Need advice from long term K users done with tapering!

Hi all,

I just joined BB a couple of days ago and I'm really glad I did. I believe I am at a critical point in my taper and really need insight from those of you who have already gone through what I am about to.

 

I was on 1 mg K per day for the last 16 years. I tried to quit CT earlier this year and after six weeks of severe wd I went back on my original dose.

 

Eight weeks ago I started tapering at 0.125 mg every 2 weeks. I am currently on day 5 of 0.5 mg K per day. My original plan was to continue to 0.125 mg and then quit. The problem is that I, like most of you, have a full time job, family, bills, etc. I can't afford to be reckless getting off of this stuff.

 

So I was hoping that some of you who had similar experience (long term low dose K) and had already been through the taper process could give me some advice as to how to proceed. My desire is to get off of this as fast as possible but what I really need to know is how to get off of it while remaining functional.

 

Thanks!

S

Steven,

My advice is to go slow while keeping blood levels very even.

 

There are many ways to accomplish this, but, to me, the best bet is to do daily titration.  It is gentler and gives you more control.

 

Good luck!

Hi:

 

I've been tapering K since I started using it 10 years ago, at 10 mg! Now down to 6.35 mg. I'veen using the Ashton Manual somewhat, slowly changing over to Valium, which at your point wouldn't be necessary. You're on such a low dosage. Me, my taper is going really slow, per my request, at 3.5 percent drop every three weeks. Go slow my friend and don't just jump off. You'll regret it.

Thanks SG and benzogirl! I am rethinking my plan. I know I don't have the time or desire to titrate right now but I get the feeling I may have to going forward...I'll just have to see how my body reacts as the dosage shrinks.

steven,

 

I was on 1 mg klonopin 2x a day for 22 years. I tapered over a period of 7 months. I was put on valium the same day I jumped to temper the w/d and make it more manageable. That was 6 months ago and I am still tapering v. If I were you I would slow it down. This is something that you have to learn. I spent too much time trying too hard to get away from the benzos. I made myself so sick. My taper from klonopin was pretty miserable but I find that the lower I go on valium the sicker I get. It has taken me 4 months to go from 1 mg v to .65. Check out some of the tapering recommendations via Ashton Manual. It is available on BB. I hope you feel better.

 

Colorado

Steven,

 

Our stories are fairly similar. I was on 1 mg K for 15 years. Had a couple cts. Didn't work out well!

 

My advice for you is to slow down the closer u get to zero. If I had to go back and do it again, I would have made smaller cuts at the end, gone lower, and/or crossed to Valium.

 

Hindsight is 20-20.

 

I'm nearly 9 months into withdrawal and have been off work since month 2. It's a bugger!

 

Best of luck to you!

Hey there, Ive had just about every wicked kind of K wd you can imagine.  Now I am in a kindled situation and Ive been tapering this time around for almost 2 years.  My taper will be over in April 2014.  My advice, try and titrate down to as low as you can go.  Jumping at .125 of K is a lot.  That is equal to over 2mg of V.  The jump will not be easy but if you can come up with a way to titrate that down, it will work much better.

 

Good Luck.

 

GG

Hi Steven,

 

Klonopin is available in .25mg tablets, so you can dry cut down to .062mg = (quarter tab). If you have been able to function with your current taper schedule you should be able to dry cut all the way down. I am at .062mg now and will be off this poison this year !! My cut from .187 to .125 was worse than from .125 to .062. We are getting close now !

 

Cheers,

 

Patrick

 

 

Thank you all for the great advice. I am definitely going to slow the taper down. This last drop was borderline too much. I think I'm going to hang out here for a few weeks. It's great to know they have 0.25 mg tablets. That should make my taper a lot easier! Slow and steady...not my style but being bed ridden is not an option. 

It helps to think of your cuts in terms of percentages. As you get closer to zero, those 0.125 mg cuts start to get big in terms of overall percentage.

 

It's not a race. I held my last cut for two months before jumping.