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Quite a remarkable day! I had an appointment with an addiction specialist; he works at the clinic I normally go to. I have wanted to get off Klonopin for decades. I have a vicious physical addiction to the stuff, even though I have not abused it. I have not been successful with stopping it alone, so I thought I'd give seeing a specialist a try.
In 4 decades of seeing pdocs and PA's, so many of them (over 30), I have never had an experience with any doctor who knows his medications, and is as comfortable with the medication process, as this man was today. I was awed. A very gentle-mannered, but confident doctor. He's from India, speaks so softly and calmly.
I've been on K-pin for close to thirty years. Thought it was 20, but was pretty shocked to add it all up and conclude 30. I asked Dr. D. if it's even possible to stop Klonopin after so many years. He looked straight at me, smiled, and said, very kindly, "Nothing is impossible."
This good doctor uses the Ashton Method for benzo withdrawal, which I am delighted about. Very briefly, the method involves replacing a longer-acting benzo with the shorter-acting one (K-pin). There is, of course, a tight schedule to the whole thing. Dr. D. also uses Gabapentin at a much higher dose than I'm on (thank you, Great Universe, for at last sending someone with good common sense my way). And there are other possible meds that can be made use of, if need be.
Dr. D. asked me to inform med dude about the withdrawal plan, which of course I will do, but I nearly laughed. As if med dude would have the first clue of how to manage such a situation. Oh, well. Perhaps he'll learn from Dr. D. 's methods.
The very first step, however, is to halve my morning dose of Klonopin from 1mg. to 1/2mg. That for 2 weeks. Then I have an appointment with Dr. D. And we decide from there how to proceed next.
I feel hope and faith in a psychiatric medicine prescriber that I have not felt for a long time. Decades, in fact.
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