Substitution Plan Working So Far!

Hi All:

 

After an unsuccessful direct taper and titration attempt, it looks like my substitution plan is working (so far).

 

I took 30 mg. temazepam for about 6 weeks for acute anxiety and insomnia precipitated by a physical condition which has now been diagnosed. I never slept all that well with the temazepam and the side effects (daytime drowsiness, fatigue, short term memory loss, and depressive feelings) were very troubling. However, whenever I brought up these symptoms to my physicians, their answer was simply to prescribe another pill.

 

My Primary Care Doctor finally took me seriously about my intention to get off the temazepam and recommended a direct taper. However, it is difficult to direct taper off of temazepam here in the states because the medication only comes in capsule form (with powdered medication inside) and the smallest dose capsule is 7.5 mg. So it is difficult to cut the capsules into smaller and smaller doses -- the best you can do is cut it in half.

 

Fortunately, I discovered this web site about that time and tried titration with the powdered temazepam. For some reason, that really did not agree with me so I tried substitution with valium.

 

I quit the temazepam completely on 11/3, used small doses of valium throughout the next day to manage the withdrawal symptoms have been able to sleep on 11/4 and 11/5 on about 10 mg. My plan is to know taper down slowly from the valium (1 mg. every week or so).

 

I am already feeling much better and the side effects I experienced on temazepam have largely dissipated.

 

While I realize my experience with benzo use is minimal compared to what many of you are going through, it is because of this web site that I gained the information, support and confidence to try some different methods of getting off temazepam. Lord knows, if I did what my doctors told me to do, I would still be on temazepam 6 months from now.

 

I realize its only been three days so I don't want to get overly confident. I'll check back in another week or so and report on my progress.

 

Kristin

Hi Kristen,

 

I'm glad that you are feeling better.

 

Did you quit the Temazepam all in one go? If so, it sounds as though you've been pretty lucky. Substitution should be carried out gradually. This allows for adjustment, as Temazepam's half-life means it will leave your system far quicker than it takes for the long half-life Valium to build up. Also, an equivalent dose will vary from individual-to-individual - a gradual substitution should help avoid too much of a variation of dose for the individual. You feel fine, and this is good. I suppose I'm mentioning this for the benefit of others reading your post - substitution should be carried out gradually.

 

Take care, and please do keep us up to date.

Sounds good Kristen.  Please keep us posted.  Please be aware that you may need to taper smaller amounts than 1mg a week.  I too crossed over to Valium and tapered .5mgs of Valium every 10 days when I was at 10mgs.  I then cut .25mgs every 7-8 days once I hit 5mgs.  Just listen to your body.  You'll know if you need to make smaller cuts.

 

Sandy

Thanks for the feedback, Sandy. I'll keep your tapering plan in mind as I cut back.

 

And, yes, Colin, I quit the Temazepam all in one go. But, remember, I was only on it for six weeks. I figured I would give this a shot and if it didn't work, I would go back to a slower substitution/tapering plan.

 

Kristin

There is no reason to expect it won't work (and every reason to expect it will work), but it might be a bit bumpy at first because of that all-in-one-go substitution.