Just starting taper

Hello everyone! I'm brand new here. I heard about this group from Lisa Ling's CNN special. I've been taking Clonazepam for...I don't even know...at least 10 years. I am a 48 year old female and have experienced multiple episodes of severe trauma throughout my life. I have had anxiety and depression since I was  a child. My doctors just kept upping my dose over the years and I am currently up to 4mg per day if I need that much.

I just got a new psychiatrist  (had the old one for about 8 years) and my new guy REALLY wants to get me off the Clonazepam. Over just a couple weeks I've safely gone down to 3mg/day. I was originally prescribed 1mg at night to get my noisy brain to shut up so I could sleep. Then an extra 1mg prn (as needed) during the day. And then another mg at night, and then another mg during the day...  I am/was a pediatric and neonatal ICU RN. I'm sort of in early retirement because after all these years on this toxin, my memory is SO BAD! And I'm always sleepy, I forget to do things, I'm having trouble speaking correctly and so many other problems. My MD has put me on hydroxyzine as I slowly taper off the Clonazepam.

Here's my question...Can I pretty safely taper down to 1mg within just a week or two and then start the very slow taper to stop it completely or does the whole taper have to be really slow?

Hello Stillhere92,

Welcome to BenzoBuddies! Congratulations on your decision to taper off clonazepam.  We're so glad you found the forum - you'll find lots of good information, support and encouragement here from others who understand what it's like to go through this process.

It sounds like you're interested in information about taper plans.  A good place to start is the board on Planning Your Withdrawal. You will learn a lot and when you're ready, you can post questions about your own taper plan:

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper)

As you consider what plan would work best, you might want to read the Ashton Manual, an excellent resource about benzodiazepine tapering and withdrawal by Dr. Heather Ashton.  Dr. Ashton is an expert in the field - she suggests reducing your dose by no more than 5% or 10% every 1-2 weeks.  Some people find it works better for them to taper even more slowly.

Here is the link for the manual:

The Ashton Manual

Again, we're glad you found us.  Please let us know how we can help you.

Again, welcome,

Kate08