3,2,1: Under 3 mg Valium people

[[Sh...]]

MCM just wondering how you are going? Youre getting so low! How is everyone doing? Hope this thread doesnt die off.

[[...]]

Hi Shamo, thanks! I've been hit by insomnia, it makes me depressed, is anyone taking something for sleep during taper?  If I sleep well I can managed everything.  Congrats Shamo- you nearly finished. How is your symptoms this time, hope you're doing well and everyone in this thread.  Mcm

[[Ja...]]

I am at 2.96 at last

Full blown night sweats and been up since 3am

Is this sustainable for 7 more mos???

I feel my body is wearing down and I am scared

I can't parent and work in this condition.

[[Sh...]]

Jackson is there any reason youre feeling so horrendous atm? Have you just cut? Youd hope it wouldnt be that bad every night...there are times when its much easier and you get some good flow going.

[[He...]]

Hi everyone,

I just found this support group and I am so glad I did!

 

I am at 1.25 mg Valium and holding for 22 days now. I was getting impatient and I cut too fast (for me anyway) from 1.5 to 1.25 and got really really bad withdrawal fx. Shakes, muscle weakness, jelly legs, etc. etc that I never had so bad before. Well, needless to say, I am holding until my side effects subside before cutting my taper again. I don't want to up dose.

 

I have learned from this bad experience, and maybe it will help you all who are reading this....

The lower your dose, the smaller cuts you must make and the longer you have to wait to make another cut.  I have learned that I am very sensitive to cuts. I have seen Valium taper schedules, posted in this forum, where people are cutting only .01 or .02 mg daily. I think that is what I am going to do. If I get bad fx I will just hold for a few more days. It may take me 50 to 100 days. And that's ok! Better to go slow and be a normal person who can function and hopefully get to jump with very little side effects.

So as I sign off for now. Please everybody...remember...PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE TAPERING OFF OF BENZOS :thumbsup:  

 

[[Ja...]]

Hi! Not sure why I was hit w insomnia last night

I tried lowering remeron but ended up back on it at 15mg

I had something emotional happen- I can't stop thinking about whether or not to leave my marriage though I am in no position to make that decision at the moment I can't stop my obsessive thoughts

I know right now I need to keep it simple

When I sleep my obsession decreases.

When I am going on 3 hours and parenting two young kids and working I feel literally like I might drop dead from pure exhaustion

My therapist told me I looked unwell

I just can't keep faking it. This shit is brutal.

[[Kg...]]

Heathcliff: I am doing the micro taper cutting .002 grams not .02 on this schedule: c/c/c/h - it takes off .5 mg in a month.  I can't say it has been easy but I have been able to do things, exercise, etc but I still get s/x. I don't know why I think this but I believe that a cut and hold like Shamo is doing is probably better for Valium than a daily taper - small cuts like he is doing with holds in between.  I did the micro taper because that is what is was doing when I cut Klonopin so I just continued to micro taper. I started my taper in mid March and I will be done shortly. I am at .3 mg of Valium now and I can barely see my pill.  If you can I would use liquid to micro taper since it is more accurate and would allow you to do smaller cuts if you want than the scale. For some reason the liquid and I do not agree - so I had no choice but to use the pills.

 

Jackson:  One thing I have realized is that stress greatly impacts our s/x. Given what is going on in your life perhaps now is the time to put in a hold and give your body some time to heal. This is not a race to get off.  The doses we are on BTW are not therapeutic- that is these very low doses don't do anything for us except to help us 'get off' safely. They don't treat the underlying problem. 

[[He...]]

KGirl10  Thanks for the reply about the taper after I get through my present  horrible state.

I am a wreck!

Anyone out there please help!  tell me what you would do.

I am in a very bad way. My cut from 1.5 to 1.25 has given me fx that I never experienced before so badly!really did me in.

I am at a day 25 hold because of these bad withdrawal effects. Don't know how much more I can take!

People say to hold as long as you need to.

I want to hold as long as necessary but I am getting really scared. (Aside from feeling sick)

Will my body actually heal from this cut? . I know others make larger cuts, but I guess I am super sensitive. How long is too long to hold, waiting for fx to settle down?

Did I mess everything up?

I think I can stick it out if someone would just tell me that what I am going through is ok and it is not abnormal. Or should I dose up?  _{:-[ :-[}

Heathcliff

[[He...]]

Thanks kgirl10

Yes thanks, I know the dose I am at is not therapeutic. I took the Valium for anxiety during a brief time of bad anxiety and couldn't sleep, and then got accidentally addicted. I just want off of it!

 

If I hold too long, will I hit tolerance? I am under the impression that hitting tolerance does not happen when tapering. It only happens when you are using the drug for therapeutic reasons and it is not working anymore, so you have to up your dose.

Am I correct? 

You see, part of me is afraid that if I hold too long I will get to tolerance. But that won't happen bec I am in the middle of a taper? Right?

Heathcliff :-[ :-[ :-[

[Guest [Le...]]

I think I can stick it out if someone would just tell me that what I am going through is ok and it is not abnormal. Or should I dose up?  _{:-[ :-[}

Heathcliff

 

You are doing fine, Heathcliff, things really will be OK!!!

 

Question though: Do you feel any relief when you take your dose of Valium, or do you feel worse?

 

I have a specific reason for asking, since I was stuck where you are for a while.

 

 

[[Kg...]]

Heathcliff what has worked for me when I am awful is to cut.  I know it is counter intuitive but that has always worked for me. So when I am terrible I just keep going and usually feel better. Only a few of us react like this and heavens knows why,  I don't. So what I have learned is what works for most people does not necessarily work for me - and I do what works for me. 

[Guest [Le...]]

Heathcliff what has worked for me when I am awful is to cut.  I know it is counter intuitive but that has always worked for me. So when I am terrible I just keep going and usually feel better. Only a few of us react like this and heavens knows why,  I don't. So what I have learned is what works for most people does not necessarily work for me - and I do what works for me.

 

Kgirl, exactly!

 

That's what happened with me, and why I asked Heathcliff this question, because less benzo turned out to be better for me, and I am now four days off:

 

 

You are doing fine, Heathcliff, things really will be OK!!!

 

Question though: Do you feel any relief when you take your dose of Valium, or do you feel worse?

 

I have a specific reason for asking, since I was stuck where you are for a while.

 

 

[[Kg...]]

Leslie glad to know I am not the only one out there. Everyone told me to hold and when I hold I just felt worse and worse so I gave up and cut and felt better.  Clona21 told me why - something to do with our bodies getting used to the rhythm of cutting and stopping it messes us up.  I am almost done, a couple of more weeks and then off. How are you feeling? I hope okay. 

[[Ja...]]

Leslieash

Are you happy you did a medical detox?

What amount were you on when you did the medical detox

Are you functional - at work Etc

I am considering detox bc I am at 2.94 and I know ppl say slow down but this is torturing my body mind and soul

[Guest [Le...]]

Leslie glad to know I am not the only one out there. Everyone told me to hold and when I hold I just felt worse and worse so I gave up and cut and felt better.  Clona21 told me why - something to do with our bodies getting used to the rhythm of cutting and stopping it messes us up.  I am almost done, a couple of more weeks and then off. How are you feeling? I hope okay.

 

That's so great, Kgirl - you're almost there! 

 

Each day has been better, thanks, even though I am still dizzy, and certainly there are plenty of remaining symptoms. I started regaining strength almost immediately, and have even had a couple of outright bursts of energy - never thought that would happen again! The greatest part so far is that the horrible burning in my legs and feet is easing up.

 

Because I have spinal stenosis (age-related), I did not expect that the pain from it would be better once I stopped the benzos. What is clear now is that the pain only became excruciating after I had been on the Ativan for a couple of years - I never knew it was related, so that's a huge bonus!

 

Leslieash

Are you happy you did a medical detox?

What amount were you on when you did the medical detox

Are you functional - at work Etc

I am considering detox bc I am at 2.94 and I know ppl say slow down but this is torturing my body mind and soul

 

Hi Jackson,

 

I didn't do an actual detox, just began a rapid taper under medical supervision (to avoid seizures, etc.), but I'm definitely glad to have stopped swallowing what had became immediate poison for me.

 

Also, I am very happy that I did the taper, because I could never have CT'd from the higher dose I was on at the beginning. I almost ended up in the ER a few times during the taper down to 1 mg Ativan, because of my heart pounding out of my chest and the fear of imminent seizures.

 

I go to work, but it has been hell - luckily I have a lot of vacation saved up, so I've used those days only when I could not get out of bed.  I'm sorry to say that the six weeks of sick leave I had saved up is now gone, because I called in so much in the past year, not understanding why I was suddenly this sick. But I'm grateful that I even had sick leave, so I try to remember that part of it.

 

As far as your trying a detox, you may find that you would be better off doing it from home, which is really how I was doing it all along.

 

Believe me, I understand your suffering because I had been in an acute state of tolerance withdrawal since September, and it is a torment I would not wish on anyone.

 

You are getting so close now - soon it will be your time to jump too! 

 

[[Kg...]]

Leslie so glad to hear you are feeling better. I get the burning skin also in my shoulders and arms plus brain zaps. I also had awful back pain which is now better - hard to believe it was from the benzos - who knew?  These drugs are poison. I wish I could have done a quick taper but I couldn't but even though I have s/x I feel better on the low dose then I did before so there is something to be said for getting off. Now I just want to feel 'like me' again- it has been years. 

 

 

[Guest [Le...]]

Leslie so glad to hear you are feeling better. I get the burning skin also in my shoulders and arms plus brain zaps. I also had awful back pain which is now better - hard to believe it was from the benzos - who knew?  These drugs are poison. I wish I could have done a quick taper but I couldn't but even though I have s/x I feel better on the low dose then I did before so there is something to be said for getting off. Now I just want to feel 'like me' again- it has been years.

 

Thanks, yes, our experiences have been similar.

 

As I made the cuts and reduced my dose to one a day (early morning wake-up), that's when I began to notice that I actually felt better by evening, and the true toxicity of this drug became clear.

 

I know what you mean, I can't wait to feel like me again. Up until a week ago I never thought that would happen. These past few days have been a revelation - I haven't even thought about depression in three whole days, even though it has been my constant companion for over a year now, only lifting a little on some evenings to give me shreds of hope.

 

What is really amazing is that I thought I got this sick because the Paxil I was taking 'pooped out,' and I tapered that off late last year. It was only afterwards that I found out that Ativan was the culprit all along. Not sorry about ditching the Paxil or Adderall though. My disorders were only situational, anyway - if I had to do it over again I would never have gotten on a single psychiatric drug in the first place.

 

Now I'm down to only small amounts of Remeron and Gabapentin, and once my CNS settles from this Ativan jump I will start getting rid of those, too.

 

Hope your healing continues as comfortably as possible!

Leslie 

 

 

[[He...]]

Hi Leslie Ash, I don't know how to copy quotes from posts, but you wrote this to me:

 

"You are doing fine, Heathcliff, things really will be OK!!!

 

Question though: Do you feel any relief when you take your dose of Valium, or do you feel worse?

 

I have a specific reason for asking, since I was stuck where you are for a while."

 

So.... to answer your question: .....When  I take my dose of Valium, I feel better for about two hours,  (I split into 3x a day,  .5mg, .25 mg,  and .5mg)  But the w/d effects never completely go away but they just subside a little after each dose. Then they get bad again. I am always feeling some kind of w/d effect and I have been this way from the beginning of my taper back in January. I have never been completely withdrawal free. I always have some amount if internal shakes. Right now I THINK I am beginning to have days that are a little bit better. I just might be getting over the hump. But I won't know for sure for a couple of days. Things are so changeable, I never know from one minute to the next.

The last dose of the day is at bedtime, and does help me to sleep a bit even though it is only .5 mg.  another strange thing that I notice is I never have any withdrawal effects in the middle of the night, like when I can't sleep and get up to have a snack, drink some tea, read a book. Other than not sleeping, I do not have any withdrawal symptoms in the middle of the night.. Is that crazy?

Do you have a theory about this? What's the reason for asking?

Hope it might shed some light!

Heathcliff

 

[Guest [Le...]]

That's great news!

 

If the smaller doses bring you relief then you are not in tolerance withdrawal and you can keep tapering. The reason I asked is because if the doses each made you feel worse rather than better, that would be a sign of having paradoxical (toxic) reactions, and I'm so glad that you are not having that.

 

It's not so strange that you feel best in the evening because by then you had the cumulative effects of three doses.

 

So keep going, you are doing fine! 

[[ar...]]

Hello All,

 

Down to 0.05mg valium.  Doing well accept for some random days of minor morning adrenaline.  Adrenaline has occurred more often at the end here but it only lasts half a day.  I think the last of the valium is pretty much leaving me and saying goodbye.  I know my taper looks super slow but I had to do it to stay functional.  Just yesterday I spent the whole day shopping with my wife, worked out a bit and rode my bike.  When I tapered too fast in the beginning I was bed ridden quite a bit.  I hope when I jump soon my baseline stays the same.

 

For those thate are low don't push through to the end.  Still take it slow and listen to your body.  Your body is your reference on how you will taper.

 

 

[Guest [Ma...]]

Hello All,

 

Down to 0.05mg valium.  Doing well accept for some random days of minor morning adrenaline.  Adrenaline has occurred more often at the end here but it only lasts half a day.  I think the last of the valium is pretty much leaving me and saying goodbye.  I know my taper looks super slow but I had to do it to stay functional.  Just yesterday I spent the whole day shopping with my wife, worked out a bit and rode my bike.  When I tapered too fast in the beginning I was bed ridden quite a bit.  I hope when I jump soon my baseline stays the same.

 

For those thate are low don't push through to the end.  Still take it slow and listen to your body.  Your body is your reference on how you will taper.

 

Glad to see you at the end of your taper, arcade, and feeling reasonably well. Continue keeping us informed on post taper.

Also, thanks for sharing your experience with taking it slower from 3 to zero.

 

Marija

[[Ja...]]

Thanks Leslie

Did you use other drugs like pheno or something or just did a rapid taper? How rapid?

I am at 2.90 right now I think.

I am functional to the world but not to myself

Can barely work and get these nervous system shocks and back pain adrenal pain blah blah burning everywhere

Talking to my doc today about options

I need to line all my ducks in a row etc before I make any leaps

[[He...]]

Hi LeslieAsh,

This is a quote you wrote me......

It's not so strange that you feel best in the evening because by then you had the cumulative effects of three doses.

 

So keep going, you are doing fine! 

 

Thanks for that, but I take my Valium around the clock. Every 8 hours. 7am, 3 pm , 11 pm. So the Valium is quite steady in my system.

I don't think that matters. But do you think taking it day during the day time hours , say every 6 hours would help my symptoms?

 

Still undecided whether to go back to 1.5 instead of staying at my cut to 1.25  feeling worse each day.

 

Another thought has just occurred to me!

 

Could my problem also be that I have not gotten my liquid Valium yet.. So my dry cuts of a 2 milligram pill is not exact. I may very well be making myself imbalanced by small variations in my daily doses.  I may actually be closer to 1.5 on some days and closer to 1.25 (or less!?) on other days when I cut my pill!

 

I won't have my liquid until tomorrow.

 

Is that a good reason to just go back to 1.5 and taper from there on the liquid. Or once I get the liquid, then  I will be assured that my dose is exactly 1.25  or maybe I should find a half way  point and start my liquid at 1.35?

 

Logical ideas or ridiculous?

Heathcliff

 

[[Ke...]]

Hi all

Just wanted to let you guys that you will be ok.  I am at day 28 since jump.

I am still not 100% but I think a lot if it is just emotional.... Not to say that there isn't residual feelings of weakness.

I have also decided that my AD is too high so maybe that has something to do with blurred vision, dizziness and fatigue. So I am slowly lowering that too.

 

Please remember that what you read on the Forum does not have to happen to you.

 

Throughout my taper I pushed more than suggested, but I too felt that that I needed to get the drug out of me.  It was tough for a few days after jump but every day now seems to be getting better. 

 

Just listen to your body and do what is good for you, not what someone else says on this Forum.  Definitely don't cold turkey but do what you think you can handle. 

 

"The only way out is through"

 

Keeka

[[...]]

Hey all at the end - How often have you been dosing valium? Once? Twice?

Do you it's important to dose more often at the end, like twice instead of once?  Is there more interdose w/d at lower doses?