Valium/Diazepam Support Group

[[...]]

It's not wide enough - it will go in but not snugly and medicine comes out.  Maybe I'm doing it wrong but with the ones I sent the link to, the tip goes in nice and snug.

Hey Mof7B,

What times of day do you do your 3 doses? Still trying to figure out my game plan

 

I posted this in another string but need help on this. So i have been practicing using the syringe with the valium liquid and I have a question, When I draw up the medication into the syringe there is medicine all the way up to the tip of the syringe. I thought that the medicine level should start at the zero level of  the syringe barrel. How do i prevent this from happening or how do I correct it?

[[Mo...]]

Joeb,

I wouldn't even worry about that.  That amount is smaller than what you think and since it will be present every time, then it's no big deal.  My dosing schedule is 8:40, 3:00 and 9:00 but it can vary depending on the day - I've gotten less strict as I've gone along.

[[...]]

Joeb,

I wouldn't even worry about that.  That amount is smaller than what you think and since it will be present every time, then it's no big deal.  My dosing schedule is 8:40, 3:00 and 9:00 but it can vary depending on the day - I've gotten less strict as I've gone along.

Mof7bs, so when i draw up the medicine i notice that it goes all the way to the tip of the syringe, when i push out the medicine there is still some left in the tip. so are you saying that whats left in the tip counts or doesnt count toward the dose, and if not it has been negligible for you,

Sorry I'm just nervous about the liquid stuff...

So when your draw it up its ok to have that bit amount in the tip as well as when you squirt it out. I ask also because I hear of many people drawing up water to put in a cup with the dose to help with the taste and get the remaining residual medicine from the syringe  since its so syrupy

 

[[...]]

Joeb,

I wouldn't even worry about that.  That amount is smaller than what you think and since it will be present every time, then it's no big deal.  My dosing schedule is 8:40, 3:00 and 9:00 but it can vary depending on the day - I've gotten less strict as I've gone along.

Mof7bs, so when i draw up the medicine i notice that it goes all the way to the tip of the syringe, when i push out the medicine there is still some left in the tip. so are you saying that whats left in the tip counts or doesnt count toward the dose, and if not it has been negligible for you,

Sorry I'm just nervous about the liquid stuff...

So when your draw it up its ok to have that bit amount in the tip as well as when you squirt it out. I ask also because I hear of many people drawing up water to put in a cup with the dose to help with the taste as well as getting all the medicine from the syringe,  since its so syrupy

[[Mo...]]

After I'm done dispensing the liquid into my mouth, I draw up some water into syringe and also consume it.  I do this twice.

[Guest [...]]

Joeb,

I wouldn't even worry about that.  That amount is smaller than what you think and since it will be present every time, then it's no big deal.  My dosing schedule is 8:40, 3:00 and 9:00 but it can vary depending on the day - I've gotten less strict as I've gone along.

Mof7bs, so when i draw up the medicine i notice that it goes all the way to the tip of the syringe, when i push out the medicine there is still some left in the tip. so are you saying that whats left in the tip counts or doesnt count toward the dose, and if not it has been negligible for you,

Sorry I'm just nervous about the liquid stuff...

So when your draw it up its ok to have that bit amount in the tip as well as when you squirt it out. I ask also because I hear of many people drawing up water to put in a cup with the dose to help with the taste and get the remaining residual medicine from the syringe  since its so syrupy

 

to combat this, I pump the syringe several times to get the little bits out!

the way the syringes work, is that little bit left in the tip, is not part of the measurement, so you really don't have to worry about it too much.

 

I personally don't do the water, as I find it interferes with the next dose.

My syringes come from the pharmacy and since the viscosity of the liquid is different than the water, when you draw it up for the next dose, it won't adhere to the sides the same (sorry I'm an engineer and know a lot about fluids etc.)

So what I do is get new syringes everytime prescription renewal (as it's free for me)

 

what I also used to do, is clean my syringes every week and let them air dry thoroughly, this will then not impact your next dosing etc.

 

Winnie

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Thank you Mof7Bs and Winnie Dog for your replies, it helps alot when trying to figure out what to do. I am in my 5th week of Valium crossover now and stabilized but trying to figure out my plan forward. I want to test out the liquid and hoping it works because dry cutting and holding has not worked well when I was on the Ativan. Trying to make a decision but its hard when you don't know how its going to go.

 

BTW Mof7Bs Amazon just recently discontinued the 22mm medicine bottle adapters, had i ordered last week i would have gotten them.

[[no...]]

Guys I been holding nearly 3 months now and feel a LOT worse , anyone feel better after making a cut after a hold?

 

              Nova 

[[Sl...]]

I have no psychiatrist and my PCP is supportive, but not knowledgeable.  I'm switching from 0.625K to valium.  I've been advised to crossover to 12.5V.  At this point, I'm up to 7.5V and so fatigued, weak, and often nauseous (have taken 13 weeks just to get this far). 

 

Night dose change went smoothly (50/50 for a week or 10 days, then all V). Morning dose change has been a bear and I went in reverse after 50/50 was so awful.  I switched to liquid proportions and slowly came down to 50/50.  Did 90/10 for a week, then 80/20 for a week, then 70/30, then got even slower. 

 

All this just for a crossover.  Meanwhile, I've become weaker and much more nauseous.  Just this past week (8 days ago), I made it to 50/50 for morning dose.  Some of nausea is dissipating, but so sleepy and weak. 

 

Is it advisable to continue my way to 12.5V or aim for lesser amount.  My pharmacist says since V accumulates, it'd be fine to aim lower, but won't this leave me in withdrawal to start?

 

As of now, I take 0.125K with 2.5V in the morning, 0.125K afternoon, and 5V night.  Next step (probably Wednesday) will be to drop 0.125K and get morning dose to 5K.  Can only imagine how asleep I'll be on 5V in the morning, then 0.125K afternoon, and 5K at night. Then I will still have another 2.5V to add in the afternoon, replacing 0.125K. 

 

Mostly thinking I'll be a total zombie, or sleeping for weeks.  Just wondering if I should/could aim for less than 12.5V equivalency dose for 0.625K dose?

 

Thanks!

[[Mo...]]

Hi Slow,

You can definitely aim for less and you may get by with it.  This is part of why Ashton recommended a slower cross.  It talks about this in the manual.  I know of several people who went with a lot less (like 25% less) and were fine.  I, myself, only went with .7mg less but my Klonopin dose at the time was only .360K.  I c/o to 6.5mg of Valium instead of 7.2mg. 

[[Su...]]

Slownsteady you know my story I did 75% of what Ashton recommended and it was a good choice. If you are feeling this tired that's a good indication the V is too high a dose for you. Yes the crossover sucks balls it was really hard I was nauseous thru all of it but it passed once steady state was reached in my system. Apologies I have been MIA been dealing with a lot of personal stuff. I'm happy to her you made the choice to move to V. I hope you have better success with it then on K.

[[CT...]]

I am currently tapering down on Valium holding steady at 2mg. Insomnia has continued to get worse during the taper which I had been holding out on taking any sleep meds but decided it was time to try something. 

 

My Psych wrote me a script for Mirtazapine 7.5mg which I only took it one time.  It knocked me out cold for 5 hours however I woke up to my vision being snowy and everything was super bright which it did not go away after a few days.

 

I got in with an Neuro-Ophthalmologist 4 days later. They advised the vision issue was due to the Mirtazapine and diagnosed it as palinopsia.  Stated it and Trazadone have documented history causing this as a rare side effect which it may or may not go away over time.

 

It has been 7 days since the appointment and from that time I have felt dizzy with intense head pressure kinda like a severe case of allergies along with my eyes being very slow to track things. The four days in-between taking the Mirt and the appointment I did not have those symptoms nor prior to taking it, only the vision issue after. 

 

Tropicamide was used to dilate my eyes which it is a non‐selective antagonist of muscarinic acetylcholine.  I am now wondering if that indeed is the culprit and it interacted with the Valium triggering something to cause the symptoms?

 

Thanks!

 

[[...]]

Joeb,  I originally did NOT hold but just started to once it seemed like symptoms might be ticking up.  Then I started out only holding 1 day after each 10 and eventually went to 2 and 3.  Currently, it's about 4 days but I'm on the very tail and I'm honestly not sure if it's necessary or helpful.  The longest I've held since I switched over to diazepam at one time is a week, I think.  For me, I told myself I would never do a long-ish hold again after my experience holding on Klonopin. 

 

Mof7Bs, I am curious about the quote from you above, why did you decide not to do the longish holds again after your experiencing holding on Klonopin?

The reason I'm asking is I'm not really on a cut and hold yet per se, I am holding on my crossover until my daughter's visit next week, and deep down wondering if it is hurting me to hold and not taper for this long a period of time, I am on my 6th week of crossover and 3rd week of all Valium and I have decent stability outside of the sedated and slightly depressed feelings known to Valium.

[[Mo...]]

I went into bad tolerance when I did a 6+ month hold but my situation was much different as I cut a lot too quickly and held at the lower dose too long.  I don't think you are currently at danger of that, only being 3 weeks or from a full crossover. Because of my own experience, I decided not to do holds and after I crossed, I just started microtapering. If you are stable and doing decently, I can only say that if it were me, I wouldn't wait.

[[Ni...]]

Im at 3 mg valium in the morning and 3 mg valium in the evening, feeling great, no withdrawal symptoms at all, still cutting 1 mg every 2 weeks. I'm gonna cut 1 more mg in 2 weeks then I'm gonna start doing 0.5 mg cuts till 0. Hopefully this hell is over soon.

[Guest [...]]

Can someone please point out to me the comment recently about someone who had to dose Valium a lot during the day?

 

It was within the last few weeks, maybe a month ago.

 

They were explaining that the V went through them quickly.

 

I recently had some gene testing done and I found out that I’m a rapid metabolizer of Valium for CYP2C19 and possibly CYP3A4 (had a discrepancy on this one in the report).

 

I know I’d be better of with K, but I’m deathly afraid of that.

 

Need to know my options.

 

The testing doesn’t surprise me, as Since June when I moved my midday dose over to Valium I’ve never had relief from it, I essentially am in pain until 10 pm.

 

Has anyone every successfully got off Valium if they were rapidly metabolizing it?

 

Thanks.

Winnie

[[Mo...]]

Hi Winnie,

I do recall someone saying that they were dosing Valium 4X per day and still having interdose withdrawal but I don't remember who or when they said that.  I will tell you that my gene testing also shows that I'm an ULTRA-rapid metabolizer of CYP2C19.  However, I have had great luck with Valium, much more so than with Klonopin.  I just don't put a lot of stock in those tests based on my own experiences with medications and the ones that it said I wouldn't do well with (or would).  I think it can gives some useful information but not enough to predict outcomes or drug response. 

[Guest [...]]

Thanks MO7

 

I ended up finding it, had to go to the computer, hard to look back that far on the phone.

 

It was Suffering Sixty and also Unicorn74.

 

The weird thing for me with the gene testing I did, was that they are correct with almost everything and my response to drugs etc.

 

I did one that testing for over 200 drugs, psych, pain, heart, tons of drugs - just fascinating.

 

I just have a lot of one sided head pressure and my osteopath, chiro and physio all say that something is blocked on my right side with something - don't think they blood - but the pressure is so bad.

 

I've also felt more cognitively impaired since I moved to Valium and my memory is crap!

 

I guess I just want to be out of pain, lofty goal.

 

I dose 3 times per day, really don't want to do 4 or more.

 

It's such a crap shoot - my dr wants me to complete the crossover, but to do it slowly!

 

Did you get this head pressure?? The one sidedness is just so weird.

 

Thanks so much.

 

Winnie

[[Mo...]]

I did get the head pressure, Winnie.  However, mine didn't last that long - only about a month.  It was enough for me to consider not crossing over, though, so I understand where you are at.  Definitely felt cognitively impaired and that took some time to subside - got better in lower doses.  I still am not able to think right but I don't think that's due to Valium.  I think it's a good idea that you are considering your options at this point and am so sorry it hasn't gone better for you!  Hang in there. 

[[no...]]

Thanks MO7

 

I ended up finding it, had to go to the computer, hard to look back that far on the phone.

 

It was Suffering Sixty and also Unicorn74.

 

The weird thing for me with the gene testing I did, was that they are correct with almost everything and my response to drugs etc.

 

I did one that testing for over 200 drugs, psych, pain, heart, tons of drugs - just fascinating.

 

I just have a lot of one sided head pressure and my osteopath, chiro and physio all say that something is blocked on my right side with something - don't think they blood - but the pressure is so bad.

 

I've also felt more cognitively impaired since I moved to Valium and my memory is crap!

 

I guess I just want to be out of pain, lofty goal.

 

I dose 3 times per day, really don't want to do 4 or more.

 

It's such a crap shoot - my dr wants me to complete the crossover, but to do it slowly!

 

Did you get this head pressure?? The one sidedness is just so weird.

 

Thanks so much.

 

Winnie

Hi Winnie what geno test did you use for drug testing?

 

 

                                                                                  Nova 

[Guest [...]]

Nova

 

I used the Inagene test.

It’s from Canada, but several of us here have used it, they ship to the States.

You pick which test you want, I choose the two ones that test for all drugs they have tests for.

It was around $400 Canadian for both. Great price actually for what you get.

 

Hope it helps.

 

Winnie.

[[Do...]]

Oh dear, my old benzo buddies, it has been ages since I have been here.  Please if someone can lend a hand.  I am recovered thanks to this forum as of 2016 methinks it was.  I had a different name.  I was on the phone with my sister today and discovered she is two years on Clonazepam.  .5 mg twice a day.  As I recall when I titrated down, I had to switch to diazepam to do it and got to the point of dissolving the diazepam in alcohol and taking it with an oral syringe until I was on fumes.  Is that what people are still doing and does anyone know what the equivalent of what 1 mg of clonazepam is to diazepam?

 

thank you..............

[[Mo...]]

Hi Doodlemom,

Many direct taper from Klonopin now also.  If she is stable on it now, my opinion would be that she try that first.  However, if she is symptomatic or having interdose withdrawal, a Valium crossover should be considered.  When microtapering, I have seen more people dissolve in whole homogenized milk for clonazepam as well as the homemade alcohol solution.  Some also get it compounded in a liquid suspension and others do a dry microtaper using a scale and razor blade.  If crossing over to Valium, many have had good luck with the pharmaceutical liquid, in addition to milk (some with plain water but I'm not sure that's a good idea) also.  I've seen others have capsules compounded.  All sorts of ways to do it.  There are boards on this site with that information.  Also, check out Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, Alliance for Benzodiazepine Best Practices and Inner Compass Initiative's The Withdrawal Project.  Best wishes to your sister and congratulations on your recovery!

 

Per Ashton equivalency tables, 1MG of clonazepam = 20 mg of Valiu

[[Do...]]

Thanks Momofseven, I am hoping to get her to sign up here.  This was an amazing place for me to be 5 years ago.  Yes I did successfully jump but it took me years to learn how to sleep again.  I still take a combo of herbs at night to sleep.  Thanks again and good luck to you!

[[ho...]]

Hi my BB friends….If anyone remembers me.

 

It’s been a while, I know I just kind of disappeared.  Life got busy and I also just needed a break from the boards.  During my absence I did some holds and some slow step downs, but made progress too. I did post a couple times on my progress log, and lurked a few times over here and kept tabs on some of my bb’s that messaged me as well.  Anyway, I have missed you all and I do think about how many of you are doing often.

 

It is good to see some of you doing well  . Hi to the new faces.  I may try to start posting again and sharing this journey as it just keeps going on and on and on and on……..

 

I’m down to 5.7 V as of tonight and I will go to 5.6 tomorrow for 5 days, and then 5.5 for 5 (at least that’s the plan?) So it’s just about 10% this month, and boy am I feeling it.  It’s so crazy how just actually a little under 10% of a reduction I can have sx.  They are bearable, but I am not super “functioning” like I would like to be.  I’m still doing a Hybrid micro taper with pill’s and liquid and that is working GREAT! 

 

I’ll check back soon…..

 

Marie