Klonopin Withdrawal

I know this subject has been touched on but I am looking for specific help. I have been on .05 Klonopin three times a day for about 6 months. I felt my anxiety was under control and wanted to taper off as I felt I would long term be able to handle anxiety with therapy, I am also on an AD. My pscy doctor is very pro Klonopin. The first two weeks I cut my nightime.05 does in half and everything seemed fine. I then cut my morning dose by 1/4. I only had pulsating T but now I have developed a hissing sound in my left ear that I did not have before. my anxiety is now back. Did I taper too fast? Should I up my dosage alittle bit and then taper even more slowly?

 

I'm not a doctor, but if it is still manageable, perhaps wait a few weeks before upping your medication again? What has been effective for me in dealing with this, is when I get a spike and start to feel overwhelmed, I look at my calendar and say ''if this is this bad in 3 weeks, then I will allow myself to freak out''. So far, I forgot about it every single time.

None of this is a precise science, but are you SURE that your tinnitus has changed, or are you simply more obsessed by it because you are dealing with the consequences and anxiety of tapering off the benzos?

 

I got hissing T in my left side of my head that I never had before. I was thinking of upping the dose alittle and then tapering down more slowly. I am at half the dosage that i started on.

 

Just remember:
It always gets worse before it gets better!

 

I'm afraid not always - really bad advice here lol.

 

I took klonipin 1/2 mg night and 1/4 day for 6 weeks I cut them in half for for 2 weeks then cut out day dose for 2 weeks then cut my 1/4 at night in half to .125 mg for 2 weeks then off them completly .I had anxiety on each cut but pushed through it. My T got louder but now that I am off them I feel better.I am not against Benzos but of course if you can do without them your better off.Tinnitus is something to survive untill you can not pay attention to it and then your anxiety will subside .If you need meds you need meds but take only what you need. Try not to up dose from original dose and your ween mabe should be more gradually done.I did not take them as long as you ,and I came off them rather fast. I've tried AD twice I think taking an AD can be good for some people but I could not take it.Side effects and just a feeling of being out of it.But my phyc dr said once the AD kicked in I would not need klonopin.Kevin if your AD is working you might try weening off the benzos but if you can't talk to your dr. about it mabe change AD meds. then try again to ween off.I have heard when you come off benzos it can make T worst but it is perception it is because the benzos were keeping your perception of T down which is good for your anxiety and keeps T down .You can come off klonipin and also have controll of your T.Once you do this you will have better controll of your anxiety.Give it time to get out of your system.You have had T for 1 year so when you clear out from the benzos you might habituate fast .I know you will .Just ween slow then give T time to calm down.Kevin You will be alright.

 

I added a .125 dose back to each .25 dose. I will try that for two weeks and see if that helps. If so Then I will try a .25 dose for two weeks and keep slow tapering to I am done. My Dr is a great guy but he does not get T and is a big proponent of Klonopin and says i am on alow dose for a short time. that he is people on it for years. I agree that i should be off it and will have to fight thru any anxiety, I think I was cutting too fast and the increase of some new T freaked me out.

 

i hope it helps better

btw widrowals from clonazepam couses tinnitus

 

Does the t eventually leave once you are off them? Or does it continue ringing during the whole taper or does anyone know if it stabilizes during a holding period?

 

I'm wondering if I am in tolerance withdrawl..I am starting to think so.

 

Tinnitus that is truly benzo induced seems to go away for most people after a long period of time.

If it were me, I'd try going back up to the previous dose for 1-2 weeks to see if it would resolve the new tinnitus. But, be careful about going up and up; this is a sign that your nervous system is starting to change itself to adapt to constant benzo in your blood, you definitely don't want to go too far down that road or else tinnitus will be the least of your problems.

 

Would you suggest this for AD withdrwal as well? My T turned from a few solid tones to high squeaking noises on top as soon as I tapered. The squeaks are not loud but more bothersome than the other louder noises. The scratching and sqeaking are the noises that feel like pain to me when they hit my ear. They are random all over my head and into my ears, always changing. I feel like these noises could go away as they are just on and off randomly and all over the place, probably false hope I know.

 

I don't have enough experience with ADs to comment, but I do think that in general, drug-initiated nervous system glitches do often resolve given enough time off the drugs.

 

doesn't klonopin cause hearing loss? it is a terrible drug and raises Alzheimer's risk 84%
www.bmj.com
it shouldn't be prescribed for sleep apnea. it may affect GABA levels and nerve conduction. my ears feel really congested and numb even on the prednisone and I think klonopin may be damaging my ears and caused hearing loss?

 

I am tapering off of .5mg of Klonopin and it has increased my T pitch. Trying to stay positive and taper slowly which my doc does not support. Also on neurontin which has helped with w/d - small dose then will taper that as well.
I hope my T calms down. I was at my GP and the residence in training said "oh Benzos can cause tinnitus in w/d." I asked all these questions prior to taking the medicine. I developed a tolerance while my doctor was away and trying to taper and so they put me back on the med. Sigh.

Anyone taper off Klonopin using neurontin?

 

I've been on Kolonopin for 20 years for restless legs, neurontin (600 mg gabapentin) for a year and tapering K for six months. I have had T for two years and think it may have been from an increase in K. I started my taper because of the link to Alzheimer's. The neurontin was for RLS and worked well for a while but I think I am quickly needing higher dose and don't want to go down that road again.
The neurontin has much worse side effects than K, like waking up stoned and major dehydration while I sleep. K only put me to sleep with no hangover, the whole object of taking it. You can't get high on it IMO.
My Dr. thinks neurontin is no big deal, but I can't find anything much on it. 20 years ago no one thought K was bad except the DEA. Wiki says they don't know what makes neurontin work yet they prescribe it for everything. That's not reassuring.
My T has been bad these last 3 months while tapering K and I can only hope to get it back where it was when I'm finished. I saw no lowering of T the first six months on neurontin with a constant dose of K.
Good Luck

 

Where did you read about kolonopin and hearing loss?

 

it was on here there was someone who posted that their hearing loss was caused by klonopin. How dangerous and bad of a drug is it?
I don't get any effects on it except I notice better sleep and I think less number of times that I stop breathing, otherwise I would wake up terribly foggy and with headaches from low oxygen

 

I mean because of the hearing loss I want to switch to ambien and I can't find a surgeon to do the sleep apnea surgery

 

i stoped using then and t remained

 

I know this is an old topic but I am currently tapering ativan and my T is which I had before benzo'z is spiking.
What happened to you guys T after finishing tapering? And the year after....

 

Coming off clonazepam (Klonipin) has to be done exceedingly slowly. I would advise reducing by the smallest increment monthly. It may take 9-12 months to wean yourself off. Most doctors go too quickly.

As for the link between benzodiazepines and Alzheimer's, I am skeptical. It is more likely that these patients had late-onset anxiety as an early symptom of a yet-undiagnosed dementia. Like it or not, medications like clonazepam, alprazolam (Xanax) and lorazepam (Ativan) are very effective for anxiety and we have not yet found a equally-efficacious alternative. 'Benzophobia' has become politically-correct position and many anxious patients are, in my opinion and experience, being denied effective treatment.

 

@Dr. Ancill
Hi,
I was on 0.5 mg clonazepam for 5 months and have begun a taper by reducing 1/4 pill per month. I'm currently at 1/2 pill, due to go to the quarter pill in July for a month, and then thought I would take the 1/4 pill every other day for two weeks after that before stopping. I'm doing my own taper as my MD said it was such a low dose I could just stop, but I wasn't going to do that. Does this seem a reasonable taper? Just trying to figure out if I'm on the right track. Thank you.

Mystery Reader

 

Hi @Mystery Reader,

From my own experience, it sounds like you're on the right track. I took clonazepam for over ten years when I decided to withdraw from it. The first few increments went relatively smooth, but the final increments, even though much smaller than the first ones, became increasingly difficult.

By the end, I was taking only an infinitesimal amount, but the final withdrawal from that amount turned out to be the most difficult. I was still "on edge" for another few months after taking my last very small dose.

But I was on it for many years; probably a much different situation than yours. Also, I've read many accounts of benzodiazapine withdrawal, and some people don't have a hard time at all. My best advice would be to listen to your body. If it tells you you're withdrawing too fast, slow down. Patience is a key--IMHO. I took well over a year to complete my process.

I bought myself a microcurrent device called alpha-stim (about $600 or so) a few months after I finished my clonazepam withdrawal. It took the final "edge" off my whole withdrawal experience. If a person can afford it, I think it would likely be very helpful for those going through a withdrawal regimen. I've also read accounts of alpha-stim reducing t. It's a medically device that was approved (I think by the FDA) back in the 1980's for depression, anxiety, etc.​

 

Sorry this is kind of off topic, but has the Alpha Stim device had any effect on your tinnitus?

 

Hi @BLane,

I was hesitant to try it at first, because I was so paranoid about doing anything that might worsen things. After a few weeks, I finally started using it--I'd say maybe 5-10 times total. I didn't notice it shift my t at all, but I did find it to be relaxing, which may have helped somewhat indirectly.

At this juncture--a little over four months since getting t--I'm ready to go give it another try. I've been doing numerous things to try to reduce/eliminate the t, most of which are aimed at calming and relaxing my system. Because of all I'm doing (I think) I'm currently enjoying about a 25% reduction in t volume, and about a 50% reduction in t intensity.

I think it's unlikely there will ever be a silver bullet (think mainstream medicine) that ever will fully address (cure) everybody's situation. It seems much more likely to me that a few dozen smaller things will make the biggest difference for most people.

That includes various lifestyle changes, various supplements/foods that work well for us, various relaxation techniques (alpha-stim being one), various brain support modalities, including various energy balancing techniques. Here's a link to a simple little brain balancing technique that I think could help a number of people (I do it daily). -- "Balancing the Cortices"

The thing that I believe has helped me the most recently is being very diligent in doing reflexology. I'm working on reflexology points on my feet and hands directly related to the ears and brain. It may not necessarily be helping with the t, but I have noticed that the more I work on these tender spots on any given day, the better I sleep that night.

One of my next steps is to start mega-dosing on omega 3 fatty acids, using fish oils. I've been eating a lot of chia seeds which have omega 3's, but apparently aren't as assimible as the fish oils. Here's an article documenting remarkable recoveries from brain injuries (which I believe t is) using omega 3s and fish oils. -- Teen’s Brain Saved by Omega-3s.​

 

Thank you for speaking out @Dr. Ancill. Xanax saved my life back in 2002 after a sudden and trauma onset of severe intrusive tinnitus and the effects of anxiety on my body. I chose to treat the anxiety with the help of my doctor and still do. Anxiety suffering due to extreme tinnitus is severely misunderstood.

The combination of different stress/anxiety methods is important also.

I would not be alive today if I had been denied this medication and only listened to the horror stories. The positive stories are hardly ever mentioned. And not to forget the medical professions are afraid to prescribe these medications because of as you wrote the "politically-correct position".

But they are quick to prescribe unneeded ADs when depression is not the diagnosis.

 

The slower the taper, the better. Remember that if the medication is helpful, why come off it? While these medications can cause dependence, that is also true for blood pressure or diabetes medications. The fact you are on a medication is not a reason to come off. Relief of symptoms and reducing suffering is the primary objective. If your doctor wants to try and get you off a medication, it is certainly worth trying, provided he/she agrees to restart it if necessary - unless there is a medical reason to get off that drug.

 

reflexology is pseudo-science and there is no evidence for it.