Benzos 1mg Klonopin/Clonazepam every 3-4 day for 7 months - have I developed a dependence?

[candysmandy]

Hi!
I have been using 1mg Klonopin/Clonazepam when my anxiety disorder has been real bad and I have felt I need it to not get a panic attack.

So in the last 7 months I have used about 50mg of Klonopin/Clonazepam. Some times I have used 2mg, sometimes 0,25mg. Basically I used it when I felt the need. Most of the time I just lived with the anxiety.

I also used 20 5mg Zopiclone/Imovane/Zimovane/Dopareel pills in a periode of about 20 days.


So is this enough to develop a dependence? I cant really tell since my anxiety symptoms will be the same as the withdrawal? Also, if I actually would to quit using, how should I do it?

 

[cristinayang]

You should really taper down. Withdrawal from benzos can be very dangerous. It is likely you have developed a tolerance. Good luck and stay safe.

 

[candysmandy]

You should really taper down. Withdrawal from benzos can be very dangerous. It is likely you have developed a tolerance. Good luck and stay safe.

Thanks!
Can I ask why you think so? Not saying its wrong, just wondering how you came to the conclusion.
Any tips on how to taper?

 

[aihfl]

The doses at which you've been taking Klonopin is not one I would characterize as abuse. Typically the taper advice that is given is to have a doctor switch you to a benzo with a long half-life, but Klonopin already has a long half-life. If you already have multiple days in a row where you don't use it, it's not likely that you're physically dependent. If you were physically dependent you would know it because benzo withdrawals are horrible.

 

[HoldBack]

Have you used benzos prior to these past 7 months.

In my experience, benzos have a significant kindling effect where the more number times you?ve taken them and the more number of times you have been addicted, the easier it becomes to get addicted again.

For example it took about 4 months of daily Xanax use for me to get addicted the first time. That was 4 years ago.

It took about 10 days to get to that same point this time around.

Regardless, I?d expect that you are in fact dependent at the moment. You can always lower your dose or stop taking the kpin for a day or 2. You?ll know if you are dependent or not, the withdrawals are subtle at first but become obvious over a couple days off of kpin.

You will be able to tell if you are dependent long before the seizure risk really starts to be high.

If you are prone to seizures, please consult a doctor.

 

[lunchbox333]

it really could go either way honestly.


with the half life of clonazepam you could easily pull off only dosing every 3rd or 4th day in a threshold - moderate dependency without even beginning to feel any physical symptoms.. even with the breaks your body still could have a consistent enough level at a reliable enough schedule.

but also if this is your first go around the Benzo merrygoround and depending on your brain chemistry and overall temperament/disposition, you may be okay as you feel. even with the anxiety issues you mentioned. I've mentioned this story in another thread but when I was younger I had a fairly sizable daily perscription of benzos written to me for anxiety reasons, I went from Loraz to diazepam to kpins to finally Xanax where I sat and stayed on 120 2mg bars every month for a year. and even then running out halfway through scripts and acquiring street benzos.

I quit basically cold turkey from what I can remember and had almost no withdrawal symptoms that wouldn't be mistaken for a cold. It actually wasn't significant or impacting to me at all, which is absolutely mind blowing to me. I just remember smoking weed is all I needed, or taking miniscule amounts of hydro or percs even. which anyone who's been through a withdrawal off benzos knows wouldn't even put a dent into it if it were anything significant.

I wasn't even eating right or living healthy or exercizing or none of that, lazy stoner shit. I think it was just disposition and youth. who knows. I know I surely went through a good portion of my lifetimes allotment of gaba thats for sure so its nothing to brag about hah.I'm leaning more towards this being the situation for you, just the fact that you can manage to only take it every 3rd or so day while having anxiety attacks is testament to something. but its a coin toss. only one way to find out.

try to take that first step and go 5-6 days instead of 3-4 and if you feel much more resistance than you would expect or you finding excuses to take, you'll have some frame of refrence from there on. even if you dont have withdrawals , do expect some rebound anxiety and probably little insomnia. rebound and withdrawal are two VERY different things and with an anxiety prone mind like ours its far too easy to psycho somatically turn a simple rebound into withdrawal fear porn and either relapse or do something more drastic, so remember that.

 

[candysmandy]

Thanks for the replies. I woke up today two and half day after my last dose. I notice palpitation, nausea and being a bit unsteady. Clearly there is some issue here and I did not feel good about it. I took 0,5mg and I experience it as not having the same effect as before. Im looking into tapering, reading The Ashton Manual.

Does anyone have any tips on how to taper with my use? It seems like all the examples are for daily users. I got a doctor's appointment in 4 days.

 

[ObieWan]

I would definitely consult your doctor first. Surprisingly and unfortunately I've found doctors are not always knowledgable about dosage and dependence and tolerance, but that is where to start. You have mention a wide range of what you are taking at a single dose, ranging from .25mg to 2mg. You definitely wanna stay away from the 2mg doses. If .5mg is enough to stave off the wd's than that is enough. A regimen that is often cited is to reduce usage by 20% every two weeks, but that is for daily users who are dosing 2-3 times daily. Anyway you should discuss with your doctor dispensing a pill size that is easily broken. If you are trying to taper from 0.25mg doses, a 1mg pill will not be useful as you cannot accurately cut 1/4 or 1/8 of a tablet. Anyways, once you are below 0.25mg every 4 days you are hardly dependent on it anymore, but continue trying to reduce the dosage and frequency.