u/Hairy-Intention-7808

I don’t even know if i would say i tapered off this drug. I was prescribed 50mg for the last 6 months, and to put it plainly i got worse. Based on the stories I read here about the difficulty of tapering off this med i was apprehensive about it for awhile and put it off.

After an appointment with my psychiatrist she said I can stop cold turkey and be fine. I expressed concern regarding that, to which She said I can cut the pills in half and take that for a couple of days with days skipped until I’m done.

Now my experience: i cross tapered with 300mg Wellbutrin. I was on this med for years with lots of success but discontinued after i had plateaued (and thus began my pristiq journey). I took 25mg for two days and then stopped. I am a week in and feel fine. I had brain fog, some dizziness, and minor brain zaps.

I don’t write this to encourage others to do what i did but rather understand that all of our bodies are different and therefore respond differently to drugs. Don’t let the horror stories scare you out of making a choice that may be best for you.

For brief context I am a 29F with history of CPTSD, diagnosed with depression, anxiety, OCD, and bpd (😅)

I have dealt with debilitating anxiety and panic attacks since a was a child. I have felt prisoner to my own brain pretty much my entire life. I’ve gone through various addictions as a crutch but when I decided to let go of the big one, alcohol, I struggled very hard. About a year into sobriety my mom gave me a half a Klonopin when I came home crying, shaking, and hyperventilating. My mom had offered it in the past but I always said no due to my fear of addiction.

Well, fast forward another three years and here we are. I am totally dependent on Klonopin, and prescribed it by my psychiatrist.

My Klonopin dependency has been a bit of a roller coaster. I’ve had months where I took 2-3mg a day, and now I’m taking 1mg maybe 3-4 times a week. I really try to be mindful of when I seek medication and have a rule of trying to tough out the anxiety for at least 2 hours before giving in.

This drug, while horribly addictive and harmful, has been the only thing to give me relief from the intense emotional pain I feel. I can’t imagine letting it go and I wonder if there is a way to continue having Klonopin as an emergency medication while not becoming so physically dependent that withdrawals require medical intervention.

My question is: has anyone managed to reduce their Klonopin use to a manageable and healthy rate that doesn’t make your body dependent on the drug daily? Or are my only options addiction or quitting?