Tapering from 1mg diazepam

[[Buddie]]

Hi [...]!

I'll chime in since I have been dry tapering for my whole taper, and am now on a very tiny dose like you. I go down appx .01 mgs a day. You may want to try something like this. In any case, here are a few pointers:

1 - Definitely don't do one day on, one day off of this drug. It's terrible for our w/d process. Better to hold till sxs stabilize and then go slowly in one direction: down.

2 - It's great that you got a scale b/c it is important to make sure you are consistently going down and not bouncing around. You say your pill is .172. Is that all your pills? I'm tapering diazepam, and my 2mg pills range in weight from .166 to .181. When you get down this low, it does make a difference. I weigh all of my pills and put them into weight categories and then taper each weight category at a time. If that feels like too much for you, then simply see if you can find a bunch of pills that are roughly the same weight and just use those. You're so close to the end that you won't need that many pills, most likely.

3 - You mentioned you were at .8. If the pill weighs .172, then .8 is going to weigh .069. I'm not sure where the .030 number came from. Do you know? If you want to be at .5, then your pill weight would be .043.

4 - Once you establish a pill weight that makes sense, hold for a week or so, till you feel stable, and then, if you want, you can microtaper. So on day one, you're at .043. On day two, you're at .042. And so on. You can pause any time if you feel too activated. You can take this down as low as the scale allows you to.

As far as sxs, it's different for everyone. But since you are sensitive, consider trying to taper down a bit further and holding a bit longer before you jump. I hope this helps. You'll be done soon, which is great!

[...]

[[Buddie]]

Hi [...]!

I'll chime in since I have been dry tapering for my whole taper, and am now on a very tiny dose like you. I go down appx .01 mgs a day. You may want to try something like this. In any case, here are a few pointers:

1 - Definitely don't do one day on, one day off of this drug. It's terrible for our w/d process. Better to hold till sxs stabilize and then go slowly in one direction: down.

2 - It's great that you got a scale b/c it is important to make sure you are consistently going down and not bouncing around. You say your pill is .172. Is that all your pills? I'm tapering diazepam, and my 2mg pills range in weight from .166 to .181. When you get down this low, it does make a difference. I weigh all of my pills and put them into weight categories and then taper each weight category at a time. If that feels like too much for you, then simply see if you can find a bunch of pills that are roughly the same weight and just use those. You're so close to the end that you won't need that many pills, most likely.

3 - You mentioned you were at .8. If the pill weighs .172, then .8 is going to weigh .069. I'm not sure where the .030 number came from. Do you know? If you want to be at .5, then your pill weight would be .043.

4 - Once you establish a pill weight that makes sense, hold for a week or so, till you feel stable, and then, if you want, you can microtaper. So on day one, you're at .043. On day two, you're at .042. And so on. You can pause any time if you feel too activated. You can take this down as low as the scale allows you to.

As far as sxs, it's different for everyone. But since you are sensitive, consider trying to taper down a bit further and holding a bit longer before you jump. I hope this helps. You'll be done soon, which is great!

[...]

Thank you!! So they're 5mg pills, that's why the figure seems off. It's all I have for now. I think that's what I'll do. Stabilize here - which I am feeling okay at, not bad at all, then microtaper to .015 and jump. I appreciate the encouraging words. Even though my situation is comparatively minor I have been feeling stressed out about it.

[[Buddie]]

I heard there is a 3-10 rule for clonazepam - 3 days for symptoms to set in, ten to stabilize. Is there such a rule for diazepam? Or is it so unpredictable due to its half life ranging for 20 to 200 hours that it's hard to say?

[[Buddie]]

I’m not sure about Diazepam, you might want to check in with the members on the ValiumSupport Group thread.

[[Buddie]]

I am going to taper from 10mg of Diazepam taken at bedtime to aid sleep.  I plan to start in a few days time as I am not feeling very well (in bed with flu - I think also the after effects of 8 days of cold Turkey). The plan is to reduce Diazepam from 10mg to 9mg for 10 days, then reduce to 8mg depending upon how I feel.  Cutting/filing the tablets was a bit hit and miss.  I have ordered a pill cutter.

Does this sound like a sensible approach.  I must admit after the horror of 8 days Cold Turkey I am quite fearful.

Will the fact that I have completed 8 days cold turkey help the process?  Will I have got rid of some of the Diazepam in my system.

Happy New Year!

[...]

[[Buddie]]

@[...] I have found that it is completely personal and different for each person. Many people say sxs set in 3 days after a cut. But it really varies. And when you microtaper, it obviously won't work like that at all. Just track how you're feeling and you'll find your own pattern.

@[...] Your plan sounds good to start. But cuts that size will become quite uncomfortable as you go lower. If you want taper advice, best thing to do is start a new thread of your own in the taper support section. I hope it goes easy for you.

[[Buddie]]

@[...] I have found that it is completely personal and different for each person. Many people say sxs set in 3 days after a cut. But it really varies. And when you microtaper, it obviously won't work like that at all. Just track how you're feeling and you'll find your own pattern.

@[...] Your plan sounds good to start. But cuts that size will become quite uncomfortable as you go lower. If you want taper advice, best thing to do is start a new thread of your own in the taper support section. I hope it goes easy for you.

Okay, so I got to where I felt I was through the acutes on that .8mg. Only missed one night of sleep. Had some emotional instability and flaring up. Starting my micro taper now, probably to about .010. How is yours going?