Time to take Valium

[[TH...]]

Hi guys,

Now I'm currently taking 1mg Valium every 4 hours, 5 times a day, so 5mg all in all starting at 8am. Is this ok?

Is there a better or specific time frame to take doses? Is every 4 hours ok? Or should I space them out more, cut them down? I've been on 5mg for 4 weeks now and trying to stabilise but doesn't seem to be working. 

Thanks

 

[[wi...]]

So wait, are you only one Valium 4 weeks total ? Or have you been using Valium longer at different doses? 
 

people can give you recommendations but they will need more specific information on your benzo history and any other drugs/meds you take.

im sure someone will be along shortly to help you out with information. But they will probably ask you for more info.

[[TH...]]

@[wi...]

Yeah sorry. Basically I started tapering last March at 20mg. Currently down to 5mg

[[Ko...]]

most people take valium once or twice daily...

[[Ko...]]

were you ever stable on valium? If so, at what dosage?

I am on valium 7 mg once at bedtime. Doing a very slow taper.

 

[[TH...]]

@[Ko...]

Oh so you don't space them out like I've been doing? 

You take your 7mg in one go at night? 

Last time I was stable was probably 6mg I'd say. 

My taper is very slow also. Be a year in March and will continue till at least the June/July 

Edited February 9 by [TH...]

[[Ko...]]

I have always taken at night- 1st prescribed clonazepam less than a year ago for insomnia and then couldn't taper off of it so switched to valium. So have kept the dosing at night to help with sleep.

Its so long-lasting that your serum level should be stable throughout the entire day with once daily dosing but I have seen some people that take it twice daily.

Did you drop from 6 directly to 5? Maybe too large of a decrease to do all at once? Or are you decreasing by 0.5mg or .25mg?

[[TH...]]

@[Ko...]

Ok what time you take your dose? That lasts you 24hrs till the following evening? 

No I am dropping 0.5 every 2-3 weeks depending on how I'm feeling. This will be my 4th week on 5mg. Trying to stabilise a bit. But was curious as to how people take their dose and maybe I need to change my timing schedule. 

[[Ko...]]

I take mine around 1030-1130pm and it lasts through to the next evening.  I'm at 7 mg though.

Unless you're a rapid metabolizer, people usually take 1-2 times daily.

What kind of symptoms are you having? Maybe the .5 mg drops are getting too large now that you are down to 5 mg.

Some people would say to hold to see if you can stabilize and then others say to push through....I don't think its about the number of times you take it a day though.

[[je...]]

Can you please update your history? It only says you started at 25mg. You can look at mine to get an idea for what we're needing. It's important to have an up-to-date history to determine why you're not stable. It might not have anything to do with your doses or times.

Can you also explain how you ended up on 4 doses? 

[[TH...]]

4 minutes ago, [[j...] said:

Can you please update your history? It only says you started at 25mg. You can look at mine to get an idea for what we're needing. It's important to have an up-to-date history to determine why you're not stable. It might not have anything to do with your doses or times.

Can you also explain how you ended up on 4 doses? 

Hi, yes will do that now. Thanks. 

I've always spread my doses out since I started. I've never just taken 10mg in morning then 10 at night for example. I've always spread the 20mg into 5mg every 4 or so hours.

[[TH...]]

10 minutes ago, [[K...] said:

I take mine around 1030-1130pm and it lasts through to the next evening.  I'm at 7 mg though.

Unless you're a rapid metabolizer, people usually take 1-2 times daily.

What kind of symptoms are you having? Maybe the .5 mg drops are getting too large now that you are down to 5 mg.

Some people would say to hold to see if you can stabilize and then others say to push through....I don't think its about the number of times you take it a day though.

My symptoms are mainly chest tightness, chest and arm pain. Had scans, ecgs, blood tests, all come back ok. 

But since I've dropped to 5 they seem to be getting worse. 

Ok. Might change it up to just twice a day and see how I go. 

[[Ko...]]

I don't think you will feel differently taking it twice daily. 

The 1 mg cuts every 1-2 weeks between 10 and 5 mg may have caught up with you?  Like I said above, some would advise to hold longer and others would advise holding no longer than 4 weeks.  

Would you be able to make smaller cuts moving forward?

 

[[TH...]]

4 minutes ago, [[K...] said:

I don't think you will feel differently taking it twice daily. 

The 1 mg cuts every 1-2 weeks between 10 and 5 mg may have caught up with you?  Like I said above, some would advise to hold longer and others would advise holding no longer than 4 weeks.  

Would you be able to make smaller cuts moving forward?

Yeah I think they might be catching up with me...

I'm sure I can cut 0.25 every 2 weeks. The pharmacist I speak too is normally quite understanding and always says to take it slow. 

[[je...]]

I'm sorry but your history is not detailed enough. There are no dates to give any context besides for Feb this year, which doesn't tell me much about how fast you've gone. The purpose of a history is to determine how big your reductions were every month. Please take a look at mine.