anyone here jumped at .5 mg V?

[[Fi...]]

my rate of reduction was .03 mg / day... if I was under intense stress I paused for a day or two, probably once or twice a month.

the symptoms were bearable. 

at the moment though the tinnitus is driving me a bit crazy.  don't know if it's worse or if I'm just noticing it.

also, I'm now waking up due to sleep apnea.  the valium used to keep me asleep (not necessarily a good thing,  health wise.). 

now I wake up every three hours, gasping for air, feeling a bit panicky. 

next stop - sleep apnea message boards.

meanwhile, am about 10 days from jumping.  I could jump now at .3, but it seems smart to just taper to zero.

truthfully I don't feel that different yet.  some say it takes another year for the central nervous system to heal, I don't know.

I'm thrilled to be (almost) done.  

 

[[Kh...]]

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

@[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?

Thank you.  Just moved from 2.5 to 2 mg Valium.   I am going .5 mg every week from here unless something comes up.  So far so good.  Plan to jump at .5 as well. That’s about 3 weeks from now.  Two things bugging me.  Tinnitus and stiff neck.not convinced they are related but certainly could be.   How are u doing?  I used 4% fat milk to dissolve Xanax and or Valium works well.  Water doesn’t dissolve it entirely so could be hard to get even doses.

Edited January 8 by [Kh...]

[[Fi...]]

having insomnia.

and the tinnitus is making me somewhat insane.

[[Kh...]]

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

having insomnia.

and the tinnitus is making me somewhat insane.

Can’t believe the tinnitus.   Man I hope it subsides for both of us….

[[Ja...]]

On 08/01/2024 at 19:24, [[F...] said:

my rate of reduction was .03 mg / day... if I was under intense stress I paused for a day or two, probably once or twice a month.

the symptoms were bearable. 

at the moment though the tinnitus is driving me a bit crazy.  don't know if it's worse or if I'm just noticing it.

also, I'm now waking up due to sleep apnea.  the valium used to keep me asleep (not necessarily a good thing,  health wise.). 

now I wake up every three hours, gasping for air, feeling a bit panicky. 

next stop - sleep apnea message boards.

meanwhile, am about 10 days from jumping.  I could jump now at .3, but it seems smart to just taper to zero.

truthfully I don't feel that different yet.  some say it takes another year for the central nervous system to heal, I don't know.

I'm thrilled to be (almost) done.  

Good on you. Whatever you decide yo do, I hope you are fully healed!

[[Ja...]]

On 08/01/2024 at 20:37, [[K...] said:

Thank you.  Just moved from 2.5 to 2 mg Valium.   I am going .5 mg every week from here unless something comes up.  So far so good.  Plan to jump at .5 as well. That’s about 3 weeks from now.  Two things bugging me.  Tinnitus and stiff neck.not convinced they are related but certainly could be.   How are u doing?  I used 4% fat milk to dissolve Xanax and or Valium works well.  Water doesn’t dissolve it entirely so could be hard to get even doses.

I’m not sure what route I would go for. I’m still terrified from the last event I cut down Zopiclone too fast with my little knowledge (I cut30-40percent, crazy hey. I hope that Valium would give me a bit of a smoother ride at Ashton rate. I’m pregnant at the moment and the baby is due in a few weeks. So I will have to hold until postpartum subside. Not ideal as I would like to taper off asap.

I’m still trying to get stabilised from crossing over from Z to V. Still experience the remaining w/ from Z I think.

Has it been manageable 0.5 mg cut and hold ? I’m scared of morning induced anxiety and vertigo when I decide to taper.

[[Kh...]]

1 hour ago, [[J...] said:

I’m not sure what route I would go for. I’m still terrified from the last event I cut down Zopiclone too fast with my little knowledge (I cut30-40percent, crazy hey. I hope that Valium would give me a bit of a smoother ride at Ashton rate. I’m pregnant at the moment and the baby is due in a few weeks. So I will have to hold until postpartum subside. Not ideal as I would like to taper off asap.

I’m still trying to get stabilised from crossing over from Z to V. Still experience the remaining w/ from Z I think.

Has it been manageable 0.5 mg cut and hold ? I’m scared of morning induced anxiety and vertigo when I decide to taper.

It has been manageable for me.  You can see my history of cuts in my profile.  I am experiencing some tinnitus and stiff muscles, particularly in the neck area, but managing.   Sometimes i've been irritable and grumpy and not felt like myself but manageable.  Sure hope some kind of normal comes at some point.  Been tapering more than 3 months and it just seems like an eternity

[[Ja...]]

Thanks a lot for sharing.

[[co...]]

On 07/01/2024 at 22:14, [[J...] said:

@[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 measured it by the hashmarks on the syringe.  The smallest ones were .2 ml of 1/5th of a ML. 

! created a mix where 1 ml of the mix was was equal to .1 mg of valium.  1/5 or .2 ml of this mix equals 1/50 mg of valium.

The liquid valium the I was using was 1 ml per 1 mg.  The directions on the bottom say to dilute before using. So 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.

Edited January 12 by [co...]

[[Li...]]

@[Fi...] Just checking, what is the concentration of the liquid you are using?  If memory serves, @[Fa...] is using the 1mg/1mL manufacturer’s liquid ‘as is’ (i.e. he does not dilute it) so I hope he’ll stop by to comment.

@[co...] Thank you for sharing your experience. I have a question about your statement that:

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

The directions on the bottom say to dilute before using.

Was this a bottle supplied by your pharmacist?  Or are you referring to the bottle supplied by the manufacturer?

The instructions on the bottle supplied by the manufacturer state:

Dilute before using to enhance palatability.  

The patient instructions from the manufacturer explain how to do this:

For ease of administration, add dose [measured from the undiluted liquid] to approximately 30 mL (1 g. oz) or more of juice or other liquid. May also be added to applesauce, pudding or other semi-solid foods. The drug-food mixture should be used immediately and not stored for future use. 

If the ‘dilute before using’ instructions were on a bottle supplied by your pharmacist, I wonder if s/he made an error?   I had this happen to me when I was using Orally Disintegrating Tablets (ODTs).  The pharmacist’s instructions indicated that the tablets were to be taken sublingually (i.e. placed under the tongue).  However, the instructions from the manufacturer indicted that the ODTs were to be placed on the tongue. When I asked the pharmacist about this, he indicated he had made an error, apologized, and corrected it.

 

[[co...]]

@Libertas, It said so right on the label from the manufacturer.   Here is a link to a label that says it.  I looked on the web and located a picture of it.  It states this three lines down after "5mg per 5L"  https://mms.mckesson.com/product/775583/Roxane-Laboratories-00054318863

 

In the post that raises a question I wrote: "The directions on the bottom say to dilute before using."  The word "bottom" should have been "bottle."  that was a typo on my part.

 

Edited January 12 by [co...]
clarity

[[Li...]]

A picture is worth a thousand words @[co...]! Thanks for confirming that the instructions on the label read “Dilute before using to enhance palatability.” 

 

 

[[co...]]

@[Li...], forgive me for writing the same things in 2 threads.  I have had BB staff ask me questions in each thread, so I am responding.

First, the obvious.  In choosing the name "Confused User," I picked a really bad handle. I could not think of anything else at the time.  I am not a user nor was I every.  I took the medicines for anxiety issues as did most of us.

While the label does say, “Dilute before using to enhance palatability,” a bunch of people had used the diluting as a way to create a less concentrated mix that would allow us to make smaller relative cuts.  Here is a thread where I had it explained to me way back in September of 2018:  

 

[[Li...]]

No apology needed, @[co...].  Fwiw I’ve always rather liked your username because it perfectly captures how so many of us feel at times.

I am aware of the off-label use of the manufacturer’s liquid.  My concern is that off-label manipulation of drugs conveys risk.  In this case, the degree of risk is unknown because — to my knowledge — these do-it-yourself (DIY) diluted liquids have not been professionally analyzed. Consequently, we do not know their properties.  Unanswered questions include: Are these liquids solutions? Colloidal dispersions? Suspensions? What is their potency?  Are they stable?  If so, for how long and under what conditions? 

Having said this, I know we have members, including yourself, who have used DIY diluted manufacturer’s liquids to taper successfully.  My goal, which I suspect you share, is to ensure that members and guests who are considering this approach are fully informed about knowns/unknowns as well as potential risks and possible mitigation strategies.