Please share your experiences with the benefits of holding...

[[ho...]]

Hi all,

 

Please share your experiences with the benefits of holding.

 

I'm at 7.5 mg valium after tapering from 10mg by .5mg every 4-8 days. I have rebound anxiety/panic nearly every day, which I'm toughing out ok, but I just started to lose my appetite. A previous withdrawal experience left me almost completely unable to eat, and I can't handle too much of that again.

 

If I hold here for a while, will my symptoms eventually stabilize somewhat?

 

Thanks,

hopesavoy

 

p.s. I'm really proud that I'm 25% of the way to zero and taking it slow and steady!

[[ho...]]

I have found holding to be useful when symptoms spiraled. The lower the doses, the more each drop had an effect.  Others have been able to tough it out- God bless them- but I got so ill, I couldn't eat at all or lift my head due to vertigo in the worst of it. Pushing through wasn't an option I thought best. I held 1mg for a month the first time and tapered down by 10% after.

 

In general, the longer on the drug the more gently you need to come off. Even Ashton agrees a slower schedule is better once you hit 10mg. The half life of Valium is up to 8 days; that means 50% of the dose 8 days ago is still around. There's some accumulation of previous doses on top of this. If you cut at day 4, that's some real change.

 

Under 10mg, many people go to 10% cuts every 2 weeks or more. There's even a thread called 3-2-1 where people discuss that as the total dose gets smaller, the impact of each drop is more.

 

Read through your profile. Understand you're highly motivated, but afraid this is not a good idea. You say you're fighting a fair number of symptoms. Too rapid up front may create problems down the road. Remember just stopping the med isn't the end of the process. Neuro tissue heals slowly. 

 

You're an adult who can choose your own path. If you were my friend, I'd tell you to slow down.

 

 

[[Ch...]]

I held for two months during the holidays when I was tapering....the holidays were too stressful to continue to cut. It worked well and I picked up my taper again in January that year without any problems.

 

Congrats on your progress! Keep your eye on the prize but the turtle wins this race, not the rabbit. I get it, I’d have liked to get this done quickly, too, but the benzo is in control here. Long-acting benzos like Valium take 14 days to fully manifest withdrawal symptoms. Your symptoms might pile up if you continue with only 4-8 days between cuts.

 

[[no...]]

Hi all,

 

Please share your experiences with the benefits of holding.

 

I'm at 7.5 mg valium after tapering from 10mg by .5mg every 4-8 days. I have rebound anxiety/panic nearly every day, which I'm toughing out ok, but I just started to lose my appetite. A previous withdrawal experience left me almost completely unable to eat, and I can't handle too much of that again.

 

If I hold here for a while, will my symptoms eventually stabilize somewhat?

 

Thanks,

hopesavoy

 

p.s. I'm really proud that I'm 25% of the way to zero and taking it slow and steady!

Hi I would slow down if I were you, its a marathon not a race, this is a link to the long hold support group on here where you can get lots of help and information 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=153201.0;topicseen and below is info that will explain why its a bad idea to go galloping off benzo's too quickly like Challis said the Tortoise not the hare wins the race 

 

 

Nova xxx :smitten:

 

 

The technical stuff

 

One of the key differences between different benzodiazepines is how long their effects are intended to last.

 

You will hear and read a lot about ’half-life’ of Benzos. This means how long it takes the blood concentration of the drug to reach half its original level. This should not be confused with the length of time that the therapeutic effects last i.e. how long before you know you need the next pill.

 

The longer acting drugs are more often used as “tranquillisers”, because their therapeutic effect lasts longer. Longer acting drugs may produce withdrawal symptoms several weeks after a reduction in dose. Two to three weeks is typical but longer periods are not uncommon. This may lead to users being caught in a cycle of continually increasing and decreasing their drug. After cutting their dose they may feel better for a day or two and think that they are on the right path. If they get a withdrawal reaction several weeks later they assume that it can’t possibly be the drug – there must be something wrong with them. Furthermore the drug seems to fix the problem. In reality all the drug may be doing is to reduce its own withdrawal symptoms. 

 

https://bataid.org/about-benzos/

 

 

[[...]]

I held for months at a time, especially during major events in my life, like surgery, weddings, holidays, adult children issues, husband’s retirement, new grand children, and moving to another state! I don’t regret the holds one bit! It worked for me! I’m now 2 months free after a 6 year taper! Wishing you the best!

 

Sandy

[[ho...]]

Thanks so much, everyone.

 

I think I will hold where I am for at least 3 weeks. I understand my symptoms may get worse while I hold before they get better because of the half-life of valium.

 

Thanks for the support!

 

Love,

hopesavoy