The Long Hold Support Group

[[ga...]]

P.S. to Trish. You body can habituate to gabapentin just like it habituates to benzos. Most people who take it for chronic pain seem to keep upping the dose. I started on it for chronic pain many years ago, and I don't think it's doing a thing any more. I'm habituated to it. My neurologist wanted to up my dose. I asked her if that was just a dead end road because I would habituate again. She said yes, so I declined to take more. It will be the next thing I taper off of. IMHO, gabapentin is not a long term solution to anything.

[[ga...]]

Wonderful news, Greencup!  :smitten:

 

 

[[go...]]

Hello! Has anyone here experienced side effects when switching generics? If so, what symptoms?

[[He...]]

Thanks Gard,SS

 

I really feel like giving up sometimes..suffering like this is so incredibly HARD.

Feeling really discouraged tonight.

My Dr offered gabapentin but I refused it, I saw people on here tapering that.

You both gave good advice, I'll talk to my Dr about all of it, but he'll probably just try to push the gabapentin.

I'm seeing a psychiatrist for a consult Wednesday. Curious to see what her approach might be.

I have a question for both of you and that's does the interdose withdrawl get better over time..in other words will my body ever adjust to my current dose of 1.5 ?? I'll never get the courage to reduce again hurting this bad. To be honest I feel traumatized by this whole thing..I'm sure you know the feeling, such despair..

I feel like I don't know enough and sometimes I don't want to research bc it depresses me..how did I ever get in this nightmare of xanax??  I hate my former Dr..if only I knew the dangers but sadly I didn't.

Thank you both so much for the suggestions,

Trish

 

Trisha,

I’m having trouble understanding something. You said you were tapering off of 3mg Xanax and now you are at 1.5 mg.

Can you post how you got to 1.5?

Did you cut it all at once?  Or?    And How long did it take you to go from 3mg to 1.5 mg?

Just wondering whether you cut too fast. Maybe that’s why you are having such a hard time? I don’t know much about Xanax.  I’m on valium. But maybe you went too fast?

 

Heath

[[He...]]

Miyu,Heath,SS,TMB, Olive,Dee, Trish, Mary, Laura, Bluepill and everyone else have a peaceful weekend.l won't be posting for a few days but l will be thinking about all of my friends here.

  Love Stut X

Same to you Stut and hoping that all goes well with your daughter.

 

Be strong Stut! You will be ok and so will your daughter. From all the posts I see you put here, I can tell you must be a very kind and wise mom. You know what to do. Youraised a competent and independent daughter. Keep the faith and trust yourself and your instincts and  you will get through this chapter of your life. Remember....roots and wings...the circle of life😊🌺🌷

Heath

[[Tr...]]

Thanks Olive,Gard,

I hope I didn't leave anyone out.. Benzo brain is a hard thing to live with! Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions and advice as always. I guess I'll  tough it out until psychiatrist appt. Hopefully, God willing she will have a tolerable solution for me.

Struggling,

Trish

[[Tr...]]

Heath,

Here's my story...I was taking 3 mgs of Xanax a day for about 8 yrs. Prior to that I took it as needed until my niece died of cancer 10 yrs ago. One day about two yrs. Ago, not knowing a thing about benzo's accept that one could have seizures if stopping abruptly,, was wondering if I really needed all this Xanax ..so I decided that I would taper myself slowly by .25 every two wks until I reached 2 mgs. I did this very successfully .. No affects at all. Then things got rough in my life again stress wise so I thought it best to stay at 2mgs. A day until things improved to continue on. My thinking was I  didn't need these anymore. Also, I want to add that I lived a productive ,healthy life while on Xanax 3mgs and on 2mgs. No issues with it ever until I had to taper below 2mgs. As the Dr who was prescribing told me I had to get off the drug and that I had 8 wks.  He said I had to cut my dosage by .5 every two wks and that I'd feel better in about a year!!! My brain went into overdrive as I didn't know why I had to get off and why I had to do so in a hurry!! This terrified me as I was afraid of having a seizure! I didn't know about Benzo withdrawal..I lived just fine on it... To wrap this up I quickly learned what withdrawal was!! I ended up spending half a night in the psyche ward at the hospital, an experience I'd never like to have again and searching for another Dr to help me out of this nightmare. That's when my daughter in law stepped in, she works for an internal medicine Dr and he agreed to help me out. So former Dr was fired! I can only speculate but former Dr must have been being investigated or looked into as I'm certain this had everything to do with him and not me as a patient. I maintained both dosages with no problem and never asked for more. I was content and feeling good living my life. I guess besides horrific side affects that's why this has been extra hard on me mentally.  It's also worth mentioning that former Dr had always told me that I needed the Xanax and that I'd need to take them for the rest of my life. That didn't bother me as I thought many people have to take meds for the rest of their lives and I was ok with that. So  former Dr really traumatized the HELL out of me when out of the blue on a routine visit he said you have to come of the med.!! I haven't been the same since, my life changed on a dime may 23rd. I immediately started tapering .25 the next day and.25 reduction again 20 days later. I couldn't meet former Dr's demands for an 8 week taper. That would have killed me, I truly believe that!

Sorry for the long post but I hope that explains to you how I got from 3 to 1.5.

 

Trish

[[Tr...]]

P.S,

Heath I also just read a book called Xanax withdrawl, by Stuart Shipko M.D.

In his book he mentions that people on 6 to 8mgs of x and people in the 3 to 5 range can often take a substantial first reduction without side affects. This made sense to me as this was my case when I tapered from 3 to 2 without any trouble. I often wondered these past few weeks why I was able to taper from 3 to 2 without issue, but was suffering trying to reduce on down from 2mgs. This explained that for me.

 

Trish

 

[[He...]]

Hi Trishy and anyone else who wants to read this post 

:

Thanks for your reply. It has shed some light on the picture for me. IMO, YOUR SIDE EFFECTS ARE DEFINITELY FROM TAPERING OFF XANAX TOO FAST. I am not nearly an expert on this, but I believe you might benefit greatly from a small updose. This may very well be what your CNS is screaming for. It will get you closer to homeostasis. You will stabilize faster and your side effects will lessen.

 

I hope others who have experience with updosing will chime in here because I only know about updosing from what I have read here on the long hold forum. I’ve never had to do it myself.

 

Also, do you know about the 5% rule? I learned that from Begood and Dr. Ashton.

Dr. Ashton, who has written a comprehensive manual and schedule and facts about getting off of benzos, recommends never cutting more than 5% of your LAST DOSE in a months time.

When you had cut .5 off of 3mg that was a cut of roughly18%. That’s enormous! And when you cut .25 from1.5mg that’s roughly a cut of 20%.  I think anyone’s CNS would be screaming by this time...and then you cut another .25  from your last dose which was even a bigger %..well that just might explain why you are having such a tough time.

It might help you to read Dr. heather ashton’s Manual. It’s online and easy to find. But bear in mind that  many people can not even go as fast with their taper as Dr Ashton recommends. Many people have to go slower than that to ward off side effects.

I go extremely slow. Sometimes I try to go faster than a 5% cut and wdsx catch up to me.

Remember that by going real slow, you will ward off wdsx however, you will be functional and you will be able to live your good life even while tapering off your drug.

It will take a longer time. But if you are feeling well, it’s ok if it takes a longer time. The only catch is, you will have to find a Dr. Who will support you in a slow, taper.

We call this taper a symptom based taper....if wdsx appear, and not tolerable, we hold until they are gone....When you listen to your body, you will begin to determine just how slow you must go to ward off wdsx.

Well I’ve run off st the mouth here. Sorry to write so much. Just trying to help you.

But everyone must take their own path. Everyone is different.

 

It was actually ValleyUm who was kind of my mentor here when I first joined and did t know what I was doing. He told me to hold for as long as it takes for my CNS to stabilize. He really saved me!  I held for about 3 1/2 months. That was the magic trick!

Good luck to you. Keep posting. We are many here, and we will all support you for as long as you are here.

Heath

Remember...patience, strength, courage,  and the belief that you CAN DO THIS will help you through!

[[NJ...]]

Hello! Has anyone here experienced side effects when switching generics? If so, what symptoms?

 

There are several threads on this now in BB--there is a Teva discontinued group and the Klonopin Klub #2 is talking about this. Many are now having issues due to the discontinuation of several generics of .5 mg of K, mostly Teva but I think others are also being discontinued. Many are having symptoms. I was lucky enough to find more Tevas so don't have to switch until early August.

[[Tr...]]

Hi Heather,

I believe your right on needing to updose. I have been suffering to the point of wanting to die. I am going the psychiatrist will understand this.

I do know about Ashton but it's very difficult where I live to get a Dr to even listen about it,and most have never even heard about it or they don't agree with it. They say it's just trading one benzo for another. This is very frustrating..Drs don't mind putting people on this stuff but they sure as Hell have no idea to taper anyone.

Thank you for offering your support and to all the others who have reached out to help me. I don't know where I would be right now without this support..probably in a rubber room somewhere uncontrollably shaking!! Only God knows..

Trish

[[Tr...]]

Sorry I meant Heather not Heather..dam typos

[[Tr...]]

Oh my god I'm not posting from phone anymore it won't let me spell correctly... I'll try again I meant HEATH. 

[[ga...]]

Hi Heather,

I believe your right on needing to updose. I have been suffering to the point of wanting to die. I am going the psychiatrist will understand this.

I do know about Ashton but it's very difficult where I live to get a Dr to even listen about it,and most have never even heard about it or they don't agree with it. They say it's just trading one benzo for another. This is very frustrating..Drs don't mind putting people on this stuff but they sure as Hell have no idea to taper anyone.

Thank you for offering your support and to all the others who have reached out to help me. I don't know where I would be right now without this support..probably in a rubber room somewhere uncontrollably shaking!! Only God knows..

Trish

 

Trish, I agree with Heath that you have tapered too fast. If your new doctor will let you updose, that would definitely be an option. Updoses don't always work, though. The more quickly you updose, the more likely for success. I'm no expert on updosing, but I believe people go back to the last dose they feel stable at.

 

I've read Shipko's book. Very good info.

 

Gard

[[Tr...]]

Hi gard,

I think you're both right, I'm hoping to go back to 2mg. I was comfortable there. I don't know if the psychiatrist will agree to that but I'm hoping. I hate to lose all this progress but if I'm not going to stabilize at 1.5 then I don't see where I  have a choice. I hope she sees that too .. Can't wait for Thursday!

 

Trish

[[He...]]

Hi Heather,

I believe your right on needing to updose. I have been suffering to the point of wanting to die. I am going the psychiatrist will understand this.

I do know about Ashton but it's very difficult where I live to get a Dr to even listen about it,and most have never even heard about it or they don't agree with it. They say it's just trading one benzo for another. This is very frustrating..Drs don't mind putting people on this stuff but they sure as Hell have no idea to taper anyone.

Thank you for offering your support and to all the others who have reached out to help me. I don't know where I would be right now without this support..probably in a rubber room somewhere uncontrollably shaking!! Only God knows..

Trish

 

Hi Trishy,

I see that you live in the  US....USA. I do too. I am in southern CA. I found a psych who is letting me go as slow as I want. PLEASE DONT GIVE UP FINDING A PSYCH WHO CAN HELP YOU AND WILL LISTEN TO YOU. MAYBE YOU CAN DO IT BY PHONE CALLS?

It took me calling about five different docs until one would even see me! Then I went t to one who, I think knew nothing about benzos. He charged sooo much money and did not help at all. Sonetines I think I was teaching him! Then I finally found the one I am seeing now. He is letting me do it MY WAY!

Anyway, my taper is based on everything Ive learned right here in the benzo buddies website. So basically, I’m teaching this new p doc how I want to do my taper. I’m just glad that he ,listens to me. But really all he does is listen and prescribe my liquid Valium. He offers suggestions, but in the end I do what is best for me. He is a gem!

So please don’t give up on  finding a psych, or actually,any GP who will help you.

 

Heath

 

[[He...]]

Failed had to dose early... :'( 

I want to wake up from this nightmare.

I hope everyone else is having a better day than me.

 

Trish

 

Hi Trish,

I really feel your pain. Started out on Xanax and the short half life is almost unbearable. Having been in your position I have a couple of possible suggestions for you. Have you considered crossing over to Valium and tapering from there? A lot of people here, including myself, have successfully crossed over and the long half life of Valium (10 hours or so) really helps alleviate interdose withdrawals. I remember watching the clock to take my next dose of Xanax and it was excruciating. Another idea, which was said above, is to divide your doses into shorter intervals, so that you are taking Xanax more times in the day. Sending you love and support! If you do decide to crossover to Valium there is a ton of valuable information about it here and in the Ashton Manual.

 

 

Trishy,

I really do agree with Olive kitty,

Crossing over to valium should help so very much because valium has a long half life. Xanax from what I understand does not. What olivekitty said makes so much sense, IMO.

Maybe you can talk to you doctor about that.

 

Heath

[[He...]]

Hello Gardner99,

You were her with me a while ago. Then you got busy with something, I don’t remember what, but it’s so nice to see you here again. I hope your taper is working well for you!

Heath

[[ga...]]

Hello Gardner99,

You were her with me a while ago. Then you got busy with something, I don’t remember what, but it’s so nice to see you here again. I hope your taper is working well for you!

Heath

Hi Heath. Good to see you, too. Yes, I was taking classes for awhile. It didn't go well because of my cog fog. Not taking any more classes this year. Instead I'm trying to get involved with volunteering. Doing one afternoon a week right now. That's all I can handle, but I hope to go to twice/week in the fall. I need to get more on my resume. I hope that when this is all done I can go back to work.

 

I was also doing some intense physical therapy because I have body-wide tendon and joint problems (genetic). I'm supposed to be cutting down on my keyboarding because of it. As in, don't touch the keyboard unless I absolutely have to. You can see I'm not being entirely compliant with that!

 

Gard

[[go...]]

Hello! Has anyone here experienced side effects when switching generics? If so, what symptoms?

 

There are several threads on this now in BB--there is a Teva discontinued group and the Klonopin Klub #2 is talking about this. Many are now having issues due to the discontinuation of several generics of .5 mg of K, mostly Teva but I think others are also being discontinued. Many are having symptoms. I was lucky enough to find more Tevas so don't have to switch until early August.

 

Yes, I've been contributing to the discussion on the Klonopin Klub #2 support group. Earlier this year, Walgreens switched me from Mylan to Accord. Very rough. Interdose withdrawal was bad, high levels of anxiety and crappy sleep. I quit my job during this time period. The job was super stressful and my boss was terrible. I would have quit eventually but looking back, I probably could have hung on a little longer had I realized what was happening.

 

Recently, switched from Northstar to Solco and that was even worse. All side effects of the Accord switch, just worse. Only lasted 2.5 days before I talked to my doc and we had to go through this whole process of me surrendering the Solco tabs and she had to approve an early refill with my old Northstar brand.

 

I'm slowly starting to feel better. Not where I was before I tried Solco but not the living h*ll that was Solco. With Solco, I was waking up in complete fear 2-3 times a night. Now maybe once a night and I'm able to go back into deep sleep.

 

Best advice is plan ahead before your switch in August. Call around and ask if they don't have Teva, what would they use instead. Just my opinion but I would avoid Accord and Qualitest/Solco. A lot of this is trial and error but those two have poor tablet quality. Very brittle tabs that dissolve in your mouth. If you're dry cutting, I could only imagine what a nightmare that would be.

[[Tr...]]

Hi Heath,

I won't give up looking but I'm hoping for the best Thursday, this psychiatrist I'm seeing has my daughter's mother in law on klonopin so I'm hoping she won't have a problem helping me with Xanax..

 

I do have one thing going for me and that's the GP I see is willing to maintain me on 1.5mgs.. Even though that's not really helping me and I'm suffering on this dose it's better than being forced off on a dangerous taper that the former stupid Dr wanted me to do. I really hate interdose withdrawal and watching the clock and waiting for next dose relief. It's no way to live.

 

 

 

I will post what happens on Thursday with p Dr..I hope she helps.

 

Trish

[[NJ...]]

Hello! Has anyone here experienced side effects when switching generics? If so, what symptoms?

 

There are several threads on this now in BB--there is a Teva discontinued group and the Klonopin Klub #2 is talking about this. Many are now having issues due to the discontinuation of several generics of .5 mg of K, mostly Teva but I think others are also being discontinued. Many are having symptoms. I was lucky enough to find more Tevas so don't have to switch until early August.

 

Yes, I've been contributing to the discussion on the Klonopin Klub #2 support group. Earlier this year, Walgreens switched me from Mylan to Accord. Very rough. Interdose withdrawal was bad, high levels of anxiety and crappy sleep. I quit my job during this time period. The job was super stressful and my boss was terrible. I would have quit eventually but looking back, I probably could have hung on a little longer had I realized what was happening.

 

Recently, switched from Northstar to Solco and that was even worse. All side effects of the Accord switch, just worse. Only lasted 2.5 days before I talked to my doc and we had to go through this whole process of me surrendering the Solco tabs and she had to approve an early refill with my old Northstar brand.

 

I'm slowly starting to feel better. Not where I was before I tried Solco but not the living h*ll that was Solco. With Solco, I was waking up in complete fear 2-3 times a night. Now maybe once a night and I'm able to go back into deep sleep.

 

Best advice is plan ahead before your switch in August. Call around and ask if they don't have Teva, what would they use instead. Just my opinion but I would avoid Accord and Qualitest/Solco. A lot of this is trial and error but those two have poor tablet quality. Very brittle tabs that dissolve in your mouth. If you're dry cutting, I could only imagine what a nightmare that would be.

 

I am going to try to see if I can avoid the generic mess and get brand. As long as it is somewhat reasonable, that is my plan. Some google research turned up $160 for a two month supply (a little more than two months actually), so if I can do that, I will.

[[Tr...]]

Hey Heath you're on the west coast and I'm on the East coast, I live in CT!

It's going to be 106 today..so hot here!!

Trish

[[Ca...]]

P.S. to Trish. You body can habituate to gabapentin just like it habituates to benzos. Most people who take it for chronic pain seem to keep upping the dose. I started on it for chronic pain many years ago, and I don't think it's doing a thing any more. I'm habituated to it. My neurologist wanted to up my dose. I asked her if that was just a dead end road because I would habituate again. She said yes, so I declined to take more. It will be the next thing I taper off of. IMHO, gabapentin is not a long term solution to anything.

I strongly second this

[[Ol...]]

MiYu-  What a great appointment with your doc.  Good idea to let them to the talking.  That's such a good strategy. 

 

Heathcliff-  Good for you, realizing you bit off more than you can chew before you get that whole bite in your mouth.  Congratulations on the part-time job!

 

Stut- I am so glad to hear your ex is finally giving you a break.  How is your dug out swimming pool? 

 

Olive- Do you think you would be able to work if you held?  I am concerned about you needing some money.  I am wondering the same thing about my taper- hold or make tiny little changes this summer.  Where is the orange new button?  I think I am doing it the hard way.

 

:smitten:

Hugs to all my buddies.  Cant, Barbara, SS, Nova, bluepill, Stut55, Gard, begood, ValleyUm, Laura, SC,  TNTD, NJStrength, Mary, TMB

:smitten:

 

Welcome Caltn, Purple and Trishy! 

 

ah well, I haven't caught up on posts yet, but now I am starting to get anxious that I will accidentally delete this and, I am getting tired.

 

I have news.  Very good news.  Last night,  I was very tired, and I closed my eyes at midnight, and the next thing I knew it was 7am.  I slept the whole night through.  No wake ups.  Didn't take anything to help me sleep.  Just regular sleep.  No waking up with horrifying thoughts and being trapped in my mind.  It was amazing.  And tonight...I'm feeling tired, like a normal person!!! 

 

I just had to share this.  I started this hold on March 25th.  I just passed the 3 month mark with my hold.  Things are looking good.

 

Hi GreenCup!

Congratulations on the night of sleep!!!!!!

Not sure about work. You are correct, I need money! But I am having such a hard time following through with any commitments, it's hard to imagine working. If I could find a job that I could work from home it would be amazing, I could definitely do that. But those jobs are hard to find. Here is the orange New button. If you click on it, it will take you to the last page that you looked at, it's a magical wonderful button, especially for this fast moving group! (I apologize if someone already answered this question, I have not read all of today's 4 new pages yet!)