Who here is having a smoother withdrawal?

[[An...]]

Who here is having a smother withdrawal with titration compared to cutting. I guess I am looking for reassurance as I took too big of a cut and was warned......sure enough I feel horrible with anxiety, brain fog and depression.  I want to switch to titration soon in hopes for a better go at it.  Looking for reassurance.    Thanks Annie

[[en...]]

I dry cut from 1 mg of clonazepam down to .5. I am milk titrating the the last .5. I am reducing 1 ml per day. Today is my 12th day of titration. It has been smoother than the dry cutting was.

 

I like reducing 1% each day rather than 10% at one time and waiting to stabilize somewhat before making the next cut. So far I have not had to hold but may as I get lower.

 

Also it is way more accurate than cutting.

 

endeavor to persevere

[[An...]]

That's good to hear! I am looking for some positive feedback. Thanks!

[[bl...]]

I am. I have tried cutting about a half dozen times without luck. By the third day, I'm a mess and usually can't sustain the taper. I think it's because I can't get the cuts small enough. Xanax is too small and too crumbly.

 

This time, I'm ten days in, almost eleven days now. And it's not perfect... I am in withdrawal without a doubt. But it seems to be waxing and waning a little more rather than just constant withdrawal.

 

So I've cut 10% already. The first two days, I felt like I was on a hallucinogenic.

 

But this IS smoother than cutting for me. I think it might work. I'm feeling really hopeful at any rate.

[[An...]]

Blueorchidlady, how many times a day do you dose?

[[bl...]]

Three times a day.

 

It looks like you've been in a similar situation as I am too, with a shorter benzo for a long while. I won't lie. The first few days, I was hallucinating and couldn't feel the meds. I don't know what the future holds, but usually by now, I'm unable to leave the house at all. Today, I went to lunch for three hours with a friend, and I'm still working. Barely hanging in there, but still working.

 

It's intense. I know. I'm scared to go down. I like the water titration because I don't psychologically notice taking less of the pill too. So that fear is gone.

[[An...]]

It IS so scary. I don't know what I will do for the anxiety when I am done. I already have it now day by day and it is affecting me too.  I have a hard time leaving the house ad haven't contacted my friends in 2 months.  I do know that I want off these meds and never look back.

[[Ho...]]

I felt the same way, I thought if I didn't take the pill I would panic , let me tell you the

Natural anxiety we feel is nothing compared to the chemical imbalance anxiety these pills cause.

4 months off I am doing things I could not do on the pill.  Just taper slow and let

Your brain heal on the way down.

[[An...]]

Hope4u2, that makes me feel better.  I do believe this chemical anxiety has to be different.  I had never experienced adrenalin surges before this. 

[[Ho...]]

Please look into biofeedback it's a game changer

It's my new drug.

 

 

[[An...]]

Awesome! Always wanted to try it. What has it done for you?

[[Ho...]]

Reset my entire nervous system.

 

 

[[bl...]]

It IS so scary. I don't know what I will do for the anxiety when I am done. I already have it now day by day and it is affecting me too.  I have a hard time leaving the house ad haven't contacted my friends in 2 months.  I do know that I want off these meds and never look back.

 

Annie, I'm right there with you about these feelings. I am doing better than past withdrawals for sure. But that's not to say I'm not having them. I'm "limited" right now in what I can do due to the panic attacks too. They've impacted my ability to drive and work both. I feel you. No answers, just questions here too. It sounds like we're in a similar boat though.

 

I had severe panic disorder with housebound agoraphobia before medication, mind you.

[[Be...]]

I dry cut from 0.5 mg clonazepam two years ago (1/8 pill reductions to the end then 1/16) and I made it, but it was fairly rough. I had the typical window about 3 to 5 days out after the cut that lasted about 5 days were my symptoms were pretty intense. Not so intense that I couldn't work, but I did have to escape a bit. Insomnia was pretty brutal as well.

 

So far, with water titration and the 10% method (for me - dropping the 10% over one week or so and stabilizing the following week or two, if necessary) I've been much more stable. I sleep better and work is more tolerable. It will take longer to get off the medicine, but not sure that it will take longer in the long run, as I did have some protracted symptoms last time. We'll see. As I've said, I'm not done with this yet, but so far the early cuts are much more tolerable. There's really no comparison. I've had some episodes come up (once where I was using the 1 ml/day reduction and the cuts caught up to me and once where I had an argument with my wife which ramped my symptoms up and I mistook it for w/d); however, overall, it's been clearly superior thus far. This has been my exeperience yours may be different. However, I think, in general, the reason titration is discussed so much is because it does exactly the thing you are asking about. If it did not, then people wouldn't bother with it, as it can be troublesome for some. For me, it's pretty easy since I use the orally disintegrating clonazepam pills.

[[An...]]

Benzo, what is the difference in titration using the 10% method compared to the 1 ml?

[[pr...]]

For me there is just no comparison between trying to dry cut larger amounts, and slowly titrating down.

 

Mind you, I'm titrating multiple meds.

 

But for me the bigger cuts are way too harsh.  Making tiny cuts and titrating slowly is giving me a pretty smooth withdrawal.  Sure, I feel crappy sometimes, and I get hit with bouts of agoraphobia (my most annoying symptom), but I'm able to work full time and have a bit of a social life and get the laundry and grocery shopping done and sometimes even keep my house clean, and also do a little bit of volunteering outside the house (besides the time I spend here on this board).

 

For me, that's pretty good.  It's better than I was able to do when I was taking psych meds at the regular prescribed doses.  I'm more functional and healthier tapering than I was while taking the meds.

 

I attribute 95% of my success to going so slowly and making such small cuts.

[[Be...]]

Annie(3),

 

The percentage method is to cut a certain percentage from your last dose (generally 5 to 10% - unless you're in Australia where I read 15% - which I would never do). You would do that over a certain time frame and then stabilize over some time frame. This is more of a calendar option with a "feel" override button if necessary.

 

The 1 ml reduction (as I understand it) is more like a 1 ml reduction of your total dosage in 100 ml (or other amount) in water or other titrating fluid. You do this until you begin to feel your symptoms coming on, then you stop and stabilize. I suspect you could do the same with different pill concentrations as you get lower and lower in dosage, but this method is more of a "feel" option and independent of a calendar.

 

Having had some experience with both, I prefer the former but many people are the opposite. For me, I had dry-cut severity reactions when just going with the 1 ml reduction, so I abandoned it. That could just have been me not being very sensitive to the on-coming symptom spike, don't know. However, whatever it was, I decided then that I would try a more "controlled" cut and it seems to be working a lot better. I still get symptoms of course, just not as severe and not as prolonged as before (at least not so far - as I've kind of learned to expect the unexpected with benzos).

[[Ho...]]

Tapering no more than 20% a month is what I did in the beginning.

 

Using Ativan you will feel the cuts in a day or two.

 

Cut 1ml a day for 10 days then hold for 5 and resume.

 

I was lucky these holds worked for me I stabilized every time.

 

I did a Turtle Taper and it worked.

[[Bi...]]

Hello Annie, I'm on Day 6 of titration of Ativan.  My first dry cut of 25% knocked me down.  I'm cutting 1%/day and so far it seems like the days are getting better as I go along.  I feel pretty much like I did on the last week of my 3 week hold after the 35% cut.  I would hope it stays that way and that the experience would be the same for you.

 

Bilbo

[[sm...]]

hope4u2 out of interest, what is a turtle taper?

 

 

[[en...]]

I'm in day 14 of reducing 1 ml per day and am not having any big issues. Actually my anxiety has improved. I slept 7 hours last night. thats a big improvement. I am having sore spots especially along the bottom of my rib cage. Not a big problem They only hurt if I press on them. My chest pain has gotten better.

 

I will keep going forward till I start having bigger issues then hold for a few days.

 

endeavor to persevere

[[Be...]]

.... that's about what when my 1 ml cuts caught up to me. Hope your experience is better. I'm not saying that it was intolerable, I made it through it. However, it's not something I want to repeat, so I've moved to a slower process. Additionally, more than likely, you will experience that your number of days between symptom spikes will decrease as the 1 ml reduction becomes a higher and higher percentage reduction from your last dose. Your results may vary and I hope that they do in a positive way.

[[en...]]

I am feeling better today than I have in 2 months. I feel about 80 to 85% normal. Could be the 7 hours of sleep I got last night. I just hope it last.

 

endeavor to persevere

[[An...]]

I hope it lasts for you too!  I hope it works that well for me as well.  I am just waiting to make the next cut.  Think I will wait a few more days.....not sure if withdrawal symptoms will stabilize from here. When I am down to .5 mg clonazepam I will start the liquid titration. Which should be soon.

[[Ja...]]

I was cutting 2ml a day started feeling symtoms cut it back to 1 ml a day it is better but still feeling symtoms , it is not terrible though, I think I may hold for a couple days before doing another cut, I just started my taper from Klonopion and have reduced only 10 ml so far, its going to be a long road but I and all of us will get their!!!!!