Posted by 2sense on November 7, 2002, at 8:59:18
In reply to Re: CLONAZEPAM for One Year and How to Withdraw, posted by Alan on November 7, 2002, at 7:53:43
Your doctor sounds like mine -- I started at 0.5 mg for sleep, then after 4-5 mos. to 1.0 and finally after a year or so they upped it to 2.0 and after about 3 months there was a big turnover at the pdoc's office and I had other health problems and the doc upped it to 4 mg. I took that from late 11/02 until I wanted off, ran out and the doc -- I stopped 03/19 -- script ran out no refills couldn't get doctor ... family had flu -- didn't sleep well next 10 days .. increase in caffiene and then 2 entire days w/o sleep -- result --> grand mal seizure.
After many doctors ... neurologists, internists, pdocs,, etc. The upshot was it was a provoked seizure ... be careful -- I weaned off under a doctor's care 0.25 mg 7-10 days at a time ... I had no idea it was addictive and the abrupt w/d causing seizures is not readily stated many places (e.x., nurses pdr -- one would have to look under anti-convulsants/benzo's -- a bit of irony there) it wasn't even on the pharmacy's 'blurb' -- don't stop medication abruptly without notifying your doctor. After all was said and done ... it wrecked havoc in my life, my family ... be very * careful *. Also even at that slow withdrawl, at about the 1.5-1.0 mg. I had a full blown panic attack with crying jags which I had never experienced and it was isolated (thank God) and the new pdoc said it was a fairly classic w/d symptoms. I believe I read you were on 1 mg. -- might not seem like a lot, but the threshold for seizures is lowered with alcohol, caffiene, lack of sleep, etc. My best ... if you want off you can do it ... keep posting.
poster:2sense
thread:126645
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021101/msgs/126801.html