Waves

[[al...]]

Hi All,   I'm coming off 20 mg of Diazepam and am down to 17mg.  Most of the time I don't have any symptoms. The last 3 weeks for me have been fine and I haven't changed my taper ...  5% cut every 2 weeks.  But I occasionally do get some symptoms , mostly increased anxiety, almost a burning sensation in my solar Plexus area.  This is the second time this has happened during my taper.  I was wondering if anyone else gets waves DURING  your taper?  I thought the whole window wave thing was AFTER the taper.

[[Ko...]]

I am tapering off 10 mg diazepam and currently at 9 mg. I crossed over from clonazepam. I get fluctuating symptoms of depression with really dark thoughts, burning skin , neuropathy, and tinnitus. I almost always have the tinnitus and depression but today I am not experiencing them. So I guess some symptoms come and go during the tapering.

[[al...]]

Thanks for the reply kozmo 9.   I hope you start feeling better

 

[[Ko...]]

@[al...]So far it hasn't been that bad.  I had way worse symptoms when I tried to cut my dosage of clonazepam in half a few months ago- that was scary.   I hope that things go smoothly for you on your taper.  Are you following the Ashton taper? I am trying to keep it around 5% reduction every 2 weeks.

[[al...]]

Yes,  I've been cutting 5% every 12 to 14 days.  I was looking to cut 7% on my next cut but I don't know now.  The last 3 weeks were great now I'm in this mini wave so I guess I'll stick to a 5% cut next cut.  I just want off this poison

 

[[Ko...]]

I completely understand. If I knew I could tolerate it, I would do the Ashton method by the book and just get it done. But I can't take the chance of being slammed with symptoms that make me nonfunctional.  I wish there was some testing that could be done so we could know how sensitive we are.  Half of the anxiety for me is the unknown, especially as diazepam has that delay.  

How bad are your symptoms right now?

[[al...]]

My symptoms aren't horrible .. I really just get one symptom and that's  increased anxiety , but it's right in the solar Plexus area.. weird.  Tonight it's pretty annoying.  And I agree with you with the Diazepam delay.  You can make a cut and symptoms won't show up for 10 days or more.  Makes it more difficult bto know if it's a wave or just now feeling the effects of a cut

[[al...]]

@kozmo, how functional are you?  do you work?

[[...]]

The solar plex was one of my main symptoms in withdrawal and acute.

Although your mindset is right and you want to get off this junk, you may want to hold a bit longer.

When the solar plex got real bad, it was bad. Both stomach and bowels. I couldn't tell the difference some times. And breathlessness. 

Also that is the location where my akithasia was the worse. It was like a little motor running. Sometimes the angst would go down the insides of my arms and some times  super dark thoughts .

Edited October 13, 2023 by [...]

[[al...]]

@[...].... Yes Exactly!!   It's like a motor running in the solar plexus area.  When I was cold turkey that was where my Akathisia was the worst too.   

[[Ko...]]

45 minutes ago, [[a...] said:

@kozmo, how functional are you?  do you work?

Yes,  I am 53 and work full-time.  I also am a single parent of a 13 year old and 20 year old. I really need to stay functional enough to keep my job. 

[[Ko...]]

I have started getting chest pain- seems like musculoskeletal  and I am not worried about it being cardiac.

I feel traumatized from what I experienced from cutting the klonopin in half- I had unpleasant electrical energy surging through my body, really loud tinnitus, a feeling of disconnection with sound distortion, and cognitive cloudiness (couldn't concentrate to read).

I am really hoping that going slowly and carefully will prevent those symptoms from occurring....

[[Fl...]]

I have had waves throughout my taper. Some worse then others. 

[[Ko...]]

34 minutes ago, [[a...] said:

@[...].... Yes Exactly!!   It's like a motor running in the solar plexus area.  When I was cold turkey that was where my Akathisia was the worst too.   

You had a cold turkey? I am sorry. The cold turkey experiences sound so horrific.

[[al...]]

@[Ko...]  Yes , this is my second time unfortunately  doing this. First  time was in 2012.  I had been on  Klonopin for 20 years at 8mg and cold turkey off it. Almost killed me . I reinstated and tapered over two years with no problem and when I jumped I had no problems.  Unfortunately , this time I took Ambien for sleep issues for a month and it kindled me and now I'm tapering using Valium.  My taper seemed a little easier last time.  Can't believe I'm doing this again.  But it's good to hear that you're functional and working. Sounds like going very slow is the answer for you

 

                          Ya@[...]

[[...]]

I had a 3 day spell where it felt like the transverse colon was being burned by a torch. 

The diahria burned too. I only drank water during those 3 days.

TMI I know but, if some gets this you're not dying.

[[al...]]

that's horrible!  I haven't had anything like that during my taper.   But when i was cold turkeyed  i had so many symptoms I almost didn't make it. 

 

Hope it gets better for you EVN

[[Sw...]]

@[Ko...] your story is similar to mine. Had bad symptoms, tinnitus the worst one, reinstated to get stable, now I am stable and my tinnitus is WAY better. Sure there are waves that stink, but over all more good days than bad. 
 

but YES tapering absolutely can cause symptoms. We get the idea only withdrawal will bring on symptoms but that’s untrue. Many members here began to be symptomatic while using (interpose withdrawal) or while they were tapering. 
 

some had a smooth ride and a turbulent acute withdrawal and stabilized quickly. 
 

Everyone is differENT, 

BB is just a concentrated place of the worst of the worst. 
 

@[al...]

Edited October 14, 2023 by [Sw...]

[[al...]]

Thanks for the reply @[Sw...].  In 2012 I came off 8mg of K abruptly after being on it for 20 years.  I really can't  find words to describe the pain.  But once I  reinstated i Had a very smooth taper and came off with no problems.  I really didn't have waves the first time around.  Hoping history repeats itself when I do jump and it goes smoothly like last time. 

[[Sw...]]

@[al...] I can relate I CTd off of 9 mg (though that wasn’t my daily dose) and it was hell. I think I’ve just received from a lot of the CT over the last 4 months while tapering which makes me think we really do heal as we taper. 

[[al...]]

how long after you CT'd the 9mg did it take you to reinstate?  ...  It took me 8 months of hell

[[Sw...]]

Oh my goodness, wow, you endured. No I reinstate 14 days later 

[[sc...]]

18 hours ago, [[S...] said:

Oh my goodness, wow, you endured. No I reinstate 14 days later 

I’m questioning my decision not to reinstantiate Xanax/Zoloft after CT’ing around 2.5 months ago. My Dr wanted me to go directly back on the dose I quit which scared me and I was too scared to reinstate myself. I’m scared I made a wrong decision. I was maybe a month CT. I see you mentioned tinnitus. Mine got way worse when I CT’d it’s still bad. It went down for a bit I think but now it’s loud with lots of noises. It’s intrusive and I’m scared it won’t heal. CT also worsened my already present hyperacusis and gave me some sort of nerve like sensitivity. The hyperacusis/sensitivity is severe and the worst symptom (tinnitus is second). I’m getting shockwave like sensations when I hear sounds like voice. I’m scared that I fried my ears and they won’t heal. 
 

Im sorry for the rant - I saw you mentioned you tinnitus got better and I’m kicking myself bc I wondering if I should have reinstated. I’m so glad your tinnitus is better. 

Edited October 14, 2023 by [sc...]

[[sc...]]

18 hours ago, [[a...] said:

Thanks for the reply @[Sw...].  In 2012 I came off 8mg of K abruptly after being on it for 20 years.  I really can't  find words to describe the pain.  But once I  reinstated i Had a very smooth taper and came off with no problems.  I really didn't have waves the first time around.  Hoping history repeats itself when I do jump and it goes smoothly like last time. 

Did your doctor help you reinstate? I’m 2.5 months CT from Xanax & Zoloft and I’m desperate. Some people have told me not to do it but I didn’t reinstate when I CT’d and I wonder if I could have healed.  I don’t know if I made the right decision. Did your symptoms get better when you reinstated? 

Edited October 14, 2023 by [sc...]

[[Sw...]]

@[sc...] I am really sorry that you are suffering. Reinstating definitely allowed me to get stable when I wasn’t. I can tell you after three months I am finally stable and have fewer symptoms. I also have a lessened severity of the symptoms that are present most of the time, but waves and bad days happen. Usually around my cycle, there are waves and things become more hard to manage. But so far things have gotten manageable within the past month.
 

I would suggest not worrying that you won’t heal. You will heal. What is your history of usage? Like how long did you use and what amount and why did you cold turkey your nose? If you’re uncomfortable, then I don’t think reinstating as bad and doing a slow taper. I think that’s an acceptable thing to do. But no matter which road you travel there will be a point where you reach healing. 
 

I also  had  many sounds as well that were intrusive and could not be masked for a while years ago and then it got better and my tinnitus could be ignored unless I was sitting in a silent room or not doing anything. And even when I did hear it, it was really not bothersome.  My most recent cold turkey made it worse. It’s now  better but not as good as before. I believe in time it will be even better than before.

Edited October 14, 2023 by [Sw...]