k to V transition

Good Morning!

 

I had a few questions as I transition. I was initially on 05. Clonazepam 3x/day feb 2023. Major interdose withdrawals.

 

Currently, on 0.75- so about halfway there over 2 months. It has been tricky with symptoms but my Dr is very knowledgeable and goes by how I feel. We meet every 2 weeks or more if I need to.

 

I am currently doing 0.5 Clon 9 am, with 2 mg V

10 mg V afternoon

0.25 Clon and 10 Mg V at bedtime

 

We are dropping the bedtime Clon 0.25 this Friday.

 

I know and she knows that this is over the equivalency but she says everyone is different and Cl is on a bugger to get off because it's so potent! Mostly, I have been doing very well. Life hasn't changed much.

 

My question is: what next step should I take? I do want to transition fully to Val to start taper as soon as I can. I di find my thinking is much clearer already.

 

 

Once entirely on Valium, what do you recommend for cuts? weekly?

 

 

thank you!

Cali

 

 

I'm unclear about your initial dose, could you clarify?  You wrote 05. was that .5 x3?

Hi,

Yes, starting dose was 1.5 mg.  0.5 3x/day Feb 2023

Thanks for clarifying, and I'm glad you've been doing okay but I wonder if you might want to rethink the amount of Valium you're crossing to.  If at some point you begin to feel too sedated or over medicated, it might be good to lessen the amount you plan to take.

 

As for when you're fully crossed over, just keep a good record of your symptoms and their severity and use this to guide you.  Having a schedule is great but our bodies and our symptoms don't always allow this so being flexible and adjusting your taper is the way to go.  After all, we have life commitments we need to see through and this process takes so long, we can't just stop fulfilling them.

 

Pamster,

I agree! symptom-led is the way to go.

 

as far as when I'm fully crossed over, what is a reasonable rate of reduction, and how often?

 

I only have one more 0.5 cut to make until I'm fully crossed over!

 

Meaning, once I make a cut, how long should I wait until making another one? I would think once a cut is made, our bodies need time to adjust.

 

My provider is on board with any rate and speed that I feel. She understands this process, so I'm lucky

 

Thank you, Cali

 

 

 

 

 

You've probably noticed Valium is longer acting and that comes into play when making reductions.  You experiencing inter-dose on Clonazepam has me wondering if you may eliminate Valium more rapidly than other members do?  Professor Ashton suggested making 1 to 2 mg reduction every 1 to 2 weeks but many members say that's too fast, I'd like to see how you do, its tough to make generalizations when we're all so different. https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzsched.htm#s5

Dr. Ashton herself later concluded that a slower rate than what she had originally wrote about in her book might be better for most people. In a paper that I believe she wrote in 2005 she concluded that a slower rate might be better for most people.

https://www.benzo.org.uk/amisc/ashdiag.pdf On p. 4 under the heading of "Therapeutic dose users" she wrote:

 

"Benzodiazepine dosage should be tapered gradually since abrupt withdrawal, especially from high doses, can precipitate convulsions, acute psychotic states and other severe reactions (Table 3). The recommended rate of tapering for patients on therapeutic doses of benzodiazepine is withdrawal in steps of about one-eighth to one-tenth of the daily dose every 1–2 weeks."

Hi,

Thank you both for your replies! yes, we def went slower than Ashton suggested. I have one more cut of clon left(0.25) and then, I am fully crossed over to Valium. That last cut is scheduled to  be in about 10 days when i meet with Dr next.

 

I am on 35 mg Valium now,

1O am9 with rthe 0/25 Clon), 10 V afternoons, 15 V nights.

 

This is more than Ashton says but my prescriber isn't following that to a T. It is symptom led. I was in rough shape at Tolerance when I started mid-February. The process has gone fairly smoothly.

 

I need some positive experiences, as I'm feeling frustrated that I likely will be on 40 mg of valium when crossing over is completed. 

 

I started this process on 1.5 mg Clon/day. split into 0.5 3x/day

 

 

Like most of you, I just want off these meds and I'm sick of it. My Dr is very benzo aware and has successfully tapered thousands of patients. I'm grateful for that. I meet with her every 2 weeks.

 

 

I guess it is hard to make decisions bc it takes so long to see the outcomes of them!

 

Any positive feedback or advice is welcome. I need some uplifting

 

Thank you

 

If I do feel overmedicated, any suggestions? Like where would where I cut? Meaning wouold I reducee the valium a tad or reduce the last 0.25 ( i Have 0.125 pills as well)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Myself and others have had success with symptom led tapers.

 

If you have a benzo-wise doctor I would rejoice and follow what he says.

 

I did a direct crossover to Valium from Klonopin in a day or two.  That was my personal experience.  One day I was taking .5 mg of Klonopin twice a day and going through rebound anxiety and possibly a paradoxical reaction to Klonopin.  The next day I took 10 mg of Valium in the morning and .5 mg of Klonopin in the evening.  The next day I took 10 mg Valium in the morning and 10 mg Valium in the evening.  Then after about 2-3 weeks at that dose I began my taper.

 

If you are taking 10 mg of valium and .25 Klonopin in the morning and 10 mg Valium in the afternoon and the evening, you might see if you could just cut the .25 mg of Klonopin in the morning without switching over to any more valium.

 

 

Hi Confused user!

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

Just to clarify: Did you mean, to consider cutting the 0.25 Clonazepam in am? You wrote valium.

 

If so, I had thought about that.too..I think I'm ready to. She made the cut from 0.5 to 0.25 Weds, so 5 days ago. I do feel slightly overmedicated, but not bad.

I know my dr won't mind if I did as she feels the Clonazepam doesn't work anymore for me. But I wondered if my body would notice. Even tho they are both benzos, they do work a bit differently

 

I also have 0.125 clonazepam tablets I could try first too. HMMM....

 

 

I get confused at times bc it takes around 4/5 days to notice anything.

Yes, I meant to write cut the .25 mg Klonopin in the morning since you are also taking 10 mg of Valium at that time which should cover you--especially since you have been crossing over for a while.

 

I went back and edited what I wrote in my previous message to reflect what it should have said.

Confused user_

 

Thank you for your reply. I made that suggestion to my dr and she felt i needed to add the valium after the final cut 0f 0.25, so I did 5/12.

 

The crossover, in general, has been successful, and I can't complain. 

 

New plan of only Valium. started 5/12

15 am

10 afternoon

15 night

 

Everything seemed ok, until today when I feel AWFUL.. have anxiety ( chemical I think) and feel crappy. Today is day 5 of the new plan.  I wondered if my body is just reacting to the lack of Clon? I know the Valium is supposed to " cover it" but they are 2 different benzos, our bodies would have to adjust.

 

I feel like I really need support. I'm feeling discouraged and anxious.  Any feedback is appreciated:)

 

Thank you

How are you feeling now, any improvement?