring yourself that when you recover from this, you'll be back to your old self.

 

We'll be here for you, I'll be very interested in hearing what the Dr has to say.

 

One last thing, if you take .125 each day, this will increase your dose, are you comfortable with that?  It might be time to invest in a jewelers scale to weigh and measure your dose or to speak with your Dr about getting the liquid version through a compounding pharmacy.

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It sounds like you've had a rough few days, you've been processing a lot of information and I can see a lot of fear, but since this is a huge symptom for us, I understand it. 

 

As for the kindling, it's hard to say if you'll have a more difficult time, there is so much we don't understand and nothing we can predict.  The right thing is educating yourself and that's what you're doing because the more we know, the less we fear. 

 

I want to assure you that no dose of a benzo is small, when your brain detects the presence of the drug, it changes it's function to accommodate it, can you imagine, this drug changes how your brain works, that pretty scary in my book! 

 

Prozac can be helpful but given your sensitized nervous system we don't always react to medications and supplements like we would under different circumstances.  It's my feeling that if you're going to take the Prozac you might want to hold off tapering for a few weeks, adding one drug while introducing another will make it difficult to know what is causing what.

 

As for what your Dr said about being able to quit the Clonazepam when the Prozac takes effect.  Prozac cannot take the place of the benzo, a slow taper will still necessary.  We'll help you through this, keep talking to us.

 

 

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Thank you Pamster. I swear I feel better just reading your messages.

 

I'll do that. Will hold off tapering for now, keep taking the Clonazepam (the smallest dose I can handle), and see how I react to Prozac.

 

As you can imagine, I'm paranoid and have my reservations. However, I will take very slow dosages and monitor my symptoms.

 

It is a scary thought that benzos can change one's brain....I feel it's true because I don't feel myself. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back on track eventually.

 

Thank you again.

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I agree with your plan and I hope you'll believe in your body's ability to heal itself when you finally rid yourself of the Clonazepam.  I know it's difficult to keep the faith given the total upheaval the drug has caused in your life but recovery is possible, I still remember the euphoria I felt when all of the symptoms left me, I'm still so grateful to be free.

 

Please keep us posted about your Prozac introduction, what you write will help another person traveling the same path.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Sorry for the delay, I had to suspend taking Prozac as it made my Tinnitus worse. I just stopped cold turkey as I had been taking it for 10 days (10 mg). I’m meeting another Dr who would prescribe a more tinnitus friendly antidepressant.
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How are you feeling Ben?

 

Hello Pamster,

 

Thank you for checking on me. I was feeling semi-ok lately within hell. As you can remember, I updosed to 0.25 mg of liquid clonazepam and introduced an antidepressant called Brintellix (probably didn't tell you the antidepressant part).

 

Unfortunately the antidepressant made me constipated, but somewhat made me feel better regarding my anxiety (maybe it's the placebo effect as they take more than 2 weeks to sooth effect).

 

The thing is that the benzo was giving me side effects besides my tinnitus (constipation and burning feet), so I lowered the morning dose of clonazepam from 0.125 to 0.10 mg while leaving the night time dose the same (0.125 mg). That represents 10% decrease of the total dose...

 

It seemed like a crazy move...but I said to myself, I had updosed relatively recently, so I said, what could go wrong?...I reduced the benzo dose on September 15 (a couple of days later I started taking the antidepressant)...I was happy cuz no side effects were present and I was able to go to the bathroom more regularly.

 

My feet still feel burning (especially at night), but my T had been ok...hellish, but not too hellish...I was elated...

 

Koko Lee warned me not to reduce the dose, not so soon, and not at that rate...but I went ahead anyway, because I literally feel intoxicated/sick/doomed with the stupid benzo...I'm anxious, and anxiety made me act desperately.

 

Well...on glorious Sunday September 20 anxiety kicked in...big time...tinnitus went up....in a nutshell Freddy Krueger showed up..spent a hell of a sunday...today I feel somewhat better...but now I have a classic would have been be preventable dilemma:

 

Was the antidepressant that worsened my tinnitus and anxiety or was the dose reduction of benzo? I do not want to updose again...but if I don't, will symptoms keep getting worse?

 

My plan now is to keep the current daily benzo dose 0.20 mg, and within 3 more weeks start diluting the morning dose at 0.5% per day (of course, I still need to talk to my Doctor, monitor symptoms regarding the antidepressant, and make a final decision.

 

My other concern is that I'm not sure if I did any good introducing a new substance (Brintellix) to an already compromised nervous system. But at least I'm eating and sleeping a few hours (it wasn't like that before).

 

I have to be with white noise all the time, or else I feel brain zaps (I learned in this forum it was a benzo reaction).

 

So that's my situation....I reduced the clonazepam dose, and I'm not sure what to do....will my system stabilize with the current dose? was it too bad of a bad move reducing 10%?

 

As usual, I really appreciate your input. If I don't answer immediately sometimes is because I feel too bad to sit in front of the computer...plus I have some trouble finding the messages, but I cut and pasted the link so I can find it quicker.

 

Thank you again Pamster.

Ben

 

 

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I agree it's difficult to know if the addition of the new medication is causing you issues but overall, it sounds like it's a net positive, do you see it this way?

 

I didn't taper but I've read from members who taper Clonazepam that your body will stabilize around 7-10 days after your dose reduction, and even though 10% is on the higher end of our taper suggestion, you may begin to feel some relief too.

 

I'm sorry to hear Sunday was so bad, but I like the your idea of not wanting to updose again, I would rather see you hold to see if you can feel better on this dose but only you can gauge what you can live with.  Please don't beat yourself up over your decisions thus far, these are desperate times so we understand they call for desperate measures.  Tapering is one big experiment on ourselves trying different approaches to find what works, the trouble is, just when you find something that works the benzo will change the rules and you'll have to adapt again and again.

 

As for finding your thread, you can always use the 'Show replies to your posts' on the upper left hand side of your window to find if you've had replies. 

 

You're doing a good job BenThrottle, you're working your way to benzo freedom.  :thumbsup:

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It's difficult to know if the AD has been positive. A few days ago I was feeling it was. Now, I'm not that sure. I'm keeping the minimum dose (5 mg of Brintellix) and wait this week to see how it goes.

 

Thank you for being understanding and supportive Pamster. I'm happy to hear I can stabilize after a few days (that was one of my main concerns). I reduced the dosage on September 15, starting feeling the effects 3 days ago. Hopefully I will feel better in a couple of days and my tinnitus will settle. So far it's the worse symptom.

 

Today I have swollen veins in my forehead and brain zaps. I'll listen to music, take a walk, and if I can stabilize in a few days it will be a triumph.

 

Thanks for the indication, and your words of encouragement, you really make the difference.

 

 

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I've heard around day 3 is when most members feel the cut of Clonazepam so you're right on schedule, hopefully you'll begin to feel a lessening of symptoms around the standard timeline.

 

It sounds like you have a plan for your discomfort, its so important to use the tools we have to distract and calm ourselves while going through this.  Focusing on our symptoms is pure misery, distraction doesn't take them away but it helps pass the time and time is pretty much the only cure there is. 

 

I'm happy to help BenThrottle, I know how difficult this is and how important it was for me to hear from those who'd made it through.  :)

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Ben Hi.  Thanks for your post.  Pamster's replies have answered some of my questions. 

 

I have tinnitus steady and often very loud.  Yes - tapering has affected it - sometimes I think I'll go nuts. 

 

Way back I saw an ENT for it and vertigo.  He warned me off excess salt, aged cheese, and of lesser importance - coffee and chocolate.

 

If I eat restaurant food (which hides salt in everything), popcorn, or something high salty,  my tinnitus gets super loud.  You might want to pay attention to that for a bit.  Best of luck.

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Thanks for your input Janiceh. I’ll watch out for those too, although I’m not eating out very often. My tinnitus is so loud t that I barely leave the house. I’m struggling since I cut 10% of my dosage of clonazepam on September 15...I have a loud electric buzz plus brain zaps/anxiety.

 

My Doctor insists I don’t reduce the benzo dosis until my AD starts working (in about 2 more weeks). I feel so trapped, want to get rid of benzos at once so my brain can heal...but it seems the road is long.

 

Once again, thanks for your input/advice ;)

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