Tapering off Clonazepam

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777
777 Member Posts: 5
edited February 2020 in Just Diagnosed

Is or has anyone been on Clonazepam for anxiety? I'm ready to taper off and I keep hearing horror stories. I'm on 1.5mg per day (.75mg morning/night). I've been on it for 10 weeks. I've heard taper off slow. Obviously I will be talking to my doctor, but I'm interested in hearing experiences if anyone has been in this situation. I also am taking Effexor XR 75mg per day and I believe it is helping. Some nausea every day, but don't know if it's from the Effexor or Clonazepam. Thank you.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2020

    I'm in the middle of tapering off Ativan, another benzo. I've only taken it once a day, but I have been on it for over a year. I want to take it as needed only. Right now I can take 1/4 of my original dose every few days. I sleep more with it.

    It's good to work with your doctor and your pharmacist. I tapered off Lyrica and having tablets of different dosages helped with reducing dosage by just the right amount (for Lyrica my aim was about 10% lower each week). I kept a notebook to keep track.

    Here's a link on tapering off Clonazepam:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20473065

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2020

    I tapered myself off Amitriptyline once (its a TCA, similar class to a benzo), after I was using it for about 12 weeks to manage neuropathy after a disk herniation. No one warned me about tapering or the impact of going cold turkey - had heavy, heavy nausea and flu symptoms when I tried to cut it all. Went back to full dose then started gradually cutting back I think 2mg at a time (or 10% of the dose). I would see how I felt and give it about a week at the lower dose and then cut again, etc until I could go longer without it at all - say 24 hours rather than 12. Then stopped completely.

    Any of those meds impacting nerves or mental functions is going to have some challenges with coming off them and its best to do it very slowly. Agree with serenity to work with either your doctor or pharmacist to get smaller dosage pills while you work your way down. Done right, tapering is just fine and no icky feelings or symptoms!

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