Glad to join you guys

[Guest [Fe...]]

Howdy gents,

 

I'm 26 years old. My poison is Xanax. I was addicted to and used Xanax from 2015 to June of 2019. I quit and switched to Valium to taper, and am currently still on said taper.

 

I really should have joined you guys a while ago. But now I want to join this community because in my area, NA, which is my usual support group, is completely closed down and has been for the past month and a half. I also am seeking help for planning the rest of my taper.

 

Thanks

[[ea...]]

Welcome!! Glad you found us.

I would like to hear more of how you feel NA works for you. One of my best friends depended on them to get off opiates. I would like to hear your take on this.

There are other benzo groups online but it seems to me BB is the best. It is regulated and monitored, so ugly stuff gets weeded out. And the people here tend to be very smart, educated, and also willing to learn. All of which is good when dealing with benzo wd.

east

[[Br...]]

Hi Fenix,

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies! Congratulations on your beginning your taper off benzos!  You've come to the right place for information and support in finishing your taper.

 

What taper plan are you following?  We typically suggest a reduction of no more than 5-10% every 10-14 days.  Some people go even slower to allow the body to adjust to the dose reductions. I'll give you links to the Ashton Manual written by one of the foremost authorities on benzo withdrawal and the Planning Your Withdrawal Board for additional information. 

 

We're here to support you as you complete your taper and recover.  People here understand withdrawal and that symptoms can be very challenging - please reach out and let us know how we can help you. 

 

Please take your time to explore the site.  Here are a few links to help you get started.

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper Plans)

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

The Ashton Manual

 

Again, welcome! We're glad you found us!

 

Brighterday 

[Guest [Fe...]]

Welcome!! Glad you found us.

I would like to hear more of how you feel NA works for you. One of my best friends depended on them to get off opiates. I would like to hear your take on this.

There are other benzo groups online but it seems to me BB is the best. It is regulated and monitored, so ugly stuff gets weeded out. And the people here tend to be very smart, educated, and also willing to learn. All of which is good when dealing with benzo wd.

east

Thanks, eastcoast62!

 

NA is very helpful. A couple really good things about NA is that right off the bat, there are many NA groups in every city, so they are easy to find no matter where you live. Second, there are addicts for almost every kind of drug there, so you won't be alone no matter what. In my groups, there were many people who kicked meth addictions, a good amount of ex-opiate users specifically heroin, and some recovering benzo addicts.

 

The best thing about NA is that there is no judgment. As long as you want to get clean, and are sober when you go there, you are welcome. Everybody there has been through stuff, many have engaged in distribution, been to prison, gotten violent during their addictions, accrued debt, gotten DUIs, lost friends and jobs to it, and so on. So again, nobody will judge you at NA for your past as long as you want to get better. I remember one of my first times at NA, one of the speakers addressed this and said "as long as you aren't diddling kids, or have bodies buried out in the desert, then the past is the past and there is forgiveness." That made me feel a lot better about myself. Because we have all 'done stuff' in our addictions, but everyone there wants to get better. Indeed as they say in NA, we do recover. Guest speakers are great! The bonus to all this is that there is free coffee, haha. 

 

The only real drawback to NA in my opinion, is that sometimes you will hear very depressing stories. You will hear stories about people getting CPS called and losing their kids. You will hear stories about people getting violent, losing their business, their job, all their friends, everything. So that can kinda be a bit of a mood kill sometimes. But everyone with stories like that will have a positive end to it, like "I'm now 2 years sober, and feeling great." So it's not all depressing. Also like I said, we have all done things we regret in our addictions, so there is no judgment. Also there is a lot of emphasis on God or a higher power as a means to recovery. They don't discriminate on religion or lack of religion, but if you aren't religious yourself, that might not sit well at first. I personally have always been agnostic, but I've adopted the recognition of some kind of a higher power for the purpose of recovery. You can just call it 'the powers that be' if you want. Forgiveness is powerful.

[Guest [Fe...]]

Hi Fenix,

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies! Congratulations on your beginning your taper off benzos!  You've come to the right place for information and support in finishing your taper.

 

Thanks Brighterday!

 

I did Valium 10mg/day for about 5 months, then did 5mg/day for 2 months, and now I've been taking 2mg/day for the past 2 months. I'm still figuring it out but I think I'm going to do 1mg/day for a couple months or so to completely finish it off. I posted in the withdrawal/taper section for help with this.

 

By the way, I like how you guys have made this not a completely open forum. As in, there is somewhat of a process to register. It cuts down on spam posts or adverts, which is common on any forum or site related to benzos.

 

I tried Reddit's r/benzorecovery but it's kind of lackluster IMO. This feels more like an actual community.

[[Br...]]

Hi Fenix,

 

I'm glad you like the format of this forum.

 

I'm also glad you're looking for help in planning the rest of your taper.  I'm not an expert on tapering at all but I think you will want to slow down your taper and make smaller cuts now that you're down to 2mg/day.  As I said in my welcome reply to you, we typically suggest a reduction of no more than 5-10% every 10-14 days.  You may choose to go even slower depending on your symptoms.  This allows the body to adjust to the dose reductions and gives you the best chance of minimizing symptoms and maintaining maximum functioning. It can be tempting as we approach the finish line to want to sprint because we want to put this behind us once and for all.  But, please don't rush this.

 

Take care,

Brighterday

 

 

[[Pa...]]

I personally have always been agnostic, but I've adopted the recognition of some kind of a higher power for the purpose of recovery.

 

Hi Fenix, welcome,

 

You won't find many addicts here but you won't find judgement either, we're all in this together.  I attended AA many years ago and had trouble figuring out my higher power until I thought about Mother Nature, she's got my vote. 

 

Let us know how we can help.

 

Pamster