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Benzos Successful Benzo Tapers

556m4

556m4

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 16, 2008
Messages
80
I was curious to know how many people here on bluelight have ever successfully tapered off of benzos after long term usage. What methods you used, the duration of your taper and usage, the benzo you used, the methods you used (pill splitting, water titration etc.), the amount of suffering that you had to endure, etc etc.
The reason for this is I have been abusing alprazolam for the past nine months, originally to help me sleep at dosages of about .25mg -.5 mg a night. Well over time I am now up to taking around 2mg a day (1mg x 2 doses a day). I know I have to get off now before it gets any worse and I fully understand the severity of my problem. I have tried tapering but it's almost impossible for me. My dosages have only reached the 2mg mark for the last week or so, My dosages were around .5-1mg a day for the majority of the addiction.
I'am aware of the Ashton manual and all of the benzo support community websites on the net. I've tried to cold turkey but I just can't do it I break out in a itchy rash all over my body and I just can't hack it.
I'am scared because I have done this to myself all the drugs I take are unprescribed and I have to worry about my supply and I seem to be incredibly sensitive to the withdrawl symptoms. Please no insults i'm just looking for help and insight into ways to break my addiction. Thanks
 
you're gonna have to live with less sleep. while you still have supply, go SLOW. the slower you can go without worrying about eventually being cut off the better. supplement your reduced dose with a sleep aide that doesn't effect GABA (no alcohol, lyrica, Z drugs aka ambien lunesta). you can use antihistamines which are OTC, prescription drugs like seroquel, trazadone, et al. the more sparse your use, the better off you'll be when you need to taper off those (which won't be nearly so bad) but you'll know subjectively how much you need to get an amount of sleep that will keep you functional

by slow i mean 0.125-0.25mg every 1-6 weeks (guestimate, you'll need to rely on subjective experience). this gives your body a chance to catch up with the dose changes and adapt with the dose. you won't risk any seizure, psychotic break, other problems that occur with benzo WD

you might possibly want to consider a longer acting benzo so that your bloodstream levels don't go up/down/up/down. you'll probably experience daytime rebound anxiety. diazepam and clonazepam are commonly prescribed benzos that last 6-12h rather than alprazolam's ~3-6 (guestimates)

0.5mg alprazolam = 0.5mg clonazepam = 5-10mg diazepam

if all else fails, you could try to find a detox clinic. i believe most hospitals have detox units. you probably are aware of most of what i said since you read the ashton manual, JIC

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i've tapered relatively quickly twice (two weeks taper, took four-five weeks from start to feel almost normal, took three weeks to be able to feel some sense of comfort) and it didn't work out. it took a month to feel almost normal but i was still very jumpy, bad sleep, etc. i feel like the med may just be too useful for anxiety/insomnia though i've been able to keep it at starting dose

4 years. first couple months alprazolam, then clonazepam for a few years, now diazepam. 0.5mg x 3 / 0.5mg x 3 / 5mg x 3
 
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Thanks for the response qwe. I'm looking at either a .125 mg dose reduction about every three weeks or a slow water titration reducing 1ml from 100ml depending on how my body feels and tolerates the cuts. I'am thinking of taking GABA supplements, multivitamins, flax seed oil and amino acid supplements. I don't care how long it takes i just want it to be as painless as possible because I have to function for work. I would like to do a direct titration off alprazolam instead of switching to a longer acting benzo. Clonazepam does strange things to me like hallucinations and intrusive thoughts along with other strange symptoms. Worse comes to worse I will come clean go to a doctor and ask for a diazepam taper, and if I can't find a doctor that is willing to help me I'll taper low as I can take some time off and undergo a medically supervised detox at a hospital. Benzo withdrawls scare the shit out of me because of the psychlogical aspect of them, I feel like i'm going crazy, and the duration.
 
if you want it to be as painless as possible, do the diazepam taper.

I'am thinking of taking GABA supplements, multivitamins, flax seed oil and amino acid supplements.
Click to expand...

why GABA supplements? the consensus is they are useless. not only do they not cross the BBB (or so i'm told) but your problem isn't lack of GABA, the problem is at the receptor site. why multivitamins? the consensus is they aggravate symptoms. you can get all the vitamins you need through food. do not take flax seed oil, instead buy raw flax seeds, roast them and take 1 tsp every day (chew them well) and you can combine them with sesame seeds (also roasted).
 
I got off benzos a few times...this last time was the worst. I was on 10mg Valium 3x a day for over a year...but was really doing about 100mgs every day or two and would pop xanax bars fairly often on top, probably 30-20 bars throughout the month. I did a taper with clonazepam for three weeks and it worked pretty well until my next valium script came in and I ate all 900mgs in 3 days I then went into serious WD's and suffered for about 2-3weeks in agonizing, be-ridden pain.

Moral of the story stick to your taper and then call it quits, if you do any after you taper you will go into full withdrawls as if you had never tapered at all
 
oh and i forgot to mention, when you are coming off benzos DO NOT drink alcohol as it will make all your WD symptoms much worse than they already are
 
mdmantpa said:
I got off benzos a few times...this last time was the worst. I was on 10mg Valium 3x a day for over a year...but was really doing about 100mgs every day or two and would pop xanax bars fairly often on top, probably 30-20 bars throughout the month. I did a taper with clonazepam for three weeks and it worked pretty well until my next valium script came in and I ate all 900mgs in 3 days I then went into serious WD's and suffered for about 2-3weeks in agonizing, be-ridden pain.

Moral of the story stick to your taper and then call it quits, if you do any after you taper you will go into full withdrawls as if you had never tapered at all
Click to expand...

it only lasted 2-3 weeks? its been nearly a year for me and i still have pretty bad symptoms over here.
 
That's awesome that you have become aware of your situation in the relatively early stages, as 2mg of Alprazolam daily is considered a moderate to farily low amount.

I have successfully tapered from a decent habit; I worked my way up from 1-2 milligrams to 10-12mg per day of Alprazolam, over the course of several years. Getting away from it was one of the hardest things I have ever been through in my life.

It was a variety of factors for me that helped me get away from abusing Xanax, like steering clear of my main source, and having only enough to barely do a safe taper, support from my girlfriend and friends, a plethera of supplements that have an effect GABA in one way or another- like Valerian and Kava, etc.

If you don't posess the self discipline to taper yourself, which is nothing to be ashamed of, as many of us do not, have a friend or someone close to you dispense your medication to you. Getting off of Xanax is not easy, but it certainly can be done. Best of luck to you.
 
Thanks for the replies. The only reason I take amino acids, GABA supplements, multivitamins and flaxseed oil is because it's already a part of my routine. I guess It might benefit me to stop taking them as I have read some of the supplements such as multivitamins may aggravate benzo withdrawl symptoms. Morphonorconic how bad were your withdrawls after your taper? Did you have any protracted withdrawls after the initial or acute withdrawl? Just curious I know that everybody is different when it comes to withdrawls and how they tolerate them. Everybody's responses are very much appreciated thanks guys.
 
People successfully taper all of the time. Going slowly, sticking to your taper, and skipping days once your dose gets down to a small amount all will help ensure the taper is successful and as painless as possible. Switching to a longer-lasting benzo is pretty important as well for a smooth taper.

It can be done; if you're having trouble at any stage, slow down and maintain at that level before going any further with the taper. For the record, I have tapered off benzos a few times in my life, including alprazolam, clonazepam, and phenazepam.
 
oh and i forgot to mention, when you are coming off benzos DO NOT drink alcohol as it will make all your WD symptoms much worse than they already are
Click to expand...

Moral of the story stick to your taper and then call it quits, if you do any after you taper you will go into full withdrawls as if you had never tapered at all
Click to expand...

Sorry mdmantpa, I'm not trying to be an arse or owt, but your first statement is incorrect, and so is the bit bolded on the second one:\
 
I took it slow. I was taking 2mg of Clonazepam for 8 years. I took 1 1/2 for 2 weeks, 1 for 2 weeks, .75 for a week then .50 for 2 weeks. It worked well for me. My psych gave me neurontin, which helped A LOT. However, now I'm back to taking Clonazepam, 2mg. I realized that I truly needed it, as I have anxiety and panic disorder.
 
Definitely make a plan and stick to it!!! Tapering is tough, but for sure the best way out of benzo addiction. I tried to stop cold turkey, and ended up with delirium tremens and a couple of days in a hospital. They gave me alot of seraquil, which seems to be one of the go-to's for withdrawing lately. It helped, I felt like a zombie but I didn't really care. Also, as mentioned previously Kava can be helpful as well. Oh, and this might just be me but chocolate bars are great when you get cravings.
 
it happened during the worst of my withdrawals but after 2wk i could drink occasionally
 
Levvytation said:
Sorry mdmantpa, I'm not trying to be an arse or owt, but your first statement is incorrect, and so is the bit bolded on the second one:\
Click to expand...

no I respect that but in my three times coming off benzos that is exactly what happened to me, so in my experience my statements were true....and alcohol really will make the WD worse if you are going cold turkey
 
I was on clonazepam for 7 years, prescribed up to 6mg's a day. I've now switched to diazepam (which has a longer half-life, making it easier to taper down), and I'm reducing my dose by 1mg every fortnight. I'm currently down to 19mg's and I can't wait to be off the damn things... benzo withdrawal is hell. If I were you, I'd see a doctor, explain your situation, and get a prescription for diazepam. That way you can taper down properly under medical supervision.
 
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