Advice on how to get off Diazepam

Hi everyone,

I'm happy to have found this forum as have little support from the NHS in the UK where I live.

I began taking Valium in April 2012 when prescribed by my Dr to help with my severe anxiety and panic attacks. These were triggered by a lot of stress going on in my life at the time. I soon went from 2mg dose to 5mg, and eventually took as much as 35mg in one day to cope with stress. I was drinking alcohol along with taking the pills.  I was also prescribed an anti-depressant Mirtazpine, was on 30mg daily but have reduced down to 15mg over the past year.

Fast forward to December 2016, and I decided I needed to taper and come off Valium. So, my Dr didn't give me enough tablets despite my concerns about rapid tapering and I had terrible withdrawal symptoms. I felt so ill. It was such a relief to get a new prescription at an emergency appointment, I took several tablets for relief.

I'm still trying to taper off but it's so hard after being on Valium for 6 years. My Dr has said I'm addicted. I've had so much happen, I've lost both my parents and had a child diagnosed with a serious illness who then had major surgery. My current dose of Valium is between 2mg and 4mg every few days. I've also developed Tinnitus which may be linked to withdrawal. Any advice please? I feel very much on my own with this ...

Hello, NoMorePills - welcome to BenzoBuddies!

Often doctors are not attuned to the fine points of tapering from benzos. Your new buddies here will be happy to help you find a point of stabilisation, from which you can plan a more comfortable taper. 

I'm glad that you decided to join the forum – our members have gone through benzodiazepine use and withdrawal themselves, so you'll find plenty of information and support here.

Here are a couple of links that may be a good starting place for you:

  General Taper Plans

  Withdrawal Support

Please take a moment to Create a Signature. This will allow members to see where you are in the process, so that they can better support you.

Looking forward to seeing you on the forum!

Leslie 

The Ashton Manual is an authoritative resource on what to expect during withdrawal and recovery. It provides information that can be very reassuring during any stage of this process, including a list of common symptoms with helpful explanations.

For those who are currently tapering, a starting guideline is that the dosage not be reduced faster than by 5-10% every 10-14 days, although some taper even more slowly than that. One exception: very short-term users of a few weeks or less may be able to taper somewhat faster.