Klonopin Withdrawal: Symptoms, Timeline, & Treatment

What Is Klonopin Withdrawal?

Clonazepam, the generic version of the brand name Klonopin, is an FDA-approved medication for anxiety disorders. The medication can also treat other conditions, such as panic disorder and seizures.¹ Klonopin belongs to the benzodiazepines class of drugs that can affect the neurotransmitter called GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). This helps bring a calming effect on the brain by binding to GABA receptors, which may help reduce anxiety symptoms.

Klonopin is a benzodiazepine that can cause addiction. Clonazepam misuse can lead to adverse health complications, including extreme sedation, loss of consciousness, dependence, addiction, and fatal overdose. It’s also important to note that there is a difference between physical dependence and addiction to Klonopin.

When you are addicted to Klonopin, it means you are repeatedly using the drug despite its health impacts which may be mild or sometimes severe. On the other hand, being physically dependent on clonazepam means your body has adjusted to the presence of the medication regardless of whether you take it as prescribed or in an abusive way. This can lead to tolerance and withdrawal. Clonazepam and other benzodiazepines affect the central nervous system. The medications have a moderate risk of causing addiction and withdrawal effects. Studies have shown 30.6 million American adults have used benzodiazepine, with 5.3 million experiencing misuse.²

Klonopin Withdrawal Symptoms

Klonopin withdrawal symptoms primarily occur as a result of abruptly quitting your medication without proper guidance from your doctor. The withdrawal symptoms can range from mild to severe; some may appear sooner rather than later. When the withdrawal effects become severe with symptoms such as hallucinations and drowsiness, seek immediate medical care as this can be life-threatening, leading to sudden death.¹

Both Klonopin and Xanax are benzodiazepines used to treat mental health conditions. The medications can lead to withdrawal effects if their use is discontinued without following proper guidelines. Xanax has a much shorter half-life of about 9-20 hours than Klonopin, which has a longer half-life of about 30-40 hours.³ For this reason, Xanax withdrawal is more likely to cause severe symptoms than Klonopin withdrawal.

Alcohol also has a shorter half-life of 4 to 5 hours.⁴ This means it can cause severe withdrawal symptoms, including convulsions, hallucinations, and abdominal cramps.

Contributing factors that can impact the severity of withdrawal symptoms include:¹

• Mixing with other drugs: Combining Klonopin with other medications puts you at risk of severe side effects such as drowsiness and hallucinations.
• The severity of mental health disorders: If the mental health disorder becomes so severe, you are likely to stop your medication and put yourself at risk for Klonopin withdrawal symptoms.
• Dosage level: Sudden change in Klonopin dosage can alter the brain’s chemistry, putting you at risk of withdrawal symptoms.
• Previous withdrawal symptoms: If you had previous withdrawal symptoms with Klonopin, chances are high to have the same withdrawal symptoms.
• Older age: Long-term use of Klonopin among older people can be extremely dangerous.
• Your history of drug and alcohol use: Using alcohol and Klonopin together can intensify your anxiety symptoms, increasing the risk of Klonopin withdrawal symptoms.
• Duration you have been taking the drug: Long-term use of Klonopin for anxiety may not be effective for your condition; hence you may quit your medication which puts you at risk of Klonopin withdrawal.
• The current state of mental health: If you have been taking Klonopin and have seen improvements, don’t quit your medication immediately, as you may experience withdrawal effects.

It’s also important to note that there are multiple withdrawal experiences, including mental, physical, acute, and long-term protracted withdrawals. Klonopin withdrawal can cause severe symptoms, including suicidal thoughts, insomnia, anxiety, and depression. Klonopin withdrawal may lead to death. Its withdrawal symptoms often progress over time, resulting in possible seizures, increased blood pressure, and heart failure.

Symptoms of Klonopin withdrawal may include:¹

Physical health symptoms

• Hyperventilation
• Troubled sleeping
• Weight loss
• Headaches
• Tremors
• Loss of appetite
• Dizziness
• Blurred vision
• Sensitivity to light
• Muscle spasms
• Sweating
• Muscle aches and pains

Mental health symptoms

• Insomnia
• Panic attacks
• Delusions
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Restlessness
• Problems concentrating
• Confusion
• Visual hallucinations
• Irritability and agitation
• Suicidal thoughts

Rebounding Symptoms

If you were previously treated for mental health conditions like anxiety with Klonopin, chances are high that you could experience a rebound of the symptoms. This is commonly referred to as a relapse of mental health, a condition in which the symptoms have returned. The relapse of mental health symptoms is influenced mainly by life stressors such as a substance abuse disorder, financial stress, changing or stopping your medication, or other life changes.

It is important to note that the relapse symptoms may become more intense in the first few days of withdrawal than they used to be. This severity of the rebound symptoms often influences people to cease detox.

Klonopin Withdrawal Timeline

Klonopin withdrawal can be very dangerous without proper guidance from your doctor. You may experience Klonopin withdrawal symptoms within 3 to 4 days of stopping your medication.¹ However, the duration of Klonopin withdrawal usually depends on how long you took the medication, how much dosage you took, usage frequency, whether the drug was abused, and your mental health and medical history.

The intensity of Klonopin withdrawal symptoms is likely to increase over time, and they start to peak by the end of the first week. Symptoms such as insomnia are likely to become extremely severe. It’s important to note that Klonopin can cause severe and, possibly, permanent damage to the central nervous system. You can fully expect to detox from clonazepam over days with improvements in anxiety or insomnia. Your doctor can help taper your Klonopin dosage to help reduce the time needed to detox from the medication.

The timeline of Klonopin withdrawal is as follows:

Clonazepam Withdrawal Treatment

If your withdrawal symptoms are severe, an integrated health model with therapy, group programs, inpatient and outpatient care, and medications may help you address symptoms. Also, your doctor will consider tapering your dose, where you will take small amounts of clonazepam over a scheduled duration to slowly reduce the amount of the medication rather than quitting cold turkey.

Addiction treatment that may be helpful for clonazepam withdrawal include:

At-home Care

Detoxing at home may encourage habits that improve your body’s normal detoxification processes, such as eating a healthy diet and getting enough adequate sleep. Also, the home provides a safe environment to ensure success in Klonopin detoxification. Having a person or family member stay with you during this time is also important as it can help you feel better.

Some things you can do to prepare for an at-home detox include:

• Have a loved one monitor symptoms: Your family member can closely monitor your symptoms to ensure you are in good health.
• Find a safe home environment: A safe home provides a conducive environment that can help you feel better during detoxification.
• Take a healthy diet: Eating healthy food such as vegetables can help keep your body healthy throughout detoxification.
• Regular exercise: Engaging in physical activity can help improve well-being and maintain better physical health through the detox process.

Rehab & Detoxification Centers

Several detox and rehabilitation centers can help in the recovery process. Before enrolling in detox programs, some processes must be followed. For instance, you need to search for a reliable rehab center and register as a person needing help recovering from Klonopin addiction or dependence. Social work programs can help link these programs offered by various facilities across the country or your area.

However, Klonopin rehab programs differ from alcohol-focused ones in different ways. Klonopin programs are designed to help people overcome medication dependence, while alcohol programs focus on alcohol addiction.

Intensive Outpatient Programs

These programs help to address addictions, benzodiazepine dependencies, or anxiety that do not necessarily require detoxification. Several intensive outpatient programs, including group and individual therapy, can be recommended by your doctor. These therapy programs can help address mental, emotional, physical, behavioral, or life stressors. You may benefit from intensive outpatient programs in the following ways: better sleep, improved communication, and increased happiness with less stress.

Therapy & Support Groups

Both therapy and support groups can help to alleviate withdrawal symptoms and address addiction to Klonopin. Group therapy and support groups can help you interact and discuss multiple topics regarding coping and managing Klonopin addiction and dependence.⁵ Groups provide a support network and sounding board, and it can also be a relief to learn what other people go through and realize you are not alone.

Therapy options that can help address addiction and withdrawal symptoms include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT can help bring awareness to and correct maladaptive behavioral patterns, improve motivation for change, and develop effective healthy coping mechanisms that address Klonopin addiction and withdrawal symptoms.
• Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT): DBT can help adjust behavioral patterns linked with Klonopin withdrawal symptoms and addiction.
• Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): Using EMDR along with addiction treatment can help reduce negative feelings that come with addiction and withdrawal symptoms.
• Emotionally focused therapy (EFT): EFT can reduce thought patterns and emotional regulation. EFT is an effective treatment for people with co-occurring mental health, substance use disorders, and benzodiazepine dependencies.

5 Ways to Cope With Klonopin Withdrawal Symptoms

You can implement several valuable ways to help manage/relieve the symptom of Klonopin withdrawal. These strategies include staying hydrated and practicing self-care. If you implement these healthful coping mechanisms, you will minimize or prevent symptoms.

Here are 6 tips to help alleviate Klonopin withdrawal symptoms:

1. Stay hydrated: Drinking water throughout the day can help replace fluids lost from sweating, vomiting, and can prevent dehydration.⁶
2. Eat regularly: Taking a healthy diet can help prevent Klonopin withdrawal symptoms.
3. Exercise for your mental health: The mental health benefits of exercise may help improve your well-being as you manage withdrawal symptoms.
4. Practice self-care: Practicing regular self-care can bolster your physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being, making you better equipped to manage withdrawal symptoms.
5. Stay connected to your support network: Seek support from people who care about you and can support you through the challenges of withdrawal.
6. Tapering and weaning off slowly: Your doctor will taper your dosage, where you will take the medication in small amounts for a certain duration to prevent withdrawal symptoms.

Final Thoughts

While Klonopin can help reduce symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, and other mental conditions, it poses a great health risk due to its addictive nature and risks of withdrawal and dependence. Therefore, with any withdrawal, side effects vary based on the individual. It’s important to discuss stopping Klonopin consumption with your care team and family before taking the first step.