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Thanks for your help.  By all the information you posted, looks like I have been reducing by only .04g every 2:weeks and that is only my daytime dose.  Once I recover from Covid I’ll start it up again. With taking 192g at night and 59 daytime, not sure what to do?

 

Thanks

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I’m sorry to hear you have Covid, I’m glad you’re holding your dose for now. 

 

When you’re up to it I’d like to hear more about your symptoms and how you’re managing, I’m also interested in the crash you had in November and did you also have a question about other medications, you mentioned something in your signature.

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Hello, not sure what happened.  16/10/2022 was my reduction date.  2/11 I felt I was going to be sick in bed, so got in my chair to get a container.  Blacked out, when I woke up I had 2 bumps on my face, eyebrow and cheek bone.  Had a black eye for weeks.  Then started to come good when I got Covid 5 days before Christmas.  The nausea started back big time and my balance is still not the best.  Hoping things will start to improve soon.

Thanks for listening

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That’s really scary, do you suspect your taper?  Nausea and balance issues are common and so are blood pressure fluctuations, have you seen a doctor to rule out other issues?  Do you have someone there with you, it concerns me you lost consciousness. 
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Hello, yes it concerns me too but I have a scarf and so when I feel really shaky I can tie myself in.  It’s the falling that sets me back.  Have also left a container on the bed to avoid having to get up.  I live on my own , have done for many years.  I have just had a blood test because my kidneys were affected a little with Covid, but after drinking more fluids, everything came back fine. Iron up a little because I had a transfusion after breaking my leg, internal bleeding left me a bit short.  Otherwise all ok.

I do suspect my taper.  I’ve never lost consciousness before, only when I broke my leg and wasn’t aware of until 9 hours later in 2021.  My body is under strain at the moment, I can feel it.  Hopefully this long brake is helping my brain to adjust so I can continue.  Having spinal injury puts me in a different box I think.  Already have bladder and bowel issues so this benzo journey has created more of the same.

All symptoms are magnified when something happens to me, I thought it me being over imaginative but I’m pretty sure that’s the way it is.  I had 3 colds last year, don’t normally get them but they did set my taper back a week.

My taper is only 4% not even what is recommended 5-10. That worries me.  I’m sleepy badly again and am taking 192g to sleep. I know I have to cut it back, just not sure how to go about it.

Thanks for listening

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I can see you have a lot going on and you’re managing things as best you can.  Please don’t worry about going slower than our suggested 5-10%, this is just a guideline based on how Professor Ashton tapered her clients.  We believe symptom based, patient led tapers are best and you’re doing this.

 

What can we help you with in terms of your dosing, you’re concerned about cutting your nighttime dose?

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Hello,

Thanks so much for your reply.

From all I have learnt, generally dosage is equally balanced in a 24 hour period.  Mine is not, is that a problem, should it be more evenly balanced?

This morning was the first time in many months that I have woken without an extremely dry mouth.  Even when I waken 1 to 2 times a night, the drink bottle is the first thing I have to reach for.  My balance is back to normal and my shaking is better today. My head feels a little clearer with not so much pressure and pain.

I think Covid is starting to abate, it’s 4 weeks on now.  Feeling like my normal self, pre Covid.General symptoms but not so severe,  nausea manageable, the throat is not too sore.  One of the first symptoms I started with was the throat.  The 2 bones at the back of the throat were very painful to touch and throbbed, doctor could not tell me why.  Things magnified, trouble swallowing, just talking started me coughing.  Lots of mucus swallowing.  Now over the last couple of weeks at the back of my throat I feel blister type things develop over the day, just on one side then in the morning they are gone.  I think that could be Covid related, not sure.  Very rarely get sore throat s but did with Covid.

For months I felt I had swallowed chilies, burning sensation, painful gums and teeth.  I felt like screwdrivers pushing up my nose, that sensation is not so servere now.  Still comes back, especially when tapering, we go round and round from one symptom to another.  I presume that is normal.

I think getting up quickly to get a container in November caused my blood pressure to drop, hence the black out.  I think you are right.  Have to try to avoid the rushing.

Thanks for listening.

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Hello, forgot to mention, I don’t take any other medication apart from 1 cipla(Panadol/codine) at night.  I did take 2 but when I read they affect the gaba I cut down to 1, at the same time when I reduced from 30gr to 15gr in my first taper.  With the neuropathic pain at night I needed 1 to get me to sleep.  I don’t think it is doing much now because it’s been over a year and you tend to build up a tolerance to them too don’t you?

Thanks for listening

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I’ve read that Covid mimics withdrawal symptoms, it attacks us neurologically just as benzo’s do so I’m not surprised you’ve been confused as to what is causing what but I’m glad to hear it may be lifting a bit. What you describe sounds miserable though, that screwdriver in the nose made me wince.

 

As for your doses, as long as you take your dose within that 24 hour time frame, you can dose at whatever time suits your needs.  Some will keep the night dose heavy to aid in sleep, others will take more in the morning to combat the horrible morning anxiety so no worries about your dose choices. 

 

I’m not familiar with Panadol and don’t know if you can build a tolerance to it but tapering off of it might not be a good idea while you’re recovering from Covid as well as tapering the Serapax.

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Hello, my blood pressure is up today 83/152.  My head was getting worse as the next dose was approaching.  Not too bad after a couple of hours.  I will have to keep monitoring it before I start reducing.  Can I please have information regarding just cutting only my afternoon dose and leaving the night one as is.  Is that possible or recommended to do it this way?

Thanking you

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I’ve read that Covid mimics withdrawal symptoms, it attacks us neurologically just as benzo’s do so I’m not surprised you’ve been confused as to what is causing what but I’m glad to hear it may be lifting a bit. What you describe sounds miserable though, that screwdriver in the nose made me wince.

 

As for your doses, as long as you take your dose within that 24 hour time frame, you can dose at whatever time suits your needs.  Some will keep the night dose heavy to aid in sleep, others will take more in the morning to combat the horrible morning anxiety so no worries about your dose choices. 

 

I’m not familiar with Panadol and don’t know if you can build a tolerance to it but tapering off of it might not be a good idea while you’re recovering from Covid as well as tapering the Serapax.

 

Pam: Panadol is just a paracetamol brand name, generally comes as 500mg tablets. Basic headache tablets. The Codeine in the Cipla tablet is an opioid (addictive), so I imagine it would probably be best to avoid trying to taper that one whilst also tapering Serapax.

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Hello, my blood pressure is up today 83/152.  My head was getting worse as the next dose was approaching.  Not too bad after a couple of hours.  I will have to keep monitoring it before I start reducing.  Can I please have information regarding just cutting only my afternoon dose and leaving the night one as is.  Is that possible or recommended to do it this way?

Thanking you

 

Hi 239526SB

 

Ive had a brief discussion with Pamster, and she felt that it was a good idea to share my own personal experience with Oxazepam.

 

So Oxazepam is a short half life benzo 3-25hrs, and what I found was that I would start experiencing inter-dose withdrawals within 4 hrs of dosing. After reading your thread, I get the sense that you are experiencing the onset of inter-dose withdrawals between doses. If I were in your position, I would avoid tapering away anymore of your daily dose, and start tapering your nightly dose, if you are feeling stabile enough to do so. It’s very difficult to gain or maintain stability through your taper if you are experiencing inter-dose withdrawals, as your blood serum levels of the medication are continually plunging between doses. The last thing I would want to see you do is taper your daily dose away completely and the experience terrible interdose withdrawals between one nightly dose until the next. You simply won’t remain stabile. I also think it may be worth thinking about splitting your doses so you are dosing 3 times per day to keep your blood serum levels more even throughout a 24 hr period. I’m actually tapering from Valium, but I chose to dose twice a day and my taper strategy is to taper 5% of my total daily dose, but I’m tapering both of my daily doses at the same time, so reducing 2.5% from each of my daily doses every 14 days. I don’t need to do this because it’s Valium and I could probably combine the doses and dose just once per day, but if I were tapering Oxazepam, personally, I would choose to dose several times per day and taper from all 3 at the same time to keep those blood serum levels even throughout the day. So if I were tapering at 5% every 14 days, I would reduce each or those doses by 1.666% to make up the 5%, and this way I avoid creating interdose withdrawals by tapering one dose too low, or altogether. If you want to discuss any of this further and have any questions, please go ahead. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

Hello,

 

 

I am feeling much better the bp is going down and my balance is almost normal.  I have long Covid now but because my nausea levels are not too bad I’m able to take my Chinese herbs for Covid.  After a week I have definitely improved, all my Covid symptoms are manageable.  I am not continuing my taper until Covid is out of my system.  My body cannot do 2 healings at a time.  I just have to be patient.  I finally managed to have my Christmas with my family, able to cook the food so I was grateful and pleased.

 

Thanks for your help

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You’re very welcome!

 

So glad to hear things have improved!

 

It’s very wise for you to hold while dealing with the long Covid, many others here have done, or are doing the very same.  :thumbsup:

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Hello,

Thanks for all your help. Because I only took serepax at 10 at night for sleep, I thought the best thing is to taper backwards the same way.  Couldn’t maintain the first drastic cut back of course so added the morning and afternoon small amounts after 2-3 months later.  I thought because I had the one dose day for so many years the quicker I got to that point would be better.  So firstly combined the 2 daytime doses together then started reducing that one.  Still not sure of what to do.  Have others started this journey by taking only one a day like me and have had to spread their dose throughout the day for tapering?  The information from WinterSun suggests otherwise.  I’m just scared of the blackouts. I don’t want to risk another as it sets me back too much.  I’m frighten if I keep with what I’ve been doing I will not read the signs quick enough to make appropriate adjustments.  When I think back over October, just before my last taper I did notice my body change, maybe I should have held it at that point until I felt things settle.  Maybe it was my bp changing,  I don’t know, now I have a monitor I could check that out at least. 

My doctor doesn’t talk to me about the benzo stuff,  she initially wanted me to go on another drug at the same time which I am very reluctant to do.  I lean more towards

Chinese medicine as a preferred way to help keep my body and especially my organs maintained healthy.  Her father put me on the benzos years ago, and although I was in withdrawal and told her some symptoms, she didn’t say anything other we have to take more of it as the body gets used to it.  She was happy with the dose I was taking 30mg  to sleep and another 7 some mornings when I woke at 4 am. I go to my Chinese practitioner weekly.  He knew I took something to sleep for the pain but never talked about what it was or the quantities I was taking.  As you know it has taken 30 years of usage to get to this point so I felt I wasn’t abusing it or the awful repercussions of what it was doing.  Totally ignorant, like many people’s stories that I have read.  I only went to My doctor for serepax and painkillers renewal scripts.  I have tried to avoid western medications because I prefer the more natural remedies.  Of course neuropathic pain is something else entirely.  As I have said, I can cope in the day,  it night I need to sleep.  Have tried neuropathic pain medication and it reduced it moderately but I still needed extra to sleep.  Felt it wasn’t worth taking both.  Just learned to live in pain like many others.  We struggle with it and try to work our way through it all.

I see my doctor on Friday, have a bp chart happening so we’ll see what she has to say.

Thanks for listening

Thanks for listening

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello,

I still have long Covid so not able to start tapering again.

I have been put on Telmisartan 20mg for my blood pressure.  It was reading about 180 at its highest and averaging 160 which is a bit high.  I was wondering if this medication is affecting is the benzo withdrawal process.  I would really appreciate if anyone can help.

Thanks for your time

 

Shirley

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Have you checked for interactions between the oxazepam and telmisartan … as well as any other prescriptions medications, herbs, and supplements you are taking?

 

Drug Interactions Checker - For Drugs, Food & Alcohol

https://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.html

(includes interactions with food as well as a ‘Professional’ tab for in-depth information about the interaction.)

 

Drug Interaction Checker - DrugBank

https://go.drugbank.com/drug-interaction-checker

(includes citations to relevant literature)

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  • 1 month later...

Hello again,

I want to try to cut down my nightly dose.  My 15 mg serepax tablet weighs 192gr, if I cut down to 191 gr, what % is that cut?  Sorry, not to good with my maths, can someone help please?  I would like to try to cut down my daily dose too from 57g to 56. Not sure if I can manage that on both. What would that daily dose cut be?  I would appreciate your input.  Thanks, shirley

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Hello me again, thanks for time.

I’m finding it hard to get my head around these figures, my brain has fried.  I hope it improves.

If I want to continue to reduce my nighttime dose only,  I need to add my daytime dose of 57 then add it to my nighttime dose of 191 then work out 5% figure of that, then make the calculation and take it off just the night dose of 191.  I can’t just reduce it to 190.  Would that make the reduction rate not what is recommend? 

I know for me, this is a lifetime thing, but I still want to keep reducing, my body is showing signs of healing already.  Not every day of course  but I would like to keep improving on that.

Thanks again for your help

Shirley

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My apologies.  I thought you were asking what the percent reductions were for two different points in your taper - from 192 to 191 and from 57 to 56.

 

Is the following correct?

 

(1) Your current daily dosing schedule and total daily dose are:

 

daytime dose: 57

nighttime dose: 191

total daily dose: 248

 

(2) You wish to reduce your total daily dose by 5%.

 

If so, then your new total daily dose would be 235.6 (95% of 248) —  a reduction of 12.4 (248 minus 235.6).  You could distribute this reduction in whatever manner you feel would work best for you.

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Perfect.

Thanks so much, understand it now having read it.  Hoping my brain power comes back to me, does it for everyone?  It has been worse so I should be grateful.

I really appreciate your time.  Hope all is well for you.

Sending kind wishes across the ocean

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