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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by gman22 on November 19, 2024, at 10:11:25
Hi Guys,
Glad to see some of the familiar people still on here and doing well!!
I am doing great with a combination of gabapentin, nortriptyline and sertraline.
I do have a question as well...
I had a knee replacement a month ago and it went really good, but I was taking clonazepam 1mg for sleep every night for the last 30 days and now I want to discontinue it. Before the surgery I only took it occasionally, like a few times a month for anxiety. I'm reading a lot of horror stories about discontinuation of benzos, but i feel like my dose wasn't that high for that long. Anyone have thoughts on best way to proceed on getting off the clonazepam?
Thanks
Posted by Hugh on November 21, 2024, at 12:04:35
In reply to check in, posted by gman22 on November 19, 2024, at 10:11:25
I'd suggest doing a slow taper. It took me four months to taper lorazpam, and I did a crossover to diazepam (Valium) halfway through my taper. Diazepam has the longest half-life of the benzos, so it's the easiest to taper. Chances are you won't have to do a crossover to diazepam, since clonazepam has a pretty long half-life, and you've only been taking it daily for a month. If you run into any problems during your taper, just slow down the taper. The Ashton Manual has withdrawal schedules.
Posted by Hugh on November 23, 2024, at 9:51:39
In reply to check in, posted by gman22 on November 19, 2024, at 10:11:25
Heather Ashton writes that 50% of long-term benzo users are able to discontinue their drugs without any problems. But she advises against anyone quitting benzos cold turkey. I quit lorazepam cold turkey and 48 hours later I was climbing the walls. So I went back on lorazepam and did a four-month taper, crossing over to diazepam. But I used benzos daily for a lot longer than you have, so you can probably do a faster taper. Maybe you should aim for a one-month or a two-month taper. If you encounter any problems during your taper, just slow down.
This is the end of the thread.
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