Jump to content

Your experience with the Ashton Protocol


[Fa...]

Recommended Posts

I have been taking Kolonopin for Panic disorder for about 20 years and it is now time for me to stop it. I have studied Dr. Ashton’s Protocol, including Chaps 1-3 extensively and purchased and read “Beat Benzos” by Carol Kroegel, who successfully got off Xanax via the Aston Protocol over 16 months ( not without some acute and protracted symptoms, however). I am just starting the Ashton protocol now by very gradually transitioning to the long acting Valium and then very slowly tapering down off that. Dr. Aston’s main thesis is that the much longer half- life of Valium as compared to Xanax, Ativan and Kolonopin makes the withdrawal symptoms much less and gives a higher degree of success. I read in Beat Benzos that water titration may be necessary at a very low dose of Valium instead of a quick jump.

 

I am wondering whether anyone on B.B. has used the Ashto protocol.

 

Any success stories? Any failure stories? Any advice?

 

Thank you for all your help. I love B.B.! Always remember, we can do this together!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never heard from anyone here, but I think it might not matter. My long- term psychiatrist was unfamiliar with the Ashton protocol and even though I gave him significant literature on it he felt it “was too complicated” and unnecessary because he doesnt believe withdrawals are as bad as I say. He therefore referred me to an “addition psychiatrist.”  I am meeting with him this Sunday. I spoke to home on the phone and he said he is familiar with Ashton but “ he knows a better way.”  I will find out what it is and let you know. 

 

Is there anyone out there?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I did it with Ashton protocol and I think it went quite smoothly. I think slow taper is the key anyway. You can fine tune schedule based of how you feel but slow tapering pays back after you have jumped.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you. I was all excited to start the Ashton protocol because her writings made sense to me and she has had much success. The addiction psychiatrist I am seeing Sunday did not say he wouldn’t do it with me. Just that “ he had a better way”.

 

I will hear him out and then decide. I will let you all know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great! i think one message from Shton was that patient should have a final say what the tapering schedule will be. All the success with your new doc.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Faithspot,

I'll be very interested in hearing the better way that your doc knows about.

I use Ashton as a guideline for my taper but couldn't do a crossover to Valium as that med is pretty poisonous to me.

I still use some Valium-- as per her suggestions, and definitely decide my own taper rate -- which is a big point she makes.

Many people find that Ashton is too quick in tapering, but you might find to good.

Everything is so personal in this journey....

SS

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you SufferingSky. You are not the first person to say or write that Valium was “poisonous” or difficult to handle. Can you please tell me what difficulties it gave you ( unique as compared to Xanax, Ativan or Kolonopin). Because if I do the Ashton then I obviously will be taking Valium for the first time. I would like to know what to watch out for.

 

I will let everyone know what my new “addiction psychiatrist” tells me is better than Ashton after I meet with him Sunday afternoon.

 

I will be in church first as usual Sunday  morning. I find prayer, reading the holy scriptures ( especially the Psalms) and fellowship with other believers very helpful in this journey.

 

“All things work out for the good for  those that love Him and are called according to His purposes. “

 

Romans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you SufferingSky. You are not the first person to say or write that Valium was “poisonous” or difficult to handle. Can you please tell me what difficulties it gave you ( unique as compared to Xanax, Ativan or Kolonopin). Because if I do the Ashton then I obviously will be taking Valium for the first time. I would like to know what to watch out for.

 

I will let everyone know what my new “addiction psychiatrist” tells me is better than Ashton after I meet with him Sunday afternoon.

 

I will be in church first as usual Sunday  morning. I find prayer, reading the holy scriptures ( especially the Psalms) and fellowship with other believers very helpful in this journey.

 

“All things work out for the good for  those that love Him and are called according to His purposes. “

 

Romans.

 

Hi Faithspot,

The unbearable thing for me with Valium was depression.  When I took 10mg the depression was so bad that I knew I couldn't continue so I returned to all Xanax -- which unfortunately my body likes.  I then added Valium as needed for my interdose w/d with Xanax: added 4mg Valium.

  I recently and regrettably upped my Valium 1mg (total 5mg a day) in an effort to get stable and continue tapering.  That experience has left me dizzy and nauseous.

I don't know if the Valium is the culprit but I have had crushing fatigue since I started the taper.  (Well my first bit was simply way too fast  ....)

Good luck and wishing you the best, It's great to do lots of research before you decided what route to take!

:) SS

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm following to see what you psychiatrist recommends.  I'm also tapering off of klonopin.  I'm not planning on doing a valium crossover because klonopin is the only benzo that I've ever been on and I'm afraid of introducing a new one.  I wouldn't be opposed if my taper becomes unbearable.  I'm going to do DLMT at 10% every 14 days to start and see how I feel.

 

Faithspot - what is your current dose?

 

Good luck at your appointment!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heather43: My current dose of Kolonopin is 1.5 mg (.5 three times per day). I have taken much higher doses in the past but have slowly titrated to 1.5 by cuts. I have never been able to get to zero by cuts, however. Hence I am looking at the Aston protocol and what my new doctor  recommends “as better” on Sunday.

 

Sunday is D-day!

 

P.S. my biggest symptom now is thumping heart beat. I feel as if my heart is going to jump out of my chest. I was in the ER last week and they ruled out a heart attack via a blood test and EKG. Reading Dostoyesky’s Crime and Punishment now to distract my mind. Then to the Book of Job in the Bible after that. I hope to hit the gym tomorrow.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I switched klonopin to Librium based my doctor's advice instead of valium. So there are options available in case you don't want proceed with valium. Well, this non an advice...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found cutting small pieces on a predictable basis to be a successful way to taper (see the way I finally did it in my signature). As long as you are steadily decreasing your dose, you are doing it right. Try not to think too much about day to day changes, or focus on symptoms and that will help you get through it.

Take care,

JKS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Faithspot - I am also very interested in hearing what your addiction psychiatrist has to say.

 

Heather 43 - I also have only taken Klonopin, but one of the reasons I started the substitution taper that Dr. Ashton recommends is because I can taper down to a much lower dose equivalent.  In the US the lowest dosage of Klonopin (I take the generic Clonazepam) that is available via my insurance is 0.5 mg, which Ashton says is equivalent of 10 mg of Valium (Diazepam). I can get Valium in 2mg pills, which means I can split that in half and end up at an equivalent of 0.05mg of Klonpin, vs. 0.25 mg of Klonopin. From prior experience with tapers, I think this will be very important for me and is the main reason why I wanted to start the substitution taper.

 

I am very new to this community, and I know there are different methods I could try (water titration?) to be able to take lower dosages than .25 mg of klonopin, but I don't think I would be very successful at that. Cutting a pill in half is as much as I'm going to do. It's a shame that the manufacturers of these medications don't make them available in smaller doses, but that's why we need to work on raising awareness about the many negative issues with benzos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok. So I finally met with the new “Addiction Psychiatrist” on Sunday. Prior to our meeting he had me read “Brain in Balance” by Dr. Fred Von Stieff. It was written in 2011 and  Dr. Stieff has detoxed 40,000 patients in his career. Dr. Kieff and my Addiction Psychiatrist believe  that the Ashton Protocol is unnecessarily  slow and often leaves long protracted withdrawal symptoms that are largely avoided by this new approach.

 

I am currently taking 1.5 mg of Kolonopin, but have been taking this med for more than 20 years. My new doctor projects that I should be completely detoxed from Kolonopin within one month and have little to no withdrawal  after that.

 

I am not advocating one detox method over another. Many different methods work. But, I am going this “ new and improved” route. I plan to start in a week or two once I finish up with a few personal and professional items.

 

I will post the results of my experience in June or July  sometime when I am hopefully free of this horrid drug.

 

If you are interested in this new approach, I recommend you buy “Brain in Balsnce” on Amazon (the Kindle edition is $9.00) and find a doctor that knows it well. You must take multiple meds for four weeks to detox in one month. It completely avoids Valium or any other Benzo.

 

All the best!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok. So I finally met with the new “Addiction Psychiatrist” on Sunday. Prior to our meeting he had me read “Brain in Balance” by Dr. Fred Von Stieff. It was written in 2011 and  Dr. Stieff has detoxed 40,000 patients in his career. Dr. Kieff and my Addiction Psychiatrist believe  that the Ashton Protocol is unnecessarily  slow and often leaves long protracted withdrawal symptoms that are largely avoided by this new approach.

 

I am currently taking 1.5 mg of Kolonopin, but have been taking this med for more than 20 years. My new doctor projects that I should be completely detoxed from Kolonopin within one month and have little to no withdrawal  after that.

 

I am not advocating one detox method over another. Many different methods work. But, I am going this “ new and improved” route. I plan to start in a week or two once I finish up with a few personal and professional items.

 

I will post the results of my experience in June or July  sometime when I am hopefully free of this horrid drug.

 

If you are interested in this new approach, I recommend you buy “Brain in Balsnce” on Amazon (the Kindle edition is $9.00) and find a doctor that knows it well. You must take multiple meds for four weeks to detox in one month. It completely avoids Valium or any other Benzo.

 

All the best!

 

Good luck with it all FaithSpot.  I eagerly await you experience with this method and will get the book to see what they are proposing.  And listen to JKS before you embark on this quest with this doc....

SS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Faithspot- it is true that many people can withdraw quickly from benzos without problems. There are also many people who can’t. Besides a rapid withdrawal what is this doctor proposing to do? Add another med? Supplements? Amino acids? All of these have had poor results with many members of our community. I am worried that if you have a rapid withdrawal and reinstate it will set you up for a more difficult taper in the future (that happened to me). Long withdrawal symptoms are not a result of the Ashton taper, they are a result of benzodiazepine use. Please seriously reconsider. In the absence of any other information I am concerned about this approach.

Take care,

JKS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok. So I finally met with the new “Addiction Psychiatrist” on Sunday. Prior to our meeting he had me read “Brain in Balance” by Dr. Fred Von Stieff. It was written in 2011 and  Dr. Stieff has detoxed 40,000 patients in his career. Dr. Kieff and my Addiction Psychiatrist believe  that the Ashton Protocol is unnecessarily  slow and often leaves long protracted withdrawal symptoms that are largely avoided by this new approach.

 

I am currently taking 1.5 mg of Kolonopin, but have been taking this med for more than 20 years. My new doctor projects that I should be completely detoxed from Kolonopin within one month and have little to no withdrawal  after that.

 

I am not advocating one detox method over another. Many different methods work. But, I am going this “ new and improved” route. I plan to start in a week or two once I finish up with a few personal and professional items.

 

I will post the results of my experience in June or July  sometime when I am hopefully free of this horrid drug.

 

If you are interested in this new approach, I recommend you buy “Brain in Balsnce” on Amazon (the Kindle edition is $9.00) and find a doctor that knows it well. You must take multiple meds for four weeks to detox in one month. It completely avoids Valium or any other Benzo.

 

All the best!

 

What meds is he suggesting? Are they meds or supplements?  Dang not meaning to be negative but that is a super fast taper from the amount of Benzo you are taking. One month? Really?  I pray that all goes well for you but now I'm super curious as to this method and I thought you were going to share it with us.  :-\

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[89...]

Ok. So I finally met with the new “Addiction Psychiatrist” on Sunday. Prior to our meeting he had me read “Brain in Balance” by Dr. Fred Von Stieff. It was written in 2011 and  Dr. Stieff has detoxed 40,000 patients in his career. Dr. Kieff and my Addiction Psychiatrist believe  that the Ashton Protocol is unnecessarily  slow and often leaves long protracted withdrawal symptoms that are largely avoided by this new approach.

 

I am currently taking 1.5 mg of Kolonopin, but have been taking this med for more than 20 years. My new doctor projects that I should be completely detoxed from Kolonopin within one month and have little to no withdrawal  after that.

 

I am not advocating one detox method over another. Many different methods work. But, I am going this “ new and improved” route. I plan to start in a week or two once I finish up with a few personal and professional items.

 

I will post the results of my experience in June or July  sometime when I am hopefully free of this horrid drug.

 

If you are interested in this new approach, I recommend you buy “Brain in Balsnce” on Amazon (the Kindle edition is $9.00) and find a doctor that knows it well. You must take multiple meds for four weeks to detox in one month. It completely avoids Valium or any other Benzo.

 

All the best!

 

He may have detoxed 40,000 people but how long did he follow them up after the detox for? If they had minimal sxs's over the first year then he'd be a millionaire. Loads of detox clinics can claim the same. A lot of their victims reinstate or worse suffer for years. This sounds too good to be true so therefore probably is. I hope I'm wrong.

Staz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[54...]
Raquel, I'm wondering why you are telling this person that a couple months is too fast when in another thread you advised me to go to a detox where I'll be taken off in like 5 days? Especially when I'm on an even higher dose than OP (2.5 mg's)?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I followed the Ashton Protocol and had good luck with it. Did a crossover from Xanax to Klonopin to Valium.  Pretty much followed Ashton's method to the letter and am one year off benzos.  It took about six months to come off.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok. So I met with the new Addiction Psychiatrist. He said the Ashton protocol will take a very long time and that he has a better method. This is the plan: I currently take 1.5 mg of Kolonopin. He said to take 1 mg of Kolonopin with 30 mg of Phenobarbitall for two days. Then take .5 mg of Kolonopin and 22.5 mg of Phenobarbital  for just one day. Then stop the Kolonopin. Then take 15 mg of Phenobarbital for seven days. Then stop the Phenobarbital. Then start taking Robaxin, baclofen, Gabapentin and Buspar in certain doses and with a certain tapering schedule. Then I may have to take flumazenil after all these meds are completed if I have protracted symptoms.

 

This all comes from the “Brain in Balance” Book. .

 

Any thoughts please?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is essentially a cold turkey. Looks dangerous to me.

There are many people who could be successful with this, but I think those would be the same people who could stop comfortably without all those adjunct meds. Those things will have side effects too. Since you don’t know which camp you are in going into it, it is safer to taper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my opinion (with all due respect to Ashton), a crossover to start is not best. There are many members who have had success with this, but I think a straight liquid taper off K is best, although her taper rate recommendations seem good.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...