Updosing Support Group

[[Ol...]]

I also updosed and was successful, I got down to 0mg Valium and couldn't bear it, so I updosed to 2mg and held for a year and a half while my body and brain healed from all of the cutting I had done during the previous year. It worked because I was able to start tapering again last month and have not had any major w/d symptoms so far.

 

[Guest [Lo...]]

Hello,

I am definitely have symptoms from Klonopin withdrawl without even tapering yet.  Getting adrenaline surges, tingling, twitching, etc. Am taking it once at night as always.  Should I be spreading it out?  Should I be updosing for relieve?  Thank you.  Also just came off Remeron in June and thought this was due to that, but I think by coming off Remeron my .5 K was reduced and it kicked off withdrawal.  I am very uncomfortable—getting some numbness too.  Thank you for any help you can provide.

Lookinup

[[va...]]

Hello,

I am definitely have symptoms from Klonopin withdrawl without even tapering yet.  Getting adrenaline surges, tingling, twitching, etc. Am taking it once at night as always.  Should I be spreading it out?  Should I be updosing for relieve?  Thank you.  Also just came off Remeron in June and thought this was due to that, but I think by coming off Remeron my .5 K was reduced and it kicked off withdrawal.  I am very uncomfortable—getting some numbness too.  Thank you for any help you can provide.

Lookinup

 

Lookinup, I'd try spacing it out in three takes like the klonopin buddies in the LHSG are recommending, and give it some time to see if it works before you consider updosing. Ask that doctor you're seeing tomorrow too, as he's supposed to be benzo wise.

[Guest [Lo...]]

Hello,

I am definitely have symptoms from Klonopin withdrawl without even tapering yet.  Getting adrenaline surges, tingling, twitching, etc. Am taking it once at night as always.  Should I be spreading it out?  Should I be updosing for relieve?  Thank you.  Also just came off Remeron in June and thought this was due to that, but I think by coming off Remeron my .5 K was reduced and it kicked off withdrawal.  I am very uncomfortable—getting some numbness too.  Thank you for any help you can provide.

Lookinup

 

Lookinup, I'd try spacing it out in three takes like the klonopin buddies in the LHSG are recommending, and give it some time to see if it works before you consider updosing. Ask that doctor you're seeing tomorrow too, as he's supposed to be benzo wise.

Thank you.  I will talk to him.  Does evenly dosing usually calm things down?

[[NJ...]]

BUMP .. Just thought it might be prudent to push this "More Support" -->"Support Groups" --> "Other Support Groups" --> "Updosing Support Group" thread up the list in the event an unfortunate sole or an experienced person is searching for or wishes to contribute to: anecdotal evidence &/or evidence obtained through the scientific method related to Updosing of Benzodiazepines.

 

Best Wishes

 

Edit:

 

I'll quote a brief synopsis I posted earlier of my tapering and cessation attempts and suggest that you search and observe to aid you as you choose your own path:

 

"Tapering was awful for me and for those that are close and still depend upon me. I up-dosed and am doing fine again. I take Xanax 4 times/day, every 6 hours (it has a relatively short half life). I do start to notice some minor symptoms about 5 hours after my previous dose but, I and my loved ones can much more easily cope with that than the debilitating, persistent and indefinite symptoms I was experiencing during my tapering & another previous cessation effort."

 

FL: Thanks for posting this. I have also been holding since last September after an updose. I am mostly fine although I definitely am experiencing sometimes severe symptoms due to menopause. I was hanging on by a thread while I was tapering, then my son got sick and it was too much ... I had to be there and functional for him. I am at .75 mg of K and don't know if I am going to taper again or not. I feel like I should but every time I tried to taper I became pretty ill ... functional in terms of going to work but really a mess to be honest in all other areas of my life. I still get symptoms that seem tied to hormonal fluctations and definitely have "stress intolerance" but overall, I am okay except for maybe 2 days a month. I know it would be better to get off but I don't know if I am willing to trade years of being a mess just to say I am off drugs. I have no side effects from the k in terms of memory or other issues.

[Guest [Lo...]]

BUMP .. Just thought it might be prudent to push this "More Support" -->"Support Groups" --> "Other Support Groups" --> "Updosing Support Group" thread up the list in the event an unfortunate sole or an experienced person is searching for or wishes to contribute to: anecdotal evidence &/or evidence obtained through the scientific method related to Updosing of Benzodiazepines.

 

Best Wishes

 

Edit:

 

I'll quote a brief synopsis I posted earlier of my tapering and cessation attempts and suggest that you search and observe to aid you as you choose your own path:

 

"Tapering was awful for me and for those that are close and still depend upon me. I up-dosed and am doing fine again. I take Xanax 4 times/day, every 6 hours (it has a relatively short half life). I do start to notice some minor symptoms about 5 hours after my previous dose but, I and my loved ones can much more easily cope with that than the debilitating, persistent and indefinite symptoms I was experiencing during my tapering & another previous cessation effort."

 

FL: Thanks for posting this. I have also been holding since last September after an updose. I am mostly fine although I definitely am experiencing sometimes severe symptoms due to menopause. I was hanging on by a thread while I was tapering, then my son got sick and it was too much ... I had to be there and functional for him. I am at .75 mg of K and don't know if I am going to taper again or not. I feel like I should but every time I tried to taper I became pretty ill ... functional in terms of going to work but really a mess to be honest in all other areas of my life. I still get symptoms that seem tied to hormonal fluctations and definitely have "stress intolerance" but overall, I am okay except for maybe 2 days a month. I know it would be better to get off but I don't know if I am willing to trade years of being a mess just to say I am off drugs. I have no side effects from the k in terms of memory or other issues.

That is interesting. I am beginning to think the same.

 

[[Ol...]]

NJStrength! I was thinking of you recently for some reason. I remember you from the LHSG a year or more ago, I related to you because extreme nausea was one of your symptoms and it was one of mine too.. the worst one in fact. I took a long break from BB and when I came back there were a few people I was missing.. I am happy to hear that you have figured out something that will work for you.

Sending you love! 

[[va...]]

I see there are a few of us who are holding indefinitely. This seems like another long hold group besides being an updosing group. I'd stay on it until I've finished raising my daughter, but doesn't anyone else live in fear of being hospitalized for any health issue and being jerked off the benzo by one of those super benzo wise doctors you find in hospitals? Plus, I'm "only" at 2.5 of Valium. Most of the Healthcare professionals think 2.5 is nothing. I went to several doctors and only two acknowledged that 2.5 Valium can be brutal for some people coming off. I CTD 5 mgs in the past with no issues but that's why I'm kindled and now 2.5 is hell to come off of. So back to my question : my main fear of being on it, is ending up in hospital and being jerked off.

[[NJ...]]

Olive: Thanks for your kind words. I am glad to see you are back and doing better. I still do have nausea from time to time but not daily anymore thank goodness. That was just too much for me.

 

Val: I can't worry about the "what ifs" right now. Yes, I am concerned that I may be forced off at some point in time but I can't think about it now. I also think where I live there are enough doctors that continue to prescribe that I will be fine. In terms of a hospital stay, I know with my dad I did have to make a bit of a scene to get him his antidepressant but they did eventually give it to him. I need to at least try to be functional until my son goes off to college--in a year and a half--I don't want my kids to see me daily when I was as bad as I was.

[[Fi...]]

I see there are a few of us who are holding indefinitely. This seems like another long hold group besides being an updosing group. I'd stay on it until I've finished raising my daughter, but doesn't anyone else live in fear of being hospitalized for any health issue and being jerked off the benzo by one of those super benzo wise doctors you find in hospitals? Plus, I'm "only" at 2.5 of Valium. Most of the Healthcare professionals think 2.5 is nothing. I went to several doctors and only two acknowledged that 2.5 Valium can be brutal for some people coming off. I CTD 5 mgs in the past with no issues but that's why I'm kindled and now 2.5 is hell to come off of. So back to my question : my main fear of being on it, is ending up in hospital and being jerked off.

 

I've had several major surgeries, most several hundred miles away from my primary care physician.

 

Major U.S. specialty hospitals have one or more internal staff physicians called "Hospitalists" who conduct pre hospital in-patient histories, discuss with patients their concerns, obtain the patients' primary doctors' patient's charts, recommendations, rx's, etc., conduct pre-surgery diagnostic tests, and treat patients' pre-existing & present conditions while the patient is hospitalized.

 

I have never experienced a problem with continuing my primary doctors' treatment plans, including long-term benzodiazepine treatment, while being hospitalized.

 

Here is a brief explanation of "What is a Hospitalist?"

 

https://www.medicinenet.com/what_is_a_hospitalist/views.htm

 

In an event of an emergency, I have also assigned a "Medical Power of Attorney" to a trusted friend/family member who is familiar with my medical conditions, treatment plans, medical needs and wishes. That person is included with my "emergency contacts" list which I carry with me.

 

I understand your concern of being "jerked off" from long-term benzo treatment but, with proper planning I believe your concerns can be properly addressed. Best Wishes

 

 

[[va...]]

Hi Fi Addendum.

 

I'm not from the US, I'm in Spain, but if I had a programmed operation I think my psychiatrist would give me a letter to make sure that I was given the meds in hospital.

 

However in an emergency, I don't seem to be able to find the option to register an emergency number in my Huawei. You should be able to get the number even if you don't know the pin to unblock the device.

 

Thank you for your reassurement. I do feel doctors don't take the 2.5 dose of valium too seriously, while I went into acute when I went from 1.20 to 1, so I guarantee the low doses can be a bit problem. Depends on a million factors, in my case having been severely kindled is one of them.

 

I'll get a different phone if necessary.

[Guest [Lo...]]

Had to udose .25 mg today as I am just not stable and am concerned abut tolerance withdrawal.  How long does it take to feel any effect?

[[NJ...]]

Had to udose .25 mg today as I am just not stable and am concerned abut tolerance withdrawal.  How long does it take to feel any effect?

 

Last time I did that it honestly did take a while to see a difference, we are talking weeks, more than a month.

 

I see you tapered or are tapering remeron. That is something I am on the fence about. I take 15 mg but really don't feel it helps but I do know it is causing me to hold onto weight I don't need and also causing some issues with my blood chemistry. I am terrified though to switch anything up! But I think I am going to make a small cut next week and see what happens. I need to at least try to get off one psych med. Since I can't figure out how to ditch the klonopin without losing my mind I need to see if I can get rid of the remeron.

[Guest [Lo...]]

Had to udose .25 mg today as I am just not stable and am concerned abut tolerance withdrawal.  How long does it take to feel any effect?

 

Last time I did that it honestly did take a while to see a difference, we are talking weeks, more than a month.

 

I see you tapered or are tapering remeron. That is something I am on the fence about. I take 15 mg but really don't feel it helps but I do know it is causing me to hold onto weight I don't need and also causing some issues with my blood chemistry. I am terrified though to switch anything up! But I think I am going to make a small cut next week and see what happens. I need to at least try to get off one psych med. Since I can't figure out how to ditch the klonopin without losing my mind I need to see if I can get rid of the remeron.

. Be careful with the Remeron and go very slow.  Does the marijuana help with sleep?  I’d love to get rid of the Ambien.

[[NJ...]]

Yes, the marijuana helps with sleep better than anything I have ever used. I took it daily for a year + and now find I don't need it every night, which is wonderful so I have been able to cut that back a bit some weeks I don't use it at all.

 

The remeron, I don't know what to do about it. I don't feel it helps with sleep anymore which is why I started but after years of being destabilized from trying to taper K and mostly failing, I am hesitant to try again. Although the last time I tapered an antidepressant (lexapro) I did it in six weeks and was mostly fine. With remeron I am thinking 10 percent a month for initial cuts, but again, I am pretty scared to even try. I guess if it doesn't start well I can just reinstate.

[[Gu...]]

Hi LookinUp, I think you got some pretty good opinions on where to go from here.  Knowing you don't have a thyroid anymore I suggest getting. g your T3/T4 blood test.  Your endo sounds like he will work with you knowing your benzo and AD history.  Also split your Klonopin dosage during the day.  I don't know anything about Klonopin so I would check that thread on how many times to dose.  If all else fails you may need to reinstate your Remeron.  This is all just my opinion, I'm not a professional at all.  These are just suggestions.

 

Hi LookinUp.  I posted this on the Remeron thread but have added it here as well.  This looks like a great supportive bunch!

 

 

[Guest [Lo...]]

Yes, the marijuana helps with sleep better than anything I have ever used. I took it daily for a year + and now find I don't need it every night, which is wonderful so I have been able to cut that back a bit some weeks I don't use it at all.

 

The remeron, I don't know what to do about it. I don't feel it helps with sleep anymore which is why I started but after years of being destabilized from trying to taper K and mostly failing, I am hesitant to try again. Although the last time I tapered an antidepressant (lexapro) I did it in six weeks and was mostly fine. With remeron I am thinking 10 percent a month for initial cuts, but again, I am pretty scared to even try. I guess if it doesn't start well I can just reinstate.

Yes, just go slow and yu should be fine.  Did you get rid of the Benzo?  Did you taper the Ambien and use pot to get off it?  Did it raise your heart rate?  I think I need it to relax enough to sleep.  Did you sleep right away with it?  Sorry for all the questions.

[[NJ...]]

Lookinup: I added the remeron to taper the benzo and have not successfully tapered. I am in an indefinite hold as my son has had serious health issues, I have changed jobs three times in the last 18 months (although think I am in the right job finally--my field has a lot of turnover and this type of movement is not unusual and I am now working full time from home, which I think will be key to resuming my taper at some point), and I am experiencing the pleasure of hormonal fluctations which sometimes leave me suicidal due to menopause so feel like this is likely not the right time to taper. I have been able to taper from 1 mg to .75 mg of K but that is it. Was down to .33 but it was a bad scene, my son was very, very ill and I just couldn't go on like that.

 

The remeron saved me with sleep and with nausea. I slept well right away on a dose of 7.5 mg (in fact, the fatigue was so overwhelming the first few months on it I was so upset by that, i remember crying to my therapist about the fatigue), and slept well every night for probably 18 months. I eventually increased to 15 mg (still slept great) for more help with the GI symptoms.

 

Then it stopped working regularly for sleep, so I added the medical marijuana. And that is what I wish I had found 20 years ago, because it really helps my GI system and with sleep but I don't feel it is as addictive. If I had to stop today I would likely have some increased GI symptoms but that is it. I don't need it every day anymore because sometimes I am sleeping great now for weeks at a time. I do sometimes need a small morning dose for nausea, which has been a very frequent companion since I first started tapering 3.5 years ago.

 

I have not been on Ambien in about 14 years, I was on that for many years, stopped cold turkey and other than rebound insomnia that I fixed with Benadryl, no  other impact. At that time my son who is ill now had had a stroke as a baby, and I remember him waking me up in the middle of the night, he never slept well because we were tapering his phenobarbital for seizures (oh, what I wish I knew now I knew then), and I felt too spacey to care for him. That was it for me and Ambien.

 

I do have a very high resting heart rate (about 100). I am overweight but work out regularly and I have to say, that it really concerns me and that is one reason I want off remeron. I am also I think in a head space where I want to lose weight but don't think i can do that while on remeron. For me, it has thankfully been a weight-neutral drug but I still think losing will be hard. I still crave carbs like crazy, which I think is at least in part due to remeron. I definitely binge eat carbs after my dose before bed, I find the remeron works best if I take it two hours before bed and in those two hours I eat at least 500 calories most nights. If I could cut that off, I think the weight would start to come off.

 

A long answer. Hope it helps you.

 

 

[Guest [Lo...]]

Lookinup: I added the remeron to taper the benzo and have not successfully tapered. I am in an indefinite hold as my son has had serious health issues, I have changed jobs three times in the last 18 months (although think I am in the right job finally--my field has a lot of turnover and this type of movement is not unusual and I am now working full time from home, which I think will be key to resuming my taper at some point), and I am experiencing the pleasure of hormonal fluctations which sometimes leave me suicidal due to menopause so feel like this is likely not the right time to taper. I have been able to taper from 1 mg to .75 mg of K but that is it. Was down to .33 but it was a bad scene, my son was very, very ill and I just couldn't go on like that.

 

The remeron saved me with sleep and with nausea. I slept well right away on a dose of 7.5 mg (in fact, the fatigue was so overwhelming the first few months on it I was so upset by that, i remember crying to my therapist about the fatigue), and slept well every night for probably 18 months. I eventually increased to 15 mg (still slept great) for more help with the GI symptoms.

 

Then it stopped working regularly for sleep, so I added the medical marijuana. And that is what I wish I had found 20 years ago, because it really helps my GI system and with sleep but I don't feel it is as addictive. If I had to stop today I would likely have some increased GI symptoms but that is it. I don't need it every day anymore because sometimes I am sleeping great now for weeks at a time. I do sometimes need a small morning dose for nausea, which has been a very frequent companion since I first started tapering 3.5 years ago.

 

I have not been on Ambien in about 14 years, I was on that for many years, stopped cold turkey and other than rebound insomnia that I fixed with Benadryl, no  other impact. At that time my son who is ill now had had a stroke as a baby, and I remember him waking me up in the middle of the night, he never slept well because we were tapering his phenobarbital for seizures (oh, what I wish I knew now I knew then), and I felt too spacey to care for him. That was it for me and Ambien.

 

I do have a very high resting heart rate (about 100). I am overweight but work out regularly and I have to say, that it really concerns me and that is one reason I want off remeron. I am also I think in a head space where I want to lose weight but don't think i can do that while on remeron. For me, it has thankfully been a weight-neutral drug but I still think losing will be hard. I still crave carbs like crazy, which I think is at least in part due to remeron. I definitely binge eat carbs after my dose before bed, I find the remeron works best if I take it two hours before bed and in those two hours I eat at least 500 calories most nights. If I could cut that off, I think the weight would start to come off.

 

A long answer. Hope it helps you.

Thank you.  Yes, it is very helpful.  Sorry about your son’s illness.  So stressful.  I really feel like I am having acute withdrawal symptoms, so decided to updose to .75 and take .25 three times a day.  Hope that helps settle things.  Good luck with the Remeron. Just go off it slowly.  I will get a pot cart and try that too.

[[Ba...]]

NJ,

Did drs. ever find a way to address your son's illness?

 

I forget what type mj you use for sleep?  I have used thc gummies for sleep but then feel kind of blah next day.  Also I always get starving from them... I've gained weight, too, have the stomach thing going ;(  I wonder if my metabolism has been decreasing.  If I could sleep I could get off this crap... but don't knowhow to do that.

 

Have some tasimelteon pills for non 24 sleep prob, but afraid to take them.  They work on melatonin which has never been a friend to me.  Still, idea of having reg circadian rhythm would help my life in all regards.

[[Ch...]]

NJ,

Did drs. ever find a way to address your son's illness?

 

I forget what type mj you use for sleep?  I have used thc gummies for sleep but then feel kind of blah next day.  Also I always get starving from them... I've gained weight, too, have the stomach thing going ;(  I wonder if my metabolism has been decreasing.  If I could sleep I could get off this crap... but don't knowhow to do that.

 

Have some tasimelteon pills for non 24 sleep prob, but afraid to take them.  They work on melatonin which has never been a friend to me.  Still, idea of having reg circadian rhythm would help my life in all regards.

 

IMO, old (like 4-5 years) THC weed is good for sleep.  Most of the THC has converted to CBN (which is a scarce cannabinoid occurring naturally, but is a product of degraded THC and as such is not psychoactive yet is sedative).

 

Gummies or other edibles last a long time in the system, so it can leave a hangover the next day.

 

This is a fairly good article: https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/cannabis-and-sleep

[[va...]]

You guys are lucky with this supermarket variety of weed. Here you just go to the park and take whatever the guy there wants to give you. Or if you're too old for that you depend on some nice college student who will also buy from the guy in the park. And no idea what you're smoking, so I pass. Baylissa says weed hinders recovery. But no idea if it's true.

[[Fi...]]

"Baylissa says..." 

[[va...]]

Olive kitty, if you read this I'd like to ask you something. I know your waited for eighteen months after your updose before resuming your taper. I'd like to know how symptomatic you were when you resumed your taper. I've improved a lot in these nearly four months since the crash and updose, but I still have a lot of fear and bouts of depression and neuro emotions every day, but nothing like the extreme fear I had some months ago. I'm starting to wonder if I'm ready to taper or if I'll be better off holding a few more months to taper from a more stable place. I will add that I need to be fully functional throughout my taper if ever possible.

 

I'm so glad the long hold has worked for you and I'm hoping to follow your footsteps.

[[Ba...]]

Challis, maybe can I pm you?  I am just hopeless with the mj stuff, altho I did read your link.  You know I tried a tincture of that stuff for sleep (cbn) and it didn't work and I felt terrible.  Wasted a lot of money on that one!  I really feel quite hopeless tonight, all this effort for... what?

 

Olive you say you got down and felt so bad you went back up.  Was valium your original med?  And you felt bad how, may I ask?

 

I am almsot off the clon (about .04 or .05 mg) but 2 valium and about 2/3 to 3/4 ambien, whcih i don't think works now.  Really nonfunctional and tired of this all as it is almost 3 years.  I was old to begin with and now aged an incredible amount.

 

thx

 

Open to suggestions, but I feel pretty broken.