Think I'm addicted to benzodiazepines.

[Imsuchamess]

I have been taking clonazepam for over a year. I am prescribed 6 times 0.5mg a day. 4 at bedtime and two through the day as needed.

I think I am addicted to them.

Do you find you need a higher dose to get the same effect?

Has your Dr tried to get you off them?

I take my full allotted amount daily. But it's not having the same effect. I haven't spoke to my doctor about this yet.

You really must see your doctor. Benzos are very addictive but the doc will know all that. Are you trying to get off them? Getting off long term meds can be really hard.

I haven't really been trying to get off them I'm just worried as I feel addicted to them.

Tolerance is a bit different from addiction. It sounds like you have tolerance rather than addiction because you are not craving more and more and your usage isn't out of control.

To be honest a large % of people on benzos for that amount of time will become physically/psychologically dependent and it is well known that over time people will need more of the drug to get the same effect (tolerance).

I don't understand why you were give clonazepam to take multiple times per day because it is supposed to be long acting - twice a day is normally enough.

I think you need to speak to your doctor about changing the dose, switching to an alternative or tapering off, depending on whether or not you feel you are ready to come off them?

If you do decide to come off then it should be done very slowly to avoid bad withdrawal effects. It is almost impossible to withdraw to slowly but very easy to go too fast and suffer badly. Look up the Ashton method for benzo withdrawal.