Hi.. I've been on Diazepam for 7 yrs (17-22mg / day.. about 2-3x per week). I quit cold turkey in July...4 weeks of hell after I suddenly got addicted and began having severe w/d. At week 5 i went back on although i was past the severe symptoms cause I thought i could go back to my normal schedule but didn't work. Now I've tapered for 12 weeks down to 2mg 2X per day, but i cannot taper any lower. My symptoms are unbearable after 2 days at 1.5mg believe it or not. I'm stable most days at current dose but some days I have severe confusion. I need advice please.. thx
-
The Dark Side 💕 Welcome Guest 💕
Posting Rules Bluelight Rules Notable Threads Urgent Hotlines Bereavement Mindfulness Suicide Support Anger Management -
TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | Eligiu | deficiT
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Valium taper - need help getting off
- Thread starter Bdi76
- Start date
Slow and steady, that's about all you can do as far as I know. Other medications might help, but if you're going to do it on your own, slow and steady is the safest way. Changing lifestyle might help with some of the mental/emotional difficulties, but as far as avoiding the more severe symptoms like psychosis or seizure, all that I know of is doing a slow taper. Proper nutrition and exercise might help with the recovery process.
How much time are you allowing before lowering your dose? It might be helpful if you slow down the taper, either allow more time for your body to adjust to the lower doses and/or don't drop the dose as low. So if you're struggling to get below 2mg 2x maybe wait another week then drop to 1.75mg 2x. Also, I think it might be helpful if you eventually switch to dosing 1 time per day, probably in the evening to help with sleep.
IME, the WD symptoms usually start setting in on days 2-4 and are the worst around days 14-16. Maybe try to plan out your taper schedule so on days 3-6 you don't have much going on so you can relax or aren't getting stressed out.
Ultimately some behaviors and patterns of thought may need to be addressed in order to deal with strong emotions.
How much time are you allowing before lowering your dose? It might be helpful if you slow down the taper, either allow more time for your body to adjust to the lower doses and/or don't drop the dose as low. So if you're struggling to get below 2mg 2x maybe wait another week then drop to 1.75mg 2x. Also, I think it might be helpful if you eventually switch to dosing 1 time per day, probably in the evening to help with sleep.
IME, the WD symptoms usually start setting in on days 2-4 and are the worst around days 14-16. Maybe try to plan out your taper schedule so on days 3-6 you don't have much going on so you can relax or aren't getting stressed out.
Ultimately some behaviors and patterns of thought may need to be addressed in order to deal with strong emotions.
Hi.. I've been on Diazepam for 7 yrs (17-22mg / day.. about 2-3x per week). I quit cold turkey in July...4 weeks of hell after I suddenly got addicted and began having severe w/d. At week 5 i went back on although i was past the severe symptoms cause I thought i could go back to my normal schedule but didn't work. Now I've tapered for 12 weeks down to 2mg 2X per day, but i cannot taper any lower. My symptoms are unbearable after 2 days at 1.5mg believe it or not. I'm stable most days at current dose but some days I have severe confusion. I need advice please.. thx
Am I right in thinking you're doing this all on your own? I never been through it before but I've heard the horror stories of it. You've done really well up until this stage compared to some of the stories I've heard so well done man, seriously. But don't you think you've done a whole load of the worst by yourself and it's mentally and physically exhausted you? You might benefit from some kind of something else over another couple months. Mitrazapine is a good drug and also helps with sleep. Im not a doctor by any means, but you're almost there mate, visit your G.P.
Justhavingfun20172
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2017
- Messages
- 24
Has anyone tried moderate exercising for withdraws? My advice would be to exercise and try adding 30 minutes of meditation in your day. Just try it, what could it hurt. Maybe some of it is psychological, or maube not idk.
Last edited:
Trazodon't
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2016
- Messages
- 96
Slow and steady as said before. Your dosage at the moment is relatively low so I'm not saying it will be easy to stop completely and immediately. Some folk swear by the Ashton manual. Maybe try dosing every two days for now as diazepam has such a long half life. On the days you are taking it try taking it as late as possible I.e. just before bed and see off this gets you through the next day fairly comfortably. Are you taking it for anxiety ? If so try loking into mindfulness exercises. Like I said before your dosage is very low so I am confident you can win this battle in a reasonably short time. Good luck I know it's not easy.
Has anyone tried moderate exercising for withdraws? My advice would be to exercise and try adding 30 minutes of meditation in your day. Just try it, what could it hurt. Maybe some of it is psychological, or maube not idk.
Some of the symptoms are definitely psychological, but they likely are physiological in nature stemming from physical changes(i.e. levels of neurotransmitters). Exercise could definitely help with the mild symptoms, but it will not remove the risk of having a seizure, psychosis and other serious potential complications. To be honest, I wouldn't recommend any intense physical activity while going through severe benzo WDs. I was 2 weeks off of benzos, was finally able to keep some food down, and I was working on my mom's house during mid summer when I had a grand mal seizure.
I would suggest waiting until you can eat normally, are getting at least 4-6 hours of sleep a night, and aren't feeling like you are about to faint before doing strenuous physical activity. I would think things like walks are fine, and may even help with stuff like anxiety and restlessness, but you really need to listen to your mind and body in times like these. Benzo WDs really pushes the body to an extreme and they need to be taken seriously, it's not just a matter of willpower or lack of, your mind and body are readjusting.. it takes time combined with effort.