klonopin/ xanax dosage tapering

[tjr31]

i've been taking 1-2 mg daily, alternating klonopin and xanax, for the past 4 months. i want to stop taking them, and i certainly have the will power (no psycghological dependence); however, after reading about some of the possible withdrawal symptoms (seizure, mainly), i am concerned about the physiological dependence. i am not under the care of a physician, i bought them off of the internet, so i cannot switch to a longer half-life benzo; i have to work with one of the above mentioned, if tapering is necessary. my question is, do you think tapering is necessary? i cut back to 1 mg a few days ago and have had no unpleasant withdrawal. thank you for your time and help.

[Mandapanda17]

I would taper down a little bit. maybe to .5 mg daily before you stop completely. I have heard the risk of seizure is much greater at anything ABOVE 2mg daily. I'm sure the length of time you've been on them would be helpful to..not too long at all. Please let me know how this goes for you too, I've been taking 1.5-2mg xanax a day for about a month and only .5 mg a day for the 5 months before that. people have told me to taper a bit also. ttys!

[Oneiropolos]

Well, from what I've read, you would be best to withdrawal from the xanax (tapering a bit, of course) first. Klonopin is known for much less harsher withdrawal symptoms, and it has a longer half-life than xanax so it's an easier switch. The dosage you are on is low and not dangerous to withdraw from completely - but I assure you, it would be horribly misreable. So instead, I recommend lowering dosages of xanax while keeping klonopin normal. About four-five days in, your body will start calming down even on that withdrawal. (I was on 2.5mg of xanax and cut down to .75mg a day, but I'm on 1.5mg klonopin.) It's been a rough five days, but today I finally feel like I'm leaving the cloud of the xanax. I'll probably take a break for a week or so before taking the xanax down to .5 a day and not go with the evening dosage of .25mg. It should be a less harsh withdrawal than my initial one. Finally, in theory, you'll be able to get off the xanax entirely and then SLOWLY withdraw off of the klonopin.  

The main issue with withdrawals isn't even the seizures. The withdrawal can cause you to be suicidal even if you're normally not, or at least immense depression. It can also spike anxiety to extreme situations. I've been very sick because of the way my anxiety tends to manifest itself straight to my stomach and appetite. The only way I've gotten through is having a family member who knew what was going on and could help me in the worse moments. You should have little no chance of seizure, but I would not recommend cold turkey regardless. It's vicious.

Best of luck!