It’s been almost 14 weeks now, since end of January. My first attempt with Prozac led to higher anxiety and higher dosage of daily clonazepam, up to 1-1.5mg daily. Then, thankfully my GP put me on mirtazapine taking gradually up to 30mg/night. I’m trying to reduce the clonazepam and now take on average .25mg/day. I’d like to get off totally and keep it only for emergencies for anxiety attacks. Does anyone know how I should reduce from this point safely? Lower dosage/day? Every other day? Thanks for any advice you might share.
How to reduce clonazepam dose?
Question posted by Redfinch on 2 May 2021
Last updated on 2 May 2021
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Answers
Clonazepam is a longer lasting benzo, so the taper should probably be gradual. I think the general rule is to not taper more than 10% per week. Ask your doctor for a schedule and hopefully they can provide some guidance. In sharing my experience, I got off Ativan in 6 days. Started at 6mg and was dropped a mg a day. That was aggressive though, and also under professional medical care to check vitals. So you have been on Clonazepam since Jan, or longer?
I started taking it every day since January 24th when I had an anxiety breakdown. Before that I’d take 1/4 mg rarely for emergencies. My goal is to return to that PRN. I do have a history of anxiety GAD.
OK - January is not too bad. It should be a manageable taper. I was taking Ativan for 14 years before I weaned off it. It’s my understanding that Benzos should only be used for several months, so your timing is spot on.
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prozac, anxiety, benzodiazepine withdrawal, clonazepam, dosage
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