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Oh, so this is withdrawal. Well. That's terrible.


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Hello all,

 

Let's see if I can follow introduction guidelines without brain fogging out...

 

I'm joining Benzo Buddies because I'm having a terrible time with my klonopin taper, and hoping to hear from others with similar experience.

 

I was prescribed 1mg of klonopin daily for almost 2 years - originally for occasional panic attacks, one summer of generalized anxiety, and sleep anxiety. When the anxiety/panic dissipated over time, no doc thought to take me off klonopin. I had no idea how addictive it is.

 

Over the past 2 months I've slowly cut my dose down to .5mg daily. My last taper was 9 days ago (.125mg? - one fourth of .5 mg tab). I haven't been having emotional issues while withdrawing, but the physical symptoms are incapacitating.

 

Overall, I feel deeply unwell, like I have a really bad flu. Trouble breathing. I could go on, but what brings me here are the worst symptoms: I can't eat without extreme nausea, and my stomach becomes distended - so full I feel like I'm going to explode. And weirdly, I'm having issues with alternations of:  having to constantly pee, slight incontinence, not being ABLE to pee (have to push really hard), and bladder pain and burning. (My doc checked for infection, but there's zilch, and I'm not an at-risk demographic for belly or bladder issues.)

 

Never had these issues before tapering. My doc doesn't want to switch me to diazepam because she said it has more side effects. She offered to set up substance abuse therapy - from my perspective, that's not really a good fit since I don't have a psychological addiction but a physical addiction with severe withdrawal symptoms.

 

I'm relieved to not be experiencing anxiety, but I'm worried about how to manage my health, especially when I can't eat and when it hurts to pee. These are basic human functions, and I'm failing, and I don't know who might have info about how to manage these the symptoms. Neither my doc nor my pharmacist know much about withdrawal, or seem to understand how tapering could cause such severe symptoms. (That makes me feel a little crazy-am I just especially sensitive to this med?)

 

I hope you might have some ideas and answers from your own tapers and withdrawal symptoms.

 

Note: my other meds

(for nerve and muscle pain, hypermobility syndrome)

Lyrica 225mg daily

Flexeril 10mg daily

(for ADHD)

adderall IR, 40mg daily

 

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Hi, NeverWasaCornflakeGirl,

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies.  Some people have more physical symptoms, while others seem to have more cognitive/emotional issues, and some have both.  I'm sorry you are having such a hard time with the physical symptoms. All that you mention have been known withdrawal symptoms.  I remember reading a post a ways back from someone else who was having problems with urinary retention, and that person had consulted a urologist who validated it.  You will find we have a very supportive group here, and I will link you to some information that may help.  As a general guideline, dose cuts of 5-10% can be made every 7-14 days, with adjustments made to the taper rate, as needed, if the withdrawal is really rough.  It could be you might feel better if you would slow your rate a bit. 

 

This manual has very good information about benzodiazepines, withdrawal symptoms, and tapers:  The Ashton Manual

 

You can post questions about withdrawal symptoms here:  Withdrawal and Recovery Support

 

If you could add a signature line listing your medication history, dose, etc, it will be visible with each post you make and will help others respond to your posts/questions most appropriately.  See here to start a signature line:  Signature

 

Also, we have a thread dedicated to those withdrawing from Klonopin:  The Klonopin Klub

 

I understand your reluctance to get substance abuse therapy for exactly the same reasons you site.  Many of us here have become physically dependent accidentally after taking the medications exactly as directed.  If your doc doesn't have a good grasp of withdrawal, she may be grasping at straws trying to do something, anything.  Would getting another opinion be an option for you? 

 

I can tell from your post you're really struggling.  Please feel free to become active on our forum.  We're here to support you.

 

Sunnyside

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Hi NWACFG!

 

That last cut was 25% which is way too fast for most of us. Most of us cut at rates that don't exceed 10%.

 

I did a cold turkey and then rapid taper in the early days before I knew better and I had a spastic bladder, too. I don't remember (or actually was too out of it to know) what med they gave me to relax the bladder, but without it, I could not pee. It was just a one time dose. But I do know the misery of having to go so bad and not being able to.

 

I really think if you slow down you will get relief from all the issues. The relief wont be absolute, probably, but you should be able to eat and urinate without major difficulties.

 

Have you tried ginger tea for the nausea? It is very helpful.

 

Flip

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Sunnyside, thank you for your helpful info. I've been going through the links you suggested.

 

And Flip, whew, yeah, I'm thinking the last taper was way too fast. Ginger does help a little (I've been using fresh ginger for tea, and candied ginger), but it's like using a bandaid for a broken arm.  A question - because I tapered 10 days ago but am still having symptoms, might it be helpful to go back up on dosage a tiny bit (so my symptoms lessen)? Or is there some sort of "breaking through the barrier" where - if I've come this far, I should keep stay at my current dosage and wait? If my question is better directed elsewhere, lemme know. Still learning the ropes. Many thanks.

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There is no set place to ask these questions. If you post on the withdrawal and recovery board, just a general, "should I up dose?" question, you'll get a wider response. But I'll be happy to give you my humble opinion right here.  :)

 

There is a pushing through, but not if your symptoms are intolerable like yours are. The general rule of thumb is if you've held a cut for two weeks (or if you cold turkeyed two weeks ago) the up dose or reinstatement may or may not work. All you can do is try. If you do chose to up your dose a bit, hopefully you will notice some symptom relief. It might take a day or two. If that happens, then it's critical that you remain steady at that dose for at least 10 days.

 

Then resume cutting but only at 5-10%.

 

This is among the most tramatic things your body and brain will ever experience. Once you understand  that, you'll go about it like it's a life and death thing, which in some ways it is. The thing that got me to slow down, other than my symptoms, was reading here about people who had tapered way, way too fast and wound up in a protracted withdrawal misery. I certainly didn't want that. I'm only 6 months off after a 22 month taper. Knock on wood, it's going pretty well. I think I may have avoided protracted.

 

You can do this. It's not about will power and toughing it out. It's about refining your strategy according to how your body feels, and treating this like a science project, and settling in for the long haul.

 

Some people can start and stop these drugs with no problems. Obviously we are not among them. Sadly.

 

Flip

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Hey Never...me again,

 

If you haven't seen this most excellent thread, it's a great place to go for taper information. It's about Valium, but the technique is the same for klonipin since both are not water soluble.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=72851.0;topicseen

 

Keep in mind that one mg of klonipin is roughly equivalent to 20 mg of Valium. So this is going to take a little while.

 

Flip

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Thank you, Flip. Can't emphasize enough how much I appreciate your responses - it's a life jacket while I'm drowning in klonopin waters.
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Thank you for sharing the bladder symptom. It helps me interpret something in my own experience. My mother has been on Klonopin since the mid 1990s (no one remembers exactly when) and apparently one reason she claims that she needs it is "urethral spasms." Since she can't remember what she felt like before she started, your experience confirms my suspicion that these spasms could be related to the Klonopin; certainly all her other symptoms match those caused by Klonopin tolerance withdrawal.

 

So you have helped me! Good luck to you; remember you're not crazy. Hang in there.

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Haha, I'm glad you found that info helpful. A couple other details might be useful to you... I called my pharmacist, and she said klonopin can cause both urinary retention and incontinence. I'm also on Lyrica, and urinary incontinence is a less common side effect. With both of those, my bladder is very confused.  :-\ I know two other women who've had similar side effects with benzos (but they hadn't brought it up til I blurted my frustration about it). I sometimes think the "rare" side effects are less rare than the writing says.
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