Tapering off large dose, long-term Klonopin use

As you can see from my signature, I'm on quite a lot of Klonopin. 8mg per day. Sometimes I'll take other benzos (xanax mostly) in high doses for recreation. Well, lately I realized that my benzo use is out of control. I've become accustomed to taking my four Klonopin per day. Once in the morning, once before work, one after work, and one around bedtime. It's like routine for me. Now, my goal is to eliminate my benzo use to absolutely nothing, apart from emergencies. Now, I'm sure this is a very common topic, but I need my own customized tapering schedule. This is what I'm thinking: every two weeks, I'll decrease my Klonopin use by 1mg. So, the next two weeks I'll take 8mg. Then after that, 7mg for two weeks. The next two weeks, 6mg. And so on, until I'm at 1mg per day. After that, I believe I can safely stop taking them everyday and only as needed. Does this sound reasonable?

Also, what can I expect from clonazepam withdrawal? I've been on benzos since early 2013. I've had tastes of withdrawal before and it was terrible, but those were times I've quit cold turkey. I'm trying to do it responsibly this time.

That sounds a bit rushed to me. Are you going to lower each dosage by breaking pills or try to eliminate one dosage every two weeks?
I stopped K once but I also stopped Effexor XR at the same time. The Effexor withdrawals were so bad it was hard to notice anything else.

I plan on lowering the dosages by breaking them in half. Which is hard, since I get the brand name ones with the K punched through them. They kinda just crumble. But on that first bit, I'll be honest, I have been on 8mg for a while, but last week I decided to start limiting myself to 6mg. I noticed I would forget to take one during the day, for a few days in a row. So I figured I may as well just take one less pill a day. And I feel just fine. Going from 8 to 6mg was not difficult for me, but I can't imagine not taking ANY throughout the day. It's like my livelihood. I don't know what I'd do without Klonopin.

I take klonopin and have asked my doctor before about tapering. The one I was seeing last year wrote a plan for me to cut the dose by 10% every 2-4 weeks. The time interval is really pretty variable. It's really "no sooner than 2-4 weeks".

People I know that have tapered off meds don't always drop their dosage like clockwork. Sometimes it takes longer at one dosage than another before your body adjusts.

I agree, it's hard to subdivide the pills. I thought about buying a scale to weigh them (I found one on amazon for only about $25) but I never did.

My doctor also prescribed some 25 mg Vistaril (hydroxyzine) for me for anxiety during the taper-down. I used it when I did the Cymbalta taper.

Just be careful, okay? If you do a search for info on benzo tapering, you can find lots of info. Cutting the dosage by 10% each time seems to be pretty common advice. That's 10% of your current dosage, btw, not 10% of your original dosage.

A doctor took me off lorazepam several years ago after only a one-week taper and I had anxiety problems and panic attacks and noise sensitivity for a year afterwards.

Let us know how you're doing. I keep wanting to get inspired to lower my klonopin dose. I am just starting to feel better after a long depressive episode, though, and I'm chicken to try it right now.

hi frozen yogurt.

first; great that you want to do something about the klonopin. that is a huge first step.

i am doing the same.

next; you can and will get off the klonopin.

just be careful and wise how you do it.

i would do some research, but also be very very careful what you read, or come across on the internet. including what i am about to write.

every person is different. and; many many people get off benzos (properly) and never post their 'success' stories. the internet is full of scary stuff. including info/experiences about benzo withdrawal/reduction.

***slow wins the race.***

i suggest you read that last line 3 times. and, really believe it.

i was up to 4mg per day about 9 or so months ago. i am currently at .5mg. i really didn't plan on reducing. it sort of just happened initially. though it was always on my mind.

i was doing pretty intense 'deep' tms therapy with a new doc last summer and we would talk about the klonopin. i dropped directly to 3mg for a while. felt no real difference. (again, this is me.) dropped to 2.5 for a month? felt no difference. (again; me.) went to 2mg and held for a couple of months. really felt no difference.

new year 2015.

decided to really try and get-off or reduce. i had been on klonopin now for 5 years. spoke to my doc about it and he was fine with it. he said take your time...

made cuts of .25mg as i read on the net and what my doc told me. i kept a journal for a while. got lazy with that. sorry. but in a nutshell; i dropped .25mg about every 2 to 3 weeks. really felt nothing. some disturbed sleep maybe? but, my sleep is upside down already. i do sleep. just at the wrong time. lol

no increase in anxiety. at all. again, this is my experience. but, i am going pretty slow as you can see.

got to 1mg last month or a bit longer out. i was like 'wow. this is really happening. i am getting down to a much smaller dosage.' this empowered me...

i felt better too. lighter. a bit more energy. more active. some exercising even. gentle stuff; long walks. swims. my depression is still there. but, this is the least medication i have been on since i went down 5+ years ago. i am on no other psych meds. ironic. they even gave me ****ing ect 5 years ago.

k; went to my primary doc who i really like. said i need a rx for .25mg wafers. he said no problem. he was on board. these wafers are scored. and, are brand.

cut a 1mg in half. took a .25mg. and; cut a .25mg in half. = .875mg. only did this for like a week. felt no difference. yay. i was nervous about going under 1mg.

i did a few days at .5mg + half of a .25mg wafer. = .625mg (somebody check my math!) did this for just a few days. felt no difference...

went to .5mg. yay. could not believe i made it to .5mg! 5 long *** years i had been taking at least 3 to 4mgmg per day. i am still feeling excited as i write this. sorry for the book, but this is therapeutic for me.

held for 1 week. took .25mg + half of a .25mg = .375mg...

took it for 2 nights. i felt a bit, not a lot, of anxiety and funkiness on the morning of the 2nd day. this was the first of anything i had felt. i said to myself; 'slow wins the race' and went back-up to .5mg. i am holding there and will try a cut again next sunday night. a week from now. this would make 2 weeks at .5mg.

i have read several times that you can make bigger cuts to start, but it can be harder as you get closer to zero. this may be the case with me. we'll see.

i have researched the hell out of benzo withdrawal. the vast vast majority of info on the net is some scary stuff. but, as i mentioned, i have met several people who got off benzos (klonopin) relatively 'easy.' all these people did it very slowly and under a doctor's care.

the 'horror' stories seem to be from people who came-off way too fast, or off by cold turkey. no. either is bad.

i also came across this from a very good peer run site;

***"This is best done under the care of a doctor. The proper way to taper Klonopin is by every week reducing the total daily dose by 0.125mg (an eighth of a milligram) , until you reach zero. For example a person taking 1mg of Klonopin per day, would need eight weeks to safely taper off."***

i tried doing this. initially it was too slow. then, as i got to .5mg it was too fast. trust a good doctor. and, mostly, trust yourself if you can.

not sure how long you have been on the klonopin. but for me i realize i didn't just start taking it. why should i expect to be off it so quickly?

this is a very long post. sorry everyone. i have more info if you want frozen yogurt. just let me know if you want to hear more.

again; you can do it! just communicate with a doc you trust and has your back and pay attention to how you feel.

slow wins the race on this one. i think i mentioned that before.

Thanks for the info. I'm on 2 mgs lorazepam for sleep every night, as well as other meds for sleep and my pdoc just wants me off it without tapering. I'm not ready to come off it yet but when I am I'll keep what you said in mind.

Lots of horror stories on the internet about coming off them...

Well, I know it's only been a few days since I last posted, but I jumped down to 4mg per day and I feel just fine. I think I'm less sensitive to the withdrawal than most people. For instance, I go through periods where I'll smoke like a chimney, and then quit for 6 months cold turkey without a problem. I have fairly good willpower when it comes to stuff like that.

Anyway, I started breaking my Klonopin in half and found that 1mg is enough to take the edge off. If I really need to I'll take a full one, but I think I'm doing pretty good, even though this taper is way too fast according to most people. I'm just playing it by ear.

Sorry for the double post, but lately (since I lowered my klonopin dosage) my legs are shaky. I can't seem to sit still. My right leg wobbles sometimes when I'm walking. Yet, I have no anxiety. This seems to be the only symptom so far. Is this normal? What else can I expect?

I think you were given good advice, do it as recommended above, very slowly. Otherwise yes, you'll have tremors and lots of other side effects. Good luck to everyone coming off benzos.

I just want to add that I am very sensitive to medications. I was on 4 mg of clonazepam. I wanted to get off of it so I started a plan to slowly decrease it. It took me a year to get off of it completely.

Coming down from 4 to 3 was not so bad and also from 3 to 2 was not so bad and a little harder from 2 to 1 mg......It was the hardest to go from .5mg to zero.....my body revolted and knew it had no more benzo. I had to go back on it and I am now on 2 mg.

I plan to taper it to 1 mg at a later date, and yes my prescriber knows.

Clonazepam has a very long half life so please be careful and go slow as withdrawal symptoms can emerge later...

Good luck.

I'm on 3.5 mg a day and occassionally talk to my addictions Dr. about coming off it. She says I've been on it so long, since 2007, that it would take months to taper me off it safely. I trust her, since I know several people who she's gotten off it safely.

splitimage

it might. or, it might not.

sometimes the problem can be that we are looking, or even expecting things to happen. something might be happening to you while you are tapering and you may think it's due to the lower klonopin.

not saying that what you are feeling is not real, or not caused by your reduction to date. but, we are obviously hyper-sensitive and unsure of what is coming when we withdraw.

just a suggestion; try your best to know that if you go very slow, have to hold, or even go up for a bit, you will be fine.

again; the vast majority of people who taper off klonopin properly do not post their experiences.

the internet is a very very narrow place for information. please realize this.

nothing against those of us here, but we are 'special.' many of us are very sensitive to medications and/or have chronic issues. try not to get discouraged with what you may read here.

are you working with a doctor on this? as i wrote before; please work with a doctor that you can trust and communicate with. between the two of you i am pretty sure you will be fine.

*edit; another suggestion. sorry. i would not seek out answers to 'what else can i expect?' i hope this does not come-off as insensitive. each person is different. again; i have known many people to come-off klonopin. if you do it right i am pretty sure you will not suffer much, or at all. i am repeating myself; the people i know who 'suffered' went too fast or cold-turkeyed. it's not a race. go at your own comfortable pace.*

great advice.

Well, it's been a little over two weeks since I started tapering and somehow I've managed to taper from 8mg Klonopin per day to 2mg in only two weeks and experienced little to no withdrawal symptoms. I am currently taking one 2mg Klonopin per day, for about a week now, and I feel okay. At first I felt a little shaky and anxious, noticed I started sweating more. Had a little trouble sleeping. But it slowly subsided, and I'm starting to feel normal again. Having said that, I absolutely do not recommend tapering their medicine this fast. Different people will respond differently to drugs.

I did pretty okay, I was nowhere near the doses you were on, but i did a very rapid taper and had no symptoms until I stopped. For me, that's when the anxiety, flu like symptoms, insomnia, restlessness etc kicked in. Klonopin has a long half life, to be honest, I think your taper was not the norm, but reasonable, but be alert as you go lower and lower. If you can, I'd buy a pill cutter and cut into 1/4s and then taper from one mg to one half mg to one fourth before stopping. I do still take one occasionally, but not regularly anymore.
Good luck.