Withdrawing from meds INCLUDING benzodiazepins (Clonasepam)

[No_Longer_Human]

Okay so i started going to daycare so i could get disability status. Today i expected them to set me free and give me the disability status but instead they put me through dumb tests where i had to pretend to be dumb. I already wanted to go home and take my Clonasepam. But i had to take my meds from the nurses before i go. I noticed they gave me 0,5 Clonasepam and a whole package of sertraline. I asked, turned out i should be taking it but i had a box of 2mg open at home so i just drank my meds as usual. I tried to do the changes they recommended but had panic attacks so i went back. This time it was a different doctor. 4 years ago i was on 0,5 as needed but with my trauma in 2020 i started taking it every day. My doctor got tired of prescribing it and prescribed me 2mg expecting me to cut it in quarters. But the pill is small so soon i got hooked on 2mg. Okay so my usual scheme is 2x50mg sertraline, 50mg levide and 75mg pregabalin in the morning and 50mg levide, 75mg pregabalin and 2mg Clonasepam in the evening. Last two weeks they wanted me to be 2x50mg sertraline in the morning and 50mg levide, 75mg pregabalin and ?(I think 1,5) mg Clonasepam in the evening. This week i should be taking 4 pills of sertraline my goodness, a whole box for one week, 50mg levide, 75mg pregabalin and 0,5 Clonasepam. And eventually i should end up only on the 4 pills sertraline and only if needed 0,5 Clonasepam. I tried to go 3 pills sertraline and 1 pill levide and pregabalin but i had panic attacks, the doctor told me to take Clonasepam for them meanwhile i was on my usual 2mg then. I guess this week i will try taking the scheme from last week 3x sertraline, 1x levide, pregabalin and 1,5 Clonasepam. I was thinking of getting herbal food supplies for my panic attacks but i need to test how i will feel. My question is okay this week i will try to take 1,5 instead of 2 but how long should i take 1,5 and then to go on 1? Then on 0,5? Then on 0? What if i am okay in the begging but start panicking and vomiting later? Without Clonasepam i vomit. I'm scared. My head hurts. Even after going to the supermarket i need Clonasepam. And now that it's not sure if i will get pension, how and for how long, im scared for money. Yesterday i had a panic attack over a spider and thought of buying a vacuum cleaner. Also overthinking if my gift for sis' birthday is enough. With this anxiety and without pills i crave chocolate. I'm scared if i start vomiting. Has anyone successfully withdrawn from benzos? Im on it since at least 4 years. I ran out of Clonasepam and i took other benzo for 5 days and I started vomiting.

[-Charlie]

hi NLH

I was on Klonopin and an antidepressant for over 20 yrs. I’ve been off of them both for 18 months.

The problem with taking a pill to cope for that long is you lose all your natural coping abilities that you didn’t have to use for so long. You forget how to calm yourself naturally. In other words, be prepared to be v e r y uncomfortable (in every way you can imagine) and be open to finding new ways to soothe your nerves. I use exercise the most

You need to feel mostly confident and balanced in your life before you consider stopping these meds. Otherwise you’ll spiral into panic and end up in the hospital. Maybe just try to cut down your dose and see how you fare. if you’ve got a lot of life triggers going on I wouldn’t recommend stopping any med

It IS possible though to leave these meds at the right time and with the right oversight by a doc. The physical withdrawals fade quicker than the psychological ones. I still suffer occasional psychological withdrawals. It’s your decision but your doctor knows best.

Be safe & take care x

[No_Longer_Human in reply to -Charlie]

Thank you. Docs there want me to withdraw but im scared. Now that you mentioned it there's not only physical but psychology consequences too. I can't tolerate stress. That's why I went there in the first place - to get disability status so i don't work. And it ended up being too much stress itself and that the disability isn't lifetime. Rn (may i not jinx it) im kinda calm but if mom returns home i will need all the klonopin

[-Charlie in reply to No_Longer_Human]

It is so hard I know. I used to take a half a tablet and then half of half trying to go longer periods of time with each dose. It’s brutal in the beginning. Are you doing an outpatient treatment for your disability? I would think if they see your need for the meds it would help your disability claim. Does your doctor want you to stop the Klonopin?

[No_Longer_Human in reply to -Charlie]

The doctors there, in the outpatient care for the disability want me to stop it. They say im a "drug addict". I wonder whether to take one and a half (1,5) or one and a half and a quarter (1,75) and for how many days

[-Charlie in reply to No_Longer_Human]

it’s funny isn’t it? I became dependent on drugs BECAUSE of my doctors willingness to keep prescribing them and increasing the dosages. They only put their foot down now because the DEA in the US is cracking down and threatening to take their medical licenses away. They’ve created the addicts and now are facing the consequences. They hope you move on to another doc so it isn’t their problem on their conscience. At least that is my feeling about docs calling their patients addicts.

I took the minimum amount of Klonopin I could to get by until I was down to 6.25 mg at a time, then none. It’s up to you and your doc how low you go and how quick. Hang in there and take it slow, everything is gonna be okay. 👍

[No_Longer_Human in reply to -Charlie]

Thank you. I'm worried about regulating myself now that you mentioned it. I get overwhelmed every time i go out of home or when family calls and im sensitive to criticism. And it's my doctor's fault too. She didn't want to prescribe me 0,5 every month so she gave me 2 and thought i would have for 4 months but firstly i can't cut it in so small pieces and second i hurried to take them secretly because mom called me a drug addict to hide her being an addict herself. Today i took 1,5 instead of 2. After some days i will feel the effect. I should have been on 0,5 but i didn't take the meds they gave me but mine. I consider taking some herbal stuff to calm me down but first i want to see the effects before im out of daycare. I thought i would get freed today and given the disability status but no, i got put through tests i faked being dumb so i get the money...money that will be not forever like i thought. What will i do when mom retires? And moreover decreased my meds. Said i can attend daycare not only when i have an appointment but the place is depressing, post communism. And mental hospital is even worse. If i end there, I won't make it out alive. Ah sorry for venting, i needed it out. I thought and thought and had a shower but i couldn't sort it out. So i wrote it out, feel free to ignore the vent part. Ah im anxious again. But i really like your energy and you really understand. Thank you for your advice and i really appreciate your help and experience and deep understanding of both our problem and the big picture. I thought i was going paranoid being worried about the healthcare system in the US. My heart goes to you. Your presence really helps me

[-Charlie in reply to No_Longer_Human]

No worries on the venting, that’s what this place is for. I have kids your age so I understand it’s difficult trying to sort out a proper life especially in Bulgaria (I’d imagine) and with family stressors, addiction, and mental health issues. Vent away…I’m an expert listener.😉I may not know how to help but I do understand.

Yes it going to be difficult to regulate yourself if you cut the meds down. Like I said, it’s very hard to do in an optimal environment let alone a stressful one. Just take it one day at a time.

Tell your mom that you’ll stop the pills when she stops drinking. As a mom, I can tell you those words would hit me hard and make me want to look in the mirror and set a better example for my kids.

I’m not sure why they gave you 2 mg tablets. I didn’t know they had 2 mg. Could you buy a pill cutter? Our pharmacies sell them here.

I really hope you get the disability. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you🤞

[No_Longer_Human in reply to -Charlie]

Thank you. It's so hard. You're a better mom. Mom has told me she'll stop drinking when i stop my med. But ik she won't and that she would kill me if i say it especially when i still haven't stopped the med. It's 4am and i cleaned and now am revising what i have to trash for the 46764th time. Wish mom would help me... I need a mom. I'm so lonely. Why am i tearing up

[Agora1]

Hi No_Longer_Human, I was dependent on one small dose of Xanax (0.25mg) once a day

for 30 years. I believed that the small dosage wouldn't be difficult to wean off once I was

ready. Well, that day never came until it no longer worked for me and Anxiety & Panic

broke through. That was when I was told I'd have to get off my benzo. My psychiatrist

took over. He was a specialist in weaning patients off Benzo Addictions. He used the

Dr Heather Ashton Method of weaning. It's a safe and precise slow cut in dosage as

well as converting to Valium (a longer lasting benzo) until you are on neither. For me,

it took 2 years to completely be off both benzos. And another full year for my brain

to adjust to no medication and start producing Serotonin on it's own. The idea behind

Dr Ashton's method is weaning very slowly every 2 weeks, never going back up on dosage.

Please don't try this on your own. It must be supervised by a doctor adjusting the dosages.

I wish you the best of luck. Stay Safe, it can be done. xx

[No_Longer_Human in reply to Agora1]

Thank you xx