LOW DOSE Dependence group.

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I was using .5 mg of ativan once a week for a several months.  I decided to just stop.  Been off for little over a week.  Feeling awful.  Shaky, nauseated, brain twitches, insomnia,headaches,balance issues..  Did I withdraw wrong?  I threw out the rest of my pills.  How long before I feel better.  ( Withdrew from ativan successfully over 5 years ago, don't know why I thought I could handle this again)

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Took 0.5 mg ativan 3 to 4 x a week for 15 months.  I am 4 months off and still feeling miserable.  Isn/t it hard to believe that you can get sick from just using a little bit of this stuff and not even everyday no less.  You probably are having a little bit of problem because of kindling.  EAch time you WD from this poison i gets harder and harder.

 

Hope you feel better soon,

 

Snufi

 

 

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I'm roughly 6 weeks off now, I'm certain Kindling was an issue for me.

 

No one outside of this forum seems to understand how the minimum dose could make one sick. 

 

 

Fonz

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What exactly is kindling?  And yes it is hard to believe that a little .5 mg can cause such havoc using one night a week.  It did help me to sleep but it is not worth it.  I am hoping that my withdrawal will be short, but you never know.

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I understand Kindling is getting off Benzo's, than going back on.. I did this about 15-20 times over the past 10 years. My brain had enough this time making me very sick.

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I have some musings on kindling with us "PRN" (or in layman's terms, "as needed") folks, and getting addicted/sensitive to the low doses...

 

What if, when taken "as needed", it actually acts as a series of mini "cold-turkey" incidents for the brain over the course of time you took the medication?  I'm a thinker and a studier and an observer.  I've been on this site for over a year now, and have watched   I see folks get on here that have taken 2-3-4mg of the same stuff I take, and then can make much more significant cut sizes than I, with less issues.  BUT -- I've begun to note that most, if not all, of these folks have always taken them on a regular, daily basis at a consistent time of day, etc.  So perhaps the action of "as needed" causes a little bit of "kindling" to occur for us, added up over the course of time we've taken it as such!  It would also make sense why it is the "low dose users" who are often "sensitive"...because in most cases, low dose is used "as needed" where larger dosages are usually prescribed on a regular basis

 

I know that there is no real "rules of thumb" when we're talking about benzodiazepine withdrawal...but I love to study these types of things, and it really does make you think about things further!  Anyways, like I said...just my musings, but I thought I'd share it with my low-dose groupies, haha!  Thought it might help to explain our situation a little better

 

 

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Hi folks a little observation....sometimes we "think" its a low dose but to be frank .5mg of Clonazepam is equal to 10mg of Valium which is a significant dose. Yes the pills are small but its jet fuel when in your system. I'm a slow taperer who has to work full time and run my business also so the slow symptom based taper is a must for me to keep symptoms under control as much as possible. I know many people who take around 2 years to get off 2mg Valium. We can't underestimate the power of the poison!

Good thread

etown

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Mrsalw,  you make an interesting point. If I were to look at it like that I have C/T's hundreds of times  It's like reinstating over and over again. It's very possible that could play a role. The drug was always given as "take when needed" yet they would refill with no questions. In the end I was on a regular daily dose of .5mg, I did this for about 8 months straight after all the years of "take when needed".

 

etown - I know what you mean, heck .5mg once knocked me out almost until I got use to the dose. 

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Hi friends,

 

Just looking for a little encouragement and support.  I'm 76% free from my original low-dosing of 0.25mg per day.  I've water tapered over a year to get to this point, so I'm moving at a slow & steady rate.  This past month has proven to be tough, with some symptoms rearing their ugly heads.  I'm just curious if anyone on here has been through this point, and has victory over it?  Especially anxiety   I'd love to hear from you!

 

Thanks much

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Mrsalw,

 

Great to hear you are 76% off!! Keep pushing!!!

 

I think you made a great decision and got off slowly. I took 12 months to get off mine, part of me wishes i went longer. I guess being exposed for 10 years and multiple CT's made for a rough taper and worse post WD.

 

From the sounds of it you will do just fine   keep posting here, im interested to hear your progress!

 

 

 

 

Fonz