Hello... I'm trying to kick the Benzo habit!

Hi there. My name is Pete and I've been taking Klonopin for the past six years to help me with my anxiety. After much reading and internet searches, I have made the decision to quit using it and start tapering off of it. Here's my story:

I've had GAD since I was roughly sixteen years old. I've been on and off different drugs and classes of drugs during my wonderful time with GAD, but I find that these drugs only heal the problem for so long. I say "Heal", but I mean "Mask". Suffice to say, my doc put me on Klonopin and Mirtazipine about six years ago and it worked pretty well until recently, when I started to notice my body building up another tolerance to the drug. After searching the internet, scouring for answers, I came to the conclusion that Klonopin is pure evil and I really want off of it. 

Now, at 16 years of age, I had no idea how to cope with my problems or how to deal with GAD. I'd get panic attacks, but other than that, I was relatively normal. While I wish they'd have tried cognitive/beahvioural therapy, the drugs did work in terms of allowing me the chance to learn how to work with the disorder, but now it's time to get rid of them. I believe I can do this, I'm just not sure how, exactly. I've read the tapering guide, but what do I have to look forward to? How long do I keep each dose (I assume until it's stable, but I could be wrong)?

My current meds are as follows:

15mg Mirtazipine

1 mg Klonopin (taken nightly (used to be 1.5mg, but I managed to stabilize at 1mg))

Thanks again! These forums are pretty cool and I look forward to talking to you!

Hey, Pete-o-rama! Welcome to the forum!

I'm not a tapering expert but someone will be along to help you figure out a plan that will get you off these benzos as easily as possible. It can be done and you will always have support here!

rufus

Hi Pete!

Well, I'm not sure about remeron or how to taper it, but I would suggest you tackle the klono first, and when you are off that we can deal with the remeron.

1mg klono. Well, I tapered off 1.125mgs by using .5mg pills and cutting by 1/4 pill (.125mg) every couple of weeks.

I adjusted the speed depending on how I felt week to week. According to some, these cuts are rather large, especially the second half of my taper.

You can also do a liquid titration, which allows you to make smaller cuts by powdering the pill and mixing it in a liquid suspension. Someone here will help you with setting up a schedule if you would like to go that route.

There is a third option of crossing over to valium, which is easier to make smaller cuts because of the pill mg size.

Sorry if this sounds confusing! It really isn't once you learn a little more about it.

Everyone experiences differing withdrawal symptoms, so it is hard to say exactly what you will experience. But it probably won't be near as horrible as you are imagining it! the important thing is you have made the decision to get off of this stuff. Good for you!

Hi Pete,

Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

If you do not already use 0.5mg tablets, you should obtain a prescription. It is possible for many to taper off by pill-splitting the 0.5mg tablets, but if you find these cuts are too large, you can always titrate (make a liquid) your Klonopin tablets (will provide you with instructions).

Generally, we recommend keeping cuts to within about 10% or so of your dose, but the size of cuts (in terms of percentage) inevitably rises as your dose decreases (you can only divide you pills so small after all), but this is usually OK so long as you are using the 0.5mg tablets. These cuts are usually carried out every week or two, but you might need to allow more time between each cut at lower doses. Experiences vary a lot though, so it is about listening to your body and adjusting your taper to suit your needs.