Cross-Over to Valium Support Thread

[[la...]]

probably will make my 1st cut in another week. I just don't see waiting for the full 4 weeks really making that big od=f a difference. but of course that could change in the next second so do't hold me to anything I say.

 

I now feel exactly the way I did while on the kpin. Sedation is mostly in afternoon and otherwise just feel like crap. so need to start the long process of getting off this.

 

had family read points that I had highlighted in Ashton and Pearts manuals. need them to be ready for the worst and praying for the best

[[la...]]

btw, I want to put a youtube video song on the faith based forum and have no idea how to copy and paste it...can anyone tell me how its done?

 

[Guest [Mo...]]

btw, I want to put a youtube video song on the faith based forum and have no idea how to copy and paste it...can anyone tell me how its done?

 

You click the title of the you tube video and hit copy.

Then you go to the board,,open a reply box and hit paste.

I do this off my iPad. But same principle I'm sure.

 

Maybe a good idea to also have your family read Parker's post about what's happening in your brain.

I do that for my parents and they get it.

It's in my sig.

[[br...]]

Hi All,

 

I'm currently tapering off of Ativan and even though I'm down to a low dose, I'm having severe w/d x/s.  Some other BBs have suggested that a cross over to Valium might be a better option for me.......so I just wanted to find out from those who have crossed over to Valium how it has worked out for you.

 

Thanks.

 

Brunette

[[la...]]

mom I did that with youtube and it wouldn't work?

 

 

good idea about Parkers post too

[[mr...]]

Hi All,

 

I'm currently tapering off of Ativan and even though I'm down to a low dose, I'm having severe w/d x/s.  Some other BBs have suggested that a cross over to Valium might be a better option for me.......so I just wanted to find out from those who have crossed over to Valium how it has worked out for you.

 

Thanks.

 

Brunette

Hi Brunette,

Can you ask this question in the valium support group too?

Hopefully, more people will give you feed back.

Mom of one and lynnieb have crossed over to valium successfully.

Maybe they can chime in.

[[ly...]]

Hi All,

 

I'm currently tapering off of Ativan and even though I'm down to a low dose, I'm having severe w/d x/s.  Some other BBs have suggested that a cross over to Valium might be a better option for me.......so I just wanted to find out from those who have crossed over to Valium how it has worked out for you.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Brunette

 

Hi Brunette,

 

I am one of those that have crossed over to V from A. I was taking .125mg 7x a day and could not get stable for long at all, so I switched over to V. The change is really good thus far as I am pretty much back to being me. I am currently combining those 7 doses down to 3 and doing pretty good. I did it in a modified Ashton method. I did the half A and half V for a few days then switched over that dose to all V. Held for 5-7 days and went onto my next dose, until I had all 7 down. Hope this helps and if you have any questions please ask.

Lynnie

[[br...]]

Thanks, mrtmeo 

 

Lynnie,

 

When you switched over to Valium from Ativan how did it make you feel?.....did the transition make you even sicker?......or did you find it better?  I've been having difficulty for a very long time with severe w/d x/s from Ativan taper even though I'm down to .125 2Xs/day and as I continue in my taper, the w/d x/s only get a lot worse instead of better, which is why some other BBs have suggested that crossing over to Valium might be a better option for me......but I've been reluctant b/c I have a huge sensitivity to medications.....plus I don't know if my pdoc will be agreeable to it.  He keeps telling me that I'm at such a low dose, I shouldn't be having the severe physical w/d x/s that I'm having....and so he tends to be difficult b/c he doesn't believe I'm so severely sick from the Ativan tapering......even though I've had extensive medical testing that, so far, has not revealed any underlying medical conditions.  How did you feel when you were taking the Ativan?  I feel sick every second of every day, I have constant muscle/joint pain, headaches, shocking sensations, severe exhaustion/weakness and breathing issues, etc, etc and I have been this way every day since I started my taper in March 2013.  :'( :'( :'(

 

Thank you so much for your input.

 

Brunette   

[[la...]]

ok I have a question, now that I have been on valium a full two weeks and the sedated feeling is passing, I now find (especially) after my 2nd dose at 2:00pm that I get really depressed and despondent feeling.

 

Is this normal? I just want to cry from 3:00-6:00 and I can't get my mind to stop feeling so sad and desperate.

 

My anxiety is lowered for most of the day, but I don't want to become Depressed. I already take a SSRI (which was originally prescribed for anxiety) never had depression problems other then being depressed because my anxiety was keeping me from living

 

So anyone else get this funked out feeling in late afternoon

[[ly...]]

Thanks, mrtmeo 

 

Lynnie,

 

When you switched over to Valium from Ativan how did it make you feel?.....did the transition make you even sicker?......or did you find it better?  I've been having difficulty for a very long time with severe w/d x/s from Ativan taper even though I'm down to .125 2Xs/day and as I continue in my taper, the w/d x/s only get a lot worse instead of better, which is why some other BBs have suggested that crossing over to Valium might be a better option for me......but I've been reluctant b/c I have a huge sensitivity to medications.....plus I don't know if my pdoc will be agreeable to it.  He keeps telling me that I'm at such a low dose, I shouldn't be having the severe physical w/d x/s that I'm having....and so he tends to be difficult b/c he doesn't believe I'm so severely sick from the Ativan tapering......even though I've had extensive medical testing that, so far, has not revealed any underlying medical conditions.  How did you feel when you were taking the Ativan?  I feel sick every second of every day, I have constant muscle/joint pain, headaches, shocking sensations, severe exhaustion/weakness and breathing issues, etc, etc and I have been this way every day since I started my taper in March 2013.  :'( :'( :'(

 

Thank you so much for your input.

 

Brunette 

 

Brunette,

I am so sorry you have gone through all this! 

When I first decided to make the switch I got scared, but I realized I needed to do it. I was just handed the pills by my doctor and told to take them as needed. I started off with .25mg at a time, then, like you I am kind of sensative to meds and soon realized I could not handle that. I then started to take .125 mg at a time. I was never really stable on A. It was horrible! I then told my doc I wanted off and he said to just drop a dose a week and be done. Wrong!! That put me in w/d. Had I not been snooping around and asking questions on here and FB I would have not known this. (I called my doc and he wanted to put me in detox because I was a mess, I asked him to look at the Ashton Manual and about putting me on a longer acting med like V.) I was told to up dose to try to get stable,not by my doc, so I did, twice. I got pretty stable then got hit with i/d w/d. Did another up dose and at day 10 could feel i/d coming on again and said chuck it and started crossing over. My doc had agreed to give me the V and told me to do what I want and he would give me the scripts.

V has been much kinder to me than A ever was. I am a lot more calm, more myself, can function again. There is some w/d as a person crosses over from one benzo to the other, but V did a good job for me at doing it with minimal symptoms. Nothing compared to A. The transition was pretty smooth, some sxs were just bothersome, but nothing that kept me from day to day functioning.

Sadly most doctors are ignorant of how to w/d from this med and what it does to a person when one is w/ding. A good starting point IMO would be to ask him if he would change you to a longer acting benzo like V. If he is not open to that maybe you could make some calls and try to find a doc that will.

I am soo sorry to hear that you are suffering so much.  :'( :'(

I hope I answered all your questions. If you have more please ask.

Lynnie

[[ly...]]

ok I have a question, now that I have been on valium a full two weeks and the sedated feeling is passing, I now find (especially) after my 2nd dose at 2:00pm that I get really depressed and despondent feeling.

 

Is this normal? I just want to cry from 3:00-6:00 and I can't get my mind to stop feeling so sad and desperate.

 

My anxiety is lowered for most of the day, but I don't want to become Depressed. I already take a SSRI (which was originally prescribed for anxiety) never had depression problems other then being depressed because my anxiety was keeping me from living

 

So anyone else get this funked out feeling in late afternoon

 

lainey,

 

It is said that if you are at the right amount of V, late afternoon early evening is where you begin to feel sedated, funky. I have had crying spells at the silliest of things during this. The best thing to do is distraction! The more you think about it, sometimes the worse it can become. If I felt weird I would sit with my youngest and just color in a coloring book, do a word search, find things to take my mind off of what is going on. Even watched old cartoons that I knew I liked and would lighten my mood.

This should pass as your body adjusts to the V. Hope this helps a little.

Lynnie

[[la...]]

really? I never read that anywhere. can you recall where you heard this I want to research it a bit more, thanks for the reply

[[ly...]]

Wish I remembered right now. I know I have heard it on here and on FB. So far it has rang true for me.

Lynnie

[[mr...]]

Brunette,

If you do decide to cross over to valium, look at an equivalent valium to the ativan dose you were most stable at.

 

[[br...]]

Thanks Lynnie and mrtmeo

 

brunette

[[Kg...]]

I need some help here - I finished my cross over from klonopin to valium on April 1st.  I had awful GI issues on the klonopin and that is why I failed my tapers. Then I went into tolerance withdrawal and did not want to updose the klonopin - symptoms were GI and major anxiety - hence my cross over.    I have not had one day where I don't have stomach cramps and nausea and I have not started tapering yet - I really don't know what to do. It seems that everyone else did well with the cross over except me.  I can't go back to klonopin since that made me sick - I can't take lots of the stomach remedies due to allergic reactions to what is in them - I am at my wits end here - and to top this off even though I eat I am still losing weight.  I do try to do what I can in the exercise mode, use a heating pad, but I can't cut out wheat and dairy otherwise I can't eat anything due to food allergies - allergic to all nuts, shellfish and the list goes on and on (pre klonopin so not related).  I don't know if I should just start my taper now, wait, or how to get rid of these s/x.  All help is welcome.  And yes compared to klonopin my stomach is better it just lasts most of the day my only relief is at night and then it starts all over again.

[Guest [in...]]

Sorry to hear of this kgirl. I will offer this, when I had gi issues d/t Zoloft, I took small dose of remeron 7.5mg or under daily.It really worked for my probs.  I know, u probably aren't wanting another med to deal with....I have also drank hot organic plain ginger tea to help stomach, this tea has nothing other than ginger in it. Good luck to u.

[[mr...]]

I need some help here - I finished my cross over from klonopin to valium on April 1st.  I had awful GI issues on the klonopin and that is why I failed my tapers. Then I went into tolerance withdrawal and did not want to updose the klonopin - symptoms were GI and major anxiety - hence my cross over.    I have not had one day where I don't have stomach cramps and nausea and I have not started tapering yet - I really don't know what to do. It seems that everyone else did well with the cross over except me.  I can't go back to klonopin since that made me sick - I can't take lots of the stomach remedies due to allergic reactions to what is in them - I am at my wits end here - and to top this off even though I eat I am still losing weight.  I do try to do what I can in the exercise mode, use a heating pad, but I can't cut out wheat and dairy otherwise I can't eat anything due to food allergies - allergic to all nuts, shellfish and the list goes on and on (pre klonopin so not related).  I don't know if I should just start my taper now, wait, or how to get rid of these s/x.  All help is welcome.  And yes compared to klonopin my stomach is better it just lasts most of the day my only relief is at night and then it starts all over again.

Hi kgirl,

Get your D levels into the optimum range of 60-80ng/mL.

You can get a 25 hydroxy D test from your dr or go online to the vitamin D council's website for a home test.

Try organic dairy products and kefir.

Add some aloe vera gel to some egg protein powder shakes and some organic berries.

Genetically engineered foods make our gut's resistant to antibiotics and creates a pesticide manufacturing plant in out gut.

Staying away from wheat, barley and rye, going gluten free, can also, help.

Are you allergic to the nuts or do u have diverticulitis?

 

[[Kg...]]

Thanks for your suggestions but I can't do the kefir - allergic to the yeast in it, can't do no wheat since most gluten free products use nut flour which I can't eat - and barley malt - which I am allergic too.  So that is why I say the special diets here I can't use.  My allergies started before my benzo use  - so no relation to them.  Can't eat any seeds or nuts either or the oils from them - most products have sunflower oil which I can't eat - that is why I can't change my diet which I would love to do.    I will do the ginger though - thankfully something I can actually eat though when I tried it before it didn't help that much.  Just so hard to feel nauseated every day and I am fine at night so I know it is the drug. 

[[mr...]]

Thanks for your suggestions but I can't do the kefir - allergic to the yeast in it, can't do no wheat since most gluten free products use nut flour which I can't eat - and barley malt - which I am allergic too.  So that is why I say the special diets here I can't use.  My allergies started before my benzo use  - so no relation to them.  Can't eat any seeds or nuts either or the oils from them - most products have sunflower oil which I can't eat - that is why I can't change my diet which I would love to do.    I will do the ginger though - thankfully something I can actually eat though when I tried it before it didn't help that much.  Just so hard to feel nauseated every day and I am fine at night so I know it is the drug. 

Hi Kgirl,

Sounds like you have a serious dysbiosis.

Have you tried the GAPs diet?

Are u seeing a biofeed back or nutritional balancing dr?

 

 

[[la...]]

kgirl, as you know I too have gut issues, except I never get nauseated, I have severe pain , and mine too goes away by night.

 

I might have already told you but I am drinking Chamomile tea every morning, and it has helped. Has not cured it but most days its tolerable now. except every now and again I will flare (Sunday was BAD) and never know what causes it.

 

I have tried all the different diets= gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, FODMAP, nothing helped..pepto bismol and chamomile tea is my only help

[Guest [in...]]

Kgirl, also try Darjeeling tea, let water boil, then steep for 6 mins. Wonder why tea seems to be so good for guts??

[[Kg...]]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions I went out and got some ginger and am drinking ginger tea now - the other tea Lainey I am allergic to - oh well - but I am hoping this helps - I have to eat lunch soon.  We were supposed to have friends come to see us here but I cancelled just not up to any company right now.  I just want to start getting off of this - since I know it is the drug - why else would I be fine every night. 

[[ly...]]

Kgirl,

 

I don't know all of the recommendations that have been offered. I saw the Gaps diet and that you are allergic to a lot. How about the Paleo Diet? 

Lynn

[[la...]]

ok the Paleo diet is crazy and I swear I don't know anyone who was able to stay on it, but its always worth a try

 

I too always feel my best at night?  Hate mornings and loathe afternoons

 

I am such a fun person to be around these days, wish we all lived close so we could get together once a week and have a "PITY PARTY"