3,2,1: Under 3 mg Valium people

[[...]]

I'm done.......took my last dose this morning. Feeling a bit shaky as usual but functional.  Tapered all the way down to .004 grams and must say I've felt the cuts all the way down.  I have one week and I go on vacation, looking forward to just doing nothing for a week.

Let the healing begin.

 

YAY!!!  CONGRATULATIONS CALTN!!!!  So excited for you!  A new life awaits you.  Have a wonderful vacation!

[[Gw...]]

I'm done.......took my last dose this morning. Feeling a bit shaky as usual but functional.  Tapered all the way down to .004 grams and must say I've felt the cuts all the way down.  I have one week and I go on vacation, looking forward to just doing nothing for a week.

Let the healing begin.

 

CONGRATULATIONS, CALTN!!!  :thumbsup:

[[ci...]]

How are you feeling Circlestar? I'm really curious if the last dose is any different?

I'm down to .10 in weight today less than .25mg . Other than the normal dizziness that comes in the morning and some muscle jerking in my lower legs, all the sxs seem to be normal to me. 

I'm looking at another week maybe two and I'll be jumping also.

Nothing major seems to be appearing, overall I feel wonderful compared to a year ago for sure..

 

Caltn,

Sorry it took so long to respond.  Funny... as soon as I went off I felt like I wanted to focus less on the whole thing and backed off of BB for the past week.  All of a sudden in felt like BB was mostly about "the taper" and I didn't want to go poke around on the post taper boards and get freaked out. 

 

I am now 8 days off.  Honestly, I haven't noticed any real change in sxs yet.  Perhaps a bit more clear headed.  But physical sxs and anxiety the same.  Sleep hours is getting a bit worse.  But I can definitely say that I am in a better place than I was at this time last year.  I am even starting to "think" about doing some projects around the house--though I haven't yet:)

 

I will continue to check in, so don't give up hearing from me!  We'll always be jump buddies...

Congratulations on your jump!!!!! 

Circlestar

[[ci...]]

After 4 years, I’m finally in the 2s! 2.9mg of Valium today. I’ve read so many good stories about ppl feeling so much better once they got to 2.5 or so. And so many ppl it got worse for them. I’m having a really rough time today mentally. Questioning myself. If it’s going to get unbearable now because I’m so low. If I’m going to crash. If I need to slow my taper down. I think reading things over the years from forums has scared me.

***I taper .012mg daily (.36mg/month)***

Anyone have any positive advice or experiences similar to where I am? I thought I’d be proud of myself and excited for the end of this taper once I got to the 2s, but right now I’m just scared of what may come. I was 18 the last time I was med free. I’m 35 now. I’m just scared I’m nearing the end and unknown of how the taper will finish. Thank you.

I think you should just take it one day at a time. The taper, life, everything. That's what I've learned through all this. Put my mind on positive things in my life and take life one day at a time.

Oh Yes,  be pleased with yourself on your progress. That is a huge milestone and you will make it to next one, just like you have done... one moment, one breath and one millisecond at a time.  Force yourself to not borrow fears for tomorrow, distract and know that today is enough to contend with. 

 

That is perfect, kasey. One thing I said to myself over and over and over during the waves was, "I am safe. It will pass." At first it was hard, but with practice, it became a habit. And then I had that new habit, and it has served me very well.

 

Gardie and Casey,

 

You guys have the BEST images and quotes!  I love the images and the "happiness" they embrace. 

My new mantra now that I am off is "I am healing."  I've said the "You're getting there" for so long that it's hard to believe I'm in the next phase.  But every night I am reminded that I no longer take a dose.  That is progress!

Circlestar

 

[[Ca...]]

Caltn and Circle,

 

Congratulations..!!

 

What more can I say..!! -Just awesome..!!

 

May the freshness grow, and life be more than you could ever dream..!!

 

 

[[ga...]]

How are you feeling Circlestar? I'm really curious if the last dose is any different?

I'm down to .10 in weight today less than .25mg . Other than the normal dizziness that comes in the morning and some muscle jerking in my lower legs, all the sxs seem to be normal to me. 

I'm looking at another week maybe two and I'll be jumping also.

Nothing major seems to be appearing, overall I feel wonderful compared to a year ago for sure..

 

Caltn,

Sorry it took so long to respond.  Funny... as soon as I went off I felt like I wanted to focus less on the whole thing and backed off of BB for the past week.  All of a sudden in felt like BB was mostly about "the taper" and I didn't want to go poke around on the post taper boards and get freaked out. 

 

I am now 8 days off.  Honestly, I haven't noticed any real change in sxs yet.  Perhaps a bit more clear headed.  But physical sxs and anxiety the same.  Sleep hours is getting a bit worse.  But I can definitely say that I am in a better place than I was at this time last year.  I am even starting to "think" about doing some projects around the house--though I haven't yet:)

 

I will continue to check in, so don't give up hearing from me!  We'll always be jump buddies...

Congratulations on your jump!!!!! 

Circlestar

 

Thank you for coming back to let us know how you are, circlestar. I'm glad to hear your jump has been pretty uneventful.

 

I don't want to go onto post withdrawal support either. I used to try to find info there, but I'm too fragile to read that stuff. I did find one thread about success on there and copied some of the positive posts over onto my p-log. If you'd like to see them, they're here:

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=137858.90

 

Gardie

[[ga...]]

 

Gardie and Casey,

 

You guys have the BEST images and quotes!  I love the images and the "happiness" they embrace. 

My new mantra now that I am off is "I am healing."  I've said the "You're getting there" for so long that it's hard to believe I'm in the next phase.  But every night I am reminded that I no longer take a dose.  That is progress!

Circlestar

 

In two weeks I am going to steal your mantra, circlestar!

[[ci...]]

How are you feeling Circlestar? I'm really curious if the last dose is any different?

I'm down to .10 in weight today less than .25mg . Other than the normal dizziness that comes in the morning and some muscle jerking in my lower legs, all the sxs seem to be normal to me. 

I'm looking at another week maybe two and I'll be jumping also.

Nothing major seems to be appearing, overall I feel wonderful compared to a year ago for sure..

 

Caltn,

Sorry it took so long to respond.  Funny... as soon as I went off I felt like I wanted to focus less on the whole thing and backed off of BB for the past week.  All of a sudden in felt like BB was mostly about "the taper" and I didn't want to go poke around on the post taper boards and get freaked out. 

 

I am now 8 days off.  Honestly, I haven't noticed any real change in sxs yet.  Perhaps a bit more clear headed.  But physical sxs and anxiety the same.  Sleep hours is getting a bit worse.  But I can definitely say that I am in a better place than I was at this time last year.  I am even starting to "think" about doing some projects around the house--though I haven't yet:)

 

I will continue to check in, so don't give up hearing from me!  We'll always be jump buddies...

Congratulations on your jump!!!!! 

Circlestar

 

Thank you for coming back to let us know how you are, circlestar. I'm glad to hear your jump has been pretty uneventful.

 

I don't want to go onto post withdrawal support either. I used to try to find info there, but I'm too fragile to read that stuff. I did find one thread about success on there and copied some of the positive posts over onto my p-log. If you'd like to see them, they're here:

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=137858.90

 

Gardie

 

Gardie,

Thanks for gathering those post jump success stories!

[[ka...]]

Congratulations caltn!!!

You are beginning the best part of recovery and healing. Pls know you are one who has endured much and overcome even more. Never doubt your resiliency & ability to overcome. Your trial/suffering produces perseverance, wh/ produces character and hope that will not disappoint.  We are so very thrilled for you. 

Gard - thanks for the link, oh my yes Ma'am..... so very help to read of those.  Girl, we have been through a lot together and will get to hold hands as we slide off to zero together in the next 2 weeks. 

 

[[ga...]]

Congratulations caltn!!!

You are beginning the best part of recovery and healing. Pls know you are one who has endured much and overcome even more. Never doubt your resiliency & ability to overcome. Your trial/suffering produces perseverance, wh/ produces character and hope that will not disappoint.  We are so very thrilled for you. 

Gard - thanks for the link, oh my yes Ma'am..... so very help to read of those.  Girl, we have been through a lot together and will get to hold hands as we slide off to zero together in the next 2 weeks. 

I'm so glad to hear you'll be off soon, too. What a celebration! I will be at Valium equivalence of .23mg on Monday. I'm think I will either keep my current taper rate (which is kind of fast) and be off in 2 weeks. Or I will pause there to steady myself and then jump when I feel ready.

[[ca...]]

A Big Thank You for everyone wishing me luck and congratulating me for finishing my taper. I'm doing as expected so far and expect things to improve. Mornings seem to be the worst as everyone knows but they aren't bad. My muscles tightening up in my neck have been my biggest issue since I've been under 1mg. Yesterday I felt like I had whiplash and tried to take it easy but I had to work on my car. Got really shaky so I checked my blood sugar and it was lower than normal. Normal for me is around 100, it was 78 yesterday for some reason and 80 this morning. I don't get hungry either , guess my system is all out coming off this poison.  At least I'm off and slowly healing.

 

Happy healing

[[ga...]]

Thanks for stopping by and giving us an update, caltn. I'm glad to hear things are going reasonably well. Yes, you are off and healing!

 

Gardie

[[ga...]]

Three days left for me. As long as I'm functioning, I see no point in changing course now. Knocking wood like crazy!

[[ka...]]

I am beyond thrilled for ya dear friend! Just one day at a time. You are doing great. 

[[ga...]]

I am beyond thrilled for ya dear friend! Just one day at a time. You are doing great. 

 

Thanks, kasey!  Can you believe, after all these years, we are really seeing the finish line?

[[co...]]

I am trying to get to the 3 mg and under valium group.

 

I have had some unfortunate events in the past 30 days in which I increased the rate of my taper and got slammed with symptoms--heavy anxiety,  complete loss of appetite, headaches, nausea--so I had to hold to stabilize.  Then I had an endoscopy scheduled and I chose to hold so as not to rick

 

I have been holding at 3.3 mg of valium per day.  I hope to get back to tapering and be able to join the under 3 mg of Valium people.  I am doing a daily micro liquid taper.  I am tapering using a combination of liquid valium/diazepam mixed with water at a 1 to 9 ratio, and a single 2mg valium pill.  I ran into trouble when I wound up micro tapering by a total of 15% over a two week period.  I went down from 3.88 mg of valium to 3.32 mg by doing daily micro-cuts of .04 mg a day.

 

I have a few questions, and I realize that experience varies widely between individuals.

 

1. I am wondering if as your dose gets lower do the side effects and withdrawal effects tend to be less severe.

 

2. As you get lower in your daily dose, can you exceed the board's general recommended taper rate of 5-10% ever two weeks?

 

thanks so much!

[[He...]]

I am trying to get to the 3 mg and under valium group.

 

I have had some unfortunate events in the past 30 days in which I increased the rate of my taper and got slammed with symptoms--heavy anxiety,  complete loss of appetite, headaches, nausea--so I had to hold to stabilize.  Then I had an endoscopy scheduled and I chose to hold so as not to rick

 

I have been holding at 3.3 mg of valium per day.  I hope to get back to tapering and be able to join the under 3 mg of Valium people.  I am doing a daily micro liquid taper.  I am tapering using a combination of liquid valium/diazepam mixed with water at a 1 to 9 ratio, and a single 2mg valium pill.  I ran into trouble when I wound up micro tapering by a total of 15% over a two week period.  I went down from 3.88 mg of valium to 3.32 mg by doing daily micro-cuts of .04 mg a day.

 

I have a few questions, and I realize that experience varies widely between individuals.

 

1. I am wondering if as your dose gets lower do the side effects and withdrawal effects tend to be less severe.

 

2. As you get lower in your daily dose, can you exceed the board's general recommended taper rate of 5-10% ever two weeks?

 

thanks so much!

 

Hello confuseduser,

I have been tapering Valium with liquid diazapam with water at a 9:1 solution as well. I am currently at .125mg.  I have found that a 6% decrease every month was all that I could handle to keep wdsx away completely when I was at a 2mg dose.

The lower I got , the more impatient I got. I tried going faster but the wdsx came back.

so I decided to hold a little, about two weeks, and then just keep my cuts at 6%  of my last dose every month.

Butnow that I am at .125 I am just decreasing my dose about every day  by .001 or .002

At this rate I should be completely done in 4-5 months. I realize it is very slow but I know it is probably the safest thing to do. And if any wdsx happen to hit me, I will just hold a while.

I hoping that by going this slow, when I “jump”, I will have little or no wdsx.

However, I do not plan on jumping until I am at .025 or maybe less.

 

Good luck! Everyone is different so do what you think is best for you. So don’t be afraid to adjust as you go. Listen to your body and don’t rush things. Patience,I know is one of the hardest things to adhere to. Hope I have helped somewhat.

 

Heathcliff

[[ga...]]

I am trying to get to the 3 mg and under valium group.

 

I have had some unfortunate events in the past 30 days in which I increased the rate of my taper and got slammed with symptoms--heavy anxiety,  complete loss of appetite, headaches, nausea--so I had to hold to stabilize.  Then I had an endoscopy scheduled and I chose to hold so as not to rick

 

I have been holding at 3.3 mg of valium per day.  I hope to get back to tapering and be able to join the under 3 mg of Valium people.  I am doing a daily micro liquid taper.  I am tapering using a combination of liquid valium/diazepam mixed with water at a 1 to 9 ratio, and a single 2mg valium pill.  I ran into trouble when I wound up micro tapering by a total of 15% over a two week period.  I went down from 3.88 mg of valium to 3.32 mg by doing daily micro-cuts of .04 mg a day.

 

I have a few questions, and I realize that experience varies widely between individuals.

 

1. I am wondering if as your dose gets lower do the side effects and withdrawal effects tend to be less severe.

 

2. As you get lower in your daily dose, can you exceed the board's general recommended taper rate of 5-10% ever two weeks?

 

thanks so much!

If you look at my signature, you'll see my taper rate and that I was able to speed up as I got lower. Some other people have this sort of information in their signatures, too, so you may get an idea from looking at the signatures in this thread. I think you'll find that it is different for different people. The important thing, though, is to taper according to how you feel. It sounds like you're doing that, so you are on the path to healing.

[[co...]]

Thanks Heathcliff and Gardener99.  I am now going to have to carefully watch my total dose and adjust my daily tapering amounts accordingly.

[[ga...]]

Thanks Heathcliff and Gardener99.  I am now going to have to carefully watch my total dose and adjust my daily tapering amounts accordingly.

 

I've kept a daily journal of my dose and any significant change in symptoms for years. It's helped me pace myself.

[[ka...]]

Thanks Heathcliff and Gardener99.  I am now going to have to carefully watch my total dose and adjust my daily tapering amounts accordingly.

 

I've kept a daily journal of my dose and any significant change in symptoms for years. It's helped me pace myself.

I'm too have kept a daily journal of medication times and symptoms. It is so hard to remember things, I have often gone back through my journals and noticed a pattern or symptoms that I maybe experiencing currently and they had resurfaced.

I was also able to pick up on the best taper rate for me at that dose level. As with many, you may find that as you continue make progress ( and you will) you may find it best to tweak your taper or reinvent it a bit to accommodate what works best for you with the least symptoms, or maintains your baseline. 

[[co...]]

Thanks, everyone.  I do keep a daily journal of how much I take and what reactions I have.  I do a simple taper.

 

As I said,  I am tapering using a combination of liquid valium/diazepam mixed with water at a 1 to 9 ratio, and a single 2mg valium pill. I am doing a daily micro liquid taper., though I am holding now at 3.3 mg a day and will soon go back to tapering.

 

From 6 mg of valium down, I was doing a daily liquid micro taper of .02 mg of valium per day.  When I was at a higher daily level it was not a problem, then I got to a lower level and increased it to .04 mg a day and ran into trouble when the amount I tapered over a 2 week period equaled about 15% of my total dose.

 

I am going to reinstate the daily liquid micro taper and go slower and more carefully.  Since my total daily dose is lower, reductions have to be smaller so that I don't reduce too much in too short of a time.  I am likely to go to .01mg a day.

 

thanks again, and I hope to fall into the under 3mg a day category soon.

 

I really appreciate everyone's thoughts.

[[ga...]]

Hi, everybody. I have hit a roadblock. I've been holding for a few days to make sure I'm ready to jump. I haven't had any serious problems with tapering symptoms. Just the usual wave and windows that are very tolerable. I've been coping fine and doing everything I need to do. I even went to volunteer at the library, which I hadn't done in a month.

 

But, my original sleep disorder came back and my sleep has collapsed last night. Completely. I am just like I was before I was put on the benzo. This is very different from any withdrawal symptoms I've had. It's the old thing back again. I think. I'm not sure what to do.

 

Sorry, fuzzy brained right now. I recall that I was fading in and out of being able to think or not when I was not sleeping at all before the benzo. Probably that is the way I will be for awhile.

 

Fading out now.

[[Kg...]]

Gard:  Your sleep did not collapse you had one night of no sleep which I am pretty sure you can attribute to your nervousness about finally being off of benzos for good!!!!  Don't think yourself into something that isn't there - those of us who have gone before you can tell you that this gets us all into trouble. Your s/x when you finally do your last jump will be no different than what you have experienced at the end of your taper.  You have not been on a therapeutic dose of the drug for months and months. Take it one day at a time and welcome to the world of no benzos where you will be very very soon. 

 

:smitten:

 

 

[[CM...]]

Gard:  Your sleep did not collapse you had one night of no sleep which I am pretty sure you can attribute to your nervousness about finally being off of benzos for good!!!!  Don't think yourself into something that isn't there - those of us who have gone before you can tell you that this gets us all into trouble. Your s/x when you finally do your last jump will be no different than what you have experienced at the end of your taper.  You have not been on a therapeutic dose of the drug for months and months. Take it one day at a time and welcome to the world of no benzos where you will be very very soon. 

 

:smitten:

 

At what dose do you think it stops being therapeutic?

I’m at 2.85 today and I feel like it’s lost all therapeutic effect

 

I’ve read that a lot of ppl felt reborn around 2.5mg and that after that it was so much easier

Any thoughts? Thanks!