My mind has woken up... BUT

[[os...]]

anxiety is back.

 

I´ll explain.

 

In the past weeks i have noticed that my mind has been getting more and more clear as i have been tapering, i would have said a couple of weeks ago that i am definitely feeling more "awake" and in the past few days i have felt this happen even more.

 

I feel like my mind has cleared of ALL fog, i have no more d/p or d/r at all... it has been steadily improving for months but the last residual fog has gone completely now, i see better, everything is really vivid and it´s like my brain has "woken up"...

 

HOWEVER...

 

Since two days ago i have started to feel agitated and this morning i had the dreaded adrenaline back, it is not as intense as when i hit a wall a month ago but i figure that now that i am awake and the d/p, d/r and fog has gone, my new symptom is anxiety and this morning was no fun at all, i did not even want to talk to a friend, it was just too stimulating.

 

I slept OK but i think i have to reduce my cut, i am holding for a second day today and will carry on in the hope that i settle somewhat, i really could do without the anxiety becoming extreme again, this is so frustrating as i am at 3.8mg Valium (equivalent) and i have so much further to go but i can say that despite the anxiety this morning, i do feel as if i am healing, my mind feels so awake and i do not believe this is a window, i had one of those before and ALL sx´s went completely.

 

I just feel dramatically different but with excess nervous energy... i know that aspect is not healing but my mind is totally firing now...

 

Did anyone else find that the fog lifted and anxiety replaced that symptom?

 

I am just hoping now that my continuing hold works to settle me and then i am going to carry on but even slower...

 

Oh, GI issues are at an all time high, it´s like my body is really rejecting this drug now...

 

Sheesh, i hope the anxiety does not worsen, i have many more months at this... if the anxiety lets up, i think i´ll start to really be feeling some major improvement, i really hope so.

 

Oscar

[[fi...]]

I just made a cut (on Klonopin) and had some GI issues this morning.  Are you able to eat normal food or do you have to eat easily digestible food?

 

Just curious.

 

Thanks.

 

Sincerely,

 

fg

[[jo...]]

Hi Oscar

 

Sorry to hear you are feeling anxious while tapering.

 

I don't know about daily tapering but your taper seems really quick compared to mine.

 

It's good that your mind is clearing as you lower your dose.

 

I'm on 3.24mg and I taper 1/8th of a mg every two-three weeks.

 

Maybe you would like to slow your taper down.

I can't advise on the daily tapering I'm afraid cos I don't know enough about it.

 

Holding your dose till this passes and slowing down your taper should help.

 

3.8mg is a very small dose in the big scheme of things.

 

Have you tried excercise to help your over stimulation.

How about your diet? are you avoiding benzo un-friendly foods and sticking to benzo friendly foods?

 

The worst thing we can do is worry about how the rest of our taper will go.

At 15mg I was scared stiff of being on the low doses, but it's nowhere near as bad as I feared.

 

Hope that helps.

 

take care x

[[ve...]]

Hi Oscar.

I think on my blog there was a buddy some years back who made a comment at one point that having anxiety was a sign to her that her taper was working.  It's kind of a sign that what was supposed to happen after the cut was happening, a little paradoxical but seemed to help her some.  That being said, if anxiety is really noticeably higher, more intense and leading to GI symptoms and perhaps other things like some sleepless nights, it could be that this cut and some of the previous ones are catching up and a hold could be in order, perhaps for a week or two, depending on how much you've taken off in the past 2-3 weeks.  Daily titration can be misleading in that there can still be a cumulative effect that might hit you as with cut and hold.  See how you feel and adjust your taper if you can.  Remember, it's not a race, but rather more of a goal to have a smooth step off as possible.

 

V

[[cn...]]

Sorry youre experiencing that Oscar. Just know it is temporary.

 

I remember having so much fatigue month 1 and 2, then it lifted in month 3. And even with the fatigue, I felt pretty darn good most of the time!

 

Then about 3.5 weeks ago or so, I got hit with a wave out of nowhere... bad anxiety... but it only lasted 3-4 days max. And deminished.

 

I have high hopes this is just gonna be a small bump in the road for ya. You got this.

 

Just accept it, breathe, and try to relax and ride it out. You'll make it. =)

[[os...]]

 

I don't know about daily tapering but your taper seems really quick compared to mine.

 

 

Hi Journey,

 

I have been somewhat confused by my taper rate, i have been losing the equivalent of .4mg Valium every 40 days recently.

 

I am now halving my daily cut, i am overall feeling much more clear headed as i said but for some reason something is not right, i can only assume that my cut is too much... i am now going to change it to a rate where i lose half a mg Valium every 80 days...

 

Does this sound better to you?

 

I no longer care how slow i go... as long as i am more functional i don´t care if it takes 2 years.

 

I´d love to hear your thoughts and anyone else who replied, thank you all.

 

Sod the sxs, i want a semi life back... daily titrating is only great if the cuts are small enough at any given stage... i need to go slower.

 

I am officially a Turtle taperer now.

 

Oscar.

[[Fl...]]

Cog fog/dr/dp is most likely a coping mechanism that allows your brain to deal with prolonged bouts of anxiety. When the fog clears it allows the anxiety to return.

 

I have had the same happen to me. I'll be 15 months off next week. I was still some fairly significant cog fog and dr up until I hit about 12.5 months off. When it started to subside I got hit with some moderate anxiety, even the panicky stuff that I have only ever felt in benzo wd and not since very early on.

[[jo...]]

Hi Oscar

 

0.4mg every forty days doesn't sound too bad, given that you are on 10mg librium, but I am not so sure about the daily micro cut thing, I would be wanting to know others experiences of daily micro cuts before I tried them.

 

It's good that you are feeling more clear headed.

 

I think slow tapering is definitely better than rapid tapering, as it gives the body more time to heal.

 

Happy turtle tapering x

[[fi...]]

Don't feel bad Oscar, I have been turtle tapering for over a year.  Hold as long as you need to, even if it does take several years to come off of.

 

Sincerely,

 

fg