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.25mg of Klonopin taper


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Thank you both very much. Yes. I was asking when it would be a reasonable time to start tapering further and you just answered that question very well. I am functioning, although with an amount of anxiety that's somewhat uncomfortable but I can manage it.

 

My psychiatrist asked me to continue at .25 mg until next Wednesday when we meet. I might have mentioned that I expressed disappointment that she didn't take me off of zoloft sooner (on it for many years and have an unpleasant hand tremor now) and clonazepem sooner and she was upset/felt criticized. I apologized in three messages but she hasn't called me back but we have an appointment next Wed. I guess I should hold to her advice of staying at that level but am anxious to continue the tapering. I guess I just want to be off this terrible drug soon although I am worried about how my sleep will be effected and don't want any bad side effects.

 

Please add any additional advice you may have. I'm upset about all I'm reading and hearing about psychiatry and psychiatric drugs on youtube for example. It's eye opening to say the least.

 

You're both very helpful to me.

 

Thank you so much.

 

katyee8

 

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If your relationship with your prescribing psychiatrist is rocky at the moment, it might just be better to follow her instructions and wait a few days before tapering to try and mend the relationship - what do you think? Is she on board with you leading the taper and making decisions on reductions?

 

I understand when we first realize what these types of meds are and what they do it's scary and confusing. A year ago I was "you". I searched the internet about all these drugs and it was terrifying. I came here to BB and to be honest, sometimes it was terrifying as well. People said read the Success Stories but at that stage I couldn't even do that. I couldn't read past the symptoms. But one thing I can promise you, is once you start the tapering process and it becomes part of your routine, the fear becomes distant. You learn you are much stronger than the drugs and your will to succeed becomes overpowering.

 

My advice would be to stop Googling, stop YouTubing, stop reading symptoms here on the forum. If you need to search something then research everything on the forum you can about TAPERING. That is what will empower you - to understand the process of how to get rid of the drugs and know all the different options available to you. 

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Thank you very much, Jelly Baby. That is excellent advice. Yes. I want my relationship with my psychiatrist to mend and so I will follow her advice. I think she will be somewhat flexible in terms of the way to withdraw successfully.

 

I agree that I am just upsetting myself by reading and watching too many negative stories online. I think it will help to just focus on tapering.

 

I see you took a number of months to taper off of the drug. I think DMT is dry measured tapering? Did you shave the pill or buy a scale? I would rather cut the pill even if it isn't perfectly the same every night.

 

I thank you so much for your kind advice.

 

Best,

 

Katyee8

 

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DMT is daily micro taper.

 

I gripe about this all the time but I think I'll gripe some more.  In some parts of the world drug manufacturers sell tapering strips, these are an aid to withdrawal, they allow people like us to make accurate reductions without having to become kitchen chemists and mad scientists shaving, cutting and mixing our pills with all sorts of substances.  If the rest of the companies would do this can you imagine how much money they could make?  They'd still have all of the people who want and can take the drug but they'd also have people like us buying their liquids, their strips and their tiny little doses all ready for us but do they?  NO but why not?  :(

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Wow. It sounds so difficult. Yes. Why in other countries and not here? The drug cos. don't want people going off them. When I saw the exact amounts Jelly Baby listed each month it was so exact. With only . 25 mg, I'll try a straight razor to cut off .0625 mg to start the taper I guess. I hear skipping a dose one day is not a way to taper. Too bad bc it is easier.

 

How did you go cold turkey off such a high dose? That must have been horrible. Did you substitute anything for the Klonopin since then or just take  nothing now for whatever you took it for originally? Does K. cause heightened anxiety ultimately when you start to go off it?

 

Thank you Pamster for your help. It means a lot to me.

 

katyee8

 

 

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All of these taper methods look complicated but once you figure them it becomes routine.  If you decide at some point you need to change the way you're doing things, we'll help you figure out something different.

 

I took Klonopin for sleep, I never had anxiety before I started taking and stopped Klonopin but since recovering I no longer have it and I've learned how to sleep on my own. 

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Thank you. I want to keep it as uncomplicated as I can. Thanks for being there to help.

 

You are very fortunate. Insomnia has been a problem and anxiety as well over the past year. I'm glad you are able to sleep naturally now. My Dad had trouble sleeping for a long time and would lie peacefully in bed resting in the early morning. He never complained. I guess he got 6 hrs. a night. I think my mom was sleep deprived bc my dad didn't sleep that long each night. When I was young I never had an issue.

 

 

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I see you took a number of months to taper off of the drug. I think DMT is dry measured tapering? Did you shave the pill or buy a scale? I would rather cut the pill even if it isn't perfectly the same every night.

 

 

As Pamster said, it's daily micro tapering. Since I was on a very high dose of K, my time line to get off would naturally be way longer than yours. I have also experimented with a lot of different methods to see what works best for me - because that's the only way to determine what works for you - to try different things. I have shaved, used a scale, liquid, cut and hold and DMT. In your case though, it will probably be easier with less experimenting because you'll require less time to get off.

 

I think you should do whatever comes easiest for you. You've got this!  :thumbsup:

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Thank you so much, jelly baby. I really appreciate your response and your confidence in me. I will go gradually down in dosage. I'll start by shaving the pill down by .0625 mg each cut.

 

Thank you for explaining why your timeline was longer than mine should/most likely will be.

 

I'm so glad you are there for people like me and that Pamster is there for people like me. You're so helpful. God bless you for your support and confidence in me. I really appreciate it.

 

Warmly,

 

katyee8

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi again,

 

I met with my psychiatrist and she was very good and kind. She's helping me. Said if I want to go off the clonazepam which I definitely do she suggests taking one less pill a week (off it for one day) for two weeks and then two less pills for two weeks, etc., and eventually no pills after 14 weeks. It sounds easier than shaving or liquid methods.

 

I'm not sleeping that well lately. Have been at . 25 mg clonazepam each night since Feb. 1st. Trying magnesium during day for anxiety and 300 mg gabapentin at night. They're okay. It's sleep that I am concerned about as we've discussed. Thank you for the post you sent about it. My psychiatrist might suggest another antidepressant but they don't help sleep and don't want more Zoloft after years on it. I'm nervous obviously about lack of sleep and getting depressed from it.

 

Any suggestions are most appreciated. Thank you for your kind help.

 

Best,

 

katyee8

 

 

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Your doctors method is interesing, but I'm concerned about your blood serum levels, not having a steady state could create a whiplash effect of symptoms.  Members report withdrawal symptoms showing up around days 2-5 so once you get to fewer pills a week you may experience some intense symptoms which will be difficult to pull back from.  But this is your taper and we'll support whatever method works for you. 

 

I hope you'll keep checking in to let us know how it's going, no two tapers are alike so if this one works for you, we'll be thrilled.

 

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Thank you, Pamster. I will keep that in mind and will discuss with my psychiatrist. Good point. I don't want any unnecessary pain from withdrawing. I'll let you know next week. I meet with my psychiatrist on Wednesday.

 

Thank you for your advice.

 

katyee8

 

 

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I agree with Pamster on the whiplash effect but it's your taper, so you'll have to decide what is best.

 

How much sleep are you getting now?

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Thank you Pamster for the article. Let me see whether I can share it with my psychiatrist. It looks good.

 

Well, the last two nights have not been too good. I'm getting three or more at the start of the night and then I seem to be up for the rest and maybe fall back to sleep a little. I don't know why. I didn't take gabapentin 300 mg last night with the .25 mg clonaz. and maybe that's why and I stopped the melatonin the past few nights and am experimenting with magnesium which does help anxiety during the day but not sure it helps at night.

 

I want to do a successful taper the first time and don't want any difficulties down the road. I don't want to increase the dose after tapering.

 

My doctor said since clonaz. stays in your system for two or more days that it's not necessary to take it every day. I am not a doctor. Let me see what I can do in sharing this good article with her (and first read it myself).

 

Thank you both so much.

 

Best,

 

katyee8

 

 

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Hi again,

 

I met with my psychiatrist and she was very good and kind. She's helping me. Said if I want to go off the clonazepam which I definitely do she suggests taking one less pill a week (off it for one day) for two weeks and then two less pills for two weeks, etc., and eventually no pills after 14 weeks. It sounds easier than shaving or liquid methods.

 

I'm not sleeping that well lately. Have been at . 25 mg clonazepam each night since Feb. 1st. Trying magnesium during day for anxiety and 300 mg gabapentin at night. They're okay. It's sleep that I am concerned about as we've discussed. Thank you for the post you sent about it. My psychiatrist might suggest another antidepressant but they don't help sleep and don't want more Zoloft after years on it. I'm nervous obviously about lack of sleep and getting depressed from it.

 

Any suggestions are most appreciated. Thank you for your kind help.

 

Best,

 

katyee8

 

I'm not encouraging antidepressants but I had rough benzo-related insomnia and I reluctantly started taking Trazodone at bedtime.  It is an older antidepressant that seems to be used more for sleep these days than anything else because it is fairly sedating.  I think time plus the Trazodone helped me over the insomnia hump.  Just something to consider.

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Thank you. I may try it (again). It didn't seem to help me and I didn't continue it. But I l'm glad it did help you. I think 300 mg of gabapentin with the .25 mg clonazepam before bed helps me but I haven't started the further taper yet but seem to feel it helps with sleep. Insomnia/anxiety is what started me down the road with clonazepam. Nervous about it coming back. Thank you Kate08.

 

katyee8

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katyee8, my sleep is the same. I have about 3 hours and then I'm awake for what I guess 2-3hrs (I don't check the clock), with on/off sleep after that for 2 hrs (I guess). I promise you it's doable. I have long Covid as well, so it sucks, but it's doable to get through the day and you really get used to it. I'm even getting the odd night now where my sleep is increasing to 4hrs. I was used to sleeping at least 8 hours a night my whole life before all this and never thought I'll be able to survive on such little sleep. I'm sure my sleep will return eventually.

 

I just want to encourage you that you can overcome this, no matter what.

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Thank you, jelly baby, for your help and encouragement. Yes. Your experience sounds very similar now to mine. The only difference is that as an adult in my late 20s and beyond I was not sleeping that well and so started taking Zoloft 50 mg. for many years and working and I was seeing my long time psychiatrist so the sleep problem got somewhat better and put in the background.

 

Are you taking anything at all to get to sleep now (melatonin or something natural like that)? Are you keeping to a sleep schedule like my sleep coach instructed me to do? Mine is 11 pm to 5:10 or 5:20 am. I seem to get at best six hours per night and I am religious about following that. He also said to limit naps to 20-30 minutes and before 3 pm. I don't nap now. I'm 64 years old and maybe my sleep has changed. My brother tells me his has as well and he's 68.

 

In any case, I thank you so much for your support and encouragement. I was putting together my own chart for a possible taper plan last night. It is based on the reality of the various dosages of clonazepem. I am going to call my pharmacy and ask if it's doable to cut the .125 mg pill in half as that will help my plan. btw, my plan is much more gradual and twice as long (not 14 wks but 5.5 months - draft plan obviously) as my doctor's and we will work on it this coming Wednesday.

 

I am very sorry you have long Covid. Oh jeez. I'm so sorry to hear that. You are a very strong person.

 

Please continue to write me as you and Pamster and others are so helpful. God bless you and keep you well and strong and help you recover fully from both of the conditions.

 

Best,

 

katyee8

 

 

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I fear your pharmacist will tell you that cutting a pill that size isn't possible because of the uneven distribution of the drug.  Many tablets are scored which pretty much guarantees you'll get the same amount of drug in both halves but anything smaller than that isn't.

 

What we've found is that you can make this work with a little creativity and we have some very creative members so if you hear something discouraging from your pharmacist, no fear, we can help.

 

I love hearing you're going to take your time with this, the purpose of a taper is to minimize withdrawal symptoms as you rid yourself of the drug, so use that rotten drug to keep you as comfortable as possible.  :thumbsup:

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Hi and thank you, Pamster.

 

Yes. The pharmacist said . 125 mg clonazepam is not scored, is very small and may disintegrate. So, I asked if it can be dissolved in water and they said no. Soo, I might ask my psychiatrist if I could take .125 mg one night a week for 2-3 wks (instead of no clonazepam one night a week) and add a night every few weeks until I'm down from . 25 mg to .125mg per night. I could stretch that to 14 or more weeks. And then plan to come down gradually from .125 mgs.

 

Let me know your thoughts. Thank you very much for all your advice and support.

 

katyee8

 

 

 

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Your pharmacist is correct, the drug won't dissolve but it will go into suspension which means you can shake it up and ingest the particles, here are our Titration FAQ's, hopefully this will provide you with a greater understanding of the methods we use to rid ourselves of the drug.

 

 

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Thank you, Pamster. Thank you for Titration information.

 

I want to keep to a Direct Taper from .25 mg but it's nearly impossible to only cut 10% each time I cut it down. The other methods are not easy and I may not be comfortable trying them.

 

I'm going to discuss this in detail with my psychiatrist this week and keep you posted.

 

Thank you so much for your attention, information and support.

 

Best,

 

katyee8

 

 

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I know Clonazepam is available in 0.125mg ODT's in the US if that helps?

 

To answer your other question, I take 0.5mg  melatonin. I stick to a bed time schedule. I don't follow all sleep hygiene practices but I'm sure it can't hurt. Some people here says it helps them.

 

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Thank you, jelly baby. Yes. I did see that I can get it in a .125 mg dosage. My concern is that I need to taper from .25 mg and find it hard to cut it to say .18 mg as a first step as you end up with little pieces of pill each night. It's simpler to go to .125 mg one night a week for say 2-3 wks and then two times a week at .125 mg and so on. I will discuss this with my doctor this coming week.

 

That's good that you do take melatonin and only a small amount. I started taking 1 mg the last few nights. I was taking a blend with 3 mg and the 1 mg but stopped that. I think the smaller the dose the better. I'm glad it helps.

 

Thank you so much for your reply. I really appreciate it.

 

Best,

 

katyee8

 

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