Hi all,
I've been taking Klonopin (.5mg, once a day) for around two years now. I initially took it because it was all that worked, especially when I was trying to find the right SSRI to suit my needs. Lexapro and Zoloft didn't work, so finally I'm on Paxil and it's been working great for about a year now (for SAD).
I basically kept taking the Klonopin dose as well once I felt better... because I finally felt decent again, and I didn't want to take any chances. Now that it's been so long though, and I feel a lot more stable mentally and emotionally, I feel like the sooner I can get off Klonopin the better.
My doctor told me that .5mg a day is a fairly minimal dose... and that he wants me to cut the dose by 20% every week, where by the end of four weeks I'll be completely tapered off. It's been a week so far, and taking the 80% dosage has gone very well actually. I just cut down to 60% starting today.
The thing is, I really expected this to be hell... but it's actually going pretty well. I felt a minor shortness of breath and heart palpitations the first few days, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I was just wondering, do you guys think it will get worse as I keep taking a lower and lower dose? I'm really afraid of feeling the way I did two years ago, where I could barely leave the house because I felt so physically and emotionally weak. Social anxiety basically took over my life, and I'll never let that happen again. I think I'm most afraid because I've heard so many horror stories about people becoming dependent on benzo's.
Has anyone else had experience tapering off Klonopin or Xanax? How did it work out for you? Is my dose of .5mg a day really considered that low? Just looking for a little support
.
~Nick
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