Valium/Diazepam Support Group

[[Al...]]

WeCanDoThis16,

 

I was exactly the same way when I tried to get off Ativan. Every time I got down to .75 mg. I would hit the wall, have to go back up a bit and then try again. I did this for a year bouncing around but never could get below .75 mg.

I begged my Doc to let me switch over to Valium and it was the best thing I ever did. I am not there yet but nothing I have experienced tapering V is as bad as what I experienced with the Ativan.

 

I think this is the route for you. I hope your Doc. Supports your desire to try this. Mine was against it every time I raised until finally he allowed it.

 

Best of luck! 

 

ATU

[[Ba...]]

 

 

 

About 5 and half weeks ago my ears became very painful.  Two days later I got a sore throat and went to Dr. - had strep so took z-pak.  It seemed to increase symptoms, especially anxiety.  Over time it lessened somewhat, but never went back to baseline. 

 

I held for four weeks and then made a .5 cut of V.  I never had regular symptoms from this cut - only one day of increased pain in ears on 4th day of cut.  About 2 days later my anxiety in legs and arms has increased to a very high level.  I am so uncomfortable and don't know what to do - my ears are still bad, and now between anxiety and on and off again severe stomach problems - it's intolerable.  I was in tolerance withdrawal going into this taper and did up dose originally three times to no avail. I don't know how to go forward and staying this way is unthinkable.  Holding seems to do any good at all.  I have no support and live by myself. Please some help would be greatly appreciated.

[[Ki...]]

benzogirl,

yeah I am worried that all those crazy pills damaged my brain but hopefully not

And no I wasn't like that before at all!!! I used to be very calm even during a lot of stress

and happy. Now I am not myself at all

I found it weird also that same fillers and I got sick but I don't worry about it anymore since

I get the right one here and that's good. I think the benzos are much bigger problem

But I am almost only on Valium so I guess that's good. Yeah I do have some anxiety and

it's kind of ridiculous. I am freaking out here in bed with big blanket on and breathing like

during labor And the Valium sedation is almost gone I didn't expect that at all.

I was thinking it will be like that for months...

BTW my friend from work told me I should renew my business license. I thought he was crazy

since I am disabled for so long but I guess he is one of few that still have some faith in me...

So I went and did the test and got 100% . So I cannot be brain damaged just my nervous system

is not good anymore Maybe I can do some job online idk. Sometimes I can concentrate,sometimes not. This wasn't the issue before meds at all! I want my brain back 

 

[[ca...]]

benzogirl,

yeah I am worried that all those crazy pills damaged my brain but hopefully not

And no I wasn't like that before at all!!! I used to be very calm even during a lot of stress

and happy. Now I am not myself at all

I found it weird also that same fillers and I got sick but I don't worry about it anymore since

I get the right one here and that's good. I think the benzos are much bigger problem

But I am almost only on Valium so I guess that's good. Yeah I do have some anxiety and

it's kind of ridiculous. I am freaking out here in bed with big blanket on and breathing like

during labor And the Valium sedation is almost gone I didn't expect that at all.

I was thinking it will be like that for months...

BTW my friend from work told me I should renew my business license. I thought he was crazy

since I am disabled for so long but I guess he is one of few that still have some faith in me...

So I went and did the test and got 100% . So I cannot be brain damaged just my nervous system

is not good anymore Maybe I can do some job online idk. Sometimes I can concentrate,sometimes not. This wasn't the issue before meds at all! I want my brain back 

kitten, the valium sedation once you get use to it only last a couple of hours so IMO if you still have K left taper the k slow and keep taking the valium !Feel Better ~CD

[[Ki...]]

Can do,

yes that's how it is now. I take pill,feel little sedation and relief from anxiety but in couple hours I am anxious again and that goes away with another pill

I have only 0,25mg Klonopin left so I hope to be only on Valium soon.

My BF just told me he is getting really irritated from my situation And he doesn't even

have to go through it I told him he can continue his life and I will just be laying here and

dealing with the madness All what I do is laying here and eat boxes of cookies

I know it's boring but better than losing my mind completely

[[be...]]

benzogirl,

yeah I am worried that all those crazy pills damaged my brain but hopefully not

And no I wasn't like that before at all!!! I used to be very calm even during a lot of stress

and happy. Now I am not myself at all

I found it weird also that same fillers and I got sick but I don't worry about it anymore since

I get the right one here and that's good. I think the benzos are much bigger problem

But I am almost only on Valium so I guess that's good. Yeah I do have some anxiety and

it's kind of ridiculous. I am freaking out here in bed with big blanket on and breathing like

during labor And the Valium sedation is almost gone I didn't expect that at all.

I was thinking it will be like that for months...

BTW my friend from work told me I should renew my business license. I thought he was crazy

since I am disabled for so long but I guess he is one of few that still have some faith in me...

So I went and did the test and got 100% . So I cannot be brain damaged just my nervous system

is not good anymore Maybe I can do some job online idk. Sometimes I can concentrate,sometimes not. This wasn't the issue before meds at all! I want my brain back 

 

Kittensick: If that is you in your avatar quit your business and become a model. I so happy you passed the test anyway. That means not much cog fog for you. Your CNS will return to normal. All of us are out of wack right now. Yes, I do my job online for the most part, except for some trips I have to take. Those are a major drag as I hate LA. I think we all told you the sedation would go away.    Your BF sounds just like my hubby, or should I say X?  I also have lack of concentration at times. That just means I have to go over my work again before handing it in. I was just asking you if you were sensitive to meds before you got polydrugged. I think you will do just fine on the Valium. It's be a life saver for me. I don't think you will be brain damaged. Don't even think about that. I'm glad you have the right medication. Still it remains a mystery to me. Try to get out of bed and do something. I find those who stay in bed tend to ruminate a lot about their troubles, tho some are so sick that this is their only recourse. Even if you just start out with minor things to get you up and moving, it should help. Then you can go from there. Else you can stay in bed and eat cookies! I know it's boring but better than losing my mind completely   heh heh heh. I want my brain back too! All of us do! Take care, sweetie.

 

can do: You ignoring me?

 

Basha:

 

I'm sorry the Z-Pack caused you much trouble. I think it will go away. I try and stay away from any and all ABs. I am lucky cause I just don't get sick. Did your doctor actually say that you had an ear infection? Or did he just listen to you and give you the AB? They tend to hand them out like candy here. Yes, tolerance is bad; that's why your updosing didn't work. I think, once you hit tolerance, the only real way to get better is to get off. Staying on benzos will just make your tolerance worse in the future. It will probably be a rough ride, but so many here just bite the bullet and are willing to suffer through their taper. I'm sorry for this. I really am. I know you are suffering. If you want to get some more advice about this, you might want to post the same thing on the withdrawal section. This is a very popular section, so I'm sure you will get a lot of responses there. And maybe, in the end, your suffering will not be for naught. Maybe you'll do just fine post taper. I hope so.

Bets

[[Ki...]]

benzogirl,

unfortunatelly it's me :'( and that makes the situation even more difficult and tragic.

Because everybody thinks if I look good everything is easy but it's not when I am soo

messed up in head. And my son looks just like me and is just adorable and I miss him

soo much :'( Well I got my business license, I have friends I can stay with in US. I just

have to put myself together!!!!! This is soo frustrating because I failed so many times

BUT I never tried to go even more slowly than Ashton. The doctors told me if I couldnt

do it even that slow than I will never do it and probably need some pills But I guess

I will not know until I try it again

Yeah I remember about sedation but that was pretty fast I was soo lost. Damn.

Yes you are right about trying to get out of bed. Well some days I have zero energy.

Just a trip to kitchen is all what I can do But some days I would push myself to go

in nature but I feel so mentally disconected and then I listen from my family that I went

for walk so I am able to go to work I wish! I really do! I worked all my life and this drives me really crazy not able to do almost anything.

I am still trying to understand how did this happen?

And yes BF or Exes-nobody can deal with this. It's just too much! I wish I can just walk away from this but can't. Have to deal with my messed up brain

[[Ba...]]

Benzogirl,

 

Thanks for the reply - my ear pain has nothing to do with an infection - I believe it is a painful WD symptom.  The Dr. looked in my ears and no infection.  I had strep throat and that is why I was on z-pac.  My symptoms did rev up from AB, however that calmed down somewhat - that was a few weeks ago.  Now, for no apparent reason, my symptoms increased again.  So that's the issue.

 

I posted also in WS support

 

thanks again

[[or...]]

Basha I just thought I would mention that I had ear pain as a w/d s/x also. I showed my ear to 3 doctors . . . no infection. It's just one of those rotten things, I guess!    My ear pain DID go away, however, as my taper improved.

 

Okatz

[[ar...]]

Benzogirl,

 

Still in a wave and riding it out.  I am also holding until stable.  Just one of those things I guess.

 

Kitten,

 

I was bed ridden today for my first time in this ordeal.  Hopefully tomorrow I can get out of bed.  Sorry you are bed ridden.  Benzo girl is right, see if you can slowly do more things out of bed.  It might cheer you up a bit.

 

All tied up,

 

Looks like!e you hit a wall at 1.8 like me.  Must be the unlucky number? 

[[Ba...]]

oregonkatz

 

The ear pain is quite bad, but it's the increased anxiety that I am having a hard time with.  I cut 8 days ago, didn't feel much from the cut and three days ago my anxiety got really bad.  I am in tolerance withdrawal and am afraid that this is how my baseline will be - I really am having a difficult time handling this.  I live alone and have little support - don't know what to do.

[[or...]]

Basha I am sorry you are having such a hard time.

 

So, what to do about your taper? I went back and read some of your previous posts to get a feel for what you are doing.

 

First, I would certainly not make the cut you have planned.

 

Right now, you have only two choices: continue holding or updose.

 

You have said that holding doesn't seem to be working . . . and you mention also that updosing didn't do anything but make you sad and tired. Valium DOES tend to make people tired when thy first cross over to it. But that eventually goes away.

 

If it were me, I would continue holding here. I once had to hold for 9 weeks to sort out bad s/x. But the hold eventually worked.

 

I wish I could tell you something different, but that's all the advice I have. If other have different thoughts, maybe they would chime in.

 

And when you start cutting again, what about a daily taper? I see you and Builder were talking about liquid valium. That will allow you to make very small cuts daily. Perhaps cut and hold is part of your problem? I know I could not tolerate it.

 

So, why not hold here for awhile longer and let us know how it goes?

 

Best to you,

 

Okatz

 

 

 

 

[[Ba...]]

OreganKatz,

 

thanks so much for reply.  The problem is I am in tolerant withdrawal - constant WD symptoms and updosing does nothing.  I don't know if holding is just going to make things worse. 

 

I would daily taper but somewhere in my posts I was told that because of tolerance withdrawal it won't help.  Any input from BB's would be great.

 

thanks

[[Ge...]]

Basha

I'm no expert in micro tapering but it may be the only thing to help you. As I have been told you can do very small cuts daily while you are in  w/d. If you don't become worse but stay about the same s/x will lesson because your brain gets use to the cut and starts healing. I can't say how long that would be or if it will work but tolerance is a bad deal and you may have no other option.

Maybe someone else has heard of this and will chime in.

[[ar...]]

Geterdone,

 

How are you doing?  I recall you decided to jump at 1.6?

[[jj...]]

Hello fellow V taperers.

 

Well... I'm all finished with my taper as of today. Most of you probably don't remember me, but I think at least a couple of you old timers are around still.

 

Some final thoughts on my tapering process that might be of interest: Once I got through my crossover, which was not easy, I steadily improved after holding to let the valium metabolites build in my blood serum  and then starting right away with daily tapering. This held true up to .2 mgs left back in mid-June and since then it's been a bit of a rough ride. This last little bit was more difficult to get off of than I anticipated given that I did improve and felt more or less "normal" starting around February. Interestingly, I hit a wave and had one of those 24 hour glutamate filled panic attack/adrenaline storms, felt completely fine for about a week and a half, and then started having withdrawal symptoms return like a much less harsh version of my acute withdrawal period a year and a half ago.

 

But even though I'm a little banged up here at the end, I've remained functional, continued to work and more or less carry on with normal life. At this point I experience withdrawal as a mostly harmless but uncomfortable situation that I know will clear up in it's own good time. I never tried to have a symptomless or even minimal symptom taper and I've accepted the discomfort as part of the healing process. I can certainly say without hesitation at this point that at the very least, I'm a master at riding out anxiety in all of it's manifestations.   At the same time, I think that it's extremely important to keep withdrawal symptoms at manageable levels and to avoid acute withdrawal, which I STRONGLY believe is responsible for most cases of protracted withdrawal. The 80/20 rule personally served me pretty well. I realize that this might not be possible for some folks, but for the average taperer even here in this forum, it's more than doable. The trick is simply finding a slow, consistent way of gradually lowering the dose and maybe trying something different when it's not working, like microtapering or even switching a microtaper to cut and hold like drew and etown have done.

 

So anywaysers, I'm done with this part of the journey and I'm still in one piece. I'm not healed and I don't know how long it'll take for me to cross that finish line but I know that I will get there in my own time. If there is one thing we are all forced to learn, it's the virtue of patience. I felt I had to step off this forum while I finished the last bit of my taper for my own well being, but I will plan on being around more often to answer questions and provide a little support if I can.

 

December 2013, when I first joined BBs I couldn't imagine being at the end of a taper. I used to look at people almost done and it seemed so far away when I was struggling to get to the next minute. But here I am stepping off more okay than not, having (all in all) many more decent days in my taper than not including some downright fantastic days.

 

If I can do it anyone can. Courage V taperers! balloon    and a couple of these for Tex  :thumbsup:

 

jj 

[[jj...]]

OreganKatz,

 

thanks so much for reply.  The problem is I am in tolerant withdrawal - constant WD symptoms and updosing does nothing.  I don't know if holding is just going to make things worse. 

 

I would daily taper but somewhere in my posts I was told that because of tolerance withdrawal it won't help.  Any input from BB's would be great.

 

thanks

 

Hi Basha, I don't think that you are in tolerance withdrawal, just regular old withdrawal. It takes a while for the CNS to settle down once it's been irritated by benzo withdrawal and then trying to cut that way leads to things getting worse. You might try a good long hold and that should help out quite a bit before maybe switching over to daily tapering.

[[or...]]

Congratulations JJ. You've come a loooong way. Thanks for stopping by. 

 

Okatz

[[Ge...]]

Arcade

I'm doing fine. Yes I jumped at 3 mgs . I was only there for two days. The first two weeks where really tough but it has gotten much better.

I get little waves but they go away. Feel great right now so I'm healing. Lost 1 week work the first week but back at it everyday now.

Thanks for asking.

[[jj...]]

Thanks katz, you are up next!

[[mr...]]

Thanks katz, you are up next!

Awesome, jj!!!

[[Te...]]

Hello fellow V taperers.

 

Well... I'm all finished with my taper as of today. Most of you probably don't remember me, but I think at least a couple of you old timers are around still.

 

Some final thoughts on my tapering process that might be of interest: Once I got through my crossover, which was not easy, I steadily improved after holding to let the valium metabolites build in my blood serum  and then starting right away with daily tapering. This held true up to .2 mgs left back in mid-June and since then it's been a bit of a rough ride. This last little bit was more difficult to get off of than I anticipated given that I did improve and felt more or less "normal" starting around February. Interestingly, I hit a wave and had one of those 24 hour glutamate filled panic attack/adrenaline storms, felt completely fine for about a week and a half, and then started having withdrawal symptoms return like a much less harsh version of my acute withdrawal period a year and a half ago.

 

But even though I'm a little banged up here at the end, I've remained functional, continued to work and more or less carry on with normal life. At this point I experience withdrawal as a mostly harmless but uncomfortable situation that I know will clear up in it's own good time. I never tried to have a symptomless or even minimal symptom taper and I've accepted the discomfort as part of the healing process. I can certainly say without hesitation at this point that at the very least, I'm a master at riding out anxiety in all of it's manifestations.   At the same time, I think that it's extremely important to keep withdrawal symptoms at manageable levels and to avoid acute withdrawal, which I STRONGLY believe is responsible for most cases of protracted withdrawal. The 80/20 rule personally served me pretty well. I realize that this might not be possible for some folks, but for the average taperer even here in this forum, it's more than doable. The trick is simply finding a slow, consistent way of gradually lowering the dose and maybe trying something different when it's not working, like microtapering or even switching a microtaper to cut and hold like drew and etown have done.

 

So anywaysers, I'm done with this part of the journey and I'm still in one piece. I'm not healed and I don't know how long it'll take for me to cross that finish line but I know that I will get there in my own time. If there is one thing we are all forced to learn, it's the virtue of patience. I felt I had to step off this forum while I finished the last bit of my taper for my own well being, but I will plan on being around more often to answer questions and provide a little support if I can.

 

December 2013, when I first joined BBs I couldn't imagine being at the end of a taper. I used to look at people almost done and it seemed so far away when I was struggling to get to the next minute. But here I am stepping off more okay than not, having (all in all) many more decent days in my taper than not including some downright fantastic days.

 

If I can do it anyone can. Courage V taperers! balloon    and a couple of these for Tex  :thumbsup:

 

jj 

 

JJ,

I'm proudly consider myself "old timers", everybody miss you,  I'm very impress with your eloquent and meaningful  post.

that's what I thought: you stopped visiting BB  for your well being, I understand, same thing happened to me sometimes,  But I always came back.  There is too much to learn, but there are a lot of pain and suffering, that sometimes I would like to left.  But I got so much help here, that I will return the favor somehow.  Thanks for stay around, we appreciate your honest feedback. 

 

I hope you will heal 100% soon.

 

Best wishes 

 

Tex  the lone ranger

 

:smitten:

[[Te...]]

Sweet Bets,

How are you doing?    I hope you are doing fine!!!

 

I was driving home and my daughter called me, she was going to the dogs park,  I pass by and stopped to walk the dog with her, that is an unusual route for me,  then the traffic was worst in that part, I felt little anxiety, then we were walking in the park , Then I felt a sudden anxiety, pressure,pain in the chest, shit.  I think I can't handle bad news or stress news, but in few minutes after walking I felt normal.

 

seems that the walking now is my best friend, before was lay down totally. 

 

How is your exercise routine?   

 

Hugs

 

Tex    the lone ranger

 

 

[[jj...]]

Thanks katz, you are up next!

Awesome, jj!!!

 

Hey mrt, looks like your mom is almost done too, that's great!

[[et...]]

Nice job jj. You deserve some good times now. You are a good friend.

etown