Was switching from Xanax to Valium the turning point for you?

[[Ma...]]

A friend on Benzo Warriors and several on here suggested moving to Valium because of less to no interdose withdrawal. 
He did a CT switch from .5 Xanax twice a day to 10mg Valium twice a day and said he felt no difference but much easier to tapper and no interdose withdrawal. Then he tapered very slowly. Has anyone here done that and if so how well did it work?

Thank you🙏

[[Ma...]]

Anyone?

[[Ko...]]

I am surprised no one has responded yet. I know of at least a couple members on here who have switched from xanax to valium but they did a gradual switch.  I switched from klonopin to valium over the course of a month and am tapering valium now. It does make a big difference with interdose withdrawal and you can taper more easily by splitting tablets and using prescription liquid.

But its still a benzo so not easy. I switched from .5 mg klonopin to 10 mg valium and at 6.75 mg valium now.

[[Ma...]]

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

I am surprised no one has responded yet. I know of at least a couple members on here who have switched from xanax to valium but they did a gradual switch.  I switched from klonopin to valium over the course of a month and am tapering valium now. It does make a big difference with interdose withdrawal and you can taper more easily by splitting tablets and using prescription liquid.

But its still a benzo so not easy. I switched from .5 mg klonopin to 10 mg valium and at 6.75 mg valium now.

When adding in Valium to slowly switch over how did it effect you?
Did you notice an immediate difference? 
Did you use a family practitioner or a psychiatrist?

I am really curious to tell my doctor tomorrow that this is the route I want to go and we need to work together.

what was your transfer schedule while switching over?

A lot of questions I know but I want to speak intelligently to my doctor and be informed.

Thank you

Edited February 20 by [Ma...]

[[je...]]

You might want to read through this. It's our old site's dedicated forum for substitution/crossovers. I know it's not people replying to your questions, but it might help gaining a better understanding and the content is already filtered for this specific topic.

[[kn...]]

I began tapering from 4mg of Klonopin and 1mg of Ativan daily to 60 mg of diazepam and started down from there.  It's probably the only good thing that my original psychiatrist did for me.  This was all done just as my BZ taper started.  Feel free to check out my taper history on my profile.  It's not a model by any means.  Way too quick and too much of a drop at each interval.  I think you'd better go to the site that jelly baby suggested to get a better take on things.  I've gotten into trouble at the lower doses and had to reinstate (from 2mg to 4), but they do make Diazepam in liquid form and many folks here have used it finish up when they get to the low levels.  I take my dose in the AM.  Interdose symptoms seem to follow a pattern for me: AM is a struggle, Mid Day probably the worst  and things improve in the PM hours.  Evidence posted here cites changes in the cortisol levels as the culprit.  

[[or...]]

@[Ma...] I crossed over from 1.5 mg of Ativan (similar to Xanax in that it's a short-acting benzo) to 15 mgs of valium and that made all the difference in my taper. I used Ashton's crossover schedule and once crossed over tapered  very slowly. It worked out well. I was not doing well tapering that short-acting benzo. Ugh. Hope this helps you.

[[Ma...]]

Thank you all for the information and help.

I wanna know how you felt while, switching over to Valium And once you were only on Valium, did it help with anxiety, or any other symptoms that you were having?

I am really looking forward to not having any inter dose withdrawals and being able to slowly taper after that

 

Edited February 21 by [Ma...]

[[or...]]

@[Ma...] when I got crossed over to Valium I felt a whole lot less anxious. I felt nuts on Ativan -- dosing 4 x a day was not enough. I felt able to cope with my taper when I got on valium. It had its own w/d s/x for me, but nothing like the nonstop anxiety/panic and worry I had on Ativan. I could finally calm down and think straight . . . and plan my taper. Hope this helps.

[[An...]]

13 hours ago, [[M...] said:

A friend on Benzo Warriors and several on here suggested moving to Valium because of less to no interdose withdrawal. 
He did a CT switch from .5 Xanax twice a day to 10mg Valium twice a day and said he felt no difference but much easier to tapper and no interdose withdrawal. Then he tapered very slowly. Has anyone here done that and if so how well did it work?

Thank you🙏

I think for most ppl, a switch to valium is the best way to go. The IDW from the short-acting benzos like xanax and ativan make tapering impossible for most ppl. 

[[Ma...]]

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

I began tapering from 4mg of Klonopin and 1mg of Ativan daily to 60 mg of diazepam and started down from there.  It's probably the only good thing that my original psychiatrist did for me.  This was all done just as my BZ taper started.  Feel free to check out my taper history on my profile.  It's not a model by any means.  Way too quick and too much of a drop at each interval.  I think you'd better go to the site that jelly baby suggested to get a better take on things.  I've gotten into trouble at the lower doses and had to reinstate (from 2mg to 4), but they do make Diazepam in liquid form and many folks here have used it finish up when they get to the low levels.  I take my dose in the AM.  Interdose symptoms seem to follow a pattern for me: AM is a struggle, Mid Day probably the worst  and things improve in the PM hours.  Evidence posted here cites changes in the cortisol levels as the culprit.  

Did you slowly switch over to Valium ?

How did you feel during the transition?

[[kn...]]

No, the switch to Valium (diazepam) was done all at once before tapering started.  I experienced no side effects at all during the transition.  In fact, I felt better on the diazepam than I did on the clonazepam (Klonopin) and lorazepam (Ativan).  The tapering was pretty tolerable until I got down to 10mg and below.  Rapid tapers at low doses are not advised by members here and I found their advice the same in my own situation. 

[[Ma...]]

So you completely stopped the other two medications and just started the Valium only?

How long did you hold on the Valium before you started tapering?

[[Ma...]]

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

No, the switch to Valium (diazepam) was done all at once before tapering started.  I experienced no side effects at all during the transition.  In fact, I felt better on the diazepam than I did on the clonazepam (Klonopin) and lorazepam (Ativan).  The tapering was pretty tolerable until I got down to 10mg and below.  Rapid tapers at low doses are not advised by members here and I found their advice the same in my own situation. 

 

So you completely stopped the other two medications and just started the Valium only?

How long did you hold on the Valium before you started tapering?

 

[[Kh...]]

On 20/02/2024 at 08:52, [[M...] said:

A friend on Benzo Warriors and several on here suggested moving to Valium because of less to no interdose withdrawal. 
He did a CT switch from .5 Xanax twice a day to 10mg Valium twice a day and said he felt no difference but much easier to tapper and no interdose withdrawal. Then he tapered very slowly. Has anyone here done that and if so how well did it work?

Thank you🙏

Check my history and you can see how I crossed from X to V.  Been off a week or so post taper feel like crap.  Keep telling myself this cant last forever.  Valium gave me depression ..it feels like way more of a "downer" than the X, but there were little to no interdose withdrawals.  Just felt pretty crappy all the way down.  Wondering when a window will come.  

[[Ko...]]

@[Kh...]I am sorry that you are feeling crappy. At least you are off.  What are your main symptoms aside from depression?

Did you drop 1 mg every 2weeks? I am tapering valium too. 

[[Kh...]]

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

@[Kh...]I am sorry that you are feeling crappy. At least you are off.  What are your main symptoms aside from depression?

Did you drop 1 mg every 2weeks? I am tapering valium too. 

You can see my journey in my history in profile.  Right now I have headaches, strange heavy head feeling, full ears, tinnitus, sleep issues, and a real general unwell feeling.... very hard to describe that one.  Oh - and it was kind of the same all the way down over 4 months.  Actually all the way from tolerance in September last year

Edited February 21 by [Kh...]

[[Ko...]]

You went a lot faster than I am able to try as I have to work through this so taking it slowly. I wish I could risk coming off more quickly but am sole breadwinner for household. 

I am only decreasing by .5 mg per month and hoping I can maintain that the whole way down.  I have mild tinnitus and total lack of motivation, lack of interest in things....kinda feel tired most of the time and wake up a lot at night.

[[Kh...]]

Just now, [[K...] said:

You went a lot faster than I am able to try as I have to work through this so taking it slowly. I wish I could risk coming off more quickly but am sole breadwinner for household. 

I am only decreasing by .5 mg per month and hoping I can maintain that the whole way down.  I have mild tinnitus and total lack of motivation, lack of interest in things....kinda feel tired most of the time and wake up a lot at night.

Yea feeling the same.  4 months seems like a long time, but not really I guess.  Once i realized I was in tolerance I kind of updosed to get stable at around 20mg - that was back in September and I just finished.  It wasnt that much divergent from Ashton manual. 

  

[[Ko...]]

well-congratulations on being off!

I so want to dump this medication down the toilet and be done with it.   Just can't afford to take more than 3 months off from work so trying to taper slowly enough to save that time for when I finish with this.  I wish we could predict how we would respond to differing tapering strategies...

I feel as if my life is in limbo while I am tapering....its hard to make plans 

 

[[wi...]]

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

Check my history and you can see how I crossed from X to V.  Been off a week or so post taper feel like crap.  Keep telling myself this cant last forever.  Valium gave me depression ..it feels like way more of a "downer" than the X, but there were little to no interdose withdrawals.  Just felt pretty crappy all the way down.  Wondering when a window will come.  

@[Ma...]

Things to note:

Valium is not a miracle pill.

everyone metabolizes it differently so being completely free of interdose withdrawal is not a guarantee. And like oregonkatz states it has wd effects of its own. 
Valium can be notorious for causing severe depression, also. 
Eveyine will have a different experience. 
Beat of luck to you.

Valium also is reported to linger in the body a very long time. After tapering was completed some experience delayed withdrawal .
 

But, on the positive side, you may do very well on it. Its all trial and error.

Edited February 21 by [wi...]

[[Kh...]]

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

Things to note:

Valium is not a miracle pill.

everyone metabolizes it differently so being completely free of interdose withdrawal is not a guarantee. And like oregonkatz states it has wd effects of its own. 
Valium can be notorious for causing severe depression, also. 
Eveyine will have a different experience. 
Beat of luck to you.

Valium also is reported to linger in the body a very long time. After tapering was completed some experience delayed withdrawal .
 

But, on the positive side, you may do very well on it. Its all trial and error.

Agree with this 100%

[[kn...]]

@[Ma...]Yes, I completely stopped taking Klonopin and Ativan and started immediately on the Diazepam.  I started tapering at the same time and have been working down since then.  It's been 2.5 years and I'm down to 4mg. Everyone who's responded to you on this thread sounds like they know from experience, and I am in agreement with what they have to say. 

[[Ma...]]

Update:

After meeting with my doctor today he agreed that I should switch over to diazepam.

He was very understanding and supportive. 
We are starting by replacing my evening .25 mg dose of X with 5 mg of diazepam. See how that goes. Then we will do the same with the morning .25 and so on. 
he said there is no rush. 
I am so relieved that he is on board with the program!

Wish me luck

[[je...]]

That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you. And I'm relieved you don't have to go to a facility to do it. Well done for successfully navigating this situation with your doctor! 

I hope the crossover goes smoothly.