Question :)

[[so...]]

On here its recommended to reduces ever 14 days on a Facebook support group they say no more than 10% monthly, so I am confused. How do you guys taper?

[[Ch...]]

We recommend the Ashton protocol, which is to cut the daily dose by no more than 5 to 10% every ten days to two weeks.  Ten days, in general, being more applicable to short acting benzodiazepines and two weeks being more applicable to long acting benzodiazepines.

 

5% every two weeks is equivalent to 10% per month, so not that far off. 

[[so...]]

Thank you for replying. So is reducing .5 of diazepam every 14 days too aggressive? I really dont know how to proceed.

[[Be...]]

Sonia I think it really depends on the person...it depends how badly hit you are. And depends on what dose you're currently on.

I missed the 5-10 percent bit on the Ashton report, and focused myself totally on the schedules which said either 1mg per week or fortnight. It led to absolute disaster for me.

If you can, go as slowly as you can, cutting as little as you can, is my advice. Pushing it at all is a false economy.

[[To...]]

It's better to go really slow than to go fast and have to reinstate or even worse relapse like I did and have to do it all over again. Dropping 1 mg a week is crazy fast. 1 mg in two weeks still fast but that's what "The Ashton Manual" recommends. I would say if you are anywhere above 10 mg of Valium you can do this but below 10 mg it will be too fast for most. And don't even think about it when you go below 5 mg. Because that's where the real fun starts ... You need to find out for yourself, it's all trial and error. Every 1 mg I dropped below 10 mg I felt enormously and not the next day but about a week later it hit me and I didn't understand it but it's because Valium has such a long half life worth. You only feel the cut you make today about 7 to 10 days later in my experience. You do feel it a little bit the same day but it's bearable. So you might all of a sudden go into heavy withdrawal when you didn't make a cut recently but you made a 1 mg cut 7 or 10 days ago and you don't know what's happening ...

[[so...]]

Thank you. I'm at 7mg ATM my doctor wants me to reduce half a milligram every two weeks until I get to 5mg. I really dont know if that's too much. I did reduce half a milligram 6 days ago. I'm on my third cut since the 4th of august.

[[To...]]

Thank you. I'm at 7mg ATM my doctor wants me to reduce half a milligram every two weeks until I get to 5mg. I really dont know if that's too much. I did reduce half a milligram 6 days ago. I'm on my third cut since the 4th of august.

 

 

I think your doctor is very benzo wise and cutting 0.5 mg every two weeks is a pretty fair deal. But honestly nobody knows how fast you can go but yourself. Nobody knows your body more and what you're capable of than you yourself. The rate and speed by which you are reducing and cutting should be totally up to you and in your hands. If you feel like holding 7 mg for a month or even 2 then do it. Your doctor has given you good advice though. 

 

I wish you all the best and wish on to you a smooth and easy taper.