Benzos coming off benzo's

[Nimshie29]

Hi folks,

I posted a reply to the main benzo forum a few days ago but cannot find a reply so I will start a new thread. I have found no reply in "notifications" or in "in box"?
I have had serious chronic pain for over 30 years and apart from opiates I am on benZo's which are making my life worse after all this time.
I have halved the dose slowly and am having a rest before I continue further reduction. Not easy after all this time. I have used Epelim to counter the worst of the anxiety. Any other help would be great. I am going to have trouble sleeping, big time soon, and read about hydoxyzine in the other drugs forum. Can someone please tell me if this drug is still available in Australia, do I need a script and where can I find a source?
I am not sure where this thread will be answered, I presume it will be in this directory. Could you please reply to my in box also until I learn the rules for this site.
Hang in there,
Nimshie29

 

[deaf eye]

i found no miracle thing to help me thru the benzo hell withdrawl

i do find a healthy diet, high in amino acids, a good quality green tea, exercise
keeping busy
working and did i say keeping busy are the only things that have really helped me cope

maybe for this next stage in your tapering plan, instead of halves reduce by a quarter or an eighth

for me boozing it up , made me feel like twice as worse the next day,
some strains of weed helped me sleep real well some nights,

i dont know shit about epilim so i cant help ya there, good luck

some classical music being played in stressfull situations seemed to help me cope with the anxiety better i thought

good luck

if i had a dime for every benzo withdrawl thread, heck i prolly made a few dollars worth myself

 

[doppelganga196]

Yeah, i recommend you do a slow taper but you didn't even mention what benzo you are on so...

I'm on a diazepam taper, i've been on it now since june & i've been taking it since about january & before that i was taking here & there, temazepam, zopiclone & to start with nitrazepam.

I'm finding the taper quite hard right now, especially as i've been withdrawing from opium, which ive been taking since june also. At the moment i take codeine or dihydrocodeine about 3 times a week but i often wind up feeling really awful 2 days after i last took an opiate which leads me to take more diazepam than i should as i'm on 4 or 6 mg per day but often wind up taking too much like 6 - 10 mg per day which means for the last several days before i get my script i have to take only 2 or 4 mg a day.

Just writing this now is making me feel i really must exercise more self control when i have an abundance of pills & stick to the doctors orders. It's just tough since i'm a recovering alcoholic, not a serious one but i've certainly had a drinking problem but haven't drunk in over a week & i used to be a heavy stoner & i only smoke up once or twice a month now so that has made sticking to my prescribed daily dose that much more tricky.

Like you Nimishie29, i find when i drink alcohol, pretty much only socially now, the next day i'm just a real pussy when it comes to hangovers & my anxiety is bad so i'll need about 10/15 mg of diazepam to feel ok.

I imagine you would need a script for hydroxyzine as it requires one here in the U.K as far as i know. It's only an antihistamine so i'd think a frank chat with your doctor should produce the goods. I may even ask for some myself just before i finally get off diazepam as somethin to help me sleep or cope with occasional mild/moderate anxiety.

P.S My doctor has told me that after I taper down to 2 mg per day at night & then come off completely i'll start to feel even less anxious without them than when taking them as it is a common thing when coming off benzos to be that little bit worse with them & after a short while you'll get anxious less often, have better nights & generally cope much better with any anxiety you may encounter, though I must say i don't like the prospect of dealing with an atrocious hangover after going to my mates for our occasional gathering & rum orgy but he did say he'll give me a few, like 10 2mg pills when i've finished my taper just for emergencies & no repeat scripts after that.

 

[Nimshie29]

Hi Doppelganga,
I was on clonazepam but switched to diazepam for the taper process. Would you not find it more possible to come off one drug at a time? I am trying to get of the benzo's then think about the next step. I am not going to make it harder by taking any social drugs during this period. Thanks for your help.
Nimshie29

 

[stratofortress]

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I didn't want to start yet another. I wanted a bit of advice regarding withdrawing from diazepam. I've been taking it on and off for maybe 4 months, ('off' periods lasting 3 weeks max, with only mild mental discomfort). I take it for anxiety...the loss of social anxiety is also a great mood lift. But more recently I've been taking more and more, binging on a few hundred mg over a few days. I certainly feel psychologically addicted, but I'm not sure whether physical addiction will have set in.

So I guess I've used somewhere from 3 to 4 grams of diazepam over the past 3-4 months. Could anyone advise whether I'm in for some nasty withdrawal, and if so, any idea how long i'd have to taper for?

Thanks in advance.

 

[xxxyyy]

i think i'll create a template i can just copy/paste whenever one of these threads pops up.
only one safe way to withdraw from benzos: slow taper, anticonvulsants, under medical supervision.
during my first detox i was in a room with a guy who was detoxing from a really nasty benzo habit, and he got a seizure in spite of the clonazepam taper and the sodium valproate they gave him. granted it's rather unlikely, but it still can happen.