Clonazepam Concerns

Hi everyone.

My mane is Tracy and I need some help.

Here is my story: I have had tinnitus for about 2 months. I’m not sure the exact cause, although I did had an acoustic trauma in early January. I was exposed to a fire alarm in my apartment for 10-15 minutes trying to get my cat out of the building. It was a false alarm; no fire. I didn’t notice anything with my ears, no ringing, no pain, no fullness after the fire alarm incident, and therefore didn’t think any damage had occurred (stupid me). However, I woke up one night 3-4 weeks later with loud ringing/humming that started out a few nights a week, and then eventually, gradually started showing up during the day intermittently as high pitched hissing/buzzing of mild to moderate intensity. The last month T has become more regular, although it varies quite a bit day to day or hour to hour in its intensity.

I saw ENT, who was useless and had nothing to offer. My audiogram did show mild hearing loss at the high frequencies. I saw another ENT, who was better, but limited in what he could do, since I was seeing him out of pocket due to him being out of network on my insurance. He didn’t think my hearing loss was the issue, since it’s mild. Instead he diagnosed me with Somatosensory tinnitus, since I am a teeth grinder and likely have TMJ problems. At this point I have an appointment with an audiologist and a consult with a neuromuscular dentist to evaluate problems with my jaw and TMJ.

Here is my question: I was recently prescribed Clonazepam .5 mg twice a day by my psychiatrist for the terrible anxiety and panic I’ve experienced since this whole T thing started (I had anxiety before T as well). I have been taking it about 3 times a week for about a week and a half. I do not want to take it daily for fear of dependency and tolerance. I’ve taken it about 5 times.

The first time I took it, I took only .5 mg for the day and it relaxed me and quieted the T for about 7-8 hours. I didn’t take it for a few days and I didn’t notice much change. T was mild to moderate and variable as it has been for some time. The next time I took it, I took .5 mg 2x and it didn’t really quiet T except for a few hours, but it did ease my anxiety. The weird thing is the next day my T was very quiet and it was a mild day. However, when T flared up two days later, I took Clonazepam again .5mg 2x and the same thing happened. It didn’t help much with T, but the next day or day in a half, my T was very mild.

The last day I took Clonazepam was Monday and it didn’t help much with T, but yesterday my T was really calm and quiet. However, today for the past 5 hours it has really spiked and it’s screaming loud. I don’t know it’s ever been this loud. Maybe a few times when my anxiety and panic were very high.

I just took another 5mg Clonazepam, because I’m going out of my mind with this high pitched screaming and I didn’t know what else to do.

Is it possible that Clonazepam is causing the T to get really bad two days after taking it? And shouldn’t it be most effective the first day I take it and not give me mild T the next day or two? And it’s the spike two days later related to the Clonazepam? Am I experiencing some kind of withdrawal taking it 4-5 times in the last 10 days? Or withdrawal because I have taken it off and on instead of regularly?

I have taken Ativan occasionally before and don’t remember experiencing this. It would help with the anxiety that day and that was it.

I just don’t know what’s happening and I’m feeling very desperate. I’m sorry if this doesn’t make sense, and if I’ve given too much information or have asked too many questions. I’m having a real hard time concentrating right now with T raging.

Any responses would be greatly appreciated.

Tracy

 

I am prescribed .5 mg as required.
It does help with my T but its hit and miss.
I'm sorry about your T raging but it will settle down.
Yes the clonazepam is addictive but usually in higher doses and frequent usage.

The anxiety can spike the T quickly so its ok to stay calm with the clonazepam as you are on the lowest dosage available.

Hope this helps and if you can get your anxiety under control by doing other things thats great.

 

BENZOs can be addicting, yes. It all depends on your predisposition (genetics) to addiction. Not everyone is the same or will react to addiction the same. Do you find your parents or anyone in your family getting addicted to stuff?

If you are being prescribed them then you should really listen to your doctor in my opinion. Anxiety/Panic attacks can be horrible and only intensify your T not to mention lead to depression. If I were you I would talk to your doctor about a plan on how to use the BENZOs and long term alternatives like (CBT/DBT).

 

Thank you for your responses. I know I should probably take the medication as prescribed, however, concerns about tolerance and dependency way on me. I was trying not to take it daily.

There isn’t a history of addiction in my family. However, everything you read about Benzos raises those concerns. I just hope taking the Clonazepam hasn’t led to T worsening. That’s the fear I have with taking anything.

Thank you again for responding.

 

I think I've been experiencing the same type of phenomenum. But it's hard to say. Tinnitus can be so variable. It's difficult to pin down any kind of pattern.

Clonazepam has a 30-40 hour half-life which makes it a long acting benzo. Taking it 3 times a week would keep it active in your system continuously. It would probably be the same as taking a smaller dose of a shorter acting one every day. I don't know how likely an interdose-withdrawal would be in these circumstances.

Personally, I'd stick with a shorter acting benzo and only take it on really bad days. That's what I try to do.

 

I wonder if the klonopin is relaxing your jaw muscle at night when you sleep so you aren't grinding your teeth. Perhaps that is why you wake up with low T. Either that or perhaps it is affecting your REM or NREM sleep in a way that allows you to wake up with low T (these are only guesses). If it's the former, I wonder if there is something else you can take to relax your jaw during sleep. I hope you don't have to take Klonopin too long. I know how addictive they can be.

 

@TuneOut
Are you taking Clonazepam as well? Or another Benzo?

Yes, Tinnitus can be so variable. It drives me crazy. Perhaps a shorter acting Benzo would be better. Sometimes it’s just so hard to know what to do.

Thank you for responding.

 

I took Clonazepam at the beginning. It helps. You should talk to your doctor about dosage, etc.

It helped me calm down and get a good night sleep. I think you're overthinking it too much. It's natural, we've all been there. Try not to do it. Your T is very recent, you will feel better.

Best,
Zug

 

Hi Tracy. I use pharmaceutical etizolam, which has similar properties. It has a half-life of only 3.5 hours. A shorter acting benzo is far preferable because it reduces the chance of tolerance building up. Tolerance leads to withdrawal upon discontinuation. I'd take anything those psychiatrists advise with a grain of salt.

 

@Zug
Hi Zug,

Thank you for your feedback. When you say talk to your doctors about dosage, etc. what exactly are you thinking about? Should I be taking a lower dose, or a more consistent dose?

Did you take Clonazepam consistently at the beginning and for how long? Did you find it made the T worse in the long run when you stopped taking it? That is my big fear.

You are right: I am likely overthinking things (story of my life) and being overwhelmed with fear. I need to take something to manage the intense anxiety that comes with this because right now I’m unable to do it by mind alone.

Thanks,

Tracy

 

@TuneOut

I’ve never heard of etizolam. I will learn more about it.

Also, could you tell me how I include the person’s previous post in my response? I see that everyone does that when they respond. Thanks.
Tracy

 

I mean exactly that. The Internet is good for general advice and experiences, but if you want to talk about which drug is "best" or dosage, you should do this with a Doctor.

Clonazepam is a very common drug, as far as I know a lot of people take it during early onset of Tinnitus.

Really, I know it's hard, but take it easy and in time you'll be Ok.

Best,
Zug

 

You can mark part of the text and a "quote" will pop up.
Or you can press quote in the down right corner to quote the whole post!

Welcome to the club btw. You will find lots of posts on this forum about all the things you are thinking about.
Benzo and T is is covered pretty much over hundreds of post in different threads. You can use the search field to find them.

You´ll find me in many of those threads I believe

For me, when I take benzo(Valium) I get substansiell relief only the second or third day after administration, similar to your experience. You can go crazy trying to figure out why.

-Is it a delayed gabaeric reaction in the brain?( slowing down our over- active neurons)
- Is it the muscle-relaxant effect?
- Is it TMJ, as someone mentioned?
- Is it lowering the BP?

In my experience, everything I have tried through the years, things tend to have an delayed positive or negative effect, which makes it hard to pinpoint what actually do what?
Thus it´s wise to try one thing at a time.

For me, after long experience, this is how drugs that works have an effect on me:
(I have tried a lot of drugs to fight T)

Atenololbeta blocker) 25 mg. Then 3 days later my T will be gone for the whole day. But if I take it more than once a week I wont have the same effect. Regular use does little or nothing.

Baclofen: 10 or 12,5 mg two times a day will after two days almost totally silence my T and also my H and this will sustain for as long as I take it. Problem is I do not dare to take it for longer periods, since like benzo, it also a enhances the GABA-receptors affinity to GABA(inhibitory effect on the brain). Even though it affects GABA-b receptors instead of GABA-a(like benzo) it scares me to take them too. Many say you wont get addicted to them, but I do not believe it.

Benzo helps, but go easy on them. Thats all one can say!

 

Thanks for the information and the welcome.

You are right: you can go crazy trying to figure out why. I think your explanations are good ones. I agree with you about going easy on the Benzos, which is why I didn’t want to take Clonazepam daily as prescribed. However, I wonder if taking them 5 days out of 10-11 days was too frequent, and I’m having some kind of withdrawal affect. Maybe I should taper?

Yes, there’s lots of posts, threads about this topic on the site. However, there’s a lot of differing opinions/info so it’s hard to know what to do.

How often do you take Valium?

 

There are. And this bc it is very individual how we react to these drugs of the benzo family. There are very few specialists on the subject.
If you want to understand and research benzo, you should google Heather Ashton. This is what most people turn to when they realize benzo has become a problem and is thought of as the benzo and benzo withdrawal-"bible".

As seldom as I can. I´m currently in withdrawal and have been for 3.5 years.
It´s no picknick, I´ll tell you!

My advice to you is to try and find strength in the fact that if this is your first experience with T, chances for it to fade is very high. It is in fact, the norm. If you can do that, you´ll take less benzo.

 

[QUOTE="grate_biff, post: 323888, member There are. And this bc it is very individual how we react to these drugs of the benzo family. There are very few specialists on the subject.
If you want to understand and research benzo, you should google Heather Ashton. This is what most people turn to when they realize benzo has become a problem and is thought of as the benzo and benzo withdrawal-"bible".


As seldom as I can. I´m currently in withdrawal and have been for 3.5 years.
It´s no picknick, I´ll tell you!

My advice to you is to try and find strength in the fact that if this is your first experience with T, chances for it to fade is very high. It is in fact, the norm. If you can do that, you´ll take less benzo.[/QUOTE]

Would you say I need to taper having taking Clonazepam 5 times in about 10 days?

 

@grate_biff

See above. Sorry. Still learning.

 

No!

 

Ok, however I’m having an absolutely horrible spike today as yesterday. Do you think it’s a Benzo spike or my anxiety, which is severe?

I might have to take something just to get through.

 

@grate_biff
I’m sorry to hear you have been in withdrawal for so long. That’s got to be so hard.

 

It´s hard for me to say.

Simplified, T feeds on anxiety, so thats probably it!
Benzo lowers anxiety, alleviating T
After a while, benzo stops working, anxiety and T is back.

Do this enough and your anxiety and T will most likely be even worse and the threshold for taking benzo will lower. You see How it works?

I´ve tried every which way to find ways to make benzo a sustainable solution.(See my thread: Benzo for life)
There are examples of people updosing and updosing on benzo until I don´t know what.
I just refuse to live my life as a benzo "junkie".

It´s early days for you. Take a benzo if you feel you need a relief. But in the long run, don´t!
It´s very hard to give advice on this matter.
Nothing is wrong and nothing is right!

 

It´s hell and I do not want anyone to go through it.
Then again, I understand the suffering of T.
If your T persists, read the research section of this forum.
That keeps me going. Especially the Frequency TX thread!

 

Yes, I see how it works. That is why I am so consumed with worry about taking Benzos, which of course, just heightens the anxiety.

Did you find your anxiety and T worsen when you started to taper off the Valium?

 

I have read the research being done. It’s promising, but also seems so far away when you are struggling to get through today.

 

Testing on humans, with hearing loss, in September.
Very exciting times.

 

Kind of hard to say.
I got T after acoustic Trauma, and then a few months later I relapsed my benzo withdrawal with alcohol.
Thats also very important. Do not drink when on benzo.
So, in a way, I have been in withdrawal since Oct. 2012 with a little break.
Maybe the stress from T contributed also.
So easy to relapse once benzo got a hold of your brain.
Also, I tapered with Valium, but my poison was always Oxazepam(maybe Serax)in the US?

 

Just take the benzo at the times you really feel you need it. The less often, the better. Just knowing that you have the option might be enough to lower your anxiety to the point that you don't need to take it!

 

I don’t drink, so no concerns about that.

I wonder if I’m experiencing some kind of withdrawal taking Clonazepam roughly ever other day for 10 days. I know that’s not long, but maybe that’s why T started getting severe every 2 days. Still wonder if I should do a small taper and then try and only use sparingly?

I’m sorry you relapsed and had such a hard time. It’s so terrible that the drugs that are supposed to help also cause such harm.

 

That was my plan. But maybe taking it every other day or so for a week and a half has created a bad cycle. I had taken Ativan before T (have had an anxiety disorder for a long time) and didn’t feel I responded this way.

Also, I try and mask with nature sounds, crickets since my T is high pitch hissing mostly, but it can also irritate my ears and kind of hurt. Reactive T/H, I think?

 

Tracy, honestly I would not worry about it at all. It was only 5 times. There is no need to taper off. Stress can easily exacerbate tinnitus. Just try to chill. Things will be okay. The anxiety will fade over time.