This helped me. Withdrawing
from a benzodiazepine, Klonopin
I.
Prepare,
prepare, prepare
~Plan for at least 2 months of withdrawal symptoms
~Do not make plans (you’ll only feel worse if you’re not ready)
~Enlist support from family or friends
Let them know what you plan to do and accept any offers for
transportation or meals, etc.
~Shop ahead, at least two weeks
~Make someone else responsible for managing your personal affairs
temporarily (pay bills, return phone
calls, make emergency decisions with you)
II.
Checklist
~Food
Raw food & microwavable (food requiring little or no preparation)
GABA rice (comfort food for your brain) – either prepare ahead or ask
someone to make it for you, especially the first two weeks
Get a variety of different milder foods (it’s not unusual for your taste
to change—I found chocolate distasteful!)
Protein! Fish, nuts, dark leafy
greens
Avoid processed foods
Avoid sugar & concentrated sweets
~Fluids
In addition to lots of water, herbal teas and juices
Tension Tamer tea helps anxiety and Sleepy Time tea helps insomnia (some
feel these make things worse, but they helped me)
Tart cherry juice helps insomnia (a couple ounces at bedtime)
Avoid
caffeine and sugar (be kind to your brain)
Pepperment
tea helps nausea
~Vitamins & Supplements
Omega 3 Fish oil or Krill oil (I like MegaRed) caps (for brain
health)
All B vitamins
Magnesium
Melatonin plus for sleep
I.
Attitude
~Allow yourself to put yourself first during this process
~Make a commitment to take good care of your brain through the process
~Be aware that you are building new, healthier habits while you go
through the process
~Know
that you are doing something good for yourself and be proud
I.
The
Process
~Take it SLOW (I took twice as
long to decrease my doses compared to the doctor’s recommendation and wish I
had gone even slower-discuss this with your doctor)
~The slower the withdrawal, the less severe the withdrawal symptoms will
be
~You
may expect to experience: nausea and vomiting the first day or two, tremors,
dizziness, chills, fever, hot flashes, headaches, difficulty concentrating,
loss of appetite, weight loss
