Valium/Diazepam Support Group

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HI Everyone

 

Anyone on here have to dose their Valium 4 times a day??

 

I’m just dying from interdose wd.

I haven’t even moved over completely to Valium

I’m too unstable at the moment.

I was much better on Ativan, but couldn’t taper that

 

I don’t have the right genes to process Valium - rapid metabolizer on both, so this is going to be tough

 

I don’t even know how to finish my crossover, when I’m this bad.

 

The stupid time change did me in today too

 

Ideas thoughts??

 

Dr wanted me to complete crossover in 4 parts.

1/2 my morning dose, than wait 2 weeks, then next, wait 2 weeks etc.

 

Does this seem like it will work??

 

I need help.

I have severe POTS, massive TMJ that has given me bad tinnitus - was shaking like a leaf at urgent care this morning - had to make sure it wasn’t an ear infection etc.

 

I literally feel like I’m going unconscious before my next dose, my entire brain shuts down!! 

 

I was doing so well too….

 

Thanks Winnie.

 

Hi Winnie-

 

I’m so sorry you are having such a hard time.  I really don’t know what to say.  I was wondering if you were feeling any better and if that was working for you?  Maybe it just takes a little more time for the V to build up in your system.  I too am a rapid metabolizer, but the V does work for me, and I only dose once a day.  As I am getting lower in my dose, I am feeling it not work as well but that is to be expected.

 

Hoping you got some relief 

 

Marie

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I've just finished crossing over (3 days ago) from 0.625K to 12.5V.  I'd like to construct a daily liquid microtaper plan (or at least the beginnings of one).  I know no one can tell me the perfect amount to reduce, but is 5% every two weeks too ambitious. 

 

Also, is there someone or a program to use to make this simpler for myself?  I have some equipment (100 ml cylinder, 60 ml syringe, 10 ml syringe, and 1 ml syringe). 

 

I'm planning to hold after completing the crossover for two weeks.  Is that logical or should I begin tapering? 

 

Must admit it took me a long time to cross over from K to V and have felt it was quite difficult.  Am very sedated now from the 12.5V. 

 

Thank you!

 

Hi-

 

I think you are on the right track.  First 10% is a good goal at the mg you are at.  If it’s too aggressive for you, you can always adjust it down, and if you feel like you can do more, you can go faster.  The best rule of thumb seem to be the “symptom based taper”.  I am doing a hybrid of pills and liquid and it is working out GREAT! I do mostly pill’s and just liquid for the small amount to titrate down each mg.  You can make your own liquid, you can get it prescribed( I think depending on what country you live in) or have it made in a compound pharmacy. 

 

If you are feeling pretty stable after you have crossed over, I don’t think you need to hold and especially if you are feeling so sedated. Try to move that afternoon dose to the evening if you can ( I think you have an afternoon dose, disregard this if I am wrong).  I would also work on reducing your morning dose too, so you aren’t so sedated, that should help too.

 

I hope this helps you 

 

Marie

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I have a question for the group that I hope people can share their experiences.  I've been tapering for over a year and I'm at 7 mg now  (3 mg am and 4 mg pm).  I was dosing three times a day and I tapered off of that first and did not miss having that afternoon dose.  The Ashton manual suggests tapering completely off the am dose and leaving the night dose for last.  OR is it better to keep am and evening doses even.  I would really appreciate responses because I'm going to begin cutting again soon. 

 

Basically, should I taper completely off my am dose, then work on my pm dose?   

OR

Should I go back and forth between doses to keep them even?

 

Hi-

 

It seems like a lot of people dose twice a day, I chose to follow the Ashton protocol and got rid of my morning dose.  It worked well for me.  I was worried about the end, and how the nights would be……that’s just me…   Definitely do what feels right, as I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to do it.

 

Marie

[[Ni...]]

Thanks all for the support everyone, I write down my dosages now and cross out each dose I have taken. I notice now on 5 mg of valium that the music in my head is way less intense, I had constant music playing in my head on 6 mg. It's less intense now and I feel much more sober and clear minded now.

[[Li...]]

Marie, thanks for your message. You're right, the % drop at 5 mg to 4mg is 20% which does seem a lot and this will only increase as the dosage gets lower. Everyone on here is adamant that we should listen to our bodies and if the withdrawal symptoms start to get worse to slow down. What matters is that we get off the drug and if this takes longer then it's a price worth paying for. I will share some of the advice from my support call later in the week. They have over 20 years experience helping people to taper off Benzos so their advice may help some of us.

[[ho...]]

Marie, thanks for your message. You're right, the % drop at 5 mg to 4mg is 20% which does seem a lot and this will only increase as the dosage gets lower. Everyone on here is adamant that we should listen to our bodies and if the withdrawal symptoms start to get worse to slow down. What matters is that we get off the drug and if this takes longer then it's a price worth paying for. I will share some of the advice from my support call later in the week. They have over 20 years experience helping people to taper off Benzos so their advice may help some of us.

 

Hi-

 

Glad I could point that out.  That’s a pretty big jump and you could definitely feel it.  Yet, some people do okay with it, as we are all different. 

 

You point out that this group has over 20 years experience, do they allow you to have contact with others who have completed their program? I would be curious to know how successful those who have stuck to their exact % are doing in post jump, and if they have post acute symptoms and how bad they may be and for how long.  Again, just curious.

 

Marie

[[ho...]]

Thanks all for the support everyone, I write down my dosages now and cross out each dose I have taken. I notice now on 5 mg of valium that the music in my head is way less intense, I had constant music playing in my head on 6 mg. It's less intense now and I feel much more sober and clear minded now.

 

Hi- Wow, that’s so great that you are doing so good at 5mg.  Gives me hope.  I am at 5.55 and 5.50 alternating and should be at 5 in about the 2 second week of December.  I am starting to feel more like the dosing is wearing off ( I am a fast metabolizer) and I only dose at night. This is the first time since the process i have started to feel this way.  I’m not sure if I should grin and bear it, or split my dose a little. 

 

I’m having more tinnitus….yuck.  Not all the time, thankfully, but more….kind of a humming at times, that is more intense than before. 

 

Talk to you soon BB’s

 

Marie

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I am new to this site, and I am really, really suffering. I went from lorazepam to 10 mg diazepam several months ago, and now I'm m stuck on 2 mg. Two weeks ago I tried to drop to 1.5 mg. and that was a disaster! I woke up screaming in the middle of the night several times and was absolutely terrified! So, I'm back up to 2 mg. and doing a little better, but still panicked. I have no idea where to go from here, I am clueless and shocked that this is happening to me. Lately, I've been feeling like I'll never survive this. Night terrors, terrible muscle pain, racing heart and palpitations, off the charts anxiety. I am all alone, except for a little black she-cat that walked into my life in the midst of this. Please help? -Eileen

[[ho...]]

I am new to this site, and I am really, really suffering. I went from lorazepam to 10 mg diazepam several months ago, and now I'm m stuck on 2 mg. Two weeks ago I tried to drop to 1.5 mg. and that was a disaster! I woke up screaming in the middle of the night several times and was absolutely terrified! So, I'm back up to 2 mg. and doing a little better, but still panicked. I have no idea where to go from here, I am clueless and shocked that this is happening to me. Lately, I've been feeling like I'll never survive this. Night terrors, terrible muscle pain, racing heart and palpitations, off the charts anxiety. I am all alone, except for a little black she-cat that walked into my life in the midst of this. Please help? -Eileen

 

Welcome to BB’s Eileen-

 

So sorry that you’re in the thick of suffering.  I can’t tell from your signature your exact weaning process.  I am wondering if you went too fast and now you’re suffering maybe because of that.  That can happen (it happened to me, I hit a wall at 10mg and had to hold for a month, and have had to hold since too) and it just sends the body into a kind of shock.  It’s like all he** breaks loose. 

 

You have already updosed, so now you may just need to hold and stabilize for a while.  You may want to head over to the long hold support group (you have probably already found it) too.  They also have great advice.  This is a great bunch in here too.  Some people believe in the holds and some don’t and some believe in different time lengths. 

 

Hopefully you will start to feel better soon, and you can start to wean down “slowly” again.  I say “slowly”, because while I started out with the Ashton method, it became to fast for me.  I am currently at 5.5 and doing a hybrid DLMT (pills and liquid) and even 10% a month is too much now.  So when you tried to drop from 2mg to 1.5 that was a 25% drop.  That is pretty large and that would make sense why you felt so horrible. The rule of thumb around here seems to be between 5-10% every 2week’s and that again can be too much for many.  Many of us have found (learning from those who went before us) that a “symptom based taper” is much better.  A 10% reduction over a month for you would be to go from 2mg to 1.8 mg.  The process slows way down in the lower mg, but it is much kinder to our bodies.  And who knows, once you stabilize and are feeling better, you may be able to do a faster taper again, but maybe do a micro taper and not cut all at once.  Just an suggestion.

 

Feel better 

 

Marie

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Thank you so much for writing to me. I don't spend much time on the internet and this is all really difficult for me. I am cutting 2 mg pills into 4 -.5 mg pieces, and dosing mostly at night. I slept 12 hours last nite, but woke up about every hour. Someone suggested that I seek out the help of a psychopharmachologist. I think that would be extremely expensive, but I don't know how to proceed. Will other people see my reply to you? (I'm clueless) I don't know how long to "hold" and stableize before trying to go down. The 25 percent drop caused me to wake up screaming several times...that had never happened to me before. My husband died recently, my daughter ran off with a Wyoming cowboy, and the California High Speed Rail will tear down my house. So there are many stressors. But I want to get off benzos FOREVER. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. -Eileen

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I am worse today than ever before. I'm trying to hold at 2 mg. Valium. I woke up panicked at midnight and haven't slept since. I feel like I won't survive this. Please write and tell me how you cope. I am desperate. Eileen

 

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Hi Tall Girl

So sorry you are suffering. It would be helpful to see your tapering timeline in your summary too see how fast and how much you are tapering as well as your method.

Looking at your posting history it appears you have already been give some very good suggestions from other buddies. IMO up dosing is a last resort if you get to a point where your suffering is unbearable in order to stabilize. Hold on as long as you can but you may have to consider it. As other buddies pointed out your cuts were way to big, best to go very small with Valium in particular due to the long half life delay in getting the wd from a cut. Not sure if it mentioned in the other posts but Valium comes in liquid form which makes it much easier to cut small and accurate and is really not hard. I was overwhelmed at first but thanks to smart people on this forum I am confident I can do it.

I hope you can hold on a bit and stabilize, hope this helps.

[[Ta...]]

I am wondering if it makes a difference using generic diazepam, as opposed to the brand name Valium. Does any have experience with this? I would appreciate your input.

Thank you. Eileen

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J-Bird I take Neurontin -- did before my taper for peripheral neuropathy. I find it helps me sleep just FYI. I take it at night. I don't have any s/x from it. Although I understand your concern about tapering off it.

 

Sarah it took me a year and 3 months to taper down from 15 mg of valium to 2 mg. I really got hit at 4 mg . . . and again at 2 mg. etown is right -- slower is better. I made a lot of mistakes and had a lot of horrible s/x. If I had to do it over I would have gone waaaaay slower and saved myself a lot of grief. I didn't find this BB until I was "in the weeds". Brother do I wish I had.

 

You'll find a lot of help and good advice here.

 

Let's all be well,

 

 

Okatz

Hi Katz I’ve been reading old posts for info and I noticed your post above. What was your taper rate when you hit the 4 and 2mg levels with horrible s/x and what would you have done differently. I thought you were doing DLMT of .01 per day?

Joeb

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I am wondering if it makes a difference using generic diazepam, as opposed to the brand name Valium. Does any have experience with this? I would appreciate your input.

Thank you. Eileen

 

Generic vs Brand made a huge difference for me. When I was forced to change generics, I got violently sick and had to change to the Roche brand.

[[Ta...]]

Thanks for responding. I am holding at 2mg. currently and I don't know where to go from here. Titration has been suggested, but I am lost and scared and completely on my own. The symptoms from going down to 1.5mg were beyond anything I had ever experienced. I'm terrified.

Eileen

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Thank you Joeb. I am completely lost and overwhelmed. I feel like I can't do this. But I can't stay on valium forever. -Eileen

[[ho...]]

Thanks for responding. I am holding at 2mg. currently and I don't know where to go from here. Titration has been suggested, but I am lost and scared and completely on my own. The symptoms from going down to 1.5mg were beyond anything I had ever experienced. I'm terrified.

Eileen

 

Hi- Sorry you are suffering so much.  It will take a while.  You did a very large cut and those can cause all kinds of problems. Just be patient and know that the body is trying to heal.  You asked about people seeing the messages.  Everyone sees all the messages on the forums.  You can send private messages via PM’s, if members are accepting them. 

 

Also, like already mentioned about the generic vs brand, I think it depends totally on the person.  I have had some issues with generics and some compounds made.  They have been resolved.  Interestingly, I just picked up my 5’s (hopefully the last 5’s) and they changed to TEVA and I hope I don’t have any problems.  I will be calling my pharmacy on Monday to see why they aren’t carrying the brand I have liked, and will be calling around in case TEVA doesn’t work for me.  My compounded liquid works great for me and at some point I will be only on that.  You may want to look into liquid as you are getting into the lower doses too.  You could do a slow transition or hybrid while you are still on pill’s too, and while you are holding.

 

Sorry about your husband, your daughter and the possibility of your home.  That is a lot of stress for sure.  Good for you to be able to still be willing to get off of benzo’s with all that is on your plate.  You will feel so good at the end of this journey   It’s just now about stabilizing and getting past this last HUGE cut. 

 

The good news….you will get lots of support on BB’s and find lots of encouraging stories and ones you can relate to, and find techniques that should maybe help you too. 

 

BTW, I live in CA too 

 

Marie

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Thanks for responding. I am holding at 2mg. currently and I don't know where to go from here. Titration has been suggested, but I am lost and scared and completely on my own. The symptoms from going down to 1.5mg were beyond anything I had ever experienced. I'm terrified.

Eileen

 

Oops…I meant to address this.  I highly recommend titration.  It is so much smoother than dry cutting, and at the low doses it just seems to make more sense.  You will see I mentioned the pills/liquid in my other comment, and you can use those to do a titration, or either.  I do both for now. 

 

Marie

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Marie,

 

Thanks for your comments and support. I am trying to get a prescription for the brand name Valium. Still holding at 2mg.

Not in a hurry after the big jump to1.5 disaster. I was always able to just slowly decrease dosage and get off on my own. I didn't keep a record of my dose reductions coming down off of 10mg. because I wasn't having terrible trouble like I am now. I have developed this extreme sensitivity starting at 2.5mg. This is so strange and at times terrifying. I am grateful for all the information and support. I feel like a zombie most of the time, but I force myself to keep doing things. I painted the trim around my front door today. It took me way longer than it should, but it came out really nice! I just keep trying.

 

Eileen

 

 

[[Ni...]]

Is anterograde amnesia common in valium tapering on low dosages?

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I believe I have stablized on 2mg, but I have been having trouble with muscle aches and pains. I took 2 advil with half ER Tylenol and had A HORRIBLE REACTION. I was dizzy, disassociated and felt like my skin was cracking. This lasted for a full twelve hours. What can I take for pain? I also had a horrible reaction to 2 drops of cbd oil under my tongue after that. This is so very strange. I can't drink coffee or tea or take any supplements (except fish oil.) Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I know it's Thanksgiving, but if anyone sees this post, please write to me. It makes me feel less alone. Thanks.

Eileen

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Hi Eileen, you are not alone in this horrible journey that seems like forever. You can see from my summary I suffered greatly on the Ativan and now a bit gun shy after transferring to Valium. It feels like starting over but hopefully it will be a much smoother ride as most of the bb's say.

I'm sorry you are having physical symptoms, my symptoms have always been mostly mental, intense depression and anxiety on the Ativan. Hmm, its strange that happened. Could it be that taking both the Advil and Tylenol (and CBD?, not sure if you did that at the same time) together caused it. If it keeps on you may want to try just one or the other. I've found from this forum its always best to try one thing at a time so that you can figure out what the cause of the problem is. We are all in this together and it seems to help by communicating with each other (for me especially) comfort and the benefit of lessons learned to help us along.

I took my first cut from 3.5mg to 3.25 (going much slower this time around) last Thursday. I am getting the depressed sedated feeling back that i felt during my crossover. So i understand what that zombie feeling is like.

Anyway, Eileen I sincerely hope you feel better, you can do this. Feel free to reply anytime, I do spend alot of time here for support and distraction...

[[Ta...]]

Thank you Joeb. I feel better just knowing that you wrote to me.

 

This strange hyper-sensitivity to benzos is really a shock to me. They just hand out the prescriptions left and right. Millions of people are on them.

 

I am picking up name brand Valium today to see if it makes a difference. I am still holding at 2 mg.

 

I am trying low dose aspirin (with yogurt.) I had a bad reaction to Aleve. The muscle cramps are at times sever, so I tried the advil & tylenol combo. I had a terrible reaction to diet ginger ale because of aspertame. Who knew? I've had gallons of it before with no problem. Maybe this is all happening to help me think about what I put in my body. I don't know.

 

I am very grateful for BB and for your willingness to help and offer support and suggestions. I still try to go out amongst people, and try to do normal things. But it's hard.

 

I will be home alone for Thanksgiving, eating Thai coconut soup from a great little family restaurant in California City. I live about 50 miles east of Bakersfield, and it's warm and sunny here.

 

All the best to you, Joeb.

 

Eileen

 

[[...]]

Your welcome Eileen, we are all here to help each other, and I also need support since this has been a total nightmare for me also. Unfortunately it happened around the time I retired so having a hard time distracting myself since i don't want to do anything and there are not things i have to do. I have to force myself also. I also struggle with decisions on how to approach my taper. I have the liquid solution but have not yet tried it. But i know i will have to soon since cutting and weighing pills is not something i want to do; been there done it.

There are some really awesome people on bb that have helped me a lot, but ultimately i have to choose a path and have the fear like everyone else of getting into acute w/d. My main takeaway in all of it is slow and steady wins the race and minimizes the risk.

I've seen many threads from the past of people communicating as they go through this, I hope we can continue this thread and more will join to share experiences so we can not only support each other but also benefit from our experiences. We are all different but there may be commonality of lessons learned that can help. I'm glad we connected today Eileen, I am sorry you are alone tomorrow but you can still reply and post as I said before I do spend time here to help me cope and support others as best I can.