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Originally Posted by Adamo
I am no longer on gaba.
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Well, this is progress! The big nasy beastie is out of the picture!
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I was instructed to take 1.5 klon at night and .5 in the am. When I said "they" I referred to a psyche who conferred with a hospital doctor at the time recommending ECT. Their last claim is that once the elavil starts working on the depression they intend then to take me off the klon: .5 mg a time every 5 days. Isn't that too fast? I have a sneaking suspicion that klon withdrawal will guarantee that I will not sleep — but that would be withdrawal sxs. Is five to seven weeks at 2mg klon/day something difficult to withdraw from?
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To summarize, it does seem fast to me, but you haven't taken Klonopin very long so it might be just fine.
Tidbits from my personal experience and some general information:
When I taper, I roughly observe Ashton's protocol, but then this is designed for those who've been in long-term treatment which is my case (6 years of use the first time, 2 years the second time and I'm still working on that taper
).
For your reference, Ashton's guidelines are described here:
The Ashton Manual
Bear in mind that, except for the Valium & Librium ones, all the different schedules are for
substitution with Valium. I use the Valium schedule as a basis for my own tapers. It calls for a
5-10% reduction every 1-2 weeks.
0.5mg is 25% of your starting dose (2 mg) every 5 days. That may be ok given you've only taken Klonopin for 7 weeks so far. You could simply try it and see what happens after one reduction. If there is discomfort, you should report it and ask to taper more slowly (you could suggest 10 days between decrements). The point of a rapid reduction might be to keep the total treatment time down, to reduce the chance of stronger dependence. These are all things to discuss with a doctor.
Do you have a psychiatrist you can see, without going to the ER?
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I have heard that withdrawal from Klonopin is far more difficult than gaba. Is this true?
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I don't think a comparison is useful. Your experience with the gabapentin does not predict how you will react to removing the Klonopin because they act on the brain via different mechanisms.
Also you were on a very high dose of gabapentin, but 2 mg of Klonopin is still moderate.
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At least I could exercise vigorously while on gaba. I wonder if it dangerous to exercise that way on klonopin or elavil because I am otherwise healthy.
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There isn't any contraindication to exercise per se. If you use machinery or weights that could pose a danger to you, then you'd have to evaluate how the meds affect you and whether you are "safe" using the equiment.
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This may all sound preposterous but I still foolishly aspire to get myself together if at all possible by December.I mean my wish is to be merely on elavil if possible.
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It is good to keep thinking positively. Whatever happens though, try not to get down on yourself, ok? This wasn't your fault. Just do the best you can. It will work out.
waves