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Forum Name: Psychiatric Topics

Question: Quitting Medications

CeeCee Bryant - Mon Apr 02, 2007 6:08 am

I am a 26 year old female being treated for Depression & Anxiety. I quit taking both Klonopin (3mg/daily) and Zoloft (150mg/daily) cold-turkey 8 days ago. I have, of course, had severe withdrawals since day one. They include Nausea, dizziness, Headache, Anxiety/panic, crawling skin, Pleurisy Chest pain, difficulty concentrating, irritability, increased appetite, Depression, leg pain, and low-grade Fever. All of these symptoms have abated slightly on a daily basis, but are still nearly unbearable put together. Is there anything I can do to ease my suffering during this time? How long should I expect these withdrawal symptoms to last?

Dr. K. Eisele - Fri Apr 06, 2007 4:57 am

CeeCee: Your withdrawal symptoms are likely due to stopping the clonazepam (Klonopin) cold-turkey. As you have noticed, your symptoms continue to improve. The only way to make this any easier is by gradually reducing, and then stopping, clonazepam. Stopping clonazepam and other drugs of its class, the benzodiazepines, without "tapering" it, can be very dangerous. The benzodiazepines cause inhibition of certain areas of the brain and when stopping this type of medicine, there is a rebound excitation of those areas, which can lead to Seizures and death. The following lists some of the more popular drugs of the benzodiazepine class: 1) Diazepam (Valium) 2) lorazepam (Ativan) 3) temazepam (Restoril) 4) alprazolam (Xanax) 5) oxazepam (Serax) 6) chlordiazepoxide (Librium) All of these medicines can produce dependency, emotional AND physiologic. Your symptoms, though, could continue for another week or so, due to the very long half-life of clonazepam (Klonopin). Dependening on your own metabolism, the half-life can vary widely, e. g., from 20 to 50 hours. It takes 4 or 5 half-lives for your metabolism and excretion to finally clear the medication. Best wishes! Goodc luck to you!

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