[BeyondtheRainbow]

has anyone been completely exhausted while lowering a klonopin dose? I'm on day 3 of reducing from 2 mg to 1.5 mg and while it has gone well I am so tired. I want to exercise and I get worn out just walking to the mailbox (1/8th mile). This seems to be increasing as the time off klonopin increases. It's physical more than mental.

I don't think this is depression although I suppose that is possible.

I'm just surprised at how tired I am with no reason for it.

[Blueberrybook]

You are doing great to lower Klonopin. I wish I could. Some days, I do take 2 mg instead of 4 mg, if I forget a dose and don't seem to miss it, but I think I'd notice pretty fast if I kept it up. If I can ever get out of overbearing, overwhelming stress, I hope to be able to reduce meds, but every time I think it can hardly get worse, it does. And this year has been for the dogs - MIL dying in late December (meaning we can't get much in the way of financial help from H's parents since his father now has a super limited income and tons of health issues), turning 40 in January, getting a perforated ulcer as a Valentine's gift, horrible pain after surgery, hard recovery, my old pdoc retiring, starting with a new pdoc, going mixed now forever, no money to do anything over the summer, HOA on our case, psych ER, CPS case, no money in the bank. Ugh. My daughter's school is having a book fair next week. Usually I give her some money to spend, but this year, she is going to have to take some of her own money from gifts and such if she wants to buy anything.

I have been on Klonopin for over 10 years now, close to 20 really, just with a break between for pregnancy (and at the end of that, the OB had me on Zoloft & Xanax).

Are there any other reasons you might be tired like allergies or fighting an illness or other stress in your life? Could be without the Klonopin, the stress in your life is causing you increased exhaustion? Maybe there are some avenues for anxiety that can help? I am not sure of your financial situation, but if you can afford it, acupuncture is definitely worth it. Not sure what vitamins you take, but Omega-3s do help a bit with stress & anxiety.

Is your sleep getting worse on the lowered dose of Klonopin, sleeping less or waking a lot at night?

[BeyondtheRainbow]

[QUOTE=Blueberrybook;6307441]
Are there any other reasons you might be tired like allergies or fighting an illness or other stress in your life? Could be without the Klonopin, the stress in your life is causing you increased exhaustion? Maybe there are some avenues for anxiety that can help? I am not sure of your financial situation, but if you can afford it, acupuncture is definitely worth it. Not sure what vitamins you take, but Omega-3s do help a bit with stress & anxiety.

No, there aren't any other real reasons for this and no changes in my life except the dose decrease. One of the reasons we are trying this is that I don't need the sedation with clozaril which is heavily sedating and so the hope is to get me to less than 12-14 hours of sleep daily. So I have plenty of coverage for stress, at least in theory.

Acupuncture isn't something I can afford and not done locally as I live in the middle of nowhere. Good to know for the future though.

I'll ask my pdoc about Omega 3s. In the past they've not done much for me but it's been a long time since I used them.

[Blueberrybook]

[QUOTE=BeyondtheRainbow;6307499]

Originally Posted by Blueberrybook

Are there any other reasons you might be tired like allergies or fighting an illness or other stress in your life? Could be without the Klonopin, the stress in your life is causing you increased exhaustion? Maybe there are some avenues for anxiety that can help? I am not sure of your financial situation, but if you can afford it, acupuncture is definitely worth it. Not sure what vitamins you take, but Omega-3s do help a bit with stress & anxiety.

No, there aren't any other real reasons for this and no changes in my life except the dose decrease. One of the reasons we are trying this is that I don't need the sedation with clozaril which is heavily sedating and so the hoe is to get me to less than 12-14 hours of sleep daily. So I have plenty of coverage for stress, at least in theory.

Acupuncture isn't something I can afford and not done locally as I live in the middle of nowhere. Good to know for the future though.

I'll ask my pdoc about Omega 3s. In the past they've not done much for me but it's been a long time since I used them.

Omega 3s never do a ton, but I think they can help a bit. Not to mention, they are good for a lot of your body systems, like brain, heart, etc.

[raspberrytorte]

Yes I experienced exhaustion. It's only going to get worse before it gets better. Not to be negative. Sorry.

I'm ****ed myself. I'm on 15mg of diazepam. Can't wait for another benzo withdrawal experience. I was such a moron to go back on them again.

I wish you luck getting through it.

[Wild Coyote]

I am very tired a lot. I did not notice being more tired when I had tapered klonopin; Yet, we are all different. (I had used klonopin for 30+ years.)

I hope the fatigue passes quickly!


WC

[*Laurie*]

Exhaustion? HA. That's putting it mildly. I've been on K-pin for over 20 years. Tried to do withdrawal twice. The first time I went was too fast. I because extremely ill...so fatigued I had to lie in bed. My legs were so weak I literally could not make it from my bedroom to my car in the driveway. It took 6 full weeks before I was finally able to walk around the block - and I had to do so slowly. It came to a point at which I couldn't live my life because of /d symptoms - so I had to go back on the Klonopin.

The second time I tried to withdraw I do so very, very slowly. Bit by tiny bit over a year - as benzobuddies.org suggests. At the end of the year I was physically fine, but the anxiety was uncontrollable. Whether the anxiety was from the w/d ("rebound anxiety") or a reappearance of the original anxiety, no one knows. At any rate, I neded up right back on the K-pin (2mg/day), plus an occasional prn.

I feel sure that the tiredness you are experiencing is from w/d. Please go extremely slowly. If you read the literature - and ask people who know - K-pin w/d is worse and much more difficult than heroin w/d.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I added dizziness and some GI issues to the exhaustion today and I'm going to back off to 1.75 mg instead of 1.5 mg. I was trying to get a .5 mg pill so I could cut it to .25 or even .125 mg if .5 was too much of a drop but there was an issue with Walmart pharmacy, which is not my usual pharmacy and rather than trying to deal with it I decided that I could be tough and do the .5 and instead that's just too much. So I'll email my pdoc and take a little more tonight and see what happens. It's just hard to cut a 1 mg pill into 4 even pieces and last time that didn't work.

And now that I think of it and see it in writing I have been wrong and my pdoc NEVER told me to do .5; I was supposed to do .25 and the script for the .5 mg pills was because I was able to get an exact .25 that way. I just confused myself and tried too much.

No wonder I don't feel good. I need to listen better and think about what I am doing.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by BeyondtheRainbow

I added dizziness and some GI issues to the exhaustion today and I'm going to back off to 1.75 mg instead of 1.5 mg. I was trying to get a .5 mg pill so I could cut it to .25 or even .125 mg if .5 was too much of a drop but there was an issue with Walmart pharmacy, which is not my usual pharmacy and rather than trying to deal with it I decided that I could be tough and do the .5 and instead that's just too much. So I'll email my pdoc and take a little more tonight and see what happens. It's just hard to cut a 1 mg pill into 4 even pieces and last time that didn't work.

And now that I think of it and see it in writing I have been wrong and my pdoc NEVER told me to do .5; I was supposed to do .25 and the script for the .5 mg pills was because I was able to get an exact .25 that way. I just confused myself and tried too much.

No wonder I don't feel good. I need to listen better and think about what I am doing.

Take it slow...then take it even slower than slow. Trust me on that.

[Blueberrybook]

Yeah, sometimes it's hard enough cutting one pill in half. Pdoc has me cut hydroxyzine in half, and that is not a pill that cuts evenly (very powerdery) unless you use sudden, abrupt force on the pill cutter. I am lucky if I get equal halves. I couldn't imagine doing 1/4 of a pill.

[*Laurie*]

Klonopin cuts pretty well. I'd rather buy an Exacto knife and a board and cut the K-pin than not reduce the dosage extremely slowly and accurately.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I'm at 2 days on the correct klonopin dose and feeling better. I'm tired and a bit nauseous but much better than I was.

I can't imagine cutting this cold turkey. My pdoc promised we'll go slow. From now on I'll b careful not to make mistakes. My therapist has almost gotten me to stop being so upset with myself. I still can't believe I did this but I admit that it is a human error and those are part of life.

Now I hope my pdoc isn't upset with me when i see her next week. Usually when I think she'll be upset she isn't but she also is very direct about problems. We'll see.

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by BeyondtheRainbow

I'm at 2 days on the correct klonopin dose and feeling better. I'm tired and a bit nauseous but much better than I was.

I can't imagine cutting this cold turkey. My pdoc promised we'll go slow. From now on I'll b careful not to make mistakes. My therapist has almost gotten me to stop being so upset with myself. I still can't believe I did this but I admit that it is a human error and those are part of life.

Now I hope my pdoc isn't upset with me when i see her next week. Usually when I think she'll be upset she isn't but she also is very direct about problems. We'll see.

I am so glad you are feeling even a little better!


WC

[Phoenix_1]

I take 0.5 of clonazepam (klonopin) in the morning and 1.0 at night. It's just barely enough. My Pdoc wants me to quit using it altogether. I'm almost 65 and he said it can cause older people to lose their balance and fall. I can't imagine going off it. I've taken it every day since 1987.

In April my Pdoc was at a hospital emergency and I saw a resident instead. She cut my clonazepam dose in half. After a day or so I started to cry and couldn't stop. My anxiety was horrible. I went to see my Pdoc on an emergency appointment and he prescribed my normal dose again. My friend had to come with me to explain to the Pdoc what was happening because I was crying too much to talk or even think.

My Pdoc is determined to get me to stop taking it. He said it might take as long as a year to get off it safely. I don't want to stop it, but he's the one writing the prescriptions. I'm afraid that the anxiety will take over again. We've already had disagreements about it. I don't see the need to go off it and there's not much out there to substitute for it. I may have to start using herbal medicine again. Valerian, hops, passionflower, and fish oil help a bit.

Pdocs are far and few between here, so I'm stuck with him. My GP has made it very clear that he won't prescribe psych meds.

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by Phoenix_1

I take 0.5 of clonazepam (klonopin) in the morning and 1.0 at night. It's just barely enough. My Pdoc wants me to quit using it altogether. I'm almost 65 and he said it can cause older people to lose their balance and fall. I can't imagine going off it. I've taken it every day since 1987.

In April my Pdoc was at a hospital emergency and I saw a resident instead. She cut my clonazepam dose in half. After a day or so I started to cry and couldn't stop. My anxiety was horrible. I went to see my Pdoc on an emergency appointment and he prescribed my normal dose again. My friend had to come with me to explain to the Pdoc what was happening because I was crying too much to talk or even think.

My Pdoc is determined to get me to stop taking it. He said it might take as long as a year to get off it safely. I don't want to stop it, but he's the one writing the prescriptions. I'm afraid that the anxiety will take over again. We've already had disagreements about it. I don't see the need to go off it and there's not much out there to substitute for it. I may have to start using herbal medicine again. Valerian, hops, passionflower, and fish oil help a bit.

Pdocs are far and few between here, so I'm stuck with him. My GP has made it very clear that he won't prescribe psych meds.

Many docs are demanding their patients get off of opioids and benzos. I know my state is making prescribing very hard on the docs. I am sorry you have to go through this.


WC

[*Laurie*]

Yeah, they pull patients off Klonopin and put them on AP's instead. Talk about crazy...

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by *Laurie*

Yeah, they pull patients off Klonopin and put them on AP's instead. Talk about crazy...

It is very disturbing, for sure. I think benzos are safer than APs.

Some are using gabapentin in place of benzos. I have recently replaced my benzos with gabapentin. It's been okay for now. I am not sure it will always work okay for me. Everyone is different.

I was on both benzos and an opiate at the same time. It made my new docs nervous. I cut back on the opiate and traded the benzos. Not everyone is in this situation.


WC

[Blueberrybook]

Originally Posted by Wild Coyote

It is very disturbing, for sure. I think benzos are safer than APs.

Some are using gabapentin in place of benzos. I have recently replaced my benzos with gabapentin. It's been okay for now. I am not sure it will always work okay for me. Everyone is different.

I was on both benzos and an opiate at the same time. It made my new docs nervous. I cut back on the opiate and traded the benzos. Not everyone is in this situation.


WC

I'm on gabapentin for fibro. Not doing a thing for me. Many fibro meds I took before were NSAIDs, so that is out for me. But the gabapentin has so little effect, I really just feel like stopping it. I see the rheumatologist next month, and definitely I want something other than gabapentin. If my Klonopin was replaced by that, I'd be a basket case.

It has never helped me for sleep. Even Trazodone works better than that (though then you have the "Trazodone-hangover" effect until 4 PM or even later). Even a small dose (25 mg) of Trazodone is helping me sleep better than 300 mg gabapentin.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Next up will be them taking us off gabapentin. My state is monitoring its' use and my pdoc doesn't want me going up because I'll probably need to come down at some point.

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by Blueberrybook

I'm on gabapentin for fibro. Not doing a thing for me. Many fibro meds I took before were NSAIDs, so that is out for me. But the gabapentin has so little effect, I really just feel like stopping it. I see the rheumatologist next month, and definitely I want something other than gabapentin. If my Klonopin was replaced by that, I'd be a basket case.

It has never helped me for sleep. Even Trazodone works better than that (though then you have the "Trazodone-hangover" effect until 4 PM or even later). Even a small dose (25 mg) of Trazodone is helping me sleep better than 300 mg gabapentin.

I am talking closer to 900mg gabapentin.

Trazodone is known to be sedating.

Trazodone can affect the heart's QT interval prolongation, as can Seroquel. If so, these are potentially dangerous to use together. An EKG would tell more about how drugs in this category affects each individual.

My pdoc and my pharmacist will not allow me to mix these two meds. This was even before an EKG.

Just mentioning so you will be aware.

I am not a health professional. Please check with licensed professionals, like your pharmacist and/or pdoc.


WC

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by BeyondtheRainbow

Next up will be them taking us off gabapentin. My state is monitoring it's use and my pdoc doesn't want me going up because I'll probably need to come down at some point.

Oh my! If my state starts tracking gabapentin, the pdocs are going to delete gabapentin as a possible med. This state is making doctors pay a very high price for prescribing opioids. If they start tracking gabapentin, the pdocs will be paying a high price.

What are we supposed to do?
High doses of gabapentin help me with agitation. I need it!


WC

[BeyondtheRainbow]

That's how I feel about gabapentin but I'm already not having it increased to compensate for the lost klonopin. When I got out of the hospital the last time I was on 2100 mg/day (I think) and she lowered it immediately because she didn't want me too dependent on it. Now I know why. I suppose I'll be on more clozapine to make up for the klonopin if I need something more than PRN. I do have 100-200 mg gabapentin PRN but that has limited effect.

Oh well.....can't worry about it now

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by BeyondtheRainbow

Next up will be them taking us off gabapentin. My state is monitoring its' use and my pdoc doesn't want me going up because I'll probably need to come down at some point.

Wow.

My pdoc encouraged me to go on Gabapentin, but then discouraged taking a high dose because (she said) there's a risk of dizziness and falling.

After 3 decades on psych meds I've concluded that psychiatry has a long, long way to go. For one thing, the med trends are outrageous. What's "in" for a period of time is "out" so suddenly. Makes me feel like they don't rerally know what they're doing.

I think that, in the future, there will have to be other treatments for MI besides meds.

[Wild Coyote]

It seems just plain "wrong" for you to have take more clozapine instead of the gabapentin!


WC

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I agree. Hopefully it won't happen. she doesn't want me on any more of it etiher so I'm hoping we'll stay with gabapentin. I hope she was just warning me that someday it may have to go too. But the klonopin w/d is a long project so it will be a while before we need to even consider gabapentin.

The other thing about taking about the gabapentin and relying on clozapine for sleep is that gabapentin helps me get sleepy which lets the clozapine get me to sleep. Clozapine is not that sedating for falling asleep for me. I can't imagine sleep without gabapentin. I can't take most of the other options for anxiety/sleep because of my MAOI.

Oh well, no need to worry that far off. Even though I do.