Has anyone had a relatively smooth Valium taper?

[[Ma...]]

Hey all, I’m reading a lot of horror stories and I know horror comes with the territory of benzo withdrawal, however does ANYONE have a story of relatively “smooth” taper that worked out well using the Ashton manual and ended with successful cessation of benzos? 

[[az...]]

I'd say my valium taper was relatively smooth compared to so many stories I've seen.  I took my last dose 2 weeks ago.  I aggressively tapered initially until I reached doses too challenging to achieve by breaking the pills up (less than 2.5mg doses).  I then resorted to placing a 10mg pill into 200ml of water and mixing it using a stir plate for 30 mins. 
I'd stir the mixture and measure my dose with a syringe every 12 hours.  Every 2-3 weeks I'd drop the dose by 10-20%. This was me ripping the bandaid off slowly and I preferred it this way while trying to preserve my sanity at work.
By far the most challenging dose drop was from 5mg to 2.5mg.  For whatever reason that jump offered a large array of WD symptoms all at once.  I was non-functional for 3 weeks.  I slowed things down a lot after that and it wasn't enjoyable but not horrifyingly bad either. 

You've got great resources at your disposal between this website and the Ashton Manual.  Take the journey at your own pace. You've got this!

[[je...]]

Hi @[az...]

Welcome to BenzoBuddies! 

Thanks for sharing your experience and the encouragement. 

[[Ma...]]

I’ve just started crossing over to Valium from Xanax and I haven’t been functioning for 2 months and it just gonna get harder as I get into the taper @[az...] what was your original story ? Dose length etc? 

[[az...]]

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

I’ve just started crossing over to Valium from Xanax and I haven’t been functioning for 2 months and it just gonna get harder as I get into the taper @[az...] what was your original story ? Dose length etc? 

Take the transition and dose taper at a rate you can handle.  Also, take some stress off the gut whenever you can.  It helps a lot, I can promise you that!  Carnivore diet helped reduce a lot of horrible symptoms I was experiencing.  I LOVE carbs and sugar so this wasn't an easy decision but the lesser of two evils. 

Originally I took Xanax in an attempt to abort a horrifyingly strong mushroom trip in 2018.  Found myself taking it more for other reasons, was quickly addicted.  I took xanax for 3ish years (.25mg 4x daily), then tapered xanax via liquid titration, then transitioned to valium 10mg.  I transitioned to a relatively high valium dose ignorantly which set me back a lot of progress.  I began the valium taper in 2022 and took pauses when needed.  Initial taper progress was very encouraging being able to go from 10 to 7.5 to 5mg without too much resistance.  Below 5mg I found it more challenging and sought aid from the Ashton manual.  Began liquid titration to refine the doses.  Liquid dilution allowed me to continue progress at a reasonably slow rate and this was very much needed while unable to take a break from life.

Give yourself a break from reading the horror stories if you haven't already.  It can be very discouraging and anxiety provoking reading about others nightmare stories if I'm completely honest.  Coping strategies, tapering strategy, and WD symptom information is extremely helpful info you can obtain here.

Edited March 3 by [az...]

[[je...]]

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

I’ve just started crossing over to Valium from Xanax and I haven’t been functioning for 2 months and it just gonna get harder as I get into the taper @[az...] what was your original story ? Dose length etc? 

How is your doctor doing your crossover? What equivalencies are being used?

[[az...]]

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

How is your doctor doing your crossover? What equivalencies are being used?

Edit: oops, that reply wasn't to me  still waking up apparently 

Edited March 3 by [az...]

[[je...]]

@[az...] I was actually referring to @[Ma...]. When you quote someone it means you are addressing the person you are quoting. 

[[Ma...]]

.5 Xanax = 10 mg Valium 

[[je...]]

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

.5 Xanax = 10 mg Valium 

What is your starting dose for the crossover?

[[je...]]

I found this on one of your previous posts:

 

On 24/02/2024 at 04:02, [[M...] said:

She added 10 mg to my 2.5 Xanax to stabilize me and after this two weeks it will be swapping .5 X with 10mg V every two weeks until X is done and I’m at 60mg of V?

 

You should not be at 60mg at the end of your crossover. That is way too high. Ashton reduced the Valium during the crossover. I’ll see if I can find the table.

 

[[je...]]

If you look at this table for 4mg crossover for Xanax at Stage 11 when all Xanax is completely stopped and the crossover is completed. Then the total equivalent dose of Valium is 50mg. This is for 4mg and you are at 3mg if I understand correctly. You should not be crossed to 60mg. It is way too high.

https://benzo.org.uk/manual/bzsched.htm#s7

[[Ma...]]

@[je...] hey hun so yes I’m gonna be at 60mg on crossover . Reason being was that I in major error reduced my Xanax by .5 which was 17% of my total dose and went into severe withdrawal like I mean the “hell” we all know so when I finally got to the specialist she used the manual to create a schedule that we felt was gonna be ok for me and also I needed to stabilize. I was in BAD shape. Still not good but I’m adjusting to the Valium over two week increment swaps. She’s one of the drs who are super well known in this area she did the interview with Nicole and Christy her name is dr Patricia Halligan heard of her? 

[[je...]]

3 minutes ago, [[M...] said:

@[je...] hey hun so yes I’m gonna be at 60mg on crossover . Reason being was that I in major error reduced my Xanax by .5 which was 17% of my total dose and went into severe withdrawal like I mean the “hell” we all know so when I finally got to the specialist she used the manual to create a schedule that we felt was gonna be ok for me and also I needed to stabilize. I was in BAD shape. Still not good but I’m adjusting to the Valium over two week increment swaps. She’s one of the drs who are super well known in this area she did the interview with Nicole and Christy her name is dr Patricia Halligan heard of her? 

I understand the pain of big reductions. I made a 75% cut and was totally bedridden. I updosed back to my original dose and stabilised there. It's fine if you are comfortable with the schedule, I was just concerned that you are ending up on a higher dose than Ashton would've crossed a person who was at 4mg Xanax.

 

[[Ma...]]

I totally appreciate it and love all of you on here but yea it wasn’t really an updose it was just a proper substitution for that .5 I tried to do myself. Dr felt I would need a good 3 months with this cross over. Question though have you heard of people having urinary urgency/frequency during any of these processes ? This is one symptom that’s just relentless rn it’s literally pissing me off to no end 

[[Pa...]]

@[Ma...], I can see you're in good hands with your doctor but I share the same concerns @[je...] has, in fact, I think I mentioned it in your initial post.  I hope when you get closer to your crossover goal you'll pay close attention to how you're feeling, if you begin to feel overly sedated, then it might be a good idea to re-evaluate.  Tapering from 40-50 mgs would be preferrable to 60, but of course, if you're still highly symptomatic, then you'll know you're on the right path. 

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

Question though have you heard of people having urinary urgency/frequency during any of these processes ? 

Yes, this is a symptom I've seen members discuss, you could use the search function to find mentions of it but I have no idea why it happens. 

[[Ma...]]

I appreciate it and yes I know but I trust her she’s been tapering people for 30 yrs but yes I’m totally going to be paying attention and going by that another question : have you ladies seen Xanax to Valium crossovers go mostly well ? And yes I searched the peeing thing it happens to some people sadly I’m one of them oddly though it goes away at night it’s the worst during the afternoon as everything is actually 

[[je...]]

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

have you ladies seen Xanax to Valium crossovers go mostly well

It depends. Some people cross smoothly, others have difficulty. I don't think there's a way to tell who has it easier than others.

We have had it on several occassions where people were crossed at a much higher dose than the Ashton Manual recommends and in all those cases the individuals struggled immensely.

[[Ma...]]

I’m really placing a lot of faith in my dr here 🙏

[[je...]]

There might be people who do fine with higher dose crossovers and we just don't hear about them here on BB. I hope it goes well for you.

[[Ma...]]

I see what you’re saying but isn’t 3mg of Xanax 60mg of v? Also do you have any members specifically Or stories I can refer to or read ? 

[[je...]]

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

I see what you’re saying but isn’t 3mg of Xanax 60mg of v?

Did you look at the link I provided of the crossover table?

At higher doses Ashton reduced the Valium during the crossover so you're on a lesser dose at the completion of the crossover. She did not do an exact crossover of 0.5mg = 10mg so you could be at the Valium equivalent of your starting dose. At higher doses you will be at a lower Valium equivalent by the end of the crossover than your starting dose.

At the start of the crossover the total of both doses Xanax and Valium is equal to the substitution dose, but she did not crossover to the full Valium equivalent.  From what Colin has explained, Ashton's conversions are at the higher end of the spectrum as she made provision for withdrawal symptoms in her conversions.  

[[Ma...]]

Oh yes I totally see it and I’ll ask her at my next appt but I think she has a rationale for the equivalent that had to do with how bad I was from trying to taper myself. During our appt she did say she modifies scheduled based on patient symptoms and she mentioned the importance of the body getting acclimated to the Valium for a potentially less brutal taper. We’ve all been through or will go through hell so idk I guess I’m gonna trust her I thought it must be fate that I even got lucky enough to find a dr who actually specializes in tapering so let’s pray it don’t kill Me 🙏

[[Ma...]]

@[je...] also who’s Colin?

[[je...]]

Colin is the founder of this site. He has extensive knowledge and experience about benzo withdrawal.