Help! Clonazepam withdrawal

[WorldCitizen]

Hi everyone, I am currently going through a very rough/scary time. 3 weeks ago I was admitted to an inpatient psychiatric facility. I was in the facility for 2 weeks. During this period of time I was prescribed 1 mg of clonazepam 3x a day. When in the hospital they gave me Teva tablets. They worked great and alleviated many of the symptoms I was dealing with. When I left, they gave me a 30 day supply of clonazepam at 3x a day.

When I went to fill the prescription I got the generic brand Aurobindo. I had never heard of the company and didn't think much of it. I took one of the pills and felt nothing. I looked the company up online and found out that they are notorious for making very weak/inferior clonazepam tablets.

I started taking 3-5 at a time, and still felt anxiety and very little relief, almost as if I was taking a placebo. Within days I was taking 7-10 at a time, usually once a day since I was burning through my supply, but sometimes twice. Still had anxiety and very little relief. Towards the end I was taking 10-20 pills everyday. This occurred within the period of a week.

I have now burnt through my entire supply. After a couple days I woke up with my heart racing, a bad case of RLS, and feeling like I was crawling out of my skin. It has been a couple days since then and the withdrawal symptoms have gotten significantly worse. I was only on the clonazepam for three weeks, but I am worried about my heavy use for a week after I got out of the facility.

I know the dangers of benzo withdrawal, and I am scared that I am going to have seizures and/or die. I didn't think the withdrawals would be very bad since I used for a short period of time, especially since it felt like the tablets had very little clonazepam in them. Should I go to the hospital? Am I in danger of dying?

 

[Flynnal]

Go to the hospital. Tell them what you have been taking, and get treatment for withdrawal. You can suffer significant injuries/damage if you have a seizure and there is a high risk of that if you've been taking large amounts.

 

[paranoid android]

I would bite the bullet and visit a doctor or ER as coming off that much clonaz can cause problems. How the fuck can the clonaz tabs be so shitty? Dont they have quality control there?

 

[WorldCitizen]

Go to the hospital. Tell them what you have been taking, and get treatment for withdrawal. You can suffer significant injuries/damage if you have a seizure and there is a high risk of that if you've been taking large amounts.

Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate it. What would they give me for the withdrawals and how much would they alleviate the symptoms?

 

[WorldCitizen]

I would bite the bullet and visit a doctor or ER as coming off that much clonaz can cause problems. How the fuck can the clonaz tabs be so shitty? Dont they have quality control there?

The company is based out of India, and they have a history of producing drugs that fall below FDA standards. From what I've read they have very poor quality control that has gotten them in trouble multiple times. I swear the potency is 1/10 of other reputable generics. You can look around online and see people saying the same things. I can take 10 of them at a time and walk and talk like I've taken nothing and barely feel any relief. Thank you for the advice, it is greatly appreciated.

 

[paranoid android]

The company is based out of India, and they have a history of producing drugs that fall below FDA standards. From what I've read they have very poor quality control that has gotten them in trouble multiple times. I swear the potency is 1/10 of other reputable generics. You can look around online and see people saying the same things. I can take 10 of them at a time and walk and talk like I've taken nothing and barely feel any relief. Thank you for the advice, it is greatly appreciated.

Thats fucked up. In Canada the generics are all good or atleast every clonaz generic ive had has been good. We have stricter standards then the US does when it comes to generic meds.

The only generic i have had problems with is the fent patch as some brands suck. However a patch is different then a pill

 

[Oxyconone]

Hi everyone, I am currently going through a very rough/scary time. 3 weeks ago I was admitted to an inpatient psychiatric facility. I was in the facility for 2 weeks. During this period of time I was prescribed 1 mg of clonazepam 3x a day. When in the hospital they gave me Teva tablets. They worked great and alleviated many of the symptoms I was dealing with. When I left, they gave me a 30 day supply of clonazepam at 3x a day.

When I went to fill the prescription I got the generic brand Aurobindo. I had never heard of the company and didn't think much of it. I took one of the pills and felt nothing. I looked the company up online and found out that they are notorious for making very weak/inferior clonazepam tablets.

I started taking 3-5 at a time, and still felt anxiety and very little relief, almost as if I was taking a placebo. Within days I was taking 7-10 at a time, usually once a day since I was burning through my supply, but sometimes twice. Still had anxiety and very little relief. Towards the end I was taking 10-20 pills everyday. This occurred within the period of a week.

I have now burnt through my entire supply. After a couple days I woke up with my heart racing, a bad case of RLS, and feeling like I was crawling out of my skin. It has been a couple days since then and the withdrawal symptoms have gotten significantly worse. I was only on the clonazepam for three weeks, but I am worried about my heavy use for a week after I got out of the facility.

I know the dangers of benzo withdrawal, and I am scared that I am going to have seizures and/or die. I didn't think the withdrawals would be very bad since I used for a short period of time, especially since it felt like the tablets had very little clonazepam in them. Should I go to the hospital? Am I in danger of dying?

Greeting pal!

No, you can’t just stop cold as you know. Go to the hospital/GP/Doctor, whoever can issue Clonazepam and get a prescription. If you can get it, Diazepam would be perfect. Crossover to that using a conversion chart/calculator and then slowly reduce from there.

Clonazepam is a potent benzodiazepine, thus 3mg/day is a significant dose.

I have heard that Pregabalin (Lyrica) can help should you be unable to get Clonazepam however it’s far from ideal. Any doctor worth their salt will issue you with a prescription. As a side note, any benzodiazepine will help if you are faced with very limited options. Going cold from that dose is going to cause you harm/is causing you harm.

Best of luck my friend

 

[Pissed_and_messed]

Yeah you can taper bit faster/more comfortably using gabapentin/pregabalin when it seems necessary. But basically one quits benzos by benzos.

 

[Painful One]

I think the pharmacy will just say, “we can’t fill your prescription until (insert 28th day of prescription clonazepam here).”
The hospital will be of no use and might just turn into a big problem.
I’m sorry.

Let us know what happened.
You will be alright.
Try to stay calm.

 

[Oxyconone]

I think the pharmacy will just say, “we can’t fill your prescription until (insert 28th day of prescription clonazepam here).”
The hospital will be of no use and might just turn into a big problem.
I’m sorry.

Let us know what happened.
You will be alright.
Try to stay calm.

Had bad experiences? :-0 Yeah, I've heard all sorts of horror stories from the US.

Benzodiazepine withdrawal is potentially life threatening. As I said in my previous post, Any doctor worth their salt will issue you with a prescription.

Just balancing out the -+ vibes

 

[DrMike]

I've been dealing with clonazepam dependence since I was 15 years old, so it has been a trainwreck trying to deal with discontinuation at my age. I've been on it for decades, and the most I was prescribed was 2mg 3x/day. My brain and body have grown up being used to having the benzo in my blood, so it has been utter hell trying to kick it completely. I'm having more health problems from the drugs that they are using to replace it vs being on the benzo. It's truly ridiculous how they are cracking down on helpful drugs like benzos in an attempt to control "drug abuse". As Oxyconone has said, any doctor who has any compassion whatsoever for their patients should be prescribing them the benzo that they need. This one drug has ruined my life, because incompetent doctors at hospitals have tried to take me off of clonazepam too quickly, which ended up causing grand mal seizures (7 times), and most recently, a small stroke. Ever since having a stroke, my body is not responding the way it used to when it comes to medications, and I can't even drink some coffee without feeling like I'm going to have a panic attack. I hope I haven't scared anybody with this story, but I am just one example of what can and will happen if a patient is being mis-managed when it comes to being prescribed these drugs. I wish everybody the very best of luck when it comes to having to deal with this type of situation!

 

[Oxyconone]

I just have one more thing to add. I have been following the situation that has been unfolding throughout the world (mainly within western cultures at this current time) however expanding into the developing world very closely. The US especially, which is ironic as this part of the world set in motion one of the most devastating situations of the 21st century, the war on drugs, which of course drugs have well and truly won.

I mention this as it goes someway to explain the situation that your good self DrMike and Paranoid Android both find yourself in today. Doctors forced into situations they aren't trained for, bald pharmacists and grief stricken patients/families. It's just a horrible mess. The more I read about the opioid crisis, the looming Benzodiazepine disaster that nobody seems to be aware of etc, the more absurd this situation appears to be.

Anyway, I digress..... I hope you both find solutions (which are very much attainable) to your current predicaments in a prompt and comfortable fashion.

If you haven't heard of The Ashton Manual before, it's the way out !

Here are two resources I will leave you both with;

Ashton Manual - Benzodiazepine Information Coalition

Free Ashton Manual This copy of The Ashton Manual cannot be changed, replicated or sold. THE ASHTON MANUAL SUPPLEMENT, APRIL 2011 IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM PROFESSOR ASHTON, JANUARY 2007 FOREWORD TO...

www.benzoinfo.com

BenzoBuddies - Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Support

benzobuddies.org

Please stay in touch. If there is anything else I can help with, please let me know, God bless x

 

[DrMike]

I just have one more thing to add. I have been following the situation that has been unfolding throughout the world (mainly within western cultures at this current time) however expanding into the developing world very closely. The US especially, which is ironic as this part of the world set in motion one of the most devastating situations of the 21st century, the war on drugs, which of course drugs have well and truly won.

I mention this as it goes someway to explain the situation that your good self DrMike and Paranoid Android both find yourself in today. Doctors forced into situations they aren't trained for, bald pharmacists and grief stricken patients/families. It's just a horrible mess. The more I read about the opioid crisis, the looming Benzodiazepine disaster that nobody seems to be aware of etc, the more absurd this situation appears to be.

Anyway, I digress..... I hope you both find solutions (which are very much attainable) to your current predicaments in a prompt and comfortable fashion.

If you haven't heard of The Ashton Manual before, it's the way out !

Here are two resources I will leave you both with;

Ashton Manual - Benzodiazepine Information Coalition

Free Ashton Manual This copy of The Ashton Manual cannot be changed, replicated or sold. THE ASHTON MANUAL SUPPLEMENT, APRIL 2011 IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM PROFESSOR ASHTON, JANUARY 2007 FOREWORD TO...

www.benzoinfo.com

BenzoBuddies - Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Support

benzobuddies.org

Please stay in touch. If there is anything else I can help with, please let me know, God bless x

Thank you very much for your compassionate response! I keep a copy of the Ashton manual on my computers/phones at all times. My doctor says that lyrica may be able to replace the benzo for me, but I do not have confidence in this theory. Lyrica is a very strange drug, and I can't seem to handle taking it everyday. Looks like I'm going to have to resort back to gabapentin for the possibility of a replacement, but that stuff leaves me truly numb, and both lyrica and neurontin mess with my coordination and fine motor skills in an extremely detrimental way. It becomes a challenge for me to even type on my laptop fluently while taking lyrica. I think my only option is to bite the bullet with a slow/long taper, and come off of the benzo completely. It is truly ridiculous to think about how many people are being affected in this way... Thank you again for your kind words and support!

 

[Painful One]

Thank you very much for your compassionate response! I keep a copy of the Ashton manual on my computers/phones at all times. I know I would be able to quit klonopin if I really really wanted to... BUT, it stabilizes me in a way that no other med I've tried can even come close to. So, I'm both physically dependent, and mentally addicted to the drug. Also I'm very sensitive when it comes to having seizures when I attempt to discontinue usage, and they are the most traumatic things that have happened to me in my life. Every seizure I have seems to damage my memory and other things that I cannot explain with words (maybe just brain damge, IDK) My doctor says that lyrica may be able to replace the benzo for me, but I do not have confidence in this theory. Lyrica is a very strange drug, and I can't seem to handle taking it everyday. Looks like I'm going to have to resort back to gabapentin for the possibility of a replacement, but that stuff leaves me truly numb, and both lyrica and neurontin mess with my coordination and fine motor skills in an extremely detrimental way. I am a guitarist, and if i take lyrica, or a lot of gabapentin, it becomes very hard for me to keep up with proper musical tempo etc. I am completely devastated by this situation, and I just want to be able to play properly again. When I was on a descent dose of clonazepam, (1mg 3x/day seems to be the magic dosage for me), I could play just fine. Maybe I need to wait a while for the lyrica's side-effects to wane, but I don't have much confidence that it will stop messing with my coordination. It becomes a challenge for me to even type on my laptop fluently while taking lyrica. I think my only option is to bite the bullet with a slow/long taper, and come off of the benzo completely, but I am so attached to it... if I attempt to go without it, I feel like I've lost a best friend, it is truly scary for me to try and function without clonazepam in my blood. Also, I'm thinking of finding a doctor who has enough compassion to give me back my klonopin at the proper dosage, but I also know that it will continue to be more difficult to obtain any benzo as time goes on, and the FDA or DEA or whatever keeps cracking down on the prescriptions that doctors can write without getting in trouble. It is truly ridiculous to think about how many people are being affected in this way... Thank you again for your kind words and support!

I think you should be able to have a reasonable amount of the medication that works for you.
Clonazepam works for me too.
For very specific reasons, REM sleep disorder, and other neurological issues.
It is the only medication that works for certain issues.
I feel for you my friend.
That is a terrible thing to go through.
Hugs.

I am currently trying to find a new doctor.
I have chronic low back and neck neck with migraines.
I tried Suboxone.
It is not agreeing with me at all.
I need my low level, long acting MS Contin back.
I am hoping I can find a doctor who will have mercy.
I look like the living dead right now.
I need pain relief.
I can’t think straight due to pain.
That medicine worked for me.
I hadn’t had a migraine in like 3 years.

 

[Painful One]

Also, my opinion on using gabapentin to replace clonazepam from experience, did not work.
Try and stay away from those medications.
The Lyrica and stuff.
They are horrible too.
They should only be used for bad neurological, neuropathy type disorders.

Try and find another doctor @DrMike

That is what I am doing.
I am at the wrong place for the help I need.

 

[Dreamflyer]

Hi everyone, I am currently going through a very rough/scary time. 3 weeks ago I was admitted to an inpatient psychiatric facility. I was in the facility for 2 weeks. During this period of time I was prescribed 1 mg of clonazepam 3x a day. When in the hospital they gave me Teva tablets. They worked great and alleviated many of the symptoms I was dealing with. When I left, they gave me a 30 day supply of clonazepam at 3x a day.

When I went to fill the prescription I got the generic brand Aurobindo. I had never heard of the company and didn't think much of it. I took one of the pills and felt nothing. I looked the company up online and found out that they are notorious for making very weak/inferior clonazepam tablets.

I started taking 3-5 at a time, and still felt anxiety and very little relief, almost as if I was taking a placebo. Within days I was taking 7-10 at a time, usually once a day since I was burning through my supply, but sometimes twice. Still had anxiety and very little relief. Towards the end I was taking 10-20 pills everyday. This occurred within the period of a week.

I have now burnt through my entire supply. After a couple days I woke up with my heart racing, a bad case of RLS, and feeling like I was crawling out of my skin. It has been a couple days since then and the withdrawal symptoms have gotten significantly worse. I was only on the clonazepam for three weeks, but I am worried about my heavy use for a week after I got out of the facility.

I know the dangers of benzo withdrawal, and I am scared that I am going to have seizures and/or die. I didn't think the withdrawals would be very bad since I used for a short period of time, especially since it felt like the tablets had very little clonazepam in them. Should I go to the hospital? Am I in danger of dying?

Wow, that's a lot of Klon! I came off 4mg a day last year and couldn't eat or sleep for almost 2 weeks. I was dry heaving daily and my anxiety was through the roof.

I wish that I had gone to the ER but I kept thinking, "Tomorrow I'll feel better", then I'd feel even worse. It has a very long half life compared to Xanax or Ativan.

 

[Painful One]

I think maybe the key for clonazepam is make sure to keep a lower dosage.
I am not going to go above 1 mg again.
Above that, the withdrawal is downright dangerous.

Try to keep or get to a lower dosage and just hold steady.
It is the best it is going to help.
(Unless your situation is different)
No Judgement.
Just best advice.

 

[Painful One]

You're completely right when it comes to everything you have said here. I was given the lyrica bc I have peripheral neuropathy, and these meds are dangerous. My back is also pretty messed up. I have a convex kyphosis (permanent hunchback basically), scoliosis, degenerated discs in the neck and lower back, and I have had micro-fractures in certain vertebrae bc when I have seizures they say I "flop like a fish out of the water". The thrashing and tonic/clonic actions are so severe that it has partially broken some bones in my back, and that really scares me.
I'm also in pain everyday, my motto sometimes may be "Life is Pain!" LOL. Not really something to be laughing at, but I have to laugh sometimes to say sane...
I also get migraine headaches, but they are few and far between nowadays. I think my suboxone may play a role with migraine when it comes to me. I have lowered my dosage of the subs, and the headaches seemed to have gone away.
I also feel like I look like the walking dead. I get some strange looks in public when people look at me. I like to hide my tired eyes and the purple bags under them with very dark aviator sunglasses. My eyes are very sensitive to light, and if i don't use glasses it can trigger a migraine.
So, I definitely feel your pain, and send ::Hugs!!:: as well! =)
Thank you for your compassion, I definitely have compassion for you (and as many hugs as you would like!) now that you've told me about your ailments.
Also, thanks for your suggestion concerning getting a new doctor. I've been putting it off for years now, and that is just ridiculous. I feel like I am my own worst enemy at times.
I truly hope you can take care of yourself, and get a new doctor. You deserve a great doctor that actually cares about you and will treat you with what you need.
I will keep you in my prayers. (I'm not a bible thumper, but I am a spiritual individual who prays to the universal creator rather than any God that has a name) Also I am a confirmed Christian, and it makes me laugh sometimes. I'd rather not get into religion, but I feel I had to mention prayer here.
You will be in my thoughts and I will send good vibes to you everyday! =)

Thank you!
I receive with gratitude.
I send you much love, many hugs, and prayers of care.

It has been very hard to manage.
They told me years ago that pain management was the best that could be done for me.
I had a reasonable doctor for 15 years but he retired and I just landed at a suboxone clinic.
I’m at the totally wrong place but during Covid things got so weird that I was lucky to get suboxone

It shouldn’t be this strict.
They are mistaking some that really need the help in order to have any quality of life.
I’m going to try and find someone who will help me.

 

[Painful One]

Yeah, I didn’t know how bad it was when on a higher dosage.
Anything above 1 mg for me.
It is worse than opiate withdrawal.

I just weaned myself back down to a lower dosage and I am going to keep it that way.
I actually need a lower level of gabapentin and definitely suboxone.
That stuff is too strong for me.
I was being prescribed reasonable low level, long acting pain medication but it was not as strong as this suboxone is.

Yeah, I just stayed at this place due to mom dying, taking care of mom through illness.
Me not having time or energy.
Doctors not being available.
Medical system problems.
I hope I can find a doctor now.

I agree that Cannabis does help during the withdrawal.
Hang in there Mike
It takes about a week and your body will adjust to a lower level of clonazepam.