Scared to cross-taper to Diazepam from Lorazepam - looking for support, feedback, success stories?

[[Ne...]]

Hi everyone,

I'm considering moving over to 10mg Diazepam as a cross-tapering solution off of 2 months daily on Lorazepam (1.5mg/day for 5 weeks, down to approx. 0.75mg/day for 3 weeks).  Before that, I was on klonopin and lorazepam pretty steadily from mid-October 2023 through January 2023, but not daily.  I'm terrified that doing this will make me feel worse or get me hooked on benzos longer than I'd like to be.  I'm currently experiencing terrible withdrawal symptoms in the mornings and some in the evenings, but they don't feel as drastic as the mornings.  Has anyone been functional enough to work, be social and take care of themselves once cross-tapering to diazepam?  Based on my timeline on benzos, how long should I expect to be tapering down on diazepam?  What has everyone's experiences been like?  

Thanks so much!

[[kn...]]

I crossed from diazepam 2.5 years ago after taking both of the drugs you are for nearly 30 years.  Diazepam pills are larger, easier to chop, shave and taper with.  I had no side effects at all in the immediate cross over and was fine, until I got down to the lower levels.  However, that is the same with any of these benzo WD's.  I'm a lot older than you probably are, but I've been functional off and on all along. Yes, there can be some of the same wicked side effects at times.  The biggest change I've noticed is increased fatigue during the day.  Otherwise I'm still lowering the dosage at a steady rate.  I started @ 60mgs and am now down to 4.  I've only had to up dose once.  Too rapid drops and too much at a time led to that.   You should get lots of advice with this thread.  Cross overs to diazepam are very common and lots of folks here have done it.  The stuff (diazepam) also has a longer half life than most other benzos: about 10 days or so.  The length of your taper with diazepam is entirely up to you.  Small cuts of 5-10% over the course of 2-4 weeks at a time are usually what's recommended. Good luck and best wishes.

[[Ch...]]

@[Ne...]

It took me 18 months to taper 60mg of Diazepam. At the 10 mg stage, I dropped .5mg every 14th day (so, 1mg per month). Unlike many, I chose not to ever "hold," no matter the symptoms. I dropped every 14th day, period. It was very challenging, but I did remain able to care for my basic needs, despite some hideously and chronically stressful  life events at the time. After I was fully off, I gradually started an upward swing to feeling "normal" again. That trend continues at 22 months off.  A move to Diazepam is meant to help you, not hook you further. Keep heading in the direction of getting off.

[[Ka...]]

@[Ne...] I believe it’s beneficial to switch to diazepam. I was told to do this as a straight substitution with intention to then reduce/stop. I wasn’t aware of the Ashton table back then. I was definitely better on diazepam compared with lorazepam. 
I think the cross taper makes sense & allows the system to adapt in a careful way. 

[[Ne...]]

@[Ka...] @[Ch...] @[kn...] Were any of you on SSRIs while going through your cross-tapers?  I'm currently on Lexapro 15mg (about 7 weeks) and worried about the interaction.  I'm not sure how long I'll have to be on Lexapro while going through this cross-taper (I want to eventually wean off of both) and concerned about being on both for months...

[[kn...]]

@[Ne...] I have taken Venlafaxine (an SSRI) throughout the duration of my taper and done just fine.  It didn't have any effect on my cross over to diazepam.  I take a lot of it: 225mg daily, and it's still keeping most of my anxiety at bay.  Getting off or lowering the dose of my SSRI carried the same side effects for me as the benzo WD taper has, but it did not last nearly as long.  My experience on that came from lowering my dosage of Venlafexine 75mg.  I did that before my benzo cross over and taper started.  The combination of doing both at the same time scared me, but again, I am older, was taking a large amount and had been for years. Everybody's a bit different, but be cautious.  My OCD and impulse control (lack thereof) has played havoc on the continuity of my Benzo taper.  


 

[[Ka...]]

@[Ne...] during my switch across to diazepam I was also taking  venlafaxine for a trial of circa 4 months. I didn’t help or suit me so it was stopped. 

[[Ch...]]

No, I was not on an SSRI at the time.

[[An...]]

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

@[Ka...] @[Ch...] @[kn...] Were any of you on SSRIs while going through your cross-tapers?  I'm currently on Lexapro 15mg (about 7 weeks) and worried about the interaction.  I'm not sure how long I'll have to be on Lexapro while going through this cross-taper (I want to eventually wean off of both) and concerned about being on both for months...

Although I am in a holding pattern currently at a little below 2.5 mgs of valium, I also started lexapro and discovered that it helped me a lot. I was doing really good until my mother suffered two falls in Dec. of 2023. The stress from those two events caused my stress levels to rise and I got a spike in anxiety and w/d sxs. I decided to pause my taper b/c I need to be functional to take care of my mother. My plan was to continue tapering the valium to zero, stay on the Lexapro 6-12 months, and then slowly taper off that to zero.