Sometimes Faster is BETTER

[[to...]]

One more contribution to this thread 

 

Things are going good so far after all the years and failed attempts.

 

Changes this time I feel worked for me....

 

1. I'm retired and very little stress of any kind.

2. Stopped drinking.

3. Stopped Zolpidem, didn't need to taper. That alone improved my Xanax sxs in 2 days.

4. Swim an hour 3 to 4 days a week with hot tub at the end. After a hot shower before

leaving pool I don't have any stress or sxs.

5. Didn't make/follow >>any<< taper plan. I was surprised by my rapid improvements and

simply went with how I was feeling and cut/cut/cut. Got off the benzo train and it left.

 

Don't get me wrong. The first few weeks were bad but I fought through it.

And I am by no means symptom free. BUT IMHO the changes I made this

time and mental resolve lead to >>my<< success at this point that I have

NEVER had in many years of trying.

 

Find your path and take it. Even if 1000 people have been down it before you

or it's a new trail you blazed....just put your mind to it and do it! 

[[Ma...]]

My brain's too messed up to read through this entire thread, but it (perversely) gives me a LOT of hope that a bunch of you have the mental ability to argue back and forth at length, even through w/d.  That takes focus and concentration.  This is encouraging.

[[Be...]]

Right on, Malamutegirl. 

[[ve...]]

  Well, I think I too am done with this thread.  Sad but, true.  I will say this... if you read my signature you will see that last June I went from 2 mgs k and 3 mgs x daily( 5 mgs total per day)  down to 1.5 mgs X only.  I dont know how long it would have taken me to do this "ashton style" or whatever these turtle tapers are... but I am sure it would have been years.  It took me 3-4 months and I felt well enough to begin doing a "cut and hold" method which I tried in October and kept with till January.  I felt miserable and sick 90% of the time.  It took me 3 months to get form 1.5 down to .75.... I guess this was still "rapid".  I was cutting .25 per moth per and doing it in two cuts... one every two weeks.

    By Feb. of this year I was "over it".  The period of time from Oct-end of Jan. was terrible.  I could never depend on how I would feel.  I hated that.  I cut from .75 to .5 overnight... Had sx, they sucked, and just kept on.  Also, I was working and raising a child on my own this entire time.  Never missing work no matter what.  By the beginning of this month after "holding" I still felt terrible so I cut my dose in half.  That was a week or so ago and I feel great.  I dont know what is right for anyone else but, this was what worked for me.  I would rather have gone through that 3 months of "hell" then years or "pergatory".  I think life is valuable and short.  If you want to spend years getting off 1-2 mgs of valium or whatever your on... have at it.  That may work for you.          Good luck to everyone.....no matter what.

 

Kudos to you JR for raising a child on your own and working through your taper .  I get the desire to balance the rate of safely getting off the benzo with not dragging it out longer than "necessary",  maybe even being willing to tolerate some greater intensity of s/x over a shorter period than a longer period at some junctures of one's taper as you wrote.  I think it is possible to make some "larger" cuts when one is still on a large enough dose of a benzo that is still maintaining some relative calm in the nervous system and importantly, the inner ear.  That being said, I think once one is down to about 5mg valium or the equivalent (1/4mg xanax or 1/4mg klonopin as an example) , one ought to be very cautious about the speed of one's taper and seriously consider slowing it down.

 

My otoneurologist, who I was very fortunate to find in my early days after c/t (some years ago), informed me that he regularly tapers his patients off 2mg valium over several months, in order to avert inner ear damage or consequences such as tinnitus and vertigo.  I had seen him because I ended up with vertigo after a c/t off about 6mg valium.  I decided to reinstate and within five days, the vertigo was gone (I realize not all will be as lucky as I was).  My plan was to taper slowly enough so as to avoid a return of vertigo so I took about 9 months.  I could have done it in six months but I was not wanting to take chances.  I tapered a little more quickly (to validate your point) when I was going from 6 to 2mg (in about four months) but then I took another four to five months to finish up the last 2mg, in part because of travel and personal issues that were going on, probably could have done the last 2mg in about 3 months had I wanted to (but I was not in a hurry, often called myself a turtle taperer back then.  Now I find that others choose to go even slower, which is fine). 

 

Anyway, I just want to put it out there that one's hearing is nothing to play around with.  I don't necessarily think one ought to spend a year or more tapering off a couple milligrams of valium, but if that is how one is best able to function, who am I say to somebody that it's not the right decision for them.  My only suggestion is that one not believe some uninformed or ignorant doctors out there who think you can taper off 2mg in two to three weeks.  I came across a couple of those who wanted to simply replace a benzo with an a/d and it really is negligent if not criminal to advise one to do that (IMHO). 

 

Best wishes to all,

 

Vertigo (no more)!

[[je...]]

Thanks Vert... It was a personal choice and I think that is what should be stressed here.  Today I feel good....

 

Colin-

  Thanks for the reply.  I was on xanax at that point and not klonopin.  I am not familiar with ashton so I dont know how fast is considered "rapid" but, at any rate I was under a doctors supervision when I decided to "quit" the K and cut the X.  By the time I got to the 3 month period you refer to I thought that was slow also.... My point was I have done both and felt better when I went quickly.  However, that is only me.  Just to clarify.  I know your busy and I love your website lots so 

 

As for the rest I have seen lots of arguements for or against and whatever.  I had my reasons for what I did and I am sure you all have yours.  I did what I wanted to do FOR ME.... slow or fast I just dont see the point in arguing about it.  I wanted to go fast ... so and so wants to go slow... whatever.  I think the point of the OP was just that she felt better going more quickly.  I felt better going more quickly.  If you feel like crap going slow you can try speeding it up and see if you feel better.  Thats it... not rocket science.

[[Ma...]]

THanks Jess, that's right, that's it exactly, not rocket science 

 

Oh and one other thing, and it's important, maybe the most important part: I didn't feel better at first, I felt just as bad and sometimes worse but never slowed down and it got better ANYWAY. That's all. Not rocket science either. And the rate was by the book Ashton so not way speedy either. I guess it could have gone either way, just wanted to let people know it was possible, that's all.

 

Peace.

m

 

[[No...]]

I did a very fast taper (2.5mg reduction every 2 weeks) and although I've been through a lot of suffering (especially last week) , I'm starting to sleep and to feel better now.

[[...]]

This is ironic...

 

Apparently some rather heated discussions went on while I did an ultra-fast taper. I'm not even sure if "taper" is the right word. I want off K, and I wanted off "yesterday". Once I made the decision, I started trying to stop it. That is the kind of person I am. I make a decision, and I want to get through it. So I went from somewhere between .75 mg K and 1 mg K a day in February to .25 mg in early April, then I jumped.

 

I am a bit past 3 weeks, 3 weeks and 2 days to be exact off K. And I feel good, on balance better than I felt even as recently as the start of 2013, on a steady dose of K.

 

But I also have to say that I found EVERYONE here to be amazingly helpful, supportive and kind. How much did that help? I don't even have the words to express how much, but it was enormous.

 

I have also learned a ton about other people's experiences, and as positive as my own almost c/t jump turned out to be, it was quite frightening the first few days. I was here 24/7, typing like mad, reading like mad, and I think I was able to get through some very harsh sxs from reading about other people who had them.

 

Maybe I am weird, but I did not find it "scary" to read how other people faced really hard problems from w/d, even with slow tapers. It made me feel as though I was doing well, that hard days happen for everyone, and most of all:

 

I WAS NOT ALONE.

 

To me loneliness is worse than any sx. Together we can get through almost anything, alone is infinitely harder - and maybe what causes failure for many people.

 

I would say to anyone else: yes, for some people faster may be better, but get all the facts, monitor yourself very carefully, exercise as much as is healthy for your body, check your BP (because it does tend to go sky-high when tapering or cutting very fast), and do NOT take it as failure if you find out that you have to go slower.

 

I do know, from personal experience, that too fast can be deadly. I found that out trying to  from .5 mg K to nothing after being at .5 mg only a short time. I went to fast and I was in medical danger. My BP went from normal to well into hypertensive in less than three days, and I had to step back for a few days to be safe - and to stay sane.

 

Someone else in worse overall condition might have had a stroke, or a heart attack, or a seizure.

 

So my conclusion is that:

 

Sometimes faster is better.

Sometimes slower is better.

 

Whatever your course is, BE SAFE.

[[et...]]

Well said and congrats to you Gaer you are one tough cookie

etown

[[He...]]

Yes Gaer, well said. I felt like the lower I got in my taper that the klonopin dose was poison. I had to force myself and then felt immediately ill from taking it. I jumped at .125 mg every other day. I listened to my body, held when I needed and after jumping never turned back although sxs were very severe I pushed through. I found bb after my taper. I too liked reading all about bb experiences, the good and bad. It helped me understand my experience and validated me. I had suffered sxs and other health probs before w/d so I had picked up some coping techniques along the way that helped. I never had psychosis or hallucinations but every other sx I did have. I counted 43 at one time.

 

I read that our brains are as individual as our finger prints. Therefore generalities are just that. Individual differences are real. What helps me is educating myself and then learning to trust my higher self and my God for direction.

[[Co...]]

This is ironic...

 

Apparently some rather heated discussions went on while I did an ultra-fast taper. I'm not even sure if "taper" is the right word. I want off K, and I wanted off "yesterday". Once I made the decision, I started trying to stop it. That is the kind of person I am. I make a decision, and I want to get through it. So I went from somewhere between .75 mg K and 1 mg K a day in February to .25 mg in early April, then I jumped.

 

I am a bit past 3 weeks, 3 weeks and 2 days to be exact off K. And I feel good, on balance better than I felt even as recently as the start of 2013, on a steady dose of K.

 

But I also have to say that I found EVERYONE here to be amazingly helpful, supportive and kind. How much did that help? I don't even have the words to express how much, but it was enormous.

 

I have also learned a ton about other people's experiences, and as positive as my own almost c/t jump turned out to be, it was quite frightening the first few days. I was here 24/7, typing like mad, reading like mad, and I think I was able to get through some very harsh sxs from reading about other people who had them.

 

Maybe I am weird, but I did not find it "scary" to read how other people faced really hard problems from w/d, even with slow tapers. It made me feel as though I was doing well, that hard days happen for everyone, and most of all:

 

I WAS NOT ALONE.

 

To me loneliness is worse than any sx. Together we can get through almost anything, alone is infinitely harder - and maybe what causes failure for many people.

 

I would say to anyone else: yes, for some people faster may be better, but get all the facts, monitor yourself very carefully, exercise as much as is healthy for your body, check your BP (because it does tend to go sky-high when tapering or cutting very fast), and do NOT take it as failure if you find out that you have to go slower.

 

I do know, from personal experience, that too fast can be deadly. I found that out trying to  from .5 mg K to nothing after being at .5 mg only a short time. I went to fast and I was in medical danger. My BP went from normal to well into hypertensive in less than three days, and I had to step back for a few days to be safe - and to stay sane.

 

Someone else in worse overall condition might have had a stroke, or a heart attack, or a seizure.

 

So my conclusion is that:

 

Sometimes faster is better.

Sometimes slower is better.

 

Whatever your course is, BE SAFE.

 

Hi gaer,

 

If I understand correctly, you tapered off 0.75-1mg of Klonopin over a period of about two months? If so, I don't consider this to be exceptionally fast, and certainly not a cold turkey withdrawal.

 

I gain the impression that you did this in a few largish steps. The only thing I would mention is that most people seem to manage better by making smaller, more frequent cuts, even if the overall taper rate is similar. However, a minority of members (like you?) seem to prefer making infrequent larger cuts, put up with the greater discomfort, but allow a longer period before making a new cut. Individual members should do what works for them.

[[...]]

Hi gaer,

 

If I understand correctly, you tapered off 0.75-1mg of Klonopin over a period of about two months? If so, I don't consider this to be exceptionally fast, and certainly not a cold turkey withdrawal.

I tried to c/t from .5 mg, and that turned out to be dangerous. I may not have been stabilized on that long enough. I do know that other people were worried that I went too fast, and for me it was. I had to go back to .5, then go a bit slower.

I gain the impression that you did this in a few largish steps.

I did because I did not know how to cut the pills. I only had 1 mg tablets. My wife finally cut a couple into 1/4 pills. And I really did not like the way that the cuts did not give me even dosage. That's why I would have much preferred to taper Valium. It comes in smaller dosages, easier to split pills.

The only thing I would mention is that most people seem to manage better by making smaller, more frequent cuts, even if the overall taper rate is similar. However, a minority of members (like you?) seem to prefer making infrequent larger cuts, put up with the greater discomfort, but allow a longer period before making a new cut. Individual members should do what works for them.

It was not a preference but rather lack of a weighing device and a good razor blade!

I just pushed through because I wanted the whole process OVER.

[[Ch...]]

Your doing great Gaer.    I can tell by your posts.  I pushed through for different reasons but all in all I get better every day.  Hundred percent right now?  Nope but definitely better.  We will get there.  An in my opinion the withdrawal crap sucks but its still better then the fog of the klonocide.  I woke up to a whole bunch of crap I never would have let happen before I was legally doped up. 

 

Yep you have challenges, but you also have reported great successes.  Run on my brother!!! 

 

China