Librium Taper ....withdrawal symptom?

[[ia...]]

Hi to all.

I am a couple of weeks into attempting to taper off  of 25mg per day Librium for the past 7 years. I have sometimes used more for stressful situations...but ALWAYS took 25mgs every day...sometimes with Xanax if the situation was to my mind unmanageable . My primary symptom since my taper is Depression. Of course my anxiety level has risen....sleep has become shorter and not as sound...but this Depression is the must troublesome currently. This means that most of the symptoms of depression are present ( apathy,no energy, lack of focus , inability to concentrate fully, compulsive thinking, etc... This is my first attempt to discontinue All Benzo usage. Is Depression normal? Will it abate?

[[ia...]]

Also...Has it been too many Years of use for me to even attempt this?

 

Kinda freaked out by that thought..........

[[ia...]]

I have realized that just before The Holidays is not the best time to try and discontinue Librium. 

As I mentioned, anxiety and depression is a One-Two Punch for those of us that have been prescribed Benzos...and remain a big obstacle in trying to discontinue.

    There is probably NEVER a perfect time to try and discontinue....but for me, this is just too much right now.       

 

[[We...]]

I'm tapering off of librium and I'll get depression for days. ie. apathy/no energy. I won't watch my favorite TV shows, I won't blast my favorite music and I all future prospects go out the window. And it does feel like it will never end, but it eventually fades. I've been taking Librium for just over 2 years at a 100mg ... 25mg x 4 a day and I am now down to 50mg. Each drop has generally the same symptoms with a few new ones popping up that had me concerns by when I got checked out by my doctor there wasn't anything on my blood panel, so after further reading, the symptoms fell right under benzo withdrawal.

 

Right now there's a SC2 tournament playing and normally I would be in the chat room and watching with excitement but I have no desire currently. At least I'm on my computer, when it's really bad, I can't lift my head off my pillow and typing seems like a chore.

 

It's quite the contrast that I can go from working out every other day for 1 hour and feeling physically strong to being bed ridden and feeling like I'm dying ... and sometimes I think I am dying and it's not just withdrawal, but everything checks out from the doctor.

 

I've been reading a lot of peoples stories on here and there are success stories of people having used a benzodiazepine for 25-40 years that have stopped.

 

There's always hope. It's just impossible to see it when I'm in that dark pit. I should put a lot of post-it notes around to remind myself. Kind of like that movie Memento!

 

Good luck!

[[be...]]

Hi to all.

I am a couple of weeks into attempting to taper off  of 25mg per day Librium for the past 7 years. I have sometimes used more for stressful situations...but ALWAYS took 25mgs every day...sometimes with Xanax if the situation was to my mind unmanageable . My primary symptom since my taper is Depression. Of course my anxiety level has risen....sleep has become shorter and not as sound...but this Depression is the must troublesome currently. This means that most of the symptoms of depression are present ( apathy,no energy, lack of focus , inability to concentrate fully, compulsive thinking, etc... This is my first attempt to discontinue All Benzo usage. Is Depression normal? Will it abate?

 

Hi:

 

I'm sorry you re feeling this way but it goes with the territory. It will eventually go away. But I noticed from your sig you are trying to drop more every third day. Personally, I don't think that's a good idea. The amount in your blood stream will do up and down, and you need a steady dose in order to be stable, even while you taper. Bets

[[ia...]]

I'm tapering off of librium and I'll get depression for days. ie. apathy/no energy. I won't watch my favorite TV shows, I won't blast my favorite music and I all future prospects go out the window. And it does feel like it will never end, but it eventually fades. I've been taking Librium for just over 2 years at a 100mg ... 25mg x 4 a day and I am now down to 50mg. Each drop has generally the same symptoms with a few new ones popping up that had me concerns by when I got checked out by my doctor there wasn't anything on my blood panel, so after further reading, the symptoms fell right under benzo withdrawal.

 

Right now there's a SC2 tournament playing and normally I would be in the chat room and watching with excitement but I have no desire currently. At least I'm on my computer, when it's really bad, I can't lift my head off my pillow and typing seems like a chore.

 

It's quite the contrast that I can go from working out every other day for 1 hour and feeling physically strong to being bed ridden and feeling like I'm dying ... and sometimes I think I am dying and it's not just withdrawal, but everything checks out from the doctor.

 

I've been reading a lot of peoples stories on here and there are success stories of people having used a benzodiazepine for 25-40 years that have stopped.

 

There's always hope. It's just impossible to see it when I'm in that dark pit. I should put a lot of post-it notes around to remind myself. Kind of like that movie Memento!

 

Good luck!

 

  Thanks for the reply Westcoast. Sorry your depression is so sever when it hits hard. Now that Thanksgiving is over I may try and taper again....however Christmas and the accompanying activities still have to be faced, so I am not sure. Also considering seeing if a Counselor will help....my Medical Doctor has no clue on Benzo long-term  effects or Tapering.

  Thanks for the encouragement of hearing that other who have been on Benzos much longer have been able to stop.....gives me renewed hope

[[ia...]]

Hi to all.

I am a couple of weeks into attempting to taper off  of 25mg per day Librium for the past 7 years. I have sometimes used more for stressful situations...but ALWAYS took 25mgs every day...sometimes with Xanax if the situation was to my mind unmanageable . My primary symptom since my taper is Depression. Of course my anxiety level has risen....sleep has become shorter and not as sound...but this Depression is the must troublesome currently. This means that most of the symptoms of depression are present ( apathy,no energy, lack of focus , inability to concentrate fully, compulsive thinking, etc... This is my first attempt to discontinue All Benzo usage. Is Depression normal? Will it abate?

 

Hi:

 

I'm sorry you re feeling this way but it goes with the territory. It will eventually go away. But I noticed from your sig you are trying to drop more every third day. Personally, I don't think that's a good idea. The amount in your blood stream will do up and down, and you need a steady dose in order to be stable, even while you taper. Bets

 

Thanks for the reply Benzogirl....and the reminder that my tapering method is not very sound. I am looking forward to the depression going away...though I am tempted to reinstate Zoloft to get through the Winter Months.

  Noticed in your signature that you are familiar with Anti-Depressants. Have you ever been off the AD's for any length of time?

[[We...]]

I'm tapering off of librium and I'll get depression for days. ie. apathy/no energy. I won't watch my favorite TV shows, I won't blast my favorite music and I all future prospects go out the window. And it does feel like it will never end, but it eventually fades. I've been taking Librium for just over 2 years at a 100mg ... 25mg x 4 a day and I am now down to 50mg. Each drop has generally the same symptoms with a few new ones popping up that had me concerns by when I got checked out by my doctor there wasn't anything on my blood panel, so after further reading, the symptoms fell right under benzo withdrawal.

 

Right now there's a SC2 tournament playing and normally I would be in the chat room and watching with excitement but I have no desire currently. At least I'm on my computer, when it's really bad, I can't lift my head off my pillow and typing seems like a chore.

 

It's quite the contrast that I can go from working out every other day for 1 hour and feeling physically strong to being bed ridden and feeling like I'm dying ... and sometimes I think I am dying and it's not just withdrawal, but everything checks out from the doctor.

 

I've been reading a lot of peoples stories on here and there are success stories of people having used a benzodiazepine for 25-40 years that have stopped.

 

There's always hope. It's just impossible to see it when I'm in that dark pit. I should put a lot of post-it notes around to remind myself. Kind of like that movie Memento!

 

Good luck!

 

  Thanks for the reply Westcoast. Sorry your depression is so sever when it hits hard. Now that Thanksgiving is over I may try and taper again....however Christmas and the accompanying activities still have to be faced, so I am not sure. Also considering seeing if a Counselor will help....my Medical Doctor has no clue on Benzo long-term  effects or Tapering.

  Thanks for the encouragement of hearing that other who have been on Benzos much longer have been able to stop.....gives me renewed hope

 

Yeah, the depression is rough. It's usually just the body re-adjusting back to normal. I'm not sure if you've read the ashton manual or have a taper plan yet ?

 

Here's what a 25mg Librium is compared to other drugs ... than you can see what others are doing on their taper to compare yours.

http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha01.htm#24

 

Are you taking the 25mg capsule ? They do have 5mg and 10mg capsules, so that way you can drop 5mg at a time. This way it's a steady decline of the chemical from your bloodstream. It states that Librium has a half-life of 36-200hrs, so even if you drop a certain amount, it might not hit you until a week later, and it could potentially hit you hard and at an unexpected time.

 

In my own experience from tapering off this and previously cold turkey of zopiclone, it's usually the confusion and depersonalization that are hard to endure.

 

If your previous experience with Zoloft was good, I would encourage you to go on that while tapering off a benzo since a benzo is in a much more powerful class.

 

Myself personally, I stopped paxil and celexa cold turkey ... but it's different for everyone.

 

It's quite difficult with the holidays coming up as well. I want to go on another drop, but each drop is like warfare and I can only take so many beatings. From my experience from librium, it's quite easy to normalize back to a higher dose really quick. My exteneded family will be at the house on xmas and boxing day so I can taper up until Dec 23th and up my dosage for the 24/25/26th than go back to what I was at previously.

 

Whatever works for you.

 

 

[[ia...]]

Several points in your response I would like to comment on and discuss, ....but one thing I have to say is that I never thought of Benzos being more Powerful than Antidepressants. That would explain why I have been able to discontinue the AD with some brain Zaps and Cog-Fog...but this first attempt at Benzo discontinuation is much harder. Probably common knowledge to many on this site, but News to me. Explains a lot...thanks for the info