Had Depression And Was Treated With Rivotril. Having Mental Fog, Dryness, Anxiety And Swirling In Mind When Rivotril Is Stopped. Advise?

Posted on Sun, 1 Sep 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 1 Sep 2013 Answered on

Wed, 18 Sep 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I had depression in 2008 which was treated with rivotril alone.
(Xanax was not suitable, cipralex was not used).
I came out easily in 3 months.

The second occurence was on Dec 2011.
I didnt treat it until XXXXXXX 2012.

Started to treat it by Aug 2012.
Recovered well slowly.

The combination of drugs effectively was set by october 2013 by trial and error.

I responded well to

Morning : Wellbutrim 150 mg

Night : Rivotrol .5 mg
cipralex 10 mg

By march 2013,i am feeling ok.

Discontinued wellbutrim & Cipralex by XXXXXXX 2013.

BUT I am unable to discontinue Rivotril .5 mg.

If i stop, within three days I get a mental fog and dryness.
A torrent of negative and anxiety thoughts flood back, swirling in the mind.
sleep quality is reduced.

How can i get out of this .5 mg slowly without complications ?

FYI: I react badly to seroquel, which makes drowsy and skip work.

Answered by Dr. Payman Hajiazim (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
You can decrease 25 percent of the dose every 3 w.

Detailed Answer:
Hi there, thanks for asking. As you mentioned it is no so easy to decrease the dose of clonazepam (rivotril). The best way is to decrease the dose 25 percent every 3 to 4 weeks and then watch yourself to see if you experience any symptoms. Because its half life is more than 24 hours in body, you can decrease by not to take it every three days. (the reason that you are comfortable for three days when you do not take it is this issue). After three weeks and if every thing is fine, you can repeat this decreasing. Let me know if you have any question. Best

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Payman Hajiazim (18 hours later)

Thank you doctor.

I would like to correct the information.

I am taking .25 mg of clonezpam.

The difficulty I am having in reducing the does is all I have is 2 mg tablets which I am breaking into 8 pieces, which is difficult.

I am staying in Qatar which the drug is banned or can be obtained from only medical center.

One of the physicatrist told I can use a combination of seroquel and antihistamines (atarax), as necessity is the mother of invention, he has formulated and it is working.

For me serqouel is medicine, which i become switched off and cannot function.

Do u see any hope in using alternatives ? if any.

Is the clonezapam effect on Human body is known ? what is it do ?
I feel taking that for 8 months, still i do not know what it is doing ?

Thanks once again

Answered by Dr. Payman Hajiazim (34 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
it is good for anxiety and sleep.

Detailed Answer:
Hi again. It is good for your sleep and maybe anxiety during the day. If you do not have much anxiety, you can switch this medication to a medication from Z class for sleep after talking with your doctor. They have no effect on your body and brain during the day. Best

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar