HOW DO YOU FEEL AFTER REINSTATEMENT AT A LOWER DOSAGE - need your help and input

Hello everyone,

 

I am not feeling well after reinstatement and tapering at a lower pace. Are there the compounded symptoms of the cold turkey/detox AND the tapering from the reinstatement? Please share your experience because I do not want to updose if this does not help in the end. I am pretty much dependent even after the reinstatement following the detox - please see my signature.

 

Hugs,

Mary

nobody - please

I feel horrendous.

 

I’m not sure if it is still from the wothdrawal and that I have never stabilised.

 

Taking my dose of diazepam now makes some symptoms worse but as it wears off the other symptoms come back.

oh,so sorry Ajusta. what are your main disturbing symptoms? Mine are agitation,  for the last 2 days cannot eat ...more like soup, omlet, mashed potatoes...very limited choice.  These are on top of many others... the agitation is the worst..

Ajusta, did you updose after reinstatement...i see in your signature that you reinstated at 2 mg and now your are taking 0.75 4 times a day which is 3 mg, right? or i am mistaken?

No. I just took a small dose and have tried to taper again. My GP doesn’t want me taking more.

Also because of weakness in areas of my back and spinal problems taking it makes the pain worse now.

 

My symptoms are severe muscle spasm and rigidity, movements that are like dystonia. It is unclear is those are withdrawal as I was originally put on it for the muscle problems and the side to side movements have been happening for years at a lower level.

 

Also I have a lot of sensory problems.

 

Also terrible malaise but that could be the underlying illness I have had since 1996 as the symptoms are the same. Feeling like a I am being suffocated by my own face.

 

I am getting a lot of sensory derangement. Loss of tactile sensation throughout body, loss of visceral sensation, hyperacusis and hypersensitivity to smell. Eyesight is small over the place.

 

Hypersalivation, obsessional need for sugar and carbs, never have a feeling of fullness.

 

Morning anxiety, inner vibrations, periods of panic and terror, grief and hearing at my lost life along with return of memories of life before I got ill.

 

Feeling suicidal.

 

And a load of other things that I can’t think of atm

I understand your grieving and all...I have the same and don't know how to stop going back in t he past and feel hopeless ...it's terrible...we have to keep going, pushing hard ...who takes care of you?

I have a boyfriend who lives near by and comes round after work every day for a few hours.

He does the washing up and cooks etc and holds my hand if I can bear it.

 

I just hope the majority of my symptoms are withdrawal as some of them are exactly the same as the ones I had when I got I’ll in 1996 and when hurt spine in 1998 which is before the Benzos.

Hello everyone,

 

I am not feeling well after reinstatement and tapering at a lower pace. Are there the compounded symptoms of the cold turkey/detox AND the tapering from the reinstatement? Please share your experience because I do not want to updose if this does not help in the end. I am pretty much dependent even after the reinstatement following the detox - please see my signature.

 

Hugs,

Mary

 

 

Hi Mary-

 

Sorry you are have such a difficult time.

 

Was reading your background & see that you were on 4mg lorazapam for 4 months, then the ct detox, then reinstated to 30mg oxazapam.

 

When you reinstated it was only equivalent to a fraction of your original dose (37.5%) 4mg of lorazapam is equivalent to 80mg Oxazapam. Ashton equivalency tables

 

There are a few members here including myself that CT then reinstated. I suffered my whole taper because like you I only updosed a fraction of my original amount. I was a long term user tho.

 

Another member Unicorn74 went through similar ct & detox. She suffered too until she updosed to 12.5% above her original dose. She is doing way better now & much more functional too. She has tapered down almost to her original dose. Maybe read her posts & reach out to her.

 

I wish I had gone back up to my original dose. Live & learn  I guess

 

Hopefully others will chime in with their experiences.

 

 

 

Thanks Bella. Yes, I was aware that the dosage was way lower but this was the doctor's idea. This happend in the mid February...i am just not sure if this would be good now to go higher like 4.5 lorazepam or the equivalent in oxazepam...thats why I am so confused. How long did your taper take? how were the mental symptoms?

 

Hugs,

Mary

After a rapid taper (two weeks) off Ativan I reinstated at 1/3 my original dose of 1.5 mg Ativan. Then I switched to 5 mg Valium and then did a slow taper that lasted about 6 months.

 

I was also on 10 mg Ambien (z-drug) during this time. I began tapering Ambien at the very end of my Valium taper.

 

After I reinstated Ativan .5 mg I immediately felt better. That may in part have been due to the fact I was on Ambien too.

 

The VA doctors had apparently unanimously agreed to not prescribe either Ativan or Ambien during this time. Fortunately, I had enough Ambien so I did not go long term cold turkey without that drug in my system....as had been the case with Ativan.

 

A doctor outside the VA medical system agreed to prescribe Valium so I could taper from it.

 

This is just a rough sketch of what I went through as regards these drugs. If something needs clarification don’t hesitate to ask.

Hi Ajusta!  I'm sorry, you're so hard. It's good with signatures, because then others know how far we've come.

One member, asked if your signature is correct, but then just answered "no". So, it would be good, if the signature is correct. Then, we know how far you've come. And, it's easier to understand your symptoms.

 

How much have you lowered, and how does your signature look like now? Thanks!

Hiya,

 

Thanks! I will update it.

Ajusta: Does it work well, with the contact with healthcare?

Before my CT, I also had a schedule to lower the dose. According to Swedish rules, there is a 10% reduction every two weeks. Is it the same for you, or do they accept a slower schedule? I hope so, because this was very tough!

I was reinstated on a low dose to start with and got into with the doctor. It did nothing for me really. The medical literature says to reinstate to full dose before you encountered the big bad. So she finally caved and like I just posted elsewhere, I kinda take things a year at a time.

Ajusta: Does it work well, with the contact with healthcare?

Before my CT, I also had a schedule to lower the dose. According to Swedish rules, there is a 10% reduction every two weeks. Is it the same for you, or do they accept a slower schedule? I hope so, because this was very tough!

 

I haven’t told my GP I am tapering again.