Planning to cross from Xanax to Valium...here's my plan...your thoughts???

[[Sn...]]

Hi everyone,

 

I've been reading a bunch to try to get as educated as I possibly can about this. I read the Ashton Manual and things by Dr. Reg Peart. I have to say I am really liking the idea of Valium. In fact I think I am going to give it a shot. I just hope my doctor will agree to it. Please send a prayer up that he will and that I don't have a bad reaction to it.

 

Well I have to say that I realize that I am getting pretty bad inter-dose withdrawal from the Xanax. I mean I get very jittery especially during the day. When I take my dose at night I feel pretty good and sleep like a rock for about 6-7 hours. I feel that .5mg is enough to keep me comfortable but because the half life is so low it's like you get a nice big hit then you're left hanging a few hours later. Does that make sense? Well that is how it feels. So this week I started adding .25mg at 10am to help with that. It is helping some. I'm thinking of just going on ahead and taking .5mg at 10pm as I am now and .5mg at 10am to get me to my doctors appointment. I am taking the Ashton Manual with me. Gosh I hope he agrees to Valium!

 

After this experience with the inter-dose stuff I really want to try the Valium. I'm not concerned about the depression that some say they get. I just want to feel stable and level and sleep good at night and not have to take 3-4 doses per day.

 

So here is my plan as of now. Tell me what you think.

 

1. I'll do a crossover to liquid Valium over two weeks. I won't go into the details of that. I'm going to use the Aston manual to do it.

 

2. I am going on ahead and go to 15mgs because I want to start from a very stable place. And right now the .75mg of Xanax is barely keeping me compatible. I have read it is a must to start stable. I am going to just stay at a steady place for 2-8 weeks before my taper. I am in no hurry and I want to go off this stuff as smoothly as possible no matter how long it takes.

 

3. I am going to use the liquid all the way through the taper instead of the pills. Seems logical to me.

 

4. I am going to take my entire dose at night.

 

5. I am going to drop .1mg every other day or so until I find my groove. And if that is my groove then I'll ride it that way all the way off this stuff.

 

I'd love to hear what you all think about it.

 

Thanks!

 

Snookie

[[...]]

Have you tried splitting the tablet up into 4 doses.  I am in the same kind of situation and instead of dosing twice a day, I split the tablets up so I can dose 4-6 times a day with the last tidbit just after dinner.  I managed to stabalize with minor sx's after a month and the little chips 4-6 times a day keep me on an even keel.  I am saving the crossover request until I get down to the last 10 mg equivalent of V - don't want to be a zombie taking V that has such a long half life.

Of course if you can tolerate 15 mg of V during the course of the day - go for it.

Just my success plan so far and thought you might like hearing from someone else "hooked" on A for many years.

Good luck with whatever you chose.  Remember, there is an end down the road....its just a long road.

[[Sn...]]

Hi Joed, Which tablets are you splitting up? Are you talking about your Xanax tablets? I've been so wired from all this benzo withdrawal stuff I'm looking forward to being a zombie if Valium will do that to me! 

[[Sn...]]

Anyone?

[[Sn...]]

My doc gave me the Valium to cross over to. Now over the next month that is what I am going to do. I told him that I am a good bit sedated when I first take my .5mg pill of Xanax and that I feel it worn off after about 18 hours. He believes that I can get stable on 5mg of Valium because the "hit" of the dose will be much more spread out. It's like .5mg Xanax is to much when I first take it and not enough 1-24 hours later. So 5mg of Valium may be just right. Make sense? I will begin the crossover tonight.

[[Sn...]]

Welcomed then left hanging....

[[wi...]]

I don't feel I have advice to give. I am in the midst of w/d..though few symptoms..just lethargy and sleepiness. I can only tell you what I have done. Like you,I substituted valium for xanax. I also was at .5 mg ..so for a little while (so the valium got steady in my system) I took .125 mg xanax am and .125 mg xanax in afternoon and at bedtime I took 5 mg valium..when I crossed over I was at 10mg valium (splitting up during the day). Then I went down to 7.5...now I am at 6.25..and holding...see how I feel in a few days...

This is definitely a watch and see how you are doing..if you live with someone..ask their opinion....

I'm trying to understand since you were going with the Ashton Manual..why start at 5 mg valium? I'm not making any judgement..just wondering. Since 1mg xanax = 20 mg valium per Dr. Ashton.

[[...]]

My doc gave me the Valium to cross over to. Now over the next month that is what I am going to do. I told him that I am a good bit sedated when I first take my .5mg pill of Xanax and that I feel it worn off after about 18 hours. He believes that I can get stable on 5mg of Valium because the "hit" of the dose will be much more spread out. It's like .5mg Xanax is to much when I first take it and not enough 1-24 hours later. So 5mg of Valium may be just right. Make sense? I will begin the crossover tonight.

 

I'm a bit concerned about your taper plan. You seem to be substituting .5 mg alprazolam with only 5 mg diazepam? You originally wanted to take 15 mg diazepam daily. Will you deviate from the plan you posted in your first posting?

 

 

[[Sn...]]

My doc feels that since I am very sedated when I first take my .5mg of Xanax and then it gradually loses effect over the next 24 hours that I may not need to go up to 10mg of Valium. He just wants me to start with 5mg Valium for a few days and see how I feel and gradually increase if I need to. We are aiming to get me sleeping well at night and slightly sedated in the day. I am just starting out at 5mg tonight and for the next few days. Will go up if needed. Basically the .5mg Xanax is probably more than I need is what we're thinking. It may end up that I need to 6-8mg Valium. We're just trying to find out by gradually going up instead of guessing.

 

His thought is that if .5mg Xanax has me sedated for the first 6-12 hours then wears off because of the short 6-12 hour half life that the long half life of Valium 20-100 might even things out. He and I for that matter do not want to get way above my tolerance level just a bit above it.

 

Make sense?

[[wi...]]

I wish some experts would come in here and tell you if it makes sense. I decided to stick with Dr. Heather Ashton's Manual 5 mg xanax = 10 mg valium.

I also continued the xanax (at smaller dosage) while introducing the valium because it takes time to get into your system...

I'm just concerned that you may have a difficult time in the next couple of days until the valium kicks in. Dr. Ashton doesn't give the impression that going up in dose is a good option.

 

I wish you a trouble-free transition.

[[...]]

His thought is that if .5mg Xanax has me sedated for the first 6-12 hours then wears off because of the short 6-12 hour half life that the long half life of Valium 20-100 might even things out. He and I for that matter do not want to get way above my tolerance level just a bit above it.

 

Make sense?

 

Sounds reasonable to me. Valium, when taken daily, builds up to a blood plasma level that is five times the daily dose due to its long half life and as a thumb rule, the higher the half life, the higher the accumulation, or so I've read.

 

Jack Hobson-Dupont, who crossed over from 3 mg Xanax to 60 mg Valium, writes in his book (The Benzo Book)

During the period when I crossed over from Xanax to

diazepam, I began to feel more and more sedated. Since

diazepam has a longer half-life, the metabolites of the

drug are active in the system for longer periods of time; so, while

Xanax would clobber me with its full effect, causing me to fall asleep,

then abruptly leave my system four to six hours later, the Valium

would exert its influence more noticeably throughout the day. It was

ironic that after almost a decade of using benzodiazepine, the first

time I felt ‘high’ from it was when I was beginning the process of

weaning myself of it.

 

So, maybe if you follow the Asthon Manual to the letter, you overdo it in the early stages.

[[Sn...]]

Hi RPD,

 

Thanks for the info. That was very helpful. And interestingly I read that very thing just last night from his book.

 

Well let me explain exactly what I have been doing so that it is really clear. With all that has been going on plus the cog fog, numbers, doc appointments, doses, crossover, work, etc everything has gotten a bit muddy. So here it is.

 

I have been taking .5mg of Xanax at 10pm every night. And for the most part that has been sufficient. On the average of every other day I have taken an additional .25mg at 10am but I have NOT done this consistently. And if Xanax had a longer half life my hunch is that I probably wouldn't have had to do that.

 

So what I finally decided to do last night was to play it safe and take 10mg of Valium. I really do not think I will need the additional 5mg Valium (to make up for that occasional .25mg of Xanax that I would take at 10am.) I am hoping and praying that I can get stable on 10mg Valium only. And what I mean by stable is sleeping well at night and mildly sedated during the day as Ashton recommends. If after several week I am feeling this way then on December 1st I plan to begin a slow, smooth, steady taper.

 

So last night in place of the Xanax I took 10mg of Valium. I slept well and have felt pretty relaxed today so far. I just did a direct crossover and quit the Xanax.

 

Now comes the question. Will I have a negative reaction to the Valium and if I do then what? I already know Klonopin is out of the question. I CANNOT tolerate that crap no way no how. I do not suspect issues with the Valium but if they arise I will go back to Xanax which seams to agree best with me and taper using the Xanax Intensol oral Solution. By the way, why would people on here titrate pills in water when there is an oral solution available for Xanax, Valium, and Ativan? And they don't even have to be refrigerated! Kinda like caught syrup.  

 

On the Valium I definitely felt a bit of nausea this morning but I went in and ate anyway. And i feel OK now. When those fee people do have problems with Valium what are those problems usually? I want to be on the look out.

 

 

Oral solutions link:

 

 

Xanax

[nobbc]https://www.rli-touchpoint.com/tpPortal/appmanager/touchpoint/rli?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=rli_productcatalog_portlet&rli_productcatalog_portlet_actionOverride=%2Fportlets%2FProductCatalog%2FproductDetail&rli_productcatalog_portletprod_ndc=00054306844[/nobbc]

 

 

Ativan

[nobbc]https://www.rli-touchpoint.com/tpPortal/appmanager/touchpoint/rli?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=rli_productcatalog_portlet&rli_productcatalog_portlet_actionOverride=%2Fportlets%2FProductCatalog%2FproductDetail&rli_productcatalog_portletprod_ndc=00054353244[/nobbc]

 

 

Edit: Deactivated links, but the reader may copy them into a browser for viewing.

 

 

[[su...]]

I don't have any advice to offer but just wanted to say good luck!

[[wi...]]

That is interesting: Xanax and Ativan in liquid form.

I don't have any advice either..just want to send you good positive thoughts

 

When I crossed over to 10mg valium I felt it was too much too sedated..so I dropped twice in (probably..we shall see) a few weeks to 6.25 mg. I can function on this and am sleeping much better than I have in a long time. So..I'm trying to monitor how I'm doing... and remain at this dose for at least 7 days.

 

Wishing you a smooth transition. 

[[Ka...]]

Worked brilliantly for me, saved my life crossing over to the Valium

[[Sn...]]

That is interesting: Xanax and Ativan in liquid form.

I don't have any advice either..just want to send you good positive thoughts

 

When I crossed over to 10mg valium I felt it was too much too sedated..so I dropped twice in (probably..we shall see) a few weeks to 6.25 mg. I can function on this and am sleeping much better than I have in a long time. So..I'm trying to monitor how I'm doing... and remain at this dose for at least 7 days.

 

Wishing you a smooth transition. 

 

 

Did you have any trouble switching over? What was your crossover like? Did you feel like crap? For how long? it was ugly for me from dose one even with a full dose of Xanax in me. I though I was going to lose it!

[[wi...]]

Hi Snookie

 

For at least a week before CO, I was taking Xanax in the morn' and afternoon and supplementing with valium at night. Other than forgetfulness and sleepiness..eyes tired..no other w/d effects. Last night I had trouble sleeping for the first time..but other than that so far so good...

I am trying to stay positive and get to the place of 'it is what it is'...accept whatever comes knowing it too shall pass. Early days for me...

I'm just so grateful to be putting these behind me. Very