Definition of Acute

[[mi...]]

So I know acute is what happens when you finally get off the drug. But I hear people often say I switched brands and it threw me into acute. Or years after they are off the drug, i took an antibiotic and went back into acute. That makes it sound like acute is being used as a level of severity as opposed to a stage in healing. If so how does acute different than just a bad wave? I have all the symptoms of acute withdrawal since my brand change/liquid switch crisis, worse than any cut I’ve ever made, even a 25% cut I made two years ago that was terrifying. But I never had all of these symptoms. I’ve been through scary waves but they symptoms affected were fewer. Is acute just a subjective term? It would make me feel better if what I am going through is acute because it would explain things more as to why this is so different than any wave I’ve been through. My dose is .163mg of K so I’m not anywhere near where acute should start. 

[[he...]]

You can have acute-level withdrawal while still taking a benzo. That's what people mean. Typically acute is used to describe the withdrawal after discontinuing a drug, but the word can just mean intense and severe, and that's how it's being used here. I do believe there is a point where you are low enough in dose, and Ashton says this too, where you have reached the "acute" phase of withdrawal, and you might as well just get off the drug. It's sometimes hard to decipher when this is, especially if you've had tough symptoms the whole way down. I would think this probably doesn't start until somewhere below .1 mg K, if not closer to .05 mg K, which was my jumping-off point. It's different for everyone due to many factors including metabolism.

[[mi...]]

Thank you. Yeah I haven’t had any significant symptoms at all other than minor waves. Worked, ate normal, coached, travelled. Felt great. Then a med brand switch and the bottom fell out. Symptoms I’ve never had before. This feels like acute. Can’t work and can’t communicate with kids or friends. I’m back on my original brand but feel like I’m going through another withdrawal adjusting back. This is insane. But I can tell you this isn’t what I call a wave. It’s will out WD. I’ve dropped 26 lbs since my brand was switched 11 weeks ago and I can’t function.

[[ne...]]

I so feel for you @[mi...]-so many of us have been right where you are. Hang in there. <3 

[[mi...]]

@[ne...] do people usually stabilize again or is this how it’s gonna be the rest of the way. I was fine until the med switch. Now back on original med. Waiting, hoping, this goes back. 

[[ne...]]

@[mi...] It's such a crapshoot-there's are so few absolutes on this journey making every hard thing in this 10x harder. 

[[he...]]

I think this will get better in time, @[mi...]. I don't believe you will have these kind of symptoms the whole way down now, but hopefully you are holding until things calm a bit after the med changes.

[[mi...]]

@[he...] I’ve actually never held or not in well over a year. When I cut my pattern is I feel improvement in mood for a week and then I get worse and by the end of the second week I feel intolerable and I cut again and get relief. I’ve tried holding upwards of three weeks during this crisis and I get even worse the third week and feel like I’m gonna snap and I cut and the feeling lifts. But then I get revved up. I can’t tell if the symptoms I feel are withdrawal or intolerance to the drug itself which is why I’ve always cut that second or third week. I’ve tried so hard to hold longer and feel like I just can’t. I feel toxic the longer I hold. But I know I held five weeks a year ago once and did ok. I don’t know what’s going on now. But I also know that I won’t stabilize if I don’t hold but holding makes me feel bad. What do I do and what is happening here? Is there a wall of symptoms I have to wait through before the sky clears on a hold or do some people truly just get worse holding. 

[[he...]]

@[mi...], I couldn’t really hold and get better, but I would slow down for two or three days when I felt like I’d gone too fast. It’s just usually recommended to hold after a brand change. If it’s not working, though, I would just taper at a reasonable speed. I learned pretty quickly I just had to keep on moving down.