Totally rocked myself

[[ka...]]

I started tapering down from .30 Ati.  I started 20 years ago on 1 mg.  Dropped to .5 in 2015 pretty easily.  I’ve taken a .5 Ati nightly for sleep and started having more anxiety.  I quit drinking 2 years ago and now I wanted to get off the Ativan.  I thought I was to be cutting 5-10% daily 🤦‍♀️ I know I know I got down to .11 and the wheels fell off.  I woke up and couldn’t walk, dizzy, tinnitus, jelly legs, ruminating thoughts, lots of symptoms, can’t eat, looking at food makes me gag.  I think I should up dose stabilize and then try again SLOWER 2-4weeks a cut. Does this sound like a solid plan? Also Hi I’m Karin I’m very new here 🫶

[[je...]]

Hi @[ka...]

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

Oh no, you must be feeling pretty miserable! You've probably realised the recommendation is a 5-10% cut every two weeks instead of daily. I think updosing is a good idea. Hopefully you'll be able to stabilize, walk again and eat again and shake some of the other symptoms too. I'm sorry you're experiencing all these terrible symptoms. I hope you feel better soon!

[[ka...]]

@[je...] hi 👋 thank you 🙏 Should I go all the way back to half the .25 where I started ? I hope this stabilizes I haven’t been able to eat for 2 days 

Edited January 13 by [ka...]

[[je...]]

When did you start tapering and at what dose?

[[ka...]]

@[je...]Started tapering .30 (that’s the pill weight for half a .5) ati right before Christmas is probably been 3 weeks and I was cutting back nightly. I’m scared I’m going to have a seizure 

[[ka...]]

So a little more than half of where I was at in 3 weeks @[je...]

[[je...]]

2 minutes ago, [[k...] said:

I’m scared I’m going to have a seizure

This is a very common fear and normal to have but your dose is very low and you didn't cold turkey it. Seizures are very rare and usually happen at higher doses.

I suggest you go back to your starting dose. You might not feel immediate relief as it could take a bit of time to stabilize again at the original dose.

[[je...]]

18 minutes ago, [[k...] said:

Started tapering .30 (that’s the pill weight for half a .5)

Just to confirm. Is that 0.3g which will equal 0.25mg active ingredient? (Because half of 0.5 is 0.25mg).

[[ka...]]

@[je...] yes exactly !

[[je...]]

2 minutes ago, [[k...] said:

@[je...] yes exactly !

Well, my recommendations above are based on this assumption. This dose is very low, unlikely to create a seizure and if it were me, I would updose to your original starting dose.

[[ka...]]

@[je...] that was my thought too. I can’t function and I need to work as I’m the head of the household and everything revolves around my income and I havent been able to work the past few days.  I so appreciate the advice. Next time I go down I will wait probably 3-4 weeks between each cut 5-10% at a time.  And not get all gung ho holy moly.

[[je...]]

Once stable I suggest you give it at least a month before you start tapering again. Your brain needs to recover from all these cuts.

[[ka...]]

Yeah I’ll probably hold for awhile.  Thanks for all of the advice @[je...]  I haven’t figured out yet how to update my profile.  I appreciate your patience w me. 

[[je...]]

I don't know if this is what you're referring to:

On 19/08/2023 at 09:15, [[P...] said:

Please fill in your medication history, taper details and any other pertinent information so others can provide the best feedback for your situation. 

Profile => Edit profile (top-right of profile banner) => Add succinct use/taper/withdrawal history to 'History' text box => click 'Save' (bottom-right).

 

[[ka...]]

@[je...] got it Thank You !!

[[ka...]]

@[je...] hi I was wanting to know how long it took you to feel better after updosing and then how long it took you to stabilize

[[je...]]

I updosed twice. Both times were 3-4 weeks after big cuts. I felt significantly better the next day (about 60% better) and stabilised within 48hrs. But I'm definitely not the norm. What I see around the forum is it can take a couple of weeks before people stabilize or feel a difference. I would say you need to give it about 2 weeks to see if you feel a difference. 

After my updosing I gave it around 6 weeks before I made another cut to ensure there was enough time recover from all the changes I made. Just because I felt better within 48 hrs didn't mean my body was ready to start cutting again.

[[ka...]]

Thanks @[je...] I felt good for about 3 days now symptoms seem to be back.  I went back up to original dose of .5 daily.  (Split am/pm) but worry about having kindled myself.  I guess I’ll hold here and see.   Scared I’ve upped too much.   This is so tricky… 

[[je...]]

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

Thanks @[je...] I felt good for about 3 days now symptoms seem to be back.  I went back up to original dose of .5 daily.  (Split am/pm) but worry about having kindled myself.  I guess I’ll hold here and see.   Scared I’ve upped too much.   This is so tricky… 

I think I'm confused. I thought you started tapering at 0.25mg?

On 13/01/2024 at 13:17, [[k...] said:

@[je...] hi 👋 thank you 🙏 Should I go all the way back to half the .25 where I started ? I hope this stabilizes I haven’t been able to eat for 2 days 

 

[[ka...]]

@[je...] I did and then my symptoms got really bad I updosed back to .25 and nothing happened so I did .25 in the am and .25 in the pm I got relief for about 3 days and now I’m having bad symptoms again 

[[ka...]]

@[je...] my prescribed dose was .5  which I hadn’t been taking just half and then I started tapering down from .25 too quickly.  Ended up in acute wd couldn’t work or eat or sleep…I went back up to .25 did nothing for 2 days and My wife said why don’t you just take half in the am and half at night and I got a couple days of relief and was able to eat drink no more dizziness.  But symptoms are returning.  I’ve only taken the extra for about 3 days I’m wondering if I should nix that morning dose and just ride out the rest of it so I’m not putting anymore in my body.  I feel too drugged on that extra . 

[[je...]]

6 hours ago, [[k...] said:

@[je...] I did and then my symptoms got really bad I updosed back to .25 and nothing happened so I did .25 in the am and .25 in the pm I got relief for about 3 days and now I’m having bad symptoms again 

Thanks. I understand. 

As I mentioned before it can take a couple of weeks for an updose to be effective. For the benefit of others reading here, updosing is not always an instant fix. We need to give it some time to work. 

I am concerned that the updose to 0.5mg might be too much for your body. But I also don't want to make another 50% cut. If we make too many drastic changes in a short time frame the body struggles to recover. I'm wondering if you should try a 25% cut instead? And reduce your total daily dose to 0.375? Maybe that will be a good comprise. How do you feel about that?

[[ka...]]

@[je...] Thank you for your help with a total newb.  I am scared of over doing it.  Yeah I think my symptoms were just so bad I wanted to do anything I could do to at least eat and sleep.  I’m so anxious again I can’t eat but I’ve been able to get some sleep in.  I’m unable to work and our finances are rapidly dwindling so that’s added stress.  It’s been hard to figure out what m/ where balance would be.  But that also takes time and is hard when you feel so awful and desperate. :/ 

[[je...]]

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

@[je...] Thank you for your help with a total newb

You're welcome.

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

Yeah I think my symptoms were just so bad I wanted to do anything I could do to at least eat and sleep.

I totally understand. I was there too - bedridden and completely non - functional. It's so hard. Please don't beat yourself up over this. 

 

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

 I’m unable to work and our finances are rapidly dwindling so that’s added stress.  It’s been hard to figure out what m/ where balance would be.  But that also takes time and is hard when you feel so awful and desperate. :/

This is heart breaking. I know how difficult it is to have to function under this pressure. I'm hoping you'll recover soon. I made huge stuff ups at the start of my taper (you can look at my history tab) and I was able to recover from that, so hopefully within a couple of weeks you'll see some improvement too. I know my words are empty, but just hang in there. For now I think try 0.375mg for about 2 weeks. If you have a major change in symptoms in the meantime, (good or bad) please let us know, so we can talk you through it. 

[[ka...]]

@[je...] I don’t even know how to see your history tab lol  I would like to read it once I find it.  I will hold for two weeks.   Hopefully I’ll be able to eat eventually.  The nausea is so bad.  Thank you again. I feel so nuts.