anyone here jumped at .5 mg V?

[[Fi...]]

Seems like most jump at .5, but am tempted to keep reducing at .03/ml (mg) / day.

Anyone here jumped without a problem?

Anyone tapered to zero?

Anyone jumped and got hit?

[[co...]]

I jumped at .5 mg of valium and felt almost nothing.  On a scale of 1-10--with 10 being the worst-- the discomfort I felt was about a 0.5.

[[An...]]

5 hours ago, [[F...] said:

Seems like most jump at .5, but am tempted to keep reducing at .03/ml (mg) / day.

Anyone here jumped without a problem?

Anyone tapered to zero?

Anyone jumped and got hit?

No (not yet). I am not quite there. My last detox attempt ended in disaster when I jumped from 2.5 mgs. This time, I am tapering all the way down and will jump from .5 mgs this time.  🤞

There is really no way mathematically to taper to zero. Theoretically, one could taper to the last single molecule of diazepam and then jump I suppose. Imagine tapering forever (LOL). 😁

[[Fi...]]

my syringe measures to the .01, so I could stretch out the last 50ml/mg for 50 days.

that would be bending over backwards to avoid any WD or BIND

[[Ja...]]

@[co...] I saw on another post when you started your Valium tapering journey, would you mine sharing your experience in here? Especially from 5mg down? I am planning. My 5mg tapering and would like to know if you dry cut ? What was your rate? Did you follow Ashton 1mg cut? And how would your rate your symptoms from 1-10? Thank you so much.

[[Fi...]]

Hi, I did a liquid micro taper, and - despite my shaky hands - it was quite easy, once I got the medicine switched to a liquid (1ml=1mg, 1:1).  there is an attachment you can buy on amazon that enables you to turn the bottle upside down and fill a needle-less syringe down to .01ml/mg.

I did .03/day... if things in life got chaotic I paused the reduction but never updosed.  It took me 6 months to get to .5 (as opposed to 5 months).

I haven't had any real symptoms other than some insomnia which I've always had.

.03/day reduction is the equivalent over two weeks of .42, which was a little less than a 10% cut.  As your dose gets smaller, .03 becomes a larger percentage, which is inevitable at smaller doses.

If I had withdrawal symptoms I'd have slow to .02 or .01, but since there weren't any I've stuck with it.  except in times of emergency. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[co...]]

On 29/12/2023 at 00:20, [[J...] said:

@[co...] I saw on another post when you started your Valium tapering journey, would you mine sharing your experience in here? Especially from 5mg down? I am planning. My 5mg tapering and would like to know if you dry cut ? What was your rate? Did you follow Ashton 1mg cut? And how would your rate your symptoms from 1-10? Thank you so much.

@[Ja...]  Major congratulations on tapering down to 1 mg.  You did alot of hard work to get there andThe worst is behind you.  I felt almost no symptoms by the time I was at 1 mg and none when I was at .5 mg where I jumped. 

Though I believe that all benzo taperers owe a huge debt to Dr. Ashton, I did not follow the Ashton 1 mg cuts after I got to 10 mg.  I was using a combination of 2 MG valium pills (sometimes cut in half) and liquid valium 5mg/5ml liquid valium.  1 ml of the 5mg/5ml liquid valium was equivalent 1 mg of valium.

The directions on the bottom say to dilute before using.  I diluted it at a rate of 1 part liquid valium to 9 parts water.  This gave me a solution where 1 ml of the solution was equivalent to .1 mg of liquid valium.  I used the mix to gradually taper on a daily basis, with holds taken from time to time.

If you are down to 1 mg of valium, I would use whatever method you are currently using to taper down to .5 mg, then jump, or taper down all the way if that is what you are more comfortable.

Edited January 12 by [co...]

[[or...]]

@[Fi...] to answer your question, I tapered my valium to zero. I could have jumped earlier, but I'm a weenie and decided to improve my chances for a better post-taper by tapering to zero. It worked out well for me . . . some of my buddies jumped at .5  (and were ok) and one at.25, but I decided to play it safe. Good luck whatever you decide.

[[Li...]]

@[Fi...] I jumped at 2.5 but it's been a tough gig ! I'm 9.5 weeks off now.

[[Ja...]]

21 hours ago, [[c...] said:

@[Ja...]  Major congratulations on tapering down to 1 mg.  You did alot of hard work to get there andThe worst is behind you.  I felt almost no symptoms by the time I was at 1 mg and none when I was at .5 mg where I jumped. 

Though I believe that all benzo taperers owe a huge debt to Dr. Ashton, I did not follow the Ashton 1 mg cuts after I got to 10 mg.  I was using a combination of 2 MG valium pills (sometimes cut in half) and liquid valium 5mg/5ml liquid valium.  1 ml of the 5mg/5ml liquid valium was equivalent 1 mg of valium.

The directions on the bottom say to diluted at a rate of 1 part liquid valium to 9 parts water.  This gave me a solution where 1 ml of the solution was equivalent to .1 mg of liquid valium.  I used the mix to gradually taper on a daily basis, with holds taken from time to time.

If you are down to 1 mg of valium, I would use whatever method you are currently using to taper down to .5 mg, then jump, or taper down all the way if that is what you are more comfortable.

So you mixed the whole solution with water ? Are you able to keep it or have to use it straight away? Can you give me an example of how you draw please? At what rate were you reducing daily?

[[Ja...]]

20 hours ago, [[o...] said:

@[Fi...] to answer your question, I tapered my valium to zero. I could have jumped earlier, but I'm a weenie and decided to improve my chances for a better post-taper by tapering to zero. It worked out well for me . . . some of my buddies jumped at .5  (and were ok) and one at.25, but I decided to play it safe. Good luck whatever you decide.

What method did you use ? Water tritiation? At what rate, please?

[[co...]]

9 hours ago, [[J...] said:

What method did you use ? Water tritiation? At what rate, please?

So I can get a better idea, @Jae11, what benzos are you taking, what is your daily dose, and are you tapering at the current time?

I used liquid titration--liquid valium mixed with water for my tapering.  I made tiny cuts daily.  When I was feeling bad I would hold for anywhere from a few days to a week or so.  I was making daily cuts as small as about 1/50 of a mg of valium.  But I was making cuts almost every day so I was cutting about .5 mg a month.  I had previously used valium pills, but I started feeling it when I got down to 7.5 mg a day.  It got really bad when I cut from 7 mg to 6.5 and worse when I cut from 6.5 to 6.  

I was using the liquid Diazepam (Valium) Oral Solution 5 mg per 5 ml.  1 ml of this solution is equal to 1 mg of valium.  You need a prescription for this solution, and your pharmacist will need to order it.  If you do order it make sure you get the 5mg/5 ML solution.  On it's label are the instructions to "dilute before using."

I created a mix of 9 ml water for each 1 ml of liquid diazepam.  I used a jar and a 10 ml syringe.  I used the 10 ml syringe to draw 10 ml of liquid valium and spray it into a jar.  Then used the same syringe to spray 90 ml of water into the jar.  

This gave me a mix where 1 ml of the liquid I created was equal to .1 mg valium  Using a syringe to draw from it, I was able to reduce my daily intake by very small amounts --like 1/50th a a MG.  

I would typically make 5-10 days worth in one batch and draw from that batch on a daily basis.  I did not need to refrigerate it.  This is much easier to understand if you are looking at the syringe.

I am not great at explaining in a concise manner.  Here are links to some old threads where I discuss my tapering:

https://benzobuddies.org/topic/222211-how-did-you-take-valium-rx-liquid-the-syrup-is-uh-tastes-terrible/#comment-2930253

https://benzobuddies.org/topic/217601-help-with-liquid-prescription-valium/#comment-2874956

https://benzobuddies.org/topic/222211-how-did-you-take-valium-rx-liquid-the-syrup-is-uh-tastes-terrible/#comment-2930253

 

Edited January 2 by [co...]
clarity and to expand on what I said

[[Ja...]]

@[co...] Thank you for your explaination. I’m on 5mg Valium at the moment. 

This is the first day from fully crossing over from Zopiclone. I did 1/2 Z and 1/2 V for 7 days last week. I cross over due to the interdose w/. I have 5mg and 2 mg tabs. 

So for example if you want to take 4.5mg V, How do you manage to draw from you prepared solution?

[[Kh...]]

Anyone jump at 1mg Valium?  Ms. Ashton suggests it can be done and has been by her patients…🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[[co...]]

On 03/01/2024 at 23:41, [[J...] said:

@[co...] Thank you for your explaination. I’m on 5mg Valium at the moment. 

This is the first day from fully crossing over from Zopiclone. I did 1/2 Z and 1/2 V for 7 days last week. I cross over due to the interdose w/. I have 5mg and 2 mg tabs. 

So for example if you want to take 4.5mg V, How do you manage to draw from you prepared solution?

I would use a syringe to draw 45 milliliters (ml) of the solution that I made out of the jar that I am keeping it in and and spray it into my mouth. You could use a 60 ml syringe to draw exactly 45 milliliters or you could use a 10 mg syringe to make 4 draws of 10 ml and 1 draw of 5 ml. 

45 ml of liquid is less than a small shot glass worth of liquid.  And you would use the syringe to draw a tiny bit less each day. Using the mix I described and the 10 ml syringe, you could make cuts of 1/50 of a mg of valium/diazepam a day.  But you will probably want to go faster than that, as did I.

Syringes come in different sizes.  The smaller 10 ml one has smaller gradations and lends itself better for making smaller reductions in your dose.  You can even get a 1 ml syringe to make tiny changes.  For my liquid taper, I used the 10 ml syringe and a 60 ml syringe that I got from Amazon.com.

It is much simpler to do in practice than it is for me to write about it.  If you wanted to get a better idea of this just to practice the mixing part, you could get a 10 ml syringe and three jars.  Fill one jar with water and pretend it is liquid valium, then fill another jar with water let it represent water.  The third jar should be empty.  We'll call the empty jar the Mix jar.  Using the syringe, draw 10 ml from the jar that is supposed to be valium and spray it into the empty Mix jar.  Then use the syringe to draw 90 ml of water from the jar that is supposed to be water, and spray it into the Mix jar.  Screw a cover onto the mix jar and give it a few good shakes.  You have completed the simulation of creating your mix.  Obviously the simulation ends there because the mix contains no liquid valium.

Here is a picture of a 10ml syringe.  

Edited January 5 by [co...]
add picture

[[co...]]

On 03/01/2024 at 23:41, [[J...] said:

@[co...] Thank you for your explaination. I’m on 5mg Valium at the moment. 

This is the first day from fully crossing over from Zopiclone. I did 1/2 Z and 1/2 V for 7 days last week. I cross over due to the interdose w/. I have 5mg and 2 mg tabs. 

I wanted to address the above part of your post separately.  If I was in your situation I would first cross over to 5 mg of valium a day and then wait until you are stable, or at least have minimal symptoms before you make any tapering.  This is based on my experience and the accounts of hundreds of people who I have read about.  You might be able to manage it with the pills alone.

I found the 2mg valium/diazepam tablets to be the most useful in my taper.  They are scored to be cut in half to make 1mg.  I cut them in half to use for my taper down from 20 mg of valium a day down to 10 mg of valium.  I would make a cut every 10 days-2 weeks.  When I got to 10 mg of valium a day I tried cutting the pills down to quarters.  1 quarter of a 2 mg pill should equal .5 mg.

I started feeling side effects when I got down to 7.5 mg, and it got progressively worse with each cut.  This included long anxiety attacks, head aches, loss of appetite.  I also took longer with each cut for me to stabilize.  When I got to 6 mg I switched over to the mix I described and used it to make smaller, more gradual cuts.  I also did my reductions symptom based.  When I felt bad I would hold for a bit until I stabilized. 

[[co...]]

On 04/01/2024 at 01:08, [[K...] said:

Anyone jump at 1mg Valium?  Ms. Ashton suggests it can be done and has been by her patients…🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

A lot of people from this board have jumped at 1 mg.  Some tapered down to lower amounts and jumped.

[[Kh...]]

19 hours ago, [[c...] said:

A lot of people from this board have jumped at 1 mg.  Some tapered down to lower amounts and jumped.

Thanks…just moved to 2.0mg  Let’s see how this goes.  Wondering if I can go from 2mg to 1 mg or if I should make a stop at 1.5?  How long does it generally take to feel the effects of a cut?  I went from 6-5-4 without issue for the most part…

Edited January 6 by [Kh...]

[[co...]]

If it were me I would do to 1.5 mg before going to 1 mg.

It can take a few days to feel the results of a cut of valium.  In my case it was sometimes 3 or 4 days before I felt the effect of a cut.

It sounds like your taper is going very well.

[[Kh...]]

Thank you 🙏.  Yes…..except for stiff neck and tinnitus which I am not sure is benzo related….oh, can’t forget general malaise and depression.  Valium is such a downer.  Xanax did not make me feel that way but I chose to transition to Valium cuz I was experiencing interdose anxiety with Xanax and also wanted off the 2x (or more) daily dosing schedule.  Also easier to get to the lower doses on V.  Hoping these issues/feelings will subside.  In some cases I only stayed 5-7 days before cutting again because I did not experience any significant issues.  Keep the faith.  Hoping once I am off I feel more myself again.  Man these drugs suck and I was on fairly low doses compared to some.  Wishing everyone the best possible outcome.  🙏

Edited January 6 by [Kh...]

[[...]]

Hi, 
   I occasionally took klonopin for sleep issues although I won’t lie sometimes it took 1.5-2 mg to induce sleep. Only been taking about 8 months. I thought I could just stop….jokes on me. I went into 2 full on panic attacks, several bouts of anxiety, insomnia. Pounding heart,  ringing ears, eyes hurting, skin burning, nausea……Wasnt even sure what it was but played a hunch and actually took a Xanax which ceased it all! So I knew it was the benzo. Does anyone know since I was on klonopin and for just under a year how I should proceed? With the klonopin or switch to Valium?  And has anyone ever found ANYTHING that helps with the symptoms? I ask because I’ve read Benadryl helps?

[[Pa...]]

Hello @[...], welcome to BenzoBuddies,

I’m glad you tested your theory, and I believe you’re right, your body has grown dependent on the Klonopin which means you’ll need to do a slow taper.

You’ve asked some great questions and we can help you work this out but it would be helpful if you started your own thread so we can discuss your situation in depth.

I will say we typically suggest reducing your dose by about 5-10% every couple of weeks or whatever your symptoms will allow, this will hopefully keep you functioning.

We’re happy you found us and hope we can help you.

Pamster

[[Ja...]]

[[Ja...]]

@[co...] Thank you so much for your detailed explanation. 

When you said cut of 1/50 mg of diazepam a day, how do I measure that? Sorry, I’m so bad at math. But I understand all of other things you explained to me.

I’m at 5mg Diazepam and not sure how long I should wait to stabilise. Contemplating water taper or cut and hold. Seems like people are more successful with water taper?

 

@[Kh...] Cheering for you! What dose are you at right now?

Edited January 8 by [Ja...]

[[Ja...]]

On 30/12/2023 at 15:06, [[F...] said:

Hi, I did a liquid micro taper, and - despite my shaky hands - it was quite easy, once I got the medicine switched to a liquid (1ml=1mg, 1:1).  there is an attachment you can buy on amazon that enables you to turn the bottle upside down and fill a needle-less syringe down to .01ml/mg.

I did .03/day... if things in life got chaotic I paused the reduction but never updosed.  It took me 6 months to get to .5 (as opposed to 5 months).

I haven't had any real symptoms other than some insomnia which I've always had.

.03/day reduction is the equivalent over two weeks of .42, which was a little less than a 10% cut.  As your dose gets smaller, .03 becomes a larger percentage, which is inevitable at smaller doses.

If I had withdrawal symptoms I'd have slow to .02 or .01, but since there weren't any I've stuck with it.  except in times of emergency. 

How are you feeling now? Would you mind sharing your journey from 5 mg ? 

What’s your rate of reduction? How long did you hold if you have to ? Were the symptoms bearable ? Thank you.