how to get the taper slowed down

Hello All,

Just some quick background. I've been taking 4mg (8 tablets) of Clonazepam for over TWENTY YEARS & recently my GP quit working without notice so I had to go to Urgent Consult to get an emerg supply of my med. This doctor does not know me from Adam & he wanted me to cut .25mg per week! I said no way & I'd do .25/month. Well I've been doing that & I'm down to 5 & 1/2 tablets a day & feeling horrid. I see this doctor again tomorrow. He calls me an addict & wants me off clonazepam cold turkey if he had his way.

How do I get it through his thick head that it's my life & my body he is messing with & get him to agree to a slower taper? Any suggestions would be grately appreciated.

Hello All,

 

Just some quick background. I've been taking 4mg (8 tablets) of Clonazepam for over TWENTY YEARS & recently my GP quit working without notice so I had to go to Urgent Consult to get an emerg supply of my med. This doctor does not know me from Adam & he wanted me to cut .25mg per week! I said no way & I'd do .25/month. Well I've been doing that & I'm down to 5 & 1/2 tablets a day & feeling horrid. I see this doctor again tomorrow. He calls me an addict & wants me off clonazepam cold turkey if he had his way.

 

How do I get it through his thick head that it's my life & my body he is messing with & get him to agree to a slower taper? Any suggestions would be grately appreciated.

Lady J,

One suggestion I have would to go to benzo.org.uk and read and print out the Ashton Manual today.  Bring it with you tomorrow and have him review it.  If this doesn't work you will need to look into finding another doctor that will support a slow taper. 

Sandy

Hi

Well this might be odd but I would agree with him that you are Physically dependent on Clonazepam,and that you have every desire and intention to get off this stuff.

That you have tried going off quickly but are having trouble, tell him you have a desired rate of tapering and tell him you will come in weekly or bi weekly with both your pills and your progress reports, to show him your serious.

Ashtons study will help it will give credence to the fact that some people cant quit benzos cold turkey.

Good Luck

Bobers

Hi Lady J,

Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

I think I would be inclined to look around for a more sympathetic doctor. You have become dependent through no fault of your own.

Are you reducing by half a tablet all in one go? It would probably be easier on your system to reduce by a quarter of tablet every two weeks. It adds up to the same rate of withdrawal, but more frequent smaller cuts are better tolerated than larger less frequent cuts.

Thank you everyone.

I do know I'm physically addicted to clonazepam.  Unfortunately in my part of Canada there are either no doctors or a 2 year wait list to see one. No doctor wants to take you on if you are on what is considered a controled substance. I will print the manual up & show him it. I hope he will listen.

lady j

Lady J,

How are you doing?

Lady J,

As you probably know from looking at our site, do NOT go cold turkey! Your doctor shouldn't even be recommending such a thing.

If you cannot convince your doctor, please be aware that it's not your fault. Some doctors just won't listen. I had to go to four doctors before I found one who would even admit that I was dependent.

If cutting the tablets is too hard for you, we have a method where you can make a benzo solution using milk and a 100ml cylinder. This will allow you to make any size cut you like or even cut a tiny amount every day if you want.

Therese

Hi, Lady Jane,

Your doctor ought to be shot with chicken dirt! Sandy's suggestion is excellent. Go to benzo.org.uk and print out a copy of the Ashton Manual and find a doctor who is willing to read it. Also, be aware that even her method advocates a pretty fast taper and we must try to structure our own tapers in order to meet our individual needs. But, frankly, even if your doctor insists on following Ashton strictly, this is infinitely better than what the quack you are seeing is suggesting. You are not an addict in the traditional sense -- you are physically dependent on this drug and you need to reinstate onto a dose which will work for you. If you took 4 mg per day for 20 years, you might need to go back up to that dose in order to taper slowly, or you might be able to get away with a LITTLE less. Your main job is to get on that phone and call doctors' offices and find an empathetic doctor, if your doctor refuses to read Ashton.

Good luck and my heart goes out to you!

Love,

Genie

Hello All,

Thanks for the replies & I'm sorry for the wait to reply. I've had the flu. I got a months more meds at the dose I'm at & no push to go lower. I was shocked! This doctor sent out 3 letters to other doctors to try & find me a permanant doc. This guy is only a crisis doc & can't keep refilling my meds.

I hope all of you are well or as well as you can be.

Lady J

welcome lady - some of have been cut off by our doctors and ended up here - i am one of them.

but i made sure i had a two month supply before taking the leap - this has allowed me to withdraw w/o going cold turkey - i am still on benzo's but at 75%  less then when i started.

i hope you can find a compassionate shrink and realize this will take some real commitment from you and your doctor - if you do not have that commitment from your doctor i hope you can get at least a two month supply.

some people are able to get off a high dose - we had one on here - read as many inspirational stories as you can - know that we are here and there are some math people here that can help you.  there are also supplements and other things that can help.