is this benzo taper to fast?

[chrisalt]

Hey all, first off i did ask my shrink to give me a taper and ive come to the conclusion hes an idiot.

Im taking atm 1 mg of clonazepam split into .25mg doses throughout the day ( ive gotten it down to this is from 4 mgs in spring 2011. I have been taking benzos for 2 years im 24).

Anyways my shrink said to got down by .25mg every 7 days and id be fine. He assured me id have no grand mal seizures or other lethal problems. (he even said id mostly likely have no problem cold turkey. Hence me thinking he is a fool). So figuring now im in this alone and his way is stupid im doing it like this instead.

week 1- 0.25mg x 4 a day

week 2- 0.25mg x 3 a day plus half a 0.25mg

week 3- 0.25mg x 3 a day

week 4- 0.25mg x 2 a day plus half a 0.25mg

week 5 - 0.25mg x 2 a day

week 6- 0.25 mg x 1 a day plus half a 0.25mg

week 7- 0.25 mg x 1 a day

week 8- half a 0.25mg x 1 a day

Does this seem reasonably safe to anyone who has been through the hell of benzo withdrawal before?

ps. inbetween the 2 years i was off benzos for 3 months (i went off 4mg cold turkey before i knew the risks). problem is after i drank a shitload during those 3 months and then went back on benzos. Also i know valium is a good idea but it (and all other benzos besides clonazepam give me awful side effects like rapid heartbeat etc)

I know i should be asking a doc this but i tried and all the info ive read says he is off his rocker. Any advice would be awesome. I am beyond livid he gave these to me (a former junkies junkie) without telling me they can be fatal in WD. Kicking E, coke and amphetamines was nothing compare to the hell of the last several months.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[chrisalt]

bump (help)

 

[nsauce]

It's too fast only if you have bad w/d's .
I have been taking benzos regularly since 1991, and have detoxed from them MANY times. Don't worry what the plan looks like on paper. What I always do is drop my dose as much as I can until I feel a little uncomfortable, then I hold the new, lower dose until I stabilize on it. Then I drop again. Repeat until Im not taking any at all. This has worked for me many times, from high daily doses, and has only cause minor discomfort . Good luck .

 

[Geaux Tigers!]

It actually seems reasonable to me, Chris. Consider augmentation with pregabalin.

 

[chrisalt]

thanks for the replies.. The problem about the pregabalin is i tried taking it for my neurological pain issues and fibromyalgia my Chest was so tight and heart rate went through the roof. So my family doc took me off it.

Its actually kind of ironic. After taking any and all types of drugs from 13 to 20 I think ive done something to my brain and i can't even take aleve without getting serious side effects.

@ nsauce- i hear what your saying. I feel like ass but not even 10% as bad as when i went cold turkey. So i guess im going at a resonable pace.

@ tigers- Hearing someone else say its sounds resonable actually has taken away some of the WD pains, thanks.

 

[F1n1shed]

Yea iv been taking drugs for about the same time, i feel a little off heh. Anyways i don't know why people always have questions on tapers, its pretty easy. And your doc is right, .25 off every week is fine. Its not like your reducing your dose by 50% every week or w.e, as long as you have some gaba transmission going on in your brain you should not really by more anxious.(at least not noticeably)

 

[chrisalt]

Yea iv been taking drugs for about the same time, i feel a little off heh. Anyways i don't know why people always have questions on tapers, its pretty easy. And your doc is right, .25 off every week is fine. Its not like your reducing your dose by 50% every week or w.e, as long as you have some gaba transmission going on in your brain you should not really by more anxious.(at least not noticeably)

I ask about the taper because all you read on the net is abruptly stopping benzos is life threatening. Also i ask because I AM anxious in general. From drugs and naturally thats just who am I as a person because of certain shitty life expierences most dont have happen to them in life.