Xanax Done - Starting Valium Taper

[[be...]]

Now that I am officially done with my long Xanax taper, it's time to get moving on the Valium taper.

 

My doctor added 5 MG of Valium to my plan when I was struggling so badly with Xanax inter dose withdrawal symptoms. I know that's not the Ashton way to go, but it helped me tremendously just adding that little extra Valium to carry me through the next day.  So, I've been on that 5 MG of Valium for about 3 months.

 

Yesterday I started with a 1 MG cut of Valium and I'll see how I feel at just the 4 MG. 

 

Since I never went up in the amount of Valium (always stayed at 5 MG), is it reasonable to cut 1 MG every 10 days or so?  Or should I drop my cuts down to .5 MG every 10 days?  I know this is really an individual thing and my body will most likely tell me what I can or cannot handle, but just looking for input if anyone else has had to taper off 5 MG of Valium. It seems that most of the Valium tapers I see on here are usually coming from much higher amounts. 

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated! 

[[Ju...]]

Congrats on being done with the xanax! I am sure you want this whole ordeal to be over, but you might want to take it a little more cautiously with the valium taper. It could take as long as 3 weeks to fully feel the effect of the 1 mg cut (20% of your current benzo dose). I hope it goes smoothly for you, but being patient and waiting to see how things turn out cant hurt. From this point forward, cutting 0.5 mg every two weeks might be a gentler way to go.

JKS

[[be...]]

Thanks justkeepswimming, I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how the cuts will affect me. With Xanax it was clear that after 3 hours I was feeling inter dose withdrawals and getting sick. If I took a Xanax I felt better.  But with Valium, to be honest I've never really felt anything, even though I know it must have been working because it stayed in my system longer and helped me get through the next day and the Xanax withdrawals.  I guess time will tell. I was just curious if anyone else was on a low amount to start with like me and how they made their cuts. The Ashton manual has cuts at 1 MG Valium every 1-2 weeks; that was why I started with a 1 MG cut. 

[[Ju...]]

Many people around here have to slow the Ashton rate down a bit, but given your relatively short term use it could work for you. I think it is easier to go a little on the slow side than to have to recover from too big of a cut- I wouldnt want you to get discouraged after all the work you have already done. If you give yourself time between cuts then you will know how you feel. Two 0.5 mg cuts gets you to the same place as a 1 mg cut, with time to correct in between if you need it.

JKS