benzo withdrawals?

[coopy60]

I suffer from depression, anxiety and chronic pain. I have taken 1-2 mg daily of klonopin off and on for several years. About 2 months ago I went from taking 1-2 mg. klonopin daily to 1mg to .5 mg daily. Im now taking .25 mg klonopin in morning and .25 mg at night. The last .25 mg I took was this morning. My dr. says I can stop now. What will happen if I stop and dont take anymore. Will nI go through withdrawal and if so when will it start and stop?

[tingtongtom]

if you have been taking medication for anxiety, then you have not been addressing the problem but covering it up with a benzo smokescreen. The chances are that you will still have the anxiety however you stop, so maybe try asking your doctor for advice with counseling..

The danger with cold turkey and benzo's, especially valium, xanax and clonazepam (klonpin) is that you are at risk from seizures. klonpin is one of the most potent benzo's and has a pretty long half life.
With your case there is some good news and some not so good news IMO. You have kept yourself at relatively low doses but you have been taking the benzo's for a long period of time. In all honesty, you should not be prescribed them for more than 6 weeks because after a certain period of time they can even loose their ability to cover up anxiety and you start to need more and more to be affective, eventually you will find it impossible to get the desired effect. Benzo's also do not have pain relieving qualities, they make you care less, but the are not the same as opiates.

But yea, try getting some therapy and address you chronic pain in a different way, that is my opinion anyway. I wish you all the best, take care :)      

[oxer]

Anytime you are taking medications for anxiety and want to stop them you need to reduce them slowly out your system. The body needs to slowly adjust to not getting the medication you were putting in ..Try cutting the pill in half, then try taking it every other day, then every other week. then stop...This is the best way to get off any anxiety medications so your system doesn't react..

[sudie58]

hi, i really do agree with essdipity, you have tapered to a very low dose that is ,as your dr. says , safe for you to stop, you will feel very mild withdrawal symptoms , such as some insomnia, but thats perfectly normal, have another chat with your doctor if you need more reasurance, also breathing exercises are a great help, breath in , so your stomache rises, hold for 5 seconds then slowly breath out. best wishes and god bless.

[essdipity]

I absolutely hate klonopin and will never take it again. But having said that, I must also say that you are in no danger of seizures from stopping the low dose you are taking.

If you get withdrawal symptoms, start back on and reduce even more slowly. You can take the pills every other day at whatever dose, or cut them apart carefully. Talk to your doctor if you get withdrawal, and let him know what you are doing.

[iwillwin91]

be very careful. but go with your instincts. if your doctor says its ok and youre being honest with him, no harm in stopping. I wish you the best I cant get off xanax for my life!

[Iwantanewlifenow]

Benzos..Especially Klonopin..Are very dangerous and very hard to come off of...DO NOT stop Cold Turkey or you can go into seizures..or worse a Coma that you will never wake out of..I take Klonopin but only for the VERY WORST Panic attack....I breathe slowly and deeply and tell myself this attack is not going to kill me...even though it feels like I'm dying. Exercise has helped Tremendously...even though it's the last thing I want to do..it's teaching the brain to start making Endorphins again on it's own and will help you sleep...It is a Catch-22 because it is the VERY last thing you want to do...But you feel great afterwards and it reduces cravings...Best Wishes to you...Anj