Posted by herpills on December 9, 2012, at 9:40:05
In reply to 10+ years of Klonopin, poop out, tapering?, posted by joe schmoe on December 8, 2012, at 14:26:40
I took Klonopin daily for about 5 years. My dose was 1mg/day with a couple times where I was on 1.5mg/day for a month or so. The first time I went off it my doctor decided I should be taken off of it and deal with my anxiety through therapy. I was also taking Lamictal and Geodon at the time.
I followed my doctors instructions and tapered off o.25mg every week. I thought this seemed like a fast taper but I went along with it. The taper itself wasn't too bad. It was a couple weeks later after my last dose when I started having problems. Anxiety was bad, but even worse was the severe depression I experienced. About 3 months after my last dose I found myself at a new primary care office explaining how bad I felt and that I thought the Klonopin withdrawal was at least partially responsible for how I felt. The doctor made no attempt to differentiate whether my symptoms were due to the withdrawal or to my own mental health issues I was already dealing with. I was labeled a doctor shopper and put on Seroquel. I continued to deteriorate and ended up in the hospital, inpatient for a week. When I told a doctor in the hospital I thought the Klonopin withdrawal was responsible for how I felt, he simply looked at me and said "not possible"
Well they put me back on Klonopin anyway and now I was on a higher dose than I was before. A couple of months after my hospitalization I was able to lower the dose back to 1mg/day. I stayed a this dose again for about 18 months.
I then felt everything that you are describing, that it was no longer effective/I had developed a tolerance, that it was making my mood worse. I was back with a pdoc at this point, and I discussed how I felt about continuing Klonopin. There was some discussion about Neurontin or Lyrica, but somehow at the end of the appointment I ended up with a script for Ativan 1mg/day. So...I'm still on a benzo, which makes me concerned a little because of my past experiences. I will say I am doing better on the Ativan although I think I might need to raise the dose to 1.5mg/day.
My best advice to anyone about to start a taper is to make sure you have access to the drug you are tapering off of in case you get debilitating withdrawals and need to resume at a lower dose until you feel better. In my case I was in a situation where I was forced to change doctors (the mental health clinic where I was going deemed me "stable" and discharged me...) and the new doctor refused to prescribe me the Klonopin.
I truly believe my hospitalization could have been prevented.
In summary, go slow, be prepared for the worst, but maybe it will not be as bad for you as it was for me. Good luck. herpills
poster:herpills
thread:1032651
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20121130/msgs/1032689.html