Weaning off of Klonopin.....

[mistiblue]

I am wanting to wean off of Klonopin. I am currently on 1 mg before I go to bed at night. I do not like the fact that I am on it and think it causes adverse effects. One of those effects is, not being able to think clearly. Ever since I have been on them I feel like an idiot!!
I have 4 kids and cannot be like this.
I want to wean off of them, but I am SO scared of the withdrawals and seizures scare the life out of me.

Any advice would be SOOO appreciated!!

[Dahila]

I am on it, I take one (usually one) pill a day. on 0.5 mg, I am on it because of anxiety and it works well on me. From time to time I am off and I do not feel any withdrawal effect...but maybe day or two does not give it yet. You should talk to your doctor about it. What about taking a half of that?

[mistiblue]

Yes, I thought about just halving it for a while and then going down gradually, but I am so afraid of withdrawals.....
I have read so many horror stories of people trying to come off of it...I guess I am just hoping for some positive stories....

[mistiblue]

So there is no one else here that has had any experience with Klonopin? I have a feeling this is going to be a rough journey!! :p

[nf1234]

Do you take it every night? How long have you been on it? You HAVE to talk to your doctor about this. It sounds like your aware of the consequences of taper off improperly. But I have friends who have done it smoothing. If you do it the right way it shouldnt be too bad. Try to substitute with natural alternatives as you taper off. It will help a lot.

[artaud]

Yes, I thought about just halving it

You can do more than halve it. You can halve the halves as well. So take 3/4 of a pill (0.75 mg) for a number of days, if you feel comfortable, reduce that to 1/2 of a pill (0.5 mg) for a number of days, if you feel comfortable, reduce that to 1/4 of a pill (0.25 mg) for a number of days.
Klonopin has a very long half life, Xanax very short. You may not notice withdrawal nearly as much slowly coming off Klonopin.

"The elimination half-life of clonazepam is typically 30 to 40 hours."

So when you've weaned to 1/4 Klonopin every day, if you feel comfortable, start taking 1/4 Klonopin every 2 days, the long half life should support that. You may even try going eventually to 1/4 every three days, but that's not likely needed, you're significantly exceeding the half life.

My prescription is 0.5 mg bid prn. (Twice a day as needed). I have taken Klonopin, as needed, for over 20 years. When I do feel the need to take some, I usually only take 1/4 pill (0.125 mg) and I get nice relief. But the key is to learning to live with routine anxiety, not to try to smooth over all the bumps in life, and just using it when things get excessive, that way I don't develop tolerance for the dose.

[Enduronman]

You'd be looking for Srm1135...He came off of 8mg a day.
My oldest daughter used to take them (probably still does) and she forgot that she went to a bank machine and withdrew all the money in her account.
Then, we filed a report with the bank because she thought it was stolen.
Guess who's photo was at the bank machine and who got into trouble for potentially trying to defraud the bank?

E-Man..

[Enduronman]

PS: 1mg is nothing to concern over if you want to come off of them....not a real huge dependance there...

E-Man :)