The Easier Taper Support Group

[[jm...]]

Thank you. I have an appointment to get q refill tomorrow and for the first time i'm not worried if this is the month he cuts me off,  that was always a fear and one reason I wanted off. I worked today 13 hours and actually forgot one of my doses for a few hours. That was a nice surprise.

[[Gw...]]

Checking in at 30 days benzo-free! 

 

How's everybody doing?

 

Gwinna

[[Fi...]]

follwoing

[[ma...]]

That is awesome Gwinna !  How are you doing ... any symptoms ... all wonderful and you feel normal  ?  I am so happy for you ! 

[[jm...]]

Gwinna and all,

Hi, i'm still doing ok. Made another small cut so far so good. Sleeping good and feeling ok, occasional anxiety but I did that before. I would say as of now nothingI can't handle. If I get a symptom I just really try hard not to read into it. I Will try to cut again in a week or so if all keeps going well.  My doctor told me the other day to get down to 0.75 daily and stay there "a long time" I honestly think he's making this so much less stressful by being cool about it.  I hope everyone is doing good.

[[ga...]]

I'm doing OK, Gwinna. I'm pushing a little harder than I should and my daughter is like  .

 

I'm planning to put in a hold in a couple of weeks to give my brain a break. I feel like I need one.

 

How are you doing?

 

Gardie

[[jm...]]

Gardie,

Slow down if that's what your body needs.  Your  made me laugh. I'm so happy I found this thread.  I hope your slowing down brings you from feeling ok to feeling good. 

[[Ha...]]

Checking in at 30 days benzo-free! 

 

How's everybody doing?

 

Gwinna

  That is brilliant news Gwinna  Cantfly too is doing well and it is so great to hear we can actually live "happily ever after" in real life  Thanks for keeping us feeling good, knowing it will all be okay as we taper down and step off once and for all

Harmonee

[[ga...]]

Gardie,

Slow down if that's what your body needs.  Your  made me laugh. I'm so happy I found this thread.  I hope your slowing down brings you from feeling ok to feeling good. 

 

Thanks. I do plan to add a short hold soon. I find short holds are helpful when I get ahead of myself. I wish I had known that when I started this. It would have saved me so much grief!

 

Gardie

[[Gw...]]

What awesome replies! Everybody here is trying so hard and I love that we're encouraging each other. 

 

mary anna - I'm doing well overall! I hit a wave recently with lingering symptoms (anxiety, insomnia, decreased appetite) becoming pretty overwhelming, especially in the morning. I've been poking around the "post-withdrawal support" part of the forum, where I learned that a wave at 3-4 weeks out is pretty common, so I'm trying to be patient and trust the progress I know I've made. I don't know what my "normal" is yet, but I can't wait to find out!

 

jms12 - Congratulations on your taper progress! Good medical advice is so valuable during this process and not always easy to find. I'm working on acceptance lately and as hard as it is, it can really help when things get tough in the moment, can't it?

 

Gardie - Ack don't push yourself too hard! Listen to your daughter! I hope your coming hold brings you some relief. You're doing so well, I'm so happy for you!

 

Harmonee - You're so lovely, keeping everybody's spirits up. I hope you are also remembering to take care of yourself! I'm pretty grateful that folks don't seem to mind my continuing to post here; it's one of my favorite spots on the forum. So full of positive energy.

 

 

I think I was so focused during my taper on reaching zero, that I didn't take time to prepare myself for what could come next. This recent wave would have been no big deal if I hadn't gotten my hopes up that it was all over. But please don't let that discourage you! I still definitely feel like I turned an important corner, and lingering symptoms now are manageable for however long they last. I learned so many coping skills during my taper that I'm applying now as I move forward with my life. (I think patience has been the hardest.) Hang in there everybody, you're doing great!

 

Gwinna

[[be...]]

Thanks Gwinna, for letting us know how you are doing. I am at 0.32mg of Valium..slowly going down. This is my third taper, it has been pretty uneventful, that is why I joined this group a long time ago. It really does help to hear tidbits from those that have walked off. You have so much to look forward to, Best to you always.💖 Peace and Healing.

[[Gw...]]

Thanks Gwinna, for letting us know how you are doing. I am at 0.32mg of Valium..slowly going down. This is my third taper, it has been pretty uneventful, that is why I joined this group a long time ago. It really does help to hear tidbits from those that have walked off. You have so much to look forward to, Best to you always.💖 Peace and Healing.

 

Thanks, begood! 

 

I'm so glad to hear that your third taper attempt is going well. You've got this!

 

Gwinna

[[be...]]

Thanks Gwinna, for letting us know how you are doing. I am at 0.32mg of Valium..slowly going down. This is my third taper, it has been pretty uneventful, that is why I joined this group a long time ago. It really does help to hear tidbits from those that have walked off. You have so much to look forward to, Best to you always.💖 Peace and Healing.

 

Thanks, begood! 

 

I'm so glad to hear that your third taper attempt is going well. You've got this!

 

Gwinna

I hope so, I am not expecting no sx..I am a realist, but sure will not be horrific like before. Keep posting please of your progress.

[[ga...]]

Sorry about your wave, Gwinna. But you sound like you're riding it well.

 

I'm riding my mini-waves well, too, and will be holding to make sure they stay mini.

 

Gardie

[[Ca...]]

Hi everyone,

 

Sorry for the delay in my responding after my first post back in July- for some reason I thought I would get an update in my email if someone commented on the thread after I did, but, I guess I was wrong, whoops!  Here I was thinking the thread was dead, hah!

 

I'm so happy to hear of everyone's triumphs and progress, it's encouraging 

 

As for me, I hit a pretty bad wave at the end of July, and decided to take my micro taper down from .125 mg V weekly to .07 mg.  A bit of my taper history: I began my 11 mg Valium taper by pill cutting 1 mg each month, until I got to 8 mg, then I began working with liquid Valium and taking out .25 mg per week for a couple weeks and realized that was still too fast, so I took it down to reducing .125 mg per week until I got to 5.625 mg.  And now I am cutting .07 mg each week.

 

Some days I feel like- yeah, I got this!  And other days the light at the end of the tunnel feels so far away.  I must admit, this has been a harder week for me, (might be because of hormonal fluctuations, stress, and fighting off a kid germ), but my symptoms have been revved up.  That's why I popped back in here- to get a dose of positivity from you guys 

 

I am feeling pretty wiped out lately, just exhausted, and isolated- it's hard to find social support.  My husband is at work all day, and the kids are in school until 2:30 (this is a good thing because it allows me to catch up on sleep/rest/walking/meditation/running errands/chores)... but I really miss being social and it would be so wonderful to have low-key, low-energy interaction with friends.  I moved here to Florida 2 years ago and don't have any close friends.  Well, I do have 1, but she's a pretty reclusive person herself, so we don't get together often. 

 

Thanks for listening to me, it feels good to be heard by people who understand.

 

 

[[Ha...]]

Hello Candice, really good to see you back  Sounds like you hit some rough spots, but hey you're going in the right direction with a great attitude 

 

Glad you came back for a dose of positivity  and some understanding ears  Don't worry you'll have your social life back in no time and in the meantime you always have us 

 

Hope you get over those pesky sxs you've experienced this week (lol, including fighting off a "kid germ" (those evil little critters  )

 

Well now you know we're still here, you can always find us! Take good care of yourself Candice, 

 

Harmonee

[[be...]]

Hi everyone,

 

Sorry for the delay in my responding after my first post back in July- for some reason I thought I would get an update in my email if someone commented on the thread after I did, but, I guess I was wrong, whoops!  Here I was thinking the thread was dead, hah!

 

I'm so happy to hear of everyone's triumphs and progress, it's encouraging 

 

As for me, I hit a pretty bad wave at the end of July, and decided to take my micro taper down from .125 mg V weekly to .07 mg.  A bit of my taper history: I began my 11 mg Valium taper by pill cutting 1 mg each month, until I got to 8 mg, then I began working with liquid Valium and taking out .25 mg per week for a couple weeks and realized that was still too fast, so I took it down to reducing .125 mg per week until I got to 5.625 mg.  And now I am cutting .07 mg each week.

 

Some days I feel like- yeah, I got this!  And other days the light at the end of the tunnel feels so far away.  I must admit, this has been a harder week for me, (might be because of hormonal fluctuations, stress, and fighting off a kid germ), but my symptoms have been revved up.  That's why I popped back in here- to get a dose of positivity from you guys 

 

I am feeling pretty wiped out lately, just exhausted, and isolated- it's hard to find social support.  My husband is at work all day, and the kids are in school until 2:30 (this is a good thing because it allows me to catch up on sleep/rest/walking/meditation/running errands/chores)... but I really miss being social and it would be so wonderful to have low-key, low-energy interaction with friends.  I moved here to Florida 2 years ago and don't have any close friends.  Well, I do have 1, but she's a pretty reclusive person herself, so we don't get together often. 

 

Thanks for listening to me, it feels good to be heard by people who understand.

Hi Candice, glad you popped back in, this journey we are on...can change on a dime, but relish the good days and know that you can handle the not so good, just do the best you can when you can. I am not sure how fast you are tapering...but you may be going a bit faster than your Brain likes...trust me it will scream at you to slow down. Just be sure that you are giving your brain the lag time it needs to heal as you go  down. I think we are all lonely in a sense, I have no one, but here at BB and they have become my Family, I keep an active blog and have Friends that visit me, and we help each other.

 

Keep busy with the things you like to do, when you are alone, just do the best you can and remember that raising a family and being a wife is hard without tapering...and you are doing it, be kind to yourself, I do not know if I could juggle it all as you have. Stay Strong. BTW love your avatar. 💖 Peace and Healing.

[[ma...]]

Begood .. sounds like you are doing good.  I'm at 12.90 from 15 mg V.  I've been doing the liquid micro daily taper at .05.... was out shopping today and totally lost all strength ..had to leave and just sit in car and take my dose early ... so guess the cuts are catching up with me.  from reading your signature ..sounds like you micro taper and hold ..?  is that correct.  I think I will hold from yesterday's dose for a bit and see If I'm better tomorrow.  Hard to believe how weak I am.  Do you guys have the weakness also .. just all of a sudden ...I'm done..

I do have a cold (allergies) so I am sure that is not helping.  Very discouraging day today.

Was supposed to play cards with a friend tonight but had to call it off.  This all makes me so sad and yet I know I am so much better than so many of you.  I've been near tears all day .. another WD sxs.  ok .. enough of that ... later guys. 

 

[[be...]]

Begood .. sounds like you are doing good.  I'm at 12.90 from 15 mg V.  I've been doing the liquid micro daily taper at .05.... was out shopping today and totally lost all strength ..had to leave and just sit in car and take my dose early ... so guess the cuts are catching up with me.  from reading your signature ..sounds like you micro taper and hold ..?  is that correct.  I think I will hold from yesterday's dose for a bit and see If I'm better tomorrow.  Hard to believe how weak I am.  Do you guys have the weakness also .. just all of a sudden ...I'm done..

I do have a cold (allergies) so I am sure that is not helping.  Very discouraging day today.

Was supposed to play cards with a friend tonight but had to call it off.  This all makes me so sad and yet I know I am so much better than so many of you.  I've been near tears all day .. another WD sxs.  ok .. enough of that ... later guys. 

Hi, Mary, sorry things are wonky for you right now. Yes I taper for 10 days and then hold for 30 days, I have been doing this my whole taper, it works for me. I had two failed tapers...went to fast and cut too much. You may be cutting more than your Brain can catch up with, there is a lag time, and it could still be catching up from previous cuts. I would say hold and do not push on through, but that is only because I know what can happen when we are going faster than Our Brain can handle. I think the weakness is your body rebelling and wanting you to stop pushing. You have done well in your lowering of dosage, but taking time to heal and not pushing forth, will get you there in the same time. Best to you, also check in again with Long Hold Support Group. 💖 Peace and Healing.

[[ga...]]

Begood .. sounds like you are doing good.  I'm at 12.90 from 15 mg V.  I've been doing the liquid micro daily taper at .05.... was out shopping today and totally lost all strength ..had to leave and just sit in car and take my dose early ... so guess the cuts are catching up with me.  from reading your signature ..sounds like you micro taper and hold ..?  is that correct.  I think I will hold from yesterday's dose for a bit and see If I'm better tomorrow.  Hard to believe how weak I am.  Do you guys have the weakness also .. just all of a sudden ...I'm done..

I do have a cold (allergies) so I am sure that is not helping.  Very discouraging day today.

Was supposed to play cards with a friend tonight but had to call it off.  This all makes me so sad and yet I know I am so much better than so many of you.  I've been near tears all day .. another WD sxs.  ok .. enough of that ... later guys. 

Hi, Mary, sorry things are wonky for you right now. Yes I taper for 10 days and then hold for 30 days, I have been doing this my whole taper, it works for me. I had two failed tapers...went to fast and cut too much. You may be cutting more than your Brain can catch up with, there is a lag time, and it could still be catching up from previous cuts. I would say hold and do not push on through, but that is only because I know what can happen when we are going faster than Our Brain can handle. I think the weakness is your body rebelling and wanting you to stop pushing. You have done well in your lowering of dosage, but taking time to heal and not pushing forth, will get you there in the same time. Best to you, also check in again with Long Hold Support Group. 💖 Peace and Healing.

 

Very wise words from BG. When symptoms get bad, it means we are going faster than our brains can handle. BG's system of incorporating holds is great. I incorporate holds, too, short ones now, but I expect when I get very low I will have to put in more or longer. I want to have a life during this process and walk off, not jump off. Patience is the key. And I need this group to remind me to be patient!

 

Gardie

[[be...]]

Begood .. sounds like you are doing good.  I'm at 12.90 from 15 mg V.  I've been doing the liquid micro daily taper at .05.... was out shopping today and totally lost all strength ..had to leave and just sit in car and take my dose early ... so guess the cuts are catching up with me.  from reading your signature ..sounds like you micro taper and hold ..?  is that correct.  I think I will hold from yesterday's dose for a bit and see If I'm better tomorrow.  Hard to believe how weak I am.  Do you guys have the weakness also .. just all of a sudden ...I'm done..

I do have a cold (allergies) so I am sure that is not helping.  Very discouraging day today.

Was supposed to play cards with a friend tonight but had to call it off.  This all makes me so sad and yet I know I am so much better than so many of you.  I've been near tears all day .. another WD sxs.  ok .. enough of that ... later guys. 

Hi, Mary, sorry things are wonky for you right now. Yes I taper for 10 days and then hold for 30 days, I have been doing this my whole taper, it works for me. I had two failed tapers...went to fast and cut too much. You may be cutting more than your Brain can catch up with, there is a lag time, and it could still be catching up from previous cuts. I would say hold and do not push on through, but that is only because I know what can happen when we are going faster than Our Brain can handle. I think the weakness is your body rebelling and wanting you to stop pushing. You have done well in your lowering of dosage, but taking time to heal and not pushing forth, will get you there in the same time. Best to you, also check in again with Long Hold Support Group. 💖 Peace and Healing.

 

Very wise words from BG. When symptoms get bad, it means we are going faster than our brains can handle. BG's system of incorporating holds is great. I incorporate holds, too, short ones now, but I expect when I get very low I will have to put in more or longer. I want to have a life during this process and walk off, not jump off. Patience is the key. And I need this group to remind me to be patient!

 

Gardie

Gardie, you are correct Patience and Time...so important, but so hard at times. Stay Strong, you have come a long way. 💖 Peace and Healing.

[[jm...]]

I made another cut a few days ago and today I felt a little off but I was able to go to a football game with tons of people and totally forgot about it, i'm not sure if it was just anxiety that I sometimes get anyway.  Still not anything I can't handle but one day at a time.

Mary,

I'm sorry you had a bad day but hopefully it's just a bad day don't be down on yourself we are all entitled to bad days tapering or not. Plus being sick is always hard.  Here's to a better tomorrow

[[ma...]]

begood, gard, jms.... thank you guys.  I needed to hear that.  I will hold right where I'm at for a while.  Not sure how long to hold ..but at least till this cold is over and I feel stable.  I was having good days on the daily taper  ... As long as I'm going down... I'm good.  Will try to listen to my body and you guys and just be patient... that is the name of this game.

 

[[be...]]

begood, gard, jms.... thank you guys.  I needed to hear that.  I will hold right where I at for a while.  not sure how long to hold ..but at least till this cold is over and I feel stable.  I was having good days on the daily taper  ... As long as I'm going down... I'm good.  Will try to listen to my body and you guys and just be patient... that is the name of this game.

 

[[Ca...]]

Thanks everyone!

 

Yes, I did go too quickly back in July and had to hold for a bit.  I'm at a good pace now (.07 mg per week), but fighting off the kid germ and stress from life ramped things up a bit last week. 

 

I went away with my husband this past weekend after my tough week- he had a business incentive trip that he won, and getting out of my routine as mom and out of the house and into fun was the best thing for me.  I felt so much better and still feel a lot better today. 

 

By the way, I thought I'd share: I'm replacing the word 'wave' with "healing reaction".  It's the truth, what we are experiencing is a healing reaction to this withdrawal, and it's way more loving and kind to tell yourself and to speak of your experience saying that it is healing rather than getting rolled by a wave.  The body is listening <3.

 

Love to you all,

 

Candice