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clonazepom WD's.. experienced

clonazepom

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 27, 2008
Messages
146
Just quick question about anyone whos been through benzo withdrawals, especially clonazepam.

Im on 3mg day (0,5mg tabs)

I been wanting off this shit for long time but theres always something that stops me like starting job etc.. Give in during wds and so on...

Now that I have lots spare time (dont know how long but I'd guess 2-4 weeks before starting job again)

if I start reducing my dose tomorrow by 1 pill per day (0,5mg) for 6 days.
Im safe as in seizure risk and stuff?
How long will I be Wd's?


I dont wanna go through long drawn withdrawals just quick 6 day detox then feel like piece of shit anxieous and panicy for hopefully not longer than month?

and what its like going through benzo wds in full? People here tend to say its worse than heroin wds but I dont know. I have ever only been through horrible xanax withdrawal for 2-3 days before I got script for this. and I dont remember much of those few days because I was pretty much unconsious all the time.
 
i dont know about your questions.
but why not start to take a pill less - TODAY ?
 
clonazepom said:
Just quick question about anyone whos been through benzo withdrawals, especially clonazepam.

Im on 3mg day (0,5mg tabs)

I been wanting off this shit for long time but theres always something that stops me like starting job etc.. Give in during wds and so on...

Now that I have lots spare time (dont know how long but I'd guess 2-4 weeks before starting job again)

if I start reducing my dose tomorrow by 1 pill per day (0,5mg) for 6 days.
Im safe as in seizure risk and stuff?
How long will I be Wd's?


I dont wanna go through long drawn withdrawals just quick 6 day detox then feel like piece of shit anxieous and panicy for hopefully not longer than month?

and what its like going through benzo wds in full? People here tend to say its worse than heroin wds but I dont know. I have ever only been through horrible xanax withdrawal for 2-3 days before I got script for this. and I dont remember much of those few days because I was pretty much unconsious all the time.

To be short, NO, that is way too fast. You don't go in to detail about how long you've been on the drug, but a reduction of 0.5mg a day from 3mg a day will almost certainly leave you dead. Whether it's convenient or not, benozdiazepine withdrawal, especially at your dose, is a long, drawn out process. The exception to this would be if you were to enter an inpatient detox program, where you would be rapidly tapered off of the drug with either Ativan or Librium, and then tapered off of one of those two once your Klonopin withdrawal is complete. If you're lucky, you could be finished with that in about two to three weeks.

As for it being worse than heroin withdrawal, it is, because with heroin withdrawal, as shitty as it is (full disclosure, I've never actually had withdrawal from heroin, but from hydrocodone), you will most likely not die from opioid withdrawal (there are exceptions, such as if you have heart problems or are taking methadone, but in general opioid withdrawal is just difficult, not deadly). With Klonopin, you can easily die from an improper withdrawal or a sudden stoppage. Benzodiazepines need to be tapered slowly, for your own safety. Explaining exactly why would take too long, but believe me on this.

An ideal way to get off of the Klonopin would be to switch to an equivalent dose of Valium and do a gradual, slow taper administered by a psychiatrist as an outpatient, but quite frankly it sounds like you lack the willpower to do that. Therefore, if you really want to get off of Klonopin safely and relatively quickly, an inpatient, hospital based detox center seems to be your only option.
 
clonazepom said:
Just quick question about anyone whos been through benzo withdrawals, especially clonazepam.

Im on 3mg day (0,5mg tabs)

I been wanting off this shit for long time but theres always something that stops me like starting job etc.. Give in during wds and so on...

Now that I have lots spare time (dont know how long but I'd guess 2-4 weeks before starting job again)

if I start reducing my dose tomorrow by 1 pill per day (0,5mg) for 6 days.
Im safe as in seizure risk and stuff?
How long will I be Wd's?


I dont wanna go through long drawn withdrawals just quick 6 day detox then feel like piece of shit anxieous and panicy for hopefully not longer than month?

and what its like going through benzo wds in full? People here tend to say its worse than heroin wds but I dont know. I have ever only been through horrible xanax withdrawal for 2-3 days before I got script for this. and I dont remember much of those few days because I was pretty much unconsious all the time.


I just got done with a rapid detox from a 10mg clonazepam habit....My detox/taper was too fast but it's been 10 days without any benzos in my system and I haven't been concerned of a seizure...Expect to feel shitty for a long time though...If you're scared to taper because of the long withdrawals, I wouldn't do it now unless you have the time...I dropped my summer class so I could go to rehab and detox....
 
gomakemeasandwich said:
To be short, NO, that is way too fast. You don't go in to detail about how long you've been on the drug, but a reduction of 0.5mg a day from 3mg a day will almost certainly leave you dead. Whether it's convenient or not, benozdiazepine withdrawal, especially at your dose, is a long, drawn out process. The exception to this would be if you were to enter an inpatient detox program, where you would be rapidly tapered off of the drug with either Ativan or Librium, and then tapered off of one of those two once your Klonopin withdrawal is complete. If you're lucky, you could be finished with that in about two to three weeks.

As for it being worse than heroin withdrawal, it is, because with heroin withdrawal, as shitty as it is (full disclosure, I've never actually had withdrawal from heroin, but from hydrocodone), you will most likely not die from opioid withdrawal (there are exceptions, such as if you have heart problems or are taking methadone, but in general opioid withdrawal is just difficult, not deadly). With Klonopin, you can easily die from an improper withdrawal or a sudden stoppage. Benzodiazepines need to be tapered slowly, for your own safety. Explaining exactly why would take too long, but believe me on this.

An ideal way to get off of the Klonopin would be to switch to an equivalent dose of Valium and do a gradual, slow taper administered by a psychiatrist as an outpatient, but quite frankly it sounds like you lack the willpower to do that. Therefore, if you really want to get off of Klonopin safely and relatively quickly, an inpatient, hospital based detox center seems to be your only option.

Sucks to hear this.. either way I cant go to hospital or detox programs because Im likely to start job soon. I lack of willpower for sure but I really really dont want to be so depended on benzos anymore. I'll drop the dosage by 1mg from tomorrow and take 1mg in morning and 1mg 8 hours later. I dont know what to do but it sounds like bullshit that you could actually die from only 3mg clonazepam. :\

and to answer your question Ive been on this for maybe 4 months, before that oxazepam for short time and before that xanax. over Year in benzo hell is enough for me.
 
gomakemeasandwich said:
To be short, NO, that is way too fast. You don't go in to detail about how long you've been on the drug, but a reduction of 0.5mg a day from 3mg a day will almost certainly leave you dead. Whether it's convenient or not, benozdiazepine withdrawal, especially at your dose, is a long, drawn out process. The exception to this would be if you were to enter an inpatient detox program, where you would be rapidly tapered off of the drug with either Ativan or Librium, and then tapered off of one of those two once your Klonopin withdrawal is complete. If you're lucky, you could be finished with that in about two to three weeks.

As for it being worse than heroin withdrawal, it is, because with heroin withdrawal, as shitty as it is (full disclosure, I've never actually had withdrawal from heroin, but from hydrocodone), you will most likely not die from opioid withdrawal (there are exceptions, such as if you have heart problems or are taking methadone, but in general opioid withdrawal is just difficult, not deadly). With Klonopin, you can easily die from an improper withdrawal or a sudden stoppage. Benzodiazepines need to be tapered slowly, for your own safety. Explaining exactly why would take too long, but believe me on this.

An ideal way to get off of the Klonopin would be to switch to an equivalent dose of Valium and do a gradual, slow taper administered by a psychiatrist as an outpatient, but quite frankly it sounds like you lack the willpower to do that. Therefore, if you really want to get off of Klonopin safely and relatively quickly, an inpatient, hospital based detox center seems to be your only option.

I really don't think you'll die from dropping it 2.5mgs....I don't have any evidence to back that statement up, but he won't die...

I was taking 6-10mgs of klonopin for over a period of 6 months and was on a dose above 3mgs for about 2 years and my tapering schedule from 10mg went

Days 1/2- 3mg
days 3/4- 2mg
days 5/6- 1mg
days 7/8- .5mg
days 8/9- .25mg

I dropped 7mgs from my initial dose and didn't die...It felt like I was going to but I didn't....3mgs isn't too high of a dose.
 
If you have been on the 3mg a day for say more than 6 months, you'll want to taper much slower. Maybe reduce by 0.5mg ever other week. If you've been on the kpins for years, you'll want to go even slower than that.
 
I just got off 3mg of xanax a day. I was taking them for 9 months straight. I worked my way up from a .5mg a day, to 3mg a day.

I stopped thursday. My taper was fast. I dropped from 3mg.... to 1mg... then none. in two days. I am on bupe also.. But I don't have really bad w/d's. just anxiety... and sleepless nights.. then again its only day 5..and the suboxone helps...

Use a taper schedule that will work for you..You will do fine..

Goodluck!!!!
 
a reduction of 0.5mg a day from 3mg a day will almost certainly leave you dead.

do you have any sources to back this up? my friend quit a 30-40 mg a day clonazepam habit cold turkey and he didn't die. not that i am recommending anyone try this, i am just skeptical that "a reduction of .5 mg a day from 3 mg a day will almost certainly leave you dead."
 
3mgs of klonopin is not a huge amount, but its still enough to be dependent on. You could probley get down to 1mg aday for a while and then stop, and only have some trouble sleeping.

It does depend on how long you have been taking them. So how long is it? If its been for years than youd want to taper slow, but if its only been months than its not as serious...............and that above line that someone said about "a quick reduction of .5 mgs will kill you" is total bullshit.
 
You'll experience some unpleasant withdrawal symptoms from tapering that fast, but you're not really at much risk for seizures and definitely not death. If you have the option, try lowering your dose to zero over the course of a couple weeks instead of days. Do 2mg for a week, 1mg for half a week, 0.5mg for half a week, then nothing. Something like that. If you try to quit completely in 6 days you're definitely not going to feel like starting a new job anytime soon.
 
This is taken from: http://www.ohsu.edu/medicine/residency/handouts/pharmpearls/Psychiatry%20CNS%20Neuro/BenzodiazepineDrugWithdrawalTaper.pdf



Benzodiazepine Drug Withdrawal/Taper

BZD addiction is an issue with many consequences, one of them being, addiction withdrawal symptoms experienced when the BZD are discontinued.
These symptoms of drug withdrawal at times may be severe, if not life threatening. withdrawals have many variables.
The type of BZD used plays an important part in determining the length and severity of drug withdrawal. Another factor to be aware of during BZD withdrawal is drug craving. Short-acting rather than intermediate- or long-acting benzodiazepines, are more likely to cause rebound symptoms as the longer the half-life the longer therapeutic effects occur after discontinuation. Patient variables include high baseline anxiety and depression, personality pathology, panic disorder diagnosis, and history of recreational alcohol or drug abuse.
Withdrawal symptoms, similar in character to those noted with barbiturates and alcohol have occurred following abrupt discontinuance of BZD. The more severe withdrawal symptoms have usually been limited to those patients who received excessive doses over an extended period of time.
BZD Withdrawal symptoms: After abrupt discontinuation, withdrawal symptoms have occurred including convulsions, tremor, abdominal and muscle cramps, vomiting, and sweating. More severe withdrawal symptoms have been limited to patients receiving excessive doses over an extended period of time. Milder withdrawal symptoms including dysphoria and insomnia have been reported following abrupt discontinuance of benzodiazepines taken continuously at therapeutic levels for several months
Tapering benzodiazepine dosage is recommended with long-term use, ie, greater than 4 to 6 weeks of oral drug and 7 days with intravenous midazolam for sedation of the critically ill patient. For elderly patients receiving benzodiazepines for insomnia over at least 3 months, an 8 to 10 week taper may be warranted, whereas, patients with generalized anxiety may tolerate a taper of 4 to 8 weeks.
Several standard inpatient benzodiazepine withdrawal schedules exist. The following are examples of such tapers:
A 50% dose reduction every 5 days
A 25% dose reduction weekly
A 25% dose reduction weekly until 50% of the dose remains followed by one-eighth dose reduction every 4 to 7 days

Treatment: The dose of BZD should be reduced every 2 weeks from 100% to 50% to 25% to 12.5%. In most patients, Eight weeks after starting the dose reduction, patients should be withdrawn completely. Successful outcome was defined as being hypnotic-free at 3 to 6 months after discontinuing of BZD. Still 10% of patients may experience a significant withdrawal reaction.
Ali
 
burn out said:
do you have any sources to back this up? my friend quit a 30-40 mg a day clonazepam habit cold turkey and he didn't die. not that i am recommending anyone try this, i am just skeptical that "a reduction of .5 mg a day from 3 mg a day will almost certainly leave you dead."

Jesus Christ I knew some dipshit(s) would come on here and dispute the effects of benzodiazepine withdrawal and use some bullshit anecdotal evidence like "someone I knew was on X (almost always an insane amount) benzodiazepine and he quit cold turkey and didn't feel a thing," I just wasn't expecting someone to make a claim of 40mg of Klonopin a day. I'll spare the effort of going into detail of why abrupt benzodiazepine withdrawal is dangerous, even at the "minor" dose of 3mg a day (hint: 3mg a day isn't "minor"), but since you asked for a source about abrupt benzodiazepine withdrawal and seizure risk, here you go:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2300914

This is a case report of severe psychosis and seizures following abrupt discontinuation of alprazolam and then the recurrence of seizures at the end of a gradual tapering schedule. The last of these seizures appeared to be a contributing factor in the patient's death. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first published report of a fatality associated with alprazolam withdrawal.

This was about 20 years ago. And also something more relevant, if you'd like to pay to read:

The realities of clonazepam discontinuation

http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/reprint/48/7/881

This was from 30 seconds of searching on Pubmed. Pubmed is your friend, but you usually have to pay to access the SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES on it. Go to the library and pick up a book on benzodiazepines.
 
I went off 3-5mg/day clonazepam and 1mg xanax daily plus an assortment of other benzos in binges (like diazepam...my favourite). I should mention I was also physically addicted to opioids at the same time, weed, ongoing for several years. You get the picture....


Anyway it took me 6 months to taper. I did it with a doctors assistance. We immediately cut the xanax off. No probs with that. Put me on amitripyline for sleep (which actually started to work but it took a while) and started to go down .5mg every 2 weeks approximately with variations as required. I was actually splitting those little orange things (0.5mg) into 4 parts at the end.

Took me a long time (talking 2 years) before my muscle spasms and insomnia got significantly better. It was brutal (just to cheer you up:\ ).

In hindsight I think I would try cold turkey to get ot over faster. if i felt like I was going to have a seizure (or did) then i'd taper.

To the OP..I don't think you will have a seizure from that taking into account duration of use (longer more dangerous of course) but I'd be careful. It will definitely be uncomfortable. Better to taper with what you have though. It will be uncomfortable for a while too. Remember those days before you got the xanax script? It will decrease in intensity with time. If you haven't been using for that long it won't be as bad as mine was.

Having been through both heroin (and several other opioids) and benzo w/d I would have to say i find that benzo w/d was worse for me. Everyone is different. YMMV
 
clonazepom said:
Sucks to hear this.. either way I cant go to hospital or detox programs because Im likely to start job soon. I lack of willpower for sure but I really really dont want to be so depended on benzos anymore. I'll drop the dosage by 1mg from tomorrow and take 1mg in morning and 1mg 8 hours later. I dont know what to do but it sounds like bullshit that you could actually die from only 3mg clonazepam. :\

and to answer your question Ive been on this for maybe 4 months, before that oxazepam for short time and before that xanax. over Year in benzo hell is enough for me.

Well clearly since you lack the willpower to taper off of the benzo on your own, you're going to have to go to a hospital based detox program if you're serious about getting off of your benzo. There is no way around that.

I'm especially glad (and by glad I mean annoyed) to read that someone with likely little knowledge of benzodiazepines says I'm full of shit after soliciting advice on how to withdraw from them. I'm also tired of reading the same crap over and over again every time someone talks about benzodiazepine withdrawal, namely that "it isn't dangerous dude, totally, my friend (or I) just stopped 300mg of Valium a day cold turkey and I was fine."

The reason that it pisses me off is because this misinformation could be dangerous and/or fatal to the person asking about it if they take the advice seriously and consult and internet forum rather than a doctor. This is still a harm reduction site, no? Benzodiazepine withdrawal is on the same level as alcohol and barbiturate withdrawal in that it almost always needs to be medically supervised (and they work similarly, but that would take too long to explain), because it is one of the classes of drugs that you can die withdrawing from.

To give you an example of how serious people who actually treat patients who need to detox, or rapidly withdraw, of off benzodiazepines are about this, let me explain to you quickly the medical classifications for detox and what happens in each of them in my state. First, I should start out by mentioning that no residential detox center will take a patient until they have been detoxed at a hospital based inpatient facility because of the seizure risk and the lack of a residential treatment program's ability to handle them quickly enough for you to live.

Now, as for the classifications, in Pennsylvania, they run from 1A, which is the least serious, to 4A, which is the most serious. 1A is outpatient detox, where people are weaned off of their medications slowly under medical supervision (something like a methadone treatment program). 4A is inpatient, constant monitoring, locked floors, 24 hour a day inpatient hell where only the most dangerous cases go (in other words, the people who are most likely to suffer from life threatening side effects, like seizures). Would you like to take a guess as to where ALL benzodiazepine withdrawal patients go who are addicted?

That's right, 4A. No visitors, no phone calls, no bullshit. You are monitored constantly because of the acute risk of seizures and other serious side effects for the duration of your withdrawal, which will vary, but with something like Klonopin, maybe 10-15 days. You are constantly watched as you are rapidly tapered off of your benzo with Ativan or Librium to make sure that you don't die. You will of course suffer from side effects, such as anxiety, muscle cramps, etc. They expect that and will treat those symptoms if they can, but you are not there for that, you are there because the withdrawal could kill you. 3A is also inpatient, but you don't go there, because they don't monitor you all of the time and the risk of dying is much less. That's where most of the hardcore opioid addicts go. 2A, for reference, is partial hospitalization, meaning that you can go out during the day, and they keep you there at night, or you go there during the day and go home at night.

At this point, I frankly don't care what you do, as it's your decision, and I'm tired of reading crap from people who don't know what they're talking about or who make outlandish claims on the internet. It's your choice; you can either try to understand how seriously the real world and the people experienced in benzodiazepine treatment treat acute benzodiazepine withdrawal, or you can listen to internet stories of "my buddy" who quit 40mg of Klonopin cold turkey with no problems (note: The maximum amount of Klonopin prescribed per day is 20mg, and that is for seizure patients, the maximum amount for anxiety is 4mg a day). I'm not going to get in to the fact that serious benzodiazepine withdrawal effects like seizures can be induced by even low doses of long term (note: long term is considered more than six weeks) benzodiazepine use because I don't feel like pulling up monkey studies (yes, they tested benzodiazepine withdrawal on baboons) and comb through medical literature to prove a point. I gave you my advice, take it or leave it.
 
sucks to be you right now! i have been taking benzos(2mg xanax 4 tyimes a day) for 12 years and just got outa a mental/rehab trying to get off them they just slowly took me off them and now i take valium.........which doesnt help my panic attacks at all..........i still yearn for a zany im in the process of trying to find something to help with my panic attacks and insomnia............without the memory loose that xanax causes.........hard shit to quit.
 
gomakemeasandwich said:
Jesus Christ I knew some dipshit(s) would come on here and dispute the effects of benzodiazepine withdrawal and use some bullshit anecdotal evidence like "someone I knew was on X (almost always an insane amount) benzodiazepine and he quit cold turkey and didn't feel a thing," I just wasn't expecting someone to make a claim of 40mg of Klonopin a day. I'll spare the effort of going into detail of why abrupt benzodiazepine withdrawal is dangerous, even at the "minor" dose of 3mg a day (hint: 3mg a day isn't "minor"), but since you asked for a source about abrupt benzodiazepine withdrawal and seizure risk, here you go:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2300914



This was about 20 years ago. And also something more relevant, if you'd like to pay to read:

The realities of clonazepam discontinuation

http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/reprint/48/7/881

This was from 30 seconds of searching on Pubmed. Pubmed is your friend, but you usually have to pay to access the SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES on it. Go to the library and pick up a book on benzodiazepines.


i know about pubmed and i have read the case report on alprazolam you posted before. from my research, death from benzodiazepine withdrawal is a relatively rare occurance. i never disputed the fact that it can occur, i disputed your claim that dropping down from 3 mg to .5 mg of clonazepam a day will almost certainly kill you. i don't advise it, but if i had to put money on it i would wager that the great majority of people (or at least a majority) would survive it.
 
gomakemeasandwich said:
Well clearly since you lack the willpower to taper off of the benzo on your own, you're going to have to go to a hospital based detox program if you're serious about getting off of your benzo. There is no way around that.

I'm especially glad (and by glad I mean annoyed) to read that someone with likely little knowledge of benzodiazepines says I'm full of shit after soliciting advice on how to withdraw from them. I'm also tired of reading the same crap over and over again every time someone talks about benzodiazepine withdrawal, namely that "it isn't dangerous dude, totally, my friend (or I) just stopped 300mg of Valium a day cold turkey and I was fine."

The reason that it pisses me off is because this misinformation could be dangerous and/or fatal to the person asking about it if they take the advice seriously and consult and internet forum rather than a doctor. This is still a harm reduction site, no? Benzodiazepine withdrawal is on the same level as alcohol and barbiturate withdrawal in that it almost always needs to be medically supervised (and they work similarly, but that would take too long to explain), because it is one of the classes of drugs that you can die withdrawing from.

To give you an example of how serious people who actually treat patients who need to detox, or rapidly withdraw, of off benzodiazepines are about this, let me explain to you quickly the medical classifications for detox and what happens in each of them in my state. First, I should start out by mentioning that no residential detox center will take a patient until they have been detoxed at a hospital based inpatient facility because of the seizure risk and the lack of a residential treatment program's ability to handle them quickly enough for you to live.

Now, as for the classifications, in Pennsylvania, they run from 1A, which is the least serious, to 4A, which is the most serious. 1A is outpatient detox, where people are weaned off of their medications slowly under medical supervision (something like a methadone treatment program). 4A is inpatient, constant monitoring, locked floors, 24 hour a day inpatient hell where only the most dangerous cases go (in other words, the people who are most likely to suffer from life threatening side effects, like seizures). Would you like to take a guess as to where ALL benzodiazepine withdrawal patients go who are addicted?

That's right, 4A. No visitors, no phone calls, no bullshit. You are monitored constantly because of the acute risk of seizures and other serious side effects for the duration of your withdrawal, which will vary, but with something like Klonopin, maybe 10-15 days. You are constantly watched as you are rapidly tapered off of your benzo with Ativan or Librium to make sure that you don't die. You will of course suffer from side effects, such as anxiety, muscle cramps, etc. They expect that and will treat those symptoms if they can, but you are not there for that, you are there because the withdrawal could kill you. 3A is also inpatient, but you don't go there, because they don't monitor you all of the time and the risk of dying is much less. That's where most of the hardcore opioid addicts go. 2A, for reference, is partial hospitalization, meaning that you can go out during the day, and they keep you there at night, or you go there during the day and go home at night.

At this point, I frankly don't care what you do, as it's your decision, and I'm tired of reading crap from people who don't know what they're talking about or who make outlandish claims on the internet. It's your choice; you can either try to understand how seriously the real world and the people experienced in benzodiazepine treatment treat acute benzodiazepine withdrawal, or you can listen to internet stories of "my buddy" who quit 40mg of Klonopin cold turkey with no problems (note: The maximum amount of Klonopin prescribed per day is 20mg, and that is for seizure patients, the maximum amount for anxiety is 4mg a day). I'm not going to get in to the fact that serious benzodiazepine withdrawal effects like seizures can be induced by even low doses of long term (note: long term is considered more than six weeks) benzodiazepine use because I don't feel like pulling up monkey studies (yes, they tested benzodiazepine withdrawal on baboons) and comb through medical literature to prove a point. I gave you my advice, take it or leave it.


what's your problem dude? no one said it wasn't dangerous. and i didn't say my buddy quit with no problems, i said he didn't die. there is a huge difference. please don't put words in my mouth. in my first post, i said i did not advise it.
 
My friends brother was on a couple mgs of klonopin and his Dr. took him off abruptley. He had a siezure wile he was surfing and drowned. That was him, not everybody. I personley have gone on binges of 4-5mgs of clonzopam, and 4mgs of alprazolam aday for a month or so at a time and lowered my use and quit in a week, not to say that I was comfortable though. I think it depends on your threshold and tollerance, etc. Not to say that posibilety of siezure isnt there, but is it likley to happen with only 3mgs..............probley not.
 
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