Taper from .125 Klonopin

So happy to have found this support group! I’m trying to taper off Klonopin. Been taking .5 mg per day for 10 years to help with anxiety. I successfully weaned to .25 a while ago. I then weaned to .125 at start of day and end of day and gradually reduced to .125 total per day. It has not been easy. Feeling tightness in back, neck and head but determined to see this through.

 

My dr said to drop .125 every 3rd day for a week and then drop to .125 every other day for a week and then drop. This is where I am now and I’m afraid to drop. Suggestions for tapering from .125 every other day please? I am also taking 50 mg sertraline per day which I will wean off of after I successfully wean off the Klonopin. Thank you in advance for your advice!!

No, no, no, please don't taper the last of your dose by skipping days, it's important to keep a slow, steady decline in your blood concentration levels.  It typically takes about 3 days to feel the effects of a reduction from Klonopin so taking it sporadically will cause you to have more severe symptoms.  My suggestion is to reduce using whatever method you've employed thus far but take your dose each day.

 

How are you feeling, do you feel like you need to slow down your taper in order to minimize symptoms?

 

Are you worried about being able to get your dose small enough to continue your taper, what method are you using?  Maybe you could add your taper history into your signature, that would help us know your story.  Here are the instructions: Add your history/signature 

Thanks for the advice. I called the pharmacy today and I’m getting new pills that are .125 so I can cut these. What taper schedule do you suggest? Thanks so much!

So glad you're going to get the small tablets, I didn't realize they came in that size.  Your taper schedule should be based on how you're feeling, are you dealing with symptoms?

I was so happy to hear about the .125 pills being available. I don’t feel well how do you suggest I taper? Thanks

my doc just put me on the .125 mg  they melt on the tongue  I'm taking every other days and then 2 days in between  I never did take klon daily  will let you know how the next cut will be but definitely at this dose too high to jump  I earlier cut my dose and went down 5 % each week  i also took for 10 years

my doc just put me on the .125 mg  they melt on the tongue I'm taking every other days and then 2 days in between I never did take klon daily  will let you know how the next cut will be but definitely at this dose too high to jump  I earlier cut my dose and went down 5 % each week  i also took for 10 years

 

We don't typically suggest skipping days when tapering, a slow steady decline in blood concentration levels is advisable. 

I was so happy to hear about the .125 pills being available. I don’t feel well how do you suggest I taper? Thanks

 

What about cutting your .125 tablet into quarters and taking 3 of them for a week or so and see how you feel, do the symptoms typically hit you around day 3?  How many times a day are you dosing?  If that reduction is too much you can always make it a smaller cut the next time. 

 

Can you tell me how long it's taken you to taper from the .5 dose?  You've been on the drug for a long time so it's important to allow your brain the time it needs to adjust to the drug being withdrawn. 

I honestly don’t remember how I dropped from the full pill to only half (.25) but I’ve been on half a pill daily for years. It took me 2 months to drop from .25 to .125. I first cut the pill in half and started taking in am and pm and then gradually dropped one dosage. I am now down to .125 in the am only. I feel awful. My neck and back are clenched (I read this is a symptom) and my head hurts. I literally need to rub it it’s so sore.

 

I am going to try cutting the .125 pill and taking 3 quarters and see how I feel after a week. Thank you!

I'm glad to hear you took 3 months to taper from .25 to .125, can you tell me how long you've been at .125?

Hi, I dropped to one am dose of .125 a few weeks ago and then, per the advice of my dr, dropped the 3rd day one week and dropped every other day this week. I don’t feel well

Your body is trying to tell you you're doing this too quickly, the purpose of a taper is to use the drug to mitigate your symptoms as you reduce, it's important to remain functional. 

 

I wonder if you might consider taking .125 each day until things settle down for you, rushing to get off of the drug doesn't promote healing, it just makes us hurt on the way down.  Long after your last dose your brain will be working to repair the damage done by this drug so please, use this taper to keep your symptoms manageable. 

Thanks, I agree. I’m going to go back to .125 daily until I feel normal and then gradually reduce. I’m thinking at least a few weeks or more for each quarter reduction from the .125. So glad I found this support. Feeling really mislead by my Drs taper plan. Tank you!!

I'm relieved to hear this, I feel it's a good decision.

 

Just remember, tapers are individual to each of us and need to be adjusted, many find they need to slow it down towards the end so listen to the signals your body is sending you and adjust accordingly.  You may find that cutting your dose into quarters is still too fast and in that case, we have methods you can learn to make your doses even smaller, we have some very creative people who have come up with some ingenious methods. 

Hi! I am on the 0.125mg oral dissolving tablet too. I was breaking the 0.5mg into 1/4ths. Did you notice WD symptoms when you went to the 0.125mg tab?

I changed to that about 2 weeks ago and took off 10% of both doses. (I take it am and pm)

 

I’m struggling! I realized that 10% of am and pm is 20% reduction of daily dose. Yikes!

So I dropped to 5% dose reduction of only pm dose.

So I’m doing 0.125mg in am and 0.119mg in pm.

 

Balance is so bad, the floor seems bouncy, I’m irrationally anxious. I’m back to waking up at 5am with cortisol spikes. I cried 4-5 times today. Holy moley. I feel like I don’t have it in me to do this!

 

I started with 0.5mg at bedtime. I tapered to 0.25mg at bedtime over a year.

Then split to am/pm dosing.

 

How are you holding up?

 

I am doing well, thanks. I tapered very slowly using the dissolvable pills and have some side effects (tingling, imbalance) but am doing ok! Now I want to start tapering off of 50mg of Zoloft. Does anyone have a successful tapering schedule? I want to go slowly. Many thanks!

Are you sure you're ready to do this, we recommend waiting until you're fully recovered before attempting another taper but congratulations on being benzo free!

 

You might try posting on the Other Medications board for tips about tapering Zoloft.