Social Anxiety Support

KindredSpirit · 11-15-2009, 02:27 PM

Hello everyone,

I wasn't sure which forum to write this in but I really need some help getting off of this horrible drug called Klonopin and anyone that is an ex-klonopin user I would really appreciate your advice. I've been taking K since June of 2005. I went up to 1 mg 3 X a day back in Febuary of 2007 (Big mistake)
I started a tapering down on Friday November 6th of this year. I'm reducing at a rate of .25 mg a week and now I'm down to 2.5 mg.
I have some questions for the people that have gone down this road before. I would just like to know if I should be cutting back .125 mg a week instead of .25 mg a week.
I was actually seeing an addictionologist to help me out with this back in October and she turned out to be a real drug pusher. She told me that I had Bi-Polar 2 or Type II Bipolar Disorder which I don't have and she wanted to put me on Depakote.(She actually wanted to put me on Seroquel first) When I refused to take the Depakote she pretty much kicked me out of her office. (If you want more details on that fiasco just PM me)
I just recently met this guy on Y.T. that's coming off of Klonopin too and he's been on it for like 18 years, so he's really goin through he** right now.
He's come up with a special tonic that consist of 4 oz of warm water,
1 -1000 mg capsule of Calcium and Magnesium, 3 - 100 mg capsules of
L-Theanine, 100 mgs of 5-HTP and a few drops of Organic Vanilla extract.
Does anyone think this is unsafe or is it harmless?
I would greatly appreciate anyone's input because I have a long road ahead of me.

n1kkuh · 11-15-2009, 03:43 PM

I know that all those supplements you posted have been used and seem to be relatively safe, but unfortunately, I haven't found any of them to give me any powerful effects, although I've never taken them all together. I heard pregabalin and gabapentin can be used for withdrawal, maybe you can ask your doc about that, although those have dependency issues as well, just not nearly as bad as benzos I've heard. I say if you wanna go the "natural" way then this is certainly worth a shot.

Vini Vidi Vici · 11-15-2009, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KindredSpirit

Hello everyone,

I wasn't sure which forum to write this in but I really need some help getting off of this horrible drug called Klonopin and anyone that is an ex-klonopin user I would really appreciate your advice. I've been taking K since June of 2005. I went up to 1 mg 3 X a day back in Febuary of 2007 (Big mistake)
I started a tapering down on Friday November 6th of this year. I'm reducing at a rate of .25 mg a week and now I'm down to 2.5 mg.
I have some questions for the people that have gone down this road before. I would just like to know if I should be cutting back .125 mg a week instead of .25 mg a week.
I was actually seeing an addictionologist to help me out with this back in October and she turned out to be a real drug pusher. She told me that I had Bi-Polar 2 or Type II Bipolar Disorder which I don't have and she wanted to put me on Depakote.(She actually wanted to put me on Seroquel first) When I refused to take the Depakote she pretty much kicked me out of her office. (If you want more details on that fiasco just PM me)
I just recently met this guy on Y.T. that's coming off of Klonopin too and he's been on it for like 18 years, so he's really goin through he** right now.
He's come up with a special tonic that consist of 4 oz of warm water,
1 -1000 mg capsule of Calcium and Magnesium, 3 - 100 mg capsules of
L-Theanine, 100 mgs of 5-HTP and a few drops of Organic Vanilla extract.
Does anyone think this is unsafe or is it harmless?
I would greatly appreciate anyone's input because I have a long road ahead of me.

i took Klonopin for 4 months, and Xanax for 3 months. the best thing to do is too taper down as slow as possible.....supplements that helped me were Valerian, Chamomile Tea, Sleepytime extra tea....Kava kava could also be used too. kava was very effective for me but i never used it do get off Klonopin. its effects are very similiar to klonopin....you could try taking more L-theanine.... Also Lyrica and Gabapentin can be very helful in withdrawling from Benzodiazepines. Also, Carbamazepine is used frequently and can be really helpful. (Its an anticonvulsant like K-pin, but has much less addictive potential). the Depakote would probably have helped a little bit, not a whole lot, but a little. but unfortuantely it can cause some weird brain ammonia imbalances in some people. K pin works by raising/strengthening the effect of GABA on GABA-A neurons. Anything that strengthens/raises GABA should help with the withdrawal

Redefine · 11-17-2009, 08:19 PM

When I withdrew from klonopin I went too fast. I went down .125 mg every 3 days. I was taking 2mg a day at one point so it took me the entire summer to come off. The worst parts were the last few weeks of tapering and the first few weeks off. I never took any natural supplements besides magnesium. I really don't know if it helped at all. The worst part of the withdrawal was the insomnia. I still have an extremely hard time sleeping without sleep aides. I also had a lot of nausea during my withdrawal. The only med that helped with both of these was remeron. It put me right to sleep and gave me my appetite back. I would definitely recommend remeron for benzo withdrawal.

Other than that, nothing else is going to make you better besides time. It's going to take some time for your brain to return back to normal and repair your receptors. It's really the only way you're going to get better. I still have a hard time sleeping after three months of my last klonopin.

99x · 11-18-2009, 02:49 PM

I don't know about the supplements. I've never tried those. The best advice is to taper slowly. I'm at .5 mg klonopin a day. Last week I got impatient and stopped taking it for 3 days. That was a big mistake and I still haven't stabilized.

Freesix88 · 11-21-2009, 05:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubyruby

10% every 7 to 10 days. Go to the Ashton Manual in the UK for more info.

This sounds like a good plan.

shy797 · 11-22-2009, 03:06 PM

I am trying to do the same thing. I took Klonapin 0.5mg for about a year in 05' and just stopped one day with NO problems. Then I would only take it as needed if I had a speech or interview with a beta blocker. Recently with the stresses of school, work, and being in a bad relationship I have been getting panic attacks several times per day so I would take 1mg here and there for speeches. Now I can barely make eye contact with someone unless I have the Klonapin otherwise I'll start getting a panic attack. I've also started blushing way easier than before...I've tried 5htp which works great for the depression but still doesn't help much for the panic attacks. Also taking gaba and magnesium. Niacinamide in high doses is supposed to work really well, I have taken it in small doses before and was going to try getting of the Klonapin by using that, look it up and let me know what you think. They all help a little bit, but I still get panic attacks unless I take the .5 of Klonapin. If you figure anything out let me know...Starting to think maybe my SA is just getting worse and maybe its not even the Klonapin, either way Klonapin is a really bad drug and I want to get off of it too!

Vini Vidi Vici · 11-22-2009, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shy797

I am trying to do the same thing. I took Klonapin 0.5mg for about a year in 05' and just stopped one day with NO problems. Then I would only take it as needed if I had a speech or interview with a beta blocker. Recently with the stresses of school, work, and being in a bad relationship I have been getting panic attacks several times per day so I would take 1mg here and there for speeches. Now I can barely make eye contact with someone unless I have the Klonapin otherwise I'll start getting a panic attack. I've also started blushing way easier than before...I've tried 5htp which works great for the depression but still doesn't help much for the panic attacks. Also taking gaba and magnesium. Niacinamide in high doses is supposed to work really well, I have taken it in small doses before and was going to try getting of the Klonapin by using that, look it up and let me know what you think. They all help a little bit, but I still get panic attacks unless I take the .5 of Klonapin. If you figure anything out let me know...Starting to think maybe my SA is just getting worse and maybe its not even the Klonapin, either way Klonapin is a really bad drug and I want to get off of it too!

dude u should try Kava Kava....apart from the possible liver damage and skin deteriorating (both of which only occur with long term use) it helped me quite alot, especially with panic attacks, social anxiety and all that stuff. it was really strong for me.

shy797 · 11-23-2009, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vini Vidi Vici

dude u should try Kava Kava....apart from the possible liver damage and skin deteriorating (both of which only occur with long term use) it helped me quite alot, especially with panic attacks, social anxiety and all that stuff. it was really strong for me.

Thanks, think that's the only one I haven't tried...I'll pick some up this week!

euphoria · 11-26-2009, 04:27 PM

Some that should help:

Magnesium (one of the types that work)
L-theanine
Taurine
L-tryptophan

Maybe consider these:

St. John's Wort (I don't recommend mixing with other serotonergics)
Kava (I don't recommend non-root preparations)
5-HTP

Also I would recommend avoiding calcium in general. Definitely don't supplement it.

sweetcakes · 11-26-2009, 06:55 PM

mm, complicated... i took clonazepam but in my country the name for it is "ravotril", 2grams, the strongest there is of it. once i took a whole box, used to overtake it and lie to psychiatrists just to get big dosages, but one day i just decided to stop because my life was pretty much sleeping and laughing for no reason and being a zombie, and that was it. i simply stopped going to the doctors, they said i'd die without the pills, i didnt die... i even stopped cutting and all the stupid things i used to do, i grew up, and never looked back, all this supplement things sound so new to me. Sure i have trouble sleeping at my time, but i practice self control and that's it...

good luck with all of it =)

complex · 12-05-2009, 01:26 AM

Right now I am taking 2mg a day I want to stop taking it I have been on it for almost 3 years but have just been through a bad break up, school, work its all really hard right now so might not be the right time but i want to find something natural to help me when i do decide to stop taking it. My doctor wants me to find the right time so I guess asap trying to cut back would be a great idea... anyone with suggestions please let me know thanks.

11-15-2009, 02:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
KindredSpirit Status: SAS Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Phoenix, AZ Gender: Male Posts: 66	Getting off of Klonopin (Clonazepam) Hello everyone, I wasn't sure which forum to write this in but I really need some help getting off of this horrible drug called Klonopin and anyone that is an ex-klonopin user I would really appreciate your advice. I've been taking K since June of 2005. I went up to 1 mg 3 X a day back in Febuary of 2007 (Big mistake) I started a tapering down on Friday November 6th of this year. I'm reducing at a rate of .25 mg a week and now I'm down to 2.5 mg. I have some questions for the people that have gone down this road before. I would just like to know if I should be cutting back .125 mg a week instead of .25 mg a week. I was actually seeing an addictionologist to help me out with this back in October and she turned out to be a real drug pusher. She told me that I had Bi-Polar 2 or Type II Bipolar Disorder which I don't have and she wanted to put me on Depakote.(She actually wanted to put me on Seroquel first) When I refused to take the Depakote she pretty much kicked me out of her office. (If you want more details on that fiasco just PM me) I just recently met this guy on Y.T. that's coming off of Klonopin too and he's been on it for like 18 years, so he's really goin through he** right now. He's come up with a special tonic that consist of 4 oz of warm water, 1 -1000 mg capsule of Calcium and Magnesium, 3 - 100 mg capsules of L-Theanine, 100 mgs of 5-HTP and a few drops of Organic Vanilla extract. Does anyone think this is unsafe or is it harmless? I would greatly appreciate anyone's input because I have a long road ahead of me.

11-17-2009, 08:19 PM	#4 (permalink)
Redefine Status: Staying positive Join Date: Jan 2005 Gender: Male Age: 20 Posts: 782	When I withdrew from klonopin I went too fast. I went down .125 mg every 3 days. I was taking 2mg a day at one point so it took me the entire summer to come off. The worst parts were the last few weeks of tapering and the first few weeks off. I never took any natural supplements besides magnesium. I really don't know if it helped at all. The worst part of the withdrawal was the insomnia. I still have an extremely hard time sleeping without sleep aides. I also had a lot of nausea during my withdrawal. The only med that helped with both of these was remeron. It put me right to sleep and gave me my appetite back. I would definitely recommend remeron for benzo withdrawal. Other than that, nothing else is going to make you better besides time. It's going to take some time for your brain to return back to normal and repair your receptors. It's really the only way you're going to get better. I still have a hard time sleeping after three months of my last klonopin. __________________ "The world's a roller coaster And I am not strapped in Maybe I should hold with care But my hands are busy in the air" ~ Incubus

11-26-2009, 04:27 PM	#10 (permalink)
euphoria Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 1,790	Some that should help: Magnesium (one of the types that work) L-theanine Taurine L-tryptophan Maybe consider these: St. John's Wort (I don't recommend mixing with other serotonergics) Kava (I don't recommend non-root preparations) 5-HTP Also I would recommend avoiding calcium in general. Definitely don't supplement it. __________________ Disclaimer: get your medical advice from professionals, not some dude on an internet forum.

11-26-2009, 06:55 PM	#11 (permalink)
sweetcakes Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 20	mm, complicated... i took clonazepam but in my country the name for it is "ravotril", 2grams, the strongest there is of it. once i took a whole box, used to overtake it and lie to psychiatrists just to get big dosages, but one day i just decided to stop because my life was pretty much sleeping and laughing for no reason and being a zombie, and that was it. i simply stopped going to the doctors, they said i'd die without the pills, i didnt die... i even stopped cutting and all the stupid things i used to do, i grew up, and never looked back, all this supplement things sound so new to me. Sure i have trouble sleeping at my time, but i practice self control and that's it... good luck with all of it =) __________________ "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you... "

11-15-2009, 03:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
n1kkuh Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: LA county Gender: Male Posts: 472	I know that all those supplements you posted have been used and seem to be relatively safe, but unfortunately, I haven't found any of them to give me any powerful effects, although I've never taken them all together. I heard pregabalin and gabapentin can be used for withdrawal, maybe you can ask your doc about that, although those have dependency issues as well, just not nearly as bad as benzos I've heard. I say if you wanna go the "natural" way then this is certainly worth a shot.

11-18-2009, 02:49 PM	#5 (permalink)
99x Status: SAS Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Age: 24 Posts: 251	I don't know about the supplements. I've never tried those. The best advice is to taper slowly. I'm at .5 mg klonopin a day. Last week I got impatient and stopped taking it for 3 days. That was a big mistake and I still haven't stabilized.

11-22-2009, 03:06 PM	#7 (permalink)
shy797 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Florida Gender: Female Posts: 16	I am trying to do the same thing. I took Klonapin 0.5mg for about a year in 05' and just stopped one day with NO problems. Then I would only take it as needed if I had a speech or interview with a beta blocker. Recently with the stresses of school, work, and being in a bad relationship I have been getting panic attacks several times per day so I would take 1mg here and there for speeches. Now I can barely make eye contact with someone unless I have the Klonapin otherwise I'll start getting a panic attack. I've also started blushing way easier than before...I've tried 5htp which works great for the depression but still doesn't help much for the panic attacks. Also taking gaba and magnesium. Niacinamide in high doses is supposed to work really well, I have taken it in small doses before and was going to try getting of the Klonapin by using that, look it up and let me know what you think. They all help a little bit, but I still get panic attacks unless I take the .5 of Klonapin. If you figure anything out let me know...Starting to think maybe my SA is just getting worse and maybe its not even the Klonapin, either way Klonapin is a really bad drug and I want to get off of it too!

12-05-2009, 01:26 AM	#12 (permalink)
complex Status: Live.Laugh.Love. Join Date: Apr 2009 Gender: Female Age: 20 Posts: 408	Right now I am taking 2mg a day I want to stop taking it I have been on it for almost 3 years but have just been through a bad break up, school, work its all really hard right now so might not be the right time but i want to find something natural to help me when i do decide to stop taking it. My doctor wants me to find the right time so I guess asap trying to cut back would be a great idea... anyone with suggestions please let me know thanks.