Valium/Diazepam Support Group

[[Ma...]]

JoJo, I really think the heat has bothered me more this year plus it's been so hot here.  23 days 100 degrees or more and so little rain.  It's just been so uncomfortable.  Hopefully we will all cool down some soon.  I think the heat has bothered a lot of us.  🙋🏼🙋🏼. 😘😘. 🙏🙏. 😷😷

[[...]]

Mary how are you making your Diaz liquid, I’m going to use a compound pharmacist but it’s about $70 for a couple months supply, and no alcohol involved.

 

I start my final cross over stages in a few weeks, ready to be off the Xanax completely, I’ll be at 19.5 Mg Valium and coming down from there.

 

I just use 1 mg of the Diazapam add 9 mgs of water .  Mine is 27.00 .  Take your time when you start off, go slow and reduce slowly, if you do well , you can always speed up when you see how you do!

Good luck  .    🙋🏼🙋🏼

 

I'm interested to learn how you and Kit micro taper. I make a solution every day mixing 1 ml liquid D and 99 ml water and reduce accordingly. But you guys seem to mix a big batch and taper from it.

 

I could mix up a batch every day but that’s tedious so I don’t. I’m not sure exactly how Mary’s solution is set up, but the way I do it I just dilute the solution to get a 1:10 ratio (1 mg V per 10 ml water). So each batch I make will have 10 mg in it. I’m essentially using the same method to make the solution that you do, although yours is 1:100 concentration instead. You could still make up a slightly larger batch, say for a few days instead of everyday. Example: 3 mg liquid V and 297 ml water. Then you still have the 1:100 ratio solution. And if your dose is .97 mg (using this number because I don’t know your exact dose), then you would draw 97 ml and drink that. In your case, because you’re using a more dilute solution, I think my method would be more tedious because you’d need to draw up so much liquid with a 10 ml syringe. I don’t think you need to change your method, it ain’t broke don’t fix it! 😂

 

Yeah, I worry about things like the evaporation of the water or if there's a consistent concentration in large batches. So you mix at a 1;10 ratio, what does your daily taper look like?

[[Ta...]]

Mary, Thanks for the advice on going slower.

 

DPDP-  I switched over to Diazapam 20 mg early August and adjusted for 2 1/2 weeks.  I made my first cut down to 19 mg 11 days ago.  According to the Ashton Manual, I'm supposed to cut down to 18 Mg  at day 14.  I'm actually really terrified.  My doctor did give me 5 mg pills and 2 mg pills so I don't have to worry about cutting.  I'm currently at:

4 mg 7:30 am

5 mg 1:30 pm (I'm supposed to cut this dose down to 4 at the Ashton 2 week mark) 

10 mg 7:30 pm 

 

I'm supposed to cut my afternoon dose down to 4 mg.  I'm hearing so many people having success with dry cutting and liquid titration.  I'm willing to learn, but I just need someone to teach me 

[[ki...]]

Mary how are you making your Diaz liquid, I’m going to use a compound pharmacist but it’s about $70 for a couple months supply, and no alcohol involved.

 

I start my final cross over stages in a few weeks, ready to be off the Xanax completely, I’ll be at 19.5 Mg Valium and coming down from there.

 

I just use 1 mg of the Diazapam add 9 mgs of water .  Mine is 27.00 .  Take your time when you start off, go slow and reduce slowly, if you do well , you can always speed up when you see how you do!

Good luck  .    🙋🏼🙋🏼

 

I'm interested to learn how you and Kit micro taper. I make a solution every day mixing 1 ml liquid D and 99 ml water and reduce accordingly. But you guys seem to mix a big batch and taper from it.

 

I could mix up a batch every day but that’s tedious so I don’t. I’m not sure exactly how Mary’s solution is set up, but the way I do it I just dilute the solution to get a 1:10 ratio (1 mg V per 10 ml water). So each batch I make will have 10 mg in it. I’m essentially using the same method to make the solution that you do, although yours is 1:100 concentration instead. You could still make up a slightly larger batch, say for a few days instead of everyday. Example: 3 mg liquid V and 297 ml water. Then you still have the 1:100 ratio solution. And if your dose is .97 mg (using this number because I don’t know your exact dose), then you would draw 97 ml and drink that. In your case, because you’re using a more dilute solution, I think my method would be more tedious because you’d need to draw up so much liquid with a 10 ml syringe. I don’t think you need to change your method, it ain’t broke don’t fix it! 😂

 

Yeah, I worry about things like the evaporation of the water or if there's a consistent concentration in large batches. So you mix at a 1;10 ratio, what does your daily taper look like?

 

I’m holding right now, but here’s what I do: Today’s dose is 1.54 mg and I dose twice a day so .77 mg AM and then again in the PM. That’s 7.7 ml of my liquid, so I draw 7 ml in a 10 ml syringe and .7 in a 1 ml syringe. That’s it.

[[...]]

Mary how are you making your Diaz liquid, I’m going to use a compound pharmacist but it’s about $70 for a couple months supply, and no alcohol involved.

 

I start my final cross over stages in a few weeks, ready to be off the Xanax completely, I’ll be at 19.5 Mg Valium and coming down from there.

 

I just use 1 mg of the Diazapam add 9 mgs of water .  Mine is 27.00 .  Take your time when you start off, go slow and reduce slowly, if you do well , you can always speed up when you see how you do!

Good luck  .    🙋🏼🙋🏼

 

I'm interested to learn how you and Kit micro taper. I make a solution every day mixing 1 ml liquid D and 99 ml water and reduce accordingly. But you guys seem to mix a big batch and taper from it.

 

I could mix up a batch every day but that’s tedious so I don’t. I’m not sure exactly how Mary’s solution is set up, but the way I do it I just dilute the solution to get a 1:10 ratio (1 mg V per 10 ml water). So each batch I make will have 10 mg in it. I’m essentially using the same method to make the solution that you do, although yours is 1:100 concentration instead. You could still make up a slightly larger batch, say for a few days instead of everyday. Example: 3 mg liquid V and 297 ml water. Then you still have the 1:100 ratio solution. And if your dose is .97 mg (using this number because I don’t know your exact dose), then you would draw 97 ml and drink that. In your case, because you’re using a more dilute solution, I think my method would be more tedious because you’d need to draw up so much liquid with a 10 ml syringe. I don’t think you need to change your method, it ain’t broke don’t fix it! 😂

 

Yeah, I worry about things like the evaporation of the water or if there's a consistent concentration in large batches. So you mix at a 1;10 ratio, what does your daily taper look like?

 

I’m holding right now, but here’s what I do: Today’s dose is 1.54 mg and I dose twice a day so .77 mg AM and then again in the PM. That’s 7.7 ml of my liquid, so I draw 7 ml in a 10 ml syringe and .7 in a 1 ml syringe. That’s it.

 

OK i'm beginning to see how you're doing it. So what will your next dose be and how do you calculate the percentage drop? Is it 10%/mo?

[[va...]]

Hi kitsune. If you have time, would you mind sharing how you prepare your solution? You throw a 2 mg pill into how much water? I was dry cutting, but when I get below 2mgs, I'll have to do this water thing you people do, and I've never done it /understood it.

[[ki...]]

Mary how are you making your Diaz liquid, I’m going to use a compound pharmacist but it’s about $70 for a couple months supply, and no alcohol involved.

 

I start my final cross over stages in a few weeks, ready to be off the Xanax completely, I’ll be at 19.5 Mg Valium and coming down from there.

 

I just use 1 mg of the Diazapam add 9 mgs of water .  Mine is 27.00 .  Take your time when you start off, go slow and reduce slowly, if you do well , you can always speed up when you see how you do!

Good luck  .    🙋🏼🙋🏼

 

I'm interested to learn how you and Kit micro taper. I make a solution every day mixing 1 ml liquid D and 99 ml water and reduce accordingly. But you guys seem to mix a big batch and taper from it.

 

I could mix up a batch every day but that’s tedious so I don’t. I’m not sure exactly how Mary’s solution is set up, but the way I do it I just dilute the solution to get a 1:10 ratio (1 mg V per 10 ml water). So each batch I make will have 10 mg in it. I’m essentially using the same method to make the solution that you do, although yours is 1:100 concentration instead. You could still make up a slightly larger batch, say for a few days instead of everyday. Example: 3 mg liquid V and 297 ml water. Then you still have the 1:100 ratio solution. And if your dose is .97 mg (using this number because I don’t know your exact dose), then you would draw 97 ml and drink that. In your case, because you’re using a more dilute solution, I think my method would be more tedious because you’d need to draw up so much liquid with a 10 ml syringe. I don’t think you need to change your method, it ain’t broke don’t fix it! 😂

 

Yeah, I worry about things like the evaporation of the water or if there's a consistent concentration in large batches. So you mix at a 1;10 ratio, what does your daily taper look like?

 

I’m holding right now, but here’s what I do: Today’s dose is 1.54 mg and I dose twice a day so .77 mg AM and then again in the PM. That’s 7.7 ml of my liquid, so I draw 7 ml in a 10 ml syringe and .7 in a 1 ml syringe. That’s it.

 

OK i'm beginning to see how you're doing it. So what will your next dose be and how do you calculate the percentage drop? Is it 10%/mo?

 

The way I calculate it is kind of complicated and I use a spreadsheet document to work it out. Essentially I take the percent I want to reduce over a certain amount of time and use that value to reduce a small bit every day. So for example say I wanted to reduce 10% every 14 days, that would be .71% per day. I multiply my current dose by the daily percent to figure out my reduction. (For my current dose that would be about .011 mg per day).

[[ki...]]

Hi kitsune. If you have time, would you mind sharing how you prepare your solution? You throw a 2 mg pill into how much water? I was dry cutting, but when I get below 2mgs, I'll have to do this water thing you people do, and I've never done it /understood it.

 

I use prescription liquid, but when I did use the home brew method I did something similar. 1 mg V:2 ml solvent:8 ml water. So for a 2 mg tablet it would be 4 ml solvent and 16 ml water.

[[va...]]

Hi kitsune. If you have time, would you mind sharing how you prepare your solution? You throw a 2 mg pill into how much water? I was dry cutting, but when I get below 2mgs, I'll have to do this water thing you people do, and I've never done it /understood it.

 

I use prescription liquid, but when I did use the home brew method I did something similar. 1 mg V:2 ml solvent:8 ml water. So for a 2 mg tablet it would be 4 ml solvent and 16 ml water.

 

Thank you kitsune. The solvent would be vodka? Shouldn't you be in bed?

[[ki...]]

Hi kitsune. If you have time, would you mind sharing how you prepare your solution? You throw a 2 mg pill into how much water? I was dry cutting, but when I get below 2mgs, I'll have to do this water thing you people do, and I've never done it /understood it.

 

I use prescription liquid, but when I did use the home brew method I did something similar. 1 mg V:2 ml solvent:8 ml water. So for a 2 mg tablet it would be 4 ml solvent and 16 ml water.

 

Thank you kitsune. The solvent would be vodka? Shouldn't you be in bed?

 

I used vodka and propylene glycol at various times, the vodka was easier to work with as the tablet dissolved faster. I went to bed right after I posted that. 😂 I probably should’ve gone to bed at 10 instead of 11.  :laugh:

[[...]]

Kit, it sounds complicated. I think I'll just stick to my daily titration

 

Hey V, why don't you try liquid Diazepam and pills? You could take a 1 mg pill and reduce the rest with liquid. That's what I did, I took pills and just used the liquid for the 1 mg I was reducing. That way you won't have to worry about crossing over to all liquid

[[ki...]]

Kit, it sounds complicated. I think I'll just stick to my daily titration

 

Hey V, why don't you try liquid Diazepam and pills? You could take a 1 mg pill and reduce the rest with liquid. That's what I did, I took pills and just used the liquid for the 1 mg I was reducing. That way you won't have to worry about crossing over to all liquid

 

The benefit of my method is that you can change your daily rate easily. I have all the %’s memorized at this point so it’s not a big deal. If someone were to use your method and do daily reductions (I know you’re not reducing everyday) then it becomes a larger % drop every time, the way I do it the % stays the same (theoretically you’d never completely finish with my method, obviously at some point you have to start reducing by a set amount until you hit 0).

[[...]]

Yeah, I've never been very good at math. I'm reducing by .01 mg every 3 days that is I stay at the same dose for 3 days and then drop another .01 mg. It works out to 10% a month. But it seems you're reducing every day which seems like a better method. Did you say you're reducing by 10% every 14 days or 28% a month?

[[ki...]]

Yeah, I've never been very good at math. I'm reducing by .01 mg every 3 days that is I stay at the same dose for 3 days and then drop another .01 mg. It works out to 10% a month. But it seems you're reducing every day which seems like a better method. Did you say you're reducing by 10% every 14 days or 28% a month?

 

When I start up again I will probably start at 5% every 2 weeks then increase from there slowly. 8% per 2 weeks seems to be the maximum I’m comfortable with. I tend to get ahead of myself when I feel really well and speed up. I’ve finally learned my lesson and going to be more careful going forward.

[[...]]

Yeah, I've never been very good at math. I'm reducing by .01 mg every 3 days that is I stay at the same dose for 3 days and then drop another .01 mg. It works out to 10% a month. But it seems you're reducing every day which seems like a better method. Did you say you're reducing by 10% every 14 days or 28% a month?

 

When I start up again I will probably start at 5% every 2 weeks then increase from there slowly. 8% per 2 weeks seems to be the maximum I’m comfortable with. I tend to get ahead of myself when I feel really well and speed up. I’ve finally learned my lesson and going to be more careful going forward.

 

That's a good idea, being careful that is. You're almost there, with the finish line in sight.

[[va...]]

Thank you so much kitsune and Jwl. I'll consider these options when I'm under 2mgs. Jwl, the thing is, where I live, the smallest diazepam pill in the market is 2mgs, and doesn't have that line to cut it in half.

[[...]]

So you would have to put the whole 2 mg pill into solution. Why not switch to liquid D? I've always been apprehensive about putting pills into solution: Will there be any residue on the mortar and pestle? Will the powder dissolve evenly in the solution? I'm sure it's fine. I tend to overthink things. Man you're looking at the finish line too V. Woo Hoo!

[[va...]]

So you would have to put the whole 2 mg pill into solution. Why not switch to liquid D? I've always been apprehensive about putting pills into solution: Will there be any residue on the mortar and pestle? Will the powder dissolve evenly in the solution? I'm sure it's fine. I tend to overthink things. Man you're looking at the finish line too V. Woo Hoo!

 

Oh you can be I'm not looking at the finish line Jwl. You wouldn't believe how many sxs I have, and the intensity. I'm looking at a very long hold and that's if I ever come off. We'll see.

[[bl...]]

Hi group:

 

Appears all are doing well.

 

Took a forum breather for a few weeks. Time for another .2 mg reduction. Want to go faster (like I did early this year), but heeding the advice to chip away at it near 5 to 10%. Never want to experience those w sx's when I reduced dramatically last summer/fall. And I was a relatively short term user.

 

BTY--Shortened my sig eliminated fast taper dates from first of year.

 

 

Cheers

[[Dr...]]

In stage 2 of Ativan to Valium.  After many failed taper/reinstatements, I’m kindling pretty bad. Even a 2% drop presents significant withdrawals.  However I’ve been able to make bigger cuts using Ashton method.

 

My issue/question is, the withdrawals for each conversion of Ativan to diazepam are still very bad.  I expected converting one Benzo for another would be relatively easy.  Is/Has anyone else used the ashton method? What were your experiences like during the conversion phases?  Do you feel it was same/easier to taper full diazepam vs converting over?

[[jo...]]

Has anyone had significant weight gain after c/o to Valium and during their taper?  I have gained 35lbs in the past year during my taper after c/o to Valium from Ativan.  I never had this problem in all the years I was taking Ativan.  It seems like most of the threads I read, people have lost weight during their taper instead of gaining weight.  I have cut way back on my daily calorie intake, but the weight just will not come off. 

 

I am no where near as active as I was while on Ativan...I just don't have the energy and stamina I had before c/o to Valium. So could it possibly be the effects of the Valium on my metabolism?  I have had my thyroid checked and the tests came back normal.  The weight gain is mostly in my stomach and chest, making me look like a beach ball with legs.   Just curious if anyone else has experienced abnormal weight gain, because I am tired of looking like a big blow fish and having to buy bigger cloths every few months.  The normal wd sx we go through are bad enough without having to also loose your self-esteem when looking in the mirror each day.  :'(

 

Thanks for listening, I'm just getting frustrated.

JoJo

[[Ma...]]

JoJo,

In the beginning I lost about 10 lbs from benzo belly pain but over these three years have probably gained that back with 10 more.  It's hard keeping your weight under control when you feel so bad.  But also, from the shape of your belly, it sounds like you have benzo belly too.  Most of us get it at one time or another, sucks  .  Causes your belly to pop out and just looks terrible.  .  I hate it.

 

Mary 🙋🏼🙋🏼.    😷😷🙏🙏

[[va...]]

I'm fatter because I'm simply too sick most days to control what I eat. I'll try to lose some weight. I'm starting again tomorrow 😂. Does anyone want to join? We could be like weight watchers 🥕🍓🍉🥗

[[Ma...]]

I'm fatter because I'm simply too sick most days to control what I eat. I'll try to lose some weight. I'm starting again tomorrow 😂. Does anyone want to join? We could be like weight watchers 🥕🍓🍉🥗

 

I already feel like that trying to control this Gerd Vali.  Ain't cutting anything else out !    :laugh:    But I will cheer you guys on  . LY girlfriend 🙋🏼🙋🏼🙋🏼.    ♥️😷🙏

[[Mo...]]

DrugFree,

The c/o can be rough for some and that's often because of the difference in half lives.  The valium takes longer to build up in your system but the Ativan is metabolizing much faster.  I had a lot of headaches or rather head pressure and muscle pain during my crossover from Klonopin.  I think it varies from person to person, though, but you can expect some issues but if you don't, then all the better.  Once I was stabilized and on Valium fully for a while, those things left me.

 

Jojo,

Yes, I have weight gain and I think the valium must metabolize slower.  I have been on Facebook groups and weight gain on Valium during taper, and then even once off, seem to be a common complaint.  We are all different.  I couldn't keep weight on with Klonopin and got down to 102 pounds.  Now I'm at 135 again and trying to maintain that but it's getting hard.  I try to eat a lot of homemade yogurt which keeps my blood sugar level and feeling full. 

 

Hope everyone is doing ok!