When Is The Right Time To Ease Off The Meds?

[PNW_Trees]

I am not sure if I will need the meds for an extended period of time, but I would prefer to keep it to a minimum. I am on Klonopin 1mg at night and have been for about 6 months. My doctor has given me the green light to try a half-dose, and advises me not to stop cold turkey which sounds reasonable.

My PTSD was diagnosed within the past year and things are better after working hard in therapy, but I am not where I would like to be yet. I am making lifestyle changes (including trying to find a less stressful job and getting out of debt), but it will be at least a couple of years until my life gets to the level of simplicity that I feel I need.

I am feeling a small level of dependance on the Klonopin. This week I have reduced my dosage and the anxiety is up some and my sleep is poor. On the medication I feel pretty good - no side effects to speak of and my brain is sharp except first thing in the morning. I have no history of addictive behaviors and try to take decent care of my health.

I could use some wisdom from the group. When the best time to ease off the medication? Is the better to wait until I am further along on my healing and life simplification plan, or is it better to ease off now when these things are a work in progress so I don't get a stronger depenancy that will cause more problems down the road? What are signs to watch for to tell me I am on the wrong path?

I am asking this question because I had high anxiety at work this week and it did cause a problem with a co-worker today. I was able to resolve the issue, but I am concerned. I do have an escape hatch of a family cabin in the woods which I plan on using this weekend to decompress. I really do not want to screw this up because my job performance has suffered in the recent past and I have a teenage son who needs a stable parent.

 

[James B.]

Hello PNW_Trees,

Medications are a really personalized topic, and there's probably folks here who can give you more relevant and specific information than I. I am off my medications now, going on two weeks. I started by taking myself off Seroquel, now the Gabapentin. I waited until my anxiety was down, then decided I was feeling strong enough.

There were times in the past I took myself off medication because of really bad side effects, too. This time improvements in anxiety, diet, and having fledgling skills in EFT has given me the confidence. As I reduced my carbohydrate consumption, anxiety and unwanted negative thinking dropped off a lot. This came on the heals of having done some fairly in-depth exposure therapy here (diary, etc), and using certain supplements (fish oil) for months.

Have found the following supplements useful: Niacin 100mg 2xday; powerful, sedative, normalizing. 5-HTP 100mg 1xday; powerful, mood elevating, clarity. GABA 750mg 2x/day; take it with my fish oil. Valerian 470mg x1/day; in the PM, nice and relaxing. I also cut stress with Emergen-C, one or two packs/day; powerful, energize and calm.

Good luck with everything.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Based on what my pdoc has told me about weaning off of benzos, you are coming off them too fast. That is probably why you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms. These drugs need to be tapered off very gradually, over a period of months or longer.

 

[Iam]

I believe SOL is right. I weaned off my celexa over a period of months and still suffered extreme anxiety. Some of that was because of the work I was doing in therapy and other stressors, but I can't help thinking that going off my meds contributed as anxiety is one of the withdrawal symptoms. Maybe cutting by a quarter does at each level would be easier for you. Like James said it is very personal..everybody's body and circumstances are different. Seems like if it is affecting you at work it might be wise to wean off a lot slower?

 

[kers]

There is no harm in calling the doctor and asking if you can go down by a quarter instead of half. Going off any meds can be intense, benzos especially so. That you managed the feelings well means that the other ways of coping you have learned do work, but you are right to worry that it not get out of hand.

 

[This Ends Now]

I am trying to ease off colonzepam as well. I have been on 3 to 4 mg for about a year and 2 or 3 mg for several years before that.

I decided to try reducing the total number of synthetic chemicals I am putting into my body because my symptoms have improved some and I do not want to buy even one more blasted pill than I absolutely need.

I asked my P-doc to reduce my RX from 120 pills of 1 mg taken one to two at a time up to three times daily (4mg daily) down to 1 to 2 pills of 0.5 mg up to 3 times daily (3 mg daily). At first he suggested breaking the 1mg pills in half since that would probably be easier on my wallet and I do not have insurance. The thing is that I had already been doing that and realizing that I could get by on 3mg but it was getting annoying/embarrassing to take out a bottle, split a pill in half and put the other half back... especially if I was in public. As a result I noticed several occasions where I had taken a full milligram when I only really needed a half milligram because its just easier to take one full pill in a discreet way. Another thing I noticed was that the act of splitting a pill in half made me more aware of the fact that I was taking less. By lowering the strength of each pill to only a half milligram I could still get the convenience and the psychosomatic effect of taking one full dose (or two full doses when necessary) while still reducing the amount of colonzepam I was actually taking.

This is my first month of being officially on the lower strength and I have to say it is going well so far. A small portion of my anxiety has returned as expected but nothing that I would put in the category of "drug withdraw". I am still tinkering with the natural methods of reducing anxiety and they have been fairly effective. Melatonin, Valerian root, kava kava, and GABA are all useful for this. Focused breathing exercises, yoga, and meditation are good things to get in the habit of doing anyway and I have gotten a lot of benefit from those practices as well.

I know that reducing my caffeine intake would help A LOT but that is a bit harder for me. A blend of 50% regular and 50% decaf can help me get the perk I am looking for without bouncing off the walls. My husband also has some problems with coffee since he is on Luvox and the two interact rather badly. One thing I have been successful with is making the first pot with some % of caffeine and making the second and third pots with decaff and just not mentioning it (I learned this trick when I was waiting tables).

Best Wishes!

 

[PNW_Trees]

My trial of a longer dosage was short lived. I went about 4 days then went back to my full dose. I just felt bad and I can't cope with that right now. I am hanging onto my job by a thread and working hard in therapy. It was a bad idea, at least for now. I came to the conclusion that if the meds help then so be it.

Hopefully sometime in the not too distant future I can ease off the Klonopin. Next time I will take it slower and when my life is in a more stable place. I think I need to get a lower stres job first and more work with my T.