Posted by yznhymer on September 25, 2004, at 14:17:19
In reply to Clonazepam - Really hard to get off it?, posted by zuzu80 on September 25, 2004, at 12:55:20
Hi there...
Of course I'm just one case, but my clonazepam experiences were very positive. Not only did it work well, but I never had the need to raise my dosage and never experienced any withdrawal symptoms as I went on and off it over the years. In fact, I used it more on an "as needed" basis, though I would take .5mg on a nightly basis to help me stay asleep over a long period of time. In fact, often half of a .5mg pill worked fine a good deal of the time.
About 2 years ago I switched to Ativan just because I would wake up sleepy on the clonazepam. The ativan seemed to leave my system faster. Recently, my new pdoc said he wanted me to ween off the ativan. I just stopped using it with no withdrawal whatsoever.
I guess the only advice I would give you is, if you decide to use it, don't worry about coming off it. Worrying about it now is not gonna make it any easier to come off it when the time comes, and odds are it won't be bad at all. Don't use any more than you need. If I found myself needing more and more of it, I'd be concerned about that.
Mark
> Hello everyone,
>
> I been experimenting with Clonazepam for my Social Anxiety and it looks like 1 to 1.5 or even 0.5 mg a day can do wonders to me! However I am worried about the withdrawal when I decide to get off it.
>
> I am considering taking it daily and for a period from 6 months to a year or more. But I get discouraged by the HORROR stories of Clonazepam withdrawal. Is it true that one can never stop taking it ?!
>
> From medical/scientific litterature it looks optimistic. One can discontinue taking it if withdrawal is done VERY gradually. Like going down 0.125 mg every 2-4 weeks. I am prepared for that but not to be forced to continue taking it for the rest of my life (I am just 22).
>
> Please share your experiences and ideas...
>
> Hugs,
> Christine
poster:yznhymer
thread:394870
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040921/msgs/394892.html