Tryingtoworkthru: Introduction

[LotusRising]

3 hours ago, Tryingtoworkthru said:

I have been off the Klonopin .5 mg for 8 days and feel I am experiencing WD that has been difficult

What is happening that you feel you're experiencing WD?

 

3 hours ago, Tryingtoworkthru said:

My NP would say, as I mentioned, to take the .5 and then consider updosing - and has said I could use ambien with the Klonopin

This doesn't make sense to me. Taking ambien with klonopin is redundant and both are equally dependence-forming. 

 

On 5/15/2024 at 9:12 AM, Tryingtoworkthru said:

Today is a little bit better.

You had mentioned this. Did symptoms get worse again? If you feel it's not something you can handle, then yes, you could reinstate. If it's only been 8 days, you could likely go right back to 0.5mg. I see no reason why you would need to updose though, as your NP suggested. Just bear in mind that all medications will need to be tapered at some point, so please factor that into your decision.

[Tryingtoworkthru]

@LotusRising Hello LotusRising - Thank you for your reply. I felt as though I was experiencing withdrawal because my anxiety was higher and I was feeling jittery, weak, nauseous and I generally felt sick.  I couldn’t handle anything. This was on day six of stopping. I slept fairly well that night and the seventh day was better but that night I couldn’t sleep more than about 2 1/2 hours. Yesterday - the same symptoms of day six came back. I felt it was a wave and window pattern. By yesterday I was considering a reinstatement but when my husband and I looked at SA reinstatement of benzos it wasn’t clear. I managed over six hours of sleep last night and have not yet taken any Klonopin. 
My NP would have told me to just start taking the .5 mg again and since the original prescription was to take that pill twice a day I think she would have advised me to do that even though I was only using it once daily at night. She had also given me a prescription for ambien at the same time as the Klonopin for sleep but I only used it once. 
Although day six and eight were very difficult I would like to stay away from using the Klonopin - but feel that if every day were like those days I probably wouldn’t be able to handle it and would reinstate. If I did/do reinstate I wasn’t sure how much to use based on how long I’d stopped taking it. I honestly don’t know how long is too long to reinstate at the original dose. I’m very concerned about that because when I CT from the Prozac I waited too long for reinstatement and went back six weeks later to the original dose with very bad results. This was all before I found SA and didn’t understand withdrawal or kindling or anything that was happening with me and my Dr. at the time wasn’t I think knowledgeable.  
Based on day six and yesterday I felt I was having withdrawal symptoms so I’m trying to figure it all out. Do you have any idea of how long these symptoms may appear - or is it the “everybody’s different” so it depends … I don’t want to make the wrong moves because I just can’t handle making things worse -  I’m not sure how I would make it. The last 17 months have been so difficult, unlike anything I’ve experienced that I just keep trying to fix things and come up with the right answers because I don’t want to get any worse and I don’t feel confident about finding my way out of all of this. Many times I feel helpless and hopeless - I mostly feel awful and it just overwhelms me. So sorry for the long explanation and venting - I do appreciate your support! 

[LotusRising]

3 hours ago, Tryingtoworkthru said:

Based on day six and yesterday I felt I was having withdrawal symptoms so I’m trying to figure it all out. Do you have any idea of how long these symptoms may appear - or is it the “everybody’s different” so it depends

Yes, unfortunately, everyone is different. The drug itself would be washed out of your body by around the two week mark, but symptoms could certainly persist. You are correct, everybody is different. 

 

3 hours ago, Tryingtoworkthru said:

The last 17 months have been so difficult, unlike anything I’ve experienced that I just keep trying to fix things and come up with the right answers because I don’t want to get any worse and I don’t feel confident about finding my way out of all of this. Many times I feel helpless and hopeless - I mostly feel awful and it just overwhelms me.

I'm sorry, I know this isn't an easy journey at all. I can relate to those feelings of hopelessness and overwhelm. For benzos, I would say the sooner you reinstate the better, if you decide to go that route. Do you feel like the benzo was helping, or are you unsure?

 

3 hours ago, Tryingtoworkthru said:

Although day six and eight were very difficult I would like to stay away from using the Klonopin - but feel that if every day were like those days

Maybe ask yourself if every day has been like these days? If they haven't, perhaps you can do without.