Benzo taper

[lynn57]

I have been tapering off klonopin for a couple weeks.  First my doctor put me on Celexa and Buspar.  I also take 600 mgs neurontin at bedtime.  I was on 1 1/2 mg klonopin.  1/2mg in the am and 1mg at night.  I am now down to .375 in the am and .875 at night.  I have been doing pretty good and am waiting a week to ten days for each taper of .125.  Has anyone here tapered off Klonopin and does my strategy sound reasonable?  Also I am a little nervous that once I lose that steady state preventing the panic attacks, I will have nothing to help an attack but the ER. Hopefully they won't return but I wish my doc had a plan in case they do. It was his idea to switch to all the other meds and eliminate the benzo.

[lynn57]

I'm kinda scared to ask the Dr. about the short acting benzos because he is so against Klonopin.  Since his first concern was long term use it shouldn't be a problem. A prescription for ten or so wouldn't seem unreasonable.  Your right about just having them in case the need arises.  It actually prevents anxiety just knowing this.  My old Dr. always made sure I had a few ativan just in case.  I never had to use one. But every day I went to work knowing they were in my car if I felt a panic attack coming on.  Thanks for tellling me the taper was reasonable.  My doc has given me no input except that he will not continue to prescribe the klonopin long term. Thanks again for you input.

[barfer]

I just lost the post I wanted to send to you so here I go again....I took the liberty of looking at your profile before answering your post.  It is beyond me why a doctor would take someone off of the meds that have been working well for them for 5 years.  Just because one doctor retires doesn't mean that the patient he treated should now follow a new programme of medication.  You know the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"  I'm going to take a guess that the new doctor is young and just barely out of med school.  
This is a scenario  that a lot of us on this forum are worried will happen to us when our doctors retire.

Having said all that, if you follow the weaning process that he set out for you, you should be OK.  As far as your concern about panic attacks, if these new meds don't help that then your doctor may prescribe a short acting benzo that you can use on an as needed basis.  I'm sure his plan is that you won't need them if you are on the new meds.  Time will tell.

I wish you luck and please, keep me posted on your progress.  This is a subject that really interests me.

[nursegirl6572]

The taper schedule itself sounds pretty reasonable...did your doc recommend it?  It sounds nice and gradual.  If you start having problems, I would express your concerns to the doc.

Also, I totally agree with you, personally about having SOMETHING just in CASE you need it.  If you are prescribed a short-acting benzo like Ativan, or Xanax to take ONLY as needed (in the event of a panic attack, which they are very useful for)...I think that is NOT an unreasonable request.

Sometimes even just KNOWING they are in your purse or pocket is all it takes to make you feel "safer".  Your concerns are totally valid...especially with you coming off the Klonopin.  You may not have ONE single problem...but you being prescribed a handful of "just in case" short-acting benzos seems like a good idea... to me, anyway.

I would honestly sit down and discuss it with your doc....how you feel and that you would feel a bit more at ease knowing you had something on hand in case of an issue.

Good luck....hope to hear how you're doing.