Time Frame For Symptoms To Subside After A Cut ??

[[pe...]]

Hi,

I am sending strength to everyone on their tapering journey..I am a newbie here and unfortunately my first Doctor placed me on benzos and when I developed what I know now as tolerance withdrawal, he put me on 2 antidepressants to help with the symptoms which was not the answer. I changed to another Doctor and he is working with me slowly to taper off these meds.. He suggested to cut one of the Antidepressants in half and see how I feel. Although it was a 50%  cut I feel some moderate body aches.. I basically have 2 questions.

Question 1. Once a cut is done and one feels mild to moderate symptoms how long do the symptoms go away . Again I am only asking for informational purposes as it would not apply to me as it varies from person to person..I just wanted an average time frame . Again this would not apply to me..

Question 2. Since BB has been around for 20 years ..Are there stories of people coming off the benzos first and slowly weaning off 2 antidepressants simultaneously at once later on  at a slow and gradual process..

Again this info is just for feedback and informational purposes.

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Wishing everyone a blessed day and a successful taper journey..

 

 

 

 

 

[[...]]

 

Hi, @[pe...], I'm not an expert but i have my own experience of coming off benzos and antidepressants.

As far as i learned, in general, symptoms should feel less bothersome 1-2 weeks after a cut, depending on its percentage and lots of other factors but i'm not sure they will completely go away till a taper is over and even later. My symptoms never subsided till the end of the acute phase. 

It's good you've found a doctor willing to help you with coming off these drugs but the first cut of an antidepressant being in half sounds a bit too much to me. No wonder you have body aches. In general, it's recommended to taper off of benzo first and start coming off antidepressants after feeling stabilised only unless there is a reason for quitting an antidepressant first. I also know that it's not recommended to taper off of two medications at once because it'd be too much for our nervous system being temporarily hyper reactive due to benzo/ its withdrawal. 

I really hope more knowledgeable in these regards members will share their opinion with you as well. Good luck to you and healing!)

 

[[pe...]]

Hi @[...] I truly appreciate your feedback.Actually I feel a dramatic improvement today  after cutting the antidepressant by 50%. At this point Kate, I will start my benzo taper slowly and leave the 2 antidepressants for last. It makes sense to me. I was able to find a good doctor that actually told me to do it really slowly which is quite rare to find. Again thanks for your suggestions and have a blessed day.

[[...]]

Hi again, @[pe...]🙂 I'm sincerely happy to hear you feel better! That is what i'll never ever be tired of reading. May it stay this way for good and i think with a proper taper it's quite possible.

Have you read The Ashton Manual, a very good guidance for those who is to come off benzodiazepines? This is the link to it in case you haven't: https://www.benzoinfo.com/ashtonmanual/. 

And i've been thinking about success stories on BB refering to people coming off benzos first and slowly weaning off 2 antidepressants later on. Actually, i asked my benzo friend who isn't a member here but has read all BB success stories through and through. The answer is yes, there are but not sure they are about coming off antidepressants simultaneously at once. I believe it should be one after another.

Wish you smooth and successful tapering off of all these drugs!

 

[[pe...]]

Hi @[...] I am happy that you reminded me of the Ashton Manual. I actually printed out the pdf format recently and I showed it to my doctor and he said she is absolutely correct and he reminded me that I might have to go even slower depending on how I feel. I recently heard that she passed away but she was a pioneer in the benzo community and she will be greatly missed. Hopefully we can pass on her guidelines and legacy forever to people who wish to taper off these benzos. Truly appreciate you Kate. Thanks so much.

[[Ma...]]

I really think it depends on the person, but in general if you are tapering from a longer acting benzo, the time it takes to “feel” it is going to be longer as is the time it takes to adjust.

One caveat I would add: This is not a linear process and rather than basing the decision to cut on a single bad day, I suggest thinking about the overall trend. I made a cut recently and had 9 straight good days, followed by a bad one.  I don’t think this bad day was the cut catching up with me, because I typically feel cuts a lot earlier than this.  I went ahead and cut again and was fine.  If I had 4 or 5 bad days in a row, that would give me more caution.  You just kinda have to adjust on the fly and hold if it starts to get bad.  

Edited July 31 by [Ma...]

[[pe...]]

Hi @[Ma...] I am a newbie here so I am trying to learn as much as possible. The more the better. Thanks for your suggestion about the benzo taper not being linear..I am still new to the cut and hold method .It sounds like I have to be very very cautious.. I may even hold when I feel fine sometimes just to make sure it does not hiddenly catch up with me if that makes sense. Truly appreciate your suggestions and have a blessed day.