General Topics Clonazepam withdrawal

[Lost@40]

Hi. Has anyone come off of Clonazepam before? I have been taking .5mg 3x a day for close to two years and now I'm tapering off it. I've only just started, dropped one dose so I'm down to 2x a day at .5mg.

This seems like a small dose and my Pdoc didn't even mention anything about withdrawal so I assumed it was pretty straight forward. I'm only two days into the new dosages and my mood is all over the place. My Pdoc said it was because the drug was suppressing some of my emotions so this is just having to sit with the emotions and not let them get the better of me. Easier said than done.

I searched the web and the withdrawal seems like its a horrible problem for people coming off it. Does anyone have any experience? I don't know that I can deal with feeling like this for too long.

[uni]

Hello Imsosad. Others here can tell you more than me, because Clonazapam is something I've never dealt with so I'm not much help. But tapering off of any med can be unpredictable, and I hope your emotions settle down before too long. If you don't mind me asking, how are you feeling physically - appetite, sleep, etc?

[Lost@40]

Thanks Uni.

Sleep is no problem, I'm tired all the time, I can sleep day and night. I think the Clonazepam is a big help there and I also take Remeron at night. My appetite had been ok, I've been working out and eating healthy and I've lost 38lbs since March. But I was sick at the weekend so didn't eat and since starting the taper I have felt nauseous and have a bad headache so I'm not feeling hungry. Also been a bit twitchy today, which is not usual for me, but I don't know what that's from.

I remember when I came off Seroquel that the withdrawal sucked and it almost felt like all my original symptoms were coming back. That's how I feel mentally again, like everything is too overwhelming and I can't cope with it.

I took my dog for a walk earlier and then slept all afternoon. Now I'm awake and have anxiety from hell. Not fun times.

[paul m]

Hello Lost@40. Not everyone will become addicted to clonazepam, but .5X3 times a day for two years will sometimes lead to addiction. Not your fault certainly, but your doctor should have warned you(I know that doctors warnings may be wishful thinking on my part)

Worse still clonazepam is a truly addictive medication. That is, the longer that you take it on a regular basis, the less likely that it will work well for you and the more severe the symptoms are when you do decide to quit. The mfg of it has this to say about it (taken from the drug monograph on Health Canada's website).

"Benzodiazepines have produced habituation, dependence and withdrawal
symptoms similar to those noted with barbiturates and alcohol. The risk of dependence increases with dose and duration."(clonazepam is a benzo)

The good news is that it is possible to quit and then have no cravings for the medication(unlike nicotine). However for someone having problems it can take a long time. If It was me withdrawing I would try cutting back by .25 per day to start with. Something like .5X2 and .25 X1 . After a while I would then try .5X1 and .25X2 and so on. Some people even split their pills smaller and start at .125 less per day.

I have listed some websites below, that deal with the withdrawal from clonazepam. The first two are reputable, the third one I don't know about as it wants to sell you something, but I included it because it has a good list of symptoms. Good Luck and Take Care. paul m P.S. I have prescriptions for both lorazepam and for clonazepam, but I'm very careful about how and when I take them. Fortuantely I was warned by others, because my doc didn't tell me.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20473065

http://www.non-benzodiazepines.org.uk/clonazepam.html

http://clonazepamaddictionhelp.com/clonazepam-withdrawal/

[Lost@40]

Thanks Paul. It's funny (not haha funny) cuz when my Pdoc put me on Clonazepam it was to stop me taking so much Ativan because "Clonazepam doesn't have addictive properties". Also, there have been a few times where I've been late in taking my morning or afternoon dose and I could feel that I NEEDED it and when I told my Pdoc I was worried I was addicted he told me flat out that its not addictive. And when I saw him on Tuesday the original plan was to taper me off Wellbutrin but he said at this point Clonazepam is the easiest one to come off. No warning ever of it being addictive or any withdrawal problems.

I thought I couldn't have any less confidence in my Pdoc but he's proved me wrong again.

I guess I'm in for a rough month.

[paul m]

Hello Lost@40. First you have my sympathies. I hate changing meds and I really hate it when I'm trying to change meds and I'm finding it hard to get accurate information. One ray of hope is that for some lucky people clonazepam withdrawal can go smoothly. I hope that you are one of those people.

I'm guessing that perhaps your pdoc is a little older because at one time it was thought that clonazepam was better than Ativan. In fact he is still partially right. Ativan taken 3X a day can be every bit as addictive as clonazepam. However the key here is not which is worse, but how to withdraw from it gradually and without major problems.

If it was me and depending on my docs willingness to write prescriptions, I would aim for a fairly long withdrawal period and I would start by reducing it .125 or .25 grams every 5-7 days. At a reduction of .125 every 7 days it would take about 3mths to withdraw. Half of that time for .25 grams reduction every 7 days.

The reason why I use a figure of 7 days is that is about the time it takes for clonazepam to clear your system. The question often asked is " why not try and quite cold turkey and just suffer for 7 days". Unfortuantely stopping that way can cause some serious problems. In addition by withdrawing slowly it is easier to tell if the symptoms one is experiencing are old symptoms that clonazepam was treating(like your doc has suggested) or symptoms from the withdrawal of clonazepam itself.

I'm sorry that I haven't been of more help, but if you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to ask. In the meantime I wish you well and I hope that your withdrawal goes smoothly. Take Care. paul m