.25mg of Klonopin taper

[[Buddie]]

Thank you. I am glad [...] has recovered now and is off any benzodiazepems for many years. Thank you for your help. I get it. Keep to a steady dose. Thank you for the video which is clear and understandable. But I think it would be better for me to do a direct taper using cuts. I will figure out if I can make a smaller than 50% cut from .25 mg. I'm not sure if I can w/outnthem being different sizes.

[[Buddie]]

I understand if you want to stick to direct tapering. We are here to support whatever decision you are comfortable with. 

[[Buddie]]

Thank you very much. I am thinking about cutting .25 mg into three pieces and taking 2/3rds of .25 mg for a few weeks or more and then possibly going down to .125  mg. I'll try to see if I dry cut the .25 (half of the .5 mg tablet).

Better to take it slowly. I want to see under Other Meds if people feel gabapentin helps them go off it and sleep better.

Best,

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[[Buddie]]

Hi [...], thank you for reacting so positively to our concerns, we've just seen so much pain we worry when we see others attempt something we know can cause suffering, so we get a little overly protective. 

I'm confident in your approach and really, if you feel good you can certainly speed it up, we just typically advise the slow approach because it's easier to speed things up than get hit with symptoms.

You're going to do great, you have such a good attitude. 

[[Buddie]]

Thank you so much, [...]. I'm so glad you're off of them for many years. I just want to be careful and wondered how easy it is to cut a small half pill (.25 mg) into smaller pieces. I'm going to try. I think my psychiatrist is really not that up on how to go off of the clonazepem. And she wasn't that concerned about keeping me on it. That's the conundrum. I also was on zoloft for 10-15 years (doesn't help me anymore and I'm taking any antidepressant) and now I have essential tremor that might have been made worse or it started bc of the zoloft (same psychiatrist). I suggested to her last week that I wished she had rec'mded I stop zoloft sooner and stopped clonazepem sooner and she felt criticized and really shut down. it was not pleasant. Maybe I should not have said that or said it in a softer manner. I don't know. I am seeing her again next week (she hasn't returned my calls so I'm not going to leave any more voice mails) and the next day seeing a good GP and get his advice.

Warmest wishes,

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[[Buddie]]

I meant that I am not on any antidepressant now. I cannot find one I can tolerate that will help me.

[[Buddie]]

The conversation with your doctor didn't go well did it, this happens a lot because many of our members feel betrayed and when they express this things change. 

It sounds like you're concerned about pill cutting, you might want to try shaving the pill into little piles and just eyeballing them, I've seen members who don't want to go the liquid route or shaving and weighing on a jewelers scale use this method. 

[[Buddie]]

Thank you, [...]. Yes. That's right. I hope we have a good session next week (with my psychiatrist).

Yes. I will try and shave them into smaller pieces using a razor blade I guess or maybe the pill cutter - not sure which.

Thanks so much for your replies and great help. I am very grateful you are there and helping me and others.

Best,

[...]

[[Buddie]]

Hi [...]

You have raised concerns several times about sleeping. I want to share my advice and what I've learned from my experience here. I love your sleep coach who believes in no meds. In my opinion when we start searching for other prescription or OTC meds to help with sleep we just find ourselves in a pattern of tolerance again. That means your body adapts to the meds and all sleeping meds eventually lose effectiveness and then you are back to square one where you have to find something else to sleep. I believe our bodies know how to sleep we just have to give it time to overcome whatever "got it out of the rhythm".

It's likely going to be really hard. I know from experience. When I started my taper and I got lower I started averaging 3 hrs sleep per night. It's been my pattern for a couple of months now. BUT I've accepted that's the way it's going to be for now and come hell or high water, I'm going to allow my brain to learn to sleep by itself. Is it fun? No. It's tough lying in bed awake for hours on end waiting to sleep, but it sure beats chasing the next pill to make me sleep. Acceptance is key. Knowing it will come eventually, because I've read it happen to so many people on here.

Some nights I will take a very low dose of melatonin (0.5mg) to see if it helps. I don't think it helps, but maybe the placebo effect does. I don't think trying supplements or natural remedies will do harm unless you are sensitive, but personally I will stay away from prescription meds or OTC sleeping aids. It's just my opinion. You can use or disregard whatever helps and whatever doesn't.

[[Buddie]]

Thank you very much, [...]. Cute name too. Yes. I am very focused on sleep bc it's been the main issue for me for over a year now, along with anxiety and I think they influence each other. Yes. That is my sleep coach's advice. And yet I find myself looking to take 300 mg. gabapentin to sleep as I taper off of .25 mg of clonazepem (both an hour before bedtime). In addition, I recently purchased 135 mg tablets of magnesium and then an herbal blend with 3 mg melatonin and valerian root and a separate 1 mg of melatonin. So, it gets ridiculous and I'm the first to admit that. And somewhere I read that Dr. Heather Ashton felt that melatonin and magnesium or any other supplements are not shown to be effective when it comes to withdrawl from benzodiazepems. But they may help ease you into sleep or it's the placebo effect. Sleep is what concerns me. I would like to just taper off the clonazepem without any of the other meds/supplements but I think that would make it harder.

Also, I take gabapentin for a tremor that was caused or maybe got worse from taking zoloft for many years. it doesn't help the tremor but it relaxes me and makes me feel weird too. I read it helps you get off benzodiazepems. But bc I don't want to feel weird I don't want to take more than 300 mg. 1x a day at night.

Please continue to make suggestions. I am open to any you have. I don't know how you can only sleep 3 or a little over 3 hours a night. That's so hard to imagine. You're really toughing it out but is that the only way to go? Thank you for your help.

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