I have a call into my doctor to see what he wants me to do to get off of klonopin. Have any of you quit any of the benzo's? I was on 1mg a day at night to stop my brain from keeping me up. It was a stressful time my husband was out of work for 18 months and I couldnt sleep and it was taking a toll on me. I was very anxious and moody so the dr put me on it to help me unwind. So almost 2 years later I told him my husband found a job but now he is in law enforcement and is working nights so I wasnt sure if I would be able to sleep. He prescribed me 15mg of restoril instead of the klonopin which I used up and last night was my first night on the restoril but Im thinking that I might still have withdrawls from the klonopin, although I havent taken it for almost 48 hours now. I've just read they can be hell and it scares me. I want off of all benzos and anything addictive. Yes I will probably not sleep again but I don't want to be addicted to this stuff. Have any of you gone through this?
I used to use anti anxiety meds to calm & to get to sleep, but I found that melatonin works almost or as well. you can get them in liquid, sublingual (melts under tongue) or capsules, and use up to 3 (maybe more now, not sure as I no longer use them) a night.
Please make sure you talk to your doctor asap. Some benzos can cause seizures when stopped suddenly. I thought the main concern was the first 48 hours after stopping, so you may be in the clear, but please check!!
It can be very dangerous to go cold turkey off any medication, especially one you have been on so long. You need to do so under the care of your doc. I took Klonopin for years and never had a single addiction issue with it. There are many things that can make one an addict, having an addictive personality is the biggest. If you are not having withdrawals that is because the medication has built in your system over time and often it takes a week or two for the med to be completely gone and the side effects can come then. Besides you are taking avery small dose of it.
Please take your medication as prescribed and talk to your doc about how to do this safely. Not sleeping is very hard on your body and stopping medication in an unsafe way can cause you un-needed hardship.
I am very familiar with Klonopin and took it for years on an "as needed" basis, which sometimes was everyday. I had 0.5mg, and even split them in half to lower the dosage. I'm not a Dr, but I am wondering why your Dr is giving you a completely different drug if your intent is to wean. Usually to get off of a drug, they lower the dosage for a couple of weeks (gradually), then you stop. You might want to convey your intentions again to the Doc. I didn't really have any physical withdrawals from the Klonopin, studies show that only long-term high dose users (15mg) get bad withdrawals when abruptly quitting. Are you feeling physical symptoms? Or are you anxious because you are out and starting something else? Either way, talk to your Dr. For me, getting off of Klonopin wasn't bad. There are lots of natural remedies for getting rest at night, one is lots of exercise in the day! Congrats to the hubby on the new job, sounds like things should be getting better already ;-)
hey girl, i take the same thing, same dose, but only PRN. there were times when it was daily, which is what's prescribed. i asked for vistaril b/c a momma on here recommended there aren't any addictive qualities to it. anyway, i just saw my dr. last week and i'm staying on klonopin PRN for now, but he mentioned that Xanax & Valium have much more addictive qualities. there've been times where i didn't take klonopin at all and never had any side effects at all....i hope it's the same for you. maybe dr. wasn't concerned b/c he obviously didn't talk to you about it! (which is weird, is all i mean). maybe you could cut the pill in half, but it's already outta your system, but that's an idea if you're worried about withdrawals. looks like you're in the clear though momma....good luck! :)
A tool that can support you with sleeping better is journaling. I'm not talking about the kind where you are writing your life story. I am talking about "puking on paper." Just before you go to bed, you grab a pen and a notebook and you spew out all the anxious, angry, frustrated, fearful thoughts you are having. You don't sensor what you are saying, you don't worry about grammer or punctuation; you just pour all the crazy, scattered, irrational thoughts and worries you have on paper.
Did your doctor even try to wean you off of the klonopin or did you stop cold turkey? You may wish to ask him about weaning as opposed to flat out stopping.
