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OD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic
Benzos detox for klonopins?
- Thread starter Jt723
- Start date
neurotekker
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2012
- Messages
- 10
Hola!
If you are not going to rehab you basically need to make sure you have some type of sleep med, usally a pretty heavy one as this is the number one problem for me when detoxing from benzos. Depending on the length of time you were on them your sleep pattern will likely be affected for several months. I went through close to a year of literal hell and confusion after coming off of a 6mg a day xanax habit. Your taper to be comfortable ideally should happen over a period of months as you go from say 4 mgs a day one month down to 3 to 2 to 1 to .5 over 4 months or so I would say, If you don't want to go through that process honestly a short 10 day phenobarbital detox is the quick and easy route. But if you aren't going to rehab;cannot procure any phenobarb; and still would like to taper shortly I would recommend prior to your plan of detox to get yourself down to a .5 once a day. With a good sleep med to regulate your sleep I will go over the really difficult aspects of benzo detoxification. It is incredibly taxing mentally and you should be aware of your mental state and any depression and anxiety you will likely face in this endeavour.
I even tried to stop cold turkey but was having seizures and hallucinations. It was fucked up.
If you aren't having any symptoms indicative of seizures you must know a few things.
If you didn't have anxiety issues prior to your use of benzos it is likely that after detoxing you will now have some agoraphobia,severe mood swings, general social anxiety and possible symptoms of panic attacks. Again this may develop even if you were fine prior to your benzo use. You need to keep your sleep regulated, i can't stress this enough, for a variety of reasons.
It takes over a year sometimes for the post acute withdrawal phase of benzos to die down. You are going to notice a lot of irritability and mood swings. For me it was amazing and disturbing how long it was taking for me to return to some degree of normalcy in regards to my thought patterns. I was on benzos for so long that it diminished my ability to think and reason in many instances quite noticeably.
I almost thought that i had messed my brain up for so long that i would never have my sanity restored, All on top of the fact that I had diagnosed mental issues such as bipolar disorder that I believe in my case my symptoms and behavior in terms of mood swings and such were magnified with the absence of benzos in my system. The post acute withdrawal period is very tricky and grueling. It takes will power patience and dedication as well as it is recommended IMO that you attend some 12 step meetings to develop the kind of support you could need to overcome such a difficult habit and effect a lifestyle change that in my case was necessary for my recovery.
In the beginning i used some deep breathing exercises and a lot of positive reinforcement to circumvent and help me cope with the anxiety, depression, and near panic attacks I was experiencing during this time. Exercise in general is a wonderful tool in dealing with stress and anxiety. I can't stress enough how important exercise can be in maintaining a helathy mind as well as body.
Coming off of benzos unless you really can't live without them was one of the hardest and more rewarding accomplishment in my struggle with addiction. You can only cover up the kinds of feelings and problems you are using benzos to cope with for so long. You can't hide from your problems forever nor can you try to bury them permanently. Sooner or later you need to face your fears and problems head to head as like it or not they will surface and you need to be ready.
I hope this helps and im sorry for such a long post. However my experience with benzos was so hellish and severe that I am here to help anyone who would like to recover from those damn things. Good luck and godspeed my friend!
If you are not going to rehab you basically need to make sure you have some type of sleep med, usally a pretty heavy one as this is the number one problem for me when detoxing from benzos. Depending on the length of time you were on them your sleep pattern will likely be affected for several months. I went through close to a year of literal hell and confusion after coming off of a 6mg a day xanax habit. Your taper to be comfortable ideally should happen over a period of months as you go from say 4 mgs a day one month down to 3 to 2 to 1 to .5 over 4 months or so I would say, If you don't want to go through that process honestly a short 10 day phenobarbital detox is the quick and easy route. But if you aren't going to rehab;cannot procure any phenobarb; and still would like to taper shortly I would recommend prior to your plan of detox to get yourself down to a .5 once a day. With a good sleep med to regulate your sleep I will go over the really difficult aspects of benzo detoxification. It is incredibly taxing mentally and you should be aware of your mental state and any depression and anxiety you will likely face in this endeavour.
I even tried to stop cold turkey but was having seizures and hallucinations. It was fucked up.
If you aren't having any symptoms indicative of seizures you must know a few things.
If you didn't have anxiety issues prior to your use of benzos it is likely that after detoxing you will now have some agoraphobia,severe mood swings, general social anxiety and possible symptoms of panic attacks. Again this may develop even if you were fine prior to your benzo use. You need to keep your sleep regulated, i can't stress this enough, for a variety of reasons.
It takes over a year sometimes for the post acute withdrawal phase of benzos to die down. You are going to notice a lot of irritability and mood swings. For me it was amazing and disturbing how long it was taking for me to return to some degree of normalcy in regards to my thought patterns. I was on benzos for so long that it diminished my ability to think and reason in many instances quite noticeably.
I almost thought that i had messed my brain up for so long that i would never have my sanity restored, All on top of the fact that I had diagnosed mental issues such as bipolar disorder that I believe in my case my symptoms and behavior in terms of mood swings and such were magnified with the absence of benzos in my system. The post acute withdrawal period is very tricky and grueling. It takes will power patience and dedication as well as it is recommended IMO that you attend some 12 step meetings to develop the kind of support you could need to overcome such a difficult habit and effect a lifestyle change that in my case was necessary for my recovery.
In the beginning i used some deep breathing exercises and a lot of positive reinforcement to circumvent and help me cope with the anxiety, depression, and near panic attacks I was experiencing during this time. Exercise in general is a wonderful tool in dealing with stress and anxiety. I can't stress enough how important exercise can be in maintaining a helathy mind as well as body.
Coming off of benzos unless you really can't live without them was one of the hardest and more rewarding accomplishment in my struggle with addiction. You can only cover up the kinds of feelings and problems you are using benzos to cope with for so long. You can't hide from your problems forever nor can you try to bury them permanently. Sooner or later you need to face your fears and problems head to head as like it or not they will surface and you need to be ready.
I hope this helps and im sorry for such a long post. However my experience with benzos was so hellish and severe that I am here to help anyone who would like to recover from those damn things. Good luck and godspeed my friend!
Last edited:
HdoubleODeezy
Bluelighter
i came off a 10mg clonazepam/day addiction after 7 years of being addicted to them and opiates(heroin and oxycodone) and it has been about a year and i still don't feel "myself"... w/d's are hell.
EDIT: it took a year to taper benzos.. and 4 for opiates.
EDIT: it took a year to taper benzos.. and 4 for opiates.
neurotekker
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2012
- Messages
- 10
Amen about feeling yourself. You need to find ways to cope with your anxiety and uncomfortability you will inevitably face. Learn how to cope with reality. Its gonna be hard but you can do it bro!
opiatekrzy
Bluelighter
alot of detox give out bullshit phenobarbital to benzo addicts for three days then throw them on the street, which is so unethical. my doctor told me that is the most irresponnsible and unhealthy thing to do, the only way to get off benzos is to wean off slowly with benzos, not a shitty barbiturate seizre blocker
Psychopharma
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2012
- Messages
- 9
You NEED to switch to a Benzo that has a very long half life like Diazepam (Valium) - check this out http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha02.htm
its called the Ashton Manual and it gives dose reduction guidelines
Benzodiazepine withdrawal, as im sure you've heard, can potentially cause seizures. Also, Klonopin/clonazepam is the strongest benzo for seizure control so it stands to reason that abrupt discontinuation might even place you at higher risk for fatal seizures...
Consider going to a doctor for help detoxing - not rehab, just a physician can Rx you something like Valium/Diazepam or Librium/Chlordiazepoxide
its called the Ashton Manual and it gives dose reduction guidelines
Benzodiazepine withdrawal, as im sure you've heard, can potentially cause seizures. Also, Klonopin/clonazepam is the strongest benzo for seizure control so it stands to reason that abrupt discontinuation might even place you at higher risk for fatal seizures...
Consider going to a doctor for help detoxing - not rehab, just a physician can Rx you something like Valium/Diazepam or Librium/Chlordiazepoxide
tricomb
Bluelight Crew
It took me 1 year to taper off my 10-20mg xanax/day habit that I had for years. Even when I had tapered down to a low dose, when I finally jumped off I developed severe schizophrenia that persisted for over a month and I still to this day don't feel right. I rarely take benzos anymore, aside from temazepam for sleep every once in a while. Like only a few times a month. I still fill my prescription for xanax, why? I don't know, I think I developed some kind of PTSD due to xanax, and I feel like I'll never be able to live without it, even if I don't take it. Isn't that fucked up? People should steer clear of benzos, and never detox, TAPER. You do NOT detox benzos.
Yeah, don't do a detox program, I warn you. Taper, preferably with diazepam or chlordiazepoxide, on an outpatient basis. Medicine in institutions, the practice of medicine, can be REALLY fucked up. I have been in psych wards where I was tapered, against my will, off benzos, once with clonazepam for only 5 days (thorazine was employed for agitation!), and another time with phenobarbital for maybe only 7 or 8 days. I seem to tolerate benzo wd's better than others for some reason, but nonetheless what they did was VERY dangerous and certainly not in my best interest.
crestfallen
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2011
- Messages
- 288
You can't really "detox" from benzos until after you have stopped them completely. Cold turkey benzo withdrawal can kill you so taper your dose down slowly. There is a really good guide for weaning off benzos by this female doctor (i forgot her name). I used that while coming off of xanax. Research it and you should find it pretty easy.
I went to a residential detox/rehab center for vicodin and klonopin ( i didn't really abuse kpins, just took them for a while) and they gave me different types of meds to detoxify my system from them. THat might be an idea once you get off it
Good luck!
I went to a residential detox/rehab center for vicodin and klonopin ( i didn't really abuse kpins, just took them for a while) and they gave me different types of meds to detoxify my system from them. THat might be an idea once you get off it
Good luck!
tricomb
Bluelight Crew
Yep I was given thorazine and haloperidol while I was withdrawing from xanax.
Obviously, tapering is your best option. It will only work, however, if you are honest with your doctor. From your posts, OP, it doesn't seem your doctor is aware of your drug usage. It seems to be all over the place. Benzos are a bitch to get out of your system, and it's going to take some honest effort.
Good luck, and be safe!
Good luck, and be safe!