Need Help ASAP for Dr. Appt in an Hour (New Member)

[[so...]]

Hi all.

 

So, I've been taking Z-drugs more often than not for the last 5 years.  Of course, I've developed tolerance and dependency and all the crappy sequelae that comes with it.  I feel like I've hit ground zero.  My brain feels addled, I have bad rebound anxiety, and Z-drugs and benzos no longer give me decent sleep.  I have a chronic connective tissue disorder, with significant pain, and the pain exacerbates when I don't sleep.

 

If there's one good thing, I have not raised my doses to absurd levels, even though I've had doctors who were complicit with such.  That said, it got to the point where 12.5 mgs of Ambien CR or 3 mgs of Lunesta were no longer putting me to sleep within a reasonable time, or keeping me asleep, so I began taking Halcion at .125-.25 mgs intermittently and eventually more often than not, with the approval of my doctor.  I have a script of Clonazepam on hand, and sometimes I opt for that over the Z-drugs, and take .5 to 1 mg of that, usually the latter, with the approval of my doctor.

 

On Tues morning, I decided enough is enough.  I need my brain back -- or what's left of it -- and there is no use taking something that is making me for more bad than good, i.e., it's ineffective.  I went 24 hours without any benzos or Z drugs, soon realizing that there was no way I could safely stop cold turkey.  Since then, I've been taking .25 mgs of Klonopin, in the evening.  It's not enough.  I am also taking an alpha beta blocker, to keep blood pressure and heart rate down.

 

Based on the equivalency charts, combining the Z-drugs with the Halcion, or alternatively using the Klonopin dose, I should do a taper with 10 mgs of Valium.

To that end, I made an emergency doctor appointment tonight.

 

I was not aware that I would need to be approved before posting for help.  If anyone can let me know if there is a one page document I can bring to the doctor, that would be swell.  He's not my normal doctor, but I've seen him 5 times for emergencies.  I intend to bring my pills with me, to show him that I am not looking to get high, but rather to recover from dependency and tolerance.

 

I am ready to re-claim the part of my life that these drugs have stolen from me.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

Soporiphia

 

[[so...]]

Colin, you are a great mate.  I've read your posts with enthusiasm.  If you can give me some "from the cuff" advice to take to my doctor, I'd really appreciate it.  I really want his cooperation.

 

Also, I effectively did a diazepam taper several years ago, by my own choice without medical oversight, only to get back on.

 

Thanks a mil.

[[Pa...]]

Hello soporiphia, Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

We're glad you're here and glad you figured out that the drugs were making you worse not better.  It sounds like the .25 mg of Klonopin isn't doing the trick for you, but it's difficult to know where to start with so many drugs in the mix.  We have many pages if you'll look around the resources, or withdrawal methods of the forum if you'd like to print them for your Dr.  Or you could take a look at the Ashton manual, that might be a good one to print for your visit tonight. http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/

 

Let us know how we can help.

 

Pam

[[so...]]

Thanks Pam. 

 

I think 10 mgs of diazepam to start should work.  I am taking 5 mgs equivalent right now, with the .25 mgs of clonazepam. 

 

The 12.5 mg Ambien equals 6.25 mgs of diazepam, and the .25 mgs of triazolam equals 5 mgs of diazepam.  Given that I some times only take .125 of the triazolam, 10 mgs seems to be in the sweet spot.

 

Regarding the manual, I reviewed it. Frankly, it's too long to bring into a doctor at 6 pm on Friday night.  He wont read it.  If there were one page, pitching the formula in a summary format, that'd be swell.  If not, it's somewhat intuitive, and he should appreciate that 10 mgs of diazepam is hardly a drug seeking dose.  I would ask for 5 mg pills, so I can taper down on a ~10% per week schedule.  If he wont write me a script, I guess I will have to take .5 mg of clonazepam.  But I really dont want to deal with crushing pills into lines or a soluble formula.

 

Thanks so much!

Sopped 

[[Pa...]]

Hi Sopped,

 

It's probably too late, but we usually suggest people get the 2 mg for ease in tapering to the very small doses if need be.  I don't know if you checked our pages, but they're fairly condensed. http://www.benzobuddies.org/benzodiazepine-withdrawal-methods  Let us know if you were able to get the Valium from your Dr.

 

Pam

[[so...]]

Hi there Pam.  Thanks for checking back with me.  I apologize for not getting back to you sooner.  So here's the low down ...

 

1)  The doctor that I visited would not script diazepam out of concern about DEA tracking (I live in the States).  I brought to my appointment bottles of zolipidem CR, clonazepam and triazolam.  While he knew that I was not drug seeking (as I already have a large stock of benzos), he said that adding another, different benzo in such a short period would be a red flag.

 

2)  I went into the appointment thinking there may be this reluctance, so I was prepared to say, "let's just taper with clonazepam for now."  He liked that idea, and said he would script me .25 or .5 mg pills, the lowest dose (versus my 1 mg pills).  However, at the end of the appointment he stressed that I needn't worry about being so precise as so many variables effect the bioavailability of the medicine. I told him that it was going to be a struggle to get even close to a 10% reduction per week with the 1 mg pills, but it fell on deaf ears.

 

3)  I also obtained a script of amitryptaline to assist sleep.

 

So, 1 week later, here's what I can report ...

 

I have not taken zolipidem or any other short acting benzo for the last 10 days.  I decided that I did not want to taper off of multiple benzo/z-drugs at the same time, instead just relying on the clonazepam, an intermediate to long-term acting benzo.

 

The first 3 days were hellish.  I only took .25 mg of clonazepam today, and that clearly was not enough.  Based on my average daily use of all benzo-like drugs, I should have started off at .75-1.0 mg of clonazepam.

 

When I saw the doctor on the forth day, he encouraged me to drench my receptors with clonazepam immediately.  So I took .75 mg at once.  I felt so much better in an hour.

 

Since then, for the last 6 days, I have taken .25 mg in the AM and .25 mg in the PM.  (I also stopped drinking entirely as I know there is cross tolerance.)  That's aggressively low, I know.  However, I've been doing pretty well, all things considered, and my sleep has actually already improved.

 

On Saturday, I will take .125 mg of clonazepam in the morning (1/8th of my pill) and .25 mg at night.  A week after that, I plan to remove the morning dose altogether, and move the evening dose back to mid day (so less of the medicine is in my body at night, disturbing deeper sleep).  Then I will likely just coast at that .25 mg/day amount for a few weeks, until I feel that my sleep is fully restored and that any rebound anxiety is in check.  Then I will chip away at that .25 mg over the course of several more weeks until I am clean.

 

If I run into any problems, I can have my mother send me some diazepam that I left at home last year.  But I should be okay.  I will keep checking to update my progress.

 

Thanks a lot for your kind help. 

[[so...]]

Pam, feel free to move this thread to the titration sub-forum, if appropriate.  Thanks much.