Titrating Off Clonazepam
Last time I wrote I was still slowly ramping up the Clonazepam dosage, hoping to get some pain relief and help with my hyper emotions. Well, it did calm down the startle reflex and extreme frustration and irritability I was experiencing, but it did NOT help with the muscle spasms. In fact it made my muscles so weak that I’ve been doing a lot of shuffling of late, either because I could not lift my feet, or due to the fear I would fall again, if I did pick up my foot in mid spasm.
So now I am working on titrating back off of the Clonazepam. Even when I was up to three .5mg pills a day, I did not get any pain relief, so it just wasn’t worth it.
I’m down to .5mg at night, but not taking any during the day. Yesterday was horrible, with legs so weak and painful it was all I could do to get up from the chair, but today is better.
I don’t plan on going back on the Methocarbamol and Neurontin until I’ve given plenty of time for the Clonazepam to be out of my system. They didn’t help much, and made the brain fog worse, but it looks like they are still the best meds I have available. The half life of this benzo compound is like 60 hours, so it takes a looooong time to rid the system of it completely. That long half life is great for smoothing out anxiety issues, not so great when it makes the muscle weakness worse.
Another Diagnosis Anniversary
Another birthday has come and gone, making this my 10th year with some kind of movement disorder diagnosis, not counting all those years when doctors dismissed me as just a whiny hypochondriac female LOL. Initially it was thought to be Parkinson’s, but was eventually conclusively diagnosed as Mitochondrial Myopathy.
I’m basically my own doctor at this point. No new research findings in the years I’ve known what was wrong, so it’s left to me to try various nutrition programs and what I think might be helpful in the way of meds – with my Neuro’s approval, of course.
At my last appointment, my Neurologist broached the subject of me eventually being fitted with some kind of AFO braces to support my legs better, as my age is beginning to work against me. Exercise intolerance is one of the hallmarks of this disease, so I have to strike a balance between not moving enough (trying to keep from hurting) and moving too much (which damages muscle cells and does more harm than good).
So I thank God for the better day I’m having today, and continue to do what I can to improve my quality of life.
Praising God, from whom all blessing flow!!!