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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Justitia on September 12, 1999, at 1:20:46
I have been on 1 mg of klonopin for 10 years. When I was put on it for a short term crisis of divorce, I was absolutely assured it was not addictive. Well it is, as we now all know. I have not needed it for at least 8 years. But every time I have tried withdrawals, the effects have been so bad, even with minute reductions that after a couple of weeks or less, I give up and go back. Now my insurance company has forced me to go on the generic clonazepam. (The difference in price is $160 over three months and climbing.) So I went on it and went through gradually increasing hell for two months. At first it was speedy, teeth clenching, to ultimately horrific nightmares someimes two or three a night, waking up in exhaustion, sometimes waking up because I was calling out in terror and fear in my sleep from a nightmare. But that has seemed to pass in the last week or so after about 6 weeks of this mess. I have been taking 1 mg of the clonozepam in the last 6 weeks. The passing of the really bad symptoms has given me hope I can get off this stuff altogether, if I can last long enough. I am 51 years old, very youthful, highly enrgetic, workout in gym regularly, still get proofed for age in bars occaissionally...smiles. I have read horror stories about going off. Seizures etc. Hearing problems, etc. My hearing has been bothering me, my ears ache and I don't hear as well. This has happened quite suddenly since the switch to clonazepam. I am more negative and more despairful than before, but I am also under more stress. Any advice on how to withdraw? or whether to. I have read earlier threads on Klonopin vs. Clonazepam. I know there is a difference and that Clonazepam is weaker. I am asuming that since I have survived this switch, but for ear problem and less cheerful outlook, I can get off entirely though gradually. Any help?
Posted by Laura on September 12, 1999, at 10:15:22
In reply to Klonopin withdrawal, posted by Justitia on September 12, 1999, at 1:20:46
>Your withdrawal symptoms sound so much like mine from Anafranil it is scary. The same nightmares, sweating, etc. One of the weirdest are the sounds that movement from looking up or down, or side to side causes. Just by looking in different directions, it sounds like someone is slamming a door in my head. Try to explain THAT to someone who has no idea!
Posted by Bob on September 12, 1999, at 17:10:06
In reply to Re: Klonopin withdrawal, posted by Laura on September 12, 1999, at 10:15:22
Wow ... I had no idea clonazepam (what I actually take) and klonopin were that different. So much about those "generics are just as good" claim.
All the talk on several threads about withdrawal symptoms makes me think back to my experience with paxil. Going down on that, event gradually, gave me bouts of anxiety and paranoia that were unbearable. I remember walking down Central Park South (a very busy street with lots of tourists) once and feeling like the world was collapsing inward on me, faster and faster. It took all my will to keep from running down the street screaming.
Anyway, once I started on Wellbutrin, it all disappeared. I'd forget it once, and the panic would slam down all of a sudden out of nowhere. In fact, the day I realized it was all over was a day I realized I had forgotten my meds and even by noon, I was still fine. Seeing as buproprion (sp?) under the name of Zyban is used with smoking-cessation as well, I wonder how it would work with other addictions? Anyone have any info on this?
Cheers,
Bob
Posted by dj on September 12, 1999, at 18:02:04
In reply to Re: Klonopin withdrawal, posted by Bob on September 12, 1999, at 17:10:06
Are you still on Wellbutrin, Bob? If so how long has it been and how are you doing with it? Does it also perform as an AD for you??
>
> Anyway, once I started on Wellbutrin, it all disappeared. I'd forget it once, and the panic would slam down all of a sudden out of nowhere. In fact, the day I realized it was all over was a day I realized I had forgotten my meds and even by noon, I was still fine.
Posted by Bob on September 12, 1999, at 20:35:14
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin??, posted by dj on September 12, 1999, at 18:02:04
> Are you still on Wellbutrin, Bob? If so how long has it been and how are you doing with it? Does it also perform as an AD for you??
It was the third med I tried after paxil being a complete disaster for me, 1.5 years ago or so. While the paxil was still in my system, the two of them together worked really well. It was one of my most productive times I can recall since being on meds. Once the paxil washed out, however, the effect died off ... not completely, but it kept me afloat. My big problem with Wellbutrin was that I would fly into blind, incontrollable rages. They took a few minutes to really get going, and in those few moments of sanity I knew enough to isolate myself from whatever triggered it. It really worried me since my girlfriend, as much as she is a wonderful person overall, used to be a lawyer and has a lawyer's disposition when it comes to arguments. There were a few times where I would warn her that she was making me dangerously angry, but she would keep on pushing! Geez, louise!
My pdoc put me on perphenazine (Trilafon, an anti-psychotic) at a *very* low dose, and that held the rage at bay. After a few more months, it was apparent that the Wellbutrin wasn't working well enough as an AD, so my pdoc put me on prozac as well ... since the WB/SSRI combo seemed to work better but avoiding paxil and zoloft because of their poor response and effect on my cholesterol.
That combo (prozac, wellbutrin, perphenazine) worked pretty well for a month or so. Then, very gradually, I started cogwheeling and my anxiety level started to climb. It was a very confusing time -- I was convinced I was doing better, but I was becoming stiffer and more wooden *and* terrified of being away from home or from my girlfriend. Eventually, I wound up in the ER one day--my therapist took me in. The prozac had blocked the enzyme that breaks down perphenazine, and it had been slowly building up in my system, causing all the trouble. Apparently, its a commonly known interaction, but my pdoc didn't give it a thought because its documented to occur with dosages of perphenazine 20x what I had been taking.
So, there goes another one of those long-odds events that I would rather have happened while playing the lottery! Ack! 8^P
So, that's my six month or so history of being on wellbutrin. Not a happy story -- but I'm sure if you check some of the other threads, you'll find folks for whom wellbutrin is working well as an AD.
Cheers,
Bob
Posted by Justitia on September 13, 1999, at 8:52:58
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin??, posted by Bob on September 12, 1999, at 20:35:14
Well, I thought I was past the worst stages of the effects of the switch from Klonopin to Clonazepam. But I did not sleep as well last night as I have been and I had another night mare and I am somewhat tired. But I am also very stressed at work. I am aware that old habits fo negativeness are coming back. Feelings of despair and hopelessness are also back. Not as bad as they used to be 10 years ago. And I am more conscious of them and try to tell my self these are just my feelings, not reality. I am working pretty hard and am functioning pretty well. But I have some heavy stuff hanging over my head right now in real life and I am anxious because I am not quite getting to it, work avoidance is one of my issues and it cause me a lot of anxiety. And financial stuff that I have not had for a while as I suffer through salary compression. But all in all, I do believe I am making progress. I have called my meds doctor to ask for a consultation for a long term plan of getting of (now) clonazepam. I never want to be on anything I am so addicted to ever again. I am angry about my hearing. It has definitely been affected by this switch. In a way I should be grateful for the insurance plan to give me this push. I am sure my life will get better however.
CheersJustita
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