Twice weekly diazepam use

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Hi everyone I'm new to this forum. In September of last year I started to take 30/40 mg of diazepam twice weekly usually on consecutive days. Two weeks ago I decided to stop because I had started to get tense headaches inbetween taking the tablets, about six days after taking my last tablet I started to experience withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, feeling sick and only sleeping about one hour per night this period lasted for about three days. Since then the withdrawal symptons such as anxiety are still there slightly but have subsided a bit, but my sleep patern has been erratic for the last week some nights I have been getting around my usuall six or seven hours sleep but the last few nights I've been getting around two or three hours sleep. I have just spoken to a local benzo helpline and they have advised me to go to my doctor to try to get a low dose diazepam prescription to stabilize then taper off, but another organization have told me to tough it out as I havn't had a tablet for two weeks and I have got the worst over with. I would be grateful for any useful advice. Thanks in advance.

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Hi Bexy.  Welcome to Benzo Buddies.

 

Congratulations for being benzo free after recognizing that they were making you feel ill in between doses.

 

I am happy to hear that some of the side effects you were feeling to coming off the Diazepam have subsided.  I am struggling to think of how to direct you here, but my gut would say to stay where you are and ride out the remaining side effects (s/x).  The insomnia or sleep disturbances are very normal during withdrawal from benzodiazepines and eventually your body will go back into a normal pattern.  It can take some time healing fully from benzo use, so just know that your body is doing what it needs to do to heal.

 

I am hoping others will lend their thoughts to you too soon, so you can get a better idea of what direction you think is best for you.

 

All the best and take care,

Schatje

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Hi bexy,

 

I tend to agree with Schatje. Because you hadn't been taking diazepam regularly (every day) and have been off for two weeks, if it were me I think I'd ride it out. By going back on a dose and trying a slow taper, you could be prolonging symptoms of w/d. For some, reinstating doesn't necessarily help with withdrawal symptoms then they have a long taper ahead of them.

 

It sounds like your starting to stabilize. In my opinion, staying the course is the best way to deal with this.

 

Hope

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Thanks for the replies. I tend to agree with both replies and think it would be best for just to keep going on without being prescribed diazepam then doing a taper even though I have been advised to do that.

 

In the past I have been prescribed opiates and I have done a few opiate withdrawals so I what it feels like to withdraw from medication, but stupidly even though I was taking the tablets twice weekly for nearly six months I was only expecting a bit of a rebound after stopping and the withdrawal symtoms came as a real shock to the system.

 

Its two weeks tommorrow since I last took a diazepam and I'm still feeling a bit crappy and spaced out, I'm supposed to be going backpacking around South East Asia in five weeks time, I hope I'm feeling much better by then.