Posted by crazy777girl on December 28, 2006, at 5:45:32
In reply to Long term Klonopin?, posted by mattye on December 27, 2006, at 14:53:53
In short, everything you say is true. My pdoc gave me the same med, for the same reason, and no, it would never have occurred to me to abuse it, either. The one time I thought I needed more I called him, and he increased the dose to 1.5mg bid.
It worked. I just wish someone would have told me that there might have come a day when I'd like to try and manage anxiety without the benzos. That I'd actually be checking into a psychiatric facility to detox from my cocktail of psych meds under medical supervision, and come out weeks later w/ a hopefully better regime. BUT THAT I'D STILL BE withdrawing from the klonipin.
This stuff stays with you for a long time. Yes, you will have problems getting off of it. And the 'discomfort' increases as you go lower and lower.
I was only on 1mg am and pm when I entered the hospital. I thought things were bad when they knocked me down to .50 am & pm. (1/2 my dose twice daily) Then I got thru that, and felt I'd taken the biggest step, only to hear the next increment down was even more jarring.
Just to be specific; you shake like a drug addict, have chills, ache all over, tremble from the inside out, have body aches, GI problems, stomach cramps, can't eat, and just generally crawl up in the fetal position in your bed while shaking.
I'm not done yet. I'm still on .25 at 9am, 1pm and 9pm. Why the 1pm dose? Because I couldn't make it thru the day before the withdrawl would knock me down & have me stuttering like an idiot. All in all, I did nothing wrong. I took a prescribed med, for a good reason, given by my trusted physician.
Would I make the same decision if I could see myself shaking and trembling over half a .50 pill at this point? Can't say, but it would likely have me asking quite a few more questions, and would probably scare the bejesus out of me, at least enough to use them prn only, as opposed to daily. But that's me. And when I needed them -- I needed them. In fact -- I likely still do need them, I've just had to make some tough decisions about drugs and my body, since my treatment requires so many of them.
Don't be discouraged - but you asked a question - you deserve an answer, an honest answer, and it doesn't get any fresher than this. BTW, I was in the top psychiatric facility in the country for adult affective disorders, and EVERYONE was withdrawing from klonipin. Not sure what that tells you. Best of luck,
a
> I know this has been discussed before, but I had a few unanswered questions about benzos after searching the archives.
>
> I just went to a different pdoc who gave me a 30 day supply of klonopin to help me get through the holidays. I told him that none of the SSRIs were fully controlling my anxiety / panic.
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> In short, the klonopin has been a godsend. I don't even feel like I am on anything, my panics just don't flare up like they used to.
>
> Furthermore, I feel no desire to abuse this drug. I have taken benzos in excess once before, and all I did was sleep for a long time. They do not get me "high". I personally think the abuse potential of this drug is grossly overstated.
>
> Has anyone here been on Klonopin for a long time? Did you have problems getting off of it? Did your anxiety worsen after getting off of it?
poster:crazy777girl
thread:716704
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061224/msgs/716873.html