Clonazepam (Klonopin, Rivotril)

Yeah, this varies in the U.S., depending on the doctor. My doctor won't prescribe Gabapentin or Pregabalin for sleep or anxiety. He only wants to prescribe SSRIs and SNRIs when it comes to antidepressants, or Trazodone as an alternative sleep medication option, although an NP in the same office once prescribed me Nortriptyline, which is a tricyclic (TCA) antidepressant. My doctor wouldn't have.

A friend of mine has used Xanax (Alprazolam) for sleep for years. When she moved, the new doctor wouldn't prescribe it, so she had to go back to her old doctor, who also just prescribed her Ambien as well.

I should note that I was talking about a PCP. I haven't seen a psychiatrist, although my doctor would refer me if I wanted. The psychiatrist might be open about prescribing different things like Clonazepam and Mirtazapine.

 

I wish you the best of luck when you return to work @Cmspgran. I'd like to give you some advice and hope you don't mind. I realize that you want to stop taking Clonazepam, and I commend you for this. However, don't push yourself too hard. Returning to work can be stressful which could increase your tinnitus temporarily. Since you are not taking the Clonazepam, perhaps take some preventive measures by taking Kalms. It is mostly plant-based and contains Valerian root. It's good for relieving stress and anxiety. Available from Boots chemist, Holland & Barrett, ASDA, and online.

It is nonaddictive and doesn't have to be taken long-term.

Take care,
Michael

 

Even the manufacturers and the package inserts say you shouldn't be on benzos for more than 10-14 days.

Your doctor is a very good one; they know their stuff unlike most others.

Even though your situation is dire because of tinnitus, benzo addiction could make your tinnitus seem very mild compared to how many neurological problems it could cause.

 

My doctor also gave me a lecture about my 0.5 mg Lorazepam. He said I wasn't taking it as prescribed - 3 times per day. When I called in a few weeks earlier and spoke to one of the nurses in the office, she said not to take it that much because that's how you get addicted. I told the doctor that, and he said that I needed to because I have anxiety. He said lots of people do, for years, sometimes four times per day, and even 1 mg. He's clearly trying to convince me, but I'm still skipping multiple days between doses.

That insert I get with mine from the pharmacy doesn't give a specific time frame—it just says to take it only as prescribed by the doctor, along with all the other warnings. Apparently, the FDA approves Lorazepam for up to 4 months, but that dependency can happen in days or weeks. Clonazepam is apparently approved for only nine weeks. Of course, it's more potent per mg and has a much longer half-life.

 

I don’t get package inserts with mine; they come in a prescription bottle. But having 7-10 pills every 3-4 months isn’t being on them for 10-14 days. They are used very minimally/when needed. My perception label actually says to use one a day (which I don’t).

 

Can sporadic use (taking 2 ~ 8 pills a month on random days) of benzodiazepines induce withdrawal tinnitus?

If you want to stop completely, what sort of taper schedule should you use if you are not using them regularly, to begin with?

Can you experience the tinnitus withdrawal effect without feeling any other of the benzo withdrawal symptoms?

Do the Z-drugs (Ambien/Zolpidem) also induce tinnitus on withdrawal?

 

I have two friends who tapered off Diazepam after daily use. One had used 10 mg/day for 5-6 years and tapered down to 2 mg in 6 months. No issues with it causing tinnitus. It can happen, but doesn't happen to most.

At your usage it should not be an issue.

You write as if you do not have tinnitus. I assume, being on here, you do?

 

There is no difference between Z-drugs and benzos. All work on GABA receptors and signaling. They say Zopiclone, in particular, since it has a short half-life (5-6 hours), could throw you into withdrawal more easily than other benzos.

Side effects wise nobody can guarantee you what could happen. Even one pill can cause an adverse reaction, OR you could experience no side effects at all. You could go years on these medications and quit cold turkey, and nothing could happen, and you can go on with your life. Or you might suffer crippling side effects for years and years; nobody can make any claims as to what could happen. Do your own research on this.

Yes, you could experience tinnitus as the only withdrawal symptom.

As for the rest of your questions, you see, people here are not really equipped with enough knowledge or experience to answer you. They'll be like, "Nah, it will be fine." Go on withdrawal forums like BenzoBuddies or some other place, and read the information yourself. Don't ask it here; you'll likely get the same answers from the same bunch of people.

 

I did. I really like this one:

→ Protracted Tinnitus after Discontinuation of Long-Term Therapeutic Use of Benzodiazepines

The most illuminating things I've noticed from this study are that:

1. Benzo addicts definitely can tell the difference between getting their fix and a placebo.

2. The benzo-tinnitus lasts a horrifying amount of time. For one patient, it took a full year to go away, and for another patient, it didn't even fully go away after a year.

3. The superhero patient #3 is popping benzos every four hours every day. "It makes my tinnitus go away, so I'm going to keep taking it for the rest of my life." "The patient refused treatment mainly because of the incapacitating tinnitus."

I've recently developed tinnitus after taking a 1000 mg dose of Azithromycin.

For years, I have very sporadically used benzos for rare panic attacks or high anxiety days. My usage never exceeds three days in a row or more than eight days total in a month. After finding out about the association between benzos and tinnitus, I wonder if I am playing with fire by even touching them at all... but they are such a lifesaver for those nights when I can't get to sleep or am about to freak out. I'm going to go ahead and make the bet that if I do not slip into a pattern of daily use of benzos, I should be fine, and they won't make my tinnitus any worse. I'm assuming most people here who will testify they got tinnitus or had it worsened from benzo withdrawal were using them daily, and I won't be able to find any evidence of tinnitus caused or worsened by sporadic use.

Oh... also, every ENT I've seen so far has tried to gaslight me that it's "impossible" to get tinnitus from a single dose of Azithromycin. I've developed a 1% doubt that maybe my tinnitus was actually triggered by the years of sporadic benzo use, and it's just a big fat coincidence. It just happened to start two days after I took four big fat pills of Azithromycin.

 

When having a bad tinnitus spike that lasts for days, is the best option to take Clonazepam twice a week to ensure it decreases?

 

I haven't had any issues when I skip Zolpidem. I have averaged less than 3 mg per night over the last two years, and I have skipped it four of the last five nights.

Regarding Z-drugs, according to the equivalency chart, my typical max dose of 3 mg of Zolpidem is equal to 0.075 mg of Clonazepam, and I often take about half that much. Also, Zolpidem has a much shorter half-life, so your system is not under the influence nearly as long as with Clonazepam. It has been a non-issue, keeping the dosage low.

I occasionally take 0.5 mg of Lorazepam once every few days and have not noticed any withdrawal effects. I'm not certain if it's affecting my tinnitus since it is variable and cycles. Lorazepam is about half the potency of Clonazepam per mg and has a shorter half-life.

 

I guess Clonazepam is effective because it has another action on 5HT1, based on this paper. It also affects 5HT2A, which most of you should be aware of.

By the way, I have read the entire thread. I don't like what I see, and I don't know what to do. In an ideal world, I would take Clonazepam two times a week, but many people fell victim to it, like @Brian P and more recently @D'Angelo, and I don't like how it affected the old users in the first pages.

Maybe I should start with Zopiclone first.

 

If falling asleep or just getting back to sleep is your primary concern rather than anxiety or a temporary reduction in tinnitus, I would go with Zopiclone over the benzo. It's targeted for sleep. I have a Z-drug (Zolpidem) and a benzo (Lorazepam) myself, but it takes more than the dosage equivalent of the benzo to be effective for getting me back to sleep, so Zolpidem seems a lot more effective for getting me to sleep. However, the half-life is much lower with my Zolpidem than with Lorazepam.

I wait until I wake up overnight to take a partial tablet of Zolpidem sublingually, which also takes effect faster than the benzo. I keep my dosage low and don't seem to have built up much of a tolerance over the many months of taking it most nights. I still don't get enough sleep. I've been taking Quviviq 50 mg for a few weeks, and I can't say it's really helping, either.

 

I don’t use these medications frequently (less than once a week), and I find them of limited value, but I’ve tried both Clonazepam and Alprazolam over the years when I’m truly miserable. Maybe they reduce the suffering by 5% or 10%, which is well within the placebo effect range, and sometimes they seem to reset the tinnitus to a less intense level when I wake up the next day (though not always).

Unlike most people here, I’ve found Alprazolam to be slightly more effective for me. I’m going to see my GP for my annual exam and plan to ask for a refill of the Alprazolam. Are there any other benzodiazepines worth trying? I’m still secretly hoping that some form of relief in a pill exists, and I just haven’t found it yet.

 

Reduce suffering? I take Lorazepam (Ativan) about once per week, sometime twice, but I only take a 0.5 mg dose when I do, and it helps more than 10%. I can go from feeling high anxiety to low anxiety, and that dosage is half the potency of an equal size dose of Clonazepam and Alprazolam (Xanax). I tried other recommended supplements that didn't work. Neither did TCA or SSRI antidepressants. Placebo effect doesn't work for me. So the Lorazepam definitely helps, but I limit usage. I'm not sure it really affects my tinnitus, which is quite variable on its own.