Benzos CLONAZEPAM an amazing ally for alleviating opioid withdrawal symptoms?

[opiomoter]

So I have tapered down from 2mg to 1mg to 0.5mg successfully, over the course of a month or two. So I thought this would be a good jump off point, so that I can embark on my opiate/opioid free life!!!!!! Anyways, I have a prescription for clonazepam on a per needed basis, so I thought it would be an interesting idea to use clonazepam to alleviate some of the withdrawal symptoms I am going to face when I finally stop taking Buprenorphine FOR GOOD.

I used clonazepam to help me taper down from the doses mentioned above, and it has worked wonders, not just for the anxiety and restlessness, but also has abated some of the withdrawal symptoms ALTOGETHER


I am curious to know if this could be a good tool for combatting withdrawal symptoms in general. What are your opinions on the matter? Has anyone else had a similar experience such as mine? Any advice, comments, and maybe some additional feedback would be kindly appreciated! Thanks, and best of luck to all!

 

[556m4]

It may help with the anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia. Be careful you only use it when necessary because a benzo addiction is one of the worst things I have ever experienced, and I never even use them to get high just relief from anxiety and insomnia. I have used alprazolam on numerous occasions to help detox from opiates and it does help with the insomnia and restlessness. Clonazepam and I don't get along very well I have strange reactions to it. Good luck on being opiate free and stay strong man it's tough, I never detoxed directly from suboxone just used it as a detox aid and it seemed to work pretty well at somewhat blunting withdrawl symptoms but the insomnia was still there. The detox was usually the easy part for me, the worst part of opiod withdrawls in my opinion are the p.a.w.s that comes after the initial withdrawls. My advice would be just only use it when needed, go as long as you can without it because benzos are hands down the worst drugs to withdrawl from and taper from in my opinion. Good luck -556m4

 

[sekio]

Don't detox from opioids with benzodiazepines. You'll develop toleraqnce/dependence to their effects and when you stop therapy you'll probably still be anxious and twitchy.

If you think opioid withdrawal is hard, try withdrawal from benzodiazepines.

 

[HaZeX]

Opiate withdrawal doesn't hold a match compared to bezno w/d...

I wouldn't use the benzos for more than a week, there just not worth it.

 

[chase_in_56ace]

Remember you can actually die from benzo w/d.

 

[Opanaking]

I find that all benzos are miracles for opiate withdrawal, although some work significantly better then others. If your going to use them to get off opiates you need to use them extremely sparingly. Your tolerance can go through the roof when you keep taking more and more trying to get some relief. Suboxone withdrawal is long in duration also. Chances are if you take them for 2 weeks you'll experience some anxiety after discontinuation. Your best bet would be to only use them on the hardest days. If you really are trying to get off opiates for good, then it's worth it. one to two weeks on klonopin isn't going to cause you to become dependent, at least not that much, there's always the chance of rebound anxiety/insomnia. So if it helps you then go ahead and use it. Just be responsible and dont switch habbits.

 

[MartinFn]

^^This..i agree with you, opiomoter, clonazepam is a miracle drug for w/d, but keep in mind it can be very addictive too, so take as low as you can, use it very carefully. I would say that you should leave the w/d's symtoms hit you first, let your system try to "fight" them, and after some time pass, take the clonaz...you would deserve it, ya know what i mean... 556m4 speaks wise.. I wish you the best my friend..


MartinFn%)

 

[Znegative]

I don't know, IMO, benzo use is pretty risky for opiate withdrawal due to its own physical dependency issues. However they can be helpfull, especially for insomnia, but to take them throughout the course of the day is not a good idea. I think Gabapentin is a safer and more effective alternative.

 

[plague66]

Get Lyrica prescribed. I'm currently coming off Methadone (which is considered the WORST of all opiate withdrawals) and it absolutely takes all the W/D away and I even feel a slight high. Trust me.
450-600mg a day and you will come off the opiates without even noticing. This medicine is FAR superior to benzodiazepines. I've cold turkeyd off 3-methylfentanyl (one of the most powerful opiates in the world) before and took benzos, they didn't help much. Just made me a zombie who felt slight better but with Lyrica its just amazing. And I'm not some Pfizer employee, it really is wonder medicine. And get some Loperamide too.

 

[Bluefrogger]

Please take the warning and listen to what everyone is saying! Clonazepam is a really sneaky benzo that has a really long life.
( Check Erowid out for drug facts on the web) You think, wow - this is really working well for me, start a continued routine, time passes by and suddenly WAM! You have so much built up in you're system, that you could just even skip even one scheduled dose, and then it's like two days later and you're wondering what is going on? Why am I in withdrawal? It gets hard to keep track of and then figure it out. I have personal experience with this one! Don't start using it! There are a lot of good replacements! Try them!
Wish ya the best!

 

[Treefa]

it could help you sleep, sit still etc..but i wouldnt expect signifigant relief.
Benzos are too addictive for the little effect they have....they don't seem like it thats how they stealth attack yo ass

 

[livetheopiatedream]

Fuck yes clonaz for WDs!
Make it nearly painless up to the worst of it but u gotta be good n loaded on em. As a naive Benzo users my first opiate hospital detox they had me on 10mg every 4hrs diazepam and that's got a long half life like 80 hrs so by day three ur LOADED, lol. Still a little shitty but nothing like what a 6 oxy a day habit is like o detox without them. So Hells yes for benzos for detox!!
Kills bone and muscle pain some hot flashes (tho clonidine is best. For this ) and stop rls so u can SLEEP and the mental zonk out kills the deathly depression and anxiety and boredom for that matter.
Combine with suboxone and u don't even need the benzos after day 2 on subs latest. Then taper subs quick over 7-10 days et voilà ! With some immodium= painless as possible detox
Warning: don't take a lot of Benzos for more than a couple/ few days. Benzo WD is deadly and makes ur opi WD a joke. My doctor however prescribed this for detox at a hospital that specializes in this shit so it's clearly an accepted method of HOME detox (he sent it home w me I was only there like 6 hours for evaluation) and also, if u know u cant control urself with benzos, forget this please

Note: only will be effective if u haven't already obliterated Ur Benz tolerance. I have a medium one and still works for me tho. I just take like 7-8 clonaz a day ,5 s starting by popping two at first sign of WD then continue as necessary (if u relapse remember do not take ur normal dose cuz that assload of benzos u ingested WILL kill you!)

 

[Znegative]

Short term binging on high dosages of benzodiazepine's are dangerous as well and can cause seizures even after a few days. I had a friend who tried to rid his oxycodone withdrawals by taking something like 20mg of Xanax over the course of 36 hours, upon ceasing, he had a seizure within a day.

 

[opiatekrzy]

ppl say to me all the time benzos are the miracle for opiate WD and that they can get by unless they got benzos, i disagree BIG TIME, yes my legs arent as fucked up on benzos while in opiate WD, but im still a mess

 

[kisps]

Using Clonazepam for opioid withdrawal is like using a wall made from paper to stop an avalanche. The wall may distract you from the impending tragedy about to take place, but once it's gone you're still caught deep in the snow. From past experiences kicking both opioids and clonazepam cold-turkey, clarity was finally reached by understanding that taking benzos for opiate withdrawal is a pathologic response to stress, understanding that the problem lies within the user's conditioned response: to utilize benzos as an "escape route", rather than confronting the aftermath of ingesting a substance. There may be pharmacological evidence to support that Clonazepam alleviates aspects of opioid withdrawal, however, this says nothing about what happens when the Clonazepam is discontinued. Pharmacodynamics aside; energy is drawn from the user when a substance is ingested. The way this chemical 'debt' is fulfilled is through confronting it, & seeing it through till the end. Sure, there may be "shortcuts" to avoid withdrawal, tolerance, etc., however these shortcuts slow down the progress of natural healing/replenishment at the price of being comfortable.

 

[helium-4]

I'm a little surprised to see so many negative responses to using benzos for WDs. Of course you don't want to switch addictions but if one isn't dependent on benzos, taking therapeutic doses or high doses for short periods (like for a short lasting wd), benzos are a good send. I love a good mix of gabapentine, clonazepam, and tramadol to get me through WDs. First to go is the tramadol, then lower the benzos doses so you take enough to not be retardly anxious and can sleep, not feel high. Take the gabapentin for the whole wd but towards the end lower it from a gram or so a day down tapering till 300 or so a day then jump off. Keep enough benzos for two more days after the gabapentin, to avoid any wd from it. I find with constant doses and no super high doses (like 4-6mg of alprazolam, clonazepam, etc.), you can go easily a week with no WDs. The lower the doses the longer you can go. I've been on clonazepam for 10 months now but am not physically dependent. I take only the benzos 2 to three weeks a month, and I do not have any trouble

 

[tricomb]

If you ask me, benzodiazepines are a godsend for short term / acute use like that, 1-2 weeks tops.

If you don't have access to a variety of benzos diazepam works just fine for all intents and purposes.

It's just so important not to trade one addiction for an even worse one.

@OP, if you tapered your buprenorphine down to 0.25mg instead of 0.5mg your withdrawal symptoms would be significantly easier.

 

[fubar65]

I am already on clonazepam.........5 mgs a day. Think that will help with the oxycodone withdrawal? I just finished up the last of my oxycodone prescription. I took twelve 5 mg tablets and it did not even touch me !!!! I could take an elephant tranquilizer and it probably would not even do a thing....my tolerance is so high you would not believe it ! It is sooooooooooooooo scary and really sad, because oxycodone helps me so much. I just want to die.

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

^^

Yeah they'll help a bit. I mean, with you already having such a high tolerance, they aren't going to help like they would somebody without a benzo tolerance. You might have to increase your benzo intake slightly for the first few days of the acute withdrawal to get any real benefit from it.

Also, since you're on that high of an oxy dose, you will be helping yourself big time by tapering down before stopping. Get your oxy dose to as low as you possibly can, and your withdrawals will be much much easier. That in combination with the clonazepam and you will be alright.

 

[chase_in_56ace]

I'm going to second the Lyrica advice. Withdrawing from opiates, on pregabalin I can

-stay still. All restlessness completely cured.
-eat. Appetite increased big time.
-laugh and time flies. For me, the equivalent of something like a minute dose of MDMA.

Adding a non narcotic sleep aid, if you dose the Lyrica right you should be able to sleep soundly through the night. I personally take a moderate dose of Immodium ONLY if it's completely unbearable. It's rarely if ever that bad after 600mg of lyrica. With my prescribed Soma and a touch of Remeron, I'm asleep for 12hrs. Sleeping away Detox with no replacement opiates. Amazing.