New here. Climbing Mount Withdrawl.

[[Be...]]

2 years ago i was prescribed a medication to help me sleep. Within 3 days i was in the ER with serotonin syndrome. Unable to control the panic attacks, the physchiatrist tried 15 different pysch meds in a period of 45 days.

 

Ultimately i was placed on 6mg of xanax a day. I battled with the doctor for the next 2 years about weening off. I managed to make it down to 1 mg a day agaisnt his approval.

 

Finally he decided i needed to come off the medication. I dont know what changed his mind. He stopped my script cold turkey and replaced with 30mg of valium.

 

I am currently arguing with the dr about weening off of valium. He would prefer to keep things the way they are.

 

I have started a 5-6month taper of 6-10% reduction every 5-7 days

 

I currently take 7.5mg valium every 8 hours.

 

Severe withdrawl symptoms occured after cutting xanax cold turkey. I am currently experiencing moderate daily withdrawls symptoms.

 

Unfortunately tapering off xanax would have been better, as that drug actually made me feel better. Valium has helped reduce some of the withdrawl symptoms of xanax but overall im not responding well to valium. Committed to surviving the withdrawls and not extending it longer than 6 months. I feel very depressed and weepy panic attacks daily no matter what the dose of valium is. So i just want off this train as fast as my brain can safely tolerate.

 

 

[[Br...]]

Hello Benzonaught!  Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

We're glad you found us!  I'm sorry you've been put through such an ordeal, abruptly taken off Xanax and put on Valium.  You've come to the right place for information and support to help you with your taper off Valium.  How long has it been since you were switched to Valium?

 

We typically suggest tapering with cuts of no more than 5-10% of your most recent dose every 10-14 days - so the size of your cuts is within the range we suggest but your hold between cuts is shorter than what we suggest.

 

Please explore the site and post questions about your situation.  Below are a few links to help you get started. Please be sure to reach out for support.

 

Again, welcome!

Brighterday

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

 

Success Stories

 

Colorado Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidance

 

Chapter 3 Ashton manual, list of symptoms

 

Add your history/signature

 

[[Be...]]

Ive been switched to valium for about a month and a half.

I plan on extending the durration of the step downs if needed. But so far i just feel like crap wether its 5 days or 14.

My daily symproms at rhis point are mostly depression and daily waves of sadness resulting in weeping for an hour or so.  The life timing lind of sucks, because i will very likely have to put my lifelong dog down durring this time.

[[Br...]]

I'm so sorry about your dog.  It's heart wrenching to have to say goodbye to a beloved pet under the best of circumstances. And everything feels much harder in benzo withdrawal.

We've found the most common complaints of those who've crossed over to Valium are sedation and depression. From what we see on BB both will fade once you acclimate to the drug.  Some people aren't able to make the cross and go back to their original drug but those who stick it out are happy they did.

 

[[Be...]]

I appreciate that feedback. They offered to go back to xanax, but having been off it a month already i just felt like i needed to keep moving forward with the valium. Its a very strange and dangerous enviroment in this area of medicone right now.  Not trying to doctor bash, but there is just no resistance built into the process. 15min telehealth visit is all it takes to get endless refills of these meds. Unfortunately for me the doctor ive seen is VERY academic. "These medications are out of your system in 2 to 3 weeks with no lasting effects" etc. Very difficult time getting anecdotal comments taken seriously. I sent him the ashton manual as topic of discussion for next visit...so hopefully he is receptive. But either way, im following that manual.

[[Br...]]

It may also be worth sending the doctor this- it's a little more current and a lot more concise so perhaps more likely the doc will read it: Colorado Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidance

 

[[Be...]]

Thanks! I will pass it along for sure

[[Be...]]

There are alot of resources here for tapering. I thought i would share my personal chart. starting at 20mg valium a day (came down from 30)

 

a total of 28 taper reductions. All of which fall under 10% until the final few.

 

 

 

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSvXe0df8tf30Te8y-9-PEsc-iqG1xzwdBSjhFxnoeDPbPpt4XDcMrrIqmogKNWriiJLIubDi5TocQ8/pubhtml