Withdrawal Question

[jmf2009]

I used xanex, 1mg per day from 2001-Feb 2009.  I felt the need to stop taking it and my psychiratrist prescribed me clonozapam to help me me get off of it.  When I tried to lower the xanex dosage I would get very sick with sweating, my stomach would gargle and stay upset, and I would have insomnia and diarheaa. I started taking the 1mg og clonozapam back in Feb and just begun to lower the dosage to .75mg.  It has been a week and a half and I am beginning to feel the same symtoms.

Are these withdrawal symtoms?  Please help!

[MrGreen]

Doing good here, thanks. I find his methods handy to keep close by as a lot of people ask the same time honoured questions over and over. May as well have the correct answer at hand.

[RubyWitch]

jmf.........read carefully what MrGreen has written as those words are etched in stone somewhere! If need be, take a copy to your p-doc and discuss it with him/her. The one and only thing I will add to MrGreens advice is this: YOU must be the one in total control of your taper at all times! Would you like me to repeat that a million times? I will if I have to because that is probably THE most important aspect of any taper from a benzo. Do not let ANY doctor tell you when you must reduce your dosage. ONLY YOU will know when you're ready and if that takes weeks or months, then that's the way it is and that's the way it should be! I don't want to freak you out thinking this taper is going to take you 3 years to complete, some/many folks CAN taper at fairly regular intervals of two weeks without any problems and you may very well be one of them. But if YOU don't feel ready or begin to have very upsetting w/d symptoms, then you're probably going too fast. In getting off a benzo the "buzz" words are "SLOW,"  "PATIENCE," and most importantly "MY WAY!"
You can do this, but you must also know that it's not going to be easy. If you think that, you'll be in trouble. Xanax is one of the most potent drugs moronic doctors hand out like candy at Halloween with no thought or care to what they are doing to us. If you understand and accept that you're going to be on a pretty rocky road for awhile and just take it at whatever speed is comfortable for you, you'll do just fine.
Many of us have been where you are......we understand totally and we survived. So will you!
I wish you the very best of luck and know that you can always come to us when the going gets tough, which it will. Keep in mind that it will be SO worth the effort when you finally lay that burden down.
Peace
Greenlydia
And to MrGreen........bless your Irish heart for hanging onto Ryan's formulas and sharing them. You doin' OK, pal?
L.    

[MrGreen]

Ryan's famous answer. Klonopin is the American name for Clonozapam.

Ideally, you shouldn't be on the full dose of Xanax while simultaneously implementing Klonopin as a substitute. Likewise, the Klonopin should NEVER be directly substituted for Xanax, as this induces a temporary withdrawal syndrome that may last for up to two weeks.

In order for Klonopin to replace Xanax, it must accumulate. Klonopin accumulates to steady-state within two weeks, at which point it will fully replace the Xanax from a potency standpoint. Xanax doesn't accumulate, therefore, simultaneously replacing it with Klonopin would lead to withdrawal phenomena. The Xanax plasma level would trough sharply, and there would be nothing to replace it.

Therefore, it would be advisable to "step" the Klonopin in, while simultaneously stepping out the Xanax. This is best done in 0.25 mg increments.

*Example* - You were formerly taking 0.5 mg of Xanax three times daily, and the goal is to transition to Klonopin, 0.5 mg, t.i.d....

Days 1-3: Take 0.5 mg of Xanax in the morning and afternoon. Take 0.25 mg of Xanax and 0.25 mg of Klonopin nightly.

Days 3-6: Take 0.5 mg of Xanax in the morning, and 0.25 mg of Xanax and 0.25 mg of Klonopin in the afternoon and nightly.

Days 6-9: Take 0.25 mg of Xanax and 0.25 mg of Klonopin in the morning, afternoon, and nightly.

Days 9-12: Take 0.25 mg of Xanax and 0.25 mg of Klonopin in the morning and afternoon. Take 0.5 mg of Klonopin nightly.

Days 12-15: Take 0.25 mg of Xanax and 0.25 mg of Klonopin in the morning. Take 0.5 mg of Klonopin in the afternoon and nightly.

Day 18: Take 0.5 mg of Klonopin, t.i.d. The Xanax is discontinued.

This is the accelerated method of transitioning from Xanax to Klonopin. The three day intervals may be extended to one or two weeks if necessary. This is rarely necessary.

You can discuss a similar schedule with your doctor. It is absolutely crucial that the Klonopin be taken at least twice daily. It depends on how many times/day you take Xanax. If you take it three or four times daily, the Klonopin should also be taken three or four times daily initially.