Clonazepam (Klonopin, Rivotril)

Frank - that is EXACTLY what I went through with Clonazepam. After w few weeks of taking it once or twice a week, feeling good at night when I took it and the next day and then when it wore off the anxiety returned and brought me to my knees and I think the T got worse due to 're-bound inhibition'. I then had no choice but to take Clonaz each night as I could not live. I just could not live. Then 3 weeks later I found Pregabalin. The Pregabalin takes care of the anxiety. It did for me and please God it will for you. You can take it long term without tolerance build up. It will take care of the desperation, trust me.
It sounds like Clonazepam works good for you like it did for me and so there's no reason why Pregabalin shouldnt work well on you too.

I wasnt in a position to consider acceptance until taking this drug and the time that passed. Read my previous posts! I am not stronger than you, I am weak! I just found something that worked. Thats what you have to do. On reading everyone's posts after months on here, that is the common denominator. We find something that makes us able to cope. I know its not what you want to hear and I know you feel its a compromise (it is) but its the way it is. You'll see it when you are through the grieving.

If anxiety is a big problem for you, (and you describe yourself as 'desperate' so Im gussing it is), like it was for me, please get Pregabalin and also Remeron for sleeping. Why suffer? It will give you the space and time to move on.
Come on chap!! xx

 

Louise you get it right every time I honestly don't know what I would do without you here today. I'm a total wreck back to thinking about not wanting to live anymore

 

Come on boy, we've all been through this. Or a lot of us have. I have, I really have. I know where you are, trust that. When I was suicidal I thought of the actuals of doing it and one of them, which I couldnt bear and which kept me carrying on, was the thought of my friend Keith having to knock on my sisters door and telling her I'd gone. I saw her legs buckle as she fell to the floor. That legs buckling thing did it for me, I knew I had to carry on, somehow, I had to. Later on I took the Clonazpam each night, its was either that or, the end. I took the Clonaz every night and had a wonderful relief compared to where I was. Then a couple of weeks later as the Clonax was wearing off I found Pregabalin which has removed the anxiety, in a safe way.
It works Frank, give it a try. There are others that work too if that one doesnt. Dont give up boy, not yet. Just hang in there, I promise you that you WILL find something. The body-mind has an amazing way of adapting and finding a way out for us. It does. Try the Pregabalin first, you can take 0.5ms of Clonaz at night along with it. Just say to yourslef you're doing it until you can cope. The Clonaz takes away the anxiety and look how much better you felt then, almost back to you. Proves that if anxiety over T p*sses off then you can be you again.

Post whenever you like, and with whatever you like. I'll be here and so will the rest of the crew who have suffered as you are now.

Chin up lad, its is NOT over.

 

I thought , was fooled really, by the effect of the Clonaz and realize I have gained nothing because It is back and loud. I will be on the phone tomorrow morning to try to get Pregabalin. You told me it takes a while to take effect. How many days did it take? I now think I wasted 1500.00 on oxygen treatments too, more fine news. I had mapped out a plan too to end it all back in early feb. but found xanax which sidetracked the idea. I so appreciate all of the time you have devoted to helping me, giving me hope. You are one fine person

 

You have gained something, you know that you have the Clonaz for times when it gets too much. Its there in the drawer for you to be able to knock the T on the head when you reach the point you have to have a break from it.

Pregabalin worked on me within 2 days. Wikipaedia says it takes a week to work. You get (well, I got) a sense of mild euphoria at the start of it, which is nice! I hope it works for you like it has for me.

You didnt waste your money on the HBO. You had to try didnt you? You had to.

Markku - I dont mind you saying Plucky reminds you of me. I said that too in an earlier post. I do like how you describe T and about how it takes time to come to grips with it and how perseverence is needed. Thats been good for me to read.

Let us know how you get on with trying to get Pregabalin Frank.

Do you have a marathon planned for today? I am debating my daily walk as there is still snow on the ground here, its very cold and the wind is blowing hard. My fire is nice and warm so I dont think I'll be lured away from it today!

 

Thanks to all of you , Markku, Louise, Oatsy for you words of hope and encouragement. It is all I have to hang on to here, being alone. You are a kind group of people on this site, so far away- yet so close in your understanding. I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

The snow and cold makes it too quiet even outside today. There is less traffic to listen to and I will walk a couple of miles to the post office.

I am taking calcium magnesium citrate as a supplement as I heard this might be helpful back when this started. Does anyone think that this is a good idea? I am just winging it still and from reading random posts here it seems like many of us are to some extent. I am inclined to take all suggestions seriously but out in the big internet world there are a lot of scams needless to say, quite ready to take advantage of people when they are down.

 

hello old friends... its been awhile

ive read with great interest the conversation above and would offer a few observations if i may

there are without doubt hundreds of prescription and non prescription drugs that can induce...cause...tinnitus

some of these drugs, like aspirin, when discontinued for a long enough period of time...the tinnitus diminishes significantly or even virtually goes away

however....

complicating this issue, tinnitus is a highly idiopathic condition..that is to say, different individuals respond very differently to the "known" causes of tinnitus and respond quite differently to various treatments

some people can take large and long doses of drugs known to pose a high risk of causing tinnitus and they walk away without perceiving any ill effect...i have family members who have done so, and i can not explain it

some people can be exposed to loud sounds for a long time and apparently sustain little if any tinnitus causing sound induced damage, or so they say, and i am just dumbfounded

as many here know i got tinnitus 20 years ago, used clonazepam and after several years my T faded away and along with it my use of any and all medications

then my T came back about 18 months ago...after medical problems , stress and having taken, unknowingly suspected ototoxic drugs (warning, many antibiotics are very poisonous to some peoples ears)

so, unfortunately i was back at square one...sadness

a little over a year ago i went back to taking clonazepam and continued to do so for more than one year and then recently, cut back over a period of several weeks and most recently ive gone more than two weeks without

i started out over a year ago, taking one .5mg in the morning , and one in the evening and that dosage cut my tinnitus loudness perception by more than half ! !

recently i tapered down to half a tablet once a day ( thats one-forth of what i had been taking) and after a week i took a quarter of a tab for a few days and then i just stopped

i used bicycling and hiking, and an occasional drink or two to help me take the edge off of the whole experience

my tinnitus is just as loud today, but not louder than it was more than a year ago, with occasional ups an downs due to "hidden" food additives (yikes msg and aspartame, for example increases my tinnitus

i...dont..know... if the drugs known as benzodiazepines... some or all... are "permanently" ototoxic and i have been unable to tell via research on the internet or in conversation with otolaryngologists if the experts can agree one way or the other

i would never want to talk anybody into taking any medication, supplement etc..

i would never endorse anyone to do what i do, or believe what i say

because, there are so many risks..so many unknowns and i am not a medical professional

i keep a bottle of clonazepam in the refrigerator...and when or if i get desperate i will use some, as an alternative to more self destructive behaviors, like, heavy drinking, hiding under my bed, high anxiety, avoiding life, or worse,etc

i respect that you all have to make your own choices based on your best information and self knowledge, and that your choices will be different than mine and for good reasons

and i salute those who have found other ways,.... better ways.... an or can go without alcohol, benzos , phenibut any other gaba agonist

mostly, lately... ive just been reading here at TT cause i have less and less to say, and, like "Jim", one of the early leadership members here, i learned the less i THINK about tinnitus the better off i am

i read that Jim does a lot of sailing to divert his attention and mask T (the wind)...me too, kinda, i ride my bicycle for similar reasons, (did 50 miles day before yesterday) and try to ride at least 4 times a week plus other exercise

tinnitus is very, very, awful but..but when i see all the tragedies that can befall others around us,,, huge horrific tragedies that defy description, i put that damned T in its place and just live-on best i can

i send you all my warmest and best regards

mock turtle

 

Hi MT, its really good to hear from you. Im glad you are doing well.

I have a question about your experience with Clonazepam.... when you used it twice a day and it cut the noise by half, did it carry on doing that for the full year that you took it? I've found it's effect on the noise to stop after a few weeks.

I know what you mean about being on TT increases the focus on T and so if we dont hear from you for a while then good luck and all the best x

 

Hi Louise....great to talk with you again

you ask a very important , and for me, difficult question

first, the short answer..subjectively , just off the top of my head, i found that clonazepan worked for me for over a year both attenuating sound loudness ( and sound type...less EEEEEeeee in excahange for white noise and hiss)

yes i experienced diminishing returns as the months went by

but throughout the year+ i was much less reactive emotionally to the tinnitus..my limbic system calmed down so even if the T was not all that much quieter...i just did not care that much or pay attention that much

now the long answer...i tried to measure the loudness and the frequency of my tinnitusts with matching sounds

keep in mind all this is soooo subjective

i used water trickling from a certain height into the sink, strumming guitar strings (high notes), and listening to hearing test sample sounds on youtube etc to help me gauge the effectiveness of clonazepam

and what i found was that .25mg bid (morning and evening) was the minimum dose that ever had a modest effect on loudness and this was an effective dose for over 6 months

.5mg bid (twice a day) significantly reduced my perception of tinnitus loudness for nearly a year

i think 3 or 4 times ovr th first year i took 3 .5mg pill (i was in crisis mode) and that was very effective , but fear of abuse causd me to back down

occasionally i would drink 1 beer ...one...ONE...(be careful mixing alcohol and benzos very dangerous) and i found on occasion the T would go way way down like taking that 3rd pill in a day, but then the next day it was way worse so this is NOT a solution

alcohol and benzos together make tinnitus worse in the long run

be aware more than a few musicians, actors, and other celebs have died drinking an taking benzos, so i advise against this...dont mess around

i refused to ever take more than .5mg bid on a regular basis neither this year nor 20 years ago ... and when the benzos started really loosing their effectiveness, whether its after two months or 12 months... thats when i decided to stop (taper down slowly) and switch medications and or use exercise, meditation, entertainment, work projects and keeping as busy as i can as an alternative

recommendation ! ! playing a musical interment, softly (i like guitar) really occupies the auditory cortex to the max and shift focus off of tinnitus very effectively

sorry..i talk too much

Louise, im sending you a big hug and hope you find some peace

big thanks to Markku, Erik and the other site managers, you are outstanding

and best wishes to all here at TT...you are not alone, i struggle often,but im better today than 1 year ago, and i believe , in time i will get even better...its a slow slow process, please dont give up hope

mock turtle

 

Thanks for all the info Mock. I'm surprised it kept on working for a year. But then it did wear off didnt it so its not a long term plan.

Oh dear, I have been drinking a few times whilst on the Benzo. A couple of big blow-outs! Maybe Im ok because its only 0.5mg of it. There's something called 'cross-tolerance' I read about. Means that if you're very tolerant to a drug which is similar to another drug then you will also be tolerant to that other drug. So if you're very tolerant to alcohol then you'll already be tolerant to a Benzo as they are similar.

Thanks sooooo much for the hug. I'm sending a big one back to you.

I'm glad you're doing better and I sincerely hope it continues to full habituation. You deserve it.

Bye MT! xx

 

been on clonazepam about 12 years! not much help with the T. When i went off it, things didn't go well with my anxiety levels. Be very careful starting clonazepam.

 

I agree. This Saturday I started my taper (as I am on Pregabalin for anxiety). I reduced the 0.5mg to 3/4 of a pill. On Tuesday my T went wild, it was still wild all day Wednesday and so I went back onto the full 0.5mg tablet. Looks like Im stuck on it for life then because Im not putting up with the increased noise when I knocked it back a bit.

 

i forgot to mention i take 1/2 of the .05 pill. doc said I'm not taking enough for it to help. I don't like taking full pill cause I'm on other meds as well that make me drowsy.

 

I don't think I can stop it now as the noise gets worse. Its still louder than it was before the taper even though I've gone back up on the dose.

Its pretty bad as my eye floaters got worse since I started taking it and they continue to get worse. That's another reason I wanted off it.

 

Louise,

Once your T volume settles down (and it will) I hope you'll give getting off the clonazepam another try. I certainly don't know for sure, but I think it would be reasonable to assume the T spike is part of the withdrawal, and that it will settle back to something near what you consider your baseline once you get through the withdrawal.

I suggest you try cutting the clonazepam by a smaller amount. Try just shaving off 1/10 of the pill and take the other 9/10 for several doses, then try shaving off another 1/10. See if that helps you. I also suggest trying it when you are really busy -- hopefully busy doing something you really like. Lastly, if the T volume spikes up or you get other symptoms, then try and put up with it for a few hours before giving in. Each time it happens try to go a few more hours than you did last time. When it gets too tough to deal with, go back to whatever your last dose was for a while and try again. The only really firm rule for getting off benzos is once you get stable at a lower dose, try your darndest to not go back up above that dose. In other words, if you get down to say 0.3 mg, and you are doing pretty well, but then you cut to 0.2 mg and find it too tough, you can go back to the 0.3 mg, but do your best to not go back above 0.3 mg.

There are some support groups on the web for benzo withdrawal. Unfortunately, they are not nearly as good as TinnitusTalk is for tinnitus, but you might find them helpful. I tuned into BenzoBuddies when I was working my way off Xanax. I got some helpfull advice. Just beware that most of the people on that forum are hardcore additcted to benzos, and some are having a really tough time. Don't let their stories scare you off.

Just to be clear, when I say "too tough to deal with", don't take that to mean endure big time suffering. It's one thing to endure being very uncomfortable - its another to endure distress. Be reasonable with yourself.

mick

 

Ha, Im already enduring big time suffering Mick

The volume has not dropped back down even now to what it was before I cut the dose. I don't think it will either. Im not trying it again for a long time.

I've read quite a lot on Benzo-buddies when I started taking it so I know the horror stories. The thing is I don't feel at all 'addicted' to it. I don't crave it when the next tab is due and in fact e to remind myself to take it. It does seem to still have a small effect on the T noise in the first couple of hours after taking it but not much and not for long. Except for the T noise going up I could easily stop taking it I reckon.

Eventually I will cut back again, using the 10% method you suggest.

Here's a big problem with it and why I want to get off.... its increased my eye-floaters. Its too coincidental for it not to have been that. So I have bad floaters as well as the noise in my ears. WTF

 

Bummer! Sorry about that.

I'm sure you're not addicted to clonazepam in the sense that you would crave it. I never felt that way at all either. For me with Xanax I never craved it; I hated it from the very beginning and the only attractive thing about it was that it reduced the T for 2 - 3 hours after I took it. In the end, for me, the negatives were not worth that benefit. Since I've been off of it, my ability to cope with the T has improved immensely. I just feel tons better all the way around, and thought maybe you might find the same. No matter that I hated the stuff it was not easy to withdraw because the withdrawal symptoms were so unpleasant. There was never a case during withdrawal where I felt like I was taking it to satisfy a craving for it. It was more along the lines of "Sh*t, I've got to take it again" because I was afraid the withdrawal symptoms would harm me. The chief problem for me was the dangerously high blood pressure the withdrawal caused even though I normally have low blood pressure. The really severe symptoms did not manifest until 3 days after I lowered my dose.

Your situation could be entirely different. I just wanted to encourage you if you want/need encouragement.

About your eye floaters - have you seen an opthalmologist about them?

 

Yes, two opthalmologists - its from posterior vitreous detachment - but they don't seem to think there's anything bad about that.

My higher T seemed to start 3 days after I lowered the dose too.

How much Xanax were you taking?

 

Mine was the other way round. Tinnitus first, then out of the blue floaters. On the whole I've got used to my floaters and they hardly bother me, and if they do, then its not for long. Now if only I could have the same reaction to this damn tinnitus.

 

My dosage changed quite bit over the time I took it, so I don't have a short answer for you. Here's the shortest version I've got.

I started at 0.25 mg bid, then went to 0.5 mg three times a day. I think this is significantly more than what you've been taking of clonazepam. I took 0.5 mg tid for a month and had major problems with being able to stay awake. So I cut it to 0.25 mg three times a day. Experienced severe withdrawal. Back to 0.5 for a couple of weeks then began tapering. Since I knew what withdrawal felt like at that point I became very aware what I was experiencing between doses which really convinced me that the stuff may have been causes me more harm than good. Anyway I eventually tapered down to 0.125 mg twice a day and tried to stop altogether. Had the severe withdrawal symptoms again after about 3 days. Then I went down to 1/16 mg twice a day and then tried to stop. Still pretty severe withdrawal symptoms. I eventually went to 1/16 mg once a day, and tried to stop. Still pretty significant symptoms. I went back on 1/16 mg for another week. Stopped again and just endured the symptoms for 2 days. After that the symptoms were not so bad. I've had a couple of instances of mild symptoms out of the blue even after being off the stuff for a few weeks. Between doses and during periods of withdrawal I would occassional get a different ringing tone that would be transient (it would last from a half a minute to 20 or 30 minutes). I have not experienced that for a while now. The last time was mabe a week or so ago and it lasted for 30 seconds or so. I think I've been Xanax free for 5 or 6 weeks now.

I too have a vitreous detachment, and that's why I asked if you had seen an eye doctor. In my case, the detachment started before Xanax. I don't have a lot of floaters. Instead I have bright flashes around the periphery of my vision whenever I move my right eye. This is supposedly caused by the partially detached vitreous gel tugging on my retina when my eye moves. It is particularly bothersome when I drive at night.

 

Thanks for the link Markku, Ill have a read later.

Its so worrying that mine are getting worse. I've now got like a cobweb effect. Typical that something that I did for T has caused this. T and worsening floaters all at one is just HARD! I would have the FOV I think but it would need to be on the NHS. I think sometimes they do allow it but only in rare circumstances. As we know, unless its threatening you if physically, the medical profession aren't interested.

 

What were the withdrawal symptoms Mick?

 

1. An incredibly, tight/tense feeling like nothing I ever felt before. This is what got me checking my blood pressure at the beginning. This was the worst symptom to me because it was a constant, uncontrollable tightness that was involuntary in every respect.
2. High blood pressure - up to 160/110. Normal for me is 110/78.
3. Headache
4. Mild nausea
5. Increased T volume, but not horribly so; different T tones.
6. Sporadic tremors in my arms and hands, plus a tremor-like feeling going down my spine that similar to what one feels when someone scratches their fingernails on a slate chaulk board.
7. Intense agitation and irritability without any associated thoughts to cause it.
8. At its worst, I had these convulsion like events every few minutes where my body would tense up and my back would arch backwards uncontrollably, and my heart would beat so hard and painfullyI thought it would damage itself. Fortunately, I only experienced this symptom once - the time I cut back from 0.5 mg tid to 0.25 mg tid.

 

Mick, I'm quitting taking my clonazepam in a reduction like you're talking about. I've been taking .5 mg nightly for about 5 weeks. Did your tinnitus go back down to it's original levels?

 

I have increased floaters from about 6 weeks benzo usage and withdrawal too. As well as increased tinnitus. Taking it was terrible mistake, I should never do that. It brought more bad things than help for me.

I am now afraid to go out into sunlight and enjoy it, because of floaters and I am afraid to stay at home too, because of tinnitus... It is a pure hell to live in now.

 

For those with floaters, I just would like to say few hopefully optimistic words. I noticed my floaters got worse about 2.5 years ago (together with worsening of my tinnitus - not sure if coincidence or not). I had to set computer applications I work with to use dark-colored themes, because I really hated these floating things in front of a bright screen.

Fast forward to now. Altough still sometimes annoyed by floaters, I must say it really got better. I accidentaly reset a theme for an application back to light one two weeks ago and I'm still sticking with it. It's doesn't bother me as it used to. It's like some of the most visible floaters somehow dissolved a bit, so altough still present, it's definitely not so noticeable now.

It seems significantly lot of people with tinnitus is also struggeling with floaters. I've seen some threads discussing this in past. There are people who believe that it's definitely connected. On the other hand I'm quite sure I had had some floaters before I got tinnitus.

So, I just wanted to cheer you up a bit and tell you this condition can really get better.

I wish I could say the same for tinnitus.

 

Hudson,

The T did go back down. I can't say for sure that it was entirely due to getting through withdrawal, but I tend to think so. Over the past week I've had a sustained increase in volume and I have no explaination for that. I'm pointing out that one needs to recognize that it is hard to draw connections between cause and effect when it comes to T volume changes. Keep that in mind for yourself. I hope your doctor is on board with you tapering off clonazepam. Mine wasn't, but I did it anyway.