Daily Micro-Tapering Support Group

[Guest [yo...]]

I totally agree with you!  the reason i wanted to talk about this post is because of that negative placebo effect.  I think people read that line and say , "I should just CT if im not gonna start healing until im done tapering"  which is wrong.  Some people naturally assume the worst.

I can see that I'm preaching to the converted! 

 

When i first got on BB and started reading, it scared me to death.  It was when I tried to taper the first time and failed.  I think it was my state of mind, all I saw was the negative and starting thinking catastrophic thoughts.  I didn't return to BB until i decided I wanted to try to taper again and only read replies to my posts so i wouldn't have the read the negative stuff.    After some good results and finding some positive posts and threads.  I started to see more positive.

Same here.  It's certainly there, and every time one of us tries to offer an alternative possible outcome to the massively overinflated proportion of worst-case-scenarios one hears about here, education happens.

 

As I'm sure you know, teaching only one side of a deate is indoctrination, not education, and although that's certainly not the intention of this forum or the people here, it just happens as a by-product of the disproprtion of good cases vs bad ones.

 

That has been my goal on this forum is to try to push the positive as much as possible to give people the hope they need to get through this.  I know that my success during my taper has been largely do to my change in attitude and a move from negative to positive mentally.

Well, I adopted the same mission on my return 2 months ago having realised that while here the second time around, I could chose to bring some positive to the table, in in sharing my pain, hopefully some others will see that it isn't always going to be every symptom under te sun, not every symptom is benzo-related, benzos can dictate our lives if we let them.  I've experienced both states, in and out of control, and by far the better way for me was to acknowledge the pain and look for the positives that remained (or make some) rather than acknowledge the positives but live in the reality of the negatives.

 

Can anyone tell me why my attitude HAS TO be bad just because my mind and body are and why I HAVE to be miserable even when withdrawing?  Don't I get ANY choice in the matter?  I think I do, and in fact I may go so far as to say I have total control IF I believe I do and have that perception for long enough, and use that laguage in my mind and through my mouth.

 

Or, I could feel sorry for myself and see every problem under the sun, and make ones that don't exist, like I did the first time around.  For me, the difference between the two was a better attitude the second time around. That was all.

 

I like your mission, sharkey, and it gets you on my buddy list and my other list for those whose attitudes I really like.

 

Go forth with my full support, and be safe from antagonism.

 

 

Thanks for your post!

On the contrary, thanks for coming along and raising the topic.  It's critical but often overlooked!

 

 

Cheers, sharkey.

 

 

J

[[Sm...]]

Im also about to start daily tapering, Great idea for a thread.

 

Im doing ok with cut and hold but why should I just be ok when there may be a possibility of feeling a little better.....Makes sense to me!.

 

So on we go but a little different.

 

My mum always says "Little things make the difference"

[[sh...]]

Im also about to start daily tapering, Great idea for a thread.

 

Im doing ok with cut and hold but why should I just be ok when there may be a possibility of feeling a little better.....Makes sense to me!.

 

So on we go but a little different.

 

My mum always says "Little things make the difference"

 

Welcome to the group smallred!  let us know if you have questions with your daily taper.

[[Mo...]]

Im also about to start daily tapering, Great idea for a thread.

 

Im doing ok with cut and hold but why should I just be ok when there may be a possibility of feeling a little better.....Makes sense to me!.

 

So on we go but a little different.

 

My mum always says "Little things make the difference"

 

Heya Small!,long time not see.

Are you planning on using liquid or scales or what?

Hope you're doing well.

 

Moo ( mom of one )

[[Ul...]]

Hey All:

 

Good start for the support group so far!  I have 3 people who use titration.  And one person who is using micro-cutting.  So glad to have both methods in one place.  Now hopefully we will get some people with questions.

 

I am currently at 0.08mg a day and if i don't have to hold, I will be done with my taper in 32 days!  Cant wait for that day to get here.  No real symptoms today just some morning anxiety which i was able to work through.  Will check back in soon!

 

Stay strong!

sharkey

 

Stick it with a fork, Sharkey!!  You're done!!!!  Congratulations to you, and thank you for all you do!!

[[Sm...]]

Im also about to start daily tapering, Great idea for a thread.

 

Im doing ok with cut and hold but why should I just be ok when there may be a possibility of feeling a little better.....Makes sense to me!.

 

So on we go but a little different.

 

My mum always says "Little things make the difference"

 

Heya Small!,long time not see.

Are you planning on using liquid or scales or what?

Hope you're doing well.

 

Moo ( mom of one )

 

Sup Moo,You good?

 

Yep im going for the liquid,Got it all sorted out with my doc and starting end of this month.

 

Im not bad just thought id give the daily tapering a go to try and be more than not bad!

 

Glad your back and hope your as well as you can be.

[[Sm...]]

Im also about to start daily tapering, Great idea for a thread.

 

Im doing ok with cut and hold but why should I just be ok when there may be a possibility of feeling a little better.....Makes sense to me!.

 

So on we go but a little different.

 

My mum always says "Little things make the difference"

 

Welcome to the group smallred!  let us know if you have questions with your daily taper.

 

Will do............Builder and SG57 have answered all my Qs but im sure ill pop in if I need help or to post positives

[[Mo...]]

Im also about to start daily tapering, Great idea for a thread.

 

Im doing ok with cut and hold but why should I just be ok when there may be a possibility of feeling a little better.....Makes sense to me!.

 

So on we go but a little different.

 

My mum always says "Little things make the difference"

 

Heya Small!,long time not see.

Are you planning on using liquid or scales or what?

Hope you're doing well.

 

Moo ( mom of one )

 

Sup Moo,You good?

 

Yep im going for the liquid,Got it all sorted out with my doc and starting end of this month.

 

Im not bad just thought id give the daily tapering a go to try and be more than not bad!

 

Glad your back and hope your as well as you can be.

 

Hey Small,

Liquid has served me very well during my taper.

Great you sorted it all out with the doc.

 

Thanks. Yup, onwards and upwards 

Almost there, should be done with this process somewhere mid August. I'm having to slow down a bit right now but that's fine.

 

Have a nice evening

[[sh...]]

Im also about to start daily tapering, Great idea for a thread.

 

Im doing ok with cut and hold but why should I just be ok when there may be a possibility of feeling a little better.....Makes sense to me!.

 

So on we go but a little different.

 

My mum always says "Little things make the difference"

 

Welcome to the group smallred!  let us know if you have questions with your daily taper.

 

Will do............Builder and SG57 have answered all my Qs but im sure ill pop in if I need help or to post positives

 

Builder and SG57 are the best titration teachers!  you in good hands

[[Sm...]]

Im also about to start daily tapering, Great idea for a thread.

 

Im doing ok with cut and hold but why should I just be ok when there may be a possibility of feeling a little better.....Makes sense to me!.

 

So on we go but a little different.

 

My mum always says "Little things make the difference"

 

Heya Small!,long time not see.

Are you planning on using liquid or scales or what?

Hope you're doing well.

 

Moo ( mom of one )

 

Sup Moo,You good?

 

Yep im going for the liquid,Got it all sorted out with my doc and starting end of this month.

 

Im not bad just thought id give the daily tapering a go to try and be more than not bad!

 

Glad your back and hope your as well as you can be.

 

Hey Small,

Liquid has served me very well during my taper.

Great you sorted it all out with the doc.

 

Thanks. Yup, onwards and upwards 

Almost there, should be done with this process somewhere mid August. I'm having to slow down a bit right now but that's fine.

 

Have a nice evening

 

That's great Moo,Do what you need to to do(Your doing real good)

 

Speak soon

[[bu...]]

Hi Sharkey,

 

Great thread and supportive people here!  Is there a way to point me (and others) to sites where there is a clear description on how to do a liquid taper - either with milk or alcohol?  I know there are links floating around, but I just wondered if you knew of the ones that best described the process -

 

Thanks!

 

Ellen

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=97511.msg1248599#msg1248599

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=110496.0

[[Ul...]]

Sharkey's been helping me, and led me over to this thread to learn a few things. Man, I have a loooong way to go, but you all give me hope!!  Thanks for doing that.

 

I was at 8mg/day at my highest (yes, EIGHT), and then 5mg/day for years. 21 years total and counting. Just started liquid titration recently thanks to Sharkey, SG and Builder. Currently at 2.71mg and working down daily. An interesting journey.

 

Bless you all!!

[[Be...]]

I am really glad to see the positivity being generated in this group.  I was hoping there were a number of people out there who were struggling but doing relatively well overall.  I place myself in that category.  Although the intensity of my withdrawal symptoms goes up and down the symptoms have been tolerable.  I found an interesting article promoting withdrawal at http://www.choosehelp.com/topics/detox/sedative-anti-convulsant-detox-ativan-ambient-benzodiazepines .  In one section of the article it relates an uptick in symptoms to having a touch of the "benzo flu".  The article is focused on the cut-and-hold method, but I think there are analogies with daily micro-tapering.  Following is the quote from the article: 

 

"Staying focused on how bad you’re feeling won’t help you feel better, and the more you obsess about your symptoms, the worse you’ll perceive those symptoms to be – in fact, sometimes worrying about how you’ll feel after dose reductions causes more negative symptoms than the dose reduction itself!

 

One trick you can use to minimize the worry is to accept that after each dose reduction you might catch a touch of ‘Benzo Flu’

 

Think objectively about how you feel after a dose reduction and compare these symptoms to how you feel when you catch a cold or flu. Are they comparable? When you get a flu do you worry a lot about how terrible you’re feeling or do you just accept that you’ll feel crummy for a few days and that you’ll feel better in time.

 

With benzo withdrawal symptoms it’s pretty much the same thing. You may feel crummy for a short time after a dose reduction, but you’ll feel better quickly enough, so why not just think of your symptoms as a case of benzo flu – and since you know that this flu will pass quickly enough, you don’t need to get too stressed about how bad you feel."

 

 

 

 

[[Mo...]]

Sharkey's been helping me, and led me over to this thread to learn a few things. Man, I have a loooong way to go, but you all give me hope!!  Thanks for doing that.

 

I was at 8mg/day at my highest (yes, EIGHT), and then 5mg/day for years. 21 years total and counting. Just started liquid titration recently thanks to Sharkey, SG and Builder. Currently at 2.71mg and working down daily. An interesting journey.

 

Bless you all!!

 

Wow, Ultra, yiuve come a long way! Well done!

It sure is interesting .

 

 

[[We...]]

Thanks for the tip on the Ativan, builder. (about it being in your system for 6 hours) and thanks to others who told me to dose every 4 hours. I started doing it last night and I am start to notice more of a smoothness to things. THANK GOD!

 

And welcome to this thread other microtaperors! It was nice to wake up and see all of these helpful and positive posts.

 

I, too, was getting scared to death reading all of the horror stories. I know I put out a few panicky emails and probably scared some others, too But That was because I tapered wayyy to fast.

 

Now that I've decided to microtaper and will try to just stick to reading the positives (so I don't scare myself to death) I am feeling much more confident.

 

Thanks again for the group, Sharky. and happy to see we are in good company with the rockstars of titration SCG and Builder.   I'm going to give me dosing switch a little time and then start the taper. I could use some major help in planning this when the time comes.

 

Have a good day, all 

 

Wecan16

[[el...]]

Thank you for the links, builder!

[[bu...]]

Im also about to start daily tapering, Great idea for a thread.

 

Im doing ok with cut and hold but why should I just be ok when there may be a possibility of feeling a little better.....Makes sense to me!.

 

So on we go but a little different.

 

My mum always says "Little things make the difference"

 

Welcome to the group smallred!  let us know if you have questions with your daily taper.

 

Will do............Builder and SG57 have answered all my Qs but im sure ill pop in if I need help or to post positives

 

Builder and SG57 are the best titration teachers!  you in good hands

 

8)

[[sh...]]

Welcome to the group Ultra!

 

Ben,  great information and like your comments!  Great stuff!

 

Wecan16,  sounds like you have a great game plan! Your on your way!

 

Stay strong!

sharkey

[[Cl...]]

Ok, so I hope this is the right place to ask about my taper. I need help with a new schedule. Was tapering at 2 1/2 percent a week from my starting pill of .50, which weighs between .169 and .170.

From the beginning I was taking .25 in the am and .25 in the pm. I am now down 20% which means I take .068 am and .068 pm measured on the gram scale. If I want to start doing the .001 daily cut, can someone please help me work out a schedule?

Thanks, New Girl

 

Hi New Girl 

If I were you I would cut 0.001 grams of cut as follows:

 

Day 1: AM 0.067  PM 0.068

Day 2: 0.067.        0.067

Day 3: hold 0.067  0.067

Day 4: 0.066          0.067

Day 5: 0.066.        0.066

Day 6: hold...

 

I would do like this for at least 20 days, if I am feeling well, then I may be able to cut 3 following days and hold at the fourth day.

You are already in a very low dose, Congratulations! so I would be more careful when switching to microtaper, I woul not do that daily.

 

The only you have to do is to use a metallic file nail to remove 0.001 grams of pill and after cutting for 2 following days, to hold one day. I hope it helps 

 

[[Cl...]]

Wow! I am loving this thread! Sharkey, your idea and attitude are GREAT!

So good analogies I read today of all you in here!

Thank you for sharing this! I thing optimism is also contageous 

[[Mo...]]

Wow! I am loving this thread! Sharkey, your idea and attitude are GREAT!

So good analogies I read today of all you in here!

Thank you for sharing this! I thing optimism is also contageous 

 

I agree , Clona. Have to admit I tend to see things on the negative side ( meaning seeing problems before I see the positive side of things) and trying to bring more positivity in my life. This thread IS contagious !

[[sh...]]

Wow! I am loving this thread! Sharkey, your idea and attitude are GREAT!

So good analogies I read today of all you in here!

Thank you for sharing this! I thing optimism is also contageous 

 

I agree , Clona. Have to admit I tend to see things on the negative side ( meaning seeing problems before I see the positive side of things) and trying to bring more positivity in my life. This thread IS contagious !

 

Remember how it feels to be optimistic.  It is a wonderful thing.  You will always have ups and downs, it is part of life.  But if you can remember the optimism it is so much easier to get back to it when you do hit a low spot.

 

Stay strong!

sharkey

[[Mo...]]

Wow! I am loving this thread! Sharkey, your idea and attitude are GREAT!

So good analogies I read today of all you in here!

Thank you for sharing this! I thing optimism is also contageous 

 

I agree , Clona. Have to admit I tend to see things on the negative side ( meaning seeing problems before I see the positive side of things) and trying to bring more positivity in my life. This thread IS contagious !

 

Remember how it feels to be optimistic.  It is a wonderful thing.  You will always have ups and downs, it is part of life.  But if you can remember the optimism it is so much easier to get back to it when you do hit a low spot.

 

Stay strong!

sharkey

 

Yes, Sharkey. It is a wondeful thing!

Uplifting.

Thanks.

 

Okay, staying strong  !

 

 

[[Kg...]]

I love this group - so positive - Sharkey thanks for starting it. I walked over 2 miles today - last year I could barely make it around the block though I forced myself to walk.  Now I am actually enjoying the exercise.  I checked my progress log and over this year I have dropped almost .21 mg of Valium equivalent - since if I do my dose in Valium (which I am still on) it would be around 11.5 or less using Ashton when I add up my klonopin dose and the 2 mg of Valium.  I can't believe it - daily tapering does help and I am glad I went back to the klonopin with the small amt of valium - I have Ellen to thank for that - so thank you Ellen.  I don't know what I would do without my benzo buddies. 

[[sh...]]

So glad you brought up exercise!  Wanna do a post about coping and exercise is such a huge part of that.  Maybe tomorrow.  Congratz on your progress kgirl!!