klonipin

I have been trying to get off of klonipin (klonopin) for 3 years now and had finally found a doctor that was helping me actually get off it in the last year.  He recently moved and referred me to a new doctor so I went and their recomendation to cont. to get off the med was to take effexor!  Am really frustrated and want to be free of the horrible addictive drug.  I am not taking .05 once a day at night and need to find a doctor to help with the tapering.  I also was wondering about a website theroadback and if anyone has used the supplements while trying to get off a medicine or any suggestions for helping me to be free of this med.  any comments appreciated.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

Mica, is doing all my work for me.  Instead of adding a  new medication, work on reducing the klonopin over a three week, period. The first week lowering the dose to lowest possible daily without withdrawal effect. The second week on that same dose but take it every other day. The third week, every third day, then quit.

[michaxx2]

I have been on klonopin too for 2 years,0.5 mg as needed,I would say I take one pill every 2 or 3 days....for anxiety..and it's been helping me...I've noticed that if I extend it more than 3 days I feel withdrawls too...like nausea..thats my first symptoms always and then dizziness....but I dont want to get off of it cause to me it is better than antidepressant eventho the antidepressant lexapro helped alot with my anxiety but caused me weight gain....but I've been told that tapering VERY slowly is the key.....take your time to do it....it is not a race.....maybe getting liquid klonopin would be better for the tapering....ask your dr about it....or switching to valium too is better....and i heard too that adding a small amount of prozac can help ease the withdrawals....mention it to your dr too..anyways what ever method you are gonna use just do it SLOWLY.....
Micha

[michaxx2]

May I ask you why are you quitting klonopin? and why are you on it?
Thanx
Micha

[michaxx2]

The reason why I said to switched to liquid klonopin is because it is very hard to make exact cut every day from a 0.5mg tablet.....so by using liquid klonopin you know exactly how much you you reduce the amount...going down from 0.5mg to 0.4mg for 2 weeks then to 0.3mg for another 2 weeks and so on......a compound pharmacy can do it for you......this is how i did my tapering with lexapro.....when I got down from 10 mg to 5mg I sitched to liquid lexapro and tapered down from there with no problems at all....just did it extremely slowly...it is up to you tho..but it is a good option...sending you good tapering vibes your way..  :)
Micha

[Crystal Visions]

I have been taking Klonipin (klonopin) 1 mg three times a day for several years now.  I had severe panic attacks and anxiety before taking it.  It works very well for me and is not sedating.  I know it is an addictive medication, and you probably don't want to take it.  Why did the doctor put you on it in the beginning?  I am a RN and in medicine we have to weight risk vs benefit and implement which one is greater.  For me the benefit far outweighs the risk.  Don't set yourself up for a "meltdown".  You would probably benefit from having a complete physical workup and psychological testing if that is needed.

[firefly36]

i first was put on klonipin (klonopin) with another med because i had been getting off of ativan very well.  not much withdrawal with it.  i started taking ativan in the beginning because i got divorced and just wanted something so i wouldn't have to deal with the actual pain of a split with my husband.  we were married for 14 years and have 2 kids together.  i was totally devasted knew things were not going good for the last 2 years of being together, but i think i thought we were invinsible or wanted to believe that nothing could ever happen to us and just ignored things instead of trying to work things out for the better.  anyway got sick of being on ativan because it seemed the longer i was taking it the more my body craved more of it and gradually had to increase my dosage.  well, i finally had started getting back on my feet, was working and taking care of myself and my children and was getting off the ativan and thinking it wasn't too bad.  i got sick and had been fighting the flu and one day at work took a cold pill not even thinking,  about 10 mins go by and my heart is racing and i could not breathe, started panicking which made it worse had to be rushed to er and they said that i could not take and med with pseudoephedrine or any decongestant with my anxiety or it would bring on an anxiety attack.  they gave my valium which did nothing to calm my heart rate down and help me stop having attacks and hyperventilating and finally a doctor put me on kloipin and something else i don't remember and then started the longest and worst battle with so called "anxiety" attacks.  i never had an anxiety attack or panic attack before i started any of the so called med to help calm my nerves.  i was just stressed out i never knew what it even felt like when people would talk about having such things.. i finally found a doctor about a year ago that was heaven sent.  he felt like i had been over medicated and my body was reacting to benzos!  so i started the road to getting off all meds.  thats where it brings me to present.  my doctor recently moved and i am not off the meds yet, have been reducing for past year at about a 3 month reduction time period, once was 5 months in between because of just a bunch of stuff going on, but am now down to .05 a day about to start reducing to .25 every third day.  the med worked great at first, but steadily only caused a nightmare of emotional rollercoaster of anxiety and panic attacks.  i know you have to out weigh the risks with the benefits but the risks have been greater being on the med.  i didn't have these problems before are there others that didn't have the problems before and once on med did?  i think i was misdiagnosed with anxiety or the doctors just wanted an easy solution to the problem.  it is sad that so many are so quick just to give you a pill.  i will be free one day and i hope others will also.

[jcoxjcoxjcox]

Wow that so sounds like me! I never had anxiety/panic attacks until Dec 21, 2000 after a death in the family and me having to move back home to care for my grandmother whom needed surgery 2 weeks later. I was really stressed with work and moving and taking care of the kids. I was having martital problems as well. A month later panic/anxiety hit me! I went to the ER and they gave me Ativan/valium combo! From there on I was in a nightmare. I went on 14 different meds and none of them seemed to help. Xanax made my heart thump. I then stopped all meds and then went into depression, I was in the ER every day sometimes 3-4 times a day.  The last 7 years of my life have been pure mess. I was put on Remeron to help me sleep after 6 or 8 months of being on it I was still having what I call freight train brain where  everything would go really fast(my thinking) he then added Celexa. I was started off low and then he would get me to 40mg I was on it for aleast a year and would have the occasional panic attack, then after that it was a cycle every 6 months I would have another attack and he would up my dose this went on for several years. Now I am maxed out at 60mg Remeron and 80 Celexa, I have 2 therapist, one talk therapy and the other CBT! I went into to have the lap band done and was given Reglan as pre op med and that sent me into pure anxiety. What a nightmare, at that point I went to my pdoc and he told me to meditate, exercise and find my spiritualk guide. Well, that made me so mad here I spedn the last 7 years with a doctor that is all he could come up with? I went new doctor shopping, the new doctor tells me my meds are too high he lowers both Remeron to 45mg and Cleexa to 60mg. A week later I was having suicial thoughts and anxiety out of the world the depression was far worse than I thought imaginable. I was then hospitalized. The pdoc there put my meds back to 60 remeeron and 60 celexa and still I have agitation, freight train brain and anxiety, lossing my mind and depression. I was having highs and lows like a yoyo or rollercoaster ride 4-6 times a day. He added LAmictal. Now he says I am bipolar. My question is can you become bipolar from meds being messed with? Is Celexa at to high a dose at 80mg? Should I get off all meds and see what happens? Was I misdiagnosed in the beginning? No doctor can answer any of this? I would love to get off my meds but I cannot take the withdrawl (withdrawal) symptoms! Please advise!

[firefly36]

don't give up, i was at a point in my life where i just didn't want to deal with the withdrawal symtoms (symptoms) i was at such a low i thought i couldn't handle it and frankly i didn't want to.  i finally found a pdoc and worked with another one with cognitive behavorial therapy which was the best thing i ever did.  my doctor finally said that he felt i had been over medicatied and misdiagnosed.  whether that is your case or not i can't say, i know you cannot quit cold turkey with your med or it will cause severe side effects and could cause just a setback and worsen the problems.  sometimes the doctors just don't know and that was the problem that i fell into.  i expected them to almost be a cure all, but they can't they are just men, and they do the best they can on a trial basis.  every person is different and reacts differently to every med and taper.  the important thing is not to give up, there is hope out there and a way, you just have to be determined to keep trying.  when i went through my divorce i lost just about all confidence, but acutally what i found that helped was to be consistant with everything, including my exercise, meditation, and actually spiritual help.  i couldn't take the withdrawal symtoms (symptoms) at first and for awhile but i had to weigh out what i wanted in life and if i wanted to be this way for the rest of it.  the important thing is to find a good doctor who understands what you are going through and what your goals are to be able to help you,  you also need alot of support through family and friends.  i know it doesn't seem like there is any hope but there is, dont' give up.  godspeed to you :)