Diazepam - 4 day "binge"(?) - advise on how to end it

[JohnsThrowAway234]

Hi guys.

Seeking harm reduction advice. No prior tolerance with this stuff.

Day 1: 30mg Diazepam
Day 2: 20mg Diazepam
Day 3: 25mg Diazepam
Day 4 (today): 15mg Diazepam

Should I take 10mg tomorrow then 5mg next day or just stop now. Scared to death of benzos but had an acute anxiety that needed managed.

Advise on my prognosis / best thing to do now? I do NOT want to fuck with benzos more than I need to.

 

[JohnsThrowAway234]

P.S: I am not knowledgable about this stuff beyond knowing NOT to let this escalate. So just need harm reduction advice and not the "addiction olympics" from people who have crazy habits. 30mg was a lot for me as a first time user.


Cold turkey or quick taper?

 

[Mysterie]

what was the acute anxiety related to?

my advice is to flush any remaining valium if you are aware of the psychological pull and also value your own wellbeing.

at the doses and days you took it, i would be surprised if you experienced any withdrawal beyond rebound anxiety. which will basically just be yourself re-sensitising itself to feeling things fully and experiencing what you were avoiding thinking about or w/e.

 

[JohnsThrowAway234]

Hey man ;

Relationship friction + moving to a new city with higher living costs + lack of work. Standard life things.

A bit of anxiety spooked me since I've just come out of a major depressive episode and I felt danger of slipping back. (Anxiety is often the canary in the mineshift).

I will take 5mg tomorrow and flush the rest so I only have the 5mg left.

 

[Mysterie]

yeah i feel you, it seems like this could be a good time though to learn strategies which help lessen your stress response to anxiety.

some form of cardio exercise every day for me does wonders, it helps for me to meditate for 20 min in the morning and at night as a kind of cleaning house of my psyche. of course everyone has different ways to pause such as keeping a journal or exercise or some creative expression. someone to confide in.

i find if there is some thread i follow every day then it helps to maintain that sense of stability and balance, and enriches.

i just wanted to mention that because i thought i saw some signs that i experienced at the start of an addiction to a substance, and its easier to slow the snowball when its small.

but yeah i can appreciate all those factors coalescing together, i hope you can transition smoothly.

 

[Agoraphobiaphile]

Agree too small a habit and not long enough to develop dependence.

You'll be fine.

 

[truenamebrand]

Hi guys.

Seeking harm reduction advice. No prior tolerance with this stuff.

Day 1: 30mg Diazepam
Day 2: 20mg Diazepam
Day 3: 25mg Diazepam
Day 4 (today): 15mg Diazepam

Should I take 10mg tomorrow then 5mg next day or just stop now. Scared to death of benzos but had an acute anxiety that needed managed.

Advise on my prognosis / best thing to do now? I do NOT want to fuck with benzos more than I need to.

I have had a prescription for 10mg diazepam for three years and binge on it every time I get it filled, amounting to far, far more than the amount you took, and have never experienced withdrawal beyond -- like one person said -- rebound anxiety. You're fine.

Depression after a binge is always a possibility, but I typically only experience profound depression as a result if I take several hundred milligrams in a just a few days' time.