Clonazepam - How should I stop taking this?

I have just completed an intensive outpatient rehab program, which was quite eye-opening regarding these drugs that are prescribed by doctors. I took 1 mg of Clonazepam for about 7-8 years, every evening to help me to sleep as I was diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome, which is where your muscles do not relax enough, so you can have muscle cramps, etc.

Before I was allowed to enter the rehab program, I was told that I had to have a tapering-off schedule from my doctor. Clonazepam is an extremely HIGHLY ADDICTIVE benzo. As one poster wrote, you CANNOT go cold turkey, as you take the risk of having seizures, which one gentleman did in the program one night, as he stopped his benzo cold turkey.

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I tapered off by taking .75 mg. for about 4 days, then took .5 mg. for a week, and then .25mg for two weeks. You don't feel very well when you start to decrease your amounts, but it is well worth it, as your brain is already addicted. It's too long to explain about brain addiction, but any type of addictive substance will change your brain and create addiction after so many uses, and your brain will never be the same.

My doctor prescribed me Trazadone, which is non-addictive sleep aid. If you take them, be carefully initially, because you can get "Trazadone hangover". They are strong until your body gets use to it.

Good luck.

Clonazepam is an extremely HIGHLY ADDICTIVE benzo. As one poster wrote, you CANNOT go cold turkey, as you take the risk of having seizures, which one gentleman did in the program one night, as he stopped his benzo cold turkey.

@Buffy1959 you really should look at the schedule of this drug before you go spouting out that it is a highly addictive benzo as it is a schedule 4 drug. This means that the likely hood of becoming addicted to this drug are very low.If it were in fact highly addictive and you couldnt just stop taking it then it would be a schedule 3 or above. However I do agree that if you have tried to stop cold turkey and it is causing your symptoms to come back or even adding new ones, tapering down your dose by the above stated 10-20% at a time is a great idea.

CSA Schedule

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* Schedule 4 The drug has a low potential for abuse relative to the drugs in schedule 3 The drug has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. Abuse of the drug may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs in schedule 3.
Please note that the least addictive drugs are schedule 5 and this is on a scale from 1-5. Schedule 1 being the most addictive etc...