Valium/Diazepam Support Group

[[or...]]

I stressed about liquid titration for weeks before I started it. I am not good at math or percentages so that's why I chose Diaz Pam's method. You will have to choose whichever method you think you can easily handle.

 

Once I started on the liquid t, though, things got better. I didn't stress. Just doing it took the stress away. We can over-think things. And fear of something new makes us nuts.

 

Good luck with whichever system you choose. You can do it!!!

 

Okatz

 

 

[[et...]]

Tess pick the one that is less stress and go with it. If there is a need for a change down the road si be it! that's my take on it

Both methods achieve the same outcome

etown

[[Te...]]

Hi Etown,

I checked on Amazon on looked at the scales. Do you use the Gemini Pro? There is also a Horizon digital with good reviews. Looking at the reviews for the Gemini, it sounds like some people have problems with it. If the Gemini scale is the one you use, do you ever have any issues with it?

Thanks,

Tess

[[Sm...]]

Hi Smiff,

Thank you for your support and taking the time out of your busy day to help me figure things out. I still don't know if I should do a my future taper using a scale as etown or as diaz pam's titration. I am not good at math lol. I just want to do the easiest way and I am not sure what that is. I feel like a dummy and I think I am so consumed with this everyday that my stress level is through the roof. 

Sincerely,

Tess

 

Hey Tess

 

It gets oppressive when all you seem to think about is your side effects. You do spend days just literally thinking about how you feel and what to do.

You'll be ok soon. You aren't the first person who has tapered too fast and gone 'yikes this is freakin horrible' before they had to change stuff. We've all been there. And we find stabilisation and go on tapering. You will too.

 

As for your taper method it is very individual. I don't like maths either so thought I could only deal with Diaz-pam's method with getting liquid on prescription (rather then having the added step of titration). But there are some people who have chosen scales because the liquid stuff seems too complicated. Pick the one that makes the most sense for now and that you can see yourself doing daily. It doesn't have to make perfect sense right now. They all seem complicated at first particularly when in benzo withdrawal. But they do become understandable pretty quickly.

Other ways to avoid maths: I have posted excel reduction charts on the first page of this thread and Eliz has a link to some somewhere here too.

 

Good luck and Peace

Smiff

[[Te...]]

Hi Smiff,

Thank you so much for your posts and taking time out of you busy day.  I know what you are saying and I can be my own worst enemy sometimes. I have 2 auto-immune diseases...RA and Scleroderma and have been dealing with a lot of stress but I think getting off this Valium in the long run will make me feel better.  I never had anxiety issues and the heart stuffs is hard as I am sure you know.  I am going to buy the equipment for both types of taper and see if the scale works first since I am at 4.5mgs. Cutting by hand without a scale might be one of my problems because they never cut accurate. Might have to go  back up to 5mgs (one pill without cutting). I thank you for being there for me. 

 

Sincerely, Tess

[[et...]]

Tess I use the Gemini with no problems at all'

etown

[[Te...]]

Etown, Do I need to buy the one with the calibration kit? Thank you so much for your patience. Very much appreciated. Also looks like the Horizon scale is the same scale just under a diffferent name.

Tess

[[mr...]]

I have a standard gemini and it very inaccurate and so is the calibrating weight.

I will get the gemini pro next time.

 

Here is a pic

http://www.gorillascales.net/images/products/gemini-pro.jpg

 

[[et...]]

I have the Gemini Pro 20 with the calibration kit. Damn expensive here in Canada compared to the US

etown

[[Te...]]

Etown,

Does it look like the photo in Mrtmeo post? I thought ordering the scale was going to be the easy part....lol

Tess

[[et...]]

Tess - looks like this but mine is stainless with a clear cover and 2 weights for calibration and he does not have the pro 20...get the expensive one

etown

[[mr...]]

Etown,

Does it look like the photo in Mrtmeo post? I thought ordering the scale was going to be the easy part....lol

Tess

I just saw the gemini pro 20 for $56.99 free shipping on amazon.

The calibrating weights are in the device and come with it.

[[et...]]

Yeah Meo that's what Caddo (Bob) paid in the States....mine was 120 in Canada what?

etown

[[mr...]]

Yeah Meo that's what Caddo (Bob) paid in the States....mine was 120 in Canada what?

etown

Boy, they sure over charge in Canada.

[[dr...]]

It's the weak loon. Lol

[[et...]]

Actually its when the loon and the greenback are so close and that's what we have right now. When our dollar is down we get better prices but the loon is strong right now. We're trucking to Michigan next week for a few days and I'm sure we'll blow a few greenies lol

etown

[[Di...]]

Hi Smiff,

Thank you for your support and taking the time out of your busy day to help me figure things out. I still don't know if I should do a my future taper using a scale as etown or as diaz pam's titration. I am not good at math lol. I just want to do the easiest way and I am not sure what that is. I feel like a dummy and I think I am so consumed with this everyday that my stress level is through the roof. 

Sincerely,

Tess

 

Hi Tess

 

I completely understand about you feeling overwhelmed and confused. I felt exactly the same way when I first came to BB. Nothing made sense because so many people were talking about percentages and needing all sorts of weird things like graduated glass measuring thingies and mortor and pestles. My brain felt like it was going to explode.

 

Thankfully though I came across Fliprain's method and she was an enormous help. She was so patient and explained everything to me. It's her method that is the basis for the one I now use.

 

I agree with the others when they say you just need to find the one that is the easiest for you to understand. No method is the "right" way, just a different way of getting to the end goal.

 

My suggestion is before you even start thinking about reducing your dose, just test out a method for a few days to get the hang of it. Try not to overthink anything. I think sometimes the thought of doing something new or different is far worse than the reality.

 

I don't know of anyone who hasn't gotten the hang of doing a daily reduction method after a very short period of time. If you can work out how to create a post on BB, then you are clever enough to do a daily taper - trust me.

[[Sm...]]

Hi Smiff,

Thank you so much for your posts and taking time out of you busy day.  I know what you are saying and I can be my own worst enemy sometimes. I have 2 auto-immune diseases...RA and Scleroderma and have been dealing with a lot of stress but I think getting off this Valium in the long run will make me feel better.  I never had anxiety issues and the heart stuffs is hard as I am sure you know.  I am going to buy the equipment for both types of taper and see if the scale works first since I am at 4.5mgs. Cutting by hand without a scale might be one of my problems because they never cut accurate. Might have to go  back up to 5mgs (one pill without cutting). I thank you for being there for me. 

 

Sincerely, Tess

 

No problem Tess. I'm busy but this is my procrastination time so all good

[[Wo...]]

Hi Smiff,

Thank you for your support and taking the time out of your busy day to help me figure things out. I still don't know if I should do a my future taper using a scale as etown or as diaz pam's titration. I am not good at math lol. I just want to do the easiest way and I am not sure what that is. I feel like a dummy and I think I am so consumed with this everyday that my stress level is through the roof. 

Sincerely,

Tess

 

Hi Tess

 

I completely understand about you feeling overwhelmed and confused. I felt exactly the same way when I first came to BB. Nothing made sense because so many people were talking about percentages and needing all sorts of weird things like graduated glass measuring thingies and mortor and pestles. My brain felt like it was going to explode.

 

Thankfully though I came across Fliprain's method and she was an enormous help. She was so patient and explained everything to me. It's her method that is the basis for the one I now use.

 

I agree with the others when they say you just need to find the one that is the easiest for you to understand. No method is the "right" way, just a different way of getting to the end goal.

 

My suggestion is before you even start thinking about reducing your dose, just test out a method for a few days to get the hang of it. Try not to overthink anything. I think sometimes the thought of doing something new or different is far worse than the reality.

 

I don't know of anyone who hasn't gotten the hang of doing a daily reduction method after a very short period of time. If you can work out how to create a post on BB, then you are clever enough to do a daily taper - trust me.

 

I second that Tess. My brain was fried when I first got here. Fortunately DP answered several of my posts and it was clear that she was functioning well and knew her stuff. I have been using her taper method with a .01 per day rate and I caught on to it really fast once I started doing it. Just follow the steps one at a time and after a few days it will be second nature. It ends up being very simple at this rate because everything is a multiple of ten, so that helps a lot. Good luck, I know how scary it is in the beginning, I had never known such fear!

 

Hugs,

 

Workin

[[hu...]]

I think the crossover is a good move, I hope you will get relief as you continue. It gave me a huge amount of relief when I crossed from Xanax. I firmly believe that valium is much easier to taper from what I have seen and read.

 

Workin,

 

Thanks. This is the first week post-crossover and it was definitely better than last week! I have no doubt I made the right decision to finish the crossover.

 

I still had a couple of very difficult, non-functional days, so it's hard to get too excited. But it's all relative and I just keep reminding myself that it is the progress that is most important. At this point I think I have every reason to believe that the worst of benzo withdrawal may be behind me.

 

Thx, Human

[[hu...]]

Hi Human,

  Good luck with the cross over to V. I am interested in your above quote. Last week my doc asked me about focusing on my intuition when deciding to cut. I was pleased to hear this from her. I have been holding for over a month and still am in difficult withdrawal. I am frustrated and blue.  My voice says to keep on holding...hoping for better days.

Best to you,

Carita

 

Carita,

 

I'm glad what I wrote spoke to you. It sounds like you have a good doctor!

 

At the risk of sounding like some sort of Buddhist version of a Hallmark card ... I believe that adversity always represents an opportunity for personal growth. We're all experiencing some very significant personal adversity in benzo withdrawal. Perhaps one of the ways we can grow from it is by developing our ability to listen to our intuition and to the wisdom of our own bodies.

 

Best, Human

[[Ca...]]

Hi Human,

  Good luck with the cross over to V. I am interested in your above quote. Last week my doc asked me about focusing on my intuition when deciding to cut. I was pleased to hear this from her. I have been holding for over a month and still am in difficult withdrawal. I am frustrated and blue.  My voice says to keep on holding...hoping for better days.

Best to you,

Carita

 

Carita,

 

 

 

I'm glad what I wrote spoke to you. It sounds like you have a good doctor!

 

At the risk of sounding like some sort of Buddhist version of a Hallmark card ... I believe that adversity always represents an opportunity for personal growth. We're all experiencing some very significant personal adversity in benzo withdrawal. Perhaps one of the ways we can grow from it is by developing our ability to listen to our intuition and to the wisdom of our own bodies.

 

Best, Human

 

Dear Human,

  I deeply agree. I believe we've lost touch with our inner wisdom in our fast paced logic driven culture. I am learning to listen within and question less. I am healing. I recently took a Mindfullness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) class and was reintroduced to this practice. It benefits us on many levels.

Warmly and best wishes,

Carita

[[Th...]]

Hi All,

 

I thought something was wrong with the thread. I kept seeing the last post by Juliea on December 9th and thinking, maybe there is a technical problem with the thread. Anyway, I finally worked it out.!

 

Thanks Diaz-Pam for starting up the new thread. I'm a little late, but finally got here.

 

I have read up on the happenings since I've been away. Looks like so many are making headway. I'm happy to say that J is progressing along her journey off Benzos. Unfortunately, she has symptoms, but I think that as she has gone from 20mg to 10.5mg some symptoms have slightly improved and I'm noticing that my J is still in there, behind the Benzo curtain.

 

If I don't get another chance, may everyone have a merry Christmas and a wonderful new year.

 

The Rock.

[[Co...]]

Hi everyone,

 

Well that was a nasty week. I cut on Dec. 2. Made it about 12 days and got nailed. So sick until today. I got my scales. I am feeling better. Not great but better. So I need a bit of help. I held my last cut for 6 weeks. I cut on 12/2 and was really sick from Dec. 14-20. More or less. I will be starting to micro taper. How long should I wait to start?? I want to stabilize. I know that. It took a long time with my last cut. I figure if I hold for a month from my 12/2 cut and wait and see how I feel that I may feel ok by Jan. 2. I will admit that it is getting harder for me. Coming down to the bitter end has been a real eye opener. I never expected this. I am strong but this has brought me to my knees and I would like to see if I can make this a bit more manageable. I have Diaz Pam's taper and think that is the best way for me to go. Going to work has been the greatest challenge. I have a very hard time believing that no one notices how ill I am.  So....any thoughts? Maybe hold longer? I can use all the help I can get.

 

Still above water in Colorado

[[co...]]

Colorado Chick, I would wait till you feel well on your current dose and then start micro tapering.

 

For me I started at .02 daily on Monday and so far so good. I had a tough week as I was recovering from a stomach bug and working full time however I did not want to wait any further so all things considering it was OK. I could not handle larger cuts so I know that micro tapering is the only hope I have at trying to manage my full life and taper at the same time. it is still early on after my crossover to diazepam so it is really trial and error and day by day for me. If all goes well by tomorrow, I will increase to .03 a day reduction and see how that goes. I am not yet on any set timing schedule. I take a little at a time as needed to get me through the day as long as I say within my daily dose total. Perhaps over time it will settle into a more set time and routine. i take it now based on symptoms through the day as my body can feel when I am entering a withdrawal mode. Usually within 30-60 minutes after a small dose I feel better for a few hours and so forth. Some people only dose once a day, others twice a day and others up to 3 or 4 times. I seem to need more frequent smaller doses now. Still figuring it all out!

 

Concerned