Diazepam last 2 mg

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Hi,

I am on a very slow tappering from  1 mg clonozopam , moving to 20 mg diazepam ( according to ashton manual) , and during the last 3 years i succeeded to tapper to 2 mg diazepam. 6 weeks ago i tried to tapper to 1.5 mg (25% reduction), and after 3 weeks i felt awful, then I updosed to 2 mg again. A week later, not stabilizing yet but felt better, i tapperd to 1.8 mg ( 10% reduction). Aftrr a few days i felt awful- and one week ago ( 18.3.24) I updosed again to 2 mg diazepam.

I have not stabilized yet. I still have symptoms ( nausa, dihareah , anxiety, mood swings and more).

Can it takes few weeks for me to stabilize again? Sometimes I feel like the wave stays forever.

After i stabilize, do you suggeat to tapper 10% reduction every time. Why is it so difficult.

 

Thanks!!

Edited March 24 by [...]

[[kn...]]

My Dr. crossed me over from the Klonopin and Ativan I was taking to 60 mgs of Diazepam almost 3 years ago.  He had me make very large cuts, his guidance and insistence, not mine.  I managed to get down to 2mgs last August, '23, but held there for 5 months trying to stabilize.  I never did and finally up dosed in early Feb. of this year to 4mg. Again, I did that after posting here and asking for what to do after being so ill for long.  One of the pieces of advice that I received made sense.  That being, if I hadn't stabilized after 8-10 weeks at least to some degree, I probably wasn't going to.  Trying to taper these low doses of Diazepam has left me wiser.  Yes, I believe that it can take at least a few weeks and probably a lot more to stabilize.  However, if it takes as long as it did for me, you might want to reconsider.  Remember too that you don't have to be well' to stabilize, but I'd say that you have to  be at least able to function in the needed life activities.  I have had the same symptoms you've described and I was not able to keep up basic adult daily requirements: getting out of bed, going to appt's,  putting myself together in the AM and such. Not good.   

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SOmEOnE? Need ADVICE

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Should i updose to 2.5 mg?

[[kn...]]

At this point, making those lower cuts is taking a larger percent off the total each time you make a drop. I went from 2g to 2.5, 2.5 to 3, waiting a couple of weeks each time.  I finally stopped at 4 and have held for 8 weeks. At least now I can eat, get out of bed, shower, etc.   With the half life of diazepam being about ten days, you should probably wait at least that long before seeing what condition your condition is in before either adding more or holding and then starting back down. When you make that decision, you might try going back down at 5% and see if you can tolerate that.  Again everyone has to determine their own tolerance points.  That's why, I would suspect, that most folks here are not telling you what they would think you should do.  There really isn't the same size fits all 'thing' with this stuff.  My opinion:  (don't quote me on this) if things haven't stabilized after a couple more weeks, I would up dose and try to heal up for a while.  If you can feel better it will be much easier to deal with the logistics of your taper.  

[[Ch...]]

[[Ka...]]

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

This is what the Ashton Manual states:

Reinstatement, updosing

A dilemma faced by some people in the process of benzodiazepine withdrawal, or after withdrawal, is what to do if they have intolerable symptoms which do not lessen after many weeks. If they are still taking benzodiazepines, should they increase the dose? If they have already withdrawn, should they reinstate benzodiazepines and start the withdrawal process again? This is a difficult situation which, like all benzodiazepine problems, depends to some degree on the circumstances and the individual, and there are no hard and fast rules.

Reinstatement after withdrawal? Many benzodiazepine users who find themselves in this position have withdrawn too quickly; some have undergone ‘cold turkey’. They think that if they go back on benzodiazepines and start over again on a slower schedule they will be more successful. Unfortunately, things are not so simple. For reasons that are not clear, (but perhaps because the original experience of withdrawal has already sensitised the nervous system and heightened the level of anxiety) the original benzodiazepine dose often does not work the second time round. Some may find that only a higher dose partially alleviates their symptoms, and then they still have to go through a long withdrawal process again, which again may not be symptom-free.

Updosing during withdrawal? Some people hit a “sticky patch” during the course of benzodiazepine withdrawal. In many cases, staying on the same dose for a longer period (not more than a few weeks) before resuming the withdrawal schedule allows them to overcome this obstacle. However, increasing the dose until a longed-for plateau of ‘stability’ arrives is not a good strategy. The truth is that one never ‘stabilises’ on a given dose of benzodiazepine. The dose may be stable but withdrawal symptoms are not. It is better to grit one’s teeth and continue the withdrawal. True recovery cannot really start until the drug is out of the system.

Pharmacologically, neither reinstating nor updosing is really rational. If withdrawal symptoms are still present, it means that the GABA/benzodiazepine receptors have not fully recovered (see above). Further benzodiazepines cause further down-regulation, strengthen the dependence, prolong withdrawal, delay recovery and may lead to protracted symptoms. In general, the longer the person remains on benzodiazepines the more difficult it is to withdraw. On the whole, anyone who remained benzodiazepine-free, or has remained on the same dose, for a number of weeks or months would be ill-advised to start again or to increase dosage. It would be better to devote the brain to solving individual symptoms and to finding sources of advice and support. Advice about how to deal with individual symptoms is given in the Manual (Chapter 3).

Welcome to BB  @[Ch...] I went off to check out the above too & given this dilemma a lot of thought. I guess reinstating or updosing ultimately prolongs the process. 

@[...] I was at low dose diazepam 2mg & it is incredibly hard. 
I think you probably need a baseline  having tried different doses 1.5, 1.8 & 2mg. If it was me, I would try to stay on 2mg & see if that helps. If you can find some stability only then think about a plan to cut very slowly perhaps by 5% watching symptoms & reducing slow & steady. Wishing you well. 
 

[[Ma...]]

You are at a point on the taper where your receptors are no longer being occupied nearly as much which is why the symptoms are bad.  It may or may not get better by updosing but even if it does, you will have to taper that amount again which is prolonging the inevitable and will probably be harder the next time.  Unless you have cut really fast, which it doesn’t sound like you have, I personally think updosing is a mistake as Ashton says.  I did do it once but I had gone VERY fast (1 mg to .38 mg in a few months)  The bottom line is that you may never stabilize until you are completely off and start healing.  If it was me and I was still able to get myself out of bed, feed myself, etc. (basic activities of living) I would want to be off rather than try to updose.  I would hold at 2 for a couple weeks or so and then cut slowly but surely and get off. Either 0.5 or 1 mg is an appropriate jumping dose.