Is my doctor being reasonable?

Hi,  I am an addict.  I recently started using Etizolam.  My daily dose is 6-10mg a day.  This has been going on for 3 months.  I ended up running out when a package took longer then expected  to come.  This lead to a seizure.  The ER doc gave me 1 mg of ativan at the hospital and 2 5mg Valium to hold me over a day "to force my hand to see the doc" well the next day I was having withdrawal and did not feel safe to drive 30 minutes to my doctor later that day the eti's came in.  I saw my doc the next day, she said it was here 2nd time dealing with benzo withdrawal (young doctor) and tried to give me 10mg of Valium a day I objected and she made it 15mg.  This seems very low a 75% or so reduction so quickly.  She (the doctor) said she would do it differently if I was on for years and that she wants to give me withdrawals but prevent me from seizing.  It seems like my doc is handling this wrong, next week I am sure will be 10mg of Valium.  Anyhow I would like to hear your ideas.  As for now I have not taken the Valium and think I will save it while I bring my eti dose down first then go to Valium.  How do you guys feel about this? Thanks for reading and I wish you all luck on your road to recovery. 

I hope to hear from someone.  I know I put myself in this situation but I am unwell.  I do attend local fellowships for support and have a good understanding of addiction and it's effects on the motivational system.  But I am not very experienced with Benzo/benzo like substances. Seems like my doc wants me to suffer and be done with me quickly but I could just be thinking negativly.  The hospital was very scary and I have been down and nervous from the incident.  I am grateful to be alive, but please don't judge me.  I just want some support.  Thank you.

Hi eti

 

I'm not familar with Etizolam, so I'm not sure what the valium equivalent would be. However, if you have been on it for 3 months there is a good chance that you are already dependent, and you may need to do a slower taper, although maybe you can taper a bit quicker than someone who has been on something similar for longer. Sorry I can't offer any other advice. Hopefully someone who is familiar with Etizolam will chime in soon.

 

Seeing as I don't know anything about Etizolam I'm not sure how well a taper directly from it would go. However, seeing as it has only been 3 months, I'd be inclined to try to taper directly from it rather than cross over to valium, because that's only going to increase the time you're taking it.

 

btw - No one here will judge you are all. We are all in the same boat and we all understand what this stuff can do to you.

1mg of ETi = 1mg of xanax. I told my doc i was on 6-8mg xanax a day just to avoid confusion not bring attention to eti's. and Thanks for your reply.  15mg a day (almost 10 if i did not argue) of Valium with a direct tapper seems not good. Looking for advice.  Still taking the Etis for now till I get someone who gives a reasonable response.  I will hold on to the Valium and probibly make a taper plan of my own including both valium and etis.  I dont want to go through hell every day which is what my doc seems to be going for. She is young and only here 2nd benzo taper (both my and the other guy where this week). Also I felt judged by her and looked down on.