Introduction

Hello, I am currently prescribed Klonopin.

I have been prescribed it for 10 years. (at .5mg)

I first just used it as needed. Nevermore than 1 or 2 times a week.

Then in the last year or so I started using it every day.

I tried to withdraw by going to a half pill and then a quarter pill and then nothing. It was immediately apparent that that was too fast as I started to lose motor skills and become faint.

I then tried to do a slower taper using a digital scale. That was still too fast. 4 weeks after I stopped my last dose, I ended up in the ER 2x in a week with everything from tremors to severe constipation.

I had to start on half a pill again (.25 mg) just to become physically stable, though I'm still in a bit of abdominal pain.

I have a psychiatrist who does not believe any of these symptoms are related to Klonopin. He believes they are related to hypoglycemia. When I told him about my trips to the ER and that I thought they were due to Klonipin withdrawal he strongly disagreed.

I am trying to find a new doctor to help me. I live in the Philadelphia area. I have contacted several doctors who I thought were promising but they weren't taking new patients. One of them referred me to amedical practice in Haverford, PA. I'm pretty nervous and skeptical about it because it looks expensive, because I am in between jobs I am changing insurance, and also because I'm not just not sure it will work and I am afraid they might reduce the medication too fast which is how I get into this mess int the first place (it advertises itself as an outpatient detox).

That's my story. I hope you are all doing well.

Hello hoping4anewlife, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

Your story is very familiar, we see so many with the same frustration and pain, I'm so sorry.  We're here to tell you that what you're describing is what you think it is, benzo withdrawal symptoms and we're also here to tell you that it's possible to taper from these drugs and get your life back, you can do this!

We typically suggest reducing your dose by about 5-10% every week or two but given your previous experience an even slower taper might be in order, we can help you do this.  Tapers should be symptom driven, we need to remain functional and out of the ER.

Many of our members don't work with their doctors for their tapers, they continue to get the medication but do this on their own so they can guide their own fate, it sounds like this might be what you need to do if you've not found anyone and cost may be a factor.

I'm going to provide a few links for you to look at but please, let us know how we can help you.

Pamster

The Ashton Manual

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper Plans)

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

Unfortunately, I had to stop with the place I was going to as they are not even qualified to run a business much less a medical practice.

I'm back with my old doctor and doing this on my own. Oh well.

I have a psychiatrist who does not believe any of these symptoms are related to Klonopin. He believes they are related to hypoglycemia. When I told him about my trips to the ER and that I thought they were due to Klonipin withdrawal he strongly disagreed.

These doctors really have no clue. I wish they would take a drug like Klonopin for a solid year and then put the brakes on and see how it really feels instead of telling patients in tolerance withdrawal, oh no, it could not be the benzos.....it has to be something else medical. This makes me so angry sometimes bc they truly don't know what they are talking about. You have to actually experience this to understand from a patient's perspective. Otherwise, it is hard to believe what the patient is alleging, but it is absolutely true what the patient is experiencing.

Welcome to BB  hoping4anewlife. You will find great supportive and knowledgeable ppl here.

I have a psychiatrist who does not believe any of these symptoms are related to Klonopin. He believes they are related to hypoglycemia. When I told him about my trips to the ER and that I thought they were due to Klonipin withdrawal he strongly disagreed.

 

These doctors really have no clue. I wish they would take a drug like Klonopin for a solid year and then put the brakes on and see how it really feels instead of telling patients in tolerance withdrawal, oh no, it could not be the benzos.....it has to be something else medical. This makes me so angry sometimes bc they truly don't know what they are talking about. You have to actually experience this to understand from a patient's perspective. Otherwise, it is hard to believe what the patient is alleging, but it is absolutely true what the patient is experiencing.

 

Welcome to BB  hoping4anewlife. You will find great supportive and knowledgeable ppl here.

It really is amazing. I don't have an explanation for why. I kind of hinted to my primary care physician that this might be due to Klonopin withdrawal and  she quickly dismissed me saying that the main effect people see when stopping Klonopin is anxiety and nothing else.

It reminds of Richard Feyman ( a noble prize winning physicist in case you never heard of him) saying "It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong." Seems like a lot of these doctors never learned that or they just don't want to learn it.