5 ms·

Just so you know, because it sound like nobody told you... you really need to taper those drugs or the chance of seizure goes way up. It's not like other addic

Just so you know, because it sound like nobody told you... you really need to taper those drugs or the chance of seizure goes way up. It's not like other addictions, you can't just cold turkey benzos or alcohol if you've been using them daily for a long time. It can literally kill you, and you won't see it coming. There's various schedules on how to do it, here's a good starting point: https://www.aafp.org/afp/2017/1101/p606.html https://www.aafp.org/afp/2017/1101/p606.html My personal rule is to never be taking benzos for more than 3 days in a row, to avoid being in a dangerous withdrawal situation.

GlenTheMachine 8y ago
Indeed, nobody told me. I experienced the immediate effects of withdrawal when my stomach started tensing up for no good reason, and I started sweating. That was enough to convince me to stop with the cold withdrawal and start tapering. I did not know this could have been life threatening. That's... comforting...
- iooi 8y ago
  Be very careful tapering off benzos, the withdrawals are more dangerous than that of heroin [1]. You should definitely get your doctor involved in this process. You might also want to read through this [2]. 8 months might not be enough time to taper off depending on the time and dosage you've been on. [1] https://qz.com/677980/opioids-arent-the-most-dangerous-drug-to-go-through-withdrawal-from/ https://qz.com/677980/opioids-arent-the-most-dangerous-drug-... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_synd...
  - curious_fella_ 8y ago
    Heroin withdrawal, while extremely shitty, is generally not life-threatening.
  - GlenTheMachine 8y ago
    I've been on Klonopin for seven years. But I started out on the very lowest clinical dose, and for two months I tapered to 75% and for the last month I've been on 50%. In another month I hope to drop to 25%. So it will be at least six months, and as I said I started at a low dose. I feel great so far.
  - darpa_escapee 8y ago
    > You should definitely get your doctor involved in this process. Doctors are often ignorant of the need to taper benzos over a long-term period, and not rapidly. Some might see you coming to them with a problem quitting an often abused drug as a sign that you need to be taken off of it as soon as possible. Sometimes instantly. Of course you should always let your doctor know when you're taking less medication than you're prescribed. I suggest consulting with a specialist before trying to quit with a GP or your run-of-the-mill psychiatrist.
dekhn 8y ago
I had to explain tapering to my psychiatrist, who also was very skeptical of the "brain zaps" I reported feeling when I went off Paxil. I ended up moving my prescriptions to my GP and managing the tapers myself, because the doctors don't really know how to do it.
- DanBC 8y ago
  Brain zaps are unpleasant. They are nothing like the withdrawals from benzos, which can include seizures which can be life-threatening.
  - GlenTheMachine 8y ago
    Yeah, I had brain zaps when I tried to go off Remeron. One thing at a time...
  - meowface 8y ago
    You're absolutely right, but there's also a theory that SSRI withdrawal brain zaps may actually be brief, localized mini-seizures.
- rincebrain 8y ago
  I'm continually impressed with the lowering of the bar for such professions every time I encounter another basic thing that some doctors are completely unaware of, and I'm sorry to hear you had to deal with that. I've had a lot of complaints about various psychiatrists, but one constant even among the worst has been that they were always very, very cautious about the need to taper and the possible risks involved.
- fwip 8y ago
  It's shocking when psychiatrists don't know the side effects of the drugs they're prescribing. My partner started taking sertraline (Zoloft) for depression, and started grinding their teeth at night. Their dentist asked if they'd started taking any new medicine lately, and was like "oh yeah that'll do that." My partner's psychiatrist literally did not believe that the medication could cause this - despite it being right there on WebMD, not exactly secret knowledge. Currently looking for a new psychiatrist.

GlenTheMachine 8y ago

Indeed, nobody told me. I experienced the immediate effects of withdrawal when my stomach started tensing up for no good reason, and I started sweating. That was enough to convince me to stop with the cold withdrawal and start tapering. I did not know this could have been life threatening. That's... comforting...

iooi 8y ago
Be very careful tapering off benzos, the withdrawals are more dangerous than that of heroin [1]. You should definitely get your doctor involved in this process. You might also want to read through this [2]. 8 months might not be enough time to taper off depending on the time and dosage you've been on. [1] https://qz.com/677980/opioids-arent-the-most-dangerous-drug-to-go-through-withdrawal-from/ https://qz.com/677980/opioids-arent-the-most-dangerous-drug-... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_synd...
- curious_fella_ 8y ago
  Heroin withdrawal, while extremely shitty, is generally not life-threatening.
- GlenTheMachine 8y ago
  I've been on Klonopin for seven years. But I started out on the very lowest clinical dose, and for two months I tapered to 75% and for the last month I've been on 50%. In another month I hope to drop to 25%. So it will be at least six months, and as I said I started at a low dose. I feel great so far.
- darpa_escapee 8y ago
  > You should definitely get your doctor involved in this process. Doctors are often ignorant of the need to taper benzos over a long-term period, and not rapidly. Some might see you coming to them with a problem quitting an often abused drug as a sign that you need to be taken off of it as soon as possible. Sometimes instantly. Of course you should always let your doctor know when you're taking less medication than you're prescribed. I suggest consulting with a specialist before trying to quit with a GP or your run-of-the-mill psychiatrist.

dekhn 8y ago

I had to explain tapering to my psychiatrist, who also was very skeptical of the "brain zaps" I reported feeling when I went off Paxil. I ended up moving my prescriptions to my GP and managing the tapers myself, because the doctors don't really know how to do it.

DanBC 8y ago
Brain zaps are unpleasant. They are nothing like the withdrawals from benzos, which can include seizures which can be life-threatening.
- GlenTheMachine 8y ago
  Yeah, I had brain zaps when I tried to go off Remeron. One thing at a time...
- meowface 8y ago
  You're absolutely right, but there's also a theory that SSRI withdrawal brain zaps may actually be brief, localized mini-seizures.
rincebrain 8y ago
I'm continually impressed with the lowering of the bar for such professions every time I encounter another basic thing that some doctors are completely unaware of, and I'm sorry to hear you had to deal with that. I've had a lot of complaints about various psychiatrists, but one constant even among the worst has been that they were always very, very cautious about the need to taper and the possible risks involved.
fwip 8y ago
It's shocking when psychiatrists don't know the side effects of the drugs they're prescribing. My partner started taking sertraline (Zoloft) for depression, and started grinding their teeth at night. Their dentist asked if they'd started taking any new medicine lately, and was like "oh yeah that'll do that." My partner's psychiatrist literally did not believe that the medication could cause this - despite it being right there on WebMD, not exactly secret knowledge. Currently looking for a new psychiatrist.