Question:
Hey Guys, I have another question. I have talked to my Dr and pharmacist about getting off this teeny weeny dose of Klonopin that I take. I took/take it only to help me get to sleep. I take 1/8 or 1/4 of the lowest dose they make. (0.5mg) Both of the professionals say I could just stop. That I am not physically addicted (only took for about 2 months, a total of less than 30 pills) I feel like this is causing depression. I took the 1/4 and then cut it down to 1/8 for a week, then stopped. After stopping I had several days of hell, where I felt, dizzy, shaky, and like I was losing my balance. Could this be part of the physocological (sp?) withdrawal. And if it is, how long does it last? Thanks for the info. I appreciate it !! Sue
Response:
Hmm, just a layperson’s view, with kookie ideas:)
Kookie Ideas or not, I’m grateful for the response. I had no idea what if anything to expect. And what did happen scared the hell out of me !!!! Thanks, Sue
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My pdoc told me that 0.5 mg per week is good way to wean off Klonopin/Clonazepam. That is, Week 1 : 2 mg per day Week 2 : 1.5 mg per day Week 3: 1 mg per day Week 4: 0.5 mg per day Week 5: 0 mg per day Of course you are going to have some stressful days where you may need to bend from this weaning schedule. I never tried this myself. Does anybody have any opinions on this schedule ? Thanks, Tony
For most people this will be too fast. It’s better to taper off by .25 mg (or even .125 mg) a week or even slower (once every two weeks which may be preferable because of K’s long half life). This may involve having to buy a pill cutter at the phartmacy. OTOH, everybody is different and I’m, quite sure there will be many people who *will* be able to wean off according to the schedule you mention. Philip – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – — "Just what you want to be you’ll be in the end."…..Moody Blues | | Did anyone else here have benzo nightmares that they can remember? I was | only taking up to 7.5 mgs of klonopin. Will it be completely out of my | system after 3 days? I had been taking 0.5 mgs of klonopin daily for | the past 3 months. A month prior to that I was on xanax. | | Dear Lupus Torn, | | You need to call your doctor and talk to "him", not a receptionist or nurse, | and explain what you did. It is a terrible idea to cold turkey a benzo. Taking | 7.5 mgs of Klonopin a day is quite high, and to go from that to zero is a bad | idea. Please call your doctor, you are suppose to decrease your dose slowly. | There is a good chance that you may experience uncomfortable withdrawal | symptoms. Take care!! | Jackie | ~*~My dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody; | they were my refuge when annoyed — my dearest pleasure when |
Response:
I was on 1mg of Klonopin because of a sleeping problem and I became tollerant to it with in a week. I knew that the only way to make it work again would be to take more of it, but I really didnt want to do that so I just stopped taking it and didnt sleep at all for that night. Slowly things got better, but for a while I had a horrible time sleeping. Right now I am taking a very low dose of Trazadone, which is a tricyclic antidepressent. At the dose I am on I get none of the antidepressent effects, but only the side effect of drozyness. If you dont want something that is addictive (which Klonopin is as you have noticed from your withdrawl) you might want to ask your Dr about something like Trazadon. I dont know if it would help you or not but it is something to look into. Good luck, Amy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I had increased my dosage of klonopin recently to tackle a sleeping problem that I had, so I ended up running out of pills faster. I called the doc for a refill and they told me it was too soon to do a refill. I’ve been going through withdrawals for the past 2 days. Maybe I should of told them to just give me enough pills to wean off from my original dosage gradually. I couldn’t even begin to fathom what it’s like to go cold turkey off of a higher dosage. I had this horrible nightmare about this insane doc not allowing me to leave this center. I didn’t want to take the klonopin anymore, but the doc forced me to take more. I had mashed up klonopin stuck to the roof of my mouth and it ended up sealing my mouth shut. I stuck my finger in my mouth and tried to scrape the klonopin off of the roof of my mouth. The doc told me to eat this mashed up damp klonopin at the bottom of this sink. He had this assistant make sure I would eat it up. I pretended to be taking it and then let it drop back down in the sink. I couldn’t figure out a way to make the klonopin disappear. Then I ended up in a department store and saw this barrell full of what appeared to be packages of Raid. It turned out to be klonopin. It had a warning on the side of the package to contact your doctor if you had any of the following side effects every so often. I don’t remember the side effects, but they were pretty serious. I remember standing in this department store extremely disoriented and exhausted. I wanted to have one of the clerks to call the doctor, because of how bad I was feeling. The problem was it was a Sunday and the doctor’s office was closed. [End of nightmare] Did anyone else here have benzo nightmares that they can remember? I was only taking up to 7.5 mgs of klonopin. Will it be completely out of my system after 3 days? I had been taking 0.5 mgs of klonopin daily for the past 3 months. A month prior to that I was on xanax. Lupus Torn
Response:
Actually I made a big mistake Jackie. It was only .75 mgs but this is the 3rd day into not taking the klonopin and I’m still feeling the withdrawal symptoms. I’m cranky and tense and I want my klonopin.
Oh, okay, that is much better 
) Still, you aren`t suppose to stop a benzo cold turkey and that is what you have done. Did you tell your doctor that you were taking more Klonopin because you couldn`t sleep? I am assuming that you increased the dose on your own? If you talk to the doctor and explain what you did and promise not to increase your dose without his permission again, then assertively remind him that benzo`s are not suppose to be stopped cold turkey, maybe he will give you a few pills to hold you over. Take care!! Jackie ~*~My dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody;
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Did anyone else here have benzo nightmares that they can remember? I was only taking up to 7.5 mgs of klonopin. Will it be completely out of my system after 3 days? I had been taking 0.5 mgs of klonopin daily for the past 3 months. A month prior to that I was on xanax. Dear Lupus Torn, You need to call your doctor and talk to "him", not a receptionist or nurse, and explain what you did. It is a terrible idea to cold turkey a benzo. Taking 7.5 mgs of Klonopin a day is quite high, and to go from that to zero is a bad idea. Please call your doctor, you are suppose to decrease your dose slowly. There is a good chance that you may experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Take care!! Jackie ~*~My dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody; Actually I made a big mistake Jackie. It was only .75 mgs but this is the 3rd day into not taking the klonopin and I’m still feeling the withdrawal symptoms. I’m cranky and tense and I want my klonopin. Roelf
Klonopin withdrawal occurs 1 to 2 weeks after K. is decreased or stopped. Your current symptoms are probably a return of your baseline anxiety levels. In any case, contact your doc and explain the situation. Chip
Response:
My pdoc told me that 0.5 mg per week is good way to wean off Klonopin/Clonazepam. That is, Week 1 : 2 mg per day Week 2 : 1.5 mg per day Week 3: 1 mg per day Week 4: 0.5 mg per day Week 5: 0 mg per day Of course you are going to have some stressful days where you may need to bend from this weaning schedule. I never tried this myself. Does anybody have any opinions on this schedule ? Thanks, Tony — "Just what you want to be you’ll be in the end."…..Moody Blues
| | Did anyone else here have benzo nightmares that they can remember? I was | only taking up to 7.5 mgs of klonopin. Will it be completely out of my | system after 3 days? I had been taking 0.5 mgs of klonopin daily for | the past 3 months. A month prior to that I was on xanax. | | Dear Lupus Torn, | | You need to call your doctor and talk to "him", not a receptionist or nurse, | and explain what you did. It is a terrible idea to cold turkey a benzo. Taking | 7.5 mgs of Klonopin a day is quite high, and to go from that to zero is a bad | idea. Please call your doctor, you are suppose to decrease your dose slowly. | There is a good chance that you may experience uncomfortable withdrawal | symptoms. Take care!! | Jackie | ~*~My dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody; | they were my refuge when annoyed — my dearest pleasure when |
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Did anyone else here have benzo nightmares that they can remember? I was only taking up to 7.5 mgs of klonopin. Will it be completely out of my system after 3 days? I had been taking 0.5 mgs of klonopin daily for the past 3 months. A month prior to that I was on xanax. Dear Lupus Torn, You need to call your doctor and talk to "him", not a receptionist or nurse, and explain what you did. It is a terrible idea to cold turkey a benzo. Taking 7.5 mgs of Klonopin a day is quite high, and to go from that to zero is a bad idea. Please call your doctor, you are suppose to decrease your dose slowly. There is a good chance that you may experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Take care!! Jackie ~*~My dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody;
Actually I made a big mistake Jackie. It was only .75 mgs but this is the 3rd day into not taking the klonopin and I’m still feeling the withdrawal symptoms. I’m cranky and tense and I want my klonopin. Roelf
Response:
Did anyone else here have benzo nightmares that they can remember? I was only taking up to 7.5 mgs of klonopin. Will it be completely out of my system after 3 days? I had been taking 0.5 mgs of klonopin daily for the past 3 months. A month prior to that I was on xanax.
Dear Lupus Torn, You need to call your doctor and talk to "him", not a receptionist or nurse, and explain what you did. It is a terrible idea to cold turkey a benzo. Taking 7.5 mgs of Klonopin a day is quite high, and to go from that to zero is a bad idea. Please call your doctor, you are suppose to decrease your dose slowly. There is a good chance that you may experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Take care!! Jackie ~*~My dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody;
Response:
I had increased my dosage of klonopin recently to tackle a sleeping problem that I had, so I ended up running out of pills faster. I called the doc for a refill and they told me it was too soon to do a refill. I’ve been going through withdrawals for the past 2 days. Maybe I should of told them to just give me enough pills to wean off from my original dosage gradually. I couldn’t even begin to fathom what it’s like to go cold turkey off of a higher dosage. I had this horrible nightmare about this insane doc not allowing me to leave this center. I didn’t want to take the klonopin anymore, but the doc forced me to take more. I had mashed up klonopin stuck to the roof of my mouth and it ended up sealing my mouth shut. I stuck my finger in my mouth and tried to scrape the klonopin off of the roof of my mouth. The doc told me to eat this mashed up damp klonopin at the bottom of this sink. He had this assistant make sure I would eat it up. I pretended to be taking it and then let it drop back down in the sink. I couldn’t figure out a way to make the klonopin disappear. Then I ended up in a department store and saw this barrell full of what appeared to be packages of Raid. It turned out to be klonopin. It had a warning on the side of the package to contact your doctor if you had any of the following side effects every so often. I don’t remember the side effects, but they were pretty serious. I remember standing in this department store extremely disoriented and exhausted. I wanted to have one of the clerks to call the doctor, because of how bad I was feeling. The problem was it was a Sunday and the doctor’s office was closed. [End of nightmare] Did anyone else here have benzo nightmares that they can remember? I was only taking up to 7.5 mgs of klonopin. Will it be completely out of my system after 3 days? I had been taking 0.5 mgs of klonopin daily for the past 3 months. A month prior to that I was on xanax. Lupus Torn
Response:
[This followup was posted to alt.support.anxiety-panic and a copy was sent to the cited author.] Quick question: has anyone heard of using the drug clonidine to block withdrawal symptoms from Klonopin or other benzos? Clonidine is used to block withdrawal from heroin and nicotine…My doctor has suggested that when the time is right, this may help me come off the Klonopin, especially since I went through HELL when I tried before, even though I did it gradually. Any input would be appreciated.. thanks, John Farina New Jersey
Hi John….I am currently taking clonopin…but a couple years ago, after being on 2 mgs a day for several years I went off of it. It was a nightmare. I cut down .25 mgs every two weeks, and I found the peak of my withdrawels to be on the fourth day, but even after totally coming off the meds, I had withdrawel symptoms for 3 months….I swore I would never go back on it, but here I am taking 1 mg a day again. I personally have never taken Clonodine, but when I come back off of the clonopin (someday) I will cut that out and THEN the xanax…since it has a shorter half life and so supposedly an easier withdrawel. I am sorry I don’t have a specific answer for your question, just sharing my experience. — KayOfBoz *Good Night, God Bless, and Sweet Dreams* http://www.vvm.com/~kjones
Response:
<lots chopped-up and fed to my neighbour’s cat Sarah, Richer by you-wouldn’t-BELIEVE-how-much every month.
Hahaha, *I* would! I gave up in England where the bloody things are around UKP3 for twenty. And I was doing two-three packets per day. I agree with all the rest, of course. All I wish is that someone had *told* it wouldn’t affect my anxiety levels beforehand. I’d have tried years ago. *And* I still cough 
— Gary Cooper
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Hi John….I am currently taking clonopin…but a couple years ago, after being on 2 mgs a day for several years I went off of it. It was a nightmare. I cut down .25 mgs every two weeks, and I found the peak of my withdrawels to be on the fourth day, but even after totally coming off the meds, I had withdrawel symptoms for 3 months….I swore I would never go back on it, but here I am taking 1 mg a day again. I personally have never taken Clonodine, but when I come back off of the clonopin (someday) I will cut that out and THEN the xanax…since it has a shorter half life and so supposedly an easier withdrawel. I am sorry I don’t have a specific answer for your question, just sharing my experience. — KayOfBoz *Good Night, God Bless, and Sweet Dreams* http://www.vvm.com/~kjones
thank you for your post….i too am now starting up again on Klonopin after coming off of it twice in the past year….I just wanted to say one thing to you about Xanax being easier to withdraw from…I am not a doctor, but everything I have read suggests that Xanax withdrawal is WORSE than Klonopin because it has a short half life….Klonopin stays in your body for days after the last dose, Xanax leave very quickly, and can thereby cause worse withdrawal…But again, I am only telling you what i have read…look into it yourself and check with your doctor….good luck to you, John Farina
Response:
Quick question: has anyone heard of using the drug clonidine to block withdrawal symptoms from Klonopin or other benzos? Clonidine is used to block withdrawal from heroin and nicotine…My doctor has suggested that when the time is right, this may help me come off the Klonopin, especially since I went through HELL when I tried before, even though I did it gradually. Any input would be appreciated.. thanks, John Farina New Jersey
Response:
Sarah Now entering Day 114 of not putting those paper tubes of tobacco in her face and setting fire to them. <Sigh.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! 114 days is a great success!!! It DOES get easier…(from a reformed smoker here). Hang in there and just keep taking it one day at a time. I am sure your body thanks you, although it may not seem like it right now.<G Best Wishes, Jen
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