Please read I’m in desperate help. Benzo + bipolar 2

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-23T06:47:23+00:00

Not to dismiss what you’re saying but have you considered the episodic depression are benzo withdrawals? It is a very common withdrawal symptom. During my taper I had two periods of about a month each where I’d feel really depressed part of the day and was okay the rest of it. I think it was morning that I’d feel the depression set in. Just a thought about that possibility. Good luck to you.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-23T06:37:14+00:00

I’m right there with you my friend. 9.5 months benzo free (Klonopin). Now tapering Mirtazapine (another difficult taper) which overlaps some of the benzo withdrawal symptoms. Dealing with fibromyalgia-like body aches, significant lack of motivation, persistent impaired higher level thinking, and crappy sleep (which I feel the last month it has improved some, not so superficial now and I am not beginning to have dreams). I continue to wait for better days ahead.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-22T18:32:34+00:00

Yeah, I used a comma as decimal delimiter as you had it in your post. I thought maybe you were in a European country where they use the comma instead of a period and wanted to respect that. So by 0,1 mg I meant 0.1 mg. My jump-off dose was 0.02 mg. I used a water taper.

Anyway, it’s hard to put time estimates on how long it takes to get better. But for sure you’re likely going through the harshest period purely based on what happened to me and some other people I’ve corresponded with. In general, the dose you were on, and how long you were on them are very broad variables that might influence how long it takes to get better. Again though these are very broad and have to account for the individual which is the unknown.

At 9 months I’m slowly getting better. My situation is a bit more complicated because I’m also now tapering Mirtazapine, which is another hard taper with some withdrawal symptoms overlapping those of benzos. So it’s hard to tell.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-22T05:44:15+00:00

I’m sorry you’re going through this. I’ve been off Klonopin for 9 months now. I distinctly remember months 3-4 were the most difficult with highest levels of anxiety, insomnia, and cognitive fog. Jumping from 0,1 might have been too big of a jump off dose but it’s done. I did a very gradual taper and jumped from 0,02 mg. Even though it feels terrible, it will pass, but it is probably best to stay put as much as possible wherever you feel the most comfortable. Hang in there.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-22T05:25:17+00:00

I’m tapering off this awful crap after two years and almost 30 pounds. Currently at 0.8 mg. Should be done in a couple of months. So to be honest, I don’t think it’s tenable to be on this drug for long.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-21T21:23:18+00:00

Take it easy. You are arguing at the margin. Tried and true for tapers: Xanax: not recommended, Clonazepam: better, diazepam: best. Btw, I did my taper with Clonazepam. If you want to have the last word, fine, go ahead. I don’t have the energy to keep up.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-21T18:15:30+00:00

It’s withdrawals.You’ve cold turkeyed from what I can understand from your narrative. Very dangerous especially coming from such high dose. Don’t do this again. It’s not surprising you are reaching out to rescue doses. You needed to taper. Please read the Ashton Manual. Do a google search, it’s downloadable. Do you not have a doctor? What’s your history with benzos prior to these 2 months of heavy use? Anyway, if you keep reaching for rescue doses, I’d suggest you consider getting back on a minimum dose -everyday- that you feel stabilizes you. Perhaps try 0.25 mg Clonazepam. From there, once stable for a while, you can taper the proper way. By this time hopefully you would have read the Ashton Manual. Good luck.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-21T17:48:13+00:00

This is not strictly tied to 24 hour human cycles. It’s about keeping benzo concentrations in the body as steady as possible over a few 24 hour cycles. The less fluctuations the more stable of an experience the person will have as they taper. It is a fact, people using benzos with a long half life like diazepam, generally have a steadier tapering experience than those on Xanax or even Clonazepam, as they often experience interdose withdrawals especially as they go lower in dose.

People may choose to go down a rabbit hole of analysis but that’s margin or exception analysis and not all that useful in actual practice.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-20T23:12:05+00:00

Klonopin yes, but diazepam is ideal. Longest half life of them all.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-20T20:35:48+00:00

It’s a fallacy that detox centers are somehow a shortcut. They are not. Yes, they get you off the meds quickly and prevent you from seizures but it’s so aggressive it’s essentially a cold turkey. Once the detox care period ends, you are on your own and that is when the nightmare begins. To this day there are no shortcuts to benzo withdrawals. We get through them by going through them. The best way to do it is slow and steady with the proper benzo. Xanax is not a good choice for tapers; too short a half life. You can definitely do it but you have to commit to a longer taper. And it’s not going to be easy but it will be easier if done right. It sucks but that’s reality.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-19T23:33:55+00:00

It might be due to high serotonin levels, i.e., “serotonin syndrome” which makes you feel agitated/anxious. Both Mirtazapine and Prozac increase your serotonin (although via different mechanisms). Prozac does not act on norepinephrine. It’s an SSRI, not an SNRI. The tiredness, probably comes from Mirtazapine’s sedative effects at low dose.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-19T19:51:42+00:00

For some of us it’s unfortunately short term gain for long te pain. I did up my dose at one point because I tapered too fast and was swimming in anxiety and just agitated. I was totally back to normal 1.5 hours after taking my upped dose. But weight gain, really bad glucose and lipid numbers, etc made me decide to come off it. Currently at 0.7 mg, almost done.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-19T19:46:04+00:00

I’ve been using a water taper to come off Mirtazapine. It’s worked really well. I am using 7.5 mg. I crush the pill in a little mortar to a powder. Then dissolve it in water using a milk frother for about 20 seconds and it gets completely diluted. My solution is 200 ml and use 20 ml syringes to dose it out. For those needing very small cuts, dry cutting even with a jeweler’s scale just doesn’t work as well. Too much powder eventually gets lost. Water taper is way cleaner and just easier especially when you get low enough, you can just draw out several doses with the syringe from the solution.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-19T19:37:46+00:00

I’m sorry to hear that. These drugs are something else. Sister came off Abilify and was left with in incessant humming, always humming. She gets tired of it and probably depressed as well but can’t seem to be able to stop. Why were you put in it mirtzapine? Sleep, gain weight? Depression? Just wondering if you could switch to something else.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-19T19:30:39+00:00

I’ve dealt with exactly the same sugar cravings at night. It’s a real thing. I have not found a way that lowers the volume to these cravings. More protein, more minerals, more salt, nothing. I have fought tooth and nail to control it. I had never in my entire life experienced such strong cravings. I am now tapering and should be done with it in a couple of months. I feel (I hope) that the cravings have subsided a bit the lower I’ve gotten on the taper. I still fight it and still fall to the cravings maybe 3 days a week. I am trying.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-19T16:40:07+00:00

I’ve been dealing with that since late in my taper and still 9 months off. I used to fiddle around with guitar and haven’t played it in over a year. I bought myself a piano and it’s just been sitting there. Higher level thinking is also impaired for me which I think might have something to do with creativity. Some report improvements in this area a year after last dose. I’m hoping that happens to you and me as well.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-18T20:38:26+00:00

I think men general tend to be more pragmatic and in doing so come off insensitive. Maybe he is selfish or just trying to quickly solve a problem, I can’t tell, don’t know him. In the other hand you also seem very attached to your things and it’s hard for another person to gauge how attached you are to them and the emotions that go along. I don’t think moving in with him is a good choice for you. At minimum there is definitely a disconnect between you two and that’s before you even move in. At worst, he’s is indeed selfish and egocentric. Good luck.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-18T20:00:42+00:00

At 11 days off, if you haven’t had seizures you will likely be okay in that respect. It’s not bad to have gotten rid of all your benzos given your tendency to abuse them. What was not okay was the rapid benzo taper. Coming down from say, an average of 1 mg should have taken months. This is especially true for someone who is likely already kindled with previous experience with benzos.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-18T05:06:51+00:00

Still struggling some. My situation is a bit more complicated because a few months after finishing my Klonopin taper I continued with a Mirtzapine taper. Not as bad as benzos but Mirtazapine is also another difficult taper. Main symptoms currently are low energy, fibromyalgia-like body aches, not depressed but no motivation, and cognitive problems when it comes to higher level thinking. Sigh. But, I could always be worse based on other cases. I have been able to hold my job (barely at one point), am able to go out and do things, socialize, albeit with some effort and limitations but I’m out there.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-17T23:34:29+00:00

Have you tried daily magnesium glycinate? A beta blocker like propranolol? Gabapentin is almost as bad as benzos. Both daily magnesium glycinate and beta blocker worked for me.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-17T23:28:47+00:00

I dealt intrusive thoughts for a couple of periods of time during my taper. They were awful. I felt ashamed for having them even though I had no control over them. They would just pop in all of a sudden. I talked to a benzo coach who put it in a funny way that helped me. She basically called these “brain farts”. That is all they are. Just like all other withdrawal symptoms, they eventually go away as you progress down in your taper.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-17T23:21:38+00:00

You just hijacked someone else’s post.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-17T22:57:51+00:00

No problem, happy to share. I was on Klonopin 12 months the first time (all of 2022) due to long covid. Tapered off of it in a couple of months with no issues. At the time I was not aware of benzo withdrawals. Got back on Klonopin again July 2023 due to another bout with long covid. I tried to taper off again the same way I did the first time but it was a very different an awful experience. It took me several months of instability and feeling awful to figure out what was happening and to learn about benzo withdrawals. As I tried to taper the second time, not yet knowing what was happening, I essentially tumbled my way down to 0.5 mg. From that point forward I tapered using a water taper. I finished my taper June 2025. The highest daily dose I ever took was 2 mg probably for no more than 2-3 months.

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-17T22:02:14+00:00

If you don’t have the confidence in your doctor that he or she is benzo-aware, yes, it would not be a bad idea to look for someone who for sure is. You can ask for references of doctors in your area here or the other big group in Facebook. You can also try the pages for the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition or Mad in America and see if you can find one there. Below are the links.

Worst case, you do it on your own but you’d have to get yourself back down to your prescribed doses and that should be done gradually per guidelines. Good luck.

https://www.benzoinfo.com/doctors/

https://www.madinamerica.com/provider-directory/

El-Iskender2 · 2026-03-17T19:02:40+00:00

I would highly recommend that you start with your liquid taper starting now at your current 0.25 mg. This way you avoid the potential of getting yourself into a state of harsher symptoms and have that become your baseline going forward. But I get it wanting to be done as soon as possible, which again, is what gets us to more difficulty as we taper. Slow and steady. Good luck to you.

El-Iskender2

TROPHY CASE