Firstly, if you are taking Klonopin (clonazepam) for anxiety, what other treatment options do you have in place to handle a possible return of anxiety when you quit taking it? If none, then you should do something about this first.
Secondly, have you discussed quitting with the prescribing physician? Did he/she suggest a weaning schedule? If so, I recommend you follow that advice. Your doctor knows much more about you and your circumstances than I do.
You should be aware that after 7 years you will have become physically dependent on having this medication in your system, so your may experience withdrawal effects when you begin tapering off the drug. However, not all of what you experience will necessarily be down to the Klonopin. Much may also be related to your mental state. Believe you will experience agony and you probably will. It is an interesting that withdrawal is almost a non issue for the other patient group taking this medication, epileptics despite many of them taking it in much higher doses than a commonly prescribed for anxiety. 10mg/day is typical, but twice this is nor uncommon.
DO NOT quit taking this medication suddenly. You need to taper off over a period of some months.
In the absence of a recommendation from your physician, I suggest you cut back by a quarter of a tablet per day every 10-14 days spreading the cuts across the 4 daily doses. That is, take only 3/4 of the morning dose for the first 2 weeks, then reduce the 3rd daily dose also by 1/4 of the 1mg, followed 2 weeks later by the 2nd dose, then the third, etc. Klonopin has a long half-life which means it can take 7 to 10 days before a reduction in dose is reflected fully in the amount of the drug in your system, so a quicker taper can be counterproductive.
You may find that you begin experiencing a yo-yo effect when you get down to low doses. It can also be difficult splitting Klonopin into small doses. Many find that switching to the long acting diazepam (Valium) and tapering off this is easier. 1mg Klonopin is approximately equivalent to 20mg Valium. Valium comes in fairly big 2mg tablets which makes it easier to cut doses by small increments. There are also liquid preparations of this benzodiazepine which again make it easier to take it in very small doses.
Pharmacists sell pill cutters which make splitting pills are lot easier and more accurate than using a knife, and they are also much less bloody.
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Posted by bullshit1
the steps. thank you.