Hi, I'm CY

October 6, 2026··

Hi, I'm on mixed gabapentoids, clonazepam, dihydrocodeine for pain and insomnia - actively tapering. Been on pregab and benzo for 1 year + and mirogabalin/DHC 7 months (started tapering 1 month after taking). Hoping to get some ideas on how to taper polydrugs. Most folks suggest one at a time, but i haven't been on those drugs for that long and don't wanna stay on them for years and years while waiting to taper one at a time slowly.

Lyrica — 4.6mg — 1 year 3 months — actively tapering | Klonopin — 0.26mg — 1 years 3 months — reinstated | other | other | without clinician

1 Reply

Mcat1h ago

Mirtazapine · holding

Hi @CY welcome. The general advice in these support communities is not to try to taper off more than one drug at a time because it's a big strain on the nervous system to taper one drug, and doing multiple at once makes that strain much worse; plus, it's then impossible to track how you're going in your taper because you can't know what symptoms are happening in relation to which drug. Some people start with the easiest to get off; others with the one that's causing the most problems, e.g., side effects. I totally understand your logic that you haven't been on them very long, but depending on the drug, that doesn't always make much difference. I'm not personally very familiar with the drugs you're tapering, so I'll let others who might be provide more support, but I will just say that none of us wants to be tapering for years, but many of us realised once we got educated and learnt more - or learned some tough lessons trying to come off too fast - that there's no other option if you want to be safe and have any quality of life. But like I say, I'm not familiar with your drugs, so I can't comment on the risk level. What I will say, as someone tapering off an AD that helps with insomnia (which was the reason I went on it): I don't know of a drug that helps with insomnia that doesn't also have a high risk of rebound insomnia as a withdrawal symptom, so if I were in your shoes, I'd be prepared to do a slower, safer taper on those drugs.

Mirtazapine — 0.12mg — 3 years, 7 months

Join the conversation

Need a clinician who understands tapering?

Browse our map of deprescribing-informed providers worldwide.

Find a Deprescriber