Taper Holding Question / Should I stay or should I go now? :-)

[[Da...]]

Hi Guys,

 

I'm at 0.2mg Lorazapam total daily (assume about 1.5mg Valium).  I have had severe anxiety for about a week (please keep in mind I had an anxiety breakdown 4 months ago).  Before this last cut (5%) I was pretty good really.  No panic attacks just panic and anxiety in general - sleep has become horrible.  I have been holding this for 2 weeks.  Should I wait for it to get better and hold for another week or so?  Or just keep progressing?  I jumped to here before and it was HORRIBLE, so I went back up and came down much slower this time.

 

Thanks, just looking for some feedback.

[[os...]]

 

 

What I usually do in this situation is make a tiny dose correction and see if that helps, I do this and just wait it out.

 

It has been said by a neuro doc that if we do not stabilze within 2 weeks to go back and wait it out and try again, he said that sometimes the brain is just not ready for a cut and not to force it... when I need to make a small dose reduction, I usually hold for 3 weeks as sometimes it takes that long for me to get stable again, on one occasion it took 4 weeks.

 

3 weeks can often do it but if you have not felt any improvement at all, try a small dose correction and then just hold until your body gives you the green light... that is what I would do and in fact I have just done that and I am waiting now to get stable again.

 

The neuro doc said not to get discouraged when having to go back a bit, it sometimes happens, it does not mean we are weak, in his opinion some people could taper in a year or two and yet some need to take 5 or 6 years, it can be a long process so you are doing great to get as low as you have so far, just don't push it now because the goal needs to be a smooth finish it will save you a lot of potential suffering later on, so take your time and be prepared to be flexible. use the benzo's to help you is sometimes a good thing... the brain cannot be forced in this, well, it can but it will complain and it may make it much harder to get stable later.

 

 

[[Da...]]

Thank you for this amazing reply.

 

Yeah, I just got beat read and 20 minutes of euphoria, so I will just hold tight and wait it out.  But dropping would be a poor idea right now. :-)

[[os...]]

Thank you for this amazing reply.

 

Yeah, I just got beat read and 20 minutes of euphoria, so I will just hold tight and wait it out.  But dropping would be a poor idea right now. :-)

 

Take your time, it's hard not to want to get this done asap but most seem to do poorly if they rush their taper... zero apparently is not all that great if we arrive there prematurely... well, according to some anyways, don't taper as slow as me but don't rush it either, nothing wrong in holding, it allows more healing in my opinion.