It is a common need for individuals to discontinue their benzodiazepine, like Klonopin, for whatever reason. When it needs to be done, slowly tapering your dose, as opposed to stopping cold turkey, is highly recommended to prevent withdrawal symptoms. Be sure to speak with your doctor regarding a tapering regimen that works for your specific medical situation. It is important to be aware of the potential withdrawal reactions and perhaps taper more slowly if they are particularly difficult. According to an article published in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, when taking benzodiazepines like Klonopin, it can result in physical dependence and tolerance. After a period of 1 to 6 months of use, abruptly stopping benzodiazepines can result in severe withdrawal symptoms, such as life-threatening seizures, delirium, and death.
- This is increasingly true for users that attempt to quit cold turkey.Regardless of being prescribed Klonopin or not, the best way to end dependence with the drug is by tapering off slowly.
- They may suggest ways to help you stop drinking.
- In the second week, have them reduced to 50 percent of their original dose or 1 mg.
- But if Klonopin makes you sleepy, you may be able to take just one dose at bedtime.
Before taking Klonopin, be sure to tell your medical professional if you have any breathing problems. These could be caused by conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or sleep apnea. Klonopin can cause respiratory depression (slowed or weakened breathing). You may have a higher risk for this side effect if you have breathing problems. For example, Klonopin doses of up to 4 milligrams (mg) per day are prescribed for panic disorder.
How do you wean yourself off clonazepam?
If you have acute narrow-angle glaucoma, your medical professional will typically prescribe a drug other than Klonopin for you. In rare cases, the withdrawal timeline with Klonopin may extend to many weeks or months. Misuse and addiction with Klonopin can also result in overdose or, in rare cases, death. However, death is more likely to happen when Klonopin is taken along with alcohol and opioids. To learn more about how long you can expect Klonopin to stay in your system, you can talk with your medical professional or pharmacist. If you’re interested in treatments for depression, we encourage you to talk with your medical professional.
Your healthcare professional may recommend continued counseling after you’ve completed your opioid taper. Your healthcare professional may recommend that you have naloxone available to lower addiction relapse your risk of an overdose. Naloxone reverses the effects of opioids during an emergency if you stop breathing. Narcan and Revive are naloxone nasal sprays you can buy without a prescription.
For those who are trying to quit Klonopin, tapering can give your body the time it needs to adjust to functioning without the drug. There are several different types of tapering methods, including direct tapering, substitution tapering, titration tapering, and some are more aggressive than others. In a 3 month taper, it is recommended to reduce from 100 percent to 50 percent of baseline during the first 4 weeks, then reduce from 50 to 0 percent during the remaining 2 months. For a more rapid taper, a person should decrease their dose by 25 percent per week. If you find yourself having difficulty during your taper, support from others can be very helpful.
Schedule 2 Simple withdrawal from diazepam (Valium) 40mg daily(follow this schedule to complete Schedule
It’s important that you do not stop taking Klonopin unless you first talk with your medical professional. If they tell you it’s safe to stop taking the drug, they’ll slowly lower your dosage over time. This should help decrease your risk for withdrawal symptoms. In my experience, the only exception to the general rule of slow reduction is triazolam (Halcion). This benzodiazepine is eliminated so quickly (half-life 2 hours) that you are practically withdrawn each day, after a dose the night before.
Safe Klonopin Detox and Withdrawal
Co-author Christy Huff, a cardiologist and director of the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, says she is also a patient. “Even though I took my medication as prescribed, I still experience symptoms on a daily basis after four years off of benzodiazepines,” she says. Compounding pharmacies can be used to obtain very ketamine addiction: definition symptoms effects and treatment small doses near the end of the taper. It’s tempting to want to quit cold turkey as soon as you find the motivation or desire to do so, but it’s in your best interest to resist this temptation. In fact, the longer you draw out your Klonopin taper, the less likely you are to experience any withdrawal symptoms at all.
Additionally I would like to have a beer now and again without worrying if I will suffer insomnia because I must skip a pill. Now I’m super nervous which is elevating my heart rate as high as 120 at rest… Ive been doubling up on the Klonopin with little results…
If you and your healthcare professional think you have an opioid use disorder, voluntary groups such as Narcotics Anonymous are structured support groups. They are led by other people who have been dependent on addictive substances. These groups can be a powerful support network for those who find that they aren’t able to quit using opioids despite their best efforts. Talking with your religious or spiritual advisor may help too. You may have withdrawal symptoms when you stop or lessen the use of opioid medicine.
Your medical professional can advise you on whether Klonopin is right for your type of seizures. If you have porphyria, talk with your medical professional about whether it’s safe for you to take Klonopin. They may prescribe a lower dosage of Klonopin than usual. Or they may recommend a different treatment for your condition other than Klonopin.
Other Complications and Risks During a Klonopin Taper
They’ll monitor your risk for these side effects before you start treatment with the drug. They’ll also check your risk from time to time while you’re taking the drug. When they decide to quit the drug and go through Klonopin withdrawal, they suddenly have trouble sleeping. This can be quite unpleasant for patients because withdrawal is uncomfortable, and most people would like to be able to sleep through their most uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Sometimes, Klonopin can mask other mental health issues in people who take or abuse it. Therefore, when people taper off Klonopin, the symptoms that are being masked can emerge (or re-emerge).
Tapering means slowly lowering over time the amount of opioid medicine you take until you stop completely. During a Klonopin taper, a plan will be made to ensure your body can handle the reduction in medication you’re about to experience. Usually, professionals follow a typical formula for this process which includes decreasing your dose by 25% each quarter of the withdrawal period—or sometimes per week. This means that it is reduced by smaller increments as the taper period proceeds (since 25% of each dose becomes incrementally smaller). Someone who took a lower dose of Klonopin will complete the withdrawal and taper process much more quickly.
Or instead, they may prescribe a different treatment for you other than Klonopin. Before you take Klonopin, be sure to tell your medical professional about any other drugs you take. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medication. It’s also important to mention any herbs, supplements, and vitamins you may take. Your medical professional or pharmacist can tell you about possible interactions these substances may have with Klonopin.
In severe cases, this can lead to coma or, rarely, death. In most cases, you’ll take Klonopin either two or three times per day. But if the drug makes you sleepy, you may be able to take just one dose at bedtime. However, it’s important to follow your medical professional’s instructions about when to take Klonopin. Mild side effects of many drugs tend to lessen in a couple of days or a few weeks. But if you find that the side effects bother you, we encourage you to talk with your medical professional or pharmacist.