Posted by Tony P on May 30, 2003, at 8:20:40
In reply to Re: HELP! Need TAPER schedule for KLONOPIN asap!, posted by brianw68 on May 28, 2003, at 10:04:12
I have tapered from klonopin, Ativan & others, using two quite different regimes prescribed by Drs., plus the homegrown hit-or-miss system "I'll only Take it if I Need it" (also known as the bad method).
Nearly everybody suggests switching to Valium for the tapering;
a) for the smoothest ride
b) because Valium is available in smaller dose tablets than most others.
c) it's cheaper than most.
Both Valium & Klonopin have long half-lives so b) is the important issue here. I've copied a table of generally-agreed equivalent doses (YMMV!) at the end of this post; there are several on the web.1) (suggested by my MD) Using Valium 10 or 5 mg tablets, drop the dose by 5 mg every 2 weeks, or even 2.5 mg every 2 weeks. You could switch to 2 mg tablets toward the end and even split those for the smoothest drop-off.
2) (used by an in-patient treatment centre):
Start with valium 5 or 10 mg (q.s.) 4 times a day, decrease Valium dose by 5 mg every 4-5 days; when down to 20 mg/day start dropping one dose every 5 days, finishing with just the bedtime dose, then stop after 5 days. Much faster - in a safe environment with 24-hr nursing & counselling available. I found it pretty painless during the actual detox, esp. having already tapered down to 2mg Ativan, but in the next 3 months still lived with a high level of anxiety - hard to say how much was continuing withdrawal symptoms and how much other aspects of treatment process!Tony P
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*Equivalent doses of benzodiazepines
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Xanax (alprazolam) 0.5
Librium (chlordiazepoxide) 25
Valium (diazepam) 10
Ativan (lorazepam) 1
Mogadon (nitrazepam) 10
Serenid (oxazepam) 20
Normison (temazepam) 20
Halcion (triazolam) 0.5
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Note: these equivalents are approximate and adjustment to individual requirements may be necessary.
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*Quote from The Ashton Manual • Professor Ashton's Main Page • www.benzo.org.uk
poster:Tony P
thread:229105
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030530/msgs/230163.html