Clonidine vs klonopin For Withdrawls

[cantfindaname]

I posted this in my long long post about opioid withdrawals but no luck so I thought I would do a new thread....

I am coming off percocet 7.5\325 2 - 5 x a day and oxy 20 mg 2 - 3 x a day for the past couple years.   I have a script for clonidine .1 which isn't doing much so I called my regular doc and he is going to put me on Klonopin ( Dosage unknown until I get script tomorrow).

From what I can tell these are 2 totally different drugs. Has anyone used Klonopin for opioid withdrawls? If so, how well did it work? Has anyone used both? If so, which worked better for you?

[cantfindaname]

Thanks for the replies all. A lot of good info to go through.

[worried878]

Clonidine, while having opiate-like effects in reversing several aspects of opiate withdrawal, is not an opiate and is therefore not subject to the burdensome regulatory CONTROLS that have been placed on the use of opioids. Clonidine has its most demonstrable effects on autonomic elements of opioid withdrawal: sweating, gastrointestinal complaints (cramps, diarrhea, nausea), and elevated blood pressure. It does not have substantial capacity to alleviate muscle aches, insomnia, or craving for opioids

[worried878]

thanks....just curious about it

[road2recovery]

For me it made the chills and sweats, creepy crawling feelings subside alot....Also the anxiety, it did not help much with the RLS...But everyone is different...It did make me sleepy, but that was a good thing, because i was ableto stay home and not go to work..
hope this helps
also my dosage was .01 mg 3 times a day
r2r

[worried878]

I know I should know this...and wish I had known about the clonidine...guess I could google it...How does it help with WDs?  I know it is a BP med?

[road2recovery]

I also took both...For me the clonodine helped alot...What is your dosage of that one?
Also only took klonopin at night to help sleep...Be very carefull with the klonopin as it is worst then opiates come off of!!!
good luck to you
r2r

[grncandy]

I wish my docter would have script for those!!! I had to go to rehab but yes both of them will work but get ready to sleep for 3 days!!!! Be careful on the Klonopin.

[wait2long]

clonidine helped me 10 times more than the klonopin....and i was coming off an almost 1 year methadone habit...i took the clonidine (as prescribed) 3 times per day and i actually slept through the night my first night on it, i took it for 10 days then tapered off in 3....
the klonopin did NOTHING for me but make me feel the same but added extreme tiredness to the problem.
i do have to add i was transitioning from methadone to suboxone, and was put into precipitated withdrawals, and the clonidine helped with that IMMENSELY!
now that i made it thru the induction and have been on suboxone since may, i am now on a low dose of klonopin for anxiety/panic, which the klonopin DOES help. but it is extremely addictive, and i will be starting my taper off it my next refill/dr.appointment, be EXTREMELY  careful with the klonopin...

[allaboutmary]

If you use these meds only short term and under a doctors care to detox. You should be fine.  Both will help. The Klonopin is a benzo and very addictive. The Clonodine is a bp med and really does help with the withdrawals.  I personally would only use the Klonopin at night to help with sleep.  

[JayDiddy]

Here is the link to find a Doctor in your area. Your Doctor is not an addiction specialist based on what he has prescribed so I would find a Doc who can prescribe Suboxone:

http://www.suboxone.com/patients/resources/find_a_doctor.aspx

This drug not only takes away your withdrawls so you can gain your wits and then detox later after working a program, but it also blocks your opiate receptors so that if you try to get high, it won't work unless you have been off of Suboxone for 24 hours. This means you would have to plan to get high. This can be enough time to gain control of your urge to use spontaneously.

I know from my Opiate use, I cannot stay off them long term without working a 12 step program. For me I usually do AA meetings and sometimes NA. AA is the but I seem to fit in better with the AA group in my area. I have to do 1-2 meetings a day and I have been off them for 10 months. At first I needed 3 meetings a day. I also know I hadn't really tried AA/NA until I got a sponsor to walk me through the steps. Good luck!
Jay

[JayDiddy]

Actually the best drug for opiate detox is called Suboxone. You will not feel any withdrawls when you stop taking opiates and it will allow you to detox slowly while you gain your mental & emotional capacity back. The problem is that it is still not completely FDA approved and only certain approved docs can prescribe. You will have to call many of them in your area in order to find a Doc that is not predatory in the way he/she prices his treatment. In Portland, OR for example, there are only two Doctors who are reasonable in their pricing and the rest are absolutely immoral in the way they profit from this care. It is an amazing drug and the statistics are much higher for recovery when using this drug--if it is used long term. So basically you might be on it for 6-12 months before you start to taper. I wish you the best.
Jay