clonazepam hair loss discontinue

[Betterday90]

I have been on clonazepam and remeron since November 2009, was diagnosed with GAD and depression. First, my doses were 3 mg of clonazepam and 15 mg of remeron.Then, in 2 months I started to feel better and went to 2 mg of clonazepam. No problem then. Then I started to feel better again. My doctor recommended skipping the afternoon doze which was 0.5 mg. Now when I found this forum, I realized that I did not stand any chance to continue to improve. 2 weeks later after skipping afternoon doses, my body reacted with violent panic attacks. So, here comes my new Rx: clonazepam 0.5 mg in the morning, 0.5 mg in the afternoon, 1 mg at bed time, remeron was increased to 30 mg. That is what I take now. However, lots of side effects such: weakness, constant low blood pressure, apathy, etc. and the worse of it is hair loss from clonazepam. I pointed to my doctor all problems to no avail. However, after reading information here I am going to be more persistent. Since, hair loss becomes more evident for me (I am a woman in my 30 & I hope you would understand what it means to see your hair go buy buy), I find it hard to cope. My question is how can I safely to taper off clonazepam and substitute it with something else not from benzohell family. Hydroxyzine perhaps? Please advise me safe tappering schedule and substitution for clonazepam. What should I do with remeron? It helps me to sleep, but I also have muscle pains from it especially after exercising, even gentle exercises. What can I do about the hair loss? Thank you.

[GA Guy]

I think you actually have a much bigger issue here, and that is your inability to communicate effectively with your doctor. You're on two pretty heavy duty medications (both of which can cause hair loss), and your doctor isn't reacting to a pretty big side effect. You need to find a physician that you can communicate with. The fact is, with the plethora of anti-anxiety medications available, there's no reason to have these side effects. If your doctor thinks cessation of the Klonopin is the best thing, he should help you to devise a taper plan. No one on this forum has the medical background to give you a taper plan.

[vicki595]

Hey there~
We cannot offer a taper schedule or substitution plan for you. You really need a doctor for that.  Do you know for sure the clonazepam is causing the hair loss?  Sometimes it's caused by a hormone shift or thyroid disorder. Do a little research and get back with your doctor.
All the best~
Vicki