3,2,1: Under 3 mg Valium people

[[Vi...]]

I'm down to 2mgs, doing 1 mg every two weeks,  but I was only on it for a month before my taper.  I did a taper 17 years ago from ativan, so maybe this is why I had such a hard time this time round.  Never touching another benzo again...ever!

 

Hi PaulaDee.

 

I'm officially at 2.5 mgs of diazepam per day as of this morning. I'm tapering 1 mg every 21 days via a dry micro taper. I was on 2 mgs of Xanax per day for about 10-12 weeks, but I was also on Ativan for a few years in the 2000s and tapered from 60 mgs of diazepam over a couple of years. I recovered 100% from that mess. This time, they gave me alprazolam via IV when I was hospitalized for hyperthyroidism without informed consent. By the time I was discharged, I was already having withdrawals. I can't tell you how angry I am that they gave me Xanax as if it was M&Ms. I hope you're doing well, and good luck on the last leg of your taper. Here's to healing...

[[ne...]]

I woke at 4 am to use the bathroom and I was fine. A slight backache but nothing I couldn`t deal with for the rest of my life.  I was hoping that was a sign of a window day ahead but sadly nope, everything kicked after I went back to sleep and woke at 7.  Anyone else have that kind of window during the night?   

 

If and when I fall asleep, if I wake for anything and don't get out of bed I feel fine. If I do anything more than simply use the bathroom, I can feel my symptoms kick in. The same goes for my mornings. One I get moving my symptoms roll in. Somedays they are worse than others. It's always a surprise. 

 

It`s weird Vintage Guy how the sxs come on like that?  I often wake and although I have sx they`re doable and I`m thinking I`ve got a window day ahead, and then it all kicks in.  Yes some days are worse than others.

 

I so want to be off this last bit of benzo now, I`m taking 2mg diaz tonight then tomorrow I`ll try 1.75mg.   

You`re tapering 1mg every 21 days? 

How is that going?    I am very tempted to speed this up now.

[[ne...]]

Hi guys

Hello to you all, since reading I `ve noticed that a few of us had stopped the drugs once and are now back into the whole sorry mess again.

I never fully healed but I was much better at 7 years, except muscle pain that just didn`t show any sign of going away. So I listened to my Dr and reinstated.  I should have waited a bit longer but at least I`m almost ready to get off again and this time I will never take another benzo again.

I have tinnitus and pain today, ugh!  The tinnitus went away completely the 1st time off , so I`m hopeful.

I`m finding some evenings are doable, last night the pain went down to almost nothing. 

 

I`m so looking forward to us all getting to the end and hopefully we`ll be able to see each other improving when our real healing begins. 

 

Be well everyone

 

 

 

[[Pa...]]

Thanks Vintage!  I am so upset I allowed my dr to prescribe valium to me, after 17 years of being fully healed!  I am doing ok, lots of shoulder pain, a bit more anx and dp this week than last week.  Down to 1 and 12\14ths tonight!

[[Su...]]

Thanks Vintage!  I am so upset I allowed my dr to prescribe valium to me, after 17 years of being fully healed!  I am doing ok, lots of shoulder pain, a bit more anx and dp this week than last week.  Down to 1 and 12\14ths tonight!

 

You're doing so well -- it's hopeful for the rest of us who are still higher in dosages.....

thanks you!

[[Vi...]]

I so want to be off this last bit of benzo now, I`m taking 2mg diaz tonight then tomorrow I`ll try 1.75mg.   

You`re tapering 1mg every 21 days? 

How is that going?    I am very tempted to speed this up now.

 

Yes, I'm tapering 1 mg every 21 days. I dry-cut micro taper 0.047 mgs every day. This is about as fast as I will go. I've had symptoms that have kept me homebound pretty much since I started tapering at 40 mgs of Valium about 14 months ago. If things get unmanageable, I may slow down to 1 mg every 28 days for the last 2 mgs. I plan on tapering all the way down to 0 mgs, but if I notice improvement at the last mg, I may jump at .025 mgs diazepam. Always the optimist!

 

Again, I personally wouldn't slow my taper down, but I think tapering too slow has a downside as well. Just my experience now that this is my second (and last) time around.

[[Su...]]

I so want to be off this last bit of benzo now, I`m taking 2mg diaz tonight then tomorrow I`ll try 1.75mg.   

You`re tapering 1mg every 21 days? 

How is that going?    I am very tempted to speed this up now.

 

Yes, I'm tapering 1 mg every 21 days. I dry-cut micro taper 0.047 mgs every day. This is about as fast as I will go. I've had symptoms that have kept me homebound pretty much since I started tapering at 40 mgs of Valium about 14 months ago. If things get unmanageable, I may slow down to 1 mg every 28 days for the last 2 mgs. I plan on tapering all the way down to 0 mgs, but if I notice improvement at the last mg, I may jump at .025 mgs diazepam. Always the optimist!

 

Again, I personally wouldn't slow my taper down, but I think tapering too slow has a downside as well. Just my experience now that this is my second (and last) time around.

 

I wish I could speed up -- but if I taper any more quickly -- And I went much faster in the beginning-- and have tried to speed up at times,  I can't function.  So I think it's important to find your speed that allows for life as well as tapering. 

[[Vi...]]

I wish I could speed up -- but if I taper any more quickly -- And I went much faster in the beginning-- and have tried to speed up at times,  I can't function.  So I think it's important to find your speed that allows for life as well as tapering. 

 

So true, and I totally agree! I have been unable to find a pace that keeps me functional. I've tried tapering very slowly and holding, and I've felt pretty much the same even when I was on 40 mgs. I do feel much more alert and have less fog now that I am below 3 mgs. I just have to stick to a reasonable speed that might be slower than the Ashton Manual suggests, but fast enough to give myself the best chance of full recovery without any protracted symptoms.

 

Here's to healing!

[[Su...]]

I wish I could speed up -- but if I taper any more quickly -- And I went much faster in the beginning-- and have tried to speed up at times,  I can't function.  So I think it's important to find your speed that allows for life as well as tapering. 

 

So true, and I totally agree! I have been unable to find a pace that keeps me functional. I've tried tapering very slowly and holding, and I've felt pretty much the same even when I was on 40 mgs. I do feel much more alert and have less fog now that I am below 3 mgs. I just have to stick to a reasonable speed that might be slower than the Ashton Manual suggests, but fast enough to give myself the best chance of full recovery without any protracted symptoms.

 

Here's to healing!

 

Oh I'm sorry that there isn't a pace that keeps you functional.  I feel lucky in that regard though going a snail's pace... 

And it's weird: If I taper 4 lines of my home brew -- stay with me here-- I can function pretty well  ( that's about 5% a month up from 2-3%)  If I taper 5 lines for more than 2 days I'm a wreck!  So that tiny increase in speed is way over the speed limit.

 

Granted no matter what i taper I have interdose w/d -- have had throughout my taper.  ( I have a great sense of 3 hour intervals  )

If I hold the interdose goes wild.... so i slither down

And I'm so glad that we are both, or all of us here, past the 3 mg mark!

 

A milestone that hard for friends to understand so I don't try.

 

[Guest [...]]

SufferingSixty:

 

How often are you dosing??

 

I dose 3 times a day, and it’s just brutal.

 

Ever since my Moderna booster, I became allergic to the actual Valium pill itself.

 

I tried to switch over to the liquid, didn’t work!

 

I have so many issues, long COVID, vax injury, MCAS, POTS, too many to list.

 

I just can’t figure out if I need to move to something else.

My other benzo friends tell me it’s a good idea, as the Valium is becoming toxic.

 

Long story, got stuck on both Ativan and Valium etc.

 

I’m at such low doses, it’s hard to cut doses smaller etc.

 

Ugh. So much suffering!

 

All from taking these things for 15 days after antibiotics after COVID.

 

Winnie

[[Su...]]

SufferingSixty:

 

How often are you dosing??

 

I dose 3 times a day, and it’s just brutal.

 

Ever since my Moderna booster, I became allergic to the actual Valium pill itself.

 

I tried to switch over to the liquid, didn’t work!

 

I have so many issues, long COVID, vax injury, MCAS, POTS, too many to list.

 

I just can’t figure out if I need to move to something else.

My other benzo friends tell me it’s a good idea, as the Valium is becoming toxic.

 

Long story, got stuck on both Ativan and Valium etc.

 

I’m at such low doses, it’s hard to cut doses smaller etc.

 

Ugh. So much suffering!

 

All from taking these things for 15 days after antibiotics after COVID.

 

Winnie

 

Hi Winnie,

I dose 3X a day but dosed 5X a day for most of my taper: yes with Valium on board.

And I use a home-brew liquid  for PART of my dose.  I've always kept that liquid portion to the smallest amount possible while still helping me taper in tiny amounts.  I find it invaluable.   Invaluable! with dry tapering my doses were all over the place due to scales being inaccurate at the amounts I was reducing.

 

I was stuck on both Xanax and Valium for the longest time...tapered the xanax and then now am tapering the Valium.  It's easier than the xanax, not by a whole bunch but a bit....

 

Horrible that the vaccine affected you so -- I had no problem luckily and have had Covid twice....

I do believe we can do this to the end!

[[Be...]]

howmanytimes, haven't seen you on the boards for over a week. Hope you are doing okay, and able to deal with the kidney stones.  

[[ne...]]

I so want to be off this last bit of benzo now, I`m taking 2mg diaz tonight then tomorrow I`ll try 1.75mg.   

You`re tapering 1mg every 21 days? 

How is that going?    I am very tempted to speed this up now.

 

Yes, I'm tapering 1 mg every 21 days. I dry-cut micro taper 0.047 mgs every day. This is about as fast as I will go. I've had symptoms that have kept me homebound pretty much since I started tapering at 40 mgs of Valium about 14 months ago. If things get unmanageable, I may slow down to 1 mg every 28 days for the last 2 mgs. I plan on tapering all the way down to 0 mgs, but if I notice improvement at the last mg, I may jump at .025 mgs diazepam. Always the optimist!

 

Again, I personally wouldn't slow my taper down, but I think tapering too slow has a downside as well. Just my experience now that this is my second (and last) time around.

 

I wish I could speed up -- but if I taper any more quickly -- And I went much faster in the beginning-- and have tried to speed up at times,  I can't function.  So I think it's important to find your speed that allows for life as well as tapering. 

 

I`ve been sorely tempted to do the same as you but basically I`m too scared in case I make this worse. 

I`m on 1.75mg  as of last night  and I`ve already noticed the cut of 0.25mg.

 

I had a window yesterday, pain at level 1/2, I could live with that, so decided it must be a window as I had no other sx, just that pain.

I called a helpline here in the UK to ask their advice about cutting now I`m under 2mg,  the lady said 0.25mg sounds reasonable but if we can tolerate 0.5 mg cut that`s ok too.  They`ve helped thousand of folk get off these drugs, so I`m happy to carry on how I`m doing. 

She said when we reach 1mg it doesn`t DO anything, but I`ll keep going to 0.25. 

 

We`re all very close

[[Su...]]

I so want to be off this last bit of benzo now, I`m taking 2mg diaz tonight then tomorrow I`ll try 1.75mg.   

You`re tapering 1mg every 21 days? 

How is that going?    I am very tempted to speed this up now.

 

Yes, I'm tapering 1 mg every 21 days. I dry-cut micro taper 0.047 mgs every day. This is about as fast as I will go. I've had symptoms that have kept me homebound pretty much since I started tapering at 40 mgs of Valium about 14 months ago. If things get unmanageable, I may slow down to 1 mg every 28 days for the last 2 mgs. I plan on tapering all the way down to 0 mgs, but if I notice improvement at the last mg, I may jump at .025 mgs diazepam. Always the optimist!

 

Again, I personally wouldn't slow my taper down, but I think tapering too slow has a downside as well. Just my experience now that this is my second (and last) time around.

 

I wish I could speed up -- but if I taper any more quickly -- And I went much faster in the beginning-- and have tried to speed up at times,  I can't function.  So I think it's important to find your speed that allows for life as well as tapering. 

 

I`ve been sorely tempted to do the same as you but basically I`m too scared in case I make this worse. 

I`m on 1.75mg  as of last night  and I`ve already noticed the cut of 0.25mg.

 

I had a window yesterday, pain at level 1/2, I could live with that, so decided it must be a window as I had no other sx, just that pain.

I called a helpline here in the UK to ask their advice about cutting now I`m under 2mg,  the lady said 0.25mg sounds reasonable but if we can tolerate 0.5 mg cut that`s ok too.  They`ve helped thousand of folk get off these drugs, so I`m happy to carry on how I`m doing. 

She said when we reach 1mg it doesn`t DO anything, but I`ll keep going to 0.25. 

 

We`re all very close

 

Hi nevercantell,

I'm very interested to see ho the .25 cut goes for you.  First bit sound promising?

I'm so leery of help lines unless the person I'm talking to has experience with tapering themselves.  AND I hope that the information she's giving is good.

1 mg doesn't really do anything?  I'm ready for that.

 

It's so exciting when the numbers get so small and the end looks like it's possible. 

 

SS

[[ne...]]

SufferingSixty

 

I`m feeling the 0.25 cut ,  muscle pain has ramped up again.  Just before I dropped I had a pain level of 1/2 , now 3 days later it`s a level 5/6- ouch!

 

The helpline was formally known as BAT here in the UK, it`s called Postscript 360 now.  Una Corbet founded the original helpline, she was very well informed but sadly she passed a few years ago.  I`m hoping the team there know as much as Una did,  but even so I wont jump at 1mg.  I`m heading for 0.25 mg before I come off. 

 

Hope you`re doing well? 

 

[[Su...]]

SufferingSixty

 

I`m feeling the 0.25 cut ,  muscle pain has ramped up again.  Just before I dropped I had a pain level of 1/2 , now 3 days later it`s a level 5/6- ouch!

 

The helpline was formally known as BAT here in the UK, it`s called Postscript 360 now.  Una Corbet founded the original helpline, she was very well informed but sadly she passed a few years ago.  I`m hoping the team there know as much as Una did,  but even so I wont jump at 1mg.  I`m heading for 0.25 mg before I come off. 

 

Hope you`re doing well? 

 

 

Sorry to hear that the pain has ramped up so much. 

My belief -- not based on science but based on reading so much of what has been written here -- is that this stuff affects us while we have any in our system.  And we just keep doing what we're doing to get by and get off....

Wishing you the best-- and hoping that the pain from this last cut subsides very soon

SS

[[Pa...]]

How's everyone doing?  Down to 1.5mgs last night, and had my first night of insomnia in 9 nights, better record than usual.  I am suffering terrible neck pain, that is partly what kept me awake.  I am taking acetominophen but it didn't hel much.  Can I take advil, it is stronger?

[[Vi...]]

How's everyone doing?  Down to 1.5mgs last night, and had my first night of insomnia in 9 nights, better record than usual.  I am suffering terrible neck pain, that is partly what kept me awake.  I am taking acetominophen but it didn't hel much.  Can I take advil, it is stronger?

 

Hi PaulaDee. Congrats! Hoping you get some symptom relief. I've only taken acetaminophen once or twice without much luck. I also have muscle pain between my should blades and neck.

[[Vi...]]

Hi all.

 

I've officially arrived at 2 mgs of diazepam this morning, down from 40 mgs about 15 months ago. 

 

I still have a lot of symptoms, but they have been with me at about the same level since I was around 20 mgs. I have a lot of throat muscle tightness, anxiety, weakness and fatigue, insomnia, agoraphobia, tinnitus, very little appetite and lots of gastro symptoms. Still, since it doesn't seem to have gotten worse on the lower doses, I'm looking forward to being off soon knowing I'm no longer feeding my brain this poison.

 

[[Pa...]]

Congrats Vintage!  That's wonderful!  Yes, my symptoms have been mostly unchanged in since about 6 mgs as well, except for this new neck pain.  2 extra stregth tylenols at bedtime are helping for sure.  I put up with it during the day.  Topically, I am using arnica gel.

[[ne...]]

Hi everyone

 

Glad to hear you`re at 2mg Vintage and hope all you guys are doing ok.

 

I`m a week into 1.75mg and it`s been tough.  I know I`m probably going down too fast and I`m probably stupid too but I so want to get off now.  Another week and I`ll go to 1.50 mg and just hope things ease off a bit.

 

What I`m wondering is can we go into acute once we get to the lower doses?    This is my 2nd time off, I regret taking them again, but I recognise these sxs from when I CT`d all those years ago. 

Nausea being the one I clearly remember having for a few months that 1st time.  I`m drinking flat cola, I believe it`s helping.

Muscle pain and generally feeling meh! 

I`ve pushed to do a few chores but it`s definitely getting tougher at this low dose.

 

Paula Dee - does the arnica gel help much? 

 

We`re SO close.  I`m so glad you guys are here. 

[[Pa...]]

The arnica helps a bit.  Another homeopathic cream called Traumacare works quite well too.  I took two sets of two tylenol last night, but got no sleep still.  Insomnia after my son died, is the reason I started taking the valium and it is now my worst side effect.  It is weird because I just had a good time of 9 nights sleep in a row, now back to two nights of insomnia in three. I am still traumitized by my son's death, and the long, dark nights make me worse.  The taper is traumatic as well.  It is all too much at times, and to have a really sore neck added in, is almost unbearable.

[[ne...]]

PaulaDee- I am so dreadfully sorry for your loss.  We`re supposed to outlive our kids, my heart goes out to you.  And to have this on top. 

 

I`ll look for the Truamacare on Amazon,  I`m in the UK and sometimes we`re not able to get the same meds/creams etc as others.  But it`s worth a look, thank you.

 

Insomnia is awful, I have a kindle which I reads on those nights, it usually helps me distract and fall back to sleep. 

 

A definite waving week here for me, all sorts of muscle aches, dizziness....well the list just goes on.    It`s since I made that last drop. 

Wishing us all windows

[[Pa...]]

Dizziness and muscle aches for me as well!  After a night of zero sleep, Yesterday was an anxiety and depression day till about 3pm, but I had a 10 hour sleep last night and other than muscle aches this morning, am feeling emotionally pretty good!  1 and 3/14th mgs tonight!!

[[ne...]]

A night of poor sleep for me as well.  4 hours but could've been less, BUT when I woke at 6am I was in a window!!

No sxs at all.

  I lay in bed telling myself to cherish it, then slowly the pain started building again.  A very tired achy day but really, really pleased to wake like that. 

 

I wrote a note in my journal to NOT doubt that window- but I expect I will once a wave hits - sigh .

 

Still on 1.75 mg

 

I saw a tip written on FB saying they let their benzo melt under their tongue, I tried that last night......could that have been why I had that window??