Updosing Support Group

[[Na...]]

I just wondered anyone that’s spoken to Una Corbett did she believe you stabilise only if you updose and hold? Or can you stabilise just holding without the updose. I have just been asked this and do not know the answer.

 

Thanks

[[je...]]

I haven't spoken to her but I've held my dose several times when I felt an increase in symptoms and I've stabilized.

[[Na...]]

I haven't spoken to her but I've held my dose several times when I felt an increase in symptoms and I've stabilized.

 

Yeah i guess it can work either way but she wanted to know specifically what una said

[[to...]]

Can updosing and then tapering be somehow a good strategy?

 

One hypothesis I consider is that one can updose until reaching a comfortable dose and then taper at a very slow rate. The lack of accumulated stress due to the updosing could make you feel better even when you reach your previous dose before updosing.

 

Are there experiences like this here or anyone heard about someone that had success doing this?

 

Like... feeling bad at 5mg of V then going to 7.5mg but still bad and then 10mg feeling comfortable. Stabilize for like 3 weeks and then start a 5% taper or even 2% taper... yes, longer, but keeping the normalcy of your life. Is there a chance of reaching the 5mg mark again feeling better than before all the updosing?

 

I do not know as I am just starting an updose myself, but your thinking is what I am hoping for.  I am hoping that going up a little in dose will help me get out of the horrible place I am in right now.  I hope to feel better, and I plan on waiting a couple months before cutting again and then going very slow.  I have been in a bad place for a few months and have been having severe histamine issues since I got down to .25 mg xanax a day.  The only way I see to get relief is to do a updose to maybe .3125 mg and if that works, get functional and enjoy life for a bit and then I can taper again.  I do not like up dosing but at this point, I feel it may help as sometimes if I take a little extra xanax, it does seem to help some.

 

I will say that threre have been times when I have made a cut and it has been too much and I have gone back to the old dose until I got stable and then kept going.  When I did that, and then cut again, it would be ok. 

[[to...]]

Hello,

I have been tapering for almost 4 years and it has been really hard at times.  I atarted at 4 mg a day of xanax.  In February had gotten down to .25 mg xanax and the histamine issues started.  It has been rough; I have changed what I eat and I cannot eat many things. Allergic to many things.

 

August 1, I decided to jump at .174mg xanax and within 50 hours, was in pure hell.  I reinstated to .174 mg, a week later, I up dosed to .1875 mg a day.  I am still suffering really bad and decided to up dose to .25 mg a few days ago.  The constant 24 hour a day internal shaking has gotten a tiny better, it is not as intense but now my face has been swelling 24/7 since the up dose.  Seems strange.  I have this angioedema issue but it never last this long, kind of like the intense shaking started about 15 days ago and would not stop, which is part of why I wanted to up dose hoping to get better.

 

I have read almost all of this thread and saw where some people do not go up enough in dose for a up dose to help them.  My question is - how much is enough?  I do not want to go back up much but enough to help me to feel better and get stable.  Once I am stable, I plan to hold for quite a while before thinking about tapering again.

 

Also, what is the best way to up dose?  Go up a little every few days or just go to what I think was a dose where I felt better at?

 

Would really like some help, I hope this thread becomes more active again!  It looks like there were alot of very supportive people here.

 

Thanks

 

 

[[fu...]]

Wow I really need to update my signature.

 

Sorry for being away for so long without sharing my updosing experiences, tolnbltp.

 

I decided to updose to 10mg of V thinking that if I updose it should be substancial, but that is very personal. Now I am adopting the 5% cut rule and things are much more manageable.

 

Unfortunately, I still suffer sometimes with the sensory overload episodes that limit my screen time and turned one of my hobbies (videogames with my friends) a fantasy during the tapering.

 

I noticed that my mental energy is more manageable and I am back playing some boardgames and, in ideal conditions (good sleep, no stress, etc.) I can risk playing online with some friends a bit.

 

Another annoying symptom is hearing related with clogging feeling in the left ear and tinnitus spikes.

 

I am now at 9,03mg and intend to cut to 8,58mg soon.

 

For me, it was a valid strategy as I was able to keep working and gained some life quality but I don't know how things are going to be when I reach my previous 7.5mg or even 5mg dose. So, then again, it is very personal and I am not in the position of giving medical advice, it's too much responsibility.

 

All I can say is that until now, for me the updosing was worth and I hope that with this much slower taper I get off this med having normalcy in life.

 

[[to...]]

Wow I really need to update my signature.

 

Sorry for being away for so long without sharing my updosing experiences, tolnbltp.

 

I decided to updose to 10mg of V thinking that if I updose it should be substancial, but that is very personal. Now I am adopting the 5% cut rule and things are much more manageable.

 

Unfortunately, I still suffer sometimes with the sensory overload episodes that limit my screen time and turned one of my hobbies (videogames with my friends) a fantasy during the tapering.

 

I noticed that my mental energy is more manageable and I am back playing some boardgames and, in ideal conditions (good sleep, no stress, etc.) I can risk playing online with some friends a bit.

 

Another annoying symptom is hearing related with clogging feeling in the left ear and tinnitus spikes.

 

I am now at 9,03mg and intend to cut to 8,58mg soon.

 

For me, it was a valid strategy as I was able to keep working and gained some life quality but I don't know how things are going to be when I reach my previous 7.5mg or even 5mg dose. So, then again, it is very personal and I am not in the position of giving medical advice, it's too much responsibility.

 

All I can say is that until now, for me the updosing was worth and I hope that with this much slower taper I get off this med having normalcy in life.

 

Thank you so much for your response!!

 

I am glad you feel it was a valid strategy.  So far, I feel like it is helping me as well.  Some things are better and new things have started but overall, I think it was the right decision for me.  I went up from .1875 mg a day to .25 mg.  I am still wondering if I need to go up a little more in order to try and help with the severe histamine issues I have been having for months.  Will decide as I go.

 

I am sorry you are still suffering with sensory overload issues and hope that gets better for you!

 

I am hoping to get stable and stay there for a while so I can get a break as I have been tapering for almost 4 years and it has been brutal at times, and I have not had much of a life in a long time.  My plan is to get stable, stay there for a few months and then very slowly taper again.

 

Take care and thanks for responding.

[[to...]]

Added to my dose night before last and then yesterday woke with the constant shaking and face swelling again!  I felt like I needed to go up a bit more to try and help the histamine issues that are so bad.  I did not take the added dose last night and nothing is different today.  Still suffering! 

 

Any thoughts would be welcome!

[[to...]]

Is anyone still on this thread?  Would be great to get some input!

[[Ma...]]

Bump

[[fu...]]

I am not working now due to a licence I got, but I don't know until when I will be able to keep the licence. I am not doing good even with a slow taper: I am currently at 7.5mg of Valium, 200mg of pregabalin and 100mg of Luvox. I am holding my Valium taper.

 

I suffer most from a debilitating symptom that I think people call "sensory overload": too much stimuli or rational effort causes me a feeling of that anything is just too much and my right temple area of my brain feels like its burning like a processor overheating.

 

I can't work (I work with IT), I can't play videogames anymore (some games makes me enter this state very easily) and I got bad even by playing a board game with my friends at home. Feels like the job I love and my hobbies are being taken from me by the benzos. Even 5% cuts of V aren't doing the trick and I have a long road in front of me if I intend to do a safe taper.

 

That being said, here enters the gamble part: if I manage to work properly for more one or two years, I will be able to take a break from working or even retiring, but that demands updosing and I don't know until which dose. It already worked in the past but my body asked for more.

 

The thing is, maybe updosing and working will have good benefits: it could be that I could get a better life style and gain some 'inertia' to help with a new taper; and maybe without substantial stressors as the obligation of work I would be able to do an easier taper.

 

What would you do and why? Please consider that I am not properly living and the odds of losing my job are high.

 

I am not interpreting anything here as professional medical advice, just want to know your thoughts and experiences.

[[Ma...]]

I began to reinstate this week as I have been non-functional going into 6 months. Will it work? I don’t know and I feel, well-defeated. The 3 doses I have taken have made me feel unwell, but compared to what? Is it my anxiety?

For me-if I could stabilize, have a clearer head, I believe I could do some simple things (and major: like the dentist) which would boost my confidence, give me a fighting chance. Yet, my looping thoughts say: 1 more month a coast clear! Ummm-says who? And if not, then what? Then-start a proper taper (I CT’d).

I do not know the answer in any way, only that my present situation is unsustainable.

I am hoping it will take a week + for my body to adjust to the re-introduction of the benzo and then things can level off some.

Anyone?

[[...]]

I was reinstated 4 months after a C/T withdrawal. It was brutal and I was not getting better. Spiraling down.

After being reinstated, it took a good 2-4 weeks to start feeling better, but I did, and so glad that I stuck with it.

I felt very weird in the beginning. Just had to adjust. My Akathisia went away within days, though. Thank God for that.

The Dr who reinstated me was furious at what had been done to me. He told me it takes years to get off safely. He was so Benzo wise. Of course, it was my decision to go to detox, thinking it was the answer. I had tried many times to get off and couldn’t. Back then there was no information on how to get off, so I thought detox could do it without issue. I was so wrong. 

The reinstatement saved my life. Hope this helps.

 

Dana

[[to...]]

My experience was that 6 years ago, the doctor I was seeing put me on 3 mg a day of xanax and after 3 months, told me to stop taking it.  I did not know any better and did just that.  Within a couple weeks, I became the sickest I had ever been in my life. I kept going to the doctor and she kept sending me to speciaist and not one could find what was wrong with me.  THey all said it was health anxiety.  No one once said it was benzo withdrawal.  Finally I changed doctors and that doctor did not know what was wrong with me either.  My husband one Sunday morning was so upset by the fact that I had become a shell of a person and I had to lay down so much and could not eat and was in pain all the time and had beome allergic to everything under the sun except for food,  that he took me to the ER (which I had been many times during this with no help) The Physician's Assistant at the ER did a bunch of test, CT, blood, etc.  He finally came to us and said that I needed to see a psychiatrist.  So I did.  The first thing he did was put me on xanax.  He never, in the over 2 years I saw him, ever said I had been in benzo withdrawal.  He kept uping my dose of xanax and I was at 3.5 -4 mg of xanax a day.  I started having stroke type and heart attack type symptoms and my husband would take me to the ER, every time they would give me ativan and I would feel better.  They all ran test and found nothing wrong. 

 

I was sick of all of it, and I was suicidal many times, but I could not do that to my husband.  I kept doing research on the internet and one day came across Benzo Buddies and I started to read people's stories, I thought OMG, that is me, that is exactly what I have been going through, for 3 years by this point.  I knew what I needed to do.  I needed to taper.  So, January 11, 2019, that is what I started doing.

 

I went from 3.5-4 mg a day down to .174 mg a day by August 2022.

 

Last year, I started having severe issues with histamine and started having reactions to any and all food I was eating.  I had already become sensitive and allergic to medications and smells.  I figured out it was histamine intolerance, and it was caused from the benzo tapering.  The lower I would go, the worse the histamine issues got.  I did not think the xanax was doing anything for me at all and August 1, 2022, I jumped at .174 mg xanax.  Within 50 hours, I was in HELL!!!!  I remember so clearly, I woke my husband up at midnight and told him I was in total withdrawal hell.  He told me to take a xanax and I did, after about 45 minutes, I had to take more.  The next day I went back to my .174 mg dose, but it was not enough since my CNS took such a big hit and 7 days later went up to .1875 mg a day.  Over the course of the next couple months, I had to go up to .3125 mg a day.  At the same time, I had to cut my dose of a  PPI, omeprazole, which was keeping the amount of xanax in my system higher and once I had cut that, had to updose again to .375 mg.  Almost a month ago, I had to stop taking the omeprazole all together and around 10-11 days ago I had to up my dose of xanax to .50 mg a day!  After about 5 days, I started to feel better.  It takes time for our systems to get better when we go up in dose the same way it does when we go down in dose.  Our CNS has to adjust.  I did not want to have to go up in dose after almost 4 years of tapering because tapering was so hard, but it is what I had to do. It does not take away from all the hard work I put in to get down in dose.  Tapering is not about suffering and being in hell.  It is about going slow and letting our bodies determine how much of a cut it can handle.  I have found that trying to go too fast only gets me into a really bad place of suffering. 

 

Patience and time!

 

 

I am grateful that the doctor did put me back on xanax 6 years ago and as Dana stated - I believe it saved my life as well.  It also took me a few weeks to start feeling better.  My CNS had been hit so hard by the withdrawal; it took a while for the Xanax to help me, but it did for quite a while. 

 

Do I promote up dosing - NO - do I promote doing what you have to do to get out of hell and suffering - YES!  We are all different and our systems are different and what one person can do to get better may be different than what another person can do. 

 

My plan is to get stable and stay there for a while and then start to taper again.  Since I no longer am on the omeprazole which I believe had been hindering my xanax taper and causing me so many other side effects, I am hopeful that my xanax taper will be easier for me to do.  Going slow and listening to my body and not putting my body in a position that it has to react harshly to a cut is the plan.  I believe that if I had not made the horrible choice to jump last August, I would have been off the xanax by the end of last year, but I cannot say that for 100% certainty. 

 

All I know is that I have had to reinstate 6 years ago and it saved me from the hell I was in and then last August I had to reinstate after 2 days, and I do not regret reinstating in order to make the suffering better.  It has taken several months since that jump and reinstatement last August to feel better.  It has been hard.  It did not happen overnight either!  It has been months of suffering and dealing with so much pain and making my anxiety hard to live with at times.

 

Do what your heart tells you to do and then what your body tells you to do.  I wish you all well.  Be kind to yourselves.  Remember it may take some time to feel better, but my experience has been that if you give it time, it could help you.  It is hard to know if you just keep holding if things will get better, we never know the answer unless we either hang on or try the up dose.

 

Again, some people it might help and others it might not!  The question to ask is, is it worth trying?  For me, having a better life is worth it!

[[fu...]]

I totally agree with the better life thinking! I am still willing to try other stuff compared to taper only. Sorry for not having proper elaborated responses, my mind feels slammed and I think I have my adrenals fatigued so I am trying to avoid typing on the phone but sometimes I spent my energy trying to discover how to mitigate the most tough symptoms I real with.

 

That being said, I have a doubt:

 

Can updosing diminish the accelerated thoughts and OCD symptoms?

 

I know the cons of updosing, tolerance and kindling. But I think I have some matters to solve with my life and mental health that might need to lead me to updosing as I am very symptomatic now.

 

Can updosing help fast diminishing the accelerated thoughts and OCD symptoms?

[[to...]]

I totally agree with the better life thinking! I am still willing to try other stuff compared to taper only. Sorry for not having proper elaborated responses, my mind feels slammed and I think I have my adrenals fatigued so I am trying to avoid typing on the phone but sometimes I spent my energy trying to discover how to mitigate the most tough symptoms I real with.

 

No need to apologize, I understand completely!  Typing on the phone is hard for me too as I have bad vision and it is just too small but I do sometimes do it when I really feel I need to.  We have to just do what we can! 

 

That being said, I have a doubt:

 

Can updosing diminish the accelerated thoughts and OCD symptoms?  I can not say for sure.  Everyone is so different! 

 

I know the cons of updosing, tolerance and kindling. But I think I have some matters to solve with my life and mental health that might need to lead me to updosing as I am very symptomatic now.

 

No one ever WANTS to up dose and lose the progress that has been made but sometimes continuing to cut is the problem and makes things worse if we do it too fast or our CNS can not catch up to the cuts.  I was so miserable in every way that I had to up dose and with some other medicine issues that I feel were making things worse, it was the right choice for me.

I did not like having to do this but I refuse to live in hell at this point.  Once things settle down and I am really stable I will continue to taper and do what I can do.  Some people, as my PNP has said, may not be able to get off completely and may have to take a small or low dose forever, I am praying I am not one of those people but she knows that I have suffered and it has been so hard for me to get down in dose.  I think I have done well to go from 4 mg down to .174 and now back to .5 mg a day.

 

Can updosing help fast diminishing the accelerated thoughts and OCD symptoms? I do not know if it will do that for you, all I can say is that for me, going up in dose has relaxed me and put me in a better mindset and I have not been having the SI that I was experiencing on a regular basis.  The misery was making me that way and since I have started to feel better from the up dose, I am not suffering as much emotionally.  Sometimes I think knowing I am doing something that MIGHT help, does help me to feel better.  The problem is that we are all so different and no one can say what works for them will work for someone else. 

 

I hope you will feel better soon and are able to do what you need to do to feel better and be able to live life in a better way.

Suffering is not the way to live!  Some people do not have a choice as some people I have read on here, never stabilize and have to just keep going to the end and get off the med and some are able to just hold and are able to get stable and then continue on. 

 

You have to do what you feel is best for you!  If you need to up dose, just remember to not beat yourself up for it.  There is no way to know if it will help unless you do it and give it some time to see if it works for you.  I wish I could tell you for sure that it will, but I cannot!  All I can do is be here to support you and hope things get better for you!  I will also say, I have read on this thread, one of the worst things people do when they up dose is not give it enough time for them to get better.  It does take some time, some it helps within days, some within weeks and other it may take months. 

 

Take care!!!!

[[fu...]]

How long did it take for you to feel better with the updose? I wonder if a Valium updose would be felt in the same day or starting in the next 2 days... I have a travel with my friends that I don't know if I cancel on this Sunday but I feel weird in so many ways.

[[to...]]

How long did it take for you to feel better with the updose? I wonder if a Valium updose would be felt in the same day or starting in the next 2 days... I have a travel with my friends that I don't know if I cancel on this Sunday but I feel weird in so many ways.

 

This time it took around 5-6 days to start to feel better.  I have some days that are good and some that are not, it is up and down but better than it was.  We never know how long it will take, if it takes.  But when I had to up dose in August after my jump and reinstatement after 50 hours, it took quite a while and I had to up dose 3 times in a few months' time before I started feeling a little better.  Keep in mind I was on a med that was also affecting the amount of xanax I had in my system.

 

I do not know about how long valium takes to start feeling better.  I am sorry I do not have the answers to so many things about this but everyone is different, and I do not know how much you were on and how much you are on now.  My experience is that we have to go up gradually just like we go down gradually for our CNS to adjust. 

 

I hope you will feel better soon.

[[to...]]

The following thread has some very good information about reinstating.. 

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=53305.0

[[hu...]]

:hug:

[[fu...]]

I totally agree with the better life thinking! I am still willing to try other stuff compared to taper only. Sorry for not having proper elaborated responses, my mind feels slammed and I think I have my adrenals fatigued so I am trying to avoid typing on the phone but sometimes I spent my energy trying to discover how to mitigate the most tough symptoms I real with.

 

No need to apologize, I understand completely!  Typing on the phone is hard for me too as I have bad vision and it is just too small but I do sometimes do it when I really feel I need to.  We have to just do what we can! 

 

That being said, I have a doubt:

 

Can updosing diminish the accelerated thoughts and OCD symptoms?  I can not say for sure.  Everyone is so different! 

 

I know the cons of updosing, tolerance and kindling. But I think I have some matters to solve with my life and mental health that might need to lead me to updosing as I am very symptomatic now.

 

No one ever WANTS to up dose and lose the progress that has been made but sometimes continuing to cut is the problem and makes things worse if we do it too fast or our CNS can not catch up to the cuts.  I was so miserable in every way that I had to up dose and with some other medicine issues that I feel were making things worse, it was the right choice for me.

I did not like having to do this but I refuse to live in hell at this point.  Once things settle down and I am really stable I will continue to taper and do what I can do.  Some people, as my PNP has said, may not be able to get off completely and may have to take a small or low dose forever, I am praying I am not one of those people but she knows that I have suffered and it has been so hard for me to get down in dose.  I think I have done well to go from 4 mg down to .174 and now back to .5 mg a day.

 

Can updosing help fast diminishing the accelerated thoughts and OCD symptoms? I do not know if it will do that for you, all I can say is that for me, going up in dose has relaxed me and put me in a better mindset and I have not been having the SI that I was experiencing on a regular basis.  The misery was making me that way and since I have started to feel better from the up dose, I am not suffering as much emotionally.  Sometimes I think knowing I am doing something that MIGHT help, does help me to feel better.  The problem is that we are all so different and no one can say what works for them will work for someone else. 

 

I hope you will feel better soon and are able to do what you need to do to feel better and be able to live life in a better way.

Suffering is not the way to live!  Some people do not have a choice as some people I have read on here, never stabilize and have to just keep going to the end and get off the med and some are able to just hold and are able to get stable and then continue on. 

 

You have to do what you feel is best for you!  If you need to up dose, just remember to not beat yourself up for it.  There is no way to know if it will help unless you do it and give it some time to see if it works for you.  I wish I could tell you for sure that it will, but I cannot!  All I can do is be here to support you and hope things get better for you!  I will also say, I have read on this thread, one of the worst things people do when they up dose is not give it enough time for them to get better.  It does take some time, some it helps within days, some within weeks and other it may take months. 

 

Take care!!!!

 

Hey, how are you? I am considering updosing again, I guess tolerance from pregabalin is being worse for me but I am not sure. In your experience, are the cuts much more tough after updosing?

 

I am starting to consider memantine.

[[to...]]

I totally agree with the better life thinking! I am still willing to try other stuff compared to taper only. Sorry for not having proper elaborated responses, my mind feels slammed and I think I have my adrenals fatigued so I am trying to avoid typing on the phone but sometimes I spent my energy trying to discover how to mitigate the most tough symptoms I real with.

 

No need to apologize, I understand completely!  Typing on the phone is hard for me too as I have bad vision and it is just too small but I do sometimes do it when I really feel I need to.  We have to just do what we can! 

 

That being said, I have a doubt:

 

Can updosing diminish the accelerated thoughts and OCD symptoms?  I can not say for sure.  Everyone is so different! 

 

I know the cons of updosing, tolerance and kindling. But I think I have some matters to solve with my life and mental health that might need to lead me to updosing as I am very symptomatic now.

 

No one ever WANTS to up dose and lose the progress that has been made but sometimes continuing to cut is the problem and makes things worse if we do it too fast or our CNS can not catch up to the cuts.  I was so miserable in every way that I had to up dose and with some other medicine issues that I feel were making things worse, it was the right choice for me.

I did not like having to do this but I refuse to live in hell at this point.  Once things settle down and I am really stable I will continue to taper and do what I can do.  Some people, as my PNP has said, may not be able to get off completely and may have to take a small or low dose forever, I am praying I am not one of those people but she knows that I have suffered and it has been so hard for me to get down in dose.  I think I have done well to go from 4 mg down to .174 and now back to .5 mg a day.

 

Can updosing help fast diminishing the accelerated thoughts and OCD symptoms? I do not know if it will do that for you, all I can say is that for me, going up in dose has relaxed me and put me in a better mindset and I have not been having the SI that I was experiencing on a regular basis.  The misery was making me that way and since I have started to feel better from the up dose, I am not suffering as much emotionally.  Sometimes I think knowing I am doing something that MIGHT help, does help me to feel better.  The problem is that we are all so different and no one can say what works for them will work for someone else. 

 

I hope you will feel better soon and are able to do what you need to do to feel better and be able to live life in a better way.

Suffering is not the way to live!  Some people do not have a choice as some people I have read on here, never stabilize and have to just keep going to the end and get off the med and some are able to just hold and are able to get stable and then continue on. 

 

You have to do what you feel is best for you!  If you need to up dose, just remember to not beat yourself up for it.  There is no way to know if it will help unless you do it and give it some time to see if it works for you.  I wish I could tell you for sure that it will, but I cannot!  All I can do is be here to support you and hope things get better for you!  I will also say, I have read on this thread, one of the worst things people do when they up dose is not give it enough time for them to get better.  It does take some time, some it helps within days, some within weeks and other it may take months. 

 

Take care!!!!

 

Hey, how are you? I am considering updosing again, I guess tolerance from pregabalin is being worse for me but I am not sure. In your experience, are the cuts much more tough after updosing?

 

I am starting to consider memantine.

 

Hello - I am hanging in there.  I think the xanax updose has helped a lot but I am dealing with getting off a PPI which is awful and have been having so much withdrawal from that and have not been able to start my xanax taper yet. Trying to get off the PPI and reach stability with that and will start my taper again.

 

Sometimes it takes more than one updose to really get relief.  I have read here that most people do not go up enough with an updose and have to do it more than once to get benefits.  I tried to updose at the smallest amounts that I could to get any relief and I was getting some but with the PPI situation - keeps xanax in my blood longer and makes xanax wd worse -  is when I went to .5 mg a day.  I have not upped that dose and pray I do not have to.

 

I do not know if cutting will be harder or not.  I believe that as long as you are very stable from an updose and you do not cut big amounts and you go slow, that it should be ok.  I have seen where people updose and get stable and then start to taper again and do well, I have also read where people do not do well.  It depends on how long you waited after up dosing and what dose you are on, IMO.  These drugs affect everyone so differently while still having some of the very same withdrawal sxs so it is hard to say.  I am sorry that my answer does not really help.

 

I will say this - I would be very careful about updosing too many times and I would be careful adding any other meds.  I do not know anything about memantine - I looked it up and it shows it is used to help with dementia so not sure why you are considering it and also read that you can withdrawal from that as well. 

 

I am of the mindset that the least number of meds you can take while going through a benzo taper - the better.  I do not want to be on anything that has to be tapered as that says to me it can, IMO, affect the CNS.

 

Are you still suffering and is why you are considering another updose?  Did the updose you did help you at all? 

[[or...]]

I've updosed 3 times in as many months.  I know when I've cut to much, or when I've cut and held (very tiny amounts like .003 of weight of my 1mg C) and evidently had it catch up to me.  When I updose, I only do it at that time, next day, I go back down to my tapered dose and had gotten through the updose, felt fine again, and still did fine dropping back down next day.  Just my experience.

 

Maybe I'm a light-weight, or maybe I just refuse to go through what I had in the past by cutting too much, or too long, ending up with very bad effects.  That's why I am glad I saved my dry taper amounts just in case.  I'm 70 and I can't afford to be deathly sick or in pain.  I don't have doctors that know what their doing, so I am making my own tapers and it's working.  When I updose I take another of the same dose, but twice that day (within 24 hours).  After the 2 horrific tries I had with one bordering on something that could have left my body one whole side of it, numb for the rest of my life.

 

I'm not going to put anyone down that updoses, and I may not have done it if it weren't the people that list it when they've updosed in their signatures.  That told me "hey, it ok, they did it and are still tapering, so what if it takes longer.  That's better than ending up like a vegetable, not my idea of quality of life.  This isn't a little sugar-pill we're messing with.  Dr. Susan Ashton said it best when she stated that in her research (just paraphrasing) watching people taper, found that it's found to be best each person chooses what is right for them in tapering    Glad to find the thread, Denise    PS I am down just a 25% of my 1mg tablet in 3-4 months with few bad wd sxs, nothing like I had before, and nothing like I read about on some folks experience.  PS Weare all different. One other thing, updosing will not be called by things like "backsliding" or any other negative term, not my me.  I call it responsible management of a life-threatening process.

[[je...]]

Dear Denise

 

You are working so hard on your taper and doing an excellent job in reducing. I am one of those of people who have updosing in my signature and you're right, I also don't believe there's any shame in updosing. Withdrawal is hard enough, I will never make any person feel bad about updosing as we all need to do what we have to in order to get through this.

 

I just want to clear up one misconception.

When I updose, I only do it at that time, next day, I go back down to my tapered dose and had gotten through the updose, felt fine again, and still did fine dropping back down next day.  Just my experience.

 

What you're describing here is not updosing. This is what we call taking rescue doses. Updosing is when you go back up in dose, stabilize there for a couple of weeks and then start tapering again at the higher dose. The reason I'm pointing this out is because when it comes to rescue doses, we don't advise you take them. If you only take them once off it makes your blood serum levels fluctuate which is not good. I only want to help you as I would hate to see you get stuck in a cycle that could potentially harm you. You are working so diligently and hard, I hope you don't think I'm judging or criticizing, but I honestly just want to help an awesome, amazing person! 

 

[[or...]]

Dear Denise

 

You are working so hard on your taper and doing an excellent job in reducing. I am one of those of people who have updosing in my signature and you're right, I also don't believe there's any shame in updosing. Withdrawal is hard enough, I will never make any person feel bad about updosing as we all need to do what we have to in order to get through this.

 

I just want to clear up one misconception.

When I updose, I only do it at that time, next day, I go back down to my tapered dose and had gotten through the updose, felt fine again, and still did fine dropping back down next day.  Just my experience.

 

What you're describing here is not updosing. This is what we call taking rescue doses. Updosing is when you go back up in dose, stabilize there for a couple of weeks and then start tapering again at the higher dose. The reason I'm pointing this out is because when it comes to rescue doses, we don't advise you take them. If you only take them once off it makes your blood serum levels fluctuate which is not good. I only want to help you as I would hate to see you get stuck in a cycle that could potentially harm you. You are working so diligently and hard, I hope you don't think I'm judging or criticizing, but I honestly just want to help an awesome, amazing person! 

 

Ok, so I didn't understand what updosing was then, but could you tell me where you got the info on Blood Serum levels? That's very important I know more on that because I'm a T2 Diabetic, and I don't know if Blood Serum is the same as Glucose serum because mine is a bit high since my last lab on May 23rd.

 

I don't think I'll feel the need to do another "rescue" dose as long as the melatonin works for me, but I'll have to wait and see.  I really do not want to updose now that I know what it means as I don't want to get used to, or stabilize on a previous dose, and do all the work over again. Mainly I want to study more on the blood serum issue.

 

I do appreciate your info  Jellybean and will do some searching on for myself but if you have something more I can read, I would appreciate it, save me floundering around internet highway Denise