Clonazepam taper/detox/withdrawal

[Jen201]

Hi! Back in September, I got to be one of the unlucky 9 out of 16,000 people in the world who experience temporary psychosis induced by the anti-malarial drug Lariam.  Given the severity of the episode and the long half-life of Lariam (approx 2-4 weeks), I was placed on Seroquel (50 mg) and clonazepam (2mg) daily until the Lariam finally cleared my system.  I am now down to 25 mg of Seroquel and 1 mg of Clonazepam each day.  Last week, I learned that I was 4 weeks pregnant.

I wish to keep the baby and am concerned for his/her well-being if I remain on the clonazepam.  While I know 1 mg is a relatively small dose, I would still rather be on 0 mg...as it is safer for the developing fetus and I don't need the medication anymore as I was never prone to anxiety attacks prior to the Lariam.  Here is my question:

Given that I've been on the clonazepam for a total of 11 weeks, how dangerous is it for me to simply stop taking it cold turkey? How bad is the withdrawal likely to get, and how long should I expect it to last?  Or is this more dangerous for both me and the baby?

If I have to taper...is cutting it down to .5 mg/day for 1 week sufficient to allow my body time to adjust, and at a low enough dosage that I shouldn't be worrying my head off about birth defects?

Many thanks,
Jen

[jakegorzen]

Hi Jen
I take klonopins too.
I only take .5 total a day, but advised to take more, but I wont.
I think you should start to cut your 1mg pills in quarters, and start off your taper by something like, in the morning take .25 mg, then at night .50 mg, and do that for a week or so, then gradually just start going lower.
Everyones different, but youve been on it long enough that your bodyu couldve been addicted to it.
My Doc told me withdraw isnt really that bad when people like us  are at a LOW mg, and with a taper method it should be mild.

[Brenndy]

It is IMPERATIVE that you speak with the MD who prescribed the clonazepam before abruptly discontinuing it, in addition to speaking with your OB/GYN.

Best Wishes.

[mtgoat911]

your taper plan is fine
the best thing for you to do is stop the meds
if you go into detox they will get them out of your system in less that a week
better you go through withdrawl now than your infant child
congradulations on the pregnancy, i hate that you have to face these descions, this should be a happy time for you
once the drugs are out, you can focus on getting ready for baby
i also wanted to tell you that many ob/gyns would prefer to keep their patients medicated then deal with a taperering patient, after all,, its not their baby!!
you can ask your doc. but keep in mind that this is something you need to deal with, he will not be there in a few years if complications arise