Even One Dose of Clonazepam Can Cause a Spike

[Nic B]

Hello guys,

I haven't posted here in a while. I still have Tinnitus but I forget about it most of the time. I am experiencing a particularly intense spike and subsequent freakout right now (which is probably making the spike worse) but I've been here before so I'm trying to stay positive.

I've looked for information on this and haven't managed to find much so I tought I'd document it here. I know that it's common knowledge that Benzo withdrawal can cause tinnitus, but the available anecdotes/data on this seems to be focused on long term/daily use.

I am here to tell you with absolute certainty that in my case, any time I take even a single 0.5 mg dose of clonazepam, my T will be worse a few days later, and this will continue for a few days before going back to baseline.

I have had T for close to 5 years now and have taken benzos periodically for anxiety/insomnia and I am confident that every single time I do so, I get the aforementionned spike in my T.

I'm dealing with this right now. Unfortunately it becomes somewhat of a vicious cycle. I took another one last night and I'm still spiking, but regardless of all of that, if you are reading this, the answer is yes, you are not alone and you are not crazy. A single benzo can cause a spike.

Cheers
Nic

 

[Tweaker]

Nic

This is very interesting. My GP gave me some clonazepam a couple of years ago but I never reallyused them as too cautious. Ithink I tried half a tablet a couple of times.
However, my tinnitus has been so bad recently, making me feel suicidal, and I remebered I had them in the cupdoard, so I took a whole 0.5mg tablet out of desparation last Monday. It gave me a terrible headache for 2 days but the really loud electrical noises subsided for about 4 to 5 days. Then by Friday evening my T went crazy again. It has remained totally crazy but I have resisted taking another clonazepam. Perhaps I have a similar reaction to you. It's a catch 22 situation. It seemed to help my T which is suicidally loud and thus tempting to take again for some relief but I cant afford to worsen things, if it is even possible it could get louder.

 

[Nic B]

Suicidally loud? That's pretty intense. Is anything else going on in your life that is making you feel this way or it's "just" the T? Is your T maskable?

 

[quietatnight]

Nic B & Tweaker

I guess it may be different for everyone, but I can tell you this first hand I have been taking clonazpam and ativan for over 20 years, I still take them every day. I have stopped and started them many times over the years, with no effect on my tinnitus at all. So I don't understand why you are having problems. But like I said I guess we are all different. I also take seroquel every night or I would never sleep.

what's can I say. I remember a few times were I just stopped taking ativan cold turkey, without even tapering off of it with no issues.

All of these medications have helped me through a lot of tough times. I honestly don't think that I could function without them now. Though my long term plan is to get off all of them some day. The only reason that I have not stopped is that they keep my OCD in check. My life would be very hard without them.


Good luck

Louie

Quietatnight

 

[Nic B]

I am very happy that works for you Louie. I did not write this with the intention of saying this is the case for EVERYONE. I wrote this with the intention of saying that yes it is a possibility and other may be able to relate.

If it makes any difference, my spike usually only occurs 2-3 days after I stop. I am also not on seroquel.

 

[linearb]

@Nic B I have noticed the same thing with Diazepam.

Some people are especially sensitive to these drugs and will notice problems like this right away; most people who take these drugs regularly for long periods of time are probably damaging their vestibular systems.

 

[PaulBe]

I took Clonaz for two years, and can say that it never caused any kind of spike, but it also became habitual in that I fell into placebo type thinking with it, even though deep down I knew it didn't really make a material difference.