Posted by djmmm on February 12, 2004, at 20:17:08
In reply to Re: how bout clonazepam from 19 to 99? » djmmm, posted by Viridis on February 12, 2004, at 2:56:10
> Did you stop taking it suddenly the first time you went off it? After a few months at 4 mg/day, abrupt discontinuation definitely could cause problems, even life-threatening ones. Benzos work extremely well, but a doctor who prescribes them is irresponsible if he/she doesn't stress the importance of gradual tapering to discontinue them.
>
> Of course, withdrawal from many antidepressants can be pretty nasty too. I agree with KellyD that occurrence of discontinuation syndrome hardly constitutes "addiction" (not that you suggested this -- it's just that cases like yours can get distorted by others into "evidence" for benzo addiction).I did stop suddenly, but only because I could get the medication...I had stopped suddenly before, a month or so earlier, and had no problems....go figure.
As far as addiction, I believe in certain individuals, benzos are quite addictive...but only when abused.
In my case, the dr. wouldn't even call it "withdrawal" because he said that, because I had been on that dose for an extended period of time, with out needing to increase... my "withdrawal" was really a discontinuation syndrome.
and FWIW...Nardil was a FAR superior med for social phobia...the Klonopin had more of an "alcohol-like" pro-social effect..where as Nardil made me smile, and honestly, gave me a feeling similar to being in love.
poster:djmmm
thread:311523
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040210/msgs/312602.html