Valium/Diazepam Support Group

[[bl...]]

For me, Teva better than Sandos--but that was for Klonopin....

[[ka...]]

I'm TEVA too, but then that is the only valium I have been on, so my body/brain is accustomed to that brand. You too may be doing fine with that brand, if you have been taking that it for quite a while or if that is the only brand you have used. Might not want to rock that boat, unless you have too. Goodness you have made great progress, keep on persevering - you are going to overcome this!!

[[ka...]]

Hey guys - I know, here i come with another question..... but I trust your guidance! This afternoon I will go to the dermatologist. I have an area that he will probably want to biopsy.  Now, i know we must be very careful with what is used to deaden/numb the area as it can wreak havoc w our CNS. I was wondering what is best to use or( a must to avoid) that will not stimulate?

thx!

[[no...]]

Hey guys - I know, here i come with another question..... but I trust your guidance! This afternoon I will go to the dermatologist. I have an area that he will probably want to biopsy.  Now, i know we must be very careful with what is used to deaden/numb the area as it can wreak havoc w our CNS. I was wondering what is best to use or( a must to avoid) that will not stimulate?

thx!

Hi Kasey  ask them to use adrenaline free local anaesthetic as it can rev or cause symptoms 

 

Love Nova xxx  :smitten:

[[ka...]]

Thank you Nova, you are a dear!

[[Ki...]]

From what I understand brand is not important its staying with whatever brand you use. If your pharmacy changes brands you could have a bit of a bump in your road till you adjust to the new one

[[Le...]]

I have used the same brand generic Valium for tapering because I understood it was important not to change manufacturers. I have been taking Teva and lately have read that is one of the worst to take, the complaints being it is weak compared to other generics. I am back to tapering 10mg after a 2 month hold.  Has anyone used Teva (Ivax) consistently and been ok? Is it too late for me to change now?  Thank you. Sleepy

I'd stick with Teva if that's what you've been using since 2015. Sticking with the same generic brand throughout your taper is more important.

[[Kg...]]

I used Teva all the way off - no problems except of course the normal taper s/x. 

[[bu...]]

From what I understand brand is not important its staying with whatever brand you use. If your pharmacy changes brands you could have a bit of a bump in your road till you adjust to the new one

 

100% correct.  Often, folks have a reaction when changing brands, but it's usually the change that causes the issue, not the new brand.

 

As noted, you will adjust to the new brand.

[[...]]

HI , is anyone else on this board super super sensitive to the smallest reduction? Like 3/30ths of a 1/4 mg tapered over 4 days ( V). I've been mostly holding for six months now and have managed to almost taper 1/4 mg, by making these tiny cuts here and there. But I get crippling withdrawals for weeks after these tiny cuts. Not sure what to do .... I really don't want to updose , which probably only leaves me with the option to hold more and hope I stabilize .....I am in the long hold support group and they are great for supporting long holds. I just wondered if anyone here has this much sensitivity to Valium cuts. Thank you! MiYu

[[la...]]

MiYu, you may already know this but I am NOT a fan of the "Long Hold" theory...I believed what was being propaganded and held for 5 months...being told along the way to "hold just a bit longer...just a bit longer"

 

well NEVER did I "stabilize" and all that was accomplished was I lost 5 months...again this was MY EXPERIANCE...others may have something else to say

 

 

so with that being said. I have got to keep tapering...I tried updosing, I tried holding...nothing works because the drug is toxic to me now

 

YES every cut I feel and at this point "windows" are all shut...I feel horrid daily

 

BUT, & this is a BIG BUT, I have got to believe from all those who went before me that I too will heal eventually

 

so the long answer to your question is ...YES I am super sensitive to every little cut so I am making large cuts to get this HELL over with.

[[be...]]

Laniey I am really sorry for all that you have gone through and just maybe if you let go of being upset with a group that reached out to you, just maybe that would be one less stress you are carrying around, the quote below is getting worrisome and sometimes not holding on to resentment will help us all, and by the way I suffered too like you are going through right now, not once but twice, and this third time has been like night and day. I only always wished you the best and I still do, and I Pray for you as many do. Stay Strong.

 

"I am NOT a fan of the "Long Hold" theory...I believed what was being "propaganded" and held for 5 months...being told along the way to "hold just a bit longer...just a bit longer"

[[dr...]]

laineyk

I kind of feel like you.  Soooo sick of this valium.  V-Depression is evil.  Tried all kinds of cuts, holds...just keep going down hill.

 

MiYu

How are you tapering 3/30ths of a 1/4mg using dry taper??  Are you using a precision scale?

[[Le...]]

HI , is anyone else on this board super super sensitive to the smallest reduction? Like 3/30ths of a 1/4 mg tapered over 4 days ( V). I've been mostly holding for six months now and have managed to almost taper 1/4 mg, by making these tiny cuts here and there. But I get crippling withdrawals for weeks after these tiny cuts. Not sure what to do .... I really don't want to updose , which probably only leaves me with the option to hold more and hope I stabilize .....I am in the long hold support group and they are great for supporting long holds. I just wondered if anyone here has this much sensitivity to Valium cuts. Thank you! MiYu

Miyu, I'm extremely sensitive to cuts also. Since May 2016 I've cut not quite 4 mgs...and it has been a struggle. I try not to think about the slowness of my taper or compare myself to others. In the end, a symptom-based taper will always be the safest way off this drug. Wishing you healing and health.

[[...]]

HI , is anyone else on this board super super sensitive to the smallest reduction? Like 3/30ths of a 1/4 mg tapered over 4 days ( V). I've been mostly holding for six months now and have managed to almost taper 1/4 mg, by making these tiny cuts here and there. But I get crippling withdrawals for weeks after these tiny cuts. Not sure what to do .... I really don't want to updose , which probably only leaves me with the option to hold more and hope I stabilize .....I am in the long hold support group and they are great for supporting long holds. I just wondered if anyone here has this much sensitivity to Valium cuts. Thank you! MiYu

Miyu, I'm extremely sensitive to cuts also. Since May 2016 I've cut not quite 4 mgs...and it has been a struggle. I try not to think about the slowness of my taper or compare myself to others. In the end, a symptom-based taper will always be the safest way off this drug. Wishing you healing and health.

Thank you Left, you are doing well .... We'll get there in the end...... You too Lainey ......

I know we all have to make our own choices ... For myself I just feel way too fragile to push so I guess I am also doing a symptoms based taper , and it will take as long as it takes ....Its not easy that's for sure !

MiYu

[[...]]

laineyk

I kind of feel like you.  Soooo sick of this valium.  V-Depression is evil.  Tried all kinds of cuts, holds...just keep going down hill.

 

MiYu

How are you tapering 3/30ths of a 1/4mg using dry taper??  Are you using a precision scale?

 

Hi drummer,

I take 8 mgs in dry pills and then I have my 1/4 mg in liquid that I make using vodka , that way I can measure as small a reduction as I want using a 5 ml syringe . I actually dilute the 1/4 mg into 30 mls, so if I was tapering 1/4 mg month , that would be minus 1 ml day, except I haven't been able to do that! So I've just been taking a little out here and there to test the waters so to speak.

All the best to you , MiYu

[[Le...]]

HI , is anyone else on this board super super sensitive to the smallest reduction? Like 3/30ths of a 1/4 mg tapered over 4 days ( V). I've been mostly holding for six months now and have managed to almost taper 1/4 mg, by making these tiny cuts here and there. But I get crippling withdrawals for weeks after these tiny cuts. Not sure what to do .... I really don't want to updose , which probably only leaves me with the option to hold more and hope I stabilize .....I am in the long hold support group and they are great for supporting long holds. I just wondered if anyone here has this much sensitivity to Valium cuts. Thank you! MiYu

Miyu, I'm extremely sensitive to cuts also. Since May 2016 I've cut not quite 4 mgs...and it has been a struggle. I try not to think about the slowness of my taper or compare myself to others. In the end, a symptom-based taper will always be the safest way off this drug. Wishing you healing and health.

Thank you Left, you are doing well .... We'll get there in the end...... You too Lainey ......

I know we all have to make our own choices ... For myself I just feel way too fragile to push so I guess I am also doing a symptoms based taper , and it will take as long as it takes ....Its not easy that's for sure !

MiYu

Miyu, you are wise not to push yourself if you feel too fragile. This is a difficult journey that is not for the faint of heart. Sometimes the most difficult thing to do is slow down. Hugs and healing to you.

[[la...]]

Begood, please do not misunderstand my words...I am not resentful....No one made me hold, that was my decision...I just wish I went with my gut  and maybe what the Lord was telling me to do...

 

I do know that those on that thread were ever so supportive and trying to be helpful, and how I wish it had helped me

 

Thank you do much for your prayers and concern...I am really bad right now and I may have to take another week to try to get my head straight a bit since now I am waking all through the night with panic too...this is a new symptom

 

never ceases to amaze me how strong this drug is and that it effects almost every bodily system..

 

I pray that I can have some time in the day that I do not want to die...and I am glad to see that you are doing well...really I am

 

guess I need to stop venting on the long hold...its not healthy for me to keep reliving that

[[Kg...]]

I have held off for many months posting this but I am discouraged by what I see going on, on these boards, which is a great change from when I first was on here.  I do not come here very often because it greatly upsets me to see people continue to suffer but I believe I need to speak about what my opinion is about 'long holds'.

 

First:  IMHO:  Words do matter - a taper is defined as:  diminish or reduce or cause to diminish or reduce in thickness toward one end. 

When you are holding for  months you are not diminishing or reducing  your dose.  You are stopping your reduction of the drug until you are mentally and physically ready to begin your taper again.

 

 

For many of us once we start a taper our bodies react to the drug in a different way. That is also true for many of us who tried to taper, got awful s/x and then did long holds.  As soon as we start cutting again the s/x start right back up. 

 

Ashton never suggested/recommended that any of us do long holds, her stated goal was for people to get off of benzos using a slow taper.  For many of us her method was too fast but rather than stopping and starting over and over again, the stated goal was to continue tapering. 

 

At some point in time a light bulb goes off and we realize that as Shamo says ( see his post on the Ashton board) , we are 'damaged' and the only way to ever get better is to just grit our teeth and get off.  So that is what we do.  We suffer the s/x but we keep cutting and finally are able to get off. 

 

So for many of us what a long hold does is really nothing at all except prolong the agony.  It is not one size fits all. 

 

What I have never understood is why, if a long hold works do people who do long holds get s/x once they start cutting again?  If it worked so that you feel better than shouldn't you be able to find a decent pace and get off?  My guess is that for some people the long hold actually does serve as a re set - that is, it allows your body to feel better and then you can get off.  For others, like me and Lainey, it does nothing at all - in fact in does the reverse since the longer we hold the worse we feel and when we start tapering again we are in a worse place than we were before the 'long hold'. 

 

For others I think the long hold also does nothing - since when they start tapering again the s/x come right back. Essentially the only thing they have done is to have their bodies acclimate to a lower dose and suffer the same if not worse when they need to taper again. 

 

It seems to me the advice on this forum when people hit a brick wall is 'to do a long hold'.    For me this was a disaster, for Lainey as well. For many others it serves no purpose except to drag out their taper for months and months if not years and years.

 

Before long holds became the panacea on these boards,  when I asked for advice when I hit my brick wall,  the advice from the buddies on these boards  was  to keep pushing through the brick wall to get off of the drug.  I was told that then I would heal and feel better.  And yes that is what I did, and now I am back to living my life again.  Had I  been given the  "long hold advice"  I would still be suffering in this relentless journey to get off of this drug.

 

I beg people to look at those of us who are off and feeling better and to read the success stories as to what worked for those who are back to living their lives. 

 

I also think that for those seeking advice you need to ask the person giving it to you what other drugs they have been on and tapered from or cold turkeyed from.  Someone who tapered an opiate or an anti depressant or other drugs like this is not in the same position as people who are just tapering from a benzo.  It also matters how long you took your benzo.  If it is only a few weeks than please do not spend a year getting off, just bite the bullet and get off as fast as you can.  I now see people here who took the drug for only a few weeks tapering for a year - so that they are essentially taking a poison for a year when they should just get off as quickly as possible.

 

Enough said - except to say to those of  you suffering after trying a long hold - it is time to get off as so many of us did- and there is life on the other side.

 

 

 

 

[[be...]]

Kgirl, point taken, and glad that you are doing well. I was on Valium for many years and went all the way from 10mg to 0 times 2, I had to reinstate or die, or a massive stroke, I chose to live and reinstate. For me the Long holds have been a life line and when I taper for 10 days I have very little symptoms and holding I actually feel better and it is getting better all the time the lower I go. I only have blips of sx nothing that keeps me from having a good life, I am so glad that going into my third taper that I chose to go slow and hold, for me It has been a Godsend. I am also glad that I found a great group of buddies on TLHSG, yes many may need to resume their taper and not hold if it does not work, and I know that it takes time and many are feeling hurried to get off, but for me I can not say I would ever tell someone suffering to just push on through, but we are all different and things affect us each differently.

 

It is good to have choices and yes if someone is suffering and I see they are going too fast I will advise to slow down and hold for a bit, the choice is theirs. And as I go down, I am Healing I feel it and almost feel Normal again and trust me I have not had that feeling for years. Best to you and I think it is good to have differing opinions, but to never forget those who are suffering may just need a different approach, it is good to agree to disagree.

 

Lainey hang on and know many here are Praying for you and we will cheer the day that you are Healed.

[[...]]

THanks Kgirl for your post. It is inspiring and I think what you wrote makes sense. I have not done any long holds and hope not to.

It is difficult when suffering and getting so many very different opinions on here.  That alone increases my anxiety!

I am glad you are feeling better and enjoying life again!

[[Ho...]]

Kgirl10 and begood, I have followed you both for a while now and respect and admire you both. I think what's interesting to me is how different we all respond to these drugs. I think it all comes down to what works for the individual. As for me, my body does not seem to benefit from holding beyond 6 weeks. So I plan on continuing to taper at a rate that is tolerable and get off the poison. I have had symptoms all the way down so far, and I don't expect that to change unfortunately. If long holds help a person, that's great, but it just doesn't work for all of us (definitely not me). Anyway, just wanted to share my perspective. I think having multiple experiences shared on the boards is valuable so people can use it in their own decision making process.

[[...]]

Hi Hope- is the MT working out better for you? What rate are you cutting? Sending Windows your way!

 

[[Ho...]]

LaineyK,

 

I also wanted to say that I have also followed you for a while and how proud I am of you. I know how much you have struggled and I admire your determination to get the bleep off this stuff! You go girl!

 

Hope

[[Ho...]]

Hi Hope- is the MT working out better for you? What rate are you cutting? Sending Windows your way!

 

Hey libr. I am still recovering from my last cut and my scale just arrived in the mail yesterday. I need a chance to play with it so I know what I'm doing, then plan to start the microtaper by the end of the week. I'll let you know how it goes! How are you?