Should tapering after only 10 months of prescribed use be so difficult?

[[Li...]]

I was prescribed sobril/oxazepam 4*15 mg last July to cope during severe side effects of Effexor. Since then doctors have struggled to adjust my AD's so I've had constant waves and windows, each period never lasting more than 16 days at a time. Managed to taper from 4*15 mg to 3*10 mg of sobril a couple of months ago. Now I'm finding it terribly difficult to continue my taper. Crying spells, anxiety and deep depression... Has anyone struggled so much to taper after "only" 10 months on their benzo? Is that normal?

[[Do...]]

I was on it long term, but there are people who have major issues after just a few weeks.  Professor Ashton considers long term use anything more than either 4 or 6 months (I can't remember which).

[[Ta...]]

I am one of those people who never took a benzo very long. It's been about a year now-- though the majority of that time (maybe 8 months or so) I've been tapering. Some people are especially sensitive. Looking back, j realize that so many of my symptoms even during the first few months were interdose  withdrawal symptoms and those came on just within a few months time. I don't have any answers as to why this hits some people so much harder than others, but I know that my symptoms are definitely benzo related. I've had waves and windows for months and months now. Hoping that once I'm off in 2 months or so that things will start to finally even out.

 

Hang in there. All the symptoms you're describing are withdrawal related. Find a pace that works for you and stick with it and keep moving forward. Our entire futures won't look like this, but I'm in the meantime we have to learn to cope the best way we can. Give grace to yourself on your bad days. Realize that just as you've had bad waves, you've also had better windows. And just wait patiently for those better windows. As I've heard from others here, those windows should become more frequent and longer the lower dose you get and the farther out of your system those meds are. Sending you hugs. We'll get through this.

[[Hy...]]

I only used oxazepam for 3 weeks, 1*10mg a day. After i quit ct all those things you wrote happened to me too.

[[Li...]]

Thank you both for your answers and support. Still feeling terrible and starting to loose hope. My pattern is that I wake up feeling bad. Crying spells until the afternoon. Then usually I start to feel a bit better and most evenings are OK. Each night when I go to sleep I pray that I will wake up feeling OK. The disappointment when I open my eyes and realize I'm having yet another awful day is devastating. I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow to plan the next steps in my tapering, Hopefully he will be able to help.