[anneeg]

Hello. I'm new here and still finding my way around. Hoping someone has had a similar experience or general info on my issue.

I've been on Effexor for almost 14 yrs. (other meds tried but didn't work as well) and Clonazepam for over 2 years. I also take HRT. About a year ago I started having terrible anxiety & panic attacks. YES...my life has been hell for quite some time now but I'm finding the anxiety to be so overwhelming I can barely function most days. I am getting help through Comm. Mental Health as I cannot afford other health care. I know I must be addicted to The Clonazepam by now..I can't get through a day without it! What I'm wondering is whether this 'addiction' is just getting worse and I need a higher dosage to keep the anxity at bay? I don't want to take it AT ALL!! The thought of increasing the dosage makes me even more anxious. Just WHAT is this stuff and HOW in the world am I ever going to be able to get off of it?? Any help, suggestions, comments, etc. are SO welcomed!

Thank you,
anneeg

[Zen888]

Clonazepam is addictive. It's a benzo type of medication. And when I tried to go off of it (safely) my anxiety went through the roof! I am back on .25mg/day.

[anneeg]

Thank you Zen for your reply. Would you mind sharing how long you took to go off of it "safely"? I hate the idea that I'll be on this stuff forever. I know it's addictive. I've come to view it as a terrible med - I'm groggy all the time - absolutely NO energy (of course depression plays a part) ...my gut just keeps telling me I HAVE to get off this stuff. We all intuitively (I believe) know our bodies better than anyone and my body does't want this anymore. I feel stuck, scared, and wishing I could turn the clock back to that first pill. I never would've taken it knowing what I know now!

anneeg

[psisci]

The best way to do it is to slowly taper. PM me with your dose etc... and I can help you out. 99.9% of people can come off these meds safely without any withdrawl IF it is done right.

[Bethsway]

I have been taking .5 dosage a day and I still think I need more...My anxiety isn't squelched at all...is .5 a high or low number for clonazepam?

[Zen888]

Hi anneeg

Wish I could tell you how to withdraw from it safely...but I am still on it... 0.25 mg per day. I also feel groggy all the time but what do I do......feel anxious all day long and feel like the world is caving in on me or be sedated?

[Yack]

.5 mg of klonopin is not a high dose. The average dose I believe is .5 mg 3 times a day...(but I would ask your doctor).

I was on .5 mg 3 times a day. I decreased it by no more than 25% every two weeks. The best way for me was to decrease it by .125 mg every two weeks - 1/4 of 1 pill. It took me about 4 months but I slowed down in the middle.

*But, ask your doctor because it is different for everyone. I did have withdrawal, even at this slow of a taper.

[SandyWeb]

Wow, I feel like a freak now. I take 4 mg of clonazepam daily and have even been to 6 mg daily. It helps, but it certainly doesn't take all the anxiety away. I'm also on Effexor and a beta blocker, so you'd think that the three meds together would work wonders for my anxiety. They do help me quite a lot, but not as much as I NEED in order to function anywhere close to the way I used to. But all this talk of people taking only 1/4 or 1/2 mg makes me think I belong in the circus or something.

Anyways, I know I'll be on meds for my life....but if I ever had to quit clonazepam for some reason, I think it would be a difficult ride at my doses.

I wish everyone luck who tapers off their benzos. Please be careful, and don't stop the process once you get started. You don't want to start all over again.

God bless,
Sandy

yup, your not a freak. I take .5 four times a day and plus when I need it when I have a panic attack. I'll admit theres times i take more than i probably should, but its when im in situations that I know could throw me for a loop. Please everyone dont think that I am condoning upping meds without dr approval I am just trying to explain how it works for me.

Its been a godsend for my anxiety though. Once i started it my ambulance trips to the hospital stopped and I have only had it happen once

[psisci]

Those who need this med, need it and it is very helpful. Do not feel bad for taking it. Life is hard, and we all could use a bit of chilling out at times.

slainte

[kimmydawn]

I agree with Dr. Wylie.

I was on several meds for over 2 1/2 years. After the situational depression eased and panic ended, and after a period later, I went off all meds...including benzos...and at the time I was taking a high dosage to attempt to maintain the daily panic.

At about the same time, I had had some biofeedback that helped my panic tremendously. My panic all but disappeared so I didn't need the xanax anymore.

Anyhow, I have a script of .5 klonopin. I'm supposed to take two nightly for my TN. I don't...never have. I might take it five times a year.

The point is, I guess, is that there was a time I needed them daily to manage. Because I didn't abuse, even though I took daily for 2 1/2 years, I was able to go off them without incident... I used them as needed then, didn't take anything at all for years because I was kind "anti meds" and now take as need today even though at a fraction.

There's a huge difference between use and abuse, between addiction and physical dependence in my understanding and it proved so in my experience.

Love,

KD

[AlteredState01]

Kimmydawn, what's "TN" stand for? What biofeedback process did you use?

I take 2 mg / day of Clonaz. Works for the highs of my anxiety, but there is still always some anxiety I feel. Taking more does not really help much, so I don't.

And I agree with KD, big difference between use and abuse. If one chews them like candy, then problems with addiction will arise.

You may, indeed, need a higher dose than what "seems" normal, but that is ok. I take 2 mgs and I am only 120 lbs. It does not make me tired and I cannot use it as a sleep aid. On the other hand, my 6'6", 350 lb. friend takes .25 mgs and is knocked-out by it! Go figure, eh?

As long as one continues to work on the underlying cause of the anxiety, I would not worry about the addictive qualities.
And really, do you need more things to worry about at this point in time?

AS

[kimmydawn]

Sorry about that...

TN = Trigeminal Neuralgia...painful and frustrating. I am blessed that mine doesn't appear to be as bad as many I've read. I feel so for them. I had a LARGE cyst in my right maxiallary sinus (dr. said largest he'd removed or even heard of). I think the TN began then. Then, I had the SEVERE debilitating pain that others live with. What I have now is exactly the same but to a lesser degree. I had two reconstructive surgeries on the right sinuses, then another with a dual procedure. The subsequent surgeries probably weren't necessary as we realize now than I had the TN then...nor were the teeth that removed necessary to remove it's been suggested. It was a long 16 yr. battle to find out what was wrong with me...after several surgeries and teeth removal. I thought I'd gone over the edge and I think the dr's did as well.

That's that story...lol.

The biofeedback I had was because I hyperventilated at a low level CONTINUOUSLY. I'd always told the p'doc if I could breathe, I wouldn't need the xanax because I didn't think I'd panic anymore. He wanted to trick my brain to keep from having them daily and let it know that the panic could be controlled. When they were under control with meds, we were able to get busy.

He sent me to a dr. in his office that did biofeedback. I was young and I don't know what type it was. I can explain it though.

In my first, and every session, he hooked me up to some equipment that read different things in my body as far as reactions and muscle tension go. I do really well with seeing things proof positive, or in black and white.

He showed me on a computer screen how I was literally off the charts in all after just a second of silence. It was that way every time. We then worked to find things that helped to bring me down. It was found that intellectual stimulation and repetitive actions brought me way down, really quickly.

He had me do things like count backward from 100 by 7, etc. He then would show me in black and white.

After a few visits with this and practicing at home which really helped, we attacked my breathing issue. I couldn't even talk about it...whew.

He said only I could practice this when I felt I could but I MUST. He told me what I had to do. He first explained that I was hyperventilating because I was breathing off the top of my lungs...continually and rapidly. The bottom part wasn't getting enough oxygen and constantly starving for it, thus sending the signal to my brain to take a deep breath. However, just short of that deep breath, I couldn't get it! He explained that I was doing that because the top part of my lungs (where I was breathing from) was saying NO MORE.

He said he'd be asking me to do the most scary thing in the moment...to breathe all my precious air out!!!! All of it...till there was no more. Wait a couple of seconds then try to take the cleansing breath. The first few times I tried, it didn't work, then it did! Because I would blow it all out, the top part of my lungs weren't freaking and I could get oxygen to the bottom part by making sure that my belly was expanding too.

I literally had to learn how to breathe right. Trip, huh?

I went off all meds cold turkey (I do not advice that but it's a long story. I was dissociative and it didn't effect me) and returned to the p'doc to say I was cured...lol. He was in shock and said it's a miracle I didn't end up in the hosp with convulsions or something but was happy for me since I was fine...lol. I went for a follow-up and didn't go back.

I still kept my xanax around for a while, and still needed it at times. However, once I'd practiced for a few months, I was able to stop the hyperventilating, then the panic. I might've had one panic attack per year that I couldn't control...when it came on so fast that I couldn't control.

He had told me that I needed psychotherapy because I couldn't ignore what was told him one day. I asked him what he was talking about and he told me. I had no memory of it, and he knew I didn't. I had started therapy just before I no longer saw him. That's when I really started healing...

Long story, but that's it.

KD

[kimmydawn]

I just realized I just hijacked the thread. I'm sorry.

Back to the original subject...

Yes, I think many need different amounts for different reasons and that we should always watch for signs of abuse, and then addiction. If we're abusing, we may be addicted.

If something is used daily like this, our bodies can become physically dependent, but weaning off really works well if addiction isn't in place.

Those are just my thoughts.

KD