Ninjaturtle

So I quit drinking and smoking last October with a 2 day relapse in February. So I guess I quit in February. Anyway me and my doc decided to quit the klonopin I've been on for 5 years. He also gave me some gabapentin to take. I had no idea what it was when he gave it to me but said it would help withdrawal. Not sure if it's helping or hurting. I'm quitting it. I've been taking 900 mg of gabapentin a day for 3 weeks. I've heard horror stories of withdrawal from that stuff too. I'm only 3 weeks in so I'm bailing out on this crap before I have something else to quit in a year. Pharmacist said drop a little every day for a week. God help me. Well back to the klonopin. We did a pretty fast taper. It was a 2 week Librium taper from 1 mg of klonopin. I've been benzo free for 7 days and feel horrible. Anxiety, extreme depression, nightmares, muscle ache, weakness, foggy, can't read very well, etc. this is really crappy because life was getting so awesome being a good dad and husband. I thought I was through all this crap. I lost 50 pounds exercising and eating healthy. I was feeling great. One last hill to climb I guess. I felt pretty hopeless quitting the alcohol and smoking so I know not to trust my feelings right now but I'm pretty bummed because I've heard withdrawal can last from a month to a year plus. Not very encouraging. But i have no other choice. If I stay on the klonopin any longer I'll probably cause long term brain damage to myself. What it hasn't done already. I know I can heal with time. Why did I ever start taking this stuff. Well because I have anxiety lol. But it's better to deal naturally. The benzos are pure poison. Does anyone have any advise or encouragement. I want this to be over but know I need to go through it. I didn't think this was as big of a problem because it was prescribed and legal. Ugh. Someone please help me. I have some leftover klonopin in case of an emergency but want to get through and heal. I know relief is one pill away but true healing is through this craziness. Thanks for listening and words of encouragement.

entropy1964

I've heard that Klonapin is really hard to get off. So I understand, you've been benzo free for 1 week. You taking gabapentin but want to get off?

I'm not a dr but the only way I've heard of people detoxing off of benzos is tapering off the benzo itself. No other drugs added. And ya, sounds like a very fast taper. Talk to your dr again, maybe get a second opinion.

Ninjaturtle

Yeah the gabapentin is a anti seizure med/nerve medication. I also think the tapering off the drug itself would have been a better option. Slower too. Waiting for his office to call but it's 5:27 on a Friday so well see

Notimetoloose

Ninjaturtle, I know you are hurting but I have to say I love your attitude. you are awesome...it is with attitudes like that will see you free of the benzos.

Time is a healer and every day gets better, it doesn't feel like it sometimes but our brains need to reset and heal.

It is great you have your doc on board, I believe support is essential, to help you over the hurdles.

LostLilly

You are trying to get off 1mg Klonopin. I have chronic panic disorder and have been on/off this med. 1mg is a low enough dose that it won't be too hard to get off of maybe with a slower taper. I have had success spacing doses farther and then stopping. Go back to your dr. If you are having issues.

FLCamper

I also tapered off a while back. I was surprised at the body aches. That was the hardest part for me.
You've made it through a week so it sounds like the worst should be over.
Look at all you've overcome. Good for you! Keep it up.

Ninjaturtle

Thanks all. I want to conquer this. I'm determined and well armed. Had a walk out into the front yard and tightens some screws on my daughters skateboard. Felt good to feel the warm sunlight.

Ninjaturtle

Spacing is what I was thinking. At one point I was on 4 mg of Ativan. Then to 2 mg of klonopin. Down to .5 at one point but back up to 1 when I quit drinking. I think .5 every other day for a week then every 2 days etc. doc called me in a few but I might grit it out tonight and see how I feel tomorrow. Not to sound like a sissy but the wd's are still pretty hard on me. I met my kids at their field trip to a local trout pond today and we caught the first two fish. WD's and all. Then I had to sneak out and relax at home. I could actually FEEL the sound of all the fourth graders screaming. Almost unbearable lol.

ValThistle

How are you feeling?

SickOfIt79

I got on Lexapro and benzo's about a month ago(after self medicating my anxiety with booze for 20 years) and just couldn't get through the work day without falling asleep. I stopped the benzo's after the prescription ran out and personally have no desire. I'm just taking Lexapro. I feel much better and I think the Lexapro is helping my sobriety.

I would get off the benzo's as quick as possible. My doctor prescribed it for work meetings and intense situations but if he knew of my addiction he would not have prescribed them to me I'm sure.

Ninjaturtle

Tight muscles, high anxiety, headache, etc.

Ninjaturtle

Ok so my doc called me in some Librium to taper even more with and taking it actually made me feel worse. I hope I haven't set myself back too far. The gabapentin actually helped. The benzo actually made my mind race and I couldn't sleep all night. Looks like the only way through is the way I was going.

Lonelywombat67

I hope you feel better soon. My daughter was addicted to Xanax and went to a rehabilitation center to get off of it. She is an outpatient now. She says her brain is still kind of foggy and she has some short term memory loss. She's continuing outpatient treatment. I understand it is a hard drug to conquer.

Ninjaturtle

I'm going back to my original dr. A fast taper will not work well for me. After doing tons of research, benzos seem a lot different and harder to come off than many other drugs although none are easy. I'm going to talk to my dr tomorrow about a self taper. Basically a 10 percent reduction every 10-14 days. The Ashton manual is the best resource for benzo tapering. Not something you are supposed to do cold turkey. My doc just about killed me I had to go into urgent care sat. And was put back on my base dose to stabilize. I'll keep everyone posted. Found a lot of information at benzobuddies website from current and past people who have tapered and people who cold turkeyed. People who ct were still in protracted withdrawal a year later. Not for me sorry. It seems very foolish the way rehabs and a lot of Doctors are treating patients who've they prescribed benzos too. I'm not even talking about someone who was cut off for good reason. Just your normal doc or mom who got a scrip for social anxiety etc.

aNewEternity

just so you know, 1mg/day is not a whole lot in talking about klonipin. people are Rx'd 10mg/day and live productive lives.

you can continue toughing it out if you want to, it *appears as if*/I'd be highly surprised if you had issues like seizures that people can have coming off of benzos. but the withdrawal and the post-acute withdrawal can wear you down and last for months, even years.

I totally disagree with the Doc giving you gabapentin. not that I have any medical training. he should've told you to make sure you walk 45 mins a day and eat a lot of vitamin C.. anyway..

what are your reasons for wanting to get off of the Klonipin? have you ever had a problem with it or is it just because you had a drinking problem, so you're now thinking of yourself as an 'addict' and want to get off of anything that can be abused?

SoberJohn

Quitting bentos cold turkey can be painful and dangerous. I was on Ativan for about 3 months and just stopped taking them cold turkey and in 18 hours I was in the ER with chest pains and extremely high blood pressure.

I looked up on line a benzodiazepine taper program that steps you down slowly while introducing a longer half life benzo (Valium) to ween you off the Klonopin and by the end you come off the Valium in steps and you will literally feel no withdrawal ever again.

Here is the website I found the protocol written by a British Doctor.

benzo.org.uk : Benzodiazepines: How They Work & How to Withdraw, Prof C H Ashton DM, FRCP, 2002

Take the protocol to your doctor and ask them to help you follow it. It worked for me and I felt no withdrawal.

Good luck.

Ninjaturtle

There have been links with prolonged use and dementia. If there wasn't I'd love to take the stuff for the rest of my life. Lol. I'll find other avenues for dealing with anxiety and panic attacks I guess.

Ninjaturtle

Awesome. I'll take it into my doc tomorrow

SweatyHands

You're doing the right thing. Only you know what you are experiencing, and what you need to succeed in achieving sobriety. Hopefully your doctor will be receptive to your ideas for your taper, and can offer support and guidance to make it work. I have had bad experiences with my current doctor around benzos. When I told him that I was concerned about dependency because of my alcoholism, and said that I wanted to get off of clonazapam, he just cut me off cold turkey. Fortunately, I had enough on hand to make my taper slightly less unpleasant. But needless to say, I will be finding a new doctor who is more compassionate and rational in helping an addict maintain healthy sobriety. Best of luck, and keep up that positive attitude!

jaynie04

Hi Ninja. I am glad you are working with a doctor. I had a fairly fast taper (under a month but under medical inpatient supervision) off of 3mgs of Klonopin as well as alcohol and Ambien. I have been clean and sober for three years this month.

I still take gabapentin (I have an autoimmune disease) as well as Wellbutrin. I think I was taking as much as 1200 mgs of gabapentin at first and as time wore on I found I needed less and less of it. I now take 150mgs a day and could go without if my joints aren't too bad.

I have heard people have different reactions to gabapentin so it is definitely important to keep in touch with your doctor. I started on Klonopin because of the joint pain I was experiencing which was likely triggered by two bouts of Lyme. Eventually I grew dependent on it.

When I quit it was running my life, I was on it for about a decade. I had read awful things about klonopin withdrawal, and that is why I like to tell my story. My withdrawal was not horrible, and it was not protracted. I do believe a lot of it had to do with the fact that I listened to the doctors, knew that I was going through this only once and that I would come out the other side. And I did, and it has been so worth it.

And yes, finding a doctor who understands how to taper someone off klonopin, sadly, is a lot harder to find than one to prescribe. You can do this!