TDS On my fourth attempt to taper off of Klonopin, feeling hopeless

[MrRoot]

Can't believe a moderator would give such reckless advice. You have no fucking clue what you're talking about.

Well rapid inpatient tapering is a standard protocol which SAMHSA for example suggests for benzodiazepine cessation when slower outpatient tapering hasn't worked for any reason or other. And as I know addict mindset I can think plenty of reasons slow tapering just might not work for the most.

Principles of Addiction Medicine lists rapid monitored tapering as a standard protocol for benzodiazepine Substance Use Disorder treatment too.

I don't mean to tell what anyone needs to do and instead I just offered another view on this and I was skeptical about that rapid detox but atleast it has worked for my fiancee and plenty of others (which I have found out after asking from that detox facilitys staff in meetings which I attend to as patient representative).

Will rapid tapering be unpleasant? Of course but it is done under medical supervision and is safe as one's symptoms are reviewed and the dose adjusted accordingly and they may give other drugs to ease the symptoms.

I wouldn't ever advise anyone to do rapid tapering on their own or trying to cold turkey benzos.

What works for some doesn't work for everyone and if slow taper just isn't for someone as they can't keep decreasing their dose in schedule then rapid tapering under medical supervision should be seen as an option.

I know the States have it hard as their detox facilities and rehabs vary very much in quality and methods.

 

[fuzzydunlop44]

Are you serious right now? "Addict mindset"? I was not taking handfuls of Xannies to party I took the drug as prescribed for my panic disorder because I trusted my doctor and as I continued to reach tolerance I continued to allow them to up my dosage because I believed them when they said they needed to "stabilize me" and I didn't know a damn thing at the time about benzos. I was lied to for YEARS about how the side effects of the drug were actually indications of my anxiety disorder getting worse and I believed them as they ripped me on and off psych meds and really turned me from a fully functional member of society with occasional panic attacks to a husk of a human being who could no longer drive, work, see friends or even walk to the fucking mailbox.

I HATE this drug and I'm in tolerance so I literally only take them everyday so that I don't have a seizure or go into psychosis or have akathisia or literally die. Rapid monitored tapering is NOT the right way to come off of long term benzodiazepine usage. Will they ensure that I don't have a seizure as I taper off? Yes that's their job. But I have done years of damage to my central nervous system and many of the major chemicals in my brain including GABA and glutamate and if the drug is ripped off in a period of like 3 to 6 days I am going to have no buffer between the damage that has been done. When a person reaches tolerance to benzos they stop producing GABA naturally and it takes a LONG time for many people for that to heal. If a short detox stay was an option don't you think I would have done that years ago? Don't you think EVERYONE would do that? They group benzo "addicts" the same as heroin, cocaine, crack, meth etc. and it just cannot be treated the same way. I'm offended by your wording and I think your advice is downright dangerous.

And you're damn right the quality of detoxes varies. I am unable to work so I have state insurance and you better believe they will send me to the cheapest place possible with a staff that doesn't know a damn thing about benzos. There's a major difference between "unpleasant" and "unbearable to the point it drives people to suicide" which unfortunately is very common for people who attempt to come off of benzos too quickly. Unpleasant I can handle, risking my life on the off chance that a.) I 'll even get anything resembling decent treatment and b.) I am one of the lucky ones who can handle such a rapid taper isn't really a risk I'm wiling to take.

Smh "benzodiazepine substance use disorder". Aka I listened to my doctors and now I literally have to take this rat poison to avoid having seizures everyday. Maybe in Finland the quality of care is better.

 

[The Shadow Self]

Having tapered off of multiple benzos several times, I can tell you that the longer you take to taper appropriately, the better things tend to go. I know that sounds easy, and in some ways it is, but yes...slow and steady wins the race.

 

[fuzzydunlop44]

Shadow were you stable at least relatively speaking during your slow tapers, though? Because I'm completely non functional so while I agree that a slow taper is the best way to go I can't fathom how I'm going to do this with such a low quality of life for such a long time. During my first taper attempt it was far from easy but I could exercise, go for short walks, see friends, clean up around the house, watch TV/movies/sports, etc. But now I don't know if I'm kindled or in tolerance or both or what but everyday is just like a nightmare. Like a never ending bad acid trip. I believe I will heal but getting there seems next to impossible right now.

 

[herbavore]

I've read through this whole thread and I have nothing to offer as far as experience or even knowledge about benzo tapering but I just wanted to address your justified anger and frustration with a "medical" system that throws drugs at people with such callous disregard for their long-term health. Lazy doctors that don't even bother to learn pharmacology anymore because, why bother? The reps tell you what to prescribe and both you and the rep get rewarded for doing so. And the patients? Well, tough shit for them.

I am just so sorry that you are having to go through this misery but it sounds to me like you have your head on straight and you know where you are trying to get to so don't lose faith.

P.S. I think we can say that the treatment in Finland compared to the treatment here at a state-funded rehab for people on SSI or disability would be like comparing Johns Hopkins Medical to a hospital in downtown Mogadishu.

 

[fuzzydunlop44]

Thank you so much. Yes I was very naive to the system until I was deeply entrenched in it. It's truly despicable what is allowed to go on.

 

[modocmodoc]

It's only a little helpful, but you are not alone. I too was started on clonazepam for panic disorder, in 1998.. no doctor (I saw a neurologist who prescribed this most of the time, and a psych and a GP) even suggested discontinuing it, at any point. It was not prescribed PRN either. After 20 years I am waiting for some discovery that vastly improves the ability to taper off it, or I give up and take it for life (which will probably be until a doctor cuts me off, I go into static seizure and die).

Your characterization as a bad acid trip is one I've been using for years.. an endless, 24 hour a day bad acid trip. I find that interesting.

Thank you so much. Yes I was very naive to the system until I was deeply entrenched in it. It's truly despicable what is allowed to go on.

 

[fuzzydunlop44]

I've seen so many different types of prescribers and not one of them has mentioned the possibility that daily benzo use has contributed to my massively increased symptoms even though it's a 30 second Google search away. If I mention that they tell me to "stay off the internet". I too pray to one day wake up to the news that there has been a discovery that makes this tolerable but I can't give up. I have to get off of this poison and reclaim my life. I'm sorry that this happened to you too, it's all so criminal. There should have been informed patient consent decades ago.