Hi, I'm Mike

Hi Mike! Welcome.... We all want to be off these drugs, but unfortunately the drug itself dictates how fast we can do that. It's good you've realized you need to slow things down and allow your brain to adjust. Are you going to try doing smaller cuts and waiting longer between cuts? Those things will definitely help. How are you doing at the moment? Have you recovered from the akathisia and other symptoms? We're glad you're here and are happy to support you through the rest of your taper. Catina 💜

Hey mike! A classic story unfortunately. Often even doctors will tell me 5% is too little and to start with 25-50%. Take your time :) Well be here to support you

"Often even doctors will tell me 5% is too little and to start with 25-50%." — @Based Psychiatrist

And that, my friends, is why there is a worldwide epidemic of people suffering from antidepressant withdrawal.

Hi thank you all very much for your comments. I am also sadly dealing with severe ME/CFS involving significant mitochondria dysfunction and Gastroperesis. I ended up getting into this mess bc of a severe Gastroperesis episode actually which then seemed to trigger a vagal hypersensitivity reaction that seemed to involved the ANS and stomach motility forming some kind of loop so in order to try and break that Benzo along with motility drug was used which got my stomach going a bit better and the stomach/vagal stuff seemed to calm. So yeah sadly I’m coming from a very sick place already. Interestingly benzos help w my energy, especially in the brain by a decent amount which is another reason why I didn’t rush to get off. At the time I didn’t know about withdrawal symptoms even at same dose that could come over time, paradoxical reactions etc. I learned all this extra information about 6 weeks too late so now I’ve got this to deal w on top of my already hellish symptoms…anyways not to be too doom and gloom or negative here but I’m in a real messy situation to say the least… So after I tapered down from .5mg to .366 for a day and before that I was not accurately measuring so it was like 3 days at between .3 and .4 I’d say. So it’s quite messy but after severe reactions I went up to .45mg and I’ve been there now for 8 days. Most symptoms have leveled out except for my manual and shallow breathing and air hunger which gets worse and better. I’m hoping it settles down in next week so I can taper again. I’ll be looking to taper only 5% I think next cut to see how it goes bc I don’t want to do too much then need to go up again, I know this is generally not a good thing… of course at the same time I’m trying to balance getting off asap esp since not on too long so far with not causing me such severe horrific symptoms and making my other disease worse…it’s tricky if anyone has any thoughts would love to hear them! If I knew this would continue to help w my brain energy I’d stay on long term, as I am mostly house and bedbound w my other disease and this gives me the ability to do a decent amount more w brain. However it seems I would be one of those people to keep needing more and more as I noticed what appears to be my body quickly adapting and needing more just 8 weeks in (shakiness developed)

Oh I wanted to see what people thought about this. The psychiatrist I started seeing to manage the taper put me on a Schedule of reducing Diazepam 1mg per month linearly. Unfortunately w my already severe reaction cutting 20% or something at the beginning this seems like it will be impossible and I should do hyperbolic? I know Ashton didn’t do Hyperbolic so I wonder what you all think? The psychiatrist did seem open to me going at my own pace as well and I expressed desire to just stick w Klonopin and take twice a day. I plan to get liquid Klon then for this

"Most symptoms have leveled out" — @Mike

That's great to hear Mike, although I'm sorry to hear about your struggles with ME/CFS. That must be hard to deal with. I know it's an often misunderstood illness.

"I’ll be looking to taper only 5% I think next cut to see how it goes bc I don’t want to do too much then need to go up again" — @Mike

That sounds reasonable. Better to go slow than go too fast and then start jumping up and down in doses. Slow and steady wins the race!

"should do hyperbolic?" — @Mike

A hyperbolic taper is always going to be more forgiving on the CNS. Please keep us updated on how things progress for you...thanks Mike! 🙂

"Hi I’m Mike and have just begun a taper off Klon after being on for less than 3 mo at small dose .5mg but my first cut was 20-25% which was horrific and gave akistisia episode & more now I try slower" — @Mike

Hello @Mike e, I'm sorry about what you're going through. Trying to reduce Clonazepam while having ME/CFS is a lot to endure. And then on top of that your gastroparesis. I, like the others, also think the reduction was large, and your instinct to resume at some time with a 5% reduction makes a lot of sense. Not to say that linear reductions should never be done, but, in your case, I don't think your doc's suggestion of a 1 mg reduction in Valium would be wise. Beyond the linear part of that, going from one benzo to another one has its risks as well. While I think the reduction explains how you are feeling now, I wanted to ask you about the motility drug you mentioned. Typically, a med like metoclopramide (Reglan) is first-line treatment for that. That can help, but it can also come with side effects. Restlessness is a fairly common one, but Akathisia (like what you described) is another possible one and it's not rare with this med. In fact, the estimated occurence is around 15%. I took this med year ago and can remember being quite restless on it. I'm not saying for sure it's impacting you this way, but it's worth keeping it in mind as you sort through your symptoms. Hoping you can find relief soon.

Thank you for your message Gaucho. I’m not on Reglan bc funny enough I was too scared of that med to try it so I tried Motegrity instead and a peptide similar to Ipamorelin. That got things going along the benzo but I was not aware tolerance w benzo can develop so quickly and I didn’t know that withdrawal symptoms could come at same dose and paradoxical reactions etc. When my Gastroperesis and visceral hypersensitivity loop was so bad I thought well F it I’ll just stay on Klon “forever” if I have to bc I’m sick w severe ME anyways and I do know many w this who take and seem to be ok for many years…but I realized I was not likely to be one of those and when I became more educated realized I needed to taper off…had I been equipped w all this info just a month or so earlier I coulda saved myself so much more pain…Domperidone would have been a better and likely safer option for my GP but can’t get it in USA…they think Reglan is safer than Dom which is ridiculous imo