A - Serious Trouble with Valium 250mg per day habit - Tapering Urgently required

Hello,

I am a fellow addict and have recently discovered that someone nearest and dearest to me has been abusing Valium (10mg tabs) - approx 250mg per day. Her stash ran out and she is suffering big time. Serious. Then her stash turned up yesterday and we have only allowed her 10mg and it doesnt seem to take away the excruciating pain she is in. Does anyone have any ideas on how to taper down safely ? She used for 8 weeks only, but abused more than used.

I would be grateful for help please as she is in a bad way. A

Hi AZF  Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

You have every right to be concerned about your friend. That is a dangerously high dose and she should be under medical supervision to taper from it. Withdrawing from benzodiazepines, can cause a seizure risk, particularly from very high doses. Stopping benzodiazepines too suddenly can cause severe and prolonged symptoms. The recommended reduction rate is 5 to 10 percent every two weeks. In my opinion she needs to be stabilized on a dose before a taper begins. That probably is a very very high dose.

 

You might like to check out The Ashton Manual it is an authoritative source on what to expect in withdrawal and recovery.  Dr. Ashton is an expert in the field. 

 

Please feel free to post to any of the dedicated boards, we have a wonderful community of people here, who will give sound advice. Members have been through all aspects of benzodiazepine use and withdrawal and are more than willing to share their experiences.

 

General Taper Plans

 

 

Please take the time to Create a Signature.  This will allow others to see where you are in the process so they can better support you.

 

Again Welcome! 

 

benzos-R-cruel

 

Thank you so much. i have just added the Post to Taper Plans. She is not good and am hoping we can manage her doses sensibly.

Hello,

I am a fellow addict and have recently discovered that someone nearest and dearest to me has been abusing Valium (10mg tabs) - approx 250mg per day. Her stash ran out and she is suffering big time. Serious. Then her stash turned up yesterday and we have only allowed her 10mg and it doesnt seem to take away the excruciating pain she is in. Does anyone have any ideas on how to taper down safely ? She used for 8 weeks only, but abused more than used.

I would be grateful for help please as she is in a bad way. A

 

I would get her to a hospital if you're only going to give her 10mg of Valium and she's used to 250mg daily.  This is a huge amount of Valium as benzos-R-cruel said, and 10mg is not going to help much.

I assume that she led up to the 250mgs over the 8 weeks, from a tapering point of view, you would be best to calculate her average dose over the 8 week period and start her taper from that amount. If she is extremely knocked out by that amount, you could taper rather quickly until she finds an amount that doesn't knock her out. I won't say stabilise, as due to the virtual CT she has experienced it may take several weeks or even months for her to feel OK.

 

You probably will need a dr on your side to help with this unless you have access to a large supply. You may need to interview the drs to make sure they are benzo wise as some can be very unwise and even hostile when a patient appears with an honest benzo problem, in particular where they have taken more than perscribed. You may even need an ER referral, as many drs fear legislation and will refuse to treat benzo withdrawal.

 

Good luck with everything, and you may want to ask in taper support if anyone knows of benzo-wise drs in your area.