Updosing Support Group

[[NJ...]]

Barbara and Haimona,

 

When I updosed I definitely saw SOME improvement fairly quickly. I was under high stress (son was very sick) so it helped,but not enough. I actually updosed twice, from .33 mg to .5 mg and then, because I still wasn't as functional as I needed to be, I updosed again to .75. I have been holding for two+ years at this dose. Honestly, at that point my entire life was falling apart so it is hard to say how long it took to feel better, this was a period of my life that I cried to and from work every single day.

 

I would say that I got better as the months went on. Now, I feel really good, but my life stress has calmed down significantly, so it is hard for me to know what was my son being sick, mom nearly dying and ending up in a nursing home, etc. My son is stable now as we are finally with the right doctor. He is leaving for college far away in a few months and I feel confident that while that will be difficult, I will not be the anxious complete mess I was when I was trying to taper. I still do plan to try to taper once he leaves, but it will be so slow my body will hopefully not know what I am doing, we are talking about years and years. I may not make it to zero, which is fine. Would prefer to just be lower. I am someone who really feels I have no ill impacts from being on the drug, other than it is not sedating as it was when I first utilized for sleep.

 

So my situation is likely different from yours. I do think that updoses can be a useful tool when you are struggling.

[[Ba...]]

I found that benzos were not helping me sleep, so figured I'd taper off.

It was the wrong decision...  has been a nightmare and this is 4 plus years.  Oh, and the 6 weeks of low dose mirtazapine are what thew me into a huge acute state.... don't know if it was CT from the benzo, or from the mirtaz or what, but it was as bad as anything I've seen posted.

 

I got off the clon onto valium (a mistake).  Never felt at all good on valium.  Finally off of that.

 

But I wonder all the time what to do.  Only off valium 2 months-- if I went back it would not be to that. 

But if I take a tiny crumb of 2 mg valium..... or crumb of clonopin (a .5)  seem to feel sedated and dizzy and NOT good. So I figure going back would not work.

 

OTOH, know someone who is off clonopin a year, doing badly, who says he knows if he were to go back he would feel just fine.  So it is hard to know.

 

I'm a weird case with the pre existing weird circadian rhythm disorder and insomnia and then anxiety about the insomnia and keeping appointments...  very complex.

 

sigh.

Glad you son is better!  How did you find a good dr? 

 

 

[[NJ...]]

Barbara,

 

Sorry you are still struggling so much after all this time. I don't know if this might help you but I was just on a short course (two days) of gabapentin preceding surgery and it was very sedating. Perhaps that is something to ask the doctor about? I can't remember if this is something you have tried in the past. It was also so great to help with pain (just had surgery to remove an ovarian mass--not cancerous).

 

My son, I finally found the right doctor through a support group for people with his condition. He has been with the new doctor 11 months .... I wish we had found him sooner.

 

Good luck.

[[St...]]

I found that benzos were not helping me sleep, so figured I'd taper off.

It was the wrong decision...  has been a nightmare and this is 4 plus years.  Oh, and the 6 weeks of low dose mirtazapine are what thew me into a huge acute state.... don't know if it was CT from the benzo, or from the mirtaz or what, but it was as bad as anything I've seen posted.

 

I got off the clon onto valium (a mistake).  Never felt at all good on valium.  Finally off of that.

 

But I wonder all the time what to do.  Only off valium 2 months-- if I went back it would not be to that. 

But if I take a tiny crumb of 2 mg valium..... or crumb of clonopin (a .5)  seem to feel sedated and dizzy and NOT good. So I figure going back would not work.

 

 

 

OTOH, know someone who is off clonopin a year, doing badly, who says he knows if he were to go back he would feel just fine.  So it is hard to know.

 

I'm a weird case with the pre existing weird circadian rhythm disorder and insomnia and then anxiety about the insomnia and keeping appointments...  very complex.

 

sigh.

Glad you son is better!  How did you find a good dr? 

 

Barbara,

 

I’ve tried updosing and it is not working. See signature. Also tried switching ti Valium and it makes me sick and depressed. Don’t know what it would take to feel stable again since after 25 years the receptors are just burnt out. Also Trying to taper a little on Mirtazapine.

 

Also not really functional as I am in relative withdrawal every day now. It took less than a year for this mess to happen. Was on .25 to .5 for years and slept fine most of the time probably on my own after a kick start from K or else it was sort of a placebo effect.

 

From what everyone has said, tapering from a point of relative withdrawal sounds like protracted withdrawal guarantee.

 

I don’t know what to do either because at 5’1” and 110 lbs.1mg. K should be plenty but my CNS wants more and more and more. I have lots to live for but this is not a life.

 

Storm

 

PS I believe you about the Mirtazapine and know if I could get off that, I might be able to taper but I doubt I would sleep at all. Lost that ability a while ago and can’t sleep with Mirtazapine unless take with benzo and sometimes not even then.

 

My psychiatrist will give me more K but she is about to retire. She takes K too and recently went 3 weeks without it at .5 and only said she just didn’t sleep as well. We are not the lucky ones!

 

I feel for you!

[[Ba...]]

So on 1 mg clon. you did not feel right, but bette rthan at the lower .25? 

 

Yes valium was horrible.

 

Not sure what to do here.  i took more ambien yesterday and slept and feel a bit hung over but not so many symptoms.  But ambien you can't go up and up, drs. will not rx it.  I was at 10 for a while cuz people on boards here said to stabilize.  Then down to about 5 mg, but it does not make me sleep at that dose.  And 10 max is what drs. will rx.

 

Yes would like to get stable somewehre/ somehow.

 

Drs/ people I meet ask did i try to go up... and I say no, been all these years trying to get off.  BUT maybe I should.  But not on valium... know ambien won't last... so would have to be ativan or restoril or something. 

 

35 years ago fluorazepam stopped working fo rme and i went on to other benzos as rx'ed.  Wonder if that still might work-- another benzo?

 

sigh.  so tired of this non life.

[[Fi...]]

So on 1 mg clon. you did not feel right, but bette rthan at the lower .25? 

 

Yes valium was horrible.

 

Not sure what to do here.  i took more ambien yesterday and slept and feel a bit hung over but not so many symptoms.  But ambien you can't go up and up, drs. will not rx it.  I was at 10 for a while cuz people on boards here said to stabilize.  Then down to about 5 mg, but it does not make me sleep at that dose.  And 10 max is what drs. will rx.

 

Yes would like to get stable somewehre/ somehow.

 

Drs/ people I meet ask did i try to go up... and I say no, been all these years trying to get off.  BUT maybe I should.  But not on valium... know ambien won't last... so would have to be ativan or restoril or something. 

 

35 years ago fluorazepam stopped working fo rme and i went on to other benzos as rx'ed.  Wonder if that still might work-- another benzo?

 

sigh.  so tired of this non life.

 

So sorry to hear of your illnesses. I hope you will find some comfort in knowing that you are not alone in that regard. A recent article entitled "Withdrawal Syndromes Following Discontinuation of Psychotropic Medications": https://www.karger.com/Article/Fulltext/506868

[[Ba...]]

Thank you.  But I don't know what to do.

 

I can't continue this way, which I spent all these years to get to.

I know if I up ambien I will feel better, but so what?  For how long?  And can't get more as drs. mostly will not rx more than 5 mg now (lowered from 10),  so I would be at the max if I take the whole thing.

 

So screwed...

[[mo...]]

Do I just reply to add a post?  I am so confused.  I am hardly on here.  Because I am barely functioning.  I am so alone and in despair and suffering every day.  Someone just suggested up dosing so saw this thread. or support group. 

 

Does it actually help?  I do not want to live this way anymore.  I do not even know how to figure out my mg's.  I weigh by grams.  So I was on 4mg klonopin.  I was prescribed 2mg pills - weight of 2mg pill = 0.180g. 

 

So I now take 0.066 in the morning along with 10mg lexapro

And I now take 0.130 in the evening

 

And I can barely function.  No one understands why.  Friends family - gone or yell at me.  Need to care for 26-year-old son who has been damaged by psychiatry too.  We are stuck in house together.  This is now living. 

 

I want to give up.  I think my above dose is about half of what I used to take which was 4mg daily.  They have since prescribed to me 3mg daily and changed to 1mg pills with different manufacturer and different weight, which I haven't even figured out yet because I had enough left over of the 2mg pills that I am on last bottle of 2mg pills.

 

Maybe, just give up and take the 3 of the 1mg pills daily as prescribed with will take me back to 2017. 

 

I have so many other stressors in my life that I barely have time to figure out what I am doing or have support or take care of myself so I can get off this stuff.  I feel hopeless.  I am not even making sense.

[[Ma...]]

Do I just reply to add a post?  I am so confused.  I am hardly on here.  Because I am barely functioning.  I am so alone and in despair and suffering every day.  Someone just suggested up dosing so saw this thread. or support group. 

 

Does it actually help?  I do not want to live this way anymore.  I do not even know how to figure out my mg's.  I weigh by grams.  So I was on 4mg klonopin.  I was prescribed 2mg pills - weight of 2mg pill = 0.180g. 

 

So I now take 0.066 in the morning along with 10mg lexapro

And I now take 0.130 in the evening

 

And I can barely function.  No one understands why.  Friends family - gone or yell at me.  Need to care for 26-year-old son who has been damaged by psychiatry too.  We are stuck in house together.  This is now living. 

 

I want to give up.  I think my above dose is about half of what I used to take which was 4mg daily.  They have since prescribed to me 3mg daily and changed to 1mg pills with different manufacturer and different weight, which I haven't even figured out yet because I had enough left over of the 2mg pills that I am on last bottle of 2mg pills.

 

Maybe, just give up and take the 3 of the 1mg pills daily as prescribed with will take me back to 2017. 

 

I have so many other stressors in my life that I barely have time to figure out what I am doing or have support or take care of myself so I can get off this stuff.  I feel hopeless.  I am not even making sense.

 

Mom, I have never weighed pills, hopefully someone will come on that has and help you figure that out.  Weekends can be kind of slow so be patient.  Will be sending you good thoughts 

 

[[mo...]]

 

 

Mom, I have never weighed pills, hopefully someone will come on that has and help you figure that out.  Weekends can be kind of slow so be patient.  Will be sending you good thoughts 

 

 

So, you have a doctor helping you?  I have no one helping me.  No family or friends.  And I am helping my son taper but actively seeking help for him.  I cannot do both.  I can barely take care of myself. 

[[mo...]]

Obviously I did not quote correctly

 

[[Ma...]]

 

 

Mom, I have never weighed pills, hopefully someone will come on that has and help you figure that out.  Weekends can be kind of slow so be patient.  Will be sending you good thoughts 

 

 

So, you have a doctor helping you?  I have no one helping me.  No family or friends.  And I am helping my son taper but actively seeking help for him.  I cannot do both.  I can barely take care of myself.

 

No, I use Liquid Diazapam.  I am sorry you and your son are struggling.  Post this on the Withdrawal Support thread and see if you can't get more input. 

[[Ba...]]

I had nobody helping me, but am off klon, and off valium, and cannot function.  cannot sleep, deep depression... isolated.

 

If I could think could try to figure out your mg for you... it has been a while for me to figure.

Yes, folks on tapering board can help you calculate.

 

I do know some klonopin people are pretty specific about what brand they use-- don't know if that is a concern for you or not.

 

But to start with you need to measure weight of your pills, in grams.  Like take weight of 8 of them, one apiece, on scale and jot down weights and average.

 

Why are you and son going off them?  Feel worse on them than off?

[[Ep...]]

I’ ve been struggling to stabilize sleep for a year, which through poor self management and lack of guidance (more difficult with pandemic) has left me at a higher Benz dose than I've ever been on, and still not stable. I would echo what I've read here, that fear of a reasonable up dose to stabilize has kept me in a state of distress and sleeplessness that has been exactly counter to what I need. So I have consult this afternoon with Psy-doc, to figure out what will get me stable, then prepare for very slow taper. I did it with olanzapine before,  took year and a half, but I did it w/o too much suffering.

 

I guess my question is, does up dosing work and make sense, when the issue is tolerance, before tapering?

 

At the same time I'm working on my feelings about not sleeping, acceptance, relaxation, meditation.

 

And exercise every day, even if it's an hour of walking.

 

 

[[fu...]]

I need some experiences on updosing, mainly Valium.

 

Is it much harder to taper off after updosing? I mean, I am considering going from 2.5mg to 5.0mg and then reducing very slowly (probably at most 10% each 3 or 4 weeks).

 

Any chance that arriving again at 2.5mg being much worse than the 2.5mg I am facing now?

 

Another thing is that I am at 125mg of Zoloft and I think I need something for the OCD I was dealing before entering the benzos. I wonder what should I do: try living without an AD? If that's the case, should I taper it first?

 

I am considering trying Lexapro as Zoloft isn't helping but I am scared to change anything rn.

[Guest [Ba...]]

Dad24boys i noticed you reduced kkon slowly. How? Dry cuts weughing or liquid? I was doing well January 2020 on 0.5 clon amitryp zopiclone mirtaz risperdone. Stopped rjsperdone later Amitryp. Up bright perky. Bad acid still. Switched to 4mg diaz. Zonked drugged till gone 11  brain ok. Reduced 1ng diaz nivember. Burning bad and hypersexual depressed flat agroohobic. Reduced again 2 weeks ago. My whole inside back inflamed hours legs everywhere hyper . Gp out me back on 0.5 clon. Week ago. Still flat urges gone legs still. Id like help but my psych discharged me after i wouldnt do as told and when so ill i was emaiking her telling her everythjng and she told me not to but i was desperate.

Im now having a breakdown. Head spinning from all info how to reduce. How did you reduce klon. I took mine 3 years for askeep. Being alone and noone who understands now i feel abandined. Gp diesnt really either

[[Ba...]]

I need some experiences on updosing, mainly Valium.

 

Is it much harder to taper off after updosing? I mean, I am considering going from 2.5mg to 5.0mg and then reducing very slowly (probably at most 10% each 3 or 4 weeks).

 

Any chance that arriving again at 2.5mg being much worse than the 2.5mg I am facing now?

 

Another thing is that I am at 125mg of Zoloft and I think I need something for the OCD I was dealing before entering the benzos. I wonder what should I do: try living without an AD? If that's the case, should I taper it first?

 

I am considering trying Lexapro as Zoloft isn't helping but I am scared to change anything rn.

 

Yes, am scared of all meds and have had zero luck with ADs.  What did you do?

[Guest [Ba...]]

Dont know you asking re what did you do. Probably not me. I been on 30 meds in 30 years. Ive had different diagnosisis.i still on mirtaz ...weight gain constant hunger...and 0.5 clon and 3.725 zop. I cant realky say as we all react different to meds.

[[ai...]]

I’ve been on Klonopin 0.5mg for 10 weeks. Doctor tapered me to 0.375 which was too big a cut. It’s been a week since the drop and my anxiety is higher than avg and hands and legs are shaky during a lot of the day. Doctor suggested returning to 0.5mg (I would revisit the taper at a later date and go slower) but it sounds like the updose doesn’t mean stability any sooner than staying on 0.375. Any thoughts?

[[fu...]]

I need some experiences on updosing, mainly Valium.

 

Is it much harder to taper off after updosing? I mean, I am considering going from 2.5mg to 5.0mg and then reducing very slowly (probably at most 10% each 3 or 4 weeks).

 

Any chance that arriving again at 2.5mg being much worse than the 2.5mg I am facing now?

 

Another thing is that I am at 125mg of Zoloft and I think I need something for the OCD I was dealing before entering the benzos. I wonder what should I do: try living without an AD? If that's the case, should I taper it first?

 

I am considering trying Lexapro as Zoloft isn't helping but I am scared to change anything rn.

 

Yes, am scared of all meds and have had zero luck with ADs.  What did you do?

 

Hey, I am sorry for the late answer, I guess I was at a wave when you asked me and I forgot to answer.

 

I decided to taper sertraline a bit to see if it was being harmful with my most annoying symptom of "burning brain". I did a lot of changes actually: needed to take another licence from my work but I started an anti inflammatory diet, I am exercising way more than before and one week after going to 112.5mg of sertraline I added 1mg of inositol daily and I feel much better these days thank God.

 

I am still taking 2.5mg of V but I am more open minded on updosing: I suffered for too long and I am going to need to be stable AD wise to quit V completely I guess.

 

But the new regimen is giving me hope. I also intend to try Luvox after tapering Zoloft if taking more inositol don't help.

 

How are you?

[[...]]

Hello

 

I tapered prazepam from 26mg to 13 mg in six months but in mid july i had to go to hospital and i stay 2 days without my med and i felt very bad.

 

I updose to 18mg 2 weeks ago buts still feel very anxious with lot of tachycardia and shortness of breath.

 

How could i know how much to updose?

 

Regards

[[Ca...]]

Hello

 

I tapered prazepam from 26mg to 13 mg in six months but in mid july i had to go to hospital and i stay 2 days without my med and i felt very bad.

 

I updose to 18mg 2 weeks ago buts still feel very anxious with lot of tachycardia and shortness of breath.

 

How could i know how much to updose?

 

Regards

Hey..

Thats a tough question, and I couldnt match your sig to the info I was looking for..??

 

Anyways, was the hosp stay due to discontinuation effects..?

 

At this point my gut feeling (only) is that further updosing might not be as effective as one would hope..?? Perhaps look at how things were unfolding prior to the shock from the hosp stay for some guidance..??

It might be that holding at current dose is more effective than further change, but (and sorry to say) there might be an aspect of symptoms that stick and are hard to shake from here on in, -thats not to say that things WONT get somewhat better with hold time (or updose) though..

 

Whatever you decide, remember “trials” are learning, and it can all help down the track.. (as opposed to a total fail or “mistake”..

 

 

[[Ba...]]

Hi, I just updose ambien for a night, trying ambien cr.  I added a 'chip' of an old pill to what currently take (5 mg).  Slept... but felt crappy.  Did zero today. 

Would this be a clue that should get off ambien?  My dr, who is nice but that's about it, had me keep ambien, lose the klonopin (over to valium).  SLOW taper.  But after more than 4 1/2 years not good at all.

 

Lyrica better than ambien?  I simply cannot survive on no sleep, or 1 hr.  Is there nothing else?  feel like ahve tried it all...

[[30...]]

hi group

I am new here and just updosed from .65 of Xanax to 1mg yesterday.  I had been having a successful slow DLMT taper but in march began to titrate off multiple supplements (high end Hardy nutritional) and had no idea they were both covering up withdrawal but also potentiating the meds so as I finished my taper of them in May/June I completely tanked and have felt as if I am in acute withdrawal.  I am terrified of the updose but had to do something as I went from working and living and loving to bed bound, terrified of the world, irrational fears, intrusive thoughts, terrible depression and unable to function.  today is day one and definitely no improvement -- in fact, I felt a bit worse today.  I am praying to just give it some time and hoping my CNS will catch up and give me some relief.  I had tapered down from 1.5 to .65 between June of 2020 and July of 2021 so it was a relatively slow taper (7% a month) and I have no desire to rapid taper or even go that fast if I get the opportunity to stabilize.  it has been a nightmare.  any thoughts, ideas, comments are appreciated.

[[30...]]

I hope someone can chime in -- has anyone updosed and initially felt as bad if not worse at first?  I updosed yesterday from .65 to 1mg.  I know it can take some time -- but I actually think I feel worse (or maybe just more depressed because it hasn't worked yet).