speedballs_over
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2010
- Messages
- 651
Good day BL-ers. Sorry for the length, I can't seem to make it shorter.
I'm currently doing an Ashton Manual taper from 3-mg/day going two weeks b/w dosage drops. I'm not in a hurry and want to be successful. I had been taking 3- to 4-mg/day clonazepam for a decade. 3-mg/day the last year. Time to get off (no pun intended). I'm early in the taper, down only to 2.5-mg equivalent to clonazepam (55-mg/day valium).
Here's my odd situation: I'd also been using Etizolam in PG, prepared myself. I was taking b/w 2.5- 5.0-mg/day, before beginning the Ashton Taper for my clonazepam. I started to back off before beginning the Ashton Taper b/c I know it'll screw up my taper. I'm gaining will power not loosing it thankfully.
I tried to stop the etiz completely over the first two weeks of the taper, which is simply a cross over to Valium, no drop in equivalent dose, and initially it seemed no big deal. Almost like i had bunk etiz, but... Now that I've dropped my prescribed benzo by just a small fraction, I get terrible anxiety and insomnia unless I take some Etizolam (2-mg is enough) just every few days.
I know this is not helping my Ashton Taper, at the same time it isn't completely destroying it, nonetheless I want off it too.
I don't take etiz daily, not every six hours - maybe three days a week I feel I have to take some once in the day or over the night if I have physical symptoms while trying to sleep. Taking etiz to sleep I know is problematic so I try not to use it at night.
Any idea why I only feel a need to supplement with Etizolam every few days but it's half-life is xanax like, for me 6-8 hours?
Isn't this odd? If I can go two days without any, why on day three do I get some of the objective symptoms of benzo w/ds - sweaty, shaky, can't think straight? I'll regrettably take 2-mg Etizolam and it's like a warm blanket, it's really nice feeling, but I'd like to not fuck my taper with etiz.
I'm I guess I should taper the etiz, but that seems odd when I only "need" it two - three times a week. A 25-mL bottle of 2.5-mg/mL has lasted me much longer than ever before, probably going on three weeks now, with over half remaining. So that calculates out properly:~ 6 mg/week
Half the time I feel confident I'm clear of etiz dependency, other times I'm thinking I need to taper it, but how to when I only need it three days a week? Maybe it's all in my head and if I were busier it wouldn't be an issue. I deliberately do not take it with me to work or anywhere away from home anymore, and I'm fine. Those seem to be the days I get by without it, but every third night, work or not, I get very light, very unsatisfying sleep.
My sleep is disordered every night, but only badly twice a week. I'm not suffering terribly, I suppose I could stop the etiz and suck it up.
I'm seeing my awesome CBT guy tomorrow and we're going to double down on acute anxiety handling measures. Maybe that will resolve this....
My only thought is that my etiz has some flubromazolam/clonazolam in it, but that's highly unlikely.
I'm currently doing an Ashton Manual taper from 3-mg/day going two weeks b/w dosage drops. I'm not in a hurry and want to be successful. I had been taking 3- to 4-mg/day clonazepam for a decade. 3-mg/day the last year. Time to get off (no pun intended). I'm early in the taper, down only to 2.5-mg equivalent to clonazepam (55-mg/day valium).
Here's my odd situation: I'd also been using Etizolam in PG, prepared myself. I was taking b/w 2.5- 5.0-mg/day, before beginning the Ashton Taper for my clonazepam. I started to back off before beginning the Ashton Taper b/c I know it'll screw up my taper. I'm gaining will power not loosing it thankfully.
I tried to stop the etiz completely over the first two weeks of the taper, which is simply a cross over to Valium, no drop in equivalent dose, and initially it seemed no big deal. Almost like i had bunk etiz, but... Now that I've dropped my prescribed benzo by just a small fraction, I get terrible anxiety and insomnia unless I take some Etizolam (2-mg is enough) just every few days.
I know this is not helping my Ashton Taper, at the same time it isn't completely destroying it, nonetheless I want off it too.
I don't take etiz daily, not every six hours - maybe three days a week I feel I have to take some once in the day or over the night if I have physical symptoms while trying to sleep. Taking etiz to sleep I know is problematic so I try not to use it at night.
Any idea why I only feel a need to supplement with Etizolam every few days but it's half-life is xanax like, for me 6-8 hours?
Isn't this odd? If I can go two days without any, why on day three do I get some of the objective symptoms of benzo w/ds - sweaty, shaky, can't think straight? I'll regrettably take 2-mg Etizolam and it's like a warm blanket, it's really nice feeling, but I'd like to not fuck my taper with etiz.
I'm I guess I should taper the etiz, but that seems odd when I only "need" it two - three times a week. A 25-mL bottle of 2.5-mg/mL has lasted me much longer than ever before, probably going on three weeks now, with over half remaining. So that calculates out properly:~ 6 mg/week
Half the time I feel confident I'm clear of etiz dependency, other times I'm thinking I need to taper it, but how to when I only need it three days a week? Maybe it's all in my head and if I were busier it wouldn't be an issue. I deliberately do not take it with me to work or anywhere away from home anymore, and I'm fine. Those seem to be the days I get by without it, but every third night, work or not, I get very light, very unsatisfying sleep.
My sleep is disordered every night, but only badly twice a week. I'm not suffering terribly, I suppose I could stop the etiz and suck it up.
I'm seeing my awesome CBT guy tomorrow and we're going to double down on acute anxiety handling measures. Maybe that will resolve this....
My only thought is that my etiz has some flubromazolam/clonazolam in it, but that's highly unlikely.