4 years on Klonopin for Anxiety

[Illuminatus]

I've been on klonopin for 4 years and its really helped my anxiety.

I take .75 mg twice a day and .5 mg at night which is 2mg a day but sometimes I need extra like today for my first day of class.

My psychiatrist who prescribes it says he doesn't think I'm dependent on it and its just rebound anxiety if I miss a dose or 2.

So how do I know if I'm dependent on it or if its just treating my anxiety and when I stop the old anxiety comes back?

He also put me on gabbapentin (neurontin) which he says will help my social anxiety as well without raising the dose of klonopin

Is this an ok treatment for anxiety or should I get off asap.

Its the only thing that really killed my anxiety so I really am unsure

 

[laCster]

You are definitely physically dependant to klonopin. 2mg for 4years is definitely long enough to cause withdrawal symptoms.

Try going 2 or 3 days without it and see how you feel. Because of kpins long half life, your doctor is right to say you won't experience any negative side effects from missing a dose, but when you consistently miss your klonopin for 2 or 3 days you will definitely be hurting.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I really recommend that you don't take 2-3 days off the clonazepam especially as its primarily used as an anticonvulsant (well, that's what it was meant for!) and after two days of cessation of the drug after 4!!!!!! years on it it's highly likely you could suffer from a seizure, moreso than any other benzo. I find it disturbing that its prescribed for anxiety really.

You are 99.99% dependant on your medication. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your psyciatrist is simply feeding you false information to keep you coming back, paying his fees and collecting your prescription which I'm sure he's commissioned on, especially considering he's now put you on gabapentin.

The rebound anxiety you're suffering is correct as a result of you missing a dose, however it's also a key sign that you're highly dependant on the drug to control your body's nervous system. It's horrifying to think about it - but I strongly urge you to consider getting off this medication. The taper will be slow and treacherous but in the end of the day you'll be living drug free and be able to control your anxiety without medication. Have you considered CBT and therapy? There's a new type of therapy at the moment called DIT which is meant to be highly effective in treating clients with anxiety disorders that I suggest you take a look at.

If you go back to your doctor and ask him to come off the medication and he tells you "no, there's no need! you're fine with it! in fact, without it you'll be a wreck!" You know there's something up. He's wrong. Horribly wrong, and morally impaired frankly. I suggest you have a talk to him about coming off and let us know how it goes!

 

[laCster]

Lol yah I was saying hypothetically, definitely do not try to get off on your own. You need to slowly taper off. Benzo withdrawal can be deadly especially after long term usage.

I repeat, DO NOT stop taking your klonopin before talking to a med professional besides your, and I'm sorry to say this, idiotic doctor.

I'd check in with another psychiatrist before trying to come off, or if your happy to be a slave to klonopin, continue on with your old doctor.

However, it is very safe to assume you are physically dependant, which is similar, but different than psychological addiction

 

[Jabberwocky]

^much agreed with lac. I'm 99.99% sure you're physically dependant on the drug which I must clarify is NOT addicted to the medication. You can come off it if you're really instant and don't want to be a slave to the klonopin. Again, great advise by lac, see another psyciatrist or hell even a regular doctor who could help you come off the stuff if you don't want to take it anymore (and I strongly suggest you do this).

 

[pasha]

Gabapentin combines well with benzodiazepines.

The best time for you to have weighed the pros and cons would have been prior to initiating treatment. It's up to you to decide if you want to continue to take a highly addictive substance at the cost of killing your anxiety.

However, if you decide you want to stop, its never too late. As the other users pointed out you are dependent and you will suffer withdrawal symptoms. Ask your doctor for a well detailed, written out, taper schedule along with a list of medications that will help you deal with withdrawal symptoms. The most serious symptom of benzodiazepine withdrawal is seizures so ask to be placed on a calcium-channel-blocker.

Good luck.

 

[laCster]

^much agreed with lac. I'm 99.99% sure you're physically dependant on the drug which I must clarify is NOT addicted to the medication. You can come off it if you're really instant and don't want to be a slave to the klonopin. Again, great advise by lac, see another psyciatrist or hell even a regular doctor who could help you come off the stuff if you don't want to take it anymore (and I strongly suggest you do this).

Thanks for clarifying! I definitely would hate to give advice that would jeopardize the OPs health

Chrom makes some good points aswell. It's never too late to get off, and gabapentin is a huge help with withdrawal

 

[Benjo Diazepine]

I think there's a chance you may not be dependent, however slim. I would try to taper your dosage over a week or two down to .5 a day and then maybe try not to take any for a couple days just to see how you feel. (Some people don't seem to develop dependence for whatever reason.) If you do feel major anxiety, get back on them right away. Benzos are really one drug you don't want to cold turkey from; it can really mess up your head.
If I were you, I would really think about tapering off for good and find other ways to deal with anxiety. You should not really be taking benzos for more than a few weeks. Look up the Ashton manual online for tapering guidelines, but avoid reading too much on any benzo forums out there. I find they are filled with people that are suffering major protracted w/d and have hosts of problems not related to benzos. Reading their stories will trigger anxiety. Don't do it!

 

[bronson]

I'll just chime in here as someone who has suffered with anxiety for a long time, and tried most of the alternatives. Non addictive medication, SSRIs, CBT. All of these can help to a degree, for example taking a vitamin B50 complex along with an extra B12 helps my baseline anxiety some. SSRIs help, but only certain aspects of it. CBT is great and in many situation can be a wonderful tool to use.

All that said, there are just times when none of that is enough to keep my anxiety and panic from being crippling. I'm on a benzo long term, and I view it more or less as a correction to something that's missing within me. Most people don't need it, and should make sure they have explored the other options first, but if you do need it, nothing to feel bad or ashamed about. Benzos in some individuals retain their anxiety reducing effects long after a tolerance has built. It's just a case by case basis.

Your doctors intentions are not clear, but he is clearly misinformed, benzo DO cause dependence used long term. That just has to be weighed versus the benefit. Food for thought.

 

[Illuminatus]

Wow, thank you everyone for taking the time to help me figure this out. I really appreciate the support and information that is here.

I did stop taking it once cold turkey because I ran out and had crippling anxiety that seemed to me even worse than my original issues. I felt like I was schizophrenic or something without the hallucinations.

I definitely want to come off of this and not be a slave to this addictive substance but I know it will be a process.

I forgot to mention that besides the gabbapentin (neurontin) and klonopin I'm also taking 15 mg lexapro every morning which helps but not as dead on effective like the klonopin.

I will talk to my doctor about coming off. He told me it has the potential to cause dependence but he doesn't think I am. Maybe I'll talk to someone else.

Can anyone tell me what a good general schedule is for tapering off klonopin. It seems that theres more information about switching to another benzo first but I want to see if my doctor knows how to taper someone off of the klonopin before I just go along with whatever plan he has.

Thank you again, I am very impressed by the amount of information and support this online community has. I will definately research this further on my own as well

 

[pally pete]

I think there's a chance you may not be dependent, however slim. I would try to taper your dosage over a week or two down to .5 a day and then maybe try not to take any for a couple days just to see how you feel. (Some people don't seem to develop dependence for whatever reason.) If you do feel major anxiety, get back on them right away. Benzos are really one drug you don't want to cold turkey from; it can really mess up your head.
If I were you, I would really think about tapering off for good and find other ways to deal with anxiety. You should not really be taking benzos for more than a few weeks. Look up the Ashton manual online for tapering guidelines, but avoid reading too much on any benzo forums out there. I find they are filled with people that are suffering major protracted w/d and have hosts of problems not related to benzos. Reading their stories will trigger anxiety. Don't do it!

Sound advice.

Reading many of the Benzo forums helped induce added fear in me.

Wow, thank you everyone for taking the time to help me figure this out. I really appreciate the support and information that is here.

I did stop taking it once cold turkey because I ran out and had crippling anxiety that seemed to me even worse than my original issues. I felt like I was schizophrenic or something without the hallucinations.

I definitely want to come off of this and not be a slave to this addictive substance but I know it will be a process.

I forgot to mention that besides the gabbapentin (neurontin) and klonopin I'm also taking 15 mg lexapro every morning which helps but not as dead on effective like the klonopin.

I will talk to my doctor about coming off. He told me it has the potential to cause dependence but he doesn't think I am. Maybe I'll talk to someone else.

Can anyone tell me what a good general schedule is for tapering off klonopin. It seems that theres more information about switching to another benzo first but I want to see if my doctor knows how to taper someone off of the klonopin before I just go along with whatever plan he has.

Thank you again, I am very impressed by the amount of information and support this online community has. I will definately research this further on my own as well

You would most likely be better off switching to Diazepam (Valium) and then reduce your dose by around 10% every week or two depending on how comfortable you feel.

 

[laCster]

definitely stick with gabapentin! It will help tremendously with withdrawal, trust me!
Your taper depends on how quick you want to get off.

If you want send me a pm with a time frame you want to get off, and ill be sure to help

 

[Benjo Diazepine]

Sound advice.

Reading many of the Benzo forums helped induce added fear in me.

I went on a really big K binge until one day I was like 'hey, this isn't good. I've been doing them straight for a couple months now.' Long story short, I ended up at a benzo forum and thought I really fucked up this time. I tried stopping for a couple days and got massive anxiety. Ended up doing a water taper that I never really needed. I don't think I was ever actually dependent.
Reading about someone that has to be chained to a radiator to stop from killing themselves DOES NOT HELP. HAHAHA

Wow, thank you everyone for taking the time to help me figure this out. I really appreciate the support and information that is here.

I did stop taking it once cold turkey because I ran out and had crippling anxiety that seemed to me even worse than my original issues. I felt like I was schizophrenic or something without the hallucinations.

I definitely want to come off of this and not be a slave to this addictive substance but I know it will be a process.

I forgot to mention that besides the gabbapentin (neurontin) and klonopin I'm also taking 15 mg lexapro every morning which helps but not as dead on effective like the klonopin.

I will talk to my doctor about coming off. He told me it has the potential to cause dependence but he doesn't think I am. Maybe I'll talk to someone else.

Can anyone tell me what a good general schedule is for tapering off klonopin. It seems that theres more information about switching to another benzo first but I want to see if my doctor knows how to taper someone off of the klonopin before I just go along with whatever plan he has.

Thank you again, I am very impressed by the amount of information and support this online community has. I will definately research this further on my own as well

You definitely want to do a water/milk taper. I don't think I can post links yet, but look up the ashton manual. Usually the refrain is: decrease at the rate you're comfortable with. I did the water taper myself but did it fairly quickly over a month.. just ballparking it, but it may take you 6 months to a year which seems like forever I'm sure, but you really have to take your time. Your brain will thank you.
And yes, some will recommend you switch to a longer acting benzo like Valium, but Klonopin has a fairly long half life itself. You may be fine tapering with that. Take it as it comes, but hey, if your doc goes along with it, why not?

 

[RobotRipping]

if it keeps your anxiety in check then id just stay on it for now; you are 100% dependent, not even .01% chance you aren't. Good thing is, you aren't addicted to it. I have to take allergy medication every day, am i slave to it? no, do i need it yes. Well quit if you want of course but dont quit because you are a 'slave' to a chemical, whatever that means. It's not like you sell your body to get ur kpin every month right?

 

[pasha]

I did stop taking it once cold turkey because I ran out and had crippling anxiety that seemed to me even worse than my original issues. I felt like I was schizophrenic or something without the hallucinations.

These are classic symptoms if benzodiazepine withdrawal. The neuro/excitotoxicity can manifest itself when severe in symptoms resembling those of the positive symptoms of schizophrenics, tachycardia, and even seizures. Which is why it's very important or you to stay on an anti-convulsant such as gabapentin as it denies excitotoxicity. Since your already tolerant gabapentin though, you might want to increase your dosage or switch to a more potent anti-convulsant such as pregabalin during and after you finish your taper.

As I said your taper needs to be worked out with your doctor and be sure to mention excitotoxicity. When determining the length of the taper, you have to ask yourself, would you rather do a long taper and feel mild-moderate withdrawal symptoms during and after, or would you rather do a short taper and feel moderate-severe withdrawal symptoms during and after.

Whatever you decide, godspeed.