Cross tapering to Diazepam troubles

[[...]]

I don't think liquid benzo is available in my country, India. 

And is it okay to refuse an anti depressant? I'm very afraid to take any more psychiatric drugs.

[[Hu...]]

[[or...]]

Yes @nlav,

Doctors don't always know what is best for us, we have to inform ourselves about anything they suggest because it is our life we are dealing with.  I for one will never let a doctor make the final decisions for me.  Not unless I'm already dead and leave my body to science thus the term, over my dead body!! oregonlady

[[Hu...]]

[[...]]

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

Of course. Do you have anxiety or depression, or both. If you already have anxiety, adding an SSRI will give you an anxiety spike. So don't know if that's helpful. Although in the long run it could help tapering a benzo if anxiety is the problem.

The anxiety that I have had this past week since starting diazepam, I never had anything like that before.

I think I xan safely say I have no anxiety or depression. Anything new I'm experiencing now is drug induced.

[[...]]

I've been having involuntary finger twitching this last one month before starting diazepam. It stopped and is coming back again. Scares me.

[[or...]]

1 minute ago, [[H...] said:

Clonazepam can be dissolved in water.

I tried titration in water alone and it didn't dissolve well at all.  I know there is a thread in Taper Strategies and here's one link on it if your are interested in making a do-it-yourself liquid taper @[...] 

 

[[Ka...]]

@Nlav if you can link the gene result I think you mentioned 2 meds in caution list - just recall one may be clonazepam?

 

Edited April 7 by [Ka...]

[[...]]

@Katrina,  it had just diazepam and Clobazm (not clonozepam) both in Caution for me.

[[or...]]

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

@Nlav if you can link the gene result I think you mentioned 2 meds in caution list - just recall one may be clonazepam?

Hi Katrina, what is the Gene Result?  I hadn't heard of it but it sounds like something very important to know about!  It tells what drugs are known to not mix well with a certain person's genes? thanks much, oregonlady

[[Hu...]]

Edited April 7 by [Hu...]

[[...]]

36 minutes ago, [[H...] said:

Probably a CYP2C19 Poor Metabolizers under Cautions

https://www.drugs.com/monograph/clobazam.html

Which isn't a problem with both ativan and clonazepam.

@[Hu...],  what are you tapering from if I may ask? 

[[Hu...]]

[[Co...]]

[[...]]

11 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

As far as I can tell, it is available there. It is certainly manufactured there.

Will check. Thanks Colin

[[...]]

On 06/04/2024 at 02:08, [[D...] said:

Hi, i was on 1.5mg of lorazepam a day and taper that slowly to 0.5mg before switching to diazepam and the transition was smooth to only 5mg diazepam, 2.5mg twice every 12 hours.

Despite the lorazepam taper from 1.5 to 0.5mg was hard cause of interdose withdrawal, i didnt have to start on a bigger dose of diazepam.

Glad it worked out for you in this manner. 

I'm unable to decide on my taper.

[[...]]

2 hours ago, [[o...] said:

Hi Katrina, what is the Gene Result?  I hadn't heard of it but it sounds like something very important to know about!  It tells what drugs are known to not mix well with a certain person's genes? thanks much, oregonlady

Yes, that's what it's supposed to help with.

[[...]]

My Options:

Take all 3mg Ativan tonight

Take 2.5mg A and 5mg D as in the last couple of weeks and suffer the sedation 

Take 2.25 mg A and 5mg D as my doctor mentioned on a phone call today (I have nothing to measure it appropriately and this would mean I'm beginning the taper. The cut is also high) 

I was hoping I would stabilise somewhere and go to the usa for my son's graduation in May

Dr Marks call is on the 30th April.

I wish I wasn't in this place at all:(

 

 

[[Ka...]]

Ok @nlav 

we can only offer suggestions.

Whatever you do won’t have an immediate effect due to long 1/2 life of diazepam. 
Personally, if this was me:

I would not revert to 3mg ativan as that’s quite a big jump straight back 

I would not take 2.25mg ativan simply because it has been diazepam you have been introducing & reasons you say about cut

I would maybe trial 2.5mg diazepam rather than 5mg reduced from 10mg  - rationale that it would slow introduction @[Hu...] offered thoughts I believe on other thread 

What you are trying to achieve is to come off ativan due to interdose issues. Taking this once at night for so many years seems it worked but no longer is benefiting you

Crossover to diazepam thus far is proving too sedating - if this is to work it needs slower intro. Maybe liquid per @[Co...] if you can obtain it. Being on caution gene list is concerning 

Long term, hopefully Mark Horowitz (& your clinician) may probably suggest an alternative medication for you mindful of your sleep/anxiety problems & over sedation that poses present difficulty

But you currently have to decide whether to abandon crossover or keeping going. This I know is hard & you are trying. 
I hope this makes sense & others can offer thoughts too. 

 

 

Edited April 7 by [Ka...]
Changed mg - 5mg tried rather than 10mg

[[...]]

@[Ka...], it was never a 2.5mg dose of D. It was 5mg D for 6 days, 10mg for 2 days and back to 5mg for 9 days.

"If" I stabilise on 5mg without excessive sedation, I will trial increments of 2.5mg. That was the plan but it doesn't look like I'm heading there 😞

[[...]]

@[ns...] , can you comment on the last 3 to 4 posts here? Thanks

[[Ka...]]

So sorry I meant 2.5mg rather than 5mg

I was referring to @[Hu...] thoughts on 2.5mg increments

but my reasoning is intro increment adjustment - so as to allow a slower crossover intro to diazepam 

have edited up thread 

Edited April 7 by [Ka...]
Reasoning

[[or...]]

If I was you wanting to travel in May to an important occasion, I would not taper at all until after May, hold the dose you're on now.  It's all up to you, but like someone said above there aren't any fool-proof ways of getting off a benzo, not that I've ever heard. 

Starting a taper now you really have no idea how you'll feel come May. oregonlady wishing you the best in whatever decision you make. Use this time you have between now and May to stabilize Nlav, you may not think any of us understand, but we do.  We all want our lives back to some kind of normal

Edited April 7 by [or...]

[[ns...]]

[[...]]

I did not take D last night. Only my complete dose of A 3mg. Woke up at 3.30am with a bad stomach ache, cold sweats and almost passed out. But I didn't. We had a medicine for the stomach pain thankfully, so took that and slept.

I dont want to go back on the D. 

Question is, how long will the D stay in my system for the sedation effects to wear off? A week? 10 days?

I will not change anything else about these pills until I talk to Dr.Mark later this month.