Need advice. First day without dextrometorpane: taking a break during tapping may stop or ruin my progress?

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Hello everybody. I have an important question to make.

Today is the first day in almost two years that I spend +24h without consuming any dextrometorpane. I think I'm taking the last steps to get rid of that substance. Also, I reduced partially te amount of clonazepam i was taking: at the begging of June I was taking 10mg lorazepam, 2mg clonazepam, now 0.5mg clonazepam. Felling a little weird and dizzy, and have some muscular back pain for about a week. Also some mental symptoms I ve already mentioned in previous post. 

So, right now what o would like to ask is this: I am a heavy user. I've been a heavy user since I was 21 years old (I'm 27 now). In the last 2-3 years my consumption was really high, so high I am kinda surprised that I was taking that amounts for so many years... So, at the begging of the year, I decided to seriously try to get out of here. In January 2024 my consumption was something like this:

-40-50mg diazepam

-4-6mg alprazolam 

-5mg clonazepam 

-5mg lorazepam

-2mg lormertazepam 

-350mg (aprox) dextrometorpane 

Right now, I am I'm this situation:

-10mg lorazepam

-0.5mg clonazepam 

So, I think y make quite a progress. Get rid of quite substances and plan to stabilise in lorazepam and taper since there. But here is the thing. I am starting to feel quite tired. I've been fighting through symptoms of withdrawal without having time to fully recover fiscally or mentally from it. I tapered, feel bad, and when I started feeling a little better, I taper again. Never have a time to my body to fully adapt to all the changes that were occurring. 

So, now that I was able to stop taking dextrometorpane (hope it maintain) and stabilise into a high, but compared with my initial dose, quite reduced quantity, I was thinking of maintain for 3 weeks 1 month that dosage, and try to focus in get better at my symptoms, specially mental symptoms. However, I feel a bit insecure. I was six months straight tapering the dose, going out of 4 tipes of benzos, reduced to more than a half and also, since June I was tapering dextrometorpane till today, that I didn't consume it for the first time in years. I am kinda worried about if the idea of taking a break (maintain my current 10mg lorazepam dosage and 0.5 clonazepam) for a month, so I can focus in my mental and physical symptoms, would stop or be perjudicial to my recuperation. In one hand, today, the moment I am writting this message, I don't feel terrible (feel bad, but can handle it), but in the other hand, I know I new to take serious care or the symptom the continued withdrawal has caused on me.

So I would like to hear your opinions or personal stories, making that kind of "break", you think is a good idea or it may make more difficult my recuperation? (I am aware withdrawal in the lower doses will be more aggressive, at least, normally it is).

Thank to any response. Have a good day

 

Edited July 9 by [Sc...]

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Hi! I would get rid off DXM before the benzos..I used ketamine a while when anxiety was over the top in acute. Good stuff for that but comes with it's own problems.

I also used a mix of benzos, depending on what I had at home for the moment. 

I see your DXM use is over with! 

Your taper strategy sounds good to me! I think what they call your style is taper and hold.

You might taper slower now when you have got your dose down.

I think 5-10% each other week is standard. 

Good luck 😊

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

Hi! I would get rid off DXM before the benzos..I used ketamine a while when anxiety was over the top in acute. Good stuff for that but comes with it's own problems.

I also used a mix of benzos, depending on what I had at home for the moment. 

I see your DXM use is over with! 

Your taper strategy sounds good to me! I think what they call your style is taper and hold.

You might taper slower now when you have got your dose down.

I think 5-10% each other week is standard. 

Good luck 😊

Thank you for your response! Yeah I also thought getting rid of the DXM was the best idea. I took it for quite less time than benzos and in lower doses, so it seems the best option to me. 

As you say today I'm over with it, or I hope I can maintain it (actually I am felling pretty fine, not good, but not as bad as a I think I would feel, let's give it a few days to see how things evolve but I'm optimistic)

I'm glad you think that a good strategy. As a I said I was tapering non stop for six months of really high doses and I feel like I need a pause, maintain the actual dosage and focus in treat some my symptoms, cause some of them have gotten quite virulent the past weeks, specially mental ones. 

Again that you so much for the advice and the luck 🙏. After this "hold stage" I think I'll do as you say and start tapping again but a slower.

Send you a hug and my best wishes.