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My Klonopin Taper with spreadsheet/math - short term user


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Hi everyone,

 

I've put together a dry taper schedule on Google docs that I'm using for my Klonopin taper. Feel free to copy this to a new spreadsheet and edit it for your needs, if helpful.

 

I am a relatively short term user (started in Nov, been trying to wean since Jan... started this wean mid March, after being educated on here on how to properly do it!) so trying to go as fast as I can so I don't stay on this too long and make worse, yet take my time and monitor my symptoms, given I tried to taper too fast at first and didn't realize it (my psychiatrist said it was 'underlying anxiety' but I now realize it was 3 days AFTER big cuts, thus much more likely withdrawal)

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OT2N6PvsdGg67r6xTyDPaiR-_qJwUqi0yJSmGikUdpM/edit#gid=1608964374

 

I am cutting a smidge every day (using gram scale) and tracking what % I'm cutting per week. And then logging symptoms or anything noteworthy in the notes section each day.

 

I'm also in the middle of doing ketamine assisted psychotherapy with a somatic therapist (focused on how we store trauma/anxiety/emotions in the body), which has been fascinating. It has been increasing my anxiety for a few days after, but teaching me how to pull my mind apart from what's happening in my body, and see what's happening in body as a release/freeing of the pent up anxiety. Might be all mental, but it helps me to look at my increased anxiety in a new more positive way and not ruminate or create stories around it, as I was doing before. It's an intense therapy, but has been helpful for me as someone who wants to be in control and always 'controlling' my body (thus why I have had insomnia issues!) and helping me learn how to let go more and let the body do what it needs to do.

 

Hope this is helpful! I started at 1mg (.5 day and .5 night) and after about 6 weeks I'm down to about 37% of day pill (holding night steady until I get to 25% day) and so far it's gone pretty well. Some increased anxiety, a little shaky, but all very tolerable thus far.

 

Thanks!

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Thanks for sharing your progress KlonopinQuitterinCO!

 

And for the details about your ketamine therapy; I'd never heard details of anyone doing this therapy. It looks like you just dosed ketamine six times and now you're done with that approach? I don't want to diverge too much from your intention with the thread here by asking about it, but it's very interesting to me since I'm so unfamiliar. The closest parallel I'm aware of is MDMA-based therapy which I hear is also getting some ground here in the states.

 

Congrats on all your progress! I'm also a short-term user, but my doctor gave me a higher script (he said to take up to 6mg/day!), so I'm coming down from 2mg/day, and I guess I'm lucky I stopped there based on side-effects before I was benzo-wise.

 

I'm not sure I understand your spreadsheet entirely; it's awesome btw. I kept wondering how you were going to DMT 1mg safely in just 6 months, but I see that you're going to skyrocket from 16% reduction to 77% per week towards the end. I'd be really curious to know how that goes; seems like you might run into difficulty at that time. Until now you've only ever done 14%, one week, and then sub 11% per week since. Just my two cents.

 

I'm doing a more conventional approach; also a DMT, but I'm "only" taking 9%/14 days right now and it's a challenge but I'm high functioning which is my goal. Even at 9%/14 which is the mid-high range of the recommended 5%-10% / 10-14 days, things really drag out at the end. I'll be down to 0.25mg/day in less than a year, but then at doses below 0.25mg for almost another year. Pretty big difference from your schedule! And going by my symptoms, I'm not sure I'd enjoy a faster taper; I'm going to slowly speed up my DMT if I can, but I'm not in a hurry to lose functionality.

 

Please keep us posted!

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Thanks slownsteady. Great points. And SO sorry you got put on this crap too and at such a high dose! So glad you are working to taper too. As a short term user, it's hard to balance both wanting to go slow to minimize side effects of weaning, and not staying on the drug on a daily basis more than needed, which will make it harder as we get more dependent over time. That's why I'm tracking symptoms next to each day/week and will trial going up if I'm doing ok, but slowing down when needed. Goal to get off as soon as as possible with least amount of withdrawal symptoms! It's a hard dance!

 

For the end of the taper, I'm actually doing similar to Bob7, where I go down 0.001 each day. So it's larger percentages since I'm down to so little amount, but still taking it pretty slow. And if I'm struggling (or having issues cutting) I may try to find a doctor who does the liquid/compound pharmacy to help with the end. Taking it one step at a time now!

 

I did a big cut the first week (14%), and had some anxiety the next week so slowed down a week. Then was traveling (which is where my insomnia started to begin with, so a big trigger for me) so I paced a little slower for a few weeks, and held some. But did 7% last week, and I've been doing ok, so doing 10% this week and I'll see how that goes. Then I switch to lowering the night pill, where I'll try to start super slow at first, but speed up if I'm ok.

 

The Ketamine has been really interesting. It's just 6 sessions, usually over 3 weeks, but my schedule has been a little wonky so it's spread out a little longer. There are lots of ways to do it, where you have an IV and sit in a room alone (mainly depending on the drug to help you, which is better for depression) Or you can do it assisted with a therapist (and I use lozenges that a Dr prescribed), which is how I've been doing it. The therapist helps me process and walk through my experience.

 

For me, I am doing ketamine because I have a hard time letting go, and my brain wants to control everything (thus insomnia/anxiety issues!) and it's a forcing function to turn off the 'controller' on my brain, which has been really insightful for me to see. You're still very conscious, able to talk, but your mind/body connection alters, so it allows you to see things very differently, at least that's how its been for me. My therapist is a somatic therapist, meaning he believes emotions are stored in the body, so he brings you back to your breath and body and what you are feeling while doing the ketamine, and I can feel the pathways my anxiety takes and allow my body to shake, cry, tremor, or do what it needs to get it out. Really fascinating. The experience is different for everyone (and stupid expensive!) and pretty intense. But for me, it's been a really unique way to help me see my anxiety separately, be more ok with it, accept it, even invite it, vs. my mind getting swept up in it and spinning into a panic attack. My therapist is much less interested in the short term effects of Ketamine, and much more about the learnings and therapy involved. It's like talk therapy on steroids... takes what would take years to uncover and pushes it into a month. Thus why so intense! But I have gotten a lot out of it thus far.

 

Thanks!

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Thanks for this reply KlonopinQuitterinCO. I appreciate learning more about your tapering experience, and your ketamine therapy. I can relate in a way; I overdosed on medical THC last summer and became very "freed up" so to speak to remember and experience some deep trauma stored in my body. My controlling mind was "out of the way", in that it wasn't around anymore to moderate the experience; I was re-traumatizing myself, on accident, but in the long run, I'm much more aware of what I'm dealing with and more capable of relating to these deeper parts of myself. I hope you continue to experience benefits from somatic therapy; this approach is at the heart of my own understanding of emotional healing.

 

I'm really glad you're having the success and speed with tapering that you're having. I see how my situation differs in a few ways; first on the THC overdose I was prescribed lorazepam for a week and quit cold turkey (knew nothing about benzos), so between this, the THC overdose, and then later an overdose of some kind on CBD, my nervous system got in a really fragile, bedridden state. That's when I accepted this clonazepam script; and only after a week of lying in bed avoiding it just out of instinct.

 

So I suspect I have more nervous-system instability going on than you do. My fastest weekly taper has been around 4.5%, and I really didn't think I'd be able to go this fast from my cut-and-hold experiences. But DMT is a world of difference (I do a liquid/tablet hybrid DMT); the pressure stays on, which is new, but the progress is worth it. I want to get down to lower doses quickly, while remaining as healthy and functional as possible. If that's 9%/14 days, I'll take it! I trust my body is telling me the pace that I can actually recover at.

 

I'll be cheering you on! I hope that you continue to slide right out from under this neuro-toxic medication; don't take your stability and means for granted! I'm also paying silly money for psychotherapy and it's the best investment I've ever made (besides marrying my wife).

 

I look forward to hearing more as you progress!  :thumbsup:

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Thanks so much slownsteady! So far, doing ok with my taper as planned. But tracking daily symptoms and will hold when/where needed or slow down if I find it's too much. But glad I've got a solid plan to start - much better than anything a doctor gave me (who wanted me to cut 1/8 to 1/4 a pill every 2 weeks!)

 

Here's hoping I continue to do OK and can be done with this stuff sooner rather than later. Ugh benzos are the WORST!

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So I've been doing well - dropping 7-10% a week the last 2 weeks. Down from 0.5g day and 0.5 night to .125 (1/4 pill) day and 0.5 night in 40 days. Holding as anxiety increasing a bit and last night suddenly had horrible sneezing fits all night and struggled to sleep. Today really bad runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes. I have had some allergies in the past (chronic tickly cough that seasonally gets worse) but nothing like this.

 

Is this likely from w/t or is it allergies or a cold? Anything I can/should take to help? I do a sinus rinse at night seasonally (fall/spring) for the cough, so been doing that the last month already (and did last night), which seems to help cough a smidge. Any other advice?

 

It could be allergies but seems to have come out of nowhere, stronger than I've ever had before, so thinking it might be w/t, but curious to get thoughts and advice.

 

I meet with a benzo wise NP this afternoon (Gail Dawson who was recommended on here by a few people) and will talk to her about this as well.

 

In the meantime, I'm holding my dose at .125 day and .5 night for a bit and will see if this reduces soon and I can continue the taper.

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Thank you for keeping us posted on your taper. I'm sorry to hear you aren't feeling well; I'm curious what the psyche NP will say.

 

I was tapering too fast for my body at 9%/14 days last week, and one of my earlier physical symptoms was a runny nose and sneezing. I pushed through it, kept cutting, and things got progressively worse. I learned my lesson and while I made it to my goal of 1.375mg/day by means of a few holds and a generally bad week, I'm starting again in a day or two at a 7% taper rate instead.

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Woof sorry to hear, but good to know the sneezing and runny nose is likely the benzo withdrawal. And glad you were able to push through to 1.375. That's great!

 

I cut 7% 2 weeks ago and 10% last week, so think it's likely catching up with me. So I'm going to hold at .125 day and .5 night until symptoms improve (or see what the NP says today) And then likely reduce to 7% a week moving forward (or 7% every 2 weeks if symptoms increase) and see how I do.

 

Taking it one day at a time... trying to push it a little to see what my body can take to get off quickest as possible, with least symptoms as possible. And 17% in 2 weeks seems like it was too much, so lesson learned and I'll hold for a bit! Hoping it doesn't get worse while I hold and I can restart taper next week. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your update as well. It's so nice to connect with you and others who are going through this too - it's confusing what is benzo withdrawal vs. allergies, other sickness, etc. So really appreciate your response!

 

 

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Woof sorry to hear, but good to know the sneezing and runny nose is likely the benzo withdrawal. And glad you were able to push through to 1.375. That's great!

 

I cut 7% 2 weeks ago and 10% last week, so think it's likely catching up with me. So I'm going to hold at .125 day and .5 night until symptoms improve (or see what the NP says today) And then likely reduce to 7% a week moving forward (or 7% every 2 weeks if symptoms increase) and see how I do.

 

Taking it one day at a time... trying to push it a little to see what my body can take to get off quickest as possible, with least symptoms as possible. And 17% in 2 weeks seems like it was too much, so lesson learned and I'll hold for a bit! Hoping it doesn't get worse while I hold and I can restart taper next week. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your update as well. It's so nice to connect with you and others who are going through this too - it's confusing what is benzo withdrawal vs. allergies, other sickness, etc. So really appreciate your response!

 

KlonopinQuitterinCO I am in a similar boat. Two weeks ago I switched to DMT and did about 6% the first week and it was manageable. So I decided to double up and try doing 12% DMT taper last week. And I think it is catching up with me so this week I am back to shooting for a 6.5% drop. I am trying to push to to get off as well. I also feel like my allergies have picked up...not sure if the weather or this. Right now I am on one dose a day (0.31mg) and doing a daily weight taper (0.001g) a day. I am also curious what the NP will say.

 

seekingtoheal

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It sounds like you've got your head screwed on right, KlonopinQuitterinCO. Glad to hear you're adapting to your situation, and are willing to adapt your taper to keep yourself in good health! I also appreciate the company of another short-term user. Keep us posted!  :thumbsup:
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Had a great call with Gail Dawson, Psych NP yesterday. She’s even on the board of directors for https://www.benzoinfo.com/about/#meetourboard and has a ton of experience weaning people off benzos.

 

She said my sudden allergies were from the benzo, as it impacts histime and can cause mast cell activation syndrome. She also said my issues clearly started from ct withdrawal from Ambien (my panic attacks started the next day and felt like my nervous system was on fire) I then saw a psychiatrist who made the worst decision by putting me on Klonopin... clearly changing docs to her now!

 

She said I’m trying to wean too fast. To hold my dose until symptoms subside (I’m already improving by tonight so hoping on the right track!) and aim for ~5% reduction every 2 weeks, some people it’s 5% a month. She said length of time on the benzo doesn’t make a huge difference from what she’s seen, so take it slow or symptoms will catch up with you as you go. I may try to push to 5-10% every 2 weeks and see how it goes, but clearly 17 is too fast. And I’ll likely keep closer to 5-7% to prevent chances of protracted withdrawal.

 

She prescribed the 0.125 dissolvable tablets for day (so I don’t have to cut my 0.5 and it’ll be a little easier for dry cutting) and stay at 0.5 at night and wean day to 0 first to preserve sleep, since my issues started with insomnia. See how I’m doing, consider water taper for end if needed or consider swapping to Valium as I get lower, or if symptoms get worse, but I don’t have to switch if I’m doing ok with dry taper (some people have an easy time transitioning to Valium, some don’t)

 

She also recommended a few things:

-Ashwaganda 2x a day for 2 months then 1x a day

-PS-100 [Phosphatidylserine] 1x a day

-Biodynamic cranialsacral therapy (said benzos tend to tighten the fascia around the head and can be a big cause of headaches, tension, jaw pain)

-Exercises and breathing techniques to rebalance the vagus nerve (which gets super distressed during weaning/withdrawal) (https://www.mrjamesnestor.com/breath-vids; look up ‘sukie baxter vagus nerve’ on YouTube’

-Somatic therapy (which I’ve been doing and found it to be helpful - she recommends checking out saj razvi somatic therapy videos on YouTube. I’ve found after ketamine therapy, if I relax and focus on my body, my legs and torso need to shake and twitch to release anxiety - seems to help me feel like the anxiety is being released, and welcome it when it comes more... sounds corny but really helpful way to think about it!

 

Curious what anyone else here has heard about any of these recommendations. I ordered the supplements and will keep you posted how I do and if they help at all. Hoping they’ll help minimize symptoms but she did say it still won’t be a cake walk, but that when done right and very slowly most people she works with have very tolerable symptoms and avoid PAWS.

 

So glad to talk to an expert - she’s licensed in CO and WY (and I think Washington too?) living in Canada right now and doing appts all online if anyone is interested in working with her. It was such a relief to talk to someone who understands and wants to take a natural approach vs pumping me with meds and assuming my issues are ‘underlying anxiety’

 

Will work slowly over the year to get off K, then I’ll get off Zoloft once I stabilize after done with that.

 

Wishing you all luck and hope your tapers are going ok!! I’ll post an update once I get the supplements and start weaning again. For now holding tight for a bit!

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KlonopinQuitterinCO, thank you for the detailed feedback. I also basically tried about 17% over a couple of weeks and it is to fast for me. I went back to my 0.001 g DMT to start each week and will see how that goes. As many have noted the lower you get you have to readjust dosage to realign percentages, for me now 0.001g per day is about 6.5% per week. Three weeks from now if I keep my pace that daily dosage lowering will be a little over 8%. Good chance I will have to readjust to every 2 weeks instead of every week.

 

In regard to the supplements, I did find this thread:

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=213337.0

 

From briefly looking Phosphatidylserine seems like a good idea but would do thorough research before taking any supplement. For Ashwaganda I saw a couple of posts online that it can slow recovery. Hard to know. I am also taking Magnesium and have seen pros/cons to taking that.

 

Thanks for keep us in the loop.

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Thanks for this awesome and detailed update! Wow. Yes, Gail does sound like she gets the territory and knows how to taper people safely. 5%/ 2 weeks is an awesome taper rate; the minimal WD will likely be worth the wait. I'm headed down that way too; I was pushing 9%/14 days and it just made me miserable and I've been holding so much I might as well have been doing 5% this whole time and feeling better. I agree with her that as long as we're cutting, we're doing the best we can to lower the neurotoxicity and to adapt to less medicine.

 

I also get cranialsacral therapy and it's awesome! It's not just for the head, but the whole nervous  system and body.

 

Your hip shaking reminds me of a very effective tension and trauma releasing methology called TRE (trauma releasing exercises) by Dr. Berceli (https://traumaprevention.com). It produces neurogenic tremors in the hips, psoas, and later throughout the body, releasing deep tension and has numerous benefits. I've done it on and off for over a decade, and was just doing it yesterday spontaneously on the floor by the fire. It's very soothing for me.

 

I'm familiar with ashwaganda, but I thought it was counter-indicated for benzo withdrawal; I thought I read that it effects the brain similar to benzos. Don't quote me on that! I'm not familiar PS-100. I was told to try lithium orotate and zinc for their neuroprotective effects.

 

My FMD is trying to help me with methylation issues at the same time so I tried too many supplements at once last week, mainly on account of my increased WD anxiety, and made a mess of things (hives, insomnia, manic). No supplements today (except nightly melatonin, also neuroprotective, been taking 0.5mg/day for 10 months now). Then I'll try again in a few days with ONE new supplement per week, a slower taper rate, and see how things go.

 

Your post has been really valuable for me; thanks again for sharing. I hope you'll keep updating us on how things are going!

 

:smitten:

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I want to say thanks again for sharing your consult with Gail. It helped me to accept that I needed to go slower. I made a spreadsheet and found out that when I considered all the days spent holding between cuts, even when I was doing 9%/14 days, I was actually only averaging 6-7%/14 days... So I've been doing a 6% DMT for 16 days now and it's almost too easy. Almost.

 

I will say, making steady progress and having steady withdrawal symptoms is fantastic. I can finally work on other things like trialing supplements and improving my therapy, not to mention functioning consistently at home, driving consistently, etc. I never liked wooden roller-coasters.

 

How has your journey been KlonopinQuitterinCO? Is that link still to your ongoing spreadsheet?

Are you feeling better now that you've adjusted your taper rate?

 

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Nice job klonopinquitterinCO.  I’m glad you found some one to help you properly. Thank you so much for sharing some of your insights from talking to Gail. By posting these things on the board you are helping others like myself. It seems you found one of the only medical professionals in North America who really get this whole complicated process. It’s appreciated by me that you share some of the tips and techniques given to you by Gail. I will consider some of these in terms of my withdrawal process.

 

Thanks again and good luck.

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So glad it has been helpful. I meet with her in a few weeks again and will share any more relevant info I get!

 

I've been doing better since slowing down. I am now averaging around 3-4% a week, so 7-8% max every 2 weeks. And have some anxiety, some shakiness, a little nerve pain and waves of being really tired. But been able to keep up with full time work, chasing two toddlers and socializing a bit. So I'll take it! But like you said slownsteady, when I was going faster, I was having to hold so in the end it was likely putting me back to about this pace overall, but it's a smoother process to take it a little slower vs. having a lot of symptoms and holding.

 

I'm going to keep pulse checking between 5-10% and seeing how I do. Right now it's just been a few weeks at 7-8%, so I'll keep that for the next month or so and go a tiny bit up or down based on how I do. But no big changes I like was doing before... just small variations between 5-10% to find the right pacing for me.

 

I emailed Gail about the Ashwagandha, since it can have mixed reviews. She said she's used it for 10 years with benzo withdrawal and seen good results, but no pressure to take it if I don't want to. So I'm holding on it right now, especially since I'm doing ok. But if I feel I need it later on in the taper, I'll likely give it a shot. I've been sleeping well still, which is huge for me since insomnia was the reason I got on all this crap (starting with Ambien off and on, taking as needed for 10 years, which I think really set this whole thing off for me, and Gail noted when I cut Ambien cold turkey and felt like someone lit my nervous system on fire and was having constant panic attacks, it was clearly acute withdrawal.) So its unfortunate I didn't find her then so I didn't get put on benzos, but glad I found her now and on the right path moving forward!

 

I also have been going the holistic therapy route. Not much of a hippie, per se, historically, but finding the natural route to be much more what speaks to me these days, and staying away from big pharma as much as I can! I tried cranial sacral therapy last week and it was super relaxing. And tried NAET acupuncture today, which was really interesting, where they look at different allergic responses to substances and clear your system of them one at a time. I surprisingly didn't have a strong reaction to the Klonopin (my body said it was tolerating it, but not good for me in long run so good to get off) but reacted super adversely to the Ambien, which makes me wonder how much of what I've been going through is still withdrawal from the Ambien. And certainly being on Klonopin isn't helping. She said the Sertraline I surprisingly showed no adverse reaction to, and that it was helping. And I have noticed my anxiety isn't as bad since I got on it. I'm not sure if I would have gotten on it now that I know my issues were more about Klonopin withdrawal vs. underlying anxiety, but I do think it helps some with anxiety, so glad I'm on it in some ways. I'll taper that once I'm done with the K taper.

 

Who knows if this is all true or not with NAET, but I'm believing more in the holistic side and what your body is telling you much more than standard docs! And Gail was really big on holistic approaches to balancing your vagus nerve as well. So figure it can't hurt! NAET takes like 3-6 months, and I'm mainly doing to see if I can get to the root of an allergic tickly dry cough I get, especially at night, that impacts my sleep. But also regulating my vagus nerve and getting another pulse check on my reaction to meds is a nice bonus as well! Fingers crossed it's helpful over time!

 

Hope you all are doing well too! That link does show my current taper - I have a personal one I fill out daily, but copy updates to this one every week or so, so it's fairly up to date with what I'm doing.

 

Thanks all for your support! It's so nice to have each other to turn to, talk to, relate to, pass advice back and forth, and commiserate with! So thankful for BenzoBuddies!

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Good to hear that we’ll get more updates. It sounds like you managing as well as you can. You’re working and chasing the young ones around, so it seems you’re doing great in my opinion. Keep up the good work.
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Thanks TouchdownIrish! It looks like we are at about the same dosage of Klonopin now... .6ish. Let’s keep in touch! Hoping yours is going ok as well. And I’ll keep you posted what I hear from Gail. It’s so nice to finally talk to a doc who really understands this crazy med and how to beat safely taper, so I’m happy to share the insights I get back to the group!
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So last few days I’ve been feeling run down, eyes itching (and pain and got a stye), headache, stomach cramping off and on, and now today have a sore, red throat and just feeling blah, like I’m getting sick.

 

Could this be withdrawal or am I likely getting a cold?

 

I’m slowing my taper - holding a few days to be safe. Did 4.3% last week... now slowing this week to 1-2% total, in case it’s withdrawal.

 

I’ve been working remote the past year, and inevitably tomorrow I’m suppose to go in to the office for the first time for a work session. I’m assuming this is all benzo stuff (and I and everyone I’m meeting with tomorrow have been vaccinated) so hopefully it’s ok. But has me nervous! So hard to know what’s what when weaning benzos!

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Howdy. Could be a multiple of things. Great time of year for allergies and could be combined with withdrawal symptoms. I would be surprised if it is a cold but possible I guess. Like you I slowed my taper last week to about 4.57% so great minds think alike. This coming week I need to figure out what my plan is.

 

I also have been working remote the past year but my company has no plans to bring staff back in. $$$ savings.

 

My opinion I am sure it will be ok but I am still trying to be as safe as possible.

 

You are right it is hard dealing with the great imposter.

 

I have no doubt you will do great and go in with your head held high and your confidence strong and I am sure it will work out just fine.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks so much. I took an antihistamine and felt better, so it was either allergies or histamine response from tapering. But it was actually nice to go in the office and see people - getting out of my house a little more lately, and it's been helpful.

 

Overall I've been doing ok. Still working full time and able to function pretty well. I get super tired at times, histamine stuff, stomach crampy, head pressure, some tingling in hands and feet. But all manageable so far. I slowed my taper a smidge for a week when histamine response was increasing. But now averaging around 3% a week and thus far doing well. Hopefully I'll be done with my day pill in the next few weeks, and then focus on weaning the night!

 

Good news is I've been sleeping ok. Gail, my benzo wise NP, said to take night drops slow, as insomnia is common. So a little nervous to start weaning my night pill. But the PS-100 supplement seems to be helping my sleep, and I'm sleeping better than I have in awhile, so fingers crossed it keeps helping!

 

I saw Gail again last week (see her monthly) She said keep on with symptoms based taper. Go at 3% every week if I can, but if not staying under 5% every 2-4 weeks is more the 'norm' of what she sees to keep the tapering more comfortable. She also said she does move people to valium if the cuts start getting too tough, since it's harder to be precise, and that the liquid Klonopin sometimes doesn't agree with people, so to keep dry cutting as long as I feel it's going smoothly... less variables is best! But lots of options if it starts getting bumpy.

 

Thanks for all the support and feedback! Hope your tapers are going well! I'm down to 9% of my .5mg day dose... holding my .5 at night steady thus far. But I've cut 40% in a little over 3 months, with some tough moments, but overall pretty smooth. I know this second 60% will be a lot slower, but excited with the progress thus far!

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You sound pretty good, its great to hear you've been sleeping but I can see why you're a bit nervous to start tapering the nighttime dose.

 

Gail sounds like a gem!  :smitten:

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Thanks so much, Pamster! Gail has been awesome - so nice to finally have a benzo wise doc to support. She really has helped me understand what happened to me, that my taking Ambien every few months for 10 years likely led to my bad insomnia last fall (built up over time between the chemical and my mental process of turning to a 'pill' whenever I couldn't sleep, which taught me over time to depend on a pill) Then when I started taking Ambien nightly and then cut C/T after 4-5 weeks when I started only getting a few hours even at 10mg, that is when my nervous system felt like it was lit on fire and I was having horrible panic attacks - I've never experienced anything like that before, and hope I never do!

 

It was only second time I had a panic attack in my life - first was when I got on Sertraline the first time postpartum. She said if I hadn't had any panic attacks before, it was clearly acute withdrawal from the Ambien... And my psychiatrist (who I randomly found and reached out to after the Ambien withdrawal) did the worst thing by putting me on Klonopin 'around the clock to reset my neurotransmitters' at .5 day and .5 night, regardless of how I was feeling. No wonder it was so hard for me to try to wean after a month and I kept getting misdiagnosed with 'underlying anxiety', getting put on more meds, vs. seeing it as withdrawal. And all too common of a story.

 

So it's super helpful to better understand what happened, although frustrating to know the meds made everything so much worse. But because of all this, I've been going to therapy (CBT and somatic), did ketamine assisted psychotherapy and learned a TON of self awareness and coping skills, and in the end will come out the other side stronger than ever. But she noted if my acute Ambien withdrawal was that bad, that I need to keep careful track of my symptoms with Klonopin withdrawal and take it slow, as it's a much stronger drug that does the same thing to your brain... and that she hasn't seen length of time on a benzo correlate much differently to side effects from withdrawaing... likely just genetics on who responds worse, regardless of how long you've been on it.

 

So frustrating to be on benzos for a month before trying to wean, and find out it'll take over a year to get off safely. But thank goodness for Benzo Buddies and Gail, or I would likely continuing upping my dose on K and getting more drugs to treat 'underlying anxiety' and would have ended up on these things for years. So huge thanks to you and this forum for all the amazing info and support you provide! I actually found Gail through this forum (only known benzo wise doc in the CO area!) and it's been fantastic to have her support in addition to this forum!

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Thanks so much. I took an antihistamine and felt better, so it was either allergies or histamine response from tapering. But it was actually nice to go in the office and see people - getting out of my house a little more lately, and it's been helpful.

 

Overall I've been doing ok. Still working full time and able to function pretty well. I get super tired at times, histamine stuff, stomach crampy, head pressure, some tingling in hands and feet. But all manageable so far. I slowed my taper a smidge for a week when histamine response was increasing. But now averaging around 3% a week and thus far doing well. Hopefully I'll be done with my day pill in the next few weeks, and then focus on weaning the night!

 

Good news is I've been sleeping ok. Gail, my benzo wise NP, said to take night drops slow, as insomnia is common. So a little nervous to start weaning my night pill. But the PS-100 supplement seems to be helping my sleep, and I'm sleeping better than I have in awhile, so fingers crossed it keeps helping!

 

I saw Gail again last week (see her monthly) She said keep on with symptoms based taper. Go at 3% every week if I can, but if not staying under 5% every 2-4 weeks is more the 'norm' of what she sees to keep the tapering more comfortable. She also said she does move people to valium if the cuts start getting too tough, since it's harder to be precise, and that the liquid Klonopin sometimes doesn't agree with people, so to keep dry cutting as long as I feel it's going smoothly... less variables is best! But lots of options if it starts getting bumpy.

 

Thanks for all the support and feedback! Hope your tapers are going well! I'm down to 9% of my .5mg day dose... holding my .5 at night steady thus far. But I've cut 40% in a little over 3 months, with some tough moments, but overall pretty smooth. I know this second 60% will be a lot slower, but excited with the progress thus far!

 

Kudo's for pressing forward, congrats on your progress, and thanks for the feedback. Please keep us up to date on the PS-100 for sleep. Once I got down to 0.30 mg I am taking low dose Mirtazapine to help with sleep, which it definitely does. The last week for me has been rough, not sure if the added med or my cuts are catching up with me. I started every other day 0.001 g drops over the past 2 weeks but with the dose I am at (0.235 mg) it still almost represents 10% over 2 weeks. Thinking about holding for a week to see if things calm down a bit.

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Your story could have been so much worse, I'm so glad you you didn't end up on multiple drugs, huge doses and numerous mental illness labels!  The fact that you're going the extra mile and doing therapy is wonderful, I can see you're never going back to what got you here.  I can also see you're going to come out of this stronger and aware, good for you.

 

 

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