Help with Taper Plan - Clonazepam - currently on 0.125mg per night

Hi Buddies,

 

Just wanted to say thank you all who have responded to my other posts about withdrawals I am having - internal temors and insomnia mainly.  I appreciate your time responding.

 

I was hoping on some assistance in deciding where to go from here. My background story in a nut shell:

 

In very late September/early October 2021, I started having extreme GI issues - vomiting, the runs, terrible reflux and other issues 24/7. I was taken to ED multiple times and ended having a two weeks stay in hospital.  No blood tests or physical scans showed that anything was wrong.

 

The physical doctors blamed this all on anxiety.  They arranged for a psychiatrist to attend.  Although the psychiatrist said I did not met criteria for any mental health disorders, he commenced me on 2mg of Clonazepam a day (1mg in the AM and 1mg in the PM).  From commencement, my psychiatrist was very clear this was not a long term medication.

 

16 November 2021 - 1mg morning and night = 2mg in total

Continued to feel unwell in stomach with diarrhoea (vomiting settled a little) however I believe his was from my stomach issues not Clonazepam.

 

21 November 2021 - dropped to 0.5mg morning and night = 1mg in total with no issues.

Continued to feel unwell in stomach with diarrhoea how I believe this was from my stomach issues not Clonazepam.

 

27 November 2021 - dropped to 0.25mg morning and night = 0.5mg in total.

From here, my vomiting and diarrhoea got a lot worse and I spoke with Psychiatrist again.  I was vomiting over myself at work and it wasn't good. He arranged to go back to 0.5mg morning and night for the time being.

 

29 November 2021 - back to 0.5mg morning and night = 1 mg in total.

 

Throughout December 2021 I went between 0.25mg (x2) and 0.5mg (x2) daily.  My records don't show too much. It was a daze and I wasn't feeling well although I worked throughout. My GI symptoms continued throughout this period.

 

On 5 January 2022, I went into a mental wellness clinical for three weeks.  At that point, I was taking 0.5mg morning and night.

 

12 January 2022 - 0.5mg in the morning and 0.25mg PM

 

19 January 2022 - 0.5mg in the morning only.  Night dose cut completely.

I did have one or two days of extreme tummy pains and nausea (worse than my usual GI symptoms) however this was manageable.  Sleeping ok.

The hospital arranged to monitor all my GI symptoms. After a few days, physical doctors came back to say I had post infectious IBS-D which caused my stomach issues, not anxiety.  During this period, I was also waking up to internal temors which were fairly intense for about 20-30 seconds each day. I sought advice from a dietitian and naturopath for the IBS.

 

5 February 2022 - cut from 0.5mg in the morning to 0.25mg

This went fine. I felt a little off/shaky but ok.

 

Stayed here for two weeks.

 

19 February 2022 - 0.25mg every second day as directed by psychiatrist.

 

Feeling terrible every second day. Headaches, stomach issues, days I didn't eat.

 

24 February 2022 - spoke with my GP who suggested I go back to daily doses but half the amount so overall dose is the same. 0.125mg daily.  Either that, or stop all together.  I opted for 0.125mg daily.

 

The first day or two at 0.125mg I experienced insomnia so switched this to a night-time dose.  Sleep came back.

 

I am still taking 0.125mg nightly however I am experience poor sleep and mild internal vibrations.  The vibrations are generally fine whilst I am awake and working but tend to amp up a lot at night time which is uncomfortable.

 

My GI symptoms are mostly under control now that I am under the care of a dietitian and holistic health practitioner.  My main issue now is getting off Clonazepam!

 

I am feeling good during the day - no anxiety, no headaches - just poor sleep and these mild vibrations.

 

I see my psychiatrist again tomorrow and I am anticipating him telling me to stop all together however I feel like the better option is:

 

1. Stay at 0.125mg for another week (I would have then been here for 2 weeks) and then start a micro taping for 3 weeks.  I was going to use Kate08's water method.

 

or

 

2. Stay at 0.125mg for another week, then cut to 0.6125 for two weeks and then cease?

 

Does anyone have any input on this or any other options? When did you cease Clonazepam with minimal side effects?

 

I am trying to work throughout so I need something manageable.

 

Thank you so much for your time and input.  This site gives me hope and courage to get this through

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You've made great progress so far Youngster - kudos to you.  I am hesitate to make a recommendation to you but I will tell you my experience.  I jumped at 0.25mg and didn't do well at all.  (I didn't want to switch to a liquid taper and this is why I jumped at 0.25mg - but my pills were getting too small to cut)  Looking back, I know now I was shaky about jumping at that dose and I wasn't confident I had tapered far enough.  Anyway, anxiety set in something fierce and after 2-3 days I reinstated and updosed to 0.5mg and implemented the water taper for 50 days and then jumped.  I did NOT want to do a liquid taper but I felt I had to at this point.  It turned out not to be as difficult or omnious as I thought it would be.  My last dose was 0.01mg and at that dose I felt confident that I had tapered far enough, at least for me.

 

So, what I think I am trying to say here is that if there is any uncertainty in your mind about choosing option #2 and jumping at the 0.6125 dose, then it would be worth it to do option #1 and do the liquid taper for three weeks.

I definitely think the 0.25mg daily down to every second day was too much for me.  I was very unwell.

 

0.25mg down to 0.125mg seems to have been ok.

 

Why I am slightly hesitant to do the 0.06125 is having to break the 1/4 tablets in half.  I don't think I will get very accurate dosage.

 

After watching the video link you provide on the water taper, it looks simple enough to me

 

I just want the method that keeps me at a level where I can cope and come to work daily. I don't mind if it takes slightly longer.

 

 

So I’ve just seen the psychiatrist and he has suggested I sit on 0.125mg for the next month before doing anything…

 

I feel like I would have been tapering off longer than I have taken Clonazepam but I’m sure it’s part of the journey

 

He has also prescribed melatonin to try and help with sleep - watch this space.

I'm happy to hear your doctor is receptive to holding your dose and yes, these tapers can seem endless but if they can keep you functional then they're worth it.  I'll be watching this space. 

Hi Buddies

 

Can I ask how long it takes to reach tolerance?

 

I’ve been taking 0.125mgs for about a month now and I’m having heart flutters again - which I usually get when cutting.

 

Is it time to cut again? My doctor suggested I wait until I see him on 9 April however everything else is going fine and I feel good aside from the flutters which decided to come back yesterday.

 

Thanks

Amy

Wow, I am so glad to hear you are getting support from your doc but since you are, perhaps waiting until you next appt on 4/9 would be wise.  Heart flutters aren't uncommon during withdrawl.  You don't say how long you've had them but I think symptoms are most meaningful if they persists; perhaps look for trends rather than isolated occurrences if that makes sense.

I usually get the flutters for a week or so after cutting my dose.

Always at night time or upon waking. I haven’t had them for a few weeks whilst I’ve been stable and bam, they started two nights ago again.