# Tapering my meds...specifically klonopin



## aloof (Nov 18, 2008)

Well the TMS experiment set me back- it apparently made me depressed and more out of it, especially in the morning and this could have been because I was on meds at the time, although my doc said I needed to keep everything the same while doing the treatments. I was taking(still am) 600 mg of trileptal and 0.5 mg of Klonopin and 300 mg of neurontin- all low doses but I am very sensitive to meds. Well the morning funk seems to have subsided and I have tapered the Klonopin down to one dose of 0.25 mg per day. I have been on it 11 months now and initially started at 1 mg. I dont notice any bad effects so far maybe occasional anxiety and nausea...the biggest problem is at times i feel myself going back to the way I was before I started taking it, which I definately do not want to happen. Its quite the catch 22- I want off of it because its not AS effective anymore and it affects my motivation to do things and my interest in sex seems to have decreased as well.

I may try Lexapro although SSRIs have been bad for me(Prozac and esp. Zoloft) however Lexapro is newer, more "selective" and has fewer side effects for many. I like the fact I can start at a low dose of 5 mg and it seems to work faster(if its going to). I would hope for an alleviation of my anxiety and OCD symptoms not so much the DP. My Pdoc actually thinks a low dose of Klonopin like I am taking along with maybe 10 mg of Lexapro may work well together. I really want to try being off it first and not introducing another med.

I also am starting Chinese medicine this week- acupuncture and Thai Body work which may help my anxiety as well as my slight scoliosis and associated muscle imbalance- which i obsess over. wow what an intertwined mess lol.


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2010)

aloof said:


> Well the TMS experiment set me back- it apparently made me depressed and more out of it, especially in the morning and this could have been because I was on meds at the time, although my doc said I needed to keep everything the same while doing the treatments. I was taking(still am) 600 mg of trileptal and 0.5 mg of Klonopin and 300 mg of neurontin- all low doses but I am very sensitive to meds. Well the morning funk seems to have snubsided and I have tapered the Klonopin down to one dose of 0.25 mg per day. I have been on it 11 months now and initially started at 1 mg. I dont notice any bad effects so far maybe occasional anxiety and nausea...the biggest problem is at times i feel myself going back to the way I was before I started taking it, which I definately do not want to happen. Its quite the catch 22- I want off of it because its not AS effective anymore and it affects my motivation to do things and my interest in sex seems to have decreased as well.
> 
> I may try Lexapro although SSRIs have been bad for me(Prozac and esp. Zoloft) however Lexapro is newer, more "selective" and has fewer side effects for many. I like the fact I can start at a low dose of 5 mg and it seems to work faster(if its going to). I would hope for an alleviation of my anxiety and OCD symptoms not so much the DP. My Pdoc actually thinks a low dose of Klonopin like I am taking along with maybe 10 mg of Lexapro may work well together. I really want to try being off it first and not introducing another med.
> 
> I also am starting Chinese medicine this week- acupuncture and Thai Body work which may help my anxiety as well as my slight scoliosis and associated muscle imbalance- which i obsess over. wow what an intertwined mess lol.


I was going to post something last night about Klonopin but my internet connection decided it didn't want to load the site. I have been on Klonopin since September with a very breif switch to Ativan for about 2 weeks in November. I have slowly, very slowly, needed to up my dose over the past 4 months. I started out on like 1/16th of a mg at the beginning. Then I went up to 1/8 and was able to take that for a very long time. Then about a month ago I started needing to take .25 mg like twice a day. Now that doesn't help at all. I have been, though I hate to and am not prescribed to do so, taking .75 mg two to three times a day just to be able to deal.

Along with this, I have noticed that if I go long enough that the level starts to drop in my system I start to get very sick. I feel really physically ill. I feel like I am going to pass out, get sweaty and dizzy, like I'm going to die really. I take the klonopin and that sensation goes away. I do NOT like this at all. If I am starting to get withdrawl issues at below 1 mg dosage, I don't think I want to be on it anymore. I just have two issues. One is that my anxiety is massive right now and every ssri that I have tried has just made my dp symptoms more intense. Actually I have been on Abilify, Lamictal, Prozac, Effexor, Neurontin, Buspar, Ativan, Xanax and Klonopin. After having been on all of those medications and having all but the klonopin make things worse, I am incredibly hesitant to go on any other medication.


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## aloof (Nov 18, 2008)

tinyfairypeople said:


> I was going to post something last night about Klonopin but my internet connection decided it didn't want to load the site. I have been on Klonopin since September with a very breif switch to Ativan for about 2 weeks in November. I have slowly, very slowly, needed to up my dose over the past 4 months. I started out on like 1/16th of a mg at the beginning. Then I went up to 1/8 and was able to take that for a very long time. Then about a month ago I started needing to take .25 mg like twice a day. Now that doesn't help at all. I have been, though I hate to and am not prescribed to do so, taking .75 mg two to three times a day just to be able to deal.
> 
> Along with this, I have noticed that if I go long enough that the level starts to drop in my system I start to get very sick. I feel really physically ill. I feel like I am going to pass out, get sweaty and dizzy, like I'm going to die really. I take the klonopin and that sensation goes away. I do NOT like this at all. If I am starting to get withdrawl issues at below 1 mg dosage, I don't think I want to be on it anymore. I just have two issues. One is that my anxiety is massive right now and every ssri that I have tried has just made my dp symptoms more intense. Actually I have been on Abilify, Lamictal, Prozac, Effexor, Neurontin, Buspar, Ativan, Xanax and Klonopin. After having been on all of those medications and having all but the klonopin make things worse, I am incredibly hesitant to go on any other medication.


I understand completely. Klonopin was the one med that really helped me, with most others I have tried being negative. I have not upped my dose however...rather I have reduced it since initially taking it. When I started I was at 1 mg per day for about 3 months and it was the best I felt in many years....but I began to feel a bit depressed and zombied so I halved it and stayed there for several months. Now I am down to 0.25 mg a day and its not been to bad at all just a bit anxious occasionally and some nausea from time to time. But in your case I would not keep upping the dose that's a bad road to go down with benzos....try reducing it very very slowly thats all you can really do unless you want to continue to stay on it at the higher dose.


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## Guest (Mar 29, 2010)

aloof said:


> I understand completely. Klonopin was the one med that really helped me, with most others I have tried being negative. I have not upped my dose however...rather I have reduced it since initially taking it. When I started I was at 1 mg per day for about 3 months and it was the best I felt in many years....but I began to feel a bit depressed and zombied so I halved it and stayed there for several months. Now I am down to 0.25 mg a day and its not been to bad at all just a bit anxious occasionally and some nausea from time to time. But in your case I would not keep upping the dose that's a bad road to go down with benzos....try reducing it very very slowly thats all you can really do unless you want to continue to stay on it at the higher dose.


Did you know that the two medications that help dp the most are klonopin and lamictal and both are antiseizure medications? Have you considered trying other seizure medications to see if they help dp?


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## aloof (Nov 18, 2008)

tinyfairypeople said:


> Did you know that the two medications that help dp the most are klonopin and lamictal and both are antiseizure medications? Have you considered trying other seizure medications to see if they help dp?


Yes specifically klonopin....Lamictal I believe works for relatively few. I tried it and got no benefit. I am also taking Trileptal which is an anti seizure med but not known to help DP symptoms. It is used off label as a mood stabilizer.


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