• BASIC DRUG
    DISCUSSION
    Welcome to Bluelight!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Benzo Chart Opioids Chart
    Drug Terms Need Help??
    Drugs 101 Brain & Addiction
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums
  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Do you agree or disagree with my DR's regimen to taper me off of etizolam? I'm in W/D

Stimlover22

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Messages
139
Location
United States
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey BL: This is kinda long, I apologize but I need advice here.

So I have been taking roughly 2-3mg of Etizolam nightly, something I have been purchasing off the internet in blister packs, after I got tired of ambien. A couple weeks ago I noticed that I am now physically dependent on "diazepines" after I cut my dose in half. I started experiencing the typical reported benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms with the main one that I can only describe as an impending seizure with other symptoms such as night sweats, tremors and extreme irritability and anxiety. I decided I no longer wanted to take etizolam after what I experienced and made an appointment with a doctor.. well, he is a nurse practitioner technically but with board certification to prescribe.

During my appointment, I tried explaining him to the best of my ability what "Etizolam" is, why I was using it and how I was getting it. He asked me how long I have been taking it and I told him it's been a daily thing for over 2 months and that's true... After I blatantly told him it was a benzo analog classified as a "thienodiazepine", his reply was " It sounds like this is a some sort of benzodiazepine,
since it ends in -am, let me go research this and i'll be right back with you". I rolled my eyes like..dude I just told you what it was. So fifteen minutes he comes back in the room and tells me " Okay, this is benzo (which its not but still, apparently he didn't listen to one word I said) so this will require a taper to make sure you don't abruptly stop and risk a seizure (nahhh really?????? why do you think I came to you? smh)

After telling him I take 2-3mg nightly and have now for over 2 months, this is the taper regimen he prescribed me:

Clonazepam 0.5mg Tablets:
Take 1 tablet by mouth every night at bedtime for 4 nights. Then 1/2 tablet by mouth every night at bedtime for 3 nights as directed. The Quantity of pills filled in this prescription: 6


So I finished this regimen above and it worked for about 3 days, and then started feeling light headed and getting bad headaches, and then returned the rebound insomnia and anxiety and all the symptoms I experienced before I even decided to seek medical treatment. He told me if I feel like I need to continue on a little bit more, then to come back. So I made a phone call to his office and told his nurse over the phone that my symptoms are coming back and it worked for a few days but now I am starting to feel like complete crap again. She put me on hold and came back telling me that he is calling in Lorazepam 0.5mg at the pharmacy for me to pick up tonight and take it with the same directions he gave for the Clonazepam.

Ughhh..... I get to the pharmacy and they tell me that he called in Clonazepam ODT 0.25mg for me, 0.25mg!!!!??? With the same instructions I put up there in bold. WTF is he joking?? I am in withdrawal and to ice the cake, the pharmacist tells me they are out of stock on the ODT tabs and he can't substitute the ODT for the regular tablets because my NP only authorized 6 pills and with the RX instructions he cannot give me the regular because it would call for 8 pills. Now I am gonna have to fight this out until tomorrow. I'm going to have to call his office back and raise hell and i'll probably sound like a drug seeker and I'm not, i'm just in withdrawls and the nurse on the phone specifically told me they were calling in Lorazepam instead for me since I told them the Clonazepam isn't cutting the mustard. I'm so frustrated. Could it be an error on their part or is my NP a complete moron?
 
Dude don't go to your doctor and babbling about how your addicted to etiz, why not just say "Hey I have been taking (insert any prescribed benzo here) for 2 months every-night, I need a taper regime." it would of accomplished the same thing without bringing more unjust knowledge upon a substance that is used responsibly by lots of people. ya know?!?
 
Well, that's what I was going to do in the first place dude, I just figured it would be best to be honest and straight up. For one, I've never been *prescribed* any benzos before, so I'm sure if I told him I was taking (insert benzo here) like you said, he would then ask who the prescribing doctor is/was. On top of that, what if he had drug tested me to confirm if I told him I was taking xanax, for instance. Then no alprazolam would show show up in my system and would be a red flag right there. Last, if I told him I was taking alprazolam, I'm willing to bet all he would have to do is pull my medical records and would find that I have never been prescribed xanax nor any other benzo for that matter. Wasn't going to tell him I was buying benzos off the street to cover my ass had I lied and made that claim.
I'm not stupid, I did consider telling him before my appointment came that I was taking alprazolam because I know etizolam is relatively unheard of here and it would have spared a lot of questions and confusion for him, but honesty is always the best route to go.
Btw, he now called in Clonazepam. He prescribed a total of three 0.5mg tablets and wants me to cut the 0.5mg tabs on quarters and take 1/4 of a pill at night before bed. So he is making 3 pills last for 12 days.

Dude don't go to your doctor and babbling about how your addicted to etiz, why not just say "Hey I have been taking (insert any prescribed benzo here) for 2 months every-night, I need a taper regime." it would of accomplished the same thing without bringing more unjust knowledge upon a substance that is used responsibly by lots of people. ya know?!?
 
Last edited:
What is the problem here?

You went to a doctor to get tapered off etizolam, and then you get angry when he tapers you instead of just maintaining you on benzos forever?

Now I am gonna have to fight this out until tomorrow. I'm going to have to call his office back and raise hell and i'll probably sound like a drug seeker and I'm not, i'm just in withdrawls

So you're not a drug seeker, but you're going to seek some drugs? I'm surprised he even gave you the option to get more benzos, I thought you were supposed to be tapering off them?

Ughhh..... I get to the pharmacy and they tell me that he called in Clonazepam ODT 0.25mg for me, 0.25mg!!!!??? With the same instructions I put up there in bold. WTF is he joking??

He could have prescribed you nothing, instead.

You sound pretty entitled, man. If you're tapering off benzos you don't get to have your cake and eat it too. It's not supposed to be a painless taper that happens over 4 years, you withdraw the drugs as rapidly as possible and then suck it up and move on with your life. You don't get a license to feel euphoric 24/7.

The doctor you're going to is cutting you some slack by extending your taper beyond the bare minimum, so work with him. Going into a doctor's office, asking for help, and then acting like you know how to do his job better than him is a tasteless insult.
 
Last edited:
1. No, i'm not a drug seeker in the sense of going to a doctor and coercing him to give me drugs so I can then get fucked up. If you wan't to get literal here and if it makes you feel better than in a sense I am seeking a drug.. a drug to taper off of ETIZOLAM because I don't wish to take it and that's the safe way to go about cessation of benzos. If my sole purpose was getting fucked up, I would just order more etizolam off of the internet and go on with my life. My intentions were and still are to taper off, so I can be free from this bullshit once and for all, so where and how did you get that I am "angry" that he is tapering me?

2. Yes, he could have prescribed me nothing. I'm sure a doctor is going to turn down a patient that voluntarily comes in, explains the situation and wishes to cease a benzo, and asks assistance for it.

I never said I was entitled to anything at all, but you're entitled to your opinion. I do pay for medical insurance, and I do pay a copay for my visits and the way I look at it he is providing a service to a paying customer. So actually, I am a bit entitled since you mentioned it. Atleast I work for a living and am functional and don't suck off the government and rely on the government to provide me healthcare because I am too lazy to work for a living
.
It's widely known that prolonged use of a benzo can be life threatening if not dealt with medically. I'm sorry that I don't want to experience a potential seizure from coming off of what I was on. Sounds like you're an expert and you got it all figured out, well I never claimed to be an expert and if I was i'm sure I could just keep buying more etizolam and gradually taper off of it all by myself but I am not. I came here looking for advice and questions and a second opinion about his prescribed regimen for me. Have you never heard of getting a second opinion? It appears the gold standard prescribed benzo for withdrawals are either valium or Librium, so I came here asking if the drug and doses he prescribed sound appropriate for my situation. I know my body, and I know how I feel. I don't need people putting words in my mouth that I never said. I'm not telling my NP how to do his job, could care less. It's my health and I just want him to do his job and manage my predicament.

This is the first time in my life that I have ever had a dependence on something like this. How about cutting me some slack here, stop pointing fingers at me and putting words into my own mouth. Or don't.. I don't really care.





What is the problem here?

You went to a doctor to get tapered off etizolam, and then you get angry when he tapers you instead of just maintaining you on benzos forever?



So you're not a drug seeker, but you're going to seek some drugs? I'm surprised he even gave you the option to get more benzos, I thought you were supposed to be tapering off them?



He could have prescribed you nothing, instead.

You sound pretty entitled, man. If you're tapering off benzos you don't get to have your cake and eat it too. It's not supposed to be a painless taper that happens over 4 years, you withdraw the drugs as rapidly as possible and then suck it up and move on with your life. You don't get a license to feel euphoric 24/7.

The doctor you're going to is cutting you some slack by extending your taper beyond the bare minimum, so work with him. Going into a doctor's office, asking for help, and then acting like you know how to do his job better than him is a tasteless insult.
 
No one said withdrawal was easy. Losing you shit after 3 days only makes you sound like a whiney bitch. You should be thankful he extended your taper without a fuss.

Insomnia and anxiety are normal after only abusing benzos for 8 weeks. You aren't really that great a risk of seizures after such a short addiction phase. If you are serious of getting rid of these drugs you need to accept that there comes a time you have to stop completely and ride off the final withdrawal. Suck it up and fight it off is the best advise you'll get
 
Top