Aa
med taper
Dear Doctor,
I realize this is not the right forum for this question, but you've closed down the mental health forum, and i'd really like an educated answer to this question. a close friend of mine has taken .25 mgs. of klonopin twice daily. .5 total. she was given this for anxiety problems, and it worked very well. she feels she no longer needs this and would like to taper off this med. her doctor says to just stop cold turkey, but she's leery of that having been on it an year and a half. she is so afraid of having a seizure. she does not have a seizure disorder, but after reading so many of the horror stories on the internet, she's very afraid. her doctor feels the dose is so low, that there should be no problems discontinueing the med. do you have any advice.? or has anyone out there been in the same situation and can offer some suggestions? no scare stories please!
thank you so much
karen
I realize this is not the right forum for this question, but you've closed down the mental health forum, and i'd really like an educated answer to this question. a close friend of mine has taken .25 mgs. of klonopin twice daily. .5 total. she was given this for anxiety problems, and it worked very well. she feels she no longer needs this and would like to taper off this med. her doctor says to just stop cold turkey, but she's leery of that having been on it an year and a half. she is so afraid of having a seizure. she does not have a seizure disorder, but after reading so many of the horror stories on the internet, she's very afraid. her doctor feels the dose is so low, that there should be no problems discontinueing the med. do you have any advice.? or has anyone out there been in the same situation and can offer some suggestions? no scare stories please!
thank you so much
karen
Of course everyone's withdrawl experience is unique, but let me share mine so you may convey it to your friend. My story may be "frightening" but it has a happy ending, so bear with me.
I was taking only .5mg Klonopin a day, @9 months for anxiety. Dr. said that was a very low dose and that withdrawing should be easy, suggested I taper to .25mg/day for a week, then quit. Well that's what I did and it was awful even at that low of a dose. After being completely off for a week I checked myself into the ER due to scary symptoms I was experiencing: hallucinations (sparks of light and shadows), brain "zaps" (like your brain is short-circuiting), a disoriented/trancelike feeling, inability to concentrate, stomach and chest pains, indigestion, fast pulse, high blood pressure (usually mine is low), muscle aches, bladder spasms, headaches, "flulike" feeling, weak-feeling muscles, heart palpitations, nightmares, extreme anxiety, etc. ER doc said all these were withdrawl symptoms and that Klonopin, because of its long half-life, is VERY difficult to withdraw from, even at low doses. Since I felt I was going nuts his words were reassuring, even though I was angry at my regular doctor for making light of the whole process.
ER doc suggested I go back on Klonopin at .25mg/day for 2 weeks to let my body stabilize, then skip a day (between .25mg dose) for a couple of weeks, then skip 2 days for a couple of weeks, then stop. I hated to go back on but I almost immediately felt better. After a couple of weeks I started skipping a day between doses, etc etc. After tapering for about a month I stopped taking it. I've now been off for 2 weeks. I still experienced some withdrawl symptoms the second time around, but they were exactly as the ER doc said, more like "background noise" than the overwhelming symptoms I experienced during the first go.
I guess I'm suggesting that your friend taper more slowly than what her doctor suggests. She can go the quicker route, but it may be unpleasant and scary for her. Slower method is so much easier it's beyond words. Either way she must be prepared for some withdrawl symptoms - knowing what to expect makes it less frightening. My symptoms from the slower method were MUCH more diminished from my experience with the quicker route that your friend's doctor is recommending.
Good luck, it can be done! Here's the happy ending - ironically, since being off Klonopin (except for the first week or so of tapering/withdrawl, when anxiety is normal) I am now LESS anxious than when I was on the drug! I feel better now than I ever have before. I'm also no longer experiencing the strange headaches, visual disturbances or low grade fevers (a very rare side effect) that I found so worrisome while taking the drug. Tell your friend good luck!
I was taking only .5mg Klonopin a day, @9 months for anxiety. Dr. said that was a very low dose and that withdrawing should be easy, suggested I taper to .25mg/day for a week, then quit. Well that's what I did and it was awful even at that low of a dose. After being completely off for a week I checked myself into the ER due to scary symptoms I was experiencing: hallucinations (sparks of light and shadows), brain "zaps" (like your brain is short-circuiting), a disoriented/trancelike feeling, inability to concentrate, stomach and chest pains, indigestion, fast pulse, high blood pressure (usually mine is low), muscle aches, bladder spasms, headaches, "flulike" feeling, weak-feeling muscles, heart palpitations, nightmares, extreme anxiety, etc. ER doc said all these were withdrawl symptoms and that Klonopin, because of its long half-life, is VERY difficult to withdraw from, even at low doses. Since I felt I was going nuts his words were reassuring, even though I was angry at my regular doctor for making light of the whole process.
ER doc suggested I go back on Klonopin at .25mg/day for 2 weeks to let my body stabilize, then skip a day (between .25mg dose) for a couple of weeks, then skip 2 days for a couple of weeks, then stop. I hated to go back on but I almost immediately felt better. After a couple of weeks I started skipping a day between doses, etc etc. After tapering for about a month I stopped taking it. I've now been off for 2 weeks. I still experienced some withdrawl symptoms the second time around, but they were exactly as the ER doc said, more like "background noise" than the overwhelming symptoms I experienced during the first go.
I guess I'm suggesting that your friend taper more slowly than what her doctor suggests. She can go the quicker route, but it may be unpleasant and scary for her. Slower method is so much easier it's beyond words. Either way she must be prepared for some withdrawl symptoms - knowing what to expect makes it less frightening. My symptoms from the slower method were MUCH more diminished from my experience with the quicker route that your friend's doctor is recommending.
Good luck, it can be done! Here's the happy ending - ironically, since being off Klonopin (except for the first week or so of tapering/withdrawl, when anxiety is normal) I am now LESS anxious than when I was on the drug! I feel better now than I ever have before. I'm also no longer experiencing the strange headaches, visual disturbances or low grade fevers (a very rare side effect) that I found so worrisome while taking the drug. Tell your friend good luck!
http://www.benzodiazepines.net/
This is one of the most informative websites on Benzodiazepines (klonopin, Ativan etc)... I'm no doctor either but because these are gaba inhibitors slow tapering down over many weeks is best to avoid withdrawal symptoms.. Ativan (short activating) can even have withdrawal symptoms after only a month of use, only most doctors are not aware of this. The Manufacturers of Klonopin recommend tapering off as their insert indicates not to stop this drug abruptly. Hope this site will help your friend.
This is one of the most informative websites on Benzodiazepines (klonopin, Ativan etc)... I'm no doctor either but because these are gaba inhibitors slow tapering down over many weeks is best to avoid withdrawal symptoms.. Ativan (short activating) can even have withdrawal symptoms after only a month of use, only most doctors are not aware of this. The Manufacturers of Klonopin recommend tapering off as their insert indicates not to stop this drug abruptly. Hope this site will help your friend.
I'm not a doctor, but I'd be happy to share my experience with you. My e-mail is ***@****. I HIGHLY suggest that you check out the website www.benzo.org.uk. This site has in-depth information, including a long FAQ section on withdrawl, including withdrawl symptoms, how to taper, diet during taper, etc. The site also has dozens of links.
Whew, if withdrawal is that dificult I guess I truely will be on it forever. I never plan to go through the seizures and DT's again. I have been through that too many times to count over the past year and I am surprised I am still alive. It's only a strong heart and will and God up above that has saved me from death this past year while trying to detox out-patient off of alcohol for many months before finally going in-patient to the mental ward for two months.
The Klonopin controlled the seizures the best and now I have a permanent seizure disorder, so no reason to quit.
Hello Pat,
Thank you so much for your information. It was very useful as you let me know the tapering schedule/dosage. Pat, I'd like to ask you more, but would like to do so, but not thru the forum. Too personal. I would post my e mail addy, but my full name is in it. And I don't want it shown. Would you allow me to e mail you? And if not, I completely understand. In any event, thank you again, all you let us know is so helpful. I wish you continued success and hope my friend is as fortunate as you!
Sincerely,
Karen
Thank you so much for your information. It was very useful as you let me know the tapering schedule/dosage. Pat, I'd like to ask you more, but would like to do so, but not thru the forum. Too personal. I would post my e mail addy, but my full name is in it. And I don't want it shown. Would you allow me to e mail you? And if not, I completely understand. In any event, thank you again, all you let us know is so helpful. I wish you continued success and hope my friend is as fortunate as you!
Sincerely,
Karen
As a person who has had numerous neurological problems and surgical procedures, both in the past and at present, I have taken many different medications and suffered withdrawal. I agree with Doc RPS... however, a patient is the receiver of medications and bears the results whether they are beneficial or not. Anxiety over discontinuation is real and patients understand themselves better than the professional serving them. If your friend is fearful of seizures, then the doctor should respect that and assist in the tapering-off process no matter how large or small the dose is. Be adamant about the fear and stick to it. Remember... people hire health care professionals to serve them. Not the other way around.
Have a nice day.
Christine Jenkins
(Hello Doc RPS- I'm still around, just not participating much. You're still doing a great job and I'm still thankful for the support you gave me before, during, and after my craniotomy. Again, thanks)
Have a nice day.
Christine Jenkins
(Hello Doc RPS- I'm still around, just not participating much. You're still doing a great job and I'm still thankful for the support you gave me before, during, and after my craniotomy. Again, thanks)
That low of a dose seems small but your body is used to it. You will feel discomfort when you taper off even over the two weeks mainly in the form of anxiety and agitation. I don't believe the dose is high enough for seizures, even cold turkey, but the discomfort would be more difficult to handle.
I am currently on 8 mg's a day for seizure and anxiety disorder so I may be on it forever. It's either that or drinking and I had to give up drinking due to the severe withdrawal even after only a few hours after my last drink. I was really dependent on it and it was apparently masking my seizure disorder. I thought I was having withdrawal seizures for months when it was really a seizure disorder seperate from the alcoholism but showed up later in life for some reason.
I still have a problem accepting the fact that I have a seizure disorder but I am reminded every few days. The Docs are still working on the dosage of Neurontin to get the entire thing under control. The Klonopin has gotten rid of my Mitral valve prolapse it seems, all palpitations associated with it, my treadmill stress test they stopped me at 200, and I no longer have Bulimia. And it really controls the clonic shaking during my seizures very well.
I only wish it could help me lose weight!!!!!LOL 170 lbs at
5'6" they thought I could not make the stress test. Boy did I fool them! I think all those violent partial status tonic-clonic shakedowns over the past year, (over 100 of them) must have strengthened my muscles or something. Weird but true!
Dear Karen:
Although it is a low dose, I would taper over a couple of weeks. Probably half the dose for a week and then off. There would likely be little side effect to just stopping the drug, but I would taper. Each physician has their own way of handling the use of medication.
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro MD
Although it is a low dose, I would taper over a couple of weeks. Probably half the dose for a week and then off. There would likely be little side effect to just stopping the drug, but I would taper. Each physician has their own way of handling the use of medication.
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro MD
Karen,
I have to agree with your friend. Cutting any medication of that sort, cold turkey doesn't seem right. I would maybe cut it down slowly every week...maybe 4 times a week, than 3, than 2...etc. Perhaps that could help your friend ease out of the dependency that her brain/body has accustomed to.
Good luck.
I have to agree with your friend. Cutting any medication of that sort, cold turkey doesn't seem right. I would maybe cut it down slowly every week...maybe 4 times a week, than 3, than 2...etc. Perhaps that could help your friend ease out of the dependency that her brain/body has accustomed to.
Good luck.
I was on Ativan for 11 months (similiar to Klonapin) and even
though I was on a relatively low dose, I had a very hard time
stopping. It was strictly the physical withdrawal that was difficult, not the psychological. I would advise your friend
that there is no harm in tapering instead of cold turykey. I
am not a doctor, but would suggest she at least taper over a 2
-4 week period. I would not be so concerned about seizures as
I would about other physical sensations such as sleeplessness,
headache, etc that comes with withdrawl. Doctors always underestimate these effects. Good luck.
though I was on a relatively low dose, I had a very hard time
stopping. It was strictly the physical withdrawal that was difficult, not the psychological. I would advise your friend
that there is no harm in tapering instead of cold turykey. I
am not a doctor, but would suggest she at least taper over a 2
-4 week period. I would not be so concerned about seizures as
I would about other physical sensations such as sleeplessness,
headache, etc that comes with withdrawl. Doctors always underestimate these effects. Good luck.
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