I need prescription advice/suggestions

[[Kr...]]

Greets,

 

I've been taking 30mg of flurazepam almost nightly for 18 years to help me with insomnia.  It's worked great, but I (or anyone else) can't find a pharmacy that stocks it anymore.  It seems to have been abruptly discontinued/not stocked.  I was therefore prescribed 30mg of temazepam which didn't work well as my body/brain wanted flurazepam. 

 

Fortunately I've stockpiled 7 months worth of flurazepam pills (220 pills) and have planned a gradual direct taper.  I was able to stockpile so many flurazepam because 2 years ago my wife also started taking flurazepam and it didn't work for her.  But she continued with her prescription which meant that I had 2 vials of flurazepam which therefore allowed me to accumulate my stockpile.

 

My concern is that I may need longer than 7 months to get off of the flurazepam.  I've found flurazepam 30mg available online but I need a doctor's prescription and my doctor won't give me this prescription.  My doctor doesn't know that I have a 7 month supply of flurazepam.

 

Any suggestions on what to do?  I'm very positive, with loving support at home and am determined to stop flurazepam, but I have a nagging concern that I'll need longer than 7 months for this gradual taper to be effective.

 

Many thanks in advance for any and all suggestions/advice!

 

Peace and well wishes to all 

[[Kr...]]

Btw, my doctor is clueless about benzo withdrawal and doesn't seem at all interested in learning about it.  I tried another doctor who also refused to give me a prescription to purchase flurazepam online.  This doctor wanted to prescribe 0.5 mg of alprazolam, which I didn't accept as I'm not interested in taking another benzo in place of the flurazepam.  I'm a very easy-going and likeable person yet I find my doctors to be rigid and not willing to work with me.

 

Again, thanks in advance for any and all suggestions/advice. 

[[Na...]]

Hi,

Ashton gives a very broad range for this particular drug (15-30) equivalency range. I'm assuming this may be due to how it affects each individual.

Are these pills scored, for ease of reduction?

JMO

If so, I would try a 5mg reduction if possible and see how that goes. You have indicated you want to get off so you need to start at some point somewhere.

 

 

[[Kr...]]

Thanks for your reply Navita65.  Feedback such as yours is why I joined this community! 

 

I can't find a score for Flurazepam.  An Ashton taper schedule for 30 mg Temazepam (a similar medication) with Diazepam exists and I plan on adjusting this schedule for use with my Flurazepam only tapering. 

 

I'm open to any and all suggestions and your 5 mg reduction to start with sounds fine to me.  This is the first time I've ever tried to taper off of a benzo as this is the only benzo I've ever used, so my schedule is quite flexible (as it should be).

 

My main concern is that I'll run out of flurazepam before my body and mind have adjusted to no more Flurazepam.  By decreasing the dosage by 5 mg from the start I'll be able to accumulate the equivalent of one 30 mg pill every 6 days or one 25 mg pill every 5 days, which is an excellent suggestion.

 

Thanks again for your suggestion, I'll try a 5 mg decrease for stage 1. 

[[Na...]]

This will certainly give you an idea of how you'll react to the reduction and what your up against. You may respond very well. Some folks can come off quite easily with few sxs. Keep positive, and if you do have some serious withdrawals, it's not the end of the world, you can just readjust your reduction to what better suits you.

Hopefully others will chime in who have come off this Flurazepam, looks to have a decent half life as well, which plays in your favor too.

 

Also, a reduction of 5mgs would be the equivalent of approx 1.6 mgs of V (based on 30 Flurazepam= 10V) approx a 5% cut which is fairly conservative IMO

[[Kr...]]

Last week I made the mistake of trying to stop cold turkey and quickly realized what I was facing.  Life rapidly became unbearable.  I then did much more research and discovered Heather Ashton, tapering and this excellent website.

 

Thank you for your positive and encouraging comments as this is a never before experienced journey for me.  I've read to not make more than a 10% taper in stage 1, so there might be room for further reduction.  I'll just have to see how this taper schedule goes. 

 

Thanks again for chiming in, your help is sincerely appreciated! 

 

 

[[Ki...]]

As a backup maybe you could make a plan for a partial crossover to a similar drug? I know some folks who are on xanax substitute a part of their dose for valium to help with interdose withdrawals. Maybe if it looks like you will run out you could add the most similar acting drug for a part of the dose to give you more time. Just a thought!