[Somethingstrange]

I went through a 5 day detox the first week of this month. I had my last dose of detox meds on the 3rd. Prior to that I was taking 2 mg of Klonopin daily. It's now the 31st. I still feel very odd and that I may be in protracted withdrawals. I know that can happen but my question is if I am still at risk, other than the pain, discomfort, and sleep problems at this point? I expect a tough couple of months ahead of me. Also, I've read that taking aspirin and herbal supplement such as passion flower is not advised. Can anyone tell me where I might stand right now? Two doctors have told me that I should not still be in withdrawal but I have read other data that states otherwise. Again I know the withdrawal might still be there but I am curious as to if I am out of the extremely dangerous parts of it by now? Thanks

[gayleggg]

I'm not a doctor, but from what I know about detoxing, you should be past the dangerous part of it by now and shouldn't be suffering from pain and discomfort. You may however have sleeping problems not from withdrawal but just because the Klonopin was helping with sleep problems you already had.

Take what you like and leave the rest.

[spondiferous]

First of all: welcome to PC.
What I have heard is that benzodiazepine withdrawal can actually take up to a couple of years. That's not to say that it will, but it's possible. Hopefully that will put your mind to rest (I know, a catch 22). In the meantime I would stay away from anything that has to do with herbal remedies and whatnot if it has been advised that they may be contraindicative.
Also...a word about doctors. Unless they are addiction doctors (GPs specializing in the treatment of people recovering or trying to recover from various addictions) they likely don't know too much about addiction. They mean well, don't get me wrong. But benzodiazepines can be extremely addictive and one of the hardest things to come off of, and yet they are so quickly prescribed to people. I mean, I have all kinds of friends who are in recovery and their doctors all try to prescribe them benzos for various things. There just is no real knowledge about it. GPs are not really trained in that kind of thing.
I wish you luck in your recovery. Hopefully it doesn't take much longer for the effects to wear off.

[Perna]

This scientific article might help you? The benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome and its management.

[spondiferous]

I like what it says about anxiety and how to identify it and its role in withdrawal vs everyday anxiety so as to not create false expectations. Thanks for sharing Perna.

[IndieVisible]

I was on lithium and klonopin 1mg 3x day for a year and I decided to stop both cold turkey and never felt better. Of course I was also not aware of benzo withdrawal Seems the more people talk about it the more people think they have it. I dunno could be different for everyone. I was recently taking xanax 3x a day, stopped cold turky on my own because I wanted to see if I needed them. Went 2 weeks no problems but my anxiety came back so I got another script, a 10 day script which I stretched for a month totally surprising my doc, I told him I only take it as needed and try not too if I can. IMHO this benzo dependency scare is way over exaggerated. In my 3 decades of taking just about every benzo in fact I think I've had all of them, not once did I ever feel depended on them or ever feel any withdraw coming off them. Go figure.