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Can't tolerate Valium - back to Xanax?


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Hey, I'm new here.  My ex gf has posted a lot on here on my behalf - helpingmyex311, trying to seek help for me.  I finally decided to join myself to get some help.  If you've read her posts you know I was on 4 mgs of Xanax for 9 years. Switched to Valium to taper a year ago. Weaned from 70mgs of Valium to 20. Can't tolerate Valium or Klonopin (I tried switching from Valium to Klonopin last month). Want to switch back to Xanax (since it's my original benzo) and finish my taper. I know this is against the Ashton Manual. I just cannot tolerate Valum any longer. I cannot metabolize it....this was also confirmed by a genesight test.  Is there anyone else having this problem? I would like to go back to Xanax and get 4- .25's a day and break them up to avoid interdose withdrawals or use a liquid titration. Any help anyone? I'm desperate at this point. I can't continue on Valium. Thanks
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Hi,

 

I've been talking wiith your ex (a very nice person!) and just referred her to YOU to talk to - not knowing, of course, it was you. :)

 

It seems your situation is the definition of intolerable.  If it were me I would switch back.  There is always the possibility that xanax won't provide the same effect now after a year but what choice is there?  I think it would be worth a try.

 

I thought maybe to add some xanax now and see if you feel better.  If V is doing nothing then any improvement would be the x.  I don't have experience with this or V so it's just an experiment that I would probably (likely) try.  I have no idea what the outcome would be but if I were suffering so much I'd want to see what it did.  I'm sorry that there are no absolute answers.  Hopefully someone will come on that has done this.  I do know others that added the "new" benzo and held for a bit before commencing the cross but I have no personal experience with this.

 

Maybe a more general question about adding a new/crossover benzo and holding the other for a bit before starting a cross?  See who has done this and what the result is?  And an additional question simply "crossing back to original benzo after one year?  Sorry I can't be of any more help since I haven't done it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

 

Hi,

 

I've been talking wiith your ex (a very nice person!) and just referred her to YOU to talk to - not knowing, of course, it was you. :)

 

It seems your situation is the definition of intolerable.  If it were me I would switch back.  There is always the possibility that xanax won't provide the same effect now after a year but what choice is there?  I think it would be worth a try.

 

I thought maybe to add some xanax now and see if you feel better.  If V is doing nothing then any improvement would be the x.  I don't have experience with this or V so it's just an experiment that I would probably (likely) try.  I have no idea what the outcome would be but if I were suffering so much I'd want to see what it did.  I'm sorry that there are no absolute answers.  Hopefully someone will come on that has done this.  I do know others that added the "new" benzo and held for a bit before commencing the cross but I have no personal experience with this.

 

Maybe a more general question about adding a new/crossover benzo and holding the other for a bit before starting a cross?  See who has done this and what the result is?  And an additional question simply "crossing back to original benzo after one year?  Sorry I can't be of any more help since I haven't done it.

 

hi lynn,

thanks for your response.  My ex gf told me she's been talking to you.  Thanks for being so helpful.  sorry it took me so long to respond to you - I've been so sick from my last valium drop.  I'm desperate to find another way at this point, but I'm scared to switch to xanax.  What if it doesn't work either?  I just feel so helpless and confused.

I haven't been ready to cross back over to xanax yet, because I'm still so sick from the last V drop, but hopefully soon.  I have an appointment with my doctor to talk about it Tuesday.

I posted in the xanax support group thread, but haven't had any luck there.  It seems like very few people actually taper xanax, and I don't know where to find any help.

thanks again for your response.

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has anyone not tolerated valium and switched back to their original benzo?  or has anyone switched period?

Just wondering if it can be done successfully and the best way to do it. I tried switching from valium to klonopin in july slowly and that didnt' go well, so I'm wondering if I should just switch right over to xanax.  Any help?

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  • 2 weeks later...
I had a frustrating experience with Valium and it has left me worried about options.  It seems like most people here sing its praises.  I was giving 5 milligrams via IV at a hospital 9 days ago they wanted to give me 10 and I said no.  On it I was not paradox it was very relaxing especially via IV.  I got home later felt some zapping on the right side of my face for a few seconds, and laying in bed felt hyper alert and disturbed by all light and a bit paranoid I then decided to take my night dose of Ativan and Ambien. I was up all night and the entire next day.  Next night had drenching night sweats then 7 hours sleep and I have been more unstable since although yesterday and today a bit better.  Now perhaps some of it was missing three of my Ativan doses that day. 
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Starcaster,

 

As I told your ex, when you go back to the Xanax the odds are that likely it will not work as it used to. Not to mention the fact that it may take about two months to get the diazepam and its metabolites out of your body. And the odds are that the drugs will interact.

 

Aside from theoretical knowledge, I did try a crazy and ill advised taper by switching to lorazepam. After about 2.5 months it was obvious I had failed.

I switched back, but every since the clonazepam hasn't ahd the same effect and my health has gone downhill.

 

The odds are that you could enter diazepam withdrawal !

 

I studied some theory and it is not promising. I know , diazepam is an awful drug and many people get into trouble at the lower doses. I briefly tried it myself, decided that i did not want to take the risk.

 

Between a rock and a hard place, it seems ... That genesight test, what did it ´prove´ ? ´not metabolize´ ? What did it say ? if it were not metabolized it would build up to nearly lethal levels ! Your ex and I exchanged about two PMs on that subject, I don´t recall the details. Not knowing what it did measure, I´d take it with a grain of salt.

 

I´d say, taper the diazepam directly at this point .... but I get your problem. There are of course a lot of adjunct drugs like gabapentin, Lyrica etc. but whether those would help ?

One member who had help from an ´expert´ switched from lorazepam to Librium. He described the effects of Librium as ´placebo´, although it did seem to work.

 

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Hey, I'm new here.  My ex gf has posted a lot on here on my behalf - helpingmyex311, trying to seek help for me.  I finally decided to join myself to get some help.  If you've read her posts you know I was on 4 mgs of Xanax for 9 years. Switched to Valium to taper a year ago. Weaned from 70mgs of Valium to 20. Can't tolerate Valium or Klonopin (I tried switching from Valium to Klonopin last month). Want to switch back to Xanax (since it's my original benzo) and finish my taper. I know this is against the Ashton Manual. I just cannot tolerate Valum any longer. I cannot metabolize it....this was also confirmed by a genesight test.  Is there anyone else having this problem? I would like to go back to Xanax and get 4- .25's a day and break them up to avoid interdose withdrawals or use a liquid titration. Any help anyone? I'm desperate at this point. I can't continue on Valium. Thanks

 

Hi Starcaster,

Did you get any help on any of the other threads with this idea?  You can see from my sig that I have only added some Valium to my mix but am starting to get some depression that is scaring me.  I didn't ever have any depression with Xanax in the years that I took it. So I'm wondering how you're doing.

And what your doing about these two meds in combo....

Also if you can answer this how do you know you can't metabolize the Valium?  what sxs are you having.  If this is all too much to answer I understand I'm simply trying to get some info from others who are in a similar boat to us....

Many thanks in advance..

SS

 

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has anyone not tolerated valium and switched back to their original benzo?  or has anyone switched period?

Just wondering if it can be done successfully and the best way to do it. I tried switching from valium to klonopin in july slowly and that didnt' go well, so I'm wondering if I should just switch right over to xanax.  Any help?

 

Hi Starcaster ,

I am in the process of switching back from Valium to klonopin . I switched a year ago to Valium and it's been awful for me trying to taper it . Terrible withdrawals from the smallest of reductions and no windows at all.

Finally in augustvthe side effects were just too much for me , I seemed to be getting more and more sick on it , so I'm going back to klonopin .

My doctor seems to think it'll be ok , and he specializes in benzo withdrawal . I don't know what to expect as the V leaves my body , but I'm a fast metabolizer so I'm hoping it won't be long and drawn out and that I won't get too bad WDs from that .

I'm on day two and altho it's early days I'm so relived not to be having the side effects from the Valium.

It's weird because it didn't do that to begin with , it's almost like it just stopped working. I did do a long hold , but as soon as I cut a tiny bit I was back in terrible WDs for two whole months , and I mean bad . It was only a 1% reduction too .

So fro me , that just wasn't doable .

 

Do you have a doctor you can talk to who can help? I think perhaps as SS suggested , a partial switch might be a solution as an idea .

I got to the place where I just had to try something else. So far the k seems to be working just fine .

 

Keep posting and you'll get there one way or another , it can be a long journey with many turns , but we will all get there eventually .

 

MiYu

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has anyone not tolerated valium and switched back to their original benzo?  or has anyone switched period?

Just wondering if it can be done successfully and the best way to do it. I tried switching from valium to klonopin in july slowly and that didnt' go well, so I'm wondering if I should just switch right over to xanax.  Any help?

 

Hi Starcaster ,

I am in the process of switching back from Valium to klonopin . I switched a year ago to Valium and it's been awful for me trying to taper it . Terrible withdrawals from the smallest of reductions and no windows at all.

Finally in augustvthe side effects were just too much for me , I seemed to be getting more and more sick on it , so I'm going back to klonopin .

My doctor seems to think it'll be ok , and he specializes in benzo withdrawal . I don't know what to expect as the V leaves my body , but I'm a fast metabolizer so I'm hoping it won't be long and drawn out and that I won't get too bad WDs from that .

I'm on day two and altho it's early days I'm so relived not to be having the side effects from the Valium.

It's weird because it didn't do that to begin with , it's almost like it just stopped working. I did do a long hold , but as soon as I cut a tiny bit I was back in terrible WDs for two whole months , and I mean bad . It was only a 1% reduction too .

So fro me , that just wasn't doable .

 

Do you have a doctor you can talk to who can help? I think perhaps as SS suggested , a partial switch might be a solution as an idea .

I got to the place where I just had to try something else. So far the k seems to be working just fine .

 

Keep posting and you'll get there one way or another , it can be a long journey with many turns , but we will all get there eventually .

 

MiYu

 

 

 

hey miyu,

thanks for responding.  it helps to hear from others who can't tolerate valium, because i often feel like i'm the only one.  i tried to switch to klonopin a couple months back and that didn't go well at all, so i went back to valium.  i tried to just switch right over to xanax last month and it went horribly, so i went back to valium again.

i called genesight, the creator of the test I took and they told me my results show that i am a super, super slow metabolizer of valium and that's probably why i'm so sick and having such a hard time with my taper.  I can't drop at all.  every time i do, it's just unbearable.  I'm desperate for help.  I'm trying to cross over back to xanax again now, because that or detox are my last hopes.  I can't stay on valium.  i'll never get off and it just doesn't work for me.  i feel worse on it. 

Are you slowly switching back to klonopin?  If so, how much are you doing and how often - what's your crossover schedule?  I started with just a .25 of xanax today and cut 5 mg of valium.  i feel awful so far.  is this how you felt when you first started switching back to klonopin?  I just want to know what to expect.  I'm afraid of crossing back over and having it go terribly wrong.  I don't know if I should feel worse before I feel better?  Let me know how your switch is going.  thanks again for responding and i hope you are starting to feel better.

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Hey, I'm new here.  My ex gf has posted a lot on here on my behalf - helpingmyex311, trying to seek help for me.  I finally decided to join myself to get some help.  If you've read her posts you know I was on 4 mgs of Xanax for 9 years. Switched to Valium to taper a year ago. Weaned from 70mgs of Valium to 20. Can't tolerate Valium or Klonopin (I tried switching from Valium to Klonopin last month). Want to switch back to Xanax (since it's my original benzo) and finish my taper. I know this is against the Ashton Manual. I just cannot tolerate Valum any longer. I cannot metabolize it....this was also confirmed by a genesight test.  Is there anyone else having this problem? I would like to go back to Xanax and get 4- .25's a day and break them up to avoid interdose withdrawals or use a liquid titration. Any help anyone? I'm desperate at this point. I can't continue on Valium. Thanks

 

Hi Starcaster,

Did you get any help on any of the other threads with this idea?  You can see from my sig that I have only added some Valium to my mix but am starting to get some depression that is scaring me.  I didn't ever have any depression with Xanax in the years that I took it. So I'm wondering how you're doing.

And what your doing about these two meds in combo....

Also if you can answer this how do you know you can't metabolize the Valium?  what sxs are you having.  If this is all too much to answer I understand I'm simply trying to get some info from others who are in a similar boat to us....

Many thanks in advance..

SS

 

Hey SS,

sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you.  I haven't been on here at all.  My depression is the worst on valium.  Another reason I can't tolerate it anymore.  I haven't really gotten many answers on my other threads though and I"m still looking for help to switch back to xanax.

I took a test given by my doctor that I work with.  It's by Genesight and that's what told me that I'm a poor and super super slow metabolizer of valium. 

 

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Hey, I'm new here.  My ex gf has posted a lot on here on my behalf - helpingmyex311, trying to seek help for me.  I finally decided to join myself to get some help.  If you've read her posts you know I was on 4 mgs of Xanax for 9 years. Switched to Valium to taper a year ago. Weaned from 70mgs of Valium to 20. Can't tolerate Valium or Klonopin (I tried switching from Valium to Klonopin last month). Want to switch back to Xanax (since it's my original benzo) and finish my taper. I know this is against the Ashton Manual. I just cannot tolerate Valum any longer. I cannot metabolize it....this was also confirmed by a genesight test.  Is there anyone else having this problem? I would like to go back to Xanax and get 4- .25's a day and break them up to avoid interdose withdrawals or use a liquid titration. Any help anyone? I'm desperate at this point. I can't continue on Valium. Thanks

 

 

Hi Starcaster,

Did you get any help on any of the other threads with this idea?  You can see from my sig that I have only added some Valium to my mix but am starting to get some depression that is scaring me.  I didn't ever have any depression with Xanax in the years that I took it. So I'm wondering how you're doing.

And what your doing about these two meds in combo....

Also if you can answer this how do you know you can't metabolize the Valium?  what sxs are you having.  If this is all too much to answer I understand I'm simply trying to get some info from others who are in a similar boat to us....

Many thanks in advance..

SS

 

Hey SS,

sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you.  I haven't been on here at all.  My depression is the worst on valium.  Another reason I can't tolerate it anymore.  I haven't really gotten many answers on my other threads though and I"m still looking for help to switch back to xanax.

I took a test given by my doctor that I work with.  It's by Genesight and that's what told me that I'm a poor and super super slow metabolizer of valium.

 

Hey Starcaster,

No worries.... I hope you find a crossover rate that suits your body soon and that you  begin to feel some relief....

I do think we can all get through this...... with patience and support , or that's what I'm counting on right now.

wishing you the best

SS

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