I don’t know if I can ask for suggestions advice but here I go

[[Ur...]]

Hi every one 

I had insomnia which started in December just gone. The doctor put me on Halcion / Triazolam 25mg without any warning whatsoever. I started taking it and noticed that my anxiety was beginning to get worse. I thought it was because of the insomnia - which I concede didnt help. I went back to my doctor who sent me to a psychiatrist and he put me on quetiapine / seroquel - 25 mg at night and 6.5 in the morning and 20mg of Citalopram. 

I started to take that and the anxiety seemed to be a bit better and it helped me sleep so I just stopped taking the Halcion for a couple of nights. Then my anxiety went through the roof. I was also staking antihistamines that my doctor never warned me about. Then I started taking the Halcion again and sometime I would take half the does and sometimes I would take one and half times the dose. I was oblivious. Then my anxiety and feelings of doom went off the chart, especially I noticed around my monthly cycle. I’m definitely peri- menopausal.
 

I asked the psychiatrist about being on Halcion for two and a half months which was how long I was on it and if it could be causing the depression and extreme anxiety. He agreed to taper me off it cutting it by a quarter of 25mg every week for four weeks. I am down to a half of 25mg a night now. But I’ve had terrible feeling of anxiety and depression and doom during the days and the physiatrist then prescribed Lorazapam and I’ve taken that for every other day 1 mg for about two weeks. 
 

i know nothing about Benzos and I’m really scared. I want to get off them safely and stop taking any Benzo. How do I do that without feeling horrendous? Any advice would be so welcome. Please be gentle with me too and don’t scare me. 
 

thank you so much ! 

[[Co...]]

Hello @[Ur...]. Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

I do not have time to properly welcome and attempt to answers your questions. But now that your account has been approved, I expect other members will be along to reply.

[[Ur...]]

Thanks Colin  

[[or...]]

Hi Ursula and welcome, 

I'm glad you've come to BB, I think you are in a very good place to get help.  Could we have a bit of taper history, if you've been tapering, want to, or possibly you are now off of your Benzo?

It can really help us to know at what point are you with you Benzodiazepine.

I can say I have had a lot of insomnia, even in my slow micro-taper of Clonazepam.  It did end though and rarely do I get any less that 6 or 7 hours sleep now.  Insomnia seems to be a withdrawal symptom for many here, and I know you'll find lots of help, so welcome again, oregonlady

[[Ur...]]

Thank you so much Oregon lady. This is all so new to me so I’m quite anxious to get the right advice. 
 

I started on Halcion/ Triazolam in mid December. I’ve been on that up until two weeks ago when I tapered from 25mg to 18.75 for one week and then down to 12.5 mg the next week. I am due to taper down to 6.25mg this Monday. 
 

while I was doing that I’ve been having feelings of doom and hopelessness and anxiety so the psychiatrist started me on Lorazepam 1 mg to take when needed. I’ve taken it twelve times. Every other day. I can take it and the next day feel ok and then need it the day after. As of now I have no plan  or don’t know how to taper off the Lorazepam safely and without symptoms. 
 

I don’t know if I need it while I taper off the Halcion or even if the Halcion plan is the right thing to do. I read in the Ashton manual that you can just stop Halcion / Triazolam abruptly but I don’t know what to do. My psychiatrist doesn’t seem to be an expert on drug withdrawal and he just bats my concerns away. 

[[Ur...]]

I also feel like my use/ misuse of the Halcion Triazolam caused the initial increase in anxiety and depression and now I’m caught in this spiral and I don’t know how to help myself get out safely. 

[[Ur...]]

My questions are : Do I need a drug support of whatever kind like Lorazepam to mitigate symptoms to taper off Halcion / Triazolam ? 
 

Is one month long enough/ too short a taper for Halcion after being on it for nearly three months ? 
 

How do I safely taper off Lorazapam given about two weeks use and with the Halcion in mind ? 

[[...]]

Hey Ursula.  This is essentially what happened to me.  Chasing one symptom with drugs (insomnia) which the drug caused/resulted in many other symptoms (anxiety, depression, SI etc) and it didn't even help the sleep but for a month or so.  I'm glad you are able to recognize the adverse effects of the benzos early.  For me, it took over a year before I made the connection with ambien and then another 4 years to make the connection with clonazepam.  I suffered tremendously throughout this entire time with anxiety, insomnia, depression etc that I truly believe was a result of the medication (see my prior posts).

I'm not an expert at tapering those specific benzos so hopefully someone else will chime in. I will make the observation that if you are drug naïve, you have been started on four psychotropic drugs from 3 classes in a very short period of time.  I could imagine this could contribute to why you are feeling so bad?  SSRIs may cause anxiety, SI and worsening mood before they help (see FDA black box warning for children and adolescents).

What I can say is, I'm glad you are getting help.  This is a very scary thing to go through.  If things are ever to unbearable you could always have a voluntary admission to get tapered in a hospital.  If you're planning to taper, go slowly and benzo at a time.

[[Ur...]]

Thanks so much for responding CBH. I really appreciate it. I’m so sorry that you had to go through that. I’m terrified of prolonging the suffering unnecessarily. Your insight about the four psychotropic drugs is undeniable.
 

If any other members could offer insight into how to safely approach getting off these Benzos I’d really appreciate it. 

Thanks again 

[[Ta...]]

I am very sorry that you are going thru all of this difficulty.

So, at this time you are on halcion, Seroquel, Citalopram AND lorazepam, is that right?

You said that you were feeling anxiety, depression & doom before lorazepam, correct? Is lorazepam helping you with those symptoms?

 

Edited March 16 by [Ta...]
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[[Ur...]]

Thanks for replying, yes that’s right about the meds and yes Lorazapam does help with the symptoms. 

[[Ta...]]

You've tapered off of half of the halcion now, so you are down to 12.5 mg. How do you feel tapering off of halcion?

[[Ur...]]

I feel all over the place, tired, exhausted, nervous, anxious. I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing. I really need advice. 

[[Ta...]]

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

I feel all over the place, tired, exhausted, nervous, anxious. I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing. I really need advice. 

I can imagine that you must feel overwhelmed. Usually, we are better off tapering one thing at a time, so since you've been tapering halcion, I I'm wondering how you feel that is going?

[[Ur...]]

It’s hard to tell but I think ok. Whenever I have symptoms I take the Lorazepam though so that could be covering up some symptoms. 

[[je...]]

Hi @[Ur...]

Halcion is a benzodiazepine. From what you’re describing it sounds like you’ve become dependent on it hence these symptoms. Reducing your dose by 50% in two weeks is very fast and it explains these symptoms. I don’t understand why your doctor is prescribing another benzo to taper you off benzos, even if it’s just PRN.

It will make your blood serum levels fluctuate and it’s not ideal. In my opinion best is not to take the Lorazepam. I would also hold my dose of Halcion for a couple of weeks if you’re struggling or alternatively updose if your symptoms are not manageable.

 

[[Ur...]]

How do I stop the Lorazapam? Do I have to taper off that afire two weeks use ? What do I do when I have symptoms with the Halcion ? 

[[Ta...]]

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

Hi @[Ur...]

Halcion is a benzodiazepine. From what you’re describing it sounds like you’ve become dependent on it hence these symptoms. Reducing your dose by 50% in two weeks is very fast and it explains these symptoms. I don’t understand why your doctor is prescribing another benzo to taper you off benzos, even if it’s just PRN.

It will make your blood serum levels fluctuate and it’s not ideal. In my opinion best is not to take the Lorazepam. I would also hold my dose of Halcion for a couple of weeks if you’re struggling or alternatively updose if your symptoms are not manageable.

I agree with Jelly Baby, it is most likely better not to take the lorazepam, and to hold the dose of Halcion for a time. You are feeling all of these distressing symptoms because these different drugs are causing a lot of stress to your brain. 

[[Ur...]]

Is it ok to increase the Halcion ? I thought it was bad to go back up ? 

[[Ur...]]

How long would you suggest I should hold the dose of Halcion for ? 

[[je...]]

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

How do I stop the Lorazapam? Do I have to taper off that afire two weeks use ? What do I do when I have symptoms with the Halcion ? 

You just stop taking it. The Halcion symptoms are due to rapid tapering. Unfortunately when you become dependent it is unlikely to taper without having any symptoms at all. The best we can do is try to manage the severity of these symptoms. 

My suggestion to you is to either hold your current dose of Halcion if your symptoms are manageable or updose the Halcion if your symptoms are too tough and you struggle to function.

[[je...]]

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

Is it ok to increase the Halcion ? I thought it was bad to go back up ? 

You can increase. I’ve updosed twice during my taper when I got very sick due to rapid tapering. Personally I don’t see any problem with updosing if you need to stabilise. 

[[je...]]

 @[Co...] will be the better person to refer to for tapering advice as I’ve just checked the Ashton Manual for Halcion and I see it has an extremely short half life. @[Co...] has very good knowledge about tapering short half life benzos. 

[[Ur...]]

How long would you suggest that I hold the Halcion for ? 

[[Ur...]]

@[Co...] can you help please ?