Work and socializing on Valium?

[[Ne...]]

Is anyone here able to do this while tapering under 5mg Valium?  I’m in my 30s and don’t have a choice, but to try to continue to work, live life and be social. Has anyone found anything to help counteract a dull / flat mood from this crap? I feel brain dead / blank / slow all the time, not able to generate thoughts / ideas of my own, struggle to get basic tasks done each day and can tell I’m extremely confused / not processing things correctly.  It’s as if I’ve become mentally handicapped for good.  It’s so painful when I know the real me is sharp, dynamic, creative and social.  I don’t see an end in sight and think about saying goodbye to my life often.  Would be grateful for a buddy to commiserate with on this who might be in a similar boat or is experiencing improvements through their taper. 🙏🏼

[[ih...]]

I've had to get a fit note off the GP is that something you can do? There's no way I could drive heavy machinery on building sites on 2 hours sleep every night 

[[Pa...]]

Its tough to try to live normally when we're tapering and then recovering from this experience, and I'm not sure you should try.  Yes, its important to keep your life intact so that when you're recovered, you can rejoin it but trying to keep up your life now could add more stress that will of course ramp up your symptoms.

You have an injury and just because you and others can't see it, or even adequately define it doesn't take away from that fact that you are.  If you had broken bones or had just had major surgery, you wouldn't expect to do everything you normally do, this is no different. 

Be kind to yourself and know that all of this will end, you'll return to who you were and you'll be able to enjoy your life again.  I know it seems like you're lost and for now, you are but this is a temporary situation, there is life, a wonderful life after benzo's. 

 

[[ih...]]

I've been taking ashwagandha and l theanine the last 3 days and it hasn't stopped the insomnia but it's really helped with anxiety and other symptoms, it's worth a try in my opinion for what they cost they're relatively cheap and they do help to calm the brain but protect it aswell

[[ih...]]

I'm also on diazepam 32mg a day ATM, how often do you drop your dose and how much do you drop it by?

[[Ne...]]

@[ih...] I just started with pills cutting slightly below 5mg.  I’m also on an SSRI which I’m not sure I can mix with ashwagandha and l-theanine unfortunately. I technically run a small business, but have been out of commission cognitively for almost a year (started with reinstating my SSRI).  I accidentally skipped a dose of Val one night this week and last night I tried to switch to liquid and messed up the conversion to much lower (0.45mg) so I am majorly off today.  @[Pa...] thank you for your compassionate and thoughtful note. Do you happen to know if messing up a dose / skipping a dose once or twice can injure the brain more or prolong healing?

[[Pa...]]

1 hour ago, [[N...] said:

Do you happen to know if messing up a dose / skipping a dose once or twice can injure the brain more or prolong healing?

Making a mistake in your taper will typically cause you to feel uncomfortable but in the grand scheme of things, its my belief this will have little effect on your recovery.  No taper is perfect, adjustments have to be made, incorrect calculations will happen, we go too fast or too slow but somehow we manage to recover, even me who quit cold turkey. 

[[Sc...]]

I have this problem as well, and was on the same dose (5mg) for four years, reduced to 2.5mg, now down to 1mg and going to be off them in another week or so. 

To share my experience, I've felt flatline emotions for years not knowing it was from Valium. I kept wondering why I felt nothing and seemingly changed. Find nothing enjoyable, unhappy with my appearance where it is usually the opposite. 

The way I approach it is I just socialize when I have to, which luckily isn't that much. I stopped caring what others think (like if they think I'm weird for being quiet or something), I'm respectful, but at the same time am going through a withdrawal, so I take time for me and do my own thing. 

I feel brain dead too, slow and forgetful, whereas I usually feel clever, kind, compassionate and had a fantastic memory. Now I feel nothing really, it's strange. 

I'm just riding out the withdrawal and taking it one day at a time, telling myself each day is getting closer to finding me again. I hope you feel better soon! 

[[Pa...]]

3 minutes ago, [[S...] said:

I have this problem as well, and was on the same dose (5mg) for four years, reduced to 2.5mg, now down to 1mg and going to be off them in another week or so. 

To share my experience, I've felt flatline emotions for years not knowing it was from Valium. I kept wondering why I felt nothing and seemingly changed. Find nothing enjoyable, unhappy with my appearance where it is usually the opposite. 

The way I approach it is I just socialize when I have to, which luckily isn't that much. I stopped caring what others think (like if they think I'm weird for being quiet or something), I'm respectful, but at the same time am going through a withdrawal, so I take time for me and do my own thing. 

I feel brain dead too, slow and forgetful, whereas I usually feel clever, kind, compassionate and had a fantastic memory. Now I feel nothing really, it's strange. 

I'm just riding out the withdrawal and taking it one day at a time, telling myself each day is getting closer to finding me again. I hope you feel better soon! 

Hello @[Sc...], welcome to BenzoBuddies,

Thank you for letting us know what works for you, you seem emotionally healthy which is difficult to achieve while going through this.  

Congratulations on getting so low in your taper, you'll soon know these feelings again, returning to ourselves is wonderful, I'm glad you know its coming. 

@[Pa...]

[[Sc...]]

46 minutes ago, [[P...] said:

Hello @[Sc...], welcome to BenzoBuddies,

Thank you for letting us know what works for you, you seem emotionally healthy which is difficult to achieve while going through this.  

Congratulations on getting so low in your taper, you'll soon know these feelings again, returning to ourselves is wonderful, I'm glad you know its coming. 

@[Pa...]

Thank you @[Pa...] for your kind words! I hope that my experience can help others here as well. 

On my off days, I find that I keep to myself and immerse myself in something comforting, be it familiar TV cartoon comfort shows or video games, even listening to music and going on a short walk can help. One thing I learned is to just take it slow and it's okay to focus on ourselves. I often found myself feeling selfish "ignoring" family and friends, but once I explained to them that I am sick/unwell, they understood luckily.

Just as you mentioned, just because we do not have a visible sickness (Like a broken bone) does not mean we are not feeling well! 

[[ih...]]

On 20/06/2024 at 01:04, [[N...] said:

@[ih...] I just started with pills cutting slightly below 5mg.  I’m also on an SSRI which I’m not sure I can mix with ashwagandha and l-theanine unfortunately. I technically run a small business, but have been out of commission cognitively for almost a year (started with reinstating my SSRI).  I accidentally skipped a dose of Val one night this week and last night I tried to switch to liquid and messed up the conversion to much lower (0.45mg) so I am majorly off today.  @[Pa...] thank you for your compassionate and thoughtful note. Do you happen to know if messing up a dose / skipping a dose once or twice can injure the brain more or prolong healing?

I think we just heal when we heal everyone seems to have a different time frame from what I've read. just knowing eventually all this will end and it will be so worth it 

[[Do...]]

On 18/06/2024 at 22:37, [[N...] said:

Is anyone here able to do this while tapering under 5mg Valium?  I’m in my 30s and don’t have a choice, but to try to continue to work, live life and be social. Has anyone found anything to help counteract a dull / flat mood from this crap? I feel brain dead / blank / slow all the time, not able to generate thoughts / ideas of my own, struggle to get basic tasks done each day and can tell I’m extremely confused / not processing things correctly.  It’s as if I’ve become mentally handicapped for good.  It’s so painful when I know the real me is sharp, dynamic, creative and social.  I don’t see an end in sight and think about saying goodbye to my life often.  Would be grateful for a buddy to commiserate with on this who might be in a similar boat or is experiencing improvements through their taper. 🙏🏼

I feel exactly the same, i am on diazepam 3.05mg today. the only thing i dont agreewith is that is not for good. We will heal and get better as we get this poison out of our bodies and our lives.

In my case i have windows often but far from being functional and home bound most of the time and of course unable to work or do most of regular tasks especially outside my house.

You`re not in a huge dose and will will make it if you go slow and dont rush, it never works and we end up very sick when over taper or rush.

Hope the best for you.