weaning off klonopin

I am on a dosage of .50 every six hours 3 xs a day  for eight years quartered ths same dosage after some medical problems doc had me take the full pill all at once 3xs aday no gradual increase, i have now been on this dosage for going on seven months and feel like it is making me sick , shaky legs, nightmares, nausea, sweating, dry mouth some insomnia, nausea what is the proper schedule for weaning off the doctor said drop .50 for two weeks HE HAS PLAYED SO MUCH WITH THIS MED . taking me from quarters to whole then back to quartering which landed me in hospital weight loss of 47 pounds tan back to whole pills please help not functioning for 9 months the dosage does not make me drowsey just sick.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Clonazepam is a potent benzodiazepine, more potent that Diazepam. A lot of clinicians use Diazepam in the tapering process of Clonazepam. You can discuss this option with your prescribing doctor. Gradual taper off may not work so effectively with Clonazepam alone as it is more potent than many other drugs of the class.

Two weeks may not be sufficient for a successful taper off. You may need to stretch the taper period to 3 or even 4 weeks by gradually reducing the dose. Reducing the dose to half every 15 days may help. A dose of 0.5mg three times a day appears to be manageable as far as gradual taper off is concerned. The more gradual it is the better.

Hope this helps.