advice needed about halazepam taper

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Please could someone advice me on my taper from halazepam. I have been on halazepam 1 tablet per day 40mg now for about 8 mths, I previously tapered unsuccessfully too quickly and had a really awful experience which has put the fear of god into me. As advised I reinstated at 20mg and after 1 mth cut again to 15mg, after 2 weeks the withdrawal symtoms reappeared I am now 4 weeks on and still not stable, I was hoping to cut again today to 10mg but im worried if it is too soon although a mth is a long time I had a really good week last week, better than ages and I cant understand why im bad again, I was recommended GABA and took 3 a day for 2 days felt good but on the 3rd day yesterday felt drowsy and a bit spaced out so stopped with the GABA, could this have caused my set back today? Any advise gratefully receieved

[[ru...]]

Hey VLP! Good to see you here!

 

You've made some pretty deep cuts which is probably why you felt so bad after cutting.  We generally recommend cutting only 10% every ten to 14 days. In your case, if you're at 15 mg, that would be 1.5 mg for your next cut.  I doubt the GABA caused your set back, but who knows? Can you tell us how much mg your pills are?

 

When it comes to tapering, slow and steady wins the race.

 

rufus

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Hi Rufus, my pills are 40mg thats the problem it is so hard to make the cuts more gradual, I was fine on 20mg but as soon as I go lower I have problems I am currently on 15mg which i manage by cutting the pill in half then cutting approx 1/4 off of that. I am in Spain and they dont come in smaller doses here. another member suggested swapping for valium to allow a more gradual taper? To be honest I havent a clue I was going to cut another 5mg this week and hope tolevel out on that dose for another month?  What do you suggest?

[[TP...]]

If you're on 15 mg, why not consider crossing over to 7.5 mg Valium. I made the recommendation on your other thread.

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hi again, how does that work then crossing from one to the other? is it easy? I assume they are all from the same family? so why do they have different names, whats the difference?

[[TP...]]

Different strengths, different half-lifes. Pharma made different ones as one went out of style, another would take its place. Klonopin is used for seizures too.

 

I found the crossover form Klonopin to Valium to be a piece of cake, Others lack the patience to deal with the minor discomfort. Within a couple of weeks I was totally comfortable with the Valium. And it comes in 5 mg, 2 mg tabs and liquid preparations.

[[Co...]]

I found the crossover form Klonopin to Valium to be a piece of cake, Others lack the patience to deal with the minor discomfort. Within a couple of weeks I was totally comfortable with the Valium. And it comes in 5 mg, 2 mg tabs and liquid preparations.

 

Actually, a small number of people find the process of switching to Valium very difficult - this is even reported by Prof. Ashton.

 

Halazepam has a long half-life (not as long as Valium, but longer than most benzos). The problem with Halazepam is that it only available in large dose tablets - far from ideal. I believe it is available in 20 & 40mg tablets (equivalent to about 10 & 20mg Valium), but Valium tablets are available in 2mg doses! So, yes, there is an advantage to using Valium, but titration will do the same job, as it will allow you to make much smaller cuts to your dose. The downside of titration is that it ties you to your kitchen - it is not at all convenient if you are out and about.

 

 

Edit: clarification.

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Hi Colin would you be able to advise me on how to do the tritation? And what size cuts to make each time(if you think this is the better option than switching to valium? What do you think would be my better option?) I did read the description but am a little unsure on how to apply it to my tablets, as I mentioned in Spain these tablets are only available in 40mg (although elsewhere I believe in 20mg) As I said I am now taking approx 15mg by cutting the tablet in half then cutting a quater off that. Im not 100% on that dose yet and its been a month so I dont when I should cut again and if so how much, is the cuts of 5mg too much?, if you or someone else could please help me plan a taper that would be great. Thanks VLP

[[Th...]]

Hi VLP,

 

Since you have had so much trouble since cutting from 20mg to 15mg (which is a large reduction) and seeing that your pills only come in 40mg tablets, I believe your best option is to do titration which will allow you to decrease your dose by smaller amounts and make it a smoother taper. You will need to acquire a 100ml cylinder and post your request under the titration taper forum to make sure Colin sees it, okay?

 

 

T2

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thanks Theresa, I will post the request there now