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Benzos Need Advice on Weaning from A SHORT BINGE!

Thomas29

Thomas29

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 25, 2010
Messages
1,505
I have been taking Various Different Benzos no more than 9mg Equivilance to Clonazepam once a Day usually 7mgs worth for about roughly 2 weeks give or take half a week. Anyways I know at this Dosage and Length Cold-Turkey is a dumb idea and Weaning would be a Smart Move but I got no idea how to go about that in my Particular situation and I am currently to Homicidal to put it SIMPLY for Me to Calmly Research the Answer I do not need Advice on Preventing Relapse or Treating the "Underlying Condition." I just need a STRAIGHT UP Answer as to the Best way for Weaning myself off. I know if I Wean for too Long I will just make things worse with such a Short-Term Use but with the High Enough Dosages being used Cold-Turkey Scares Me even if no "Permenant Damage" would occur I MUST minimize ALL the Withdrawal symptoms like the anxiety and Insomnia even if it means weaning down by like 0.1MG Clonazepam every week or few days or some takes that long for MINIMIAL to zero withdrawals symptoms so be it. Only Benzos I got in my Arsenal at the momment is Clonazepam and Temazepams and I can get Diazepam but they Cost way to much I would much rather use Clonazepam but if some Valium is absolutely neccessary or EXTREMELY MORE HELPFUL than Clonazepam will be in Tapering than I will fork over the Cash to get Me some of them.
 
You can wean just as effectively with clonazepam as with diazepam.
Clonazepam has a long half-life like diazepam so should work just as well.
Weaning by 0.5mg a week would be safe I think.

You cant do a quick taper with a benzo that has a long-life because your the levels of the drug in your body would drop suddenly. This would lead to dangerous WD symptoms like seizures.

You could search for the 'Ashton manuel' its the gold standard for benzo withdrawal.

Anything else I can help with, feel free to ask. :-)
 
^The thing that would worry me....2 weeks may not be long enough to have developed a true physical dependency at all, but if you keep using them to taper for another month, you may actually end up dependent by the end of that....which is kind of a paradox.
 
Dependence builds faster to higher doses. Anything >5mg a day would seriously surprise me if it didn't cause a tolerance in 2 weeks.

Your taper plan sounds fine. And you should directly taper from clonazepam. As bunge said, it has a long half-life itself but also crossing over from clonazepam to diazepam is hard at best, impossible at worst (I've done it twice) and adds time to your taper. Just taper directly off of it and you should be fine. As for your cut size, I would do .125mg every two days if possible. You don't want to prolong your taper and you want your levels to go down in a linear fashion to avoid large drops. If you were taking it multiple times a day, split your dose into 3 doses a day and make your cuts from the morning and afternoon at a slightly faster rate than the night dose so you continue to sleep. I've found that sleep is by far the biggest hindrance to a successful taper in my case. Every time I start not sleeping, my symptoms get worse and I have to hold my taper longer.
 
BlueHues said:
^The thing that would worry me....2 weeks may not be long enough to have developed a true physical dependency at all, but if you keep using them to taper for another month, you may actually end up dependent by the end of that....which is kind of a paradox.
Click to expand...


This is the Problem to my Situation I need Advice with.
 
^
I conceed that BlueHues has a point but OP although you were only binging for a short period, the doses you were using were very high.

Even after a short time period, these doses could give severe WD symptoms, will it be fatal...unlikely, will it be extremely uncomfortable?...yes.
Maybe try a quicker taper and if you notice any severe or troubling symptoms then use some of the temazepam to halt WD...however temazepam being a strong hypnotic can cause bad amnesia etc.

Best HR advice (and common sense.lol) is to taper with the clonazepam as stated above or go see your doctor for advice on a taper plan (although some doctors are absolutely shit when it comes to benzo taper).
 
Yeah at 7mg's of clonazepam a day for 2 weeks, tapering is a very good idea. Try brining it down 25% a day or so and see how you feel.

2 weeks isn't long enough to be very dependent, so it's not like your withdrawals will be very severe at all, so you'll be able to taper at a much faster rate that somebody who has been using benzos for a longer time.
 
This is a tough question to answer, and benzo tapers and dependence isn't something I have a huge amount of experience with.

A lot of people have gone on binges like you're describing. I used xanax and klonopin 4-5 days a week for months, and often wondered if I had become physically dependent. I always suffered rebound anxiety and other psychological symptoms for a few days, but that's about it...However, everyone's different, and to advise you to just "stop and deal with it" would be irresponsible.

I think, the binge you described is the type of use that would bring you right to the edge of true dependency. Doing a slow taper might push you over the edge....Bunge obviously seems to have some knowledge of how to go about a taper, but I don't really know...If you go .5 mgs a week from seven, you'll be on a hefty dose of benzos for months...This question needs a few more people to weigh in...
 
Well it's pretty easy to figure out if you're dependent and need to taper or not.. ha.

Just stop taking the benzos and see what happens. Obviously, make sure you still have some on hand in case you do get sick so you can then taper.. but, if you don't end up feeling withdrawals, (which you very well might not) you dodged a bullet and you're all good.

Not really that complicated.
 
^True, but the early symptoms are pretty much identical to rebound anxiety, but you're right...You'd probably have plenty of warning if you were in seizure territory, which is the main concern.
 
small habits of benzos are really not a big deal to kick (compared to shooting 2 bundles a day for a few years).

just drink fluids, be somewhere you can take showers, beer helps but dont drink more than a couple.

once you are up to it, the best cure is exercise. work the body, and you will feel better.

the biggest pain may be emotional livid memories. remember, you are phycholically vulnerable at the moment, and this too shall pass.

i cant stress enough the effect of exercise and sex with a light habbit. you know you have a medium habit when you cant stop sweating, have chicken skin all over, and dont want to be touched at all.
 
^
Fair enough, a dew weeks/months isnt a long time habit but 7+mgs a day is a hefty dose (equipotent to 140mg of diazepam iirc).
The Op must have built up to that kind of tolerence with on/off use for a while, which will play a factor in the overall WD.

As mr.scag said, stop the benzos for a little while 24-48 hrs should start to show symptoms.
Then if you get too uncomfortable, restart the benzos with the temazepam (its very quick acting and will get you out of discomfort the quickest) and then start your clonazepam taper.

@evilbrain, I think your getting opiate WD mixed up with benzo WD. The two arent comparable at all and all the fluids and execise in the world wont ease benzo WD.
I can also say that you defo wont want sex...when your heartrate sounds like a fast DnB remix and you get that horrible sticky sweat coating your body, while feeling angry at the world one minute and weeping like a lil girl the next...you wont want to have sex, I assure you.

Edit: I thought the OP said a MONTH and a half, not a week and a half.lol
Although I still think theres got to be more history of use then the OPs letting on (not an accusation OP just a feeling.lol).
I would change my original taper to 1mg of clonazepam less per day and no more then two weeks to complete.

Also OP, you cant use various benzos to taper with. Pick one with a good half life (8hrs minimim), so lorazepam out, as is etizolam and alprazolam and temazepam hit too hard to be effective in a taper (the rebound anxiety would be awful).
What benzos do you actually have access too?
 
Last edited:
Okay I tried stopping Definitely need to Taper right now I am down to 1.5 mgs from doing a Quick-Aggressive Basically Clueless Taper and it has been 2 WEEKS MAX OF USE as of this Post. like no more than 14 Days since I Started taking them Daily.

I just had half a mg and plan to take a half a mg when I go to bed and than tomorrow plan to take it down to 0.6mg Clonazepam before bed tomorrow night and the night after tomorrow night I will take 0.125MG Clonazepam I just hope this is not to QUICK of a Taper I know I am not at RISK of Seizures but I know not WEANING Down SLOWLY can DEFINITELY cause LONG-TERM if not PERMENANT COGNITIVE and Speech problems etc etc.
 
^
Your spot on with the worry of too quick a taper causing cognitive difficulties, although longterm use of benzos is more damaging to cognition.
The trick is to find the dose that HOLDS you (anxiety and/or other symptoms at a managable level), and taper from there.
The main risk from too quick a taper is relaspe and relapse binges are generally alot messier then the original binge.
 
Okay so this Morning I just had 0.5MG Clonazepam and Tonight I will have 1MG before Bed. Tomorrow I will just have 1MG before bed and than the Night after tomorrow Night I will only take a 1.25MG Dosage before Sleep and than Cold-Turkey from there? Will that Cause any PERMENANT Cognitive problems or just Temporary problems that will Clear up in like a Month probably or Two Months Maximum I do not think I got enough Clonazepam to go Slow as Optimal in Weaning but I am doing my Best with what I got to go Slow as Possible. But I can go Buy more Clonazepam or Diazepam from a Buddy of mine if you think a Slower more Gradual Taper is NECESSARY to Prevent any Permanent or Long-Term Cognitive Effects I Deal with being Uncomfortable for a couple weeks or two Months but I HATE THE IDEA that the FACT I GOBBLED these PILLS out of RAGE to CALM MY SHIT from this ROUGH PATCH in LIFE will have FOREVER-LASTING BAD SIDE-EFFECTS?
 
^
Your getting a little panicked over nothing here.
I highly doubt a couple of weeks islong enough to develop a damaging habit.
Clonazepams halflife however means that you cant taper down in three days.
Your blood levels would drop at the same time you stop taking the med, essentially meaning you stopped cold turkey.
Taper over a week at least.
 
U say Taper over a week and of course i am fucking panicked you think I was taking this shit to get high....... Like I am down to 1.5mg Clonazepam had 0.5mg in morning gonna have 1mg tonight had 2 mg yesterday where do I go from here I got Temazepam 30MGs coming on Monday if I need some with a shorter Half-Life to put into the Mix of the Taper? Like give me a week Guideline of how I should lower the dosage over a week? i got no idea maybe I am too fucking pissed to think clearly and calmly and had enough typing for at least Couple Hours lol.
 
I would think you were taking them to get high at those doses without a tolerance. Don't lash out at people trying to help you. It's not that complicated. Take .5mg in the morning and 1mg at night. Then cut the .5mg dose in half and still take 1mg at night. Drop off the .250 dose and your just on 1mg. Cut that down to .75mgs by taking a quarter out. Then Cut that down to .5mgs at night.

Once you reach that point take .5mg every other night or even .250mgs.

Then you can always try valerien herb which should ease the transition even further.

Expect rebound insomnia and anxiety. But that should be about as bad as it gets.
 
I've exceeded that dosage consistently for longer durations of time. If you had my body chemistry quitting 9mg clonazepam a day max for no more than two weeks cold-turkey (as I've done many times) would cause nothing more than rebound insomnia, extreme rebound anxiety, an excess of sweating and potentially shaky hands. If I consumed that dose consistently for a month or more I'd have to taper or face the possibility of seizures.

But you are different than me. To be safe I'd recommend cutting your dose by 1mg a day until you're off. That should be more than manageable. If you're having a hard time acquire some Valerian Root, Cannabis and maybe a beer or two a night. Whatever your alcohol of choice is, something to calm the GABA receptors. But don't get drunk every night, and don't switch benzos for alcohol.
 
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