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Somewhat up to date methods to withdraw from benzodiazepines without using benzos

K

Kdeem

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Nov 24, 2014
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(specifically, clonazepam 2 mg one daily dose, long term physical dependency, taken as muscle relaxant)

Someone suggested using oxazepam to taper clonazepam. Problems, short duration of action, ups and downs, totally different drug. My experience: not sensible. I doubt if any other benzo could work without a very drawn out gradual crossover with many issues. My real issues are physical, not (mental) anxiety.

What's the state of using anticonvulsants for withdrawing for benzodiazepines, and not just to prevent seizures ?

A long time ago I read some articles about carbamazepine, perhaps valproate, Lyrica.

Does anyone have information about trials, experiences ?
 
If the issue is physical symptoms, maybe a beta blocker or alpha2 agonist like clonidine could help.

Clonazepam is a good one to taper with 'cause of its long half life anyway.
 
Beta blockers are for blood pressure ?

I have such a vast array of physical symptoms ...

Unfortunately, for me clonazepam isn't a good choice. Hard to tolerate, especially when tapering.
A long half life sounds nice, till you get into trouble tapering the drug ... A long half life pretty much means you NEED to taper over a very long time.

So I have been thinking about anticonvulsants for withdrawal/discontinuation. Most likely, there isn't a single one that would make it 'easy'. I've read plenty of anecdotes, small studies, 'old stuff' on bluelight ... What's the current state of research/experiences ?
 
Anti-convulsants such as Divalproex aka just another Valproate can help prevent seizures. So can Carbamazepine. Other anti-convulsants such as Gabapentin and Lyrics can help some of the symptoms but i wouldn't rely on them to prevent seizures. I have also heard of Baclofen helping benzo wd. It's a muscle relaxant that is a Gaba-B agonist like GHB is. So it can help relieve some symptoms.

Personally i would taper with a less potent benzo like Valium or Clorazepate that also have the advantage of being longer acting then Clonazepam. I am on 6mg's of Clonazepam a day and enough Valium will replace the Clonazepam no problem. Both Clorazepate and Valium have potent anti-convulsant properties as well as besides alcohol withdrawal Clorazepate's main use is in treating Epilepsy.
 
There is also Tizanidine which is similar to Clonidine but marketed as a muscle relaxant, maybe it has more pronounced relaxant effects than Clonidine .... but the latter is also very useful, one just has to dose high enough. I have seen more than once that doctors are hesitating to give even 150mcg at once. It seems that the potency of Clonidine varies greatly between individuals, for me 75mcg are barely noticeable and on some days I take up to 450mcg for sleep.

But if psychic symptoms are a major problem for you when going off the BZDs, then Lyrica / Pregabalin imo is worth a try.

Other option could be Tiagabine (Gabitril), also an anticonvulsant, but it works by inhibiting GABA reuptake. It is said that it does not develop tolerance, which I doubt a bit given its mechanism, but if it'd be true it would make a good option (albeit one requiring very careful tapering as it can provoke seizures when dose is changed too fast).
 
^ Tiagabine is one i forgot that might help the symptoms of benzo wd abit even though they work on the Gaba receptors in a totally different way as Gabitril is a Gaba reuptake inhibitor. But some people find it good for treating everything from anxiety to seizures. Although from what i have heard it has a higher chance of crapping out then other anti-convulsants and for some people it does fuck all for. I certainly wouldn't rely on Gabitril only to prevent a seizure from benzo wd
 
As soon as withdrawal symptoms emerge take 5-10g beta-alanine on an empty stomach with sufficient water.

2 x 1,5g l-carnitine a day and L-theanine for anxiety/hypotension

lamotrigine, memantine, en gabapentine also help tremendously.

& the simple multivitamin & zinc.
 
Cyamemazine is used in some european countries to prevent withdrawal from alcohol and benzodiazepines and it work very well
 
I checked, and it's an antipsychotic !

As a rule, antipsychotics increase the effects of withdrawal from benzodiazepines.
 
Kdeem said:
I checked, and it's an antipsychotic !

As a rule, antipsychotics increase the effects of withdrawal from benzodiazepines.
Click to expand...

Just about every anti-psychotic whether it's a atypical or typical lowers the seizure threshold to various degrees. Some such as Clozapine, the Phenothiazine type ones such as Chlorpromazine, Prochlorperazine, etc as well as Haldol get a worse rep for lowering the seizure threshold then say Olanzapine or quetiapine. But even those are contradicted during benzodiazepine wd unless you are tapering slowly with the help of a doctor and even then most GP's i know consider them contradicted unless absolutely necessary during benzo or any withdrawal from Gaba drugs. I do know a few people that lost it during alcohol wd and where given shots of Valium and once the Valium started to work where given a anti-psychotic to further calm them but they usually only risk it if absolutely necessary.

I still think the best approach is a slow taper with a long acting benzo as i have seen more success with people getting off benzos that way. As the OP only takes roughly the equivalent of 40mg's of Valium a day the taper wouldn't be too long or too painful if done right.
 
i know it's an old thread but what im going to say might save people from troubles

Cyamemazine is an atypical antipsychotic with a unique profile at small dose it doesn't affect significatively dopamine receptor and is actually used to treat anxiety (it almost never cause tardive dyskinesia unlike other antipsy )
at a dose of 12.5, 25 or 50 it work for anxiety and prevent withdrawal symptoms from alcohol and benzodiazepine
for schizophrenia it usually stated at 300mg and up to 600mg or more

this is what i used to withdraw from 5 years of high dose benzo use (up to 18 mg bromazepam and several mg of etizolam pills)
you can add small dose clonidine too but i never tried it, cyamemazine worked for me and it worked well since i became bezo free in a month

the downside is that it's only available in a handfull of euro countries and it's sedating at first
 
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