Valium itself making the withdrawal worse?

[[St...]]

Hey all! I've been tapering off diazepam since September. Every 10 days I cut .625mg. At first I was having wicked headaches, but as I've gotten lower the headaches have stopped. My only major problem has been insomnia. Well the 29th I decided I had had it with this dang drug, so I skipped my dose. I was down to .625 and read once you were down to the dose you were cutting by you could quit. That first night I had racing thoughts, as usual, but oddly I was able to calm my mind down and actually slept. The next night was the same, and I got about 6 hours. And again the third night, no pill, no racing thoughts, and about 5-6 hours of sleep. The day of the fourth night I got afraid of the c/t withdrawal hitting the next day, so I took .625mg before bed time. I might have slept 1 and a half hours. Every passing second all I could think/hear whatever was "I LIVE FOR THE APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE..." It was even more awful then that awful song. Sorry to any Little Monsters who might stumble on this. So I wondered if the pill was causing these racing thoughts. The past two nights I've skipped the pill, and slept 2 full 7-8 hour uninterrupted nights. Today I've been great. No w/d symptoms and I'm actually feeling like I could nap! That's major for me. But I'm again fearing the withdrawal could return. At the same time I'm wondering if the pill was the cause of the w/d symptoms. Should I just stop the pill entirely? Has anyone else found the pill causes the symptoms, like it induces withdrawal?  Good luck to all others suffering this holiday season...Merry Christmas 

[[No...]]

You may have a paradoxical reaction. I'm told that it's rare, but it happened to me.

 

I started in what I now know was long-standing tolerance (or relative) withdrawal on Klonopin, tapered too quickly at the beginning (ouch), then stabilized on Valium very briefly before it turned on me. About an hour after I'd take it, my heart would race, I'd sweat, etc. … all the while having withdrawal symptoms. 

 

It's my understanding that in cases of paradoxical reactions, the best course is to get off as quickly as you can tolerate, which is exactly what I'm doing. I feel progressively better as I get lower in dosage, so far. Like you, I'm sleeping much better (which surprises me no end!), and many other symptoms are improving, as well.

 

I have no idea what will happen when I stop, which I plan to do after a week at .5mg, following my taper rate.

 

I was on benzos for a long time, though, so I won't be shocked to have problems. But the way I see it, at least the pill won't be making me even sicker…. 

 

Only you can decide, of course, but it sounds to me like your instincts are telling you to stop. If I were you, I'd listen.

 

 

[[Co...]]

Star,

 

I have been paradoxical the entire time I have been tapering. It is a hard thing to get past. It only happens at night. I take my p.m. dose and about an hour later I am feeling much worse than I was before I took it. I have read posts from others that are paradoxical also. I hope you are feeling better.

 

CC