Liquid Diazepam

[[Buddie]]

Hello, [...].  How are you and your wife doing?  Is she tolerating the change from once to twice daily dosing?  Is this change helping her?

Has she made a decision about trying the oral solution again?  If she does decide to try it, I hope she will (1) wait long enough for her body/CNS to fully and completely stabilize before making this change; it may take a while — she’s made multiple changes recently and Valium/diazepam has a very long half-life and (2) hold her dose constant so she can get a clear read on her response to the liquid.

[[Buddie]]

Hello again [...].
She had only a couple of bearable days since her last drop to 1.9 mg three weeks ago.  If she doesn't get more than a couple hours of sleep at night, she has very bad waves the next day. That happened this weekend but slept better last night.  Today was a decent day for her.  This morning she took 1/2 of her morning dose in liquid and 1/2 in tablet,  So far so good and it is now 6:30 PM.  I hope she sleeps tonight.  We expect things to get worse as the dose decreases as that seems to be the case with most BBs.
She very much appreciates your concern.
Thank you.
We will see what tonight and tomorrow bring. 

[[Buddie]]

It's now the next day.  She slept fairly well but having bad waves this morning (it's 11:30 AM).  She is afraid that the 1/4 dose in liquid form yesterday added to it.  She is going back to all tablets for a while.  Perhaps this will help with the anxiety, although I don't think the liquid was a factor.

[[Buddie]]

Greetings, [...].  Thank you for the update. I agree with you about the liquid. My best guess is the 7.32% reduction in dose your wife made on February 8 was more than she could tolerate; she destabilized.  Then she made other changes that exacerbated the problem, including changing her drug format and splitting her dose. If I were in her shoes, I would (1) refrain from making other changes for the next 2-4 weeks and (2) learn about/try strategies to decrease anxiety and improve sleep.  (I personally have found diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation to be quite helpful.)

[[Buddie]]

Hi Libertine,
Thank you for your continued interest.  She is currently still on 1.9 mg of Valium, tablet only in two doses per day.  She usually has one "tolerable" day followed by two or three really bad ones.  Yesterday morning she had difficulty breathing and this morning she felt like she was losing her mind.  Things get a little better in the late afternoon, but if she eats anything, the gas pains and bloating kick in.  And she has constant high back pain.,  It is a vicious cycle.
We realize the waves usually increase in intensity as the dosage goes down.  She will hold at this level until things get a little better.  Her next cut will be 5% as you suggested.
Is there a reference for the breathing and muscle relaxing methods you referred to?
Meanwhile, we'll just struggle thru each day like most of the Buddies do.
Thank you.

[[Buddie]]

You and your wife have a good plan in place, [...]. Now, as you have noted, you just need to get through each day the best you can.  Distraction is a powerful coping strategy.  Does your wife have activities she enjoys to help take her mind off her current situation?

Per your request, here are resources on diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation:

Part 1: Intro to Diaphragmatic Breathing
https://youtu.be/gAkjx25o4eI

Part 2: Diaphragmatic Breathing While Lying Down
http://youtu.be/BckGYBfN5e0​

Part 3: Diaphragmatic Breathing While Seated
http://youtu.be/1vXlTkrNxyw​

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training
https://youtu.be/ihO02wUzgkc

[[Buddie]]

[...],
Sorry I messed up your name.  Remember, I'm old!
Today was constant waves all day with no relief, but they were not unbearable either.
When she feels up to it, we will try some of your suggestions,
Thank you for the links.

[[Buddie]]

So it has been 4 weeks since her last taper (to 1.9 mg Valium).  It was pretty rough time as she perhaps made too many adjustments (trying liquid, splitting the dose, etc.) She has had 3 consecutive days of just some mild waves.  If this continues, she plans on dropping down 5% in a couple of days, still just using tablets.  She wants to introduce liquid slowly (like 1/4 of her daily dose) but not yet.  She is afraid to change too many things in a short time.
We will see what the next few weeks bring.

[[Buddie]]

Hi - I have been following.  I am glad she is feeling better.  Myself I am on a day 28th of a hold.  I hit a wall, and was just in benzo flu and all waves.  Just in the past 4 days or so has the widow opened.  Five days ago I C/O to liquid V that I had compounded at a local compound pharmacy.  After researching (pills included, and my own experiences) I didn’t want to go with the “liquid brand” offered at my big brand pharmacy.  My C/O went well and I trust the solution they are using.

Maybe she should hold a couple more days, just a thought.  Taking the C/O slow sounds like a good plan, and also check what brands you are getting.  I really think this plays a huge role.  I believe some of my 2mg generic tablets were useless.....and when I did some research it was confirmed, by other peoples experience with the same brand.  When talking with my Psychiatrist he also isn’t surprised because of the way the so called, “compliance” testing is done.  I’m not trying to scare you, but just trying to say there could be other factors too.  I do believe some of my issues were do to the bad generic brand I was on.

Hope things improve.....

[...]

[[Buddie]]

Thank you for sharing your good news update with us, [...].  It sounds like your wife’s withdrawal symptoms are stabilizing.  It also sounds like you and your wife have mastered two of the most important principles of successful tapering.  First, “Make only one change at a time.”  Second, “After you make a change, wait a sufficient amount of time to fully evaluate the impact of the change made.” (In the case of diazepam/Valium, this can be a while because of the drug’s long half-life.) Congratulations and well done!

PS: Has your wife tried diaphragmatic breathing and/or progressive muscle relaxation yet? If so, please let us know if one or both techniques helped the next time you check in.