3,2,1: Under 3 mg Valium people

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After a wave caused by a tooth infection, I'm finally starting my taper of my last 1 mg. I'll be doing a liquid micro taper at a rate of .01 mg every 3 days or 10% a month. I've held for 2 years and have no symptoms so it's been hard to justify tapering but I know even on such a small amount it's having an effect on gaba production and down regulation.

 

You go Jwl!! This is your last stretch to freedom 💪. May I ask you, when you decided to hold for two years, what symptoms made you decide to hold, and at what point did the symptoms go away. I held for seven months, then I cut four times since March. Maybe I need to hold longer like you and olive kitty did, my psychiatrist also wants me to hold. Or maybe I'll never get better than this because I see that unfortunately some people don't get better.

 

You've done really well!

 

I'm starting to live a normal life. Went to a poker game last night and am sure people were looking at me in  a strange way. Maybe just a bit of paranoia but it's good to be free from the fog of drugs. I'm on 1 2mg tab and a crumb. Going for 2mg on Monday. Will start contemplating a jump off at about 1 mg. I hope to get to 1 mg in 3 months.

 

Its been a long road Jimmy, 6 years including my 1 year hold after my CT and 2 years to deal with my health. Yes  paranoia is part of WD as well as negative thoughts and fear. Jumping at 1 mg seems kinda risky to me but it looks like you've been doing a pretty fast taper with few symptoms. Just remember Valium has a long half life and there's a lag between cuts and symptoms. I had to hold for 6 months after cutting too fast.

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Hi Jwl dear, I had no car crash thank God! When I say "the crash", I mean the tapering crash I had last summer. I'm sorry for leading you to confusion. I really feel for those of you who've had a concussion on top of all this. I hope you all wake up feeling a bit better today 😊

 

That doesn't make your crash any less V. Benzo crashes are very similar to concussions as far as glutamate storms go

[[ki...]]

Vali, I know you’ve mentioned something about your cycles before, do you find your symptoms to be worst at ovulation and/or onset of menstruation?

[[Ma...]]

Jimmy, you have come such a long way, I would give that 1 mg jump a lot of thought and research first.  Very few people make it at 1 mg and often reinstate.  If you could just wait until .5 and see how your symptoms are, you might have an easier time of it.  It's a long way to come to let that last mg bite you in butt.  It's just a suggestion.....a lot of people are walking off at 0, just depending on their taper and symptoms when they get really low.  I wish you lots of luck no matter what you choose!!  Mary 🙋🏼🙋🏼🙋🏼

[[va...]]

Jimmy, you have come such a long way, I would give that 1 mg jump a lot of thought and research first.  Very few people make it at 1 mg and often reinstate.  If you could just wait until .5 and see how your symptoms are, you might have an easier time of it.  It's a long way to come to let that last mg bite you in butt.  It's just a suggestion.....a lot of people are walking off at 0, just depending on their taper and symptoms when they get really low.  I wish you lots of luck no matter what you choose!!  Mary 🙋🏼🙋🏼🙋🏼

 

Jimmy, I fully agree with Mary due to my terrible experience when reaching 0.80. It's true I was already very kindled due to previous tapers, but still, I wouldn't risk it. I'd cut 0.25 and wait two months to see how it goes. Good luck whatever you decide to do 💪🏆

[[Ji...]]

Jimmy, you have come such a long way, I would give that 1 mg jump a lot of thought and research first.  Very few people make it at 1 mg and often reinstate.  If you could just wait until .5 and see how your symptoms are, you might have an easier time of it.  It's a long way to come to let that last mg bite you in butt.  It's just a suggestion.....a lot of people are walking off at 0, just depending on their taper and symptoms when they get really low.  I wish you lots of luck no matter what you choose!!  Mary 🙋🏼🙋🏼🙋🏼

Thanks for the advice Mary. I'll see how I feel at 1mg.

[[Ji...]]

Jimmy, you have come such a long way, I would give that 1 mg jump a lot of thought and research first.  Very few people make it at 1 mg and often reinstate.  If you could just wait until .5 and see how your symptoms are, you might have an easier time of it.  It's a long way to come to let that last mg bite you in butt.  It's just a suggestion.....a lot of people are walking off at 0, just depending on their taper and symptoms when they get really low.  I wish you lots of luck no matter what you choose!!  Mary 🙋🏼🙋🏼🙋🏼

 

Jimmy, I fully agree with Mary due to my terrible experience when reaching 0.80. It's true I was already very kindled due to previous tapers, but still, I wouldn't risk it. I'd cut 0.25 and wait two months to see how it goes. Good luck whatever you decide to do 💪🏆

 

Thanks VNM!

 

I think 0.25 mg cuts are a good idea. 1 month seems to be enough for me thus far for holding but I know it can be longer the lower I get.

[[va...]]

Good luck Jimmy! I'm sure you'll find the right tapering speed for you 🚀

[[Ta...]]

Hello everyone - wanted to update you all as I get close to 0 mg in case it helps anyone. 

 

I posted 4-5 weeks ago that when I tapered to .25 I stopped sleeping suddenly in addition to a lot of anxiety, heart racing, etc. Had a pretty chill taper until now. But suddenly I fall asleep for 1-3 hrs and then it's like something jolts me awake every 15 min for the rest of the night. Been in pretty bad shape and exhausted. The fires here on top of the pandemic pushed me over the edge this past week so I finally asked my dr for help. Her theory is that the timing and combo of the meds I'm taking is causing like perpetual withdrawals each day.

 

No clue whether she's right, but here's how I was taking my meds:

 

- .25 valium in the afternoon

- 10 mg ambien at night to sleep

 

Her suggestion is to:

 

- switch over to Ambien CR which is controlled release

- take Valium at night with it, or just stop entirely and see what happens

 

So i'll try the Ambien CR tonight and give it a couple days. If it doesn't help I'll probably try jumping off with Valium and see what happens. But you all seem so much more intuitive about this stuff so wanted to see if any of this made sense (or not). Or maybe just posting it will help someone else down the road.

 

 

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Hope things get better for you Tak. I plan to taper down to zero. When it comes time to tackle the Ambien you might want to consider C/O to Valium. In fact Ambien in the mix may have something to do with your symptoms idk.

[[ki...]]

Tak, I agree with Jwl. Crossing over from ambien to Valium makes more sense. Valium has a longer half-life. The vast majority of people I know on both do the cross over. That being said, you can definitely do it the other way.

[[va...]]

Hello everyone - wanted to update you all as I get close to 0 mg in case it helps anyone. 

 

I posted 4-5 weeks ago that when I tapered to .25 I stopped sleeping suddenly in addition to a lot of anxiety, heart racing, etc. Had a pretty chill taper until now. But suddenly I fall asleep for 1-3 hrs and then it's like something jolts me awake every 15 min for the rest of the night. Been in pretty bad shape and exhausted. The fires here on top of the pandemic pushed me over the edge this past week so I finally asked my dr for help. Her theory is that the timing and combo of the meds I'm taking is causing like perpetual withdrawals each day.

 

No clue whether she's right, but here's how I was taking my meds:

 

- .25 valium in the afternoon

- 10 mg ambien at night to sleep

 

Her suggestion is to:

 

- switch over to Ambien CR which is controlled release

- take Valium at night with it, or just stop entirely and see what happens

 

So i'll try the Ambien CR tonight and give it a couple days. If it doesn't help I'll probably try jumping off with Valium and see what happens. But you all seem so much more intuitive about this stuff so wanted to see if any of this made sense (or not). Or maybe just posting it will help someone else down the road.

 

Hi Tak, just my personal opinion based on my own experience.

 

I would hold the Valium. Your sxs sound clearly like bwd. I've been there and rushed it. When your Dr says you can jump and "see what happens", whatever does happen will have to be experienced by you, not her, and sometimes it's really tough and has led people to updosing. Why risk that outcome when a simple hold of two or three months at your current Valium dose would most likely get you stable and ready to walk off? As for switching to a different type of ambien I'd first find out if the new one is more difficult to come off, or has more side effects. Just my opinion.

[[Ta...]]

Hey everyone thank you for messages. so much appreciated! 

 

I finally decided to just jump right where I was a week ago because I was so miserable... I couldn't imagine feeling worse. I mean I'm sure I could, but you know what I'm saying. Today is the 7 day mark, so I'm patiently awaiting to see if things will skyrocket over the next week. So far so good. I feel a little anxiety but that's it at this point. Fingers crossed.

[[Ma...]]

Hey everyone thank you for messages. so much appreciated! 

 

I finally decided to just jump right where I was a week ago because I was so miserable... I couldn't imagine feeling worse. I mean I'm sure I could, but you know what I'm saying. Today is the 7 day mark, so I'm patiently awaiting to see if things will skyrocket over the next week. So far so good. I feel a little anxiety but that's it at this point. Fingers crossed.

 

Thinking about you Tak1984, hope you do well!! 🙋🏼

[[Ta...]]

thanks Mary! Day 8 and so far so good. 

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That's great Tak. You deserve it by doing a textbook taper

[[Ca...]]

Congratulations Tak! 🎉🎈🎊

[[Ta...]]

Thanks everyone! Today is the 2 week mark. I keep waiting each day to see if some huge wave of symptoms will start. So far nothing. I mean I'm still not sleeping and am exhausted, irritable, etc. But that's how I felt the past 2 months. So who knows?!

 

Wanted to report back in case it helps anyone getting near jumping. 

[[Ta...]]

Hello all! Wanted to check back 1 last time. 3 weeks since jumping and never got any additional withdrawal symptoms. I know it's a scary moment so just want to share my experience in case it helps anyone else.

 

[[Ji...]]

Hello all! Wanted to check back 1 last time. 3 weeks since jumping and never got any additional withdrawal symptoms. I know it's a scary moment so just want to share my experience in case it helps anyone else.

 

Wonderful 

[[Ji...]]

Feeling a bit of anxiety today to off to run, swim and sauna, always gets me back on track.

[[Ji...]]

How's it going all?

 

I'm trying a titration from tonight, I'll check back later.

[[Mo...]]

I'm now at .9mg. I was doing a 5% drop of  (I'm dry cutting) every three weeks but have to do it every four weeks. Last week I had to go on antibiotics for seven days. (NOT a flouraquinalone) It was bad before but now it's getting brutal.  I'm going to continue drop on my schedule because I know I have to push through but this is pretty bad. I knew that antibiotics would be a problem but the because of the infection I had, I HAD to take them. But am really bed bound now. Bathroom, kitchen and bathroom is all I can do. Anyone have this problem? Did you ever stabilize?

[[fu...]]

Hey all,

 

I need some help planning my taper. I reached 0.50mg of V 14 days ago and I feel like the peak of the effect of the cut has passed. Things are very manageable IF I administrate my routine well as well as respect my own time. I say this because generally during the weekends I can almost be normal lol generally without any need to get a long pause as I need during the week. The thing is: I work with IT and I need some focus for programming and I also need to do well in work meetings. The second one is the hard part if the day is rushy and too much meetings were scheduled: if I think 'too much' for like 2 hours I feel like I am overheating and I NEED to take a pause not thinking/meditating/relaxing or generally if I ignore this feeling and keep working I will have some nasty and scary symptoms that seems like serious shit.

 

That being said, I have 22 more days until my 30 day vacation and I am wondering if I should use this situation to jump off Valium.

 

I am considering cutting to .25mg for maybe 2 weeks and jumping off V. I am actually over the fence about some stuff regarding this. Some people say that there are no benefits of tapering when under .50mg and that you are only prolonging the suffering, some people recommend tapering to fumes for a more gentle jump, some report an awful time even with the fumes strategy.

 

I don't know if there is a better time to try this as I want to be off this med asap to start recovery and maybe try some supplements I have without interaction from the med.

 

Point is that when I am not working, it's unnusual to have tough symptoms and I am thinking that 30 days not needing to work might be a good opportunity to chill and manage something that it would be hard to if working.

 

It's also important for me to be stable after the vacation as I will be involved in some projects that will be important to my career, but it might happen in my own time as my manager do know about my benzo situation and I have some support regarding doing stuff in my time.

 

I also kept the 'big guns' to use after the jump: I have Magnesium (Glycinate) and L-theanine + Inositol that I didn't took and the bottles are still closed. I also have CBD oil.

 

What do you think? Is going from .50mg to .25mg and then jumping too aggressive or manageable?

[[Ca...]]

Hey all,

 

I need some help planning my taper. I reached 0.50mg of V 14 days ago and I feel like the peak of the effect of the cut has passed. Things are very manageable IF I administrate my routine well as well as respect my own time. I say this because generally during the weekends I can almost be normal lol generally without any need to get a long pause as I need during the week. The thing is: I work with IT and I need some focus for programming and I also need to do well in work meetings. The second one is the hard part if the day is rushy and too much meetings were scheduled: if I think 'too much' for like 2 hours I feel like I am overheating and I NEED to take a pause not thinking/meditating/relaxing or generally if I ignore this feeling and keep working I will have some nasty and scary symptoms that seems like serious shit.

 

That being said, I have 22 more days until my 30 day vacation and I am wondering if I should use this situation to jump off Valium.

 

I am considering cutting to .25mg for maybe 2 weeks and jumping off V. I am actually over the fence about some stuff regarding this. Some people say that there are no benefits of tapering when under .50mg and that you are only prolonging the suffering, some people recommend tapering to fumes for a more gentle jump, some report an awful time even with the fumes strategy.

 

I don't know if there is a better time to try this as I want to be off this med asap to start recovery and maybe try some supplements I have without interaction from the med.

 

Point is that when I am not working, it's unnusual to have tough symptoms and I am thinking that 30 days not needing to work might be a good opportunity to chill and manage something that it would be hard to if working.

 

It's also important for me to be stable after the vacation as I will be involved in some projects that will be important to my career, but it might happen in my own time as my manager do know about my benzo situation and I have some support regarding doing stuff in my time.

 

I also kept the 'big guns' to use after the jump: I have Magnesium (Glycinate) and L-theanine + Inositol that I didn't took and the bottles are still closed. I also have CBD oil.

 

What do you think? Is going from .50mg to .25mg and then jumping too aggressive or manageable?

Hi..

I usually (there are exceptions) say look back to how the last 3-6 months went and expect similar...

I think that would apply to you from a glance.. -Though having atleast the 0.25v step in there would compliment this “guide”...  Bads idea on your other thread of 0.1 titrations would be even safer/cautious, and might match your current tapering style better.. You might be able to speed it up a little to match your work/vacation a bit..??

I wouldnt worry about the added “dependancy” of tapering below 0.5v.. I mean they cant have it both ways, -“below 0.5v has no effect”, yet “it causes dependancy..” yeah no, thats heading towards “addiction speak” imo...

To a lesser extent, there is the longer half life of V that may mean your dose is a bit higher than the daily dose, but I personally dont get carried away with this.. -It all comes out in the wash, so to speak..

 

The only real suggestion I have is to post jump care.. Try hard to avoid stress for a good while, -quiet time, pamper yourself with extreme prejudice..!!