Alcohol and benzo problems

Hi. I'm a 32 year old Brazilian. I'm an alcoholic who drank every day since I was 21. From April 2022 to December 2022 I started acquiring benzos (Clonazepam and Diazepam) illegally to try to control my drinking. But I ended up drinking on top of them, every day. Went through a self taper and had my last drink on January 4, 2023. But I'm taking benzos still and struggling. I already read the Ashton Manual and I'm on Stage 2 of tapering Klonopin 3,0mg a day

Hello Wilson200, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

 

I’m sorry to hear you’re still on benzo’s but its good you’re going to get off of them, I’ve had experience with both and found benzo’s to be far more painful to recover from.

 

Are you still on both the Klonopin and Valium?  We typicaly suggest reducing by about 5-10% every couple of weeks, but a symptom based taper will hopefully keep you functional. 

 

I’ll provide some links to get you started but please let us know how we can help.

 

Pamster

Colorado Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidance

 

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper)

 

Ashton Manual symptom list

 

The Ashton Manual

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

Thanks for the reply!

 

'm taking: Morning 0,5mg Clonazepam and 10mg Diazepam

Midday: 1mg Clonazepam

Night: 0,5mg Clonazepam and 10mg of Diazepam. (Although Im prefering exchanging the 0,5mg Clonazepam at night to morning as I have a lot of daytime anxiety).

 

That's Stage 2 from Schedule 6 on the Ashton Manual (tapering from 3mg Klonopin).

 

I'm thinking about staying put for another week and then move on to Stage 3. My plan is to switch to Diazepam entirely.

 

My main concern is remain functional at my job.

Many find Professor Ashtons schedule to be too aggressive when they get to the lower doses so if you’re concerned about staying functional for work it might be a good idea so go slower, let your body tell you when and how much.

 

I’m glad you’re using your dosing schedule to suit your specific needs.