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Benzos Accelerated Clonazepam Taper-Substitute for Clonazepam?

Thanatos

Thanatos

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Long story short, I'm currently on an accelerated taper from 4.5 mg of clonazepam a day, and the plan is to be down to .5 mg in a months time. The problem is, is that even a half mg decrease precipitates wd and I'm already having a ton of difficulty with my insomnia. As a side note, I just stopped my gabapentin use cold turkey after using it at 2.5 grams a day for 7 months or so.
So the main question is; what could I possibly switch to in order to taper at a quicker rate instead of staying on my kpins? I just can't taper fast on it: it's my overall doc and I feel like I need a different, more sedating benzo with a long half life to complete my taper.

Ps. My psychiatrist won't switch me to diazepam, and I've already tried temazep a few years ago so it might be out of question.
 
Well I kind of got in a car wreck while on alprazolam and asked not I be prescribed to it anymore. And I was addicted to lorazepam before I got my clonazepam. Short acting would be nice on the length of withdrawal, but I need a long half life agent so I don't start wd'ing in the middle of the day when I can't access my medicine. This is in line with most taper programs, isn't it?
It seems like a month and a half is way too short to drop 4 mg of clonazepam after roughly 5 years of benzo use.
 
Ativan would be your only option other than a fast phenobarbitol taper. Absolutely not alprazolam I found klonopin is the easiest benzo to taper from I could not handle an alprazolam taper and I switched to clonazepam. I think ativan may be easier because for me its a yucky dirty feeling benzo I don't like it at all, that may assist with some mental aspect of a taper.
 
that's really strange your doc won't put you on diazepam, ridiculous actually as it is perfect for this situation. There's no way you should taper that fast if you can help it, you can easily be left with some form of PTSD, derealization, depersonalization and other fun side effects that may take months to wear off.

Why are you tapering? is it forced or by choice? I'd get a second opinion if it's being forced on you. The worse the taper is the more susceptible you are to relapse as well. Here's a list of benzos which may help you a bit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_benzodiazepines
 
I asked to taper bc I am starting to really feel the cognitive defects and the dependency is starting to take control of my life. Oddly enough benzos are my drugs of choice so it's incredibly difficult to drop 1mg a week of something I'm completely dependent on. I asked for a gradual taper but she cut my dose in half and expects me to man up and cut down to the .5mg in a little over a month. Her (my psych) reasoning for not prescribing diazepam is that it is addictive. Like any clonazepam is any better? I need them for sleep more than anxiety but hypnotics are so short acting. This is painful to say the least.
 
diazepam is the standard but i'm on xanax and once my doctor considered taking me off cause i said it was stolen and he wanted me to drop .5mg a week and i take 6mg a day and i tapered fine to 3mg than i convinced him to put me back on 6
 
It would be awesome if we could abstain from the alprazolam talk. I absolutely can not take it responsibly and I need therapeutic advice instead of Xanax experience. Short acting benzos will only precipitate wd since I am so physically habituated/addicted to clonazepam and the occasional Ativan. I also take butalbital for migraines every once in awhile. My GABA system is completely out of wack and I need to fix it.
 
^ do you know it's legal status in the us? And if it is currently in use by mainstream medicine?
It sounds good on most aspects from what I can tell but it seems to be short acting and potent by weight. Something less potent by weight would be optimal so I can gradually shave a few milligrams every other week or so instead of literally reducing my dose by 20-25% each stage of the taper. I have EPS and light tardive dyskenisia so an abrupt reduction is really hard on me physically.
 
Oxazepam is one of the top medications on my list.. But I don't know too much about it, not enough to suggest it to a psychiatrist at least. Could anyone expand on their suggestions? I would really appreciate it!
 
entheo said:
^ do you know it's legal status in the us? And if it is currently in use by mainstream medicine?
It sounds good on most aspects from what I can tell but it seems to be short acting and potent by weight. Something less potent by weight would be optimal so I can gradually shave a few milligrams every other week or so instead of literally reducing my dose by 20-25% each stage of the taper. I have EPS and light tardive dyskenisia so an abrupt reduction is really hard on me physically.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure its totally legal maybe dipping its toes into the grey area, the analog act only applies to sched 1 and 2 chemicals so I think its fine. I dont think its prescribed in the us but it is definatly used in mainstream medicine in other countries.
 
Thanks shreddedlettuce! I'll definitely consider it as a viable option that can be monitored by my doctor. Etizolam is kind of out the question, being an addict I really don't trust myself with rc benzos. Especially not since my phenazepam episodes. I just don't trust myself without being monitored.
So is oxazepam or Chlorodiazapoxide my only options? I would like to get a list going so I can make a calculated decision on which medications to bring up to my physician. I'd rather not come off as having drug seeking behavior when I'm actually trying to taper safely.
 
Would barbiturates be advisable at all? I'm unaware of any long acting compounds but then again i haven't been able to use any thing besides the short acting barb-butalbital.

I'm also curios about nordazepam and chlorazepate. I don't know much about them but the long half life seems promising.
 
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entheo said:
It seems like a month and a half is way too short to drop 4 mg of clonazepam after roughly 5 years of benzo use.
Click to expand...

Abso-fucking-lutley! 8o
My hat is off to you, good sir, it's taken me 14 months so far to get from a 1-2mg Xanax addiction for 3 years.

You should really switch to Diazepam, preferably liquid Diazepam. Yes I read your doctor won't prescribe, and mine wouldn't at first either. However, if you present a detailed taper schedule to show your doctor what you plan to do, it would just be plain messed up if he still isn't willing to make your effort to get off benzos easier.

Honestly I would slow WAY DOWN on the cuts... what are you at now?
Take care.
 
I was at 4.5mg/day on 7-13 and now I am at 2.5 mg/day and in constant wd. I told myself I would follow her taper schedule but I am still 1.5 mg too high compared to the schedule. I'm also dealing with chronic pain issues and abrupt gabapentin wd. The only thing saving me right now is my modest dose of hydrocodone. But that still doesn't cover up the pain and acute withdrawal symptoms. I don't have the expertise to make a true taper plan, do I'm not sure I can convince my doc to switch me to diazepam. She is afraid I'll fall even deeper into dependence..
 
Down to 2.5mg? Wow! Well good for you, I'd say stay at that dose for a bit since you're already there and deal with the withdrawal until you stabilize at that dose. Here's what I would do, based on what I did. Keep in mind your dose is 2 times what I was taking though, so your mileage may vary:

Cut between 0.5mg to 1mg a month until you're down to 0.5mg Clonazepam.
From 0.5mg Clonazepam, switch to 10mg Valium. (5mg pills twice a day)
Cut down 1-2mg a month, or whatever you can handle.
Once you get down to 5mg, you may want to switch to 2mg Valium pills.
At 5mgs you may want to cut less each month too, really depends how you're doing.

I'm at a little under 3mg Valium per day right now. I know that seems like a pretty long taper when you compare it to what you're doctor wants you to do, but you really have to give yourself time to recover from taking them for 5 years. All I can say is you really just have to take your time and make adjustments along the way. (If you're feeling good, try making a bigger cut that month, etc.)

As far as your doctor not switching you to Valium for fear that you'll be worse off... that is just absurd. Diazepam has to be one of THE BEST routes to go when you're getting off benzos, especially the liquid stuff.

Hoped that helped a bit. Good luck!
 
Why would the liquid preparation be better versus the tablet form?
Yes I have decreased 2mg in a little less than a month, but I have had to completely deplete my carisorodal script and use more of my hydrocodone than I can really afford just to keep myself functioning. And I am still getting the shakes and flu like wd symptoms everyday. It has exarcerbated my EPS as well, I can't control the ticks and brain zaps at all at this point. I wouldnt have followed the taper if I had more clonazepam for the month, but I won't risk complete withdrawal with no hope of getting my medication for weeks. I would feel much more comfortable at 3.5mg/day right now. What would the Diazepam equivelant of that be? What will be the subjective differences be between the two compounds if I am able to switch to diazepam?
 
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