The Long Hold Support Group

[[...]]

Hi again, AF1,

I just looked at you tapering signature. It looks like you are tapering really fast with pretty big cuts.  I have learned that the lower you are in a dose, the more difficult it becomes to reduce your dose, and  the smaller the cuts should be. I see you have have been cutting about .5 mg and have reduced pretty much in 2 1/2 months. IMO that's a lot for such a low dose. IMO, It could be that your struggles with bad wdfx are from you CNS trying  to catch up to those cuts.

 

I'm glad you have decided to hold and give your CNS time to catch up. IMO. I follow the 10% rule that I have learned about on this forum. That is, when I cut I always cut no more than 10% of my last dose. Have you heard about that?

 

Actually I am cutting much less than that. I am very sensitive to cuts. It got myself into real trouble from cutting too much and too fast a few months ago, that's why I am in the process of a long hold.  I will probably micro taper with liquid Valium when I resume my taper after the first of the year if I feel stable. Probably .003 daily micro cut. It's slow, but its gentle and at least I will be able to function with minimal wdfx, and I'll hold when I think I need to.

 

IMO.  Just  go slow with your taper and keep your cuts very small. Listen to your body and don't make another cut while you are having bad wdfx. Hold between cuts before you cut again and before your wdfx get bad, wait until you feel pretty stable if you are experiencing bad wdfx before you cut again.

 

But you know your own body, and what you can handle. So IMO you need to decide what is best for you.

 

Sorry if i am blabbing away. Just hate to see anyone struggle.

 

By the way, Have you read ValleyUm's propaganda on long holds? Maybe you should ask him to post it again. He posts it periodically. It helped me a lot.

 

Heath

 

Thanks, Heathcliff. I agree with everything you said. It was kind of easy cutting .25 a week when I was around 2 mg. Maybe that's because I had cold turkey to compare it to (it's not in my signature but I was in the hospital and they had me completely off benzo's for 3 or 4 days and I was hallucinating and throwing up, etc.) It was around 1.5 mg that things started slowly getting worse and I should have gotten a clue to slow down even more than I did, but I learned the hard way and also from reading the posts in this group so if it takes a year or more to get off the rest, that's ok.  I added back in a middle of the day .5 mg dose of Ativan and switched to 5 mg Valium for the morning and evening doses, added "salt loading" back into my diet--didn't know how much that was helping until I forgot to do it for about 10 days-relief the same day and the most hellish symptoms stopped then.  So anyway I'm waiting as long as it takes to get more functional and then plan to micro-taper at a snail's pace. I just need to figure out exactly how to microtaper.

 

Thanks for your input!

 

AF

[[ga...]]

 

P.S. I'll forgive the auto correct this time but I know you've had your eye on my chickens for a long time. 

 

no comment 

 

Now where is that chicken soup I made? Gone already?

[[fi...]]

 

 

I added back in a middle of the day .5 mg dose of Ativan and switched to 5 mg Valium for the morning and evening doses, added "salt loading" back into my diet--didn't know how much that was helping until I forgot to do it for about 10 days-relief the same day and the most hellish symptoms stopped then. 

 

AF

 

What is "salt loading" and how does it help or what is the theory?? I'm sitting here staring at my Himalayan, Iodized, and Sea Salts just waiting on a reply! 

 

Why can't I get the quote thing right??? 

[[ly...]]

 

Hey Gang,

 

Sorry to read that some are having a hard time.  It's a temporary state, shorter for some and a little longer for others.  Hold strong and stay the course.

 

It does pay off.  We have lots of examples of that!

 

I continue to feel 100% and am in NYC - in the process of painting the town red!  I had some bumps a week ago and was getting some thoughts that things might be going downhill but it was just a brief pause -  i think some work was going on in my brain b/c I came out of it better than ever.

 

Thoughts and well wishes to all!  :smitten:

[[fi...]]

 

Hey Gang,

 

Sorry to read that some are having a hard time.  It's a temporary state, shorter for some and a little longer for others.  Hold strong and stay the course.

 

It does pay off.  We have lots of examples of that!

 

I continue to feel 100% and am in NYC - in the process of painting the town red!  I had some bumps a week ago and was getting some thoughts that things might be going downhill but it was just a brief pause -  i think some work was going on in my brain b/c I came out of it better than ever.

 

Thoughts and well wishes to all!  :smitten:

 

What a great, inspiring message - Thank you Lynn! I'm following this thread - not much to add but I liked this message a lot - Enjoy NYC!

[[...]]

 

 

I added back in a middle of the day .5 mg dose of Ativan and switched to 5 mg Valium for the morning and evening doses, added "salt loading" back into my diet--didn't know how much that was helping until I forgot to do it for about 10 days-relief the same day and the most hellish symptoms stopped then. 

 

AF

 

What is "salt loading" and how does it help or what is the theory?? I'm sitting here staring at my Himalayan, Iodized, and Sea Salts just waiting on a reply! 

 

Why can't I get the quote thing right??? 

 

I'm taking iodine because it made my feet stop hurting, but evidently when you take enough iodine (I didn't think I was taking enough to worry about it) your body will detox bromide and cause symptoms.  Actually the symptoms are similar to w/d so it's hard to tell which one was causing them.  Taking extra salt is supposed to offset the detox symptoms so I just basically take extra salt like it says in the recipes for "adrenal cocktail."  A little extra potassium, too in the form of cream of tartar.  Help for the adrenals or for the iodine detox or whatever the heck caused the worst of the symptoms. All I know is it made a huge difference for me, but I was on the couch not able to do anything but try to make it to the next minute.  Much better now that I started back on it.  I have no idea whether it would help anyone else, but it might since it's an adrenal cocktail recipe and probably the adrenals are majorly affected by w/d I'd guess.

[[fr...]]

  What is the exact recipe for this.  I am interested also since I have severe nerve burning pain in my feet and ut area.  Dr. tested and I was Vit D deficient and also low on sodium.  I wonder if extra salt would help me with this.  Appreciate the info.  Also want to add my kudos to BG, V, Lynn Heath and all the others who encourage us on this thread.  I am holding right now also.  Have been for around 2 months so far no joy.  Thanks again to all.

[[He...]]

Hi V

 

I woke up with mental stuff this morning too. I had to get out if bed after trying to go back to sleep without success. I knew if I just lay there, the anxiety would just escalate. So I got up and here I am distracting myself.

Sorry you are dealing with some mental stuff thus morning too. I hope it leaves you very fast and that your day is a good one.

 

Heath

Hi Heath. Sorry you're dealing with this too. I've started having the hourly wake ups and really light sleep I had earlier in the taper so I don't feel rested. In fact I feel out of it lol. Sometimes I do it to myself. I had cut for 10 days and my instinct was to hold for a few days but stupid me thought why not do what I preach against and push through and see what happens even though I know exactly what will happen lol. It's  probably time to reduce the cut rate. 

 

Hope your day improves! --V

 

Sorry about that V. My mental stuff when away. It usually does when I distract. Hope yours is gone bynow.

 

Question 1.  But in regard to your taper and your Wdfx increasing, what do you do now? Just stay at your last dose and hold until stable again for a while? Go back up to your last dose before you cut last time? I'm trying to learn all I can.

 

 

Question 2. And so....V  AND ALL BUDDIES, I need some advice.

 

My hold is working. I am approaching the 4 month point and feel pretty stable. I'm tempted to cut maybe just .02 when I am actually at 4 months ( in another 1 1/2 weeks) and then continue my hold for another two months and see what happens. But if it doesn't work and I start to get wdfx that are more than just blips, do I go back up or just stay there and continue to hold for more months?

 

I'm just trying to figure out my options if things go haywire. But I really don't think they will.

Is 4 months too soon to try to cut again?  Just a tiny bit ? I don't want to start a continuos micro taper yet. Just want to see what happens with one cut. Then hold again. Kind of a test to see if I am ready to start a micro taper or still need to hold.

 

Your knowledge and advice rings loud and clear with me. Am I being foolish?

 

Heath

[[ly...]]

 

 

Heath,

 

What I do when deciding if "I'm ready" is make sure that I have had a decent period of time feeling very well - usually not 100% as I always seemed to have "something" (these past two days are different for me).  If I've had a particularly bad time - such as last year (where I held 8 months) or earlier this year (when I held 4 months) - I go longer after feeling well in order to allow my brain to further repair and get on really solid footing.  For example, this Spring I felt really well after 2 months but held another 2 months as I had caused some decent damage rushing from 1mg to .3125 in 7 weeks.

 

Now I am cutting at a much slower pace and it's not a shock that throws by brain into a tailspin.  This makes me more comfortable to wait only a couple of weeks after feeling well.  I really do think that giving it that extra, unstressed time did a lot of good in preparing me to finish this taper.

 

I hope I am not jinxing myself here!  I do think that I can continue at my present pace all of the way off - but I'll do longer holds if things go sideways.

 

So, for me it comes down to how long I have been feeling well and how messed up I was before my hold.  Hope this makes sense.

[[He...]]

Hi again, AF1,

I just looked at you tapering signature. It looks like you are tapering really fast with pretty big cuts.  I have learned that the lower you are in a dose, the more difficult it becomes to reduce your dose, and  the smaller the cuts should be. I see you have have been cutting about .5 mg and have reduced pretty much in 2 1/2 months. IMO that's a lot for such a low dose. IMO, It could be that your struggles with bad wdfx are from you CNS trying  to catch up to those cuts.

 

I'm glad you have decided to hold and give your CNS time to catch up. IMO. I follow the 10% rule that I have learned about on this forum. That is, when I cut I always cut no more than 10% of my last dose. Have you heard about that?

 

Actually I am cutting much less than that. I am very sensitive to cuts. It got myself into real trouble from cutting too much and too fast a few months ago, that's why I am in the process of a long hold.  I will probably micro taper with liquid Valium when I resume my taper after the first of the year if I feel stable. Probably .003 daily micro cut. It's slow, but its gentle and at least I will be able to function with minimal wdfx, and I'll hold when I think I need to.

 

IMO.  Just  go slow with your taper and keep your cuts very small. Listen to your body and don't make another cut while you are having bad wdfx. Hold between cuts before you cut again and before your wdfx get bad, wait until you feel pretty stable if you are experiencing bad wdfx before you cut again.

 

But you know your own body, and what you can handle. So IMO you need to decide what is best for you.

 

Sorry if i am blabbing away. Just hate to see anyone struggle.

 

By the way, Have you read ValleyUm's propaganda on long holds? Maybe you should ask him to post it again. He posts it periodically. It helped me a lot.

 

Heath

 

Thanks, Heathcliff. I agree with everything you said. It was kind of easy cutting .25 a week when I was around 2 mg. Maybe that's because I had cold turkey to compare it to (it's not in my signature but I was in the hospital and they had me completely off benzo's for 3 or 4 days and I was hallucinating and throwing up, etc.) It was around 1.5 mg that things started slowly getting worse and I should have gotten a clue to slow down even more than I did, but I learned the hard way and also from reading the posts in this group so if it takes a year or more to get off the rest, that's ok.  I added back in a middle of the day .5 mg dose of Ativan and switched to 5 mg Valium for the morning and evening doses, added "salt loading" back into my diet--didn't know how much that was helping until I forgot to do it for about 10 days-relief the same day and the most hellish symptoms stopped then.  So anyway I'm waiting as long as it takes to get more functional and then plan to micro-taper at a snail's pace. I just need to figure out exactly how to microtaper.

 

Thanks for your input!

 

AF

 

Looks like you know what you're doing. I know nothing about salt loading though. I have high bp, but it's under control with meds, so I need to stay away from salt. Glad you are holding. I know it will get you to a better place.  When you decide it's time to micro taper, there are lots of buddies who can help you with that.

 

Hope your days get better and better as quickly as possible, but of course, as we know, there is no rushing it. Our brains heal at the pace they need to.

 

Have a good day!

 

Heath :)

 

[[la...]]

we are all waiting on the "SALT LOADING" answer...what exactly are you doing and how much?

 

I use Himalayan sea salt on everything I eat

[[He...]]

Lynne,

Thanks for your reply. It helps a lot!. Makes me think more. Not sure what I will do, but will think long and hard .

 

Glad you're having a grand time painting the town red! And really happy for the way you are felling so good!  Have a fantastic time the rest  of your trip!

 

Heath  :smitten:

[[...]]

we are all waiting on the "SALT LOADING" answer...what exactly are you doing and how much?

 

I use Himalayan sea salt on everything I eat

 

Hi Lainey.

 

I did answer the salt loading question on the last page, but I'm happy to post it again.  Basically what I do is get a very large pinch of coarse ground Celtic Sea Salt and just rinse it down with something to get rid of the salty taste.  Twice a day. And for potassium I use 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar and do the same thing with it.  The potassium thing I got from what's called an adrenal cocktail. Just google adrenal cocktail and it'll come up.  You can google "salt loading" too, but the next paragraph explains basically why I started doing the salt loading. 

 

I'm taking iodine because it made my feet stop hurting, but evidently when you take enough iodine your body will detox bromide and cause symptoms.  Actually the symptoms are similar to some of the w/d sxs so it's hard to tell which one was causing them.  Taking extra salt is supposed to offset the detox symptoms from the iodine/bromide thing, but it's also in the recipe for the adrenal cocktail. So I guess it either helps because I'm taking iodine or it helps because w/d is hard on the adrenals.  Either way, I'm just glad I found it because for me it makes a world of difference-the difference between torture and I can handle this.  I hope this made sense. I'm not very organized when I explain things.

[[Va...]]

we are all waiting on the "SALT LOADING" answer...what exactly are you doing and how much?

 

I use Himalayan sea salt on everything I eat

 

Hi Lainey.

 

I did answer the salt loading question on the last page, but I'm happy to post it again.  Basically what I do is get a very large pinch of coarse ground Celtic Sea Salt and just rinse it down with something to get rid of the salty taste.  Twice a day. And for potassium I use 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar and do the same thing with it.  The potassium thing I got from what's called an adrenal cocktail. Just google adrenal cocktail and it'll come up.  You can google "salt loading" too, but the next paragraph explains basically why I started doing the salt loading. 

 

I'm taking iodine because it made my feet stop hurting, but evidently when you take enough iodine your body will detox bromide and cause symptoms.  Actually the symptoms are similar to some of the w/d sxs so it's hard to tell which one was causing them.  Taking extra salt is supposed to offset the detox symptoms from the iodine/bromide thing, but it's also in the recipe for the adrenal cocktail. So I guess it either helps because I'm taking iodine or it helps because w/d is hard on the adrenals.  Either way, I'm just glad I found it because for me it makes a world of difference-the difference between torture and I can handle this.  I hope this made sense. I'm not very organized when I explain things.

I had forgotten all about this AF1. My adrenals shut down a few years back and I started salt loading at the time. It also helps to control urinary frequency as that is a big problem when the adrenals go. Glad it's working!

 

So good to hear from you lainey and free! --V

[[be...]]

Seems to be restless season for lots of us.  Been using various apps to help me deal with the anxiety jolts early in the morning. I find it helps to have a calm voice to focus on while I lie there and refuse to get up at a ridiculous hour.

 

I am now going for the Benzo Buddie record for the chicken-est re-start of a taper ever. So, today I reduced my liquefied portion of my L by .4ml per dose and will stay at that all week. I did a little math and that equals (drum roll) 0.2% of my total L dose! So, if I do that all month, that would be a lightening fast taper of 0.8%/month.

 

At least I am no longer mixing up all those darn little bottles every night for nothing! 

 

Onward! 

 

Gard

 

P.S. V, my auto-correct kept trying to change it to chicken-eat!

At least you're moving forward gard! That's all that matters.

 

P.S. I'll forgive the auto correct this time but I know you've had your eye on my chickens for a long time. 

Valley it is time to let me brine some of those chickens and make us all some tasty crispy buttermilk [glow=red,2,300]"FRIED CHICKEN".   [/glow] Stick around All I am going to make a big mess of food for all.  

[[Va...]]

Hi V

 

I woke up with mental stuff this morning too. I had to get out if bed after trying to go back to sleep without success. I knew if I just lay there, the anxiety would just escalate. So I got up and here I am distracting myself.

Sorry you are dealing with some mental stuff thus morning too. I hope it leaves you very fast and that your day is a good one.

 

Heath

Hi Heath. Sorry you're dealing with this too. I've started having the hourly wake ups and really light sleep I had earlier in the taper so I don't feel rested. In fact I feel out of it lol. Sometimes I do it to myself. I had cut for 10 days and my instinct was to hold for a few days but stupid me thought why not do what I preach against and push through and see what happens even though I know exactly what will happen lol. It's  probably time to reduce the cut rate. 

 

Hope your day improves! --V

 

Sorry about that V. My mental stuff when away. It usually does when I distract. Hope yours is gone bynow.

 

Question 1.  But in regard to your taper and your Wdfx increasing, what do you do now? Just stay at your last dose and hold until stable again for a while? Go back up to your last dose before you cut last time? I'm trying to learn all I can.

 

 

Question 2. And so....V  AND ALL BUDDIES, I need some advice.

 

My hold is working. I am approaching the 4 month point and feel pretty stable. I'm tempted to cut maybe just .02 when I am actually at 4 months ( in another 1 1/2 weeks) and then continue my hold for another two months and see what happens. But if it doesn't work and I start to get wdfx that are more than just blips, do I go back up or just stay there and continue to hold for more months?

 

I'm just trying to figure out my options if things go haywire. But I really don't think they will.

Is 4 months too soon to try to cut again?  Just a tiny bit ? I don't want to start a continuos micro taper yet. Just want to see what happens with one cut. Then hold again. Kind of a test to see if I am ready to start a micro taper or still need to hold.

 

Your knowledge and advice rings loud and clear with me. Am I being foolish?

 

Heath

Hi Heath. I would echo what lynn said. I just continue to hold unless sxs are severe and increasing past 10 days. Day 10 is my lag day so if I have increasing sxs past that day, I will updose to where I was 5-10 days prior and hold. I probably should have held longer at 10mg due to stressors in life at this time. I think I  would have been fine if I'd have held one more week. I know some buddies who use a one time one day updose also to good effect also but haven't dared try it.  --V

[[Va...]]

Seems to be restless season for lots of us.  Been using various apps to help me deal with the anxiety jolts early in the morning. I find it helps to have a calm voice to focus on while I lie there and refuse to get up at a ridiculous hour.

 

I am now going for the Benzo Buddie record for the chicken-est re-start of a taper ever. So, today I reduced my liquefied portion of my L by .4ml per dose and will stay at that all week. I did a little math and that equals (drum roll) 0.2% of my total L dose! So, if I do that all month, that would be a lightening fast taper of 0.8%/month.

 

At least I am no longer mixing up all those darn little bottles every night for nothing! 

 

Onward! 

 

Gard

 

P.S. V, my auto-correct kept trying to change it to chicken-eat!

At least you're moving forward gard! That's all that matters.

 

P.S. I'll forgive the auto correct this time but I know you've had your eye on my chickens for a long time. 

Valley it is time to let me brine some of those chickens and make us all some tasty crispy buttermilk [glow=red,2,300]"FRIED CHICKEN".   [/glow] Stick around All I am going to make a big mess of food for all.

OK. Only if we have turtle soup too. 

[[...]]

we are all waiting on the "SALT LOADING" answer...what exactly are you doing and how much?

 

I use Himalayan sea salt on everything I eat

 

Hi Lainey.

 

I did answer the salt loading question on the last page, but I'm happy to post it again.  Basically what I do is get a very large pinch of coarse ground Celtic Sea Salt and just rinse it down with something to get rid of the salty taste.  Twice a day. And for potassium I use 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar and do the same thing with it.  The potassium thing I got from what's called an adrenal cocktail. Just google adrenal cocktail and it'll come up.  You can google "salt loading" too, but the next paragraph explains basically why I started doing the salt loading. 

 

I'm taking iodine because it made my feet stop hurting, but evidently when you take enough iodine your body will detox bromide and cause symptoms.  Actually the symptoms are similar to some of the w/d sxs so it's hard to tell which one was causing them.  Taking extra salt is supposed to offset the detox symptoms from the iodine/bromide thing, but it's also in the recipe for the adrenal cocktail. So I guess it either helps because I'm taking iodine or it helps because w/d is hard on the adrenals.  Either way, I'm just glad I found it because for me it makes a world of difference-the difference between torture and I can handle this.  I hope this made sense. I'm not very organized when I explain things.

I had forgotten all about this AF1. My adrenals shut down a few years back and I started salt loading at the time. It also helps to control urinary frequency as that is a big problem when the adrenals go. Glad it's working!

 

So good to hear from you lainey and free! --V

 

Valley Um,

So you haven't been doing the salt loading for a while now?  I'm curious if anyone else does it if it helps.  Not that it matters. Just good to find what works for you.

AF

[[Sh...]]

Well happy 5 months benzo free and 'long holding' to me! I am definitely proof at how long it can take to stabilise when holding at a dose. My depression has completely gone and all that remains is this bad anxiety and intrusive thoughts. These seem to be very stubborn. I really thought when I finished my taper it would only take a couple of months to level out and heal. Now I understand if you mess with your cns and keep pushing it, it takes a long time to bounce back.

 

Still waiting for this opiate flair up to fade aswell. Its improved and my heart rate is down now. Just need this doom and gloom upon waking up to clear up.

[[Va...]]

Well happy 5 months benzo free and 'long holding' to me! I am definitely proof at how long it can take to stabilise when holding at a dose. My depression has completely gone and all that remains is this bad anxiety and intrusive thoughts. These seem to be very stubborn. I really thought when I finished my taper it would only take a couple of months to level out and heal. Now I understand if you mess with your cns and keep pushing it, it takes a long time to bounce back.

 

Still waiting for this opiate flair up to fade aswell. Its improved and my heart rate is down now. Just need this doom and gloom upon waking up to clear up.

So good to hear!  At least the opiate crap should clear up soon.  --V

[[Va...]]

we are all waiting on the "SALT LOADING" answer...what exactly are you doing and how much?

 

I use Himalayan sea salt on everything I eat

 

Hi Lainey.

 

I did answer the salt loading question on the last page, but I'm happy to post it again.  Basically what I do is get a very large pinch of coarse ground Celtic Sea Salt and just rinse it down with something to get rid of the salty taste.  Twice a day. And for potassium I use 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar and do the same thing with it.  The potassium thing I got from what's called an adrenal cocktail. Just google adrenal cocktail and it'll come up.  You can google "salt loading" too, but the next paragraph explains basically why I started doing the salt loading. 

 

I'm taking iodine because it made my feet stop hurting, but evidently when you take enough iodine your body will detox bromide and cause symptoms.  Actually the symptoms are similar to some of the w/d sxs so it's hard to tell which one was causing them.  Taking extra salt is supposed to offset the detox symptoms from the iodine/bromide thing, but it's also in the recipe for the adrenal cocktail. So I guess it either helps because I'm taking iodine or it helps because w/d is hard on the adrenals.  Either way, I'm just glad I found it because for me it makes a world of difference-the difference between torture and I can handle this.  I hope this made sense. I'm not very organized when I explain things.

I had forgotten all about this AF1. My adrenals shut down a few years back and I started salt loading at the time. It also helps to control urinary frequency as that is a big problem when the adrenals go. Glad it's working!

 

So good to hear from you lainey and free! --V

 

Valley Um,

So you haven't been doing the salt loading for a while now?  I'm curious if anyone else does it if it helps.  Not that it matters. Just good to find what works for you.

AF

I haven't been salt loading AF. I take dessmopressin to control the bladder issues. I have a diagnosis of  being hypopituitary so I still have to take loads of hormones.  The salt loading and vitamin C were helpful before I got the diagnosis. --V

[[...]]

Thank you Begood for taking the time to write your story and process..... You are very wise and I appreciate so much you and those who have gone through hell and are able to share what they have learnt for all of us. 

 

Heath and Valley, I'm sorry you've got mental stuff happening, I hope it passes quickly , you are both doing so well 

And thank you Valley for reposting the propaganda ... Though that feels like the wrong word, it's more like a ' support  for long holds list' ' or something like that 

Thanks MiYu, I have good Vibes about you, I know you are going to do fine, everything will fall in place when it is time.

 

You're sweet thank you for that 

[[Su...]]

Hi V

 

I woke up with mental stuff this morning too. I had to get out if bed after trying to go back to sleep without success. I knew if I just lay there, the anxiety would just escalate. So I got up and here I am distracting myself.

Sorry you are dealing with some mental stuff thus morning too. I hope it leaves you very fast and that your day is a good one.

 

Heath

 

 

 

Yes I have to agree with valley um.  It seems when I have got into that jam I did have to hold yet I did hold for the Full 10 days and sure enough I balanced out.  Then back on taper.  So far so good.  Really mind boggling on what is best to do.  The problem I had was I started to fast a taper and had to find my baseline and get on a slower taper.  Everyone differs.  One thing for sure this can be done.

Hi Heath. Sorry you're dealing with this too. I've started having the hourly wake ups and really light sleep I had earlier in the taper so I don't feel rested. In fact I feel out of it lol. Sometimes I do it to myself. I had cut for 10 days and my instinct was to hold for a few days but stupid me thought why not do what I preach against and push through and see what happens even though I know exactly what will happen lol. It's  probably time to reduce the cut rate. 

 

Hope your day improves! --V

 

Sorry about that V. My mental stuff when away. It usually does when I distract. Hope yours is gone bynow.

 

Question 1.  But in regard to your taper and your Wdfx increasing, what do you do now? Just stay at your last dose and hold until stable again for a while? Go back up to your last dose before you cut last time? I'm trying to learn all I can.

 

 

Question 2. And so....V  AND ALL BUDDIES, I need some advice.

 

My hold is working. I am approaching the 4 month point and feel pretty stable. I'm tempted to cut maybe just .02 when I am actually at 4 months ( in another 1 1/2 weeks) and then continue my hold for another two months and see what happens. But if it doesn't work and I start to get wdfx that are more than just blips, do I go back up or just stay there and continue to hold for more months?

 

I'm just trying to figure out my options if things go haywire. But I really don't think they will.

Is 4 months too soon to try to cut again?  Just a tiny bit ? I don't want to start a continuos micro taper yet. Just want to see what happens with one cut. Then hold again. Kind of a test to see if I am ready to start a micro taper or still need to hold.

 

Your knowledge and advice rings loud and clear with me. Am I being foolish?

 

Heath

Hi Heath. I would echo what lynn said. I just continue to hold unless sxs are severe and increasing past 10 days. Day 10 is my lag day so if I have increasing sxs past that day, I will updose to where I was 5-10 days prior and hold. I probably should have held longer at 10mg due to stressors in life at this time. I think I  would have been fine if I'd have held one more week. I know some buddies who use a one time one day updose also to good effect also but haven't dared try it.  --V

[[Sh...]]

Well happy 5 months benzo free and 'long holding' to me! I am definitely proof at how long it can take to stabilise when holding at a dose. My depression has completely gone and all that remains is this bad anxiety and intrusive thoughts. These seem to be very stubborn. I really thought when I finished my taper it would only take a couple of months to level out and heal. Now I understand if you mess with your cns and keep pushing it, it takes a long time to bounce back.

 

Still waiting for this opiate flair up to fade aswell. Its improved and my heart rate is down now. Just need this doom and gloom upon waking up to clear up.

So good to hear!  At least the opiate crap should clear up soon.  --V

 

My heart beat racing has stopped. But I've still got this weird doom and gloom feeling upon waking up. It's horrid. 10 days since the opiates. Haven't exercised since then because of these weird new feelings. I'll try today and see if it helps.

[[Sh...]]

Keep on moving and exercising Shamo ! It really helps !! It helps me to keep my sanity !!! I'm dancing 1/2 a week, walking 2 times a day and teached my first kids class yesterday ! Keep opening new doors and the light will shine through ! Good luck ! You can do this !