Dr. refused to refill prescription, no advice on anything.

[[To...]]

I am trying to figure out how to taper. As you can tell, I am so very new to all this. Any comments appreciated.

[[Ch...]]

Hi Toodle and welcome.

 

We need to know a bit more.  What are you on, what dose do you take and how much do you have left?

 

If you can write a 'signature' (history of benzo use) it will help us answer.  Here's how:

 

Please include your benzodiazepine information in your posts.  To make that easier by adding it to each post automatically, you can go up to Profile, choose Forum Profile, write the information in the text box and click Change Profile.

 

 

Challis 

[[ef...]]

as they said we need to know info on your medicine you take and how many times a day and for how long.

[[be...]]

as they said we need to know info on your medicine you take and how many times a day and for how long.

 

Don't forget past drug usage and non psychiatric drugs as well.

[[be...]]

How you proceed with a taper will depend on what dose you were on, and how long you were on it.

[[Di...]]

Ditto to what everyone else has said. We do need a lot more information.

 

Basically though the best way to taper is slowly. You should never force your body to "push through" symptoms, because that never has a good end result. You need to work with your body to find the cut amount it can tolerate without causing you too much distress.

 

You can't rush a taper. It will take as long as it's going to take, and not a day less. You need to be prepared to stick with a taper plan for the long haul, regardless of how long that may be. For some people that could be months, for other people it could be years, but there are no short cuts I'm afraid. However, every day tapered is a day closer to being benzo-free.

 

Some people will recommend the Ashton Method, but I'm not a huge fan. I have great respect for Dr Ashton. I'm just not convinced her method is the way to go for a lot of people, especially those on the lower doses. Those people seem to fare much better if they switch to a daily taper.

 

PS - just re-read the title of this thread. So it would seem your doctor is forcing you to do a cold turkey or fast taper. You simply can not do that, and your doctor has no right to force you. IMO the first thing you need to do, before you even think about tapering, is to either find another doctor or tell your current doctor he/she can not cut you off from a highly addictive medication, especially without giving you any kind of advice or support.