Valium/Diazepam Support Group

[[so...]]

Hi SandP! Wow, sorry about the food poisoning. At least it happened over the weekend and not on Thanksgiving. Good to hear you're doing well on you latest cut otherwise. Almost off, wish I was there. I'm at 1.25 and my ears are acting up bad today. Lots of zapping, clicking, ear pressure, wobbliness and my head has been humming bad all day. I really hope this lifts tomorrow, I have to drive out to my dad's for Thanksgiving. It's just me and my dad so no pack of people and noisy house.

 

Glad to hear you'll have a nice quiet Thanksgiving without too much chaos! Hopefully your symptoms will subside a bit in time for Christmas. As for me, my food poisoning turned out to be the stomach flu and I've passed it on to my partner who is in the throes of it now. So we're not going to Thanksgiving at all because we don't want to get anyone else sick. Ah, well. What can you do?

 

Panic attack tonight. Not too bad, I'm hanging in there. I HATE this because I never had them before benzos. This is maybe my third during this entire taper so I know I shouldn't complain. Should I expect these to pass after I'm through acute later on? I was the generalized anxiety type, not the panic attack type. That feeling when the panic washes over you is just horrible.

 

My honest guess/hope is that most everything that wasn't there before benzos will most likely disappear.

SandP,  I agree with Ed, if you didn't have them pre-benzos, I wouldn't expect you to have them once you are healed.

 

Yes I had not had a panic attack until after benzos now im low in taper I don't have them.  I didn't get them often ..they were terrifying.  Went away as I found right dose and right taper.  Thankful it passes.

 

It's a relief to read another post agreeing with that! The panic attacks have made me really appreciate my regular old anxiety. It's a walk in the park compared to panic attacks! Yikes. I think I'm actually feeling the adrenaline surge in my body when it happens. It's overwhelming and it's definitely not in my mind or in my control, but I know that I CAN make it worse by freaking out about it. Distract, distract, distract. That's my mantra.

 

So this was day eight. Previously always my worst day. No symptoms today except the heart palpitations. They are royally getting on my nerves because I've never had any one symptom hang on this long. But it's so much better than any mental symptoms.

 

I'm having a little bit of a hard time cutting these pills into eighths, and honestly I'm not sure I'm taking enough. But I'd rather take too little than too much because it's almost jump time anyway. That just really hit me as I typed it. This is really happening. I'm actually going to complete this journey. You guys are my heroes. I could not have even attempted this scary doctor-dictated taper without your kind words and advice!

[[ed...]]

We knew you had it the whole time, SandP! Even if you didn't.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and everyone else here on the boards!

 

Best,

Ed

[[Ma...]]

I am having increased depression with the crossover to valium. Does this depression decrease in intensity as valium decreases.  It's alot of hoplessness.

[[ed...]]

My depression while on Valium has waxed and waned with no apparent correlation to the dosage.  I hope yours lets up soon.

 

Best,

Ed

[[ka...]]

mine does the dame thing too Ed.

[[ed...]]

mine does the dame thing too Ed.

 

I'm sorry that you're going through this as well. Quite nasty, isn't it?  I hope you can enjoy your Thanksgiving.

 

Best,

Ed

[[Ho...]]

I am having increased depression with the crossover to valium. Does this depression decrease in intensity as valium decreases.  It's alot of hoplessness.

 

Mine seems to be worse after a cut as it correlates with other symptoms. It's gets better after I stabilize. I'm just coming out of a bad wave brought on by surgery that was accompanied by depression and crying spells (and hopelessness).

[[so...]]

We knew you had it the whole time, SandP! Even if you didn't.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and everyone else here on the boards!

 

Best,

Ed

 

Thank you! I hope your Thanksgiving was a good one!

 

I am having increased depression with the crossover to valium. Does this depression decrease in intensity as valium decreases.  It's alot of hoplessness.

 

For me, depression isn't something I usually deal with, but it came on heavy when I was at my high dose of Valium. I was depressed and exhausted and I slept a lot. It eased up substantially within the first few cuts and I'd say the depression had fully left the building by the midpoint of my taper. Hoping yours will ease up too!

[[Ma...]]

Thanks SP

Knowing the fatigue and depression goes away is comforting. My son is visiting and it's hard to be a shell of his mother. Following your posts is inspirational.  Your jump day is almost here!

 

 

 

[[so...]]

Well, I took my final tiny little sliver of Valium on Wednesday morning. Jump day is here! My mood is all over the place about it. I'm happy, I'm relieved, I'm nervous, I'm terrified! All of it, all rolled into one. This last cut was totally a non-event so I'm hoping that maybe my jump will be too, but I'm sure that's too much to ask. My hope is that I can continue working through the holidays because that's the plan right now.

 

It's honestly super trippy that I'm here. I know it was a relatively short taper, but it also felt very long when I was looking at it from the start. Plus, there was the first Ativan taper, the crossover, the successful Ativan taper, then the Valium taper. So it's been a long journey emotionally even if the amount of time wasn't too gargantuan.

 

The biggest shock of it all is that I've changed so much. Making that decision to come out of this better than I came into it was really the best thing. I'm still not talking about my health anxieties out loud or even letting my thoughts run wild on those topics. No Googling health-related stuff. I'm not letting any fears or feelings stop me from living. I've been getting out and shopping a lot (probably too much but it's been fun). Tonight, even though I've been a bit off kilter for the past few days, we went to a holiday light show. I braved the cold and dealt with dizzy driving to get there, and it was so worth it. I don't feel like that scared girl I was when I first came here at all.

 

This next chapter could be a crazy one. I'm figuring that either the two weeks immediately following the jump might be rough, or maybe the two weeks following that. Maybe all of it. I don't know. Assuming that, if things actually go well, I'll be pleasantly surprised. Whatever happens, I'm pretty ready to tackle it. The thing I fear probably the most is head pain because I've had a bit of that during the last couple of cuts. I'm afraid it might get really intense during the acute phase. But that's health anxiety right there, so I'm pushing it out of my mind and distracting myself! I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

 

Thanks again for all the love and support, all of you! I will update soon!

[[ed...]]

You're going to do great, SandP! I just know it! Congratulations again.

Ed

[[Le...]]

Whoo hoo, Solace,way to go! 

[[fi...]]

Congrats SandP

 

with your attitude, I think you're going to be GREAT!! Keep us all posted - (((HUGS)))

[[so...]]

Solace, well done and congrats!!! I hope it'll be a short and smooth "acute", and then back to living fully and feeling great. Yaaay!

[[Gr...]]

Congratulations SandP!  ;D

Your taper has been remarkable! Let us know how you feel over the next few weeks.

[[Ho...]]

Yay SandP!!

[[so...]]

Thank you edzo, left, fight, solitude, grape, and hope! I love you guys so much! I can't even express how grateful I am for this safe space. I think I'd have lost my mind in this process if I didn't have you all to lean on.

 

A quick update from me on my "day one" in the benzo-free celebrations section:

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=170255.msg2269021#msg2269021

 

Overall, just a little floaty feeling today, but really relieved to be done with it no matter what symptoms I may have to deal with over the next little while. I'm ready for whatever!

[Guest [Fu...]]

Hey guys, I posted this in the Substitution Taper forum but I figured it couldn't hurt to post it here as I'm hoping some of you who have switched from K to V can offer some input.

 

So after three years of looking I finally found a prescriber who is willing to switch me from Klonopin to Valium. However, there are a couple of things that are of concern still:

 

1) He does not want to do a crossover and just wants me to substitute the Klonopin I was on with the Valium

 

2) He said the equivalency of 1 mg K is equal to 10 mg's of Valium. I know Ashton says it's 20 and there are others who argue it is 10-15 but I really don't know how to proceed and obviously don't want to make a huge cut to my dosage

 

I microtapered myself from 2.5 mg's K to 1.5 and then updosed to 2.0 for 6 days before seeing the psychiatrist two days ago. I spoke with a friend who helps people on a few of the Facebook boards who said that a quick crossover can be effective for people and mine would look like this:

 

Then it would look like this:

 

0.5 K 3x and then pm dose 5mg V (1-2 days)

 

0.5 K 2x and then the am and pm dose 5mg V (1-2 days)

 

0.5 K 1x and then the am, pm and one afternoon dose 5mg V (1-2 days)

 

Then 5mg V 4x per day and you're crossed

 

I guess I'm just looking for advice. I'm happy that I FINALLY found someone who will let me try Valium in relative "high" doses but at the same time like I said I don't want to do even more damage to myself. Feeling very lost.

[[Gr...]]

Hi Fuzzy,  some people like Dr. Peart's c/o and tape schedule, it's basically a modified Ashton taper with a much shorter crossover.

http://www.benzosupport.org/crossover_schedules.htm

 

As for the Klonopin to Valium ratio, it really varies depending on the individual. I did a partial crossover from Xanax to Valium using less Valium than the Ashton equivalency, since the smaller amount of Valium just "felt" about the same as the amount of Xanax I was cutting. I guess you could try the first dose substitution using the dr's 1:10 ratio and see if it feels about the same or if the Valium doesn't feel strong enough.

[[...]]

Sharkie are you stabilizing at .8?

 

Hi Jackson,

Well its been 2 months and I would say that I am not stable, but definitely better in the last week and a half.  Symptoms still present, but less intense.  Larger windows of relief.  I haven't had an entire day sx free, but like I said when the waves come they are less intense, but still pretty bothersome.  I'm sleeping better.  I'm getting from dose to dose better (which was a real problem before).  Usually, my toughest times are in the late afternoon and evening.  Not sure why.  But sometimes mornings are hard too.

 

I'm going to see Dr. Peter Madill next week.  Just did the Genomind genetics test today and he should get it in time for my visit.  Just need a consult with someone Ashton wise, who can make sense of some of my drug interactions and possibly what to do.  Want to see how I metabolize the drugs, etc. 

 

I actually made a tiny cut to 7.75 just to see if I got any worse.  Don't think so.  Been there for a week now.  Holding there for a few more days and see what happens.  I'd like to stabalize more, but also want off so I can address my other health issues that are worsening because I can't take the supps needed to help them.  Will talk about all of this with the doc next week.

 

Are you doing any better?

 

Sharkie

 

 

y

Hi sharkie , I don't post much here, but I noticed you are going to see Dr Madill....I just made an appointment to see him myself on the 13 th. My first time seeing him.. You ? Do you live locally? I'm in Lake county. I'd be interested in hearing how it goes with him. I also have various genetic mutations , not sure if that's effecting my taper but mine is hell and I've hardly started. Can't get past 81/4 mg V from 10 mg , started taper in June and I haven't been stable at all. So I'm holding now I hopes that something will change so I can continue tapering . Pretty sick of not moving forward , but holding seems to be the best option for now...... 

[[...]]

Yes it did help

I tried taking a little like 100-300 per day but it wasn't enough bc I am staving off acute at 1mg from kindling

I am now on 600 mg (200 three times daily)

It helps w burning and prickling and chest pain

I went from writhing in agony in a fetal position to hiking and last night doing yoga

However is it halting my recovery ? I do not know

I know I could not survive what I have experience the last 25 days

I was headed for a hospital no joke.

So yes it works

I was told to follow my nervous system and don't settle on an arbitrary number

I was told to contain the storm first

 

Hi Jackson , glad the gabapentin helped you. I've been on 900 mg for a while for restless legs, but I've slowly reduced that to 750, I haven't felt like it's caused me any problems . It's the Valium cuts that bring me hell! It does help with the burning prickling which I know you and I both share that lovely symptom, mines unrelenting....I take my GP all at night , maybe I should try splitting the dose....

[Guest [Fu...]]

Hi Grapejuice, thanks for the link and the info. Yeah Peart is who my friend was going off. Not sure if I mentioned that in my original comment as my benzo brain is off the rails today 

 

It's interesting that Peart and Ashton differ so much on their crossover advice.

[[St...]]

I keep wondering about Gabapentin. I'm holding at 2mg of Valium and there are days where I don't know how I'm going to get through the last 2mg given that my main symptoms are burning nerve pain when I'm in the acute phase.

[[cr...]]

So happy for you, SandP.  Mega Congrats!!!!  Cross

[[Ma...]]

Yesterday I had deep tissue massage of upper body to release tightness.  Is stored valium in cells and muscles released during a massage. Today I was lethargic,sleepy and it felt like the 1st time I took Valium.  Anyone experience this?