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Tapering off of Clonazepam for withdrawals

Y

yo0123yo

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 22, 2009
Messages
506
Location
Malibu, California
I have been taking usually between 4-6mg daily for the past 6 months and recently i tried quitting cold turkey but about 5 days after quitting i was having little anxiety attacks and paranioa around people...i heard you can taper off by lowering your dose or by switching to diazepm? can anyone please help with this clonazepam withdrawal i would greatly appreciate it thanks. and i got these from someone i know so they are not prescribed to me
 
You can and should goto a doctor to be tapered off.

I switched to a good reputable doctor to taper me off of benzos. I told him my xanax dosage, and he lowered that and changes it to XR a few consecutive months then switched to valium. Since I told him the dose I was on, and asked to be lowered, he did not mind doing it since anybody seeking to get high would not do this. I also volunteered my previous docs name if he wanted to double check but he didn't bother asking, im pretty sure there is a database that tracks prescriptions filled anyways that docs can check.

Since you have not gotten them from a doctor before, I would just explain the situation, and explain that you will lower n continue to lower your dosages as they deem fit. I'm pretty sure that my doc knew that after 5 yrs on 3mgs of xanax that I was not getting high off of lower doses of xanax, and then valium when I got down to that so your doctor should not be hesitant if he is lowering the dosages.
 
Tommyboy723 said:
You can and should goto a doctor to be tapered off.

I switched to a good reputable doctor to taper me off of benzos. I told him my xanax dosage, and he lowered that and changes it to XR a few consecutive months then switched to valium. Since I told him the dose I was on, and asked to be lowered, he did not mind doing it since anybody seeking to get high would not do this. I also volunteered my previous docs name if he wanted to double check but he didn't bother asking, im pretty sure there is a database that tracks prescriptions filled anyways that docs can check.

Since you have not gotten them from a doctor before, I would just explain the situation, and explain that you will lower n continue to lower your dosages as they deem fit. I'm pretty sure that my doc knew that after 5 yrs on 3mgs of xanax that I was not getting high off of lower doses of xanax, and then valium when I got down to that so your doctor should not be hesitant if he is lowering the dosages.
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tyanks guys is there any option without me having to see a dr. because i dont have insurance and psychiatrists charge a lot
 
Well it all depends on what you have access to. The ideal drug for tapering is valium, but if all you can get is clonazepam then it will have to do.

I found it easiest to drop my dosage in the beginning. I dropped my xanax dose in half right away, which will cut down on the amount of time the tapering will eventually take. So take the lowest dose you can get by on.

Other things that you may want to purchase are benadryl, and white grapefruit juice. The grapefruit juice will make it longer for your body to eliminate benzos, so they will have a longer effect. The benadryl also potentiates it a little, or atleast helps with sleep.
 
yo0123yo said:
tyanks guys is there any option without me having to see a dr. because i dont have insurance and psychiatrists charge a lot
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also if i've been taking 4-6 mg daily for the past 6 months, how should my taper cycle look like so i dont go through the horrible withdrawals im thinking of ordering some valiums to taper down but have no idea how to do a taper cycle. any help is appreciated thanks
 
Were you taking these for anxiety/panic attacks, or mostly recreationally?

If they were more for recreation, then it would be a quicker taper then somebody who was on a high dose for anxiety. Although your dosage was relatively high, it wasn't taken for that long of a period.

Get down to 2mgs a day within a week. It may be hard at first, but it will help in the long-run. I went from the 3mgs daily for over 4yrs down to 1.5 overnight. My dosage wasn't as high as yours, but the amount of time I was on it was sooo much longer (not trying to minimize your use or make it seem like I was hardcore, Im just trying to show you that if I did it, you can do it). After that cut down .5mg a week. Alternating the doses to wean into a lower dosage is helpfull. Like after a week at two mgs, do the 1.5 on day, 2 the next, then drop fully down to the 1.5. Also keep in mind that xanax is quite potent, so if you really need to you can just add .25 (eyeing it out assuming your not getting .5 or .25 pills) if you cant sleep at night.

If you get valium or clonazepam let us know, and we can give advice on switching over.

I think that the amount of time on a drug often plays a larger role than the dosage itself. That is why I think you should get off of it rather quickly. There are manuals with 6month tapers, but that would double the amount of time that you were on it in the 1st place, so it would be rather pointless and worse in the end.
 
Diazepam and Lorazepam are the easiest to help with withdrawls, because they are weaker then most others, if you are able to get your hands on some 10mg valiums, take some of them for a few days then, switch to the 5's for a few days, then go to .05 ativans (you may have to take quite a few of these) but ativan is easy to withdrawl from, from my experience.
 
I was on clonazepam for 6-7 years (prescribed), taking 6mg's a day at my peak. I eventually switched to an equivalent dose of diazepam and began tapering that down. If you decide to do it this way, make sure you see a doc who knows what they're talking about. I've encountered some doctors who were totally clueless about benzos - I remember one telling me to immediately stop my 6mg's of clonazepam and replace it with just 20mg's of diazepam! That's nowhere near the equivalent dose and would have resulted in some nasty seizures for me. :\
 
yea i would use it for both anxiety and recreational when i would go out (ex. clubbing, drinking, stuff like that) so how would my diazepam cycle have to look like if i have been takin this 4-6mg clonazepam everyday for the past 3 months but i have been taking benzos period for over 2 years...started with xanax, then switched over to whatever i could get my hands on from online, and i HATE the withdrawals i want them to go away and just be normal..i made an appointment with a psychiatrist but im not sure what to expect...what do you guys think he will most likely write me for to taper down?
 
idk maybe 50 mgs of valium to start with. Mine went from 1mg xanax to 10mg valium. Doctors have their own equivalenct benzo doses which varies from doc to doc. Usually from there you will drop every 2 weeks, but idk by how much. If its a 6th month taper then maybe 10mgs every 2 weeks. It really isn't set in stone as some doses may take longer to adjust to than others.

Oh, and I just realized that you were on clonazapam. For some reason I had been responding in earlier posts thinking you were on xanax. All my info should still be right tho.
 
You should never stop taking a benzo abruptly, especially Klonopin, b/c at higher doses, an abrupt d/c can lead to seizures.

With Klonopin's long half life, you're going to want to taper VERY slowly. What you're describing is rebound anxiety from coming off the Klonopin, a very common side effect.

A doctor guided taper is really the safest option. If you can't do thatm then return to this thread outlining what meds you have access to (and how much, what strength) so we can give you some guidance.
 
The way I was taken off clonazepam was lowering it by half a mg every 2 weeks (or every week would work too...but I wanted to do it slow).
 
How long would it take to experience those bad withdrawals & be at risk for seizures & stuff if you just quit klonopin cold turkey? Just out of curiosity does anyone know? I've been taking them for like 9 months now & eventually I'm gonna taper off of them.
 
so it should be no problem if i tell the doctor i have been getting these clonazepams illegally but i can no longer get them and am goign through these withdrawal symptoms? i just want something that will help me deal with the withdrawals and i'm not really sure what to expect after telling the psychiatrist this tomorrow or what he might suggest i do or give me, kinda worried..
 
Most doctors will only taper you off using a Valium taper if you ask and you've been on them for a long period. Its generally best to switch when you get to the lower doses. If you have been using them illegally you can still go through a detox. They will ask you how much you have been using for how long and then decide what to do. More than likely just slowly taper a dose every week or two. Although they may possibly tell you to go to a detox center because not all doctors know how to taper correctly.

I've been on benzos for 10 years and legally so my doctor let me do a Valium taper vs. just slowly getting off the clonazepam. It took me a year to get down from 8mg to 1mg and then I was switched onto 20mg Valium and now tapering 5mg every month. Remember I've been on Clonazepam with or without another benzo forever so I'm tapered very slow.
 
I have been on about 3 mg of Clonazapem for about 7 years. My neurologist told me to get a family doctor, so I did. I told him that my neurologist was giving them to me, but he gave me them anyway. Now, I had it, so I told the neuro, and now neither one will help me. So I am with 8 pills left and don't know whether to order Baclofen or what over the net?? Can somebody tell me what to do?? I have to go back to school tomorrow and I am really sweating this out big time!!
 
deannal said:
I have been on about 3 mg of Clonazapem for about 7 years. My neurologist told me to get a family doctor, so I did. I told him that my neurologist was giving them to me, but he gave me them anyway. Now, I had it, so I told the neuro, and now neither one will help me. So I am with 8 pills left and don't know whether to order Baclofen or what over the net?? Can somebody tell me what to do?? I have to go back to school tomorrow and I am really sweating this out big time!!
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I don't understand. Your doctor who was prescribing them to you just quit giving them to you?? No doctor would do that.
 
Yeah. My neuro and doctor got together and said I was getting it from both of them, so they thought I was taking them recreationally. I REALLY WAS NOT! I have dystensia in my neck, (diagnosed by my neuro). Talked to the neuro's nurse today, and she said I deceived them. I told her HOW?? You wrote my family doctor a letter telling him you were prescribing the same medication?? And I told my family doctor the neuro was prescribing the same medication?? So, I told him that the family doctor should have been aware of what was going on? Why is it my fault that I followed my doctor's instructions? So, yes, they both cut me off ZIP>>>>>>!!! and now I am having severe panic attacks and tightness in my chest and sweating, and I made another appt for a doctor on Wednesday, but I don't know what to tell him. I'm almost afraid to tell him the truth, cause he may think I'm doctor shopping, which I AM NOT! But, I don't know what to do. Any ADVICE, SOMEBODY!!!
 
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