New to the forum

Hi! I have been taking Alorazopam since July of 2022. It was .25mg twice a day as needed. At the time I was not instructed that it was an addictive medication and since I was diagnosed with panic disorder brought on by post Covid and home issues, I was taking it here and there but pretty much full time twice a day  at the end of September. I went back to my internal medicine Dr and explained i would like to be taken off of the medication and maybe try something else and so she took me off cold turkey and replaced it with trazodone. I ended up being hospitalized for a day because of withdrawal, but at the time I did not that was what was happening. I thought it was an allergic reaction to the trazadone. And so did the the drs at the hospital I was at. I started taking the alorazpam 3 times a day at that time until I was able to sleep and tremors, panic attacks, and psychosis stopped. My internal medicine Drreferred me to a psychiatrist. At this point we are in the end of October. I then tapered myself back to 2 x a day and was seen by a psychiatrist. My psychiatrist said that it is such a low dose that it is ok to take and if it is helping me then it is ok to continue to take it. Well after all of this I started my own research and found out all of this information I never knew about addiction and what benzos do to the human brain and body. I then tapered myself to half of a .25mg in the morning and .25mg at night. It was a little weird for a few days , some insomnia and panic and agitation but I got through it. That was the last week of October. So since Nov I have been on this regiment. I spoke with my dr 2 weeks ago about tapering down and he said that it was fine to do it I’m half’s every 2 weeks. So we both agreed taking one half in the morning and halting the one at night would be best. Well that did not work I out within 4 to 5 hours of only taking half one at night I was in a panic attack and my mind was racing. So I went back to half a pill in the morning and a whole at night. I spoke with my pharmacist about this last week and she said I may need to taper even more slowly by cutting the half in the morning in half and still taking a whole one at night. I was too scared too last week so I decided to start that today. So far I am ok. I will be able to tell more as the day goes on, but I wanted to find somewhere to reach out and see if anyone else has experience such extreme withdrawl on small doses, and what are their suggestions with tapering. I am reaching out to my psychiatrist tomorrow to see if I can get an appointment this week to see if he thinks this is ok since I reacted so strongly. It’s hard when you have to work a full time job and are the sole provider and cannot miss work but I understand it’s a process. Thank you so much!

Hello  clcarrs6 Welcome to Benzobuddies

 

I am glad that you joined the community.  We're here to help you any way we can, we have a great community, you will get plenty of support here.  I am sorry you've had a tough time.  It can be a very challenging time going through withdrawal, it takes some time but you will come through it.  Tapering slow can help to minimize withdrawal effects.  It is generally recommended to taper no more than 5-10% every 10-14 day, it is ok to adjust this schedule for your own comfort. Taper at a rate that feels comfortable.  Please feel free to browse the boards and post questions to any of the dedicated threads.

 

The Ashton Manual, is a great resource for understanding the effect benzo’s  have on our body.  It provides withdrawal information and includes a list of common symptoms 

 

I'll leave you a few links:

 

The Ashton Manual. 

Colorado Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidelines

Planning Your Withdrawal (TaperPlans)

The Xanax Club

 

Please take time to add a signature (history of meds/doses etc) it will help members give you relevant advice.  Go to the top of the page and select PROFILE then choose forum profile then insert drug history into the text box and remember to click change profile

 

Welcome aboard

Magrita