Some help please Diazepam

[[Bl...]]

Hello 

I’m stabilising now on 10mg daily of diazepam . 
I was a binge user for 13 years along with alcohol, I oscillated between the two so every day I had either or both on board . I stupidly thought that having a day or so off the diazepam a week would negate dependency issues, this was before I knew about kindling 😳 now I’ve not only read about kindling I realise I’ve been in this cycle for at least two years now, and after trying CT last week I realise my dependency is real . 
So the 10mg in a morning is working to take WD symptoms away , yes I have morning anxiety now when I wake up, that pesky feeling of impending doom, so probably a 5mg on a night ,.. but I can manage on 10mg and get things done without the adrenaline and fight or flight hormone rushes . 
 

So I hovered over the packet today and split a 10 into two because I felt ok . My reasoning was why take more than I need , and, old habits die hard when you’ve been chasing WD’s 🙄

I am not craving alcohol on 10mg which is great 👍 . 
Because I’m weaning off both, when I drop the benzo I’m sure the alcohol needs will come back . 
Any advice from anyone who has done the two at the same time ? 
Also should I hold the 10mg for two weeks and titrate down from there ? 
What if the alcohol cravings hit hard ? 
 

Im relieved that the 10mg daily took care of those brain zaps and headaches and visual disturbances. 
 

Is it a rule of thumb that the lower dose you can manage on means it’s easier to come off ? 
Or, does it depend on the length of use ? 
Lots of questions, thanks everyone for your help . 

[[Nu...]]

Apologies that I can't help more here. Never been a big alcohol person. I don't believe there's any rule of thumb in terms of use. Lower doses can be difficult, too. But just because they have been tough for others doesn't mean it'll be tough for you. It's all very individualized and each of us responds totally different. There does seem to be a correlation to length of use, but again, there's much variability here.

The half-life of diazepam is quite long, so I wouldn't be too aggressive with cuts. The tapering forum can help here. That's a good place to post tapering-specific questions.

Wishing you the best. You've got this!

[[Ma...]]

M

Edited March 15 by [Ma...]

[[ve...]]

On 14/03/2024 at 16:47, [[B...] said:

Hello 

I’m stabilising now on 10mg daily of diazepam . 
I was a binge user for 13 years along with alcohol, I oscillated between the two so every day I had either or both on board . I stupidly thought that having a day or so off the diazepam a week would negate dependency issues, this was before I knew about kindling 😳 now I’ve not only read about kindling I realise I’ve been in this cycle for at least two years now, and after trying CT last week I realise my dependency is real . 
So the 10mg in a morning is working to take WD symptoms away , yes I have morning anxiety now when I wake up, that pesky feeling of impending doom, so probably a 5mg on a night ,.. but I can manage on 10mg and get things done without the adrenaline and fight or flight hormone rushes . 
 

So I hovered over the packet today and split a 10 into two because I felt ok . My reasoning was why take more than I need , and, old habits die hard when you’ve been chasing WD’s 🙄

I am not craving alcohol on 10mg which is great 👍 . 
Because I’m weaning off both, when I drop the benzo I’m sure the alcohol needs will come back . 
Any advice from anyone who has done the two at the same time ? 
Also should I hold the 10mg for two weeks and titrate down from there ? 
What if the alcohol cravings hit hard ? 
 

Im relieved that the 10mg daily took care of those brain zaps and headaches and visual disturbances. 
 

Is it a rule of thumb that the lower dose you can manage on means it’s easier to come off ? 
Or, does it depend on the length of use ? 
Lots of questions, thanks everyone for your help . 

Avoid alcohol like the plague during WD.  Here are my tips on dealing with alcohol cravings:

They come in many levels or layers like an onion you can peel:

- Desire to drink somethink. Drink cool water, orange juice or non-alcoholic beer (my case).

- Desire for carbs.  Eat fruits, a nice sandwich.

- Desire to take the edge off.  Put your naked back against a cold wall.  You'll feel the endorphines.

- Desire to lighten up.  Listen to music.

Craving don't usually last more than 2 hours.  If you manage to avoid alcohol for 3 months they rarely appear.

 

Good luck!

Edited March 27 by [ve...]

[[Bl...]]

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

Avoid alcohol like the plague during WD.  Here are my tips on dealing with alcohol cravings:

They come in many levels or layers like an onion you can peel:

- Desire to drink somethink. Drink cool water, orange juice or non-alcoholic beer (my case).

- Desire for carbs.  Eat fruits, a nice sandwich.

- Desire to take the edge off.  Put your naked back against a cold wall.  You'll feel the endorphines.

- Desire to lighten up.  Listen to music.

Craving don't usually last more than 2 hours.  If you manage to avoid alcohol for 3 months they rarely appear.

Good luck!

Thanks Verdi 

I do not plan to quit alcohol for good out of my life , I can have a couple of beers on a weekend or a glass of wine with a meal and enjoy it in moderation. 
I found mixing the two was the rockiest road , diazepam had me throwing it down my neck , and I’d need the diazepam for the next days come downs . 
I’m doing ok on my cut and hold , not sure if I’m rushing through it as I’m breaking pills , so stabilised on 10mg daily , held for two weeks then went to 7.5 mg and only had one iffy day , held for 2 weeks , just spilt the 5mg in to three … so on about 6.5mg as of today. 
I’ll hold that for two weeks then go to 5.5mg and so on . 
I may hold longer at 4mg and 2mg , but I’m not planning on sitting for three months on any dose . 
I’ll see . 
I will admit I’ve had a couple of small beers some nights , but I limit it at that. 
I’ll try the non alcoholic one , good idea , hot countries need beer . I’d not drunk it for decades until I moved to a 40 degree summer heat . 
Thanks for you advice and input . 

[[Bl...]]

On 15/03/2024 at 02:59, [[N...] said:

Apologies that I can't help more here. Never been a big alcohol person. I don't believe there's any rule of thumb in terms of use. Lower doses can be difficult, too. But just because they have been tough for others doesn't mean it'll be tough for you. It's all very individualized and each of us responds totally different. There does seem to be a correlation to length of use, but again, there's much variability here.

The half-life of diazepam is quite long, so I wouldn't be too aggressive with cuts. The tapering forum can help here. That's a good place to post tapering-specific questions.

Wishing you the best. You've got this!

Thanks Nursing Buddy . 
Im being WD symptom led , I’m cutting and holding by more than 10% at the moment with no problem, one bad head day , so not bad . 
I think I will have to hold longer when I get to 4mg and 2mg doses . 
But if I can cut a bit bigger and it doesn’t cause me great WD symptoms like I had when I tried CT then I’m good with that . 
Thanks so much for your encouragement. 
keep healing ❤️‍🩹