Klonapin Withdrawl

[Angeleyes1015]

I've been on Klonapin for 15 yrs. my most current dose is 1/2 mg in the morning and at night. There's a new DR. here and she decided that I shouldn't be on it anymore. She prescribed Lexapro and Seroquel,because apparently she's hard of hearing and didn't pay me any attention. When I told her that I don't like to take alot of meds. and if i'm not allergic to it don't fix it. Now I don't know what to expect. Has anyone ever had withdrawl from this. What do I do if it gets bad. If my anxiety gets unbearable...other than going behind some locked doors at a hospital. Can someone help me? Please. Thank You.

[greenlydia]

That's quite a long time to be on ANY med, let alone Klonopin. You do know the last mg is THE most difficult to get off, right? This is where you must really slow down the taper and become extremely patient!
Your doctor is not only hard of hearing, she is a moron and I'd give her the shove immediately. Just my opinion, though.
Why are you stopping the Klonopin? Is it not working for you any more or are you wanting to see if you can live life without it?
Klonopin w/d is horrible, but any w/d from a benzo can be a living hell if not properly surpervised by the right doctor. Which is why I am such an advocate of Psychiatric Medication Managers. That is ALL they do.........help people get off these kinds of meds. You can find them in almost any psychiatric clinic/office. You do not have to be a patient there.Your sessions will NOT be about your problems, they will simply be about your taper. A taper that you and the PMM work out together, which will be based on YOUR timeframe, not theirs. They will be able to write a script for you for a "rescue med" which will probably be another, milder benzo to take if and when the w/d symptoms get to be too difficult. But this is something that will be presented and discussed with you during your intake. They will make your taper as painless as possible but you must be aware that there IS going to be some discomfort.........but it WILL pass and because you'll know it's coming, you will be able to cope with it.
If you want to talk more about this in private, please PM me.
I wish you the very best
Peace
Greenlydia  

[taraak]

I was on klonopin for 18 years.  my doc switched me to ativan cuz the klonopin wasnt having any effect on me any more.  I didnt have any withdrawl, but I was switched to another benzi.  if your new med IS for anxiety, maybe you wont have any effects either.  tell your doc that you need to be weened off that drug slowly so you dont have withdrawl.

[Paxiled]

I'm confused.  If the klonopin is working and you're feeling good, why change anything?  Yes, it's addictive, but, although seroquel and lexapro aren't technically addictive, they also can be very hard to quit so they may as well be.  And why Lexapro and Seroquel?  Wouldn't it make more sense just to try the Lexapro and see if it works?  Usually Seroquel is a primary med for bipolar and is used as augmentation for anxiety, but you only augment what isn't quite working well enough.  Since you haven't started the Lexapro, the primary medication, how does your doc know already you need augmentation?  My opinion, which, as it often does, mirrors greenlydia's, is that your doc's a moron.

[Angeleyes1015]

this is to the 3 that responded to me on Oct.2. Thank you you all I'm sorry I haven't got back to you yet. It's been hard but I suppose it could have been worse,but it's not quite over yet which is why I'm hoping to reach all 3 of you this way. I can't stay up to long.