Stress Center Peer Support

Alright, this is sure to spark a difference of opinions- which is exactly what I'm asking for (or better yet, someone who's been in this position before).

Long story short- I've been on benzo's for nearly 9 years. Last Oct./Nov. my psych. reduced my dosage too fast and I wound up taking a 6 week medical leave of absence from work.

I finally went back to work in Jan., and was prescribed 1 mg. of klono 2x's daily. After a couple months, I dropped the pm dosage to .75 mgs. because I couldn't stay awake in the evening.

So here's the deal. I teach and am taking an academic sabbatical this fall. Since the end of the school year, I've had very little anxiety/stress, but have still cont. with the klono. I recently started an internship in an entirely different field than education but feel NO anxiety (YEAH!!!). Since I'm not having panic attacks or feeling anxious, I feel like I should taper more (esp. the pm- I'm not comfortable with tapering the am). Sometimes I even forget to take the 2nd dose until right before bed.

I'm hesitant because I know that klono is out of the body in 8-12 hrs. and am scared my morning anxiety will flare up.

I'd also like to add that I quit taking Ambein CR in the end of April (Yippee!) and am currently down to 37.5 mgs. (don't ask... this is how terrified I am of stopping meds. I had my psych. prescribe 25 mg pills and tapered from 50 to 37.5- next week I start on the 25 mgs.) of zoloft.

So here are my main concerns:
* increased anxiety in the am if I eliminate the pm dosage
* habituation to klono if I cont. it too long(this is what happened when I took xanax and then ativan)
* relapse because I'm slowly going off all my meds
* SEVERE anxiety when I begin classes in the fall
* another nervous breakdown

Any and all advice is much appreciated. Thanks.
Emily

I have not been in your position before, so I can't speak from experience. However, my opinion, fwiw,

Slowly taper from the medication you wish to lessen. Take your time with it, and just be really observant of your level of anxiety. If it starts to return or get out of control, consider returning to a higher dose.

Congrats, by the way, on not having any anxiety or panic now! That's great!

And I think you're wise to taper the zoloft slowly. Go at the pace that you feel comfortable with. Good luck!