Farmboy with Nausea

[[Fa...]]

Greetings,

 

I am on a Valium taper. I am currently stuck at 5 mg. I started at 1 mg of clonazepam in December and the switched to Valium about 6 weeks ago from .25 mg of clonazepam. I have some unpleasant neurological symptoms, but my nausea is by far the most debilitating symptom I am facing. The nausea started 5 months ago and lately has been getting worse. It is now to the point where I have to lay around all day because movement seems to make the nausea worse. Am I alone with this situation? Can someone give some tips on what I can do? Ginger, peppermint and other similar remedies don't work. I'm at my wits end. Thanks!! 

[[pi...]]

Hello Farmboy60,

 

Welcome to Benzo Buddies and congratulations on doing so well on your taper thus far.  Stomach issues can be common during withdrawal. You have a lot of GABA receptors in the gut and since benzos downregulate those receptors it can take time for them to reset. Additionally, benzos are great muscle relaxers so when reduction or discontinued the muscle can overreact and stay rigid and inflexible for a period of time.  It is always good to have a medical check up to rule out any other underlying cause.

 

What kind of taper plan have you been following? It is possible that your taper is too fast, that can account for some strong withdrawal symptoms.  Generally , a slow taper can help to minimize withdrawal symptoms. A reduction of no more than 5-10% every 10-14 days is suggested. I'll give you a link to the General Taper Plans for additional information.

 

I'll also give you a link to the Ashton Manual. It is an excellent resource about these types of drugs and how to withdraw. It also gives good information about the withdrawal process in general. The manual was written by Dr. Heather Ashton, an expert in the field.

 

I did use ginger tea effectively during my withdrawal. I would 'brew' up a batch every morning and sip on it during the day.  I did use fresh grated ginger in my tea.

 

You'll get a lot of support and encouragement as you complete your taper.  We understand what you are going through. I'm certain you'll find others who are having or have had the same nausea symptoms that you experience. Please do ask questions, we're here to help.

 

General Taper Plans   

 

The Ashton Manual

 

pianogirl 

[[Fa...]]

Pianogirl,

 

Thank you so much for the message. It's particularly useful for me tonight because my nausea is worse than ever. I'm actually shaking because of the nausea. My taper has been a reduction of 1 mg of diazepam every 2 weeks. Is it not true that if I've developed a tolerance to benzos, my symptoms will persist regardless of how slow I taper?

 

Thanks again,

 

Farmboy60

[[...]]

Hi Farmboy,

 

I so relate to your nausea!  I have only had two withdrawal symptoms, one is low energy and the other one, which is far worse, is nausea.  Nausea is by far the most intolerable.  It's not the most common symptom people seem to have, but you are not alone. I sympathize with feeling nauseous and needing to lie on the couch all day; it's terrible and makes it impossible to function.

 

In the beginning, I tapered relatively quickly and the cuts caught up with me.  That's when the nausea started.  I thought I had the stomach flu except it never went away. It was debilitating for three or four days out of every week.

 

The only thing I have found to reduce my nausea has been to slow down my tapering rate.  I currently am tapering 5% every 21 days, more slowly than the generally suggested lower rate on Benzo Buddies.  I also needed to switch from "cut and hold" to "daily liquid micro tapering" (DLMT), to make a smoother transition for lowering my doses. 

 

When I have been overwhelmed by nausea, I have also held for a few weeks until it subsided. Holding and proceeding more slowly has given me considerable relief, not 100% of the time, but much better.

 

In the meantime, I have modified my diet considerably by cutting out sugar, gluten and all acidic or spicy foods- anything that upsets my stomach.  I'm trying to stay with a healthy, simple but bland diet.  Sometimes, I have to fast until the nausea subsides.  Sipping ginger tea maybe helps a bit but only slowing down really helps. Sometimes I take sips of coconut water if I need to hydrate.

 

I hope you find some helpful information about tapering on the forum.  It has definitely helped me, even though it took a while to accept and get into the groove of going slower.  Like most people on here, I just want off asap, but I realized going too fast not only makes me feel worse during my taper, but can cause serious and lingering problems afterwards. 

 

Try not to despair and trust you will find a way to lessen your nausea.  Again, slowing down worked for me.  Maybe continue to hold until it subsides and do some research on how to proceed when you feel better.

 

Sending you positive thoughts and feel better soon.

 

Luey

 

[[Fa...]]

Thank you Luey!!

 

I talked to my doctor today and my taper is now officially on hold.

 

Blessings.

 

[[...]]

Farmboy,  Holding when you feel so sick makes a lot of sense to me.  I hope taking a break from tapering will help you feel better very soon!  Blessings to you, Luey