weing off xanax to klonopin ..help please

[CLUCKETT]

HI THERE MY NAME IS CHRISTINA I HAVE BEEN ON 1MG XANAX 4 TIMES A DAY WAS GETTING 120 PILLS A MONTH . I HAVE BEEN ON THEM FOR 11 YEARS NOW .IM 29 YRS OLD I SUFFER FROM ANXIETY ,DEPRESION,PTSD, SEVERE PANIC ATTACKS . AND MANIC, I AM BEING WEINED OFF MY XANAX . THE DR, SAYS ITS NOT HELPING ME I HAVE GAINED TOLERANCE TO IT OVER THE CORSE OF THE YEARS . SO NOW SHE IS WANTING TO SLOWLY GET ME OFF THE XANAX AS OF 11-13-2008 SHE SAID TO TAKE A 1MG KLONOPIN IN THE MORNING  AND THEN WAIT FOR 4 HOURS AND TAKE A XANAX ALLOWING ME UP TO 3 MG PER DAY SO SHE ONLY TOOK 1MG A DAY FROM ME BUT SUBSTITUTED IT WIITH THE KLONIPIN .I GET 30 KLONIPIN A MONTH AND IN STAD OF 120 XANAX I GET ONLY 90 XANAX A MONTH . IM SCARED AND HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS LIKE .

1. IS DETOX BAD AND WHAT TO EXPECT ? AND HOW LONG WILL THE BAD DETOX EFFECTS TAKE TO GO AWAY ?
2. IS THIS A GOOD WAY OF DETOXING WITH THE  XANAX BEING REPLACED BY THE KLONOPIN ?
3. MY NEXT STEP AFTER THIS 3MG XANAX WILL BE GOING DOWN TO 2 1 MG'S PER DAY WILL THAT BE EVEN HARDER THAN WHAT IM GOING THREW NOW ?
4. DID YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW HAVE BAD DETOX EFFECTS FROM WEINING ME OFF THE XANAX  THIS WAY TO KLONOPIN ? IF SO WHAT WAS THEY AND HOW LONG DID THEY LAST ?
5. I WAS TOLD THAT THE WORST  DAYS ARE THE FIRST 3 DAYS OF DETOX  BUT IM NOT GOING OFF THEM COLD TURKEY  DOSE THAT MAKE THINGS ANY DIFFERENT?

PLEASE HELP ME OUT IM VERY SCARED AND NEED SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN THREW THIS OR KNOWS SOMEONE WHO HAS ..
THANKS ALOT !~~

[bosnianworrier]

1. first you need to see if clonopin helps. some people have no use of clonopin while for others it is life saver. for example, nothing helps me besides klonopin, but my brother relies only on ativan. if klonopin helps you then u will be ok. also i heard that mixing benzos can sometimes be fatal, even though my brother takes combo of ativan and klonopin. your doctor should know better

2.talk to your doctor if u can switch the meds slower

3. same as #2

4. n/a

5. cold turkey is very bad thing to do for these meds. ask ur doc and go very slow

[Brenndy]

please check your e-mail.

[CLUCKETT]

thanks for the email . it has helped so much . I am still a bit confused and very scared about going of the xanax to klonopin . but they are doing it slowly . so I cant say uch the dr. wants me to call back inon monday to see how the klonopin is working for me and to see how im doing .. thanks again .

[Brenndy]

Glad I could provide some level of comfort concerning your very serious issue.  You have every right to be scared; this is serious stuff.  Keep in close consultation with your prescribing physician/s regarding the change over.  Also, please feel free to contact me via email any time; night or day, and if you want to take by phone, let me know as well and I will provide you with my number. Unlike the enormous amount of uncertainty that is occurring in your life at present, I can guarantee you that I will get back to you ASAP.  
If you have an opportunity, please let me know how your conversation with your doctor goes tomorrow, as I'm very concerned.  I care about your well-being and would like to help in any way I can to get you through this very difficult time.
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