Benzos Klonapin in jail

[Spurse]

I am legally prescribed 1mg of klonopin 3 times a day for over 3 years. I am scheduled to report for 15 days in jail next week. They have told me they do not give you benzos of any kind. I am terrified. From what I have seen and witnessed stopping after being prescribed it for so long at a high dose could be disastrous. Does any one have advice or experience with this? Any help at all.

 

[pinpoint]

There have been a few threads regarding this problem lately. Are you a US citizen? If so you should be able to speak to an attorney or an advocate to lobby on your behalf for proper medication. Failing all else find the longest half life benzo you can and load up big time before you go in. I also don't condone smuggling drugs in to jail.. but if it were me.. it's like your fighting for your life.

 

[Spurse]

I have a very good attorney but he is not confident because it seems such a hard line policy. They said they would monitor me but I wouldn't receive anything for my withdrawal past the 3rd day. Would y'all suggest starting an emergency taper over the next week or taking what I can before I go in?

 

[ABetterWay]

Hi,

I'd talk to your doctor, too. If you're truly unwilling to, call another office, ask to speak with the head nurse...she will likely try to get the dr to talk to you if she's able to. Ask advice from a professional if you can. The doctor prescribing them would be best...they can advise you on a taper.

Of course, if you won't do that, you can use the search function here (I'm new...I could be wrong, but I think there's a regular bluelight search and a bluelight/google search....the bl/g may yield best results. I'm in my phone and the site looks different than it does on a non-mobile device, pardon my lack of knowledge.), and find good tips from those who've done it.

But as you already know, a benzo taper isn't something you want to try to do all on your own, without medical supervision and advice. I really hope you'll call your doctor.

Post back and let us know what you decide to do.

Good luck with everything, hon.

Peace.

 

[Spurse]

Thank you, for the kind words and advice. I have called my doctor and the receptionist just said that they should give me my meds. She isn't informed because I have spoken both to my attorney and the medical division of the jail and they made it quit clear no benzos will be given. I asked them to write something up stating that I need this medication. I'll be in further contact with him this week. But i am Very very worried about this

 

[jammin83]

They usually do taper you but painfully fast. Some places won't give you your script at all and will only give you temazepam for a couple days or something then usually clonadine after that. I would definitely start tapering now, you don't have a lot of time for medical advice, just start now. Jail is not the place you want to withdrawal. Trust me on that one. The receptionists don't know shit and nobody cares. Nobody is accountable in the corrections industry. They told me 'you're in jail, you're supposed to have anxiety.'

Don't smuggle anything in. If you are having a hard time, don't let them put you in population. Stay in detox as long as you can, make a scene if you have to, to get alone if you can. They like to tell you that you can't do this and can't do that, but fuck them, don't listen to the BS they try to tell you. They try to stop you in your tracks every which way and shut you down along the way, do what you have to do to stay safe. I feel for ya, I kicked a 15mg xanax/day habit and 24 mg of suboxone/day habit at the same time cold turkey in jail. I was sick as shit for a month straight and it was hell. I feel for you I really do. PM me if you need anything.

The flip-side of this of course is that you could be off the klonopin when you get out. Probably a smart move for you. Try to look at it as an opportunity as hard as that is.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Spurse]

The anxiety will suck, my main worry is having a seizure and causing permanent damage to my body/brain

 

[jammin83]

At least you are on klonopin, it has a long half-life and isn't nearly as bad as some of the shorter acting ones. Some people don't even get withdrawals. I ended up ok but I did have a psychotic break three weeks in from not sleeping. I was also on xanax and a much higher equivalent dose but I got through it...I now am withdrawing from zyprexa. That's much, much worse than benzos but I am getting through it. This one has lasted 8 months for me but I am going to be okay from that too. These things just take time.

You will be okay, don't worry so much, really. It sucks bad, I feel ya but not much you can do at this point besides try and stay positive. If you are really sick though, and having a really hard time, let somebody know and don't take no for an answer. Seriously, do whatever you have to to make it through. Most of these people in jails are total idiots but they do have superiors. Often, they are idiots too but if you are really concerned for yourself, tell your lawyer to make his money. They can get things done if they feel like it. File grievances do what you have to do. You aren't going to die and damage done to the brain is reversible from these types of drugs. I know that for a fact.

 

[crunkazcanbe]

When I got put in jail for 6 months and had a 500mg a day habit of Oxycodone along with a 24mg day habit of Xanax I got smart well not to smart ,but knew what I was in for if I had to go without . The opiate withdraw even from 500mg Roxies a day is a walk in the park compared to what I knew was coming with the benzo withdrawal . Right before the day I had to go to jail literally I bought 120 40 mg methadones broke each one in fours for the most part , and all I could get was 160 10mg Valiums . Some days I took 20mg Valium ,and some I took a half. What I did ,and I don't advise this ;because I am sure it could clog you , and that means surgery ,and I am pretty sure some are going to make a joke out of this ,but brother I was the only one in jail high for 6 months straight ,and I seen some in with me literally having seizures from the benzo withdrawal and other withdrawing from over 3 grams a day habit of smack that looked as if there life was being pulled right out of them laying on the cold hard concrete floor . Now heres what I did ,and laugh if you want ,but it saved me.

I used saran wrap and warped all the pill up really really tightly in the shape of a dildo crushing a few as to be expected in the process then melted some hot plain white candle wax . You know the Big long plain white candles you can get at the dollar store for $1 . Melted it down and dipped this dildo looking shaped thing in it and pulled it out let it dry ,and repeat a few more times until it has a few mm of wax on it . Now I know there is food grad wax you can buy so if you can find some use that ,but these where desperate times ,and I did not manage to find any . This is no lie I know its funny. I was living on luck ,and hope that one day I would shit this object out . I had to use some of me and my wifes KY to ram it up my ass ,but I managed to get it.

Well got scared for a day but after getting all settled into my cell I started having huge I mean crippling pains the whole first day in jail ,but the next day I shit it out ,and managed to keep my stash pretty well hidden . In between my stash I had ,and the mail I got in that had crushed roxies in it I was ,and did pretty good . The last month in jail I went without any Benzo I jumped straight off of 20mg day of Valium ,and luckily only had a few bad nights of no sleep ,and think god no Seizures . For the opiate part I pretty much stayed fucked up the whole time in jail with roxies ,and methadone . I even had several nods in jail . Go figure . Nothing mattered to me in jail all I knew is I felt good . The 6 months flew by ,and I am a very lucky guy to have not been caught .

Go ahead piss yourself in laughter !

 

[pinpoint]

^I guess you could say that opiates really fucked you in the ass

 

[crunkazcanbe]

At least you are on klonopin, it has a long half-life and isn't nearly as bad as some of the shorter acting ones. Some people don't even get withdrawals. I ended up ok but I did have a psychotic break three weeks in from not sleeping. I was also on xanax and a much higher equivalent dose but I got through it...I now am withdrawing from zyprexa. That's much, much worse than benzos but I am getting through it. This one has lasted 8 months for me but I am going to be okay from that too. These things just take time.

You will be okay, don't worry so much, really. It sucks bad, I feel ya but not much you can do at this point besides try and stay positive. If you are really sick though, and having a really hard time, let somebody know and don't take no for an answer. Seriously, do whatever you have to to make it through. Most of these people in jails are total idiots but they do have superiors. Often, they are idiots too but if you are really concerned for yourself, tell your lawyer to make his money. They can get things done if they feel like it. File grievances do what you have to do. You aren't going to die and damage done to the brain is reversible from these types of drugs. I know that for a fact.

I feel your pain with the zyprexa . I quit cold turkey from 200mg a day of seroquel which is similar to zyprexa . This was back in my innocent days when I knew nothing about drugs much less what a opiate or benzo was . I was puking blood ,shaking like hell , fell out with seizures often ,and all I knew next is I woke up in the ER with a ton of IVs in my arm not knowing what the hell was going on . I am lucky on this one to .

 

[crunkazcanbe]

^I guess you could say that opiates really fucked you in the ass

LOL literally ! They still do to this day ,but not literally . Ha

 

[CosmicG]

LOL literally ! They still do to this day ,but not literally . Ha

Your story is hard to believe but god damn it I believe you. Nice lol. They never randomly shook up you or your cell in the six months you were in?

I have always wondered about being prescribed benzos and having to go to jail. It seems downright inhumane to strip someone of their prescribed medication. Yeah jail isn't supposed to be a wonderful experience but damn. OP you have been on that Klonopin for some time now. Surely something can be worked out? I wouldn't try to sneak the drugs in personally they could add a considerable amount of time to your fifteen days of you get caught. Wish I could give you some advice to help you out.

 

[RecklessWOT]

I really don't know too much about the laws regarding prescription meds in jail (as I've never spent extended time in jail). But stopping benzos cold turkey can legitimately kill a person. I doubt kicking 3mg of clonazepam a day would kill you but it would definitely feel shitty. Once again, as I've never been in the situation before I can't honestly say anything for sure, but being it is a legitimate medical concern I cannot believe they'd just say "oh well fuck it, sucks to be you try not to die". I realize prison and the gov't in general really don't give a fuck about you or your well-being so for something like methadone or suboxone I can understand them not caring, but given the fact that benzo w/d can kill a man and that's common knowledge I seriously doubt they would risk death or serious injury because that's a huge lawsuit waiting to happen (and probably would have happened many times over by now). Good luck on this one

 

[chase_in_56ace]

When I got put in jail for 6 months and had a 500mg a day habit of Oxycodone along with a 24mg day habit of Xanax I got smart well not to smart ,but knew what I was in for if I had to go without . The opiate withdraw even from 500mg Roxies a day is a walk in the park compared to what I knew was coming with the benzo withdrawal . Right before the day I had to go to jail literally I bought 120 40 mg methadones broke each one in fours for the most part , and all I could get was 160 10mg Valiums . Some days I took 20mg Valium ,and some I took a half. What I did ,and I don't advise this ;because I am sure it could clog you , and that means surgery ,and I am pretty sure some are going to make a joke out of this ,but brother I was the only one in jail high for 6 months straight ,and I seen some in with me literally having seizures from the benzo withdrawal and other withdrawing from over 3 grams a day habit of smack that looked as if there life was being pulled right out of them laying on the cold hard concrete floor . Now heres what I did ,and laugh if you want ,but it saved me.

I used saran wrap and warped all the pill up really really tightly in the shape of a dildo crushing a few as to be expected in the process then melted some hot plain white candle wax . You know the Big long plain white candles you can get at the dollar store for $1 . Melted it down and dipped this dildo looking shaped thing in it and pulled it out let it dry ,and repeat a few more times until it has a few mm of wax on it . Now I know there is food grad wax you can buy so if you can find some use that ,but these where desperate times ,and I did not manage to find any . This is no lie I know its funny. I was living on luck ,and hope that one day I would shit this object out . I had to use some of me and my wifes KY to ram it up my ass ,but I managed to get it.

Well got scared for a day but after getting all settled into my cell I started having huge I mean crippling pains the whole first day in jail ,but the next day I shit it out ,and managed to keep my stash pretty well hidden . In between my stash I had ,and the mail I got in that had crushed roxies in it I was ,and did pretty good . The last month in jail I went without any Benzo I jumped straight off of 20mg day of Valium ,and luckily only had a few bad nights of no sleep ,and think god no Seizures . For the opiate part I pretty much stayed fucked up the whole time in jail with roxies ,and methadone . I even had several nods in jail . Go figure . Nothing mattered to me in jail all I knew is I felt good . The 6 months flew by ,and I am a very lucky guy to have not been caught .

Go ahead piss yourself in laughter !

Don't do this.

First of all we don't really allow legal discussion here but fuck it I'm gonna dive into this one.

Introduction of contraband into a facility is a felony in any state in the U.S. You are risking a shitload of additional charges if you're caught doing anything like this. Secondly, between searches (special team surprise searches, regular deputy searches, etc.) and other inmates prying into your business you have a very high chance of getting caught. People will notice you're fucked up and either single you out for being weak to prey upon you or straight up take your shit. I was locked up for most of last year and let me tell you, the violent unit I was on.... was defintely not a place you wanted to be anything but extremely alert in at all times.

Most jails have a medical unit that they can supervise you in. If you're coming off benzos it is considered a medical emergency and they are required by law to medicate you in some way or another.

Best advice you're gonna get in this thread: The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Be pleasant but persistent with the nurses and continuously put in requests to see the triage nurse as well as the physical MD and psych doctor. They will give you some kind of librium and clonidine taper for the first few days and then probably rapidly cut you off. If it's unbearable, make a SCENE. Down south it's called "going hollywood." You make a SHOW for the deputies until they call emergency medical services to come evaluate you. The last thing any deputy wants is some kind of seizure on their shift. It means more paperwork for them and they are usually extremely fat and lazy.

 

[WasteLand Warrior]

so spurse i don't know where your from or what your regulations in your county jail are. I'm from Cleveland OH and i've been to my county jail more than a few times and in our county jail they give you drugs to detox with i know because everytime i go i get on them. i know detoxing from benzos can be life threating so im really surprised they would'nt give you protocol. in cleveland they give you tramadol to detox of heroin n klonopin for benzo withdrawal and lithium for alcohal. my advice to you is say your highly addicted to benzos, and heroin and alcohal i know alcohal withdrawal can kill you so im pretty sure they would have to give you at least something for that im sure your county would'nt want a law suit on their hands!!!! but just in case you can't get anything and have to go cold turkey just remember its only for 15 days and its not forever. you can stay strong and just come to terms you might be detoxing and mentally prepare yourself. i would start weaning yourself down off your klonopin now so the withdrawal wont be that bad!! Best of luck to you Spurse you can do it look on the brighter side of things u only got 2 weeks some people have years, life!!!!!! Good luck

 

[crzydiamond]

I know it differs state to state and county to county. The county I live in will give you the meds you are on after they verify with your pharmacy that you have a current prescription of the drug. Unless it's something they just don't give..but they did give benzos and even methadone if you were currently in the clinic

Because benzo and alcohol wd is life threatening, jails usually have some sort of detox procedure if they won't keep you on the benzos. Have you called the jail and spoken to medical staff? With all the lawsuits and deaths that have happened in recent years the jails have gotten better at medically detoxing. I remember years ago when you just got thrown in a cell to deal with whatever. No monitoring or anything.

If you speak to the medical staff and are not comfortable with their detox procedure/meds that they might give you in place, I would check into detox before you report to jail. Unless you have the willpower to truly do an at home quick taper

But yeah, jails are notoriously idgaf places for people detoxing. Usually that's off opiates though. Benzos are more often legitimate scripts so they do have them on some jails formularies.

 

[Pharcyde]

yeah dont go to detox
theyll put you in the bambam suit and youll be locked up in a cell alone all day
they dgaf about you there
like somebody said smuggle those fuckers in
or..........if youre cool
buy shit on the inside

theres seroquel in every jail and drugs in the biggins
plus youre a short timer so.............

 

[jammin83]

I really don't know too much about the laws regarding prescription meds in jail (as I've never spent extended time in jail). But stopping benzos cold turkey can legitimately kill a person. I doubt kicking 3mg of clonazepam a day would kill you but it would definitely feel shitty. Once again, as I've never been in the situation before I can't honestly say anything for sure, but being it is a legitimate medical concern I cannot believe they'd just say "oh well fuck it, sucks to be you try not to die". I realize prison and the gov't in general really don't give a fuck about you or your well-being so for something like methadone or suboxone I can understand them not caring, but given the fact that benzo w/d can kill a man and that's common knowledge I seriously doubt they would risk death or serious injury because that's a huge lawsuit waiting to happen (and probably would have happened many times over by now). Good luck on this one

Believe me when I tell you it's not a concern for them. I am pretty sure I was close to death, had I not been the hardy individual I am, I could have easily died. I went from somewhere around 5-10 xanax bars a day, I was prescribed 5, and 24mg subs a day, to 15 mg of temazepam for a couple days and then clonadine for a couple days. I had been on benzos for about 4 years. They gave the guy that was taking 1 mg of xanax a day the same thing as me. I had a psychotic break three weeks in after losing my mind. I started hallucinating and my eyes were popping out of my head. Yeah they have a protocol, but they are not doctors, they use the same taper on everybody. They have no clue what they are doing. You don't matter to them. They could care less about you honestly. That's why myself and others are telling the OP to make sure their needs are known and make a scene if you have to. They do have to do something but don't think they are going to do it on their own. Their de facto state is do nothing and as little as possible; law requirements don't matter to them bc they are the law.

OP, for me, I prefer being by myself when going through withdrawal. Being around other inmates can suck sometimes given the high quality conversations people tend to have and other shenanigans happening. You may want to tell them you are detoxing from alcohol too bc they might give you more medication and that is generally more accepted. If you tell them you are coming off of opiates too, chances are, they will look down on you for that even more than they already do. IME, they seem to get pleasure out of addicts detoxing so be careful with divulging certain drug behaviors. Medical use and alcohol are one thing, getting high for fun is not approved by this group.

Please don't smuggle anything in. Although doable, not very smart. You don't want to go to prison do you? Think two weeks is bad...try a few years.

 

[Methacodone]

I don't know much about Jail, never been there (knock on wood)..

But from what I know, I am RX'd Methadone 80mg/daily.
They say, if you get locked up, what they do is Feetox you out, a Feetox is a detox, it means you're not paying for your Methadone no more, so they got to Feetox you out, not just kick you on the curb by not paying 1 day.

For example, if you're on 40mg of Methadone a day, and you go to jail, they dose you like this, (a Feetox), a 15 day detox -

Day 1- 37mg
Day 2- 34mg
Day 3- 31mg
Day 4- 28mg
Day 5- 25mg
Day 6- 22mg
Day 7- 19mg
Day 8- 16mg
Day 9- 13mg
Day 10- 10mg
Day 11- 7mg
Day 12- 4mg
Day 13- 3mg
Day 14- 2mg
Day 15- 1mg

DONE.

You also have to pay CASH (even if you were paying with insurance before, but insurance WONT cover a feetox, esp. in jail) 4x the amount you Reg. pay at the clinic

SUCKS, but that's reality.

Even if you're on a dose like 200mg+, they still only give you a 15 day detox.