Ashton Manual/health anxiety advice needed

[Ethansmom]

HI everyone!

My biggest fears are : panic attacks, heart palpitations, dying, and going crazy.

I’m in a mess right now with benzos and Effexor . I should never of started klonopin and am ashamed that I need 2 mg a day too function. It all started as a crutch to get through the initial heightened anxiety period while trying to try different antidepressants. It’s been almost two years of taking klonopin dairy. Yes, I am dependent on them and have made the decision to come off them. The problem is I’m still anxious and am anxious about coming off of them. I don’t want to feel horrific panic attacks. If I could avoid that I would be okay. So I see my psychiatrist today and will discuss a plan to get off of them. She thinks they may be making me worse and depressed. She did mention switching to Valium due to its longer half life and then lowering it every few weeks (Ashton manual type thing ). How do I take the plunge to do this without overthinking it and causing myself panic. What would you do?

[Cptdebbie]

Hi EthansMom, I just wanted to send hugs your way. I took Klonopin for over a decade. I was prescribed it for sleep issues. I was reassured again and again that it was not addictive. What a joke!! When I tried to wean myself off it I was hospitalized twice. I had the worst two months of my life trying to get through the withdrawal symptoms. Finally, my doc (new one since my old one was obviously incompetent) put me back on it. At some point in time I will try to wean myself off it again. This time, though, it will be over a year's time. I am going to cut my dose a teen-tiny bit each week.

After this experience I spent some time volunteering in an addiction recovery program. Amazingly, the addicts I worked with all knew how addictive Klonopin is. When I would tell my story they would shake their heads in disbelief. How could a doctor not know how addictive it is? Several told me that they were grateful their withdrawal from heroin, etc., was so much easier than Klonopin withdrawal was. :scared15:

Just be good to yourself while you're going through this. Take it slow!! Even the Ashton manual was too fast for me.

Will you let me know how you do? I'm going through a particularly rough time in my life right now but want to try to stop taking Klonopin again as soon as I can. I'd love to know what works for you.

[Ethansmom]

Hi CPTdebbie,
Well, thank you for responding and for your understanding. It's comforting to know I am now alone, and i'm sorry you are struggling. My doctor decided to keep me on Effexor and to raise the dosage a bit, since I am know dependent on klonopin and will have problems coming off of it. I am not stable at all, and this would just be one big mess. The klonopin doesn't help with anxiety as much as Xanax does, so for now I will swap over to Xanax to see if that helps settle the anxiety with the dosage increase. It's really a crapshoot with these drugs, and I too am angry that I was prescribed klonopin and was not guided in the right direction. I should have done more research and just said "no to all meds". I wouldn't be in this predicament if I had done that. At the time I was struggling (and still am) to find the right medication. IT's my fault too. Ugh. Hugs to you! Keep me posted on how you are doing!

[pulisa]

Xanax is addictive too. Does your doctor not realise this?

[Ethansmom]

She does. I need to stabilize on an SSRI first.

[pulisa]

But you have been put on so many meds and taken off them after a short while..Does she intend to keep you on a med for more than a short while with the "help" of Xanax?