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Diazepam - should I just stop cold turkey?
- Thread starter Sweet P
- Start date
StayinAwake
Bluelighter
Yes a good plan indeed; had a seizure trying to take myself off xanax. =(
fryingsquirrel
Bluelighter
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- Oct 9, 2006
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If you have a script usually they let you have them, but you are gonna have to wait while they get all that figured out. Probably by the time they get around to giving them to you will be through the worst of it anyway and would be better off to stay off. That assumes you don't have a seizure, if you do they'll take you to the hospital and give you an ativan injection and do a very rapid taper
That was in answer to the question about jail
That was in answer to the question about jail
Sweet P
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- Mar 25, 2009
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Yeah, I've had a number of seizures from benzos in the past when I've tapered down too quickly or gone cold turkey from running out of pills. They're always pretty severe for me, lasting several minutes or more. One of the seizures even happened while I was driving my car - I woke up in the back of an ambulance with police cars all over the place.
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
Jamshyd
Bluelight Crew
I must say, dex is just as bad as meth, and IIRC, it definitely lowers seizure threshold...
Sweet P
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^ I'd have to disagree with that. In terms of neurotoxicity, meth is much worse than dexies (the methyl group also makes it a lot more potent, increasing transport across the blood-brain barrier). But yeah, all amphetamines lower the seizure threshold, which is why I'm trying to keep my doses minimal.
qwe
Bluelight Crew
sweet pee how many mg's are you dropping per week? once you get past the 20mg mark you're supposed to go a lot slower. like 1 or less mg per week
GABAlover
Bluelighter
SweetP- Follow on the schedule your Dr. gave you......
If you have had seizures before it is especially important to follow your Dr.'s guidelines.
Very true.
Benzodiazepines are surprisingly addictive drugs. I had a killer alprazolam habit. You did very well to switch from the clonazepam to the diazepam.
Please don't change your current plan unless you have consulted your doctor. There were some anticonvulsants mentioned. Have you asked the doctor about possibly reducing the diazepam more quickly and introducing some baclofen?
There is some new research about using the benzodiazepine antagonist, flumazenil, in people like yourself who have a long history of benzo use. I am too busy to find the links now. Google will point you in the right direction though.
as someone with epilepsy and experience coming off of benzos (clonazepam and lorazepam specifically) i would 2nd what was said about gabapentin/pregabalin lyrica. i dunno if lyrica is covered by the NZ pharmaceutical benefit scheme but gabapentin was for me. my totally biased opinion is that tegretol (carbamazepine) is a shit drug with awful side effects.
also, i dont know if you smoke ganj but marijuana *increases* your seizure threshold.
good luck quitting 20mg diazepam isn't that much, but follow a taper schedule as you've experienced withdrawal seizures previously. 20mg diazepam will be much easier to quit than the klonopin.
also, i dont know if you smoke ganj but marijuana *increases* your seizure threshold.
good luck quitting 20mg diazepam isn't that much, but follow a taper schedule as you've experienced withdrawal seizures previously. 20mg diazepam will be much easier to quit than the klonopin.
qwe
Bluelight Crew
shit lol. sweet p* blaaa i'm fatigued from w/d insomnia^ Sweet pee?
Currently I'm dropping 1mg every fortnight, but once I'm down to 10mg's it might be extended to 1mg a month depending on how bad the withdrawal symptoms are.
Sweet P
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Yeah, I'm gonna stick with the plan... the thought of more seizures (or even worse, status epilepticus) does now worry me. I'll be seeing my doctor in about 3 weeks time for new prescriptions, so I'll talk to her then about different possibilities.
Epilim (sodium valproate) seems to be the most commonly prescribed anti-convulsant over here, but I'll ask my doctor about Lyrica. I do smoke a bit of weed (I was actually told by someone that it increases your seizure threshold but I wasn't sure if that was true - interesting to see you mention that!), but I probably don't smoke it regularly enough for it to have any anti-convulsant effects. It's definitely not my drug of choice. To be honest, I actually found the switch from clonazepam to diazepam pretty easy, as I was put on an equivalent dose. Tapering down the diazepam definitely seems like the hardest part for me.
Haha, it's ok. I got a good giggle out of it.
Jamshyd
Bluelight Crew
I tend not to like the term "seizure threshold" particulalry because of the confusion here:
To be clear: something that increases or RAISES a threshold means that it is LESS likely for you to have a seizure, and vise vera for decreasing it.
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SP: For Dex, it may not be as neurotoxic, but it is just as damaging for everything else. I personally was on a very high dose habit for a while and only stopped when I had an angina (mini heart attack) during a psychotic break. Now I get nauseous just thinking about it.
To be clear: something that increases or RAISES a threshold means that it is LESS likely for you to have a seizure, and vise vera for decreasing it.
---
SP: For Dex, it may not be as neurotoxic, but it is just as damaging for everything else. I personally was on a very high dose habit for a while and only stopped when I had an angina (mini heart attack) during a psychotic break. Now I get nauseous just thinking about it.
megansafox
Greenlighter
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- Jul 17, 2010
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NO WAY. Benzos are probably the most dangerous meds to detox cold turkey from-esp. if you've been mixing w/ alcohol. Big chance of seizure.
Long, slow reduction with BP meds like clonidine. If you have a history of seizures don't try it w/o medical rehab
Long, slow reduction with BP meds like clonidine. If you have a history of seizures don't try it w/o medical rehab
fryingsquirrel
Bluelighter
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- Oct 9, 2006
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As I read this thread she (I guess?) DOES have a history of seizures, so clearly a very slow taper is called for, perhaps with some kind of anti-seizure med in the mix? Maybe neurontin, it's does wonders for me in dealing with any type of withdrawl, and has some clear anti-seizure benifits. Jamshyd no dought can explain the pharmacolgy better than I, but it is definately useful. Not completly without recreational purposes either
i can only second what others have said about continuing your taper. i also want to congratulate you for attempting to get off benzos and meth. i haven't kept up with your posts recently but i know we discussed this several times in the past and i was quite concerned about you.
ti.ara
Bluelighter
I've heard that benzo withdrawal is even more dangerous and difficult then heroin, so I definitely don't think you should do it cold turkey. I know a lady who is a benzo addict and her doctor is weaning her off slowly. I would follow your doctors advice so that nothing bad happens.
wee beefy
Greenlighter
benzo withdrawl is far more severe than herion w/d. i've nursed both, in a mental health setting,. take your advice from the health professions involved in your care and you'll be fine.
the bold one
Bluelighter
where are you joe? i know here in the uk they used to let you rot,but i think its changed........i got put inside on 80mg methadone and 4mg xanax daily,no taper nothing.a fun filled 8 weeks inside!