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Re: Where to start stopping?


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If I am not posting this in the correct place please let me know. I am leaning towards a more rapid taper. Not as rapid as the last time when I went from 4 mg down to zero in four weeks. Many years ago I was also taking Xanax XR 4 mg in addition to the 4 mg Klonopin. Looking back I can’t even wrap my mind around that much medication. My doctor abruptly stopped the Xanax. I don’t recall that being as bad as stopping the Klonopin. I wish I had a knowledgeable doctor to talk to. I am waiting for a phone call back regarding that. I am thinking maybe half a milligram a week at least until I’m down to 2 mg. Maybe that is just too fast?
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my internal medicine doctor gave me klonopin for 6 days to treat insomnia then swap me to xanax then klonopin again for two weeks then stop it, i had little seizures... Now i am on xanax and tapering, i am down to 0.7mg but not equally divided in a day, i am taking 0.4mg at bedtime for my insomnia along with other sleeping pills
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If I am not posting this in the correct place please let me know. I am leaning towards a more rapid taper. Not as rapid as the last time when I went from 4 mg down to zero in four weeks. Many years ago I was also taking Xanax XR 4 mg in addition to the 4 mg Klonopin. Looking back I can’t even wrap my mind around that much medication. My doctor abruptly stopped the Xanax. I don’t recall that being as bad as stopping the Klonopin. I wish I had a knowledgeable doctor to talk to. I am waiting for a phone call back regarding that. I am thinking maybe half a milligram a week at least until I’m down to 2 mg. Maybe that is just too fast?

 

That sounds too fast and I'm fairly certain your body will let you know it.  You can go as fast as you want to as long as you can deal with the symptoms that will happen as a result.  Just remember, getting off the drug quickly doesn't promote healing, it just makes you more miserable on the way down.  Your recovery will take the time it takes, my own recovery after my cold turkey took 14 months.

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It sounds too fast to me as well. I haven’t even started yet because I don’t know where to start. I guess I am waiting to talk to my psychiatrist and a new psychiatrist I have an appointment with to see if the new one is willing to work with me on the taper. It’s hard to find a doctor to work with me.
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OK, I think I added the data to my signature. I am trying to figure out whether I should start tapering on my own, or wait until I have found a psychiatrist who will help me with a gradual taper. I don’t know what to do. I know that I am doing more damage to my brain the longer this goes on. Thank you for everyone’s replies.
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We've found that most in the medical community will taper us too quickly, a symptom based taper is the best way to remain functional while getting off of the drug. 

 

But that aside, giving this a lot of thought and feeling comfortable with your decision is the best way to prepare for your taper.  This is a huge commitment that will take some time so don't worry about the length of time it's taking to make your decision, take all the time you need.

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Thank you to those who have welcomed me. I am wondering from reading the posts on this forum, everyone has their own story but have people gotten help from their doctor in tapering? I don’t know where to start with my current doctor, I probably have to find someone new. But nobody wants to take on a patient that they have to taper off of a medication.  I feel like I am stuck. The doctor currently prescribing me the medication is not going to be able to do so forever so I need to do something.
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Many of our members don't tell their Dr they plan to taper or are tapering, they just keep getting their monthly refills and do it themselves without their Dr's knowledge. They don't want to take the chance of being tapered off too quickly or being denied refills if the Dr thinks they're going against their recommendations. 

 

There are very few Dr's who understand the value of doing this slowly, I've read of a few but they're in the minority.

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No one here can do your taper for you but we can offer our own experience.  The general consensus seems to be a 10% reduction every two weeks. 

 

This is my second major taper.  Both times I stupidly tapered from high amounts of Klonopin (3mg/day) to less than 1mg very quickly and with few problems.  But, once I got down to lower doses like 0.5mg all hell broke loose.  The cuts caught up to me in a big way.  So, I’ve suffered from overconfidence because I technically didn’t start seeing problems until I got to low doses and it’s just been pain from there on out.  Withdrawal symptoms sometimes take weeks to kick in.  So, don’t do what I did, take it easy and don’t rush it.  You may get off with few problems if you do it right.  Your body will eventually let you know if you’re going too fast.  But, just remember there is often a lag after cuts until you see symptoms rise.

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That’s what I am afraid of. I want to taper rapidly to get it over with, but I am afraid of the results. About five years ago I was forced to discontinue both the 4 mg Xanax and 4 mg Klonopin within a matter of four weeks. It was hell on earth and I don’t want to repeat it. I only lasted a couple of weeks before I found another doctor to prescribe the Klonopin
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