I am needing help as I get lower in my dose

[[su...]]

Hello Buddies,

 

I am asking for some input. I have been cutting .03125mg of Klonopin since I was at 0.5mg. I am currently at .09375mg. I cut on Sunday, May 1st. I am having a difficult time with all the symptoms. Has anyone had this experience or know someone who has had a difficult time as the dose is getting lower? I am going to hold at this dose until my body gets use to this new lower dose. Then either do a smaller cut or titrate. Do you have any thoughts or opinions?

 

Thank you so much,

Summer

 

[[ve...]]

Hi Summer. Can you post a little update as to how much and how frequent your cuts were in the past 2-3 months.  Specifically, what dose were you at 3 months ago, 2 months ago, one month ago...  Sorry you've been having a difficult time of late.  I look forward to your next post.

 

Vertigo

[[su...]]

Hello Buddies,

 

Yes, V here is a recap of my cuts over the last 3 months.

 

February 6th, I was at .28mg of Klonopin and have been cutting .03125mg and holding for 2 weeks.

March 6th, I was at .21875mg cutting .03125mg and holding for 2 weeks.

April 3rd, I was at .15625mg cutting .03125mg and holding for 2 weeks.

May 1st, I am at .09375mg and holding.

 

As you may know I started my taper April 9, 2009. I was at 5mg of Klonopin and am currently at .09375mg.

 

Thank you to anyone with input. I really appreciate it.

 

I hope this is helpful,

Summer

 

[[fl...]]

Hey Summer,

    You are almost there friend I had some reaaaallly bad waves when I got down to the last bit, but I also had some big windows so it was wierd. But I just held until the symptoms eased up and kept cutting at .03 each time. I was able to sleep the whole time so I'm sure that helped but I had some very bad migraines, dizziness at one point so bad that I almost couldn't walk or drive for two days, shaking, DP/DR, and on and on.

 

I would keep cutting at your current rate but hold an extra day or two if you have to. It seems like you've done an awesome job so far of listening to your body and doing what's right for you so I'm sure you'll be fine. Congratulations on getting down so low Summer, you will be benzo free soon 

 

Jeff M.

[[su...]]

Hello Jeff M,

 

Thank you so much for your input. I really appreciate it. Hey, I saw you were benzo free. I posted on your celebration threat. Way to go. You are an inspiration to me. You are right, I am getting close. I was surprised to have this uptick in symptoms with this cut. I will hold until my body gets use to this new lower dose.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience with me. I am getting windows too. The cuts have been tolerable until this one. I have been cutting and have symptoms for a few days that are tolerable then they get really low until I cut again. So, you have had really challenging times doing .03cuts. When did you feel the cuts? This one hit the next day. It was like my body was on to me. Did the cuts get more challenging as the % got higher. I am currently at 25% dose reduction. Could that be what my body is reacting to?

 

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

Summer

[[su...]]

Hello Buddies,

 

I am interested in anyone that may have experience or input regarding having a difficult time as the dose gets lower. Thanks again. And thank you to all who have given there input it is really helpful. I know I will hold until my body gets use to this new lower dose. Then what I am not sure. I could cut smaller, titrate or keep cutting .03125mg all the way down.

 

Summer

[[je...]]

Hi Summer, Thanks for helping me several months ago figure out how to cut my dose of k.  I experienced increasingly intense sxs the lower the dose got.  In fact, the sxs were the worst at that time except for the first several weeks off of k all together.  This is a rough ride.  Now at three months I know that I am healing and I never had that conviction while tapering.  You have done your taper just right.  You have been conscientious and careful and your rigor will pay off.  It is exciting that you are nearing the end of this nightmare, and we all wish you the very best. 

[[ve...]]

Hello Buddies, Yes, V here is a recap of my cuts over the last 3 months.

February 6th, I was at .28mg of Klonopin and have been cutting .03125mg and holding for 2 weeks.

March 6th, I was at .21875mg cutting .03125mg and holding for 2 weeks.

April 3rd, I was at .15625mg cutting .03125mg and holding for 2 weeks.

May 1st, I am at .09375mg and holding.

As you may know I started my taper April 9, 2009. I was at 5mg of Klonopin and am currently at .09375mg.

Thank you to anyone with input. I really appreciate it.

I hope this is helpful,

Summer

 

Hi Summer.  That is helpful.  Ok, so it seems since February (in 3 months) you have gone from approximate valium equivalency of 5.6mg to 1.8mg, taking off nearly 4mg.   Just as a comparison (back in 2009), I went from 6mg to 2mg valium in just under 5 months and hit a pretty big wall after a 20 day period of cutting from 2.5 to 2mg (klon equivalency would be like going from 0.125 to 0.1).  It seems many folks start to feel symptoms once getting down to about 2mg valium or 0.1 klon.  I'm not as familiar with klonopin but if the equivalancies are what I've written, my best advice would be one of two things.  

 

1)Since you only made the cut to 1.8mg a few days ago, you could updose back to your previous cut and hold another week to ten days and stabilize.

 

2)You could hold here for longer than your usual period of two weeks, say three weeks and see how you feel.

 

If it were me, not knowing how intense your symptoms have been but remembering how it was for me when I hit my wall at 2mg, I would updose to the last cut and hold ten more days.  I don't think it will hurt whichever one you might choose.  Others can weigh in too.   I would also consider making smaller cuts from here or perhaps going to slower daily titration if you continue to have issues.  Congratulations on making it this far.  The end is in sight and I look forward to seeing you on the other side of benzo freedom this summer .

 

Best wishes  ,

 

Vertigo

[[Pa...]]

Hi Summer,

 

I can't help you like your Buddies can since I don't have experience in tapering, but I wanted to lend you some moral support. 

 

Pam

[[fl...]]

Hey Summer,

      I felt my cuts at different times, sometimes right away and sometimes not at all until 4-5 days into it. I think with dry cutting the amount we're taking everyday is different so our body is trying to stabilize and we're not really letting it, but even still it stabilizes at some point to whatever small amount we're putting in there.

 

My very last cut (before jumping) was very tough, and it lasted for a very long time. I just held until I stabilized which was over two weeks so that when I did jump I could do so with confidence. I never had insomnia during my taper and haven't had it yet (knock on wood) but I know that when that does hit it can really affect the severity of our sx's.

 

All in all there was no rhyme or reason to how I felt during the last few small cuts, but I can say that by tapering slowly the landing has been much softer than ct which was a nightmare. I never updosed, but always held until I felt 'better' before cutting again. I also never made cuts smaller than .03 because it was so small that I didn't think it would help to try anything less. I hope this helps, it will get better soon as you know, just hang in there

 

Jeff M.

[[su...]]

Hi Summer, Thanks for helping me several months ago figure out how to cut my dose of k.  I experienced increasingly intense sxs the lower the dose got.  In fact, the sxs were the worst at that time except for the first several weeks off of k all together.  This is a rough ride.  Now at three months I know that I am healing and I never had that conviction while tapering.  You have done your taper just right.  You have been conscientious and careful and your rigor will pay off.  It is exciting that you are nearing the end of this nightmare, and we all wish you the very best. 

 

Hello Jennie,

 

I am so happy to hear that knowing how to cut a small dose was helpful to you. It took me some time to learn how to cut that small of a dose. Thank you for letting me know about your taper experience. It looks like this get challenging for most of us the lower we go in our dose. I agree, this is a rough ride. I am happy we have one another to help us along the way.

 

So, you are 3 months benzo free and know that you are healing. That is great news. It is not easy to experience this for as long as it takes. Thank you for the words of encouragement about having done a slow taper and the effort will pay off. Thank you again. It means a great deal to me. Thank you for being kind and supportive.

 

Summer

[[su...]]

 

Hello Vertigo,

 

Thank you so much for the detailed information.

 

So, it looks like I cut about 4mg of Valium in 3 months when you did that over 5 months and that the 5 month time frame was challenging for you. I am going to slow down. I just took a .015625mg powder and the symptoms have eased. I think I may go back to .125 to catch my breath. This is way more challenging than I can manage.

 

Can you tell me what you would think about how slow to titrate from .125mg? I am thinking that may be the best way for me to achieve benzo freedom.

 

Thank you again,

Summer

[[su...]]

Hi Summer,

 

I can't help you like your Buddies can since I don't have experience in tapering, but I wanted to lend you some moral support. 

 

Pam

 

Hello Pam,

 

Thank you so much for your reply. I really appreciate the moral support. It is much needed. This has gotten considerably more difficult with this cut. I am going to go back to .125mg and then figure out how to titrate. That may be the best way for me to become benzo free. You have been a great support to me. Thank you again.

 

 

Summer

[[su...]]

Hey Summer,

      I felt my cuts at different times, sometimes right away and sometimes not at all until 4-5 days into it. I think with dry cutting the amount we're taking everyday is different so our body is trying to stabilize and we're not really letting it, but even still it stabilizes at some point to whatever small amount we're putting in there.

 

My very last cut (before jumping) was very tough, and it lasted for a very long time. I just held until I stabilized which was over two weeks so that when I did jump I could do so with confidence. I never had insomnia during my taper and haven't had it yet (knock on wood) but I know that when that does hit it can really affect the severity of our sx's.

 

All in all there was no rhyme or reason to how I felt during the last few small cuts, but I can say that by tapering slowly the landing has been much softer than ct which was a nightmare. I never updosed, but always held until I felt 'better' before cutting again. I also never made cuts smaller than .03 because it was so small that I didn't think it would help to try anything less. I hope this helps, it will get better soon as you know, just hang in there

 

Jeff M.

 

Hello Jeff M,

 

Thank you so much for your reply. I so wish I was able to keep up the .03 cuts. I was so close. I am happy to hear that this taper was a much better landing than ct. I am so proud of you being benzo free. Way to go. I will be joining you one day. Thank you for letting me know more details about your taper. I really appreciate it. Thank you for the kind words about this getting better soon. Thank you for being here for me.

 

Summer

[[Be...]]

Hi Summer,

 

Sorry to hear that you are being hit by a nasty wave.  The last few months of my taper were utter hell too.  But thankfully the further away I got from benzos, after jumping, the better I felt.  Now that I'm ten months benzo free, things are sooooo much better and in time you will be feeling the same way.  You are down to the bare knuckles now so just hang on in there and know that it won't always be this way.  I held for longer periods than planned as I got lower in my taper, so just listen to your body and take it slowly.

 

Hope you feel better soon.

[[St...]]

Hello Buddies,

 

Yes, V here is a recap of my cuts over the last 3 months.

 

February 6th, I was at .28mg of Klonopin and have been cutting .03125mg and holding for 2 weeks.

March 6th, I was at .21875mg cutting .03125mg and holding for 2 weeks.

April 3rd, I was at .15625mg cutting .03125mg and holding for 2 weeks.

May 1st, I am at .09375mg and holding.

 

As you may know I started my taper April 9, 2009. I was at 5mg of Klonopin and am currently at .09375mg.

 

Thank you to anyone with input. I really appreciate it.

 

I hope this is helpful,

Summer

 

 

Wow, you really have this down to a science. I admire that you can chip away like this, I don't think I could have done it, nor would have had the brain power to figure it all out  

 

Summer you're doing so good and haven't even looked back, what a warrior! I know you can finish this nasty drug off and be done with it all soon, you're almost there!

[[su...]]

Hi Summer,

 

Sorry to hear that you are being hit by a nasty wave.  The last few months of my taper were utter hell too.  But thankfully the further away I got from benzos, after jumping, the better I felt.  Now that I'm ten months benzo free, things are sooooo much better and in time you will be feeling the same way.  You are down to the bare knuckles now so just hang on in there and know that it won't always be this way.  I held for longer periods than planned as I got lower in my taper, so just listen to your body and take it slowly.

 

Hope you feel better soon.

 

Hello Bevoir,

 

I am so happy to hear from you. Thank you for letting me know how you felt the last few months. I am going to go to titrating once I hold here at .125mg and get this to calm down. Thank you for the words of encouragement about feeling sooooo much better now that you are 10 months benzo free. That is encouraging to me. I have not titrated before and I am thinking of starting with a 1ml drop per day and hold when needed. That would be at least 100 days. How dose that sound?

 

I am happy to hear you are feeling better.

I wish you only the best,

Summer

[[su...]]

Hello Buddies,

 

Yes, V here is a recap of my cuts over the last 3 months.

 

February 6th, I was at .28mg of Klonopin and have been cutting .03125mg and holding for 2 weeks.

March 6th, I was at .21875mg cutting .03125mg and holding for 2 weeks.

April 3rd, I was at .15625mg cutting .03125mg and holding for 2 weeks.

May 1st, I am at .09375mg and holding.

 

As you may know I started my taper April 9, 2009. I was at 5mg of Klonopin and am currently at .09375mg.

 

Thank you to anyone with input. I really appreciate it.

 

I hope this is helpful,

Summer

 

 

Wow, you really have this down to a science. I admire that you can chip away like this, I don't think I could have done it, nor would have had the brain power to figure it all out  

 

Summer you're doing so good and haven't even looked back, what a warrior! I know you can finish this nasty drug off and be done with it all soon, you're almost there!

 

Hello Star,

 

Thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate it. It has been quite a ride full of math and learning as I go.

 

Star, thank you for saying I am a warrior. How nice. This is quite a journey and having you here as part of my journey means a great deal to me. We are not alone. We have one another here at BenzoBuddies. I am in the final stretch.

 

Take Care,

Summer

[Guest [Si...]]

Summer,

 

How is everything going?

 

S#