Lookinup's Taper

[Guest [Lo...]]

Hi Pianogirl,

I finally found a psy willing to work with me on a taper. Since I am having a hard time with Ambien, he suggests crossing over completely from that and Klonopin to Valium.  Is that commonly recommended?  Also, do you start with all Valium or a combination?  Do you know how that works?  Thanks for any input you can lend.

Lookinup

[[pi...]]

Hi Pianogirl,

I finally found a psy willing to work with me on a taper. Since I am having a hard time with Ambien, he suggests crossing over completely from that and Klonopin to Valium.  Is that commonly recommended?  Also, do you start with all Valium or a combination?  Do you know how that works?  Thanks for any input you can lend.

Lookinup

 

Hello Lookinup,

 

I'm glad you found someone to support your taper, that is not always easy to do.

 

I have no experience whatsoever with Ambien and whether it's a good decision to cross completely over to valium from both klonopin and ambien.  Hopefully someone will weigh on with their experience doing this.

 

For a smooth crossover you would start with a combination and gradually make the transition over to all valium.  I did not do this so my switch was rough, my doctor didn't really understand the crossover method and I was pretty clueless at the time.

 

PG 

[[ga...]]

Lookin, Crossing over is common. But, like PG, I have no experience with crossing from Ambien.

 

It seems that most doctors will tell you to just switch all at once, but Dr. Ashton recommends switching part of your dose at a time. She takes 4 weeks to do the switch, taking away part of the short-acting drug and adding some Valium, more each week, until the patient is all on Valium. Perhaps you could ask your doctor to make a plan like this for you.

 

Gardie

[Guest [Lo...]]

Hi Pianogirl,

I finally found a psy willing to work with me on a taper. Since I am having a hard time with Ambien, he suggests crossing over completely from that and Klonopin to Valium.  Is that commonly recommended?  Also, do you start with all Valium or a combination?  Do you know how that works?  Thanks for any input you can lend.

Lookinup

Thanks for your input.  I will continue searching for the answer to the Ambien.  So you did some VAlium crossover?  Do you think it make things smother?

Hello Lookinup,

 

I'm glad you found someone to support your taper, that is not always easy to do.

 

I have no experience whatsoever with Ambien and whether it's a good decision to cross completely over to valium from both klonopin and ambien.  Hopefully someone will weigh on with their experience doing this.

 

For a smooth crossover you would start with a combination and gradually make the transition over to all valium.  I did not do this so my switch was rough, my doctor didn't really understand the crossover method and I was pretty clueless at the time.

 

PG 

[Guest [Lo...]]

Lookin, Crossing over is common. But, like PG, I have no experience with crossing from Ambien.

 

It seems that most doctors will tell you to just switch all at once, but Dr. Ashton recommends switching part of your dose at a time. She takes 4 weeks to do the switch, taking away part of the short-acting drug and adding some Valium, more each week, until the patient is all on Valium. Perhaps you could ask your doctor to make a plan like this for you.

 

Gardie

Thanks, I will look at that.  Do you think it is best to uses Valium instead of Clonopin?

[[ga...]]

Dr. Ashton crossed all her patients to Valium. It has a much longer half life than klonopin so you get a steady state of benzodiazepine in your blood and gentler withdrawal symptoms.

 

However, sometimes there are people who don't do well on Valium. I think a good rule of thumb is try to taper straight off the medication you're on. If you can't, try a slow cross to Valium.

[Guest [Lo...]]

Dr. Ashton crossed all her patients to Valium. It has a much longer half life than klonopin so you get a steady state of benzodiazepine in your blood and gentler withdrawal symptoms.

 

However, sometimes there are people who don't do well on Valium. I think a good rule of thumb is try to taper straight off the medication you're on. If you can't, try a slow cross to Valium.

what does a slow crossover look like?  Thanks you,Pianogirl

[[ga...]]

Dr. Ashton crossed all her patients to Valium. It has a much longer half life than klonopin so you get a steady state of benzodiazepine in your blood and gentler withdrawal symptoms.

 

However, sometimes there are people who don't do well on Valium. I think a good rule of thumb is try to taper straight off the medication you're on. If you can't, try a slow cross to Valium.

what does a slow crossover look like?  Thanks you,Pianogirl

 

You take a month to cross. You take away part of the original drug (such as half of one of the doses) and replace it with Valium. Each week you replace more until you are on all Valium.

[Guest [Lo...]]

Dr. Ashton crossed all her patients to Valium. It has a much longer half life than klonopin so you get a steady state of benzodiazepine in your blood and gentler withdrawal symptoms.

 

However, sometimes there are people who don't do well on Valium. I think a good rule of thumb is try to taper straight off the medication you're on. If you can't, try a slow cross to Valium.

what does a slow crossover look like?  Thanks you,Pianogirl

 

You take a month to cross. You take away part of the original drug (such as half of one of the doses) and replace it with Valium. Each week you replace more until you are on all Valium.

oh, I get it.  Do you think it is a better way to go in the long run? 

 

 

edit: quotation formatting fix

[[ga...]]

Dr. Ashton crossed all her patients to Valium. It has a much longer half life than klonopin so you get a steady state of benzodiazepine in your blood and gentler withdrawal symptoms.

 

However, sometimes there are people who don't do well on Valium. I think a good rule of thumb is try to taper straight off the medication you're on. If you can't, try a slow cross to Valium.

what does a slow crossover look like?  Thanks you,Pianogirl

 

You take a month to cross. You take away part of the original drug (such as half of one of the doses) and replace it with Valium. Each week you replace more until you are on all Valium.

oh, I get it.  Do you think it is a better way to go in the long run? 

 

 

I think this is a decision you need to make based on your assessment of your situation.

 

I crossed when the difficulty of tapering was destroying my life. I decided I was willing to take the risk. My doctor agreed. It was not pleasant in the short run, but in the long run it worked out for me. It works out for most people.

 

Think about your own situation and what your prescriber is recommending. Then decide what is best for you.