Are you healing while you are tapering?

[[sp...]]

Hello everyone,

My taper has just started and I am doing fine aside from restless sleep and crazy vision inconsistencies. Just wondering if you are actually healing as you reduce your dose, because I swear some of my klonopin induced depression has gone away. Any thoughts?

[[bu...]]

If we didn't heal as we tapered, why would we taper?

 

The whole logic behind tapering is our systems adjust ("heal") as we lower our dose.

[[sp...]]

Well, that is reassuring, so excuse me if it sounded like a stupid question, but I didn't know is it was possible to heal while you are STILL taking the benzo or only AFTER you have stopped.

[[th...]]

I think of it as our brain needing to adjust to lower levels of the drug and therefore must reconfigure itself as we go lower in dose as we taper. Less drug means less reconfiguring. Hence the wd syx we experience as we cut and go lower. It's the brain adjusting.

 

G

[[mi...]]

Then why are somebody saying that the last milligrams are the worst ?

[[SC...]]

I don't know this for sure as I am not a doctor just a dumb engineer, but I imagine the last cuts would be more difficult because they tend to be a greater percentage of the previous dose. 

[[th...]]

The lower doses aren't always a prob. It's individual. And yes the cuts are an enormous % at the end, up to 50%, plus it means way less drug for the brain even just crumbs. Remember though that some people get better as they come closer to 0. And have very little acute wd after a slow taper. Some still get slammed but this isn't always the case. Valium seems to be a culprit for harder times on lower doses and also post jump acute wd. I believe this is bc of it's long half life. But any of the benzos can cause this.

 

G

[[be...]]

I think of it as our brain needing to adjust to lower levels of the drug and therefore must reconfigure itself as we go lower in dose as we taper. Less drug means less reconfiguring. Hence the wd syx we experience as we cut and go lower. It's the brain adjusting.

 

G

 

I've healed quite a bit once I lowered my dose. 

[[sp...]]

The lower doses aren't always a prob. It's individual. And yes the cuts are an enormous % at the end, up to 50%, plus it means way less drug for the brain even just crumbs. Remember though that some people get better as they come closer to 0. And have very little acute wd after a slow taper. Some still get slammed but this isn't always the case. Valium seems to be a culprit for harder times on lower doses and also post jump acute wd. I believe this is bc of it's long half life. But any of the benzos can cause this.

 

G

 

Then why does everyone recommend switching to Valium? Now I am scared and I was feeling really good.

[[th...]]

I guess people seem to experience much less up and down with V. I didn't switch, I stayed on X and cont to taper. The lower doses can effect anyone tapering off any benzos. You really basically have to make your own journey and not fall prey to the horror stories, if you are doing well than be happy about that. Worrying about "what could be" won't help, it will just cause more anxious feelings. Keep going and be happy you feel good right now.

 

Grinch

[[bu...]]

The lower doses aren't always a prob. It's individual. And yes the cuts are an enormous % at the end, up to 50%, plus it means way less drug for the brain even just crumbs. Remember though that some people get better as they come closer to 0. And have very little acute wd after a slow taper. Some still get slammed but this isn't always the case. Valium seems to be a culprit for harder times on lower doses and also post jump acute wd. I believe this is bc of it's long half life. But any of the benzos can cause this.

 

G

 

Then why does everyone recommend switching to Valium? Now I am scared and I was feeling really good.

 

Because is long half-live means more level blood levels of med, and because its available in low dose (2mg) tablets.

[[Ju...]]

The lower doses aren't always a prob. It's individual. And yes the cuts are an enormous % at the end, up to 50%, plus it means way less drug for the brain even just crumbs. Remember though that some people get better as they come closer to 0. And have very little acute wd after a slow taper. Some still get slammed but this isn't always the case. Valium seems to be a culprit for harder times on lower doses and also post jump acute wd. I believe this is bc of it's long half life. But any of the benzos can cause this.

 

G

 

Then why does everyone recommend switching to Valium? Now I am scared and I was feeling really good.

 

Because is long half-live means more level blood levels of med, and because its available in low dose (2mg) tablets.

 

Builder is correct. 

 

But, not everyone recommends a crossover right off the bat, because many people don't actually need to crossover to withdraw in a manageable way, IMO.  I certainly didn't.  But I did not experience the yoyo effect as is common with short half live benzos.  I did not experience interdose withdrawal.  These are common reasons why people crossover.  If we aren't experiencing interdose withdrawal and are managing to taper our original benzo, it's often much easier to stick with what our body is accustomed to and this can also mean reaching the benzo free state sooner, because the time necessary to crossover is not a factor.

 

Valium is a good benzo for a taper and has enabled many folks who might not have been able to taper their original benzo, become benzo free.  So it's a good option.

 

I see you did an abrupt crossover from Klonopin to Valium and also you began tapering after only being on Valium for 2 weeks.  How did you feel with this abrupt change and are you feeling ok with the dosage reduction?

[[Bu...]]

Absolutely you can heal while you taper! I've been at this 3 years now and I've gone from being too weak to hold a knife to just returning from 7 weeks in Europe.

 

I also don't believe you necessarily get worse the lower you go. To heal and have a manageable taper, you need to adjust your taper as needed to maintain control of your sx so you can have a life. It's true that as you get lower, you are cutting a larger percentage which you may not tolerate...so you may need to slow the rate at which you reduce to keep sx in the annoying but not crushing category. (Learned this the hard way.)

 

I'm about 80 percent the last two years, with some periods with sx flare-ups that I was able to manage.

[[sp...]]

 

 

Valium is a good benzo for a taper and has enabled many folks who might not have been able to taper their original benzo, become benzo free.  So it's a good option.

 

I see you did an abrupt crossover from Klonopin to Valium and also you began tapering after only being on Valium for 2 weeks.  How did you feel with this abrupt change and are you feeling ok with the dosage reduction?

 

Juliea--

I was having terrible interdose w/d and no sleep from klonopin. First two weeks at 12 mg were a dream. Slept about 8 hours a night, this past week was 5 hours sleep, then pee, then maybe 2 hours more.

[[sp...]]

Juliea--I did not do the quote right. Sorry.

[[sp...]]

The lower doses aren't always a prob. It's individual. And yes the cuts are an enormous % at the end, up to 50%, plus it means way less drug for the brain even just crumbs. Remember though that some people get better as they come closer to 0. And have very little acute wd after a slow taper. Some still get slammed but this isn't always the case. Valium seems to be a culprit for harder times on lower doses and also post jump acute wd. I believe this is bc of it's long half life. But any of the benzos can cause this.

 

G

 

Then why does everyone recommend switching to Valium? Now I am scared and I was feeling really good.

 

Because is long half-live means more level blood levels of med, and because its available in low dose (2mg) tablets.

 

Builder is correct. 

 

But, not everyone recommends a crossover right off the bat, because many people don't actually need to crossover to withdraw in a manageable way, IMO.  I certainly didn't.  But I did not experience the yoyo effect as is common with short half live benzos.  I did not experience interdose withdrawal.  These are common reasons why people crossover.  If we aren't experiencing interdose withdrawal and are managing to taper our original benzo, it's often much easier to stick with what our body is accustomed to and this can also mean reaching the benzo free state sooner, because the time necessary to crossover is not a factor.

 

Valium is a good benzo for a taper and has enabled many folks who might not have been able to taper their original benzo, become benzo free.  So it's a good option.

 

I see you did an abrupt crossover from Klonopin to Valium and also you began tapering after only being on Valium for 2 weeks.  How did you feel with this abrupt change and are you feeling ok with the dosage reduction?

 

With all due respect to you as an administrator,  if you had read my original post you would have seen that I said I am doing fine. So much of this is a mental game and if someone like you calls my "fine" into question, it can really throw a newbie off. I asked if I was healing while tapering, that is all. Not for anything else.

[[Ju...]]

The lower doses aren't always a prob. It's individual. And yes the cuts are an enormous % at the end, up to 50%, plus it means way less drug for the brain even just crumbs. Remember though that some people get better as they come closer to 0. And have very little acute wd after a slow taper. Some still get slammed but this isn't always the case. Valium seems to be a culprit for harder times on lower doses and also post jump acute wd. I believe this is bc of it's long half life. But any of the benzos can cause this.

 

G

 

Then why does everyone recommend switching to Valium? Now I am scared and I was feeling really good.

 

Because is long half-live means more level blood levels of med, and because its available in low dose (2mg) tablets.

 

Builder is correct. 

 

But, not everyone recommends a crossover right off the bat, because many people don't actually need to crossover to withdraw in a manageable way, IMO.  I certainly didn't.  But I did not experience the yoyo effect as is common with short half live benzos.  I did not experience interdose withdrawal.  These are common reasons why people crossover.  If we aren't experiencing interdose withdrawal and are managing to taper our original benzo, it's often much easier to stick with what our body is accustomed to and this can also mean reaching the benzo free state sooner, because the time necessary to crossover is not a factor.

 

Valium is a good benzo for a taper and has enabled many folks who might not have been able to taper their original benzo, become benzo free.  So it's a good option.

 

I see you did an abrupt crossover from Klonopin to Valium and also you began tapering after only being on Valium for 2 weeks.  How did you feel with this abrupt change and are you feeling ok with the dosage reduction?

 

With all due respect to you as an administrator,  if you had read my original post you would have seen that I said I am doing fine. So much of this is a mental game and if someone like you calls my "fine" into question, it can really throw a newbie off. I asked if I was healing while tapering, that is all. Not for anything else.

 

Well, with due respect back to you, I certainly did not mean to imply you weren't doing fine or mean to scare you, all I did was ask how you were out of concern for your well being.  I was actually responding to your question, "Then why does everyone recommend switching to Valium?".  This prompted my reply that not everyone recommends a crossover for people who aren't having problems with their original benzo. 

 

And to you saying you were fine, I responded from my experience because my symptoms changed like the wind.  One minute I could be fine and the next I was in a wave and then back to fine again.  In fact so much so that I was hesitant to even say I was fine because my symptoms morphed so often.  I wanted to know how you felt when you answered, not how you were when you posted.  Again, not because I felt you weren't feeling fine, but more so because so often I was fine one moment and not fine the next.

 

We are peer support here on BenzoBuddies and people provide input based upon their experience and knowledge base and questions are often asked that might not have anything to do with the title of a thread.  Maybe even questions we might not expect and people like me study signatures and try to gauge our support based upon the info in the members signature.  So, please be ready to roll with this model and it will make your time here less stressful.  All we all want to do more than anything else is help a fellow buddie get through this process more easily.

 

As far as your thread title, absolutely I believe people heal a great deal during a taper.  I know I certainly did.  So much so, that when I jumped I was able to skip the acute withdrawal phase so many folks do go through.  Lots of healing during the taper is my opinion, but complete and final healing only after the benzo is removed.  This is the camp I'm a member of.

 

Take care. 

[[sc...]]

Juliea, you didn't go through the acute w/d phase? Wow, that's awesome,,how was your taper?

[[Ju...]]

Juliea, you didn't go through the acute w/d phase? Wow, that's awesome,,how was your taper?

 

Oh I went through many acute phases, just not after my taper was finished, which is the traditional time acute might come.  I experienced acute at the top end of my taper when I was cutting to large a chunk from my daily dose too quickly and also during tolerance prior to even beginning my taper. 

 

But once I learned to taper tiny amounts and wait for re-stabilization between cuts here on BenzoBuddies, I began to feel better and better the lower in dose I got.  By the time I got to .25mg Xanax, (5mg Valium), I very rarely had any increased symptoms from a cut.  And when I jumped, it was a non-event except I had a bit of insomnia that came back for a while.

 

If a taper is done properly by listening to our bodies and tapering accordingly, I believe many of us have the chance to taper our benzos with somewhat manageable symptoms.  We're all just so different and many people rush at different parts of their taper.  Rushing through the taper may impact the outcome.  Although I rushed at the top of my taper, I slowed things way down mid taper all the way to zero and managed to stop a 25+ year dependency and do really well post taper, even after decades long, high dose use of Xanax for sleep.