Looking for Recommendations

Hi friends!

I'm really grateful to have found this website. A little about my history with benzos:

1. Started being prescribed Xanax (0.5mg tablets, up to 3x a day) along with Remeron/Mirtazapine in late 2015. At my worst, I was taking 3 a day in late 2016 until mid 2017. Eventually tapered down to 1 0.5mg tablet a day before stopping completely around March of 2018. Doctor never warned me about long-term effects of taking benzos. Thought I was just having terrible anxiety from various life situations.

2. Went through withdrawal hell for a few months in early-mid 2018 thinking I just had really bad anxiety but becoming suspicious it was due to the Xanax. Eventually came out the other side. Took up yoga meditation, healthy eating, all that kind of thing.

3. Told my next door neighbor in the past few months that I had severe anxiety. She gave me a bottle of extra Ativan (about 40) she had, and unfortunately gave me a major setback in my healing process. I wasn't aware that benzos are a whole family of prescription drugs until finding this website and doing my own research. I never took them consecutively, but usually spaced them out between 2 and 3 days each.

4. Took my last Ativan approximately 2 weeks ago. The doctor who was prescribing me Xanax switched me to Valium and I currently have 25 5mg tablets left with no refills (I can ask for a refill if needed).

5. Current physical symptoms: high blood pressure (managing with vitamins and exercise), migraines, tinnitus, tingles in hands, blurry vision, extremely high anxiety in social situations coupled with panic attacks. Still taking Remeron for depression / sleep issues, so not feeling depressed or without sleep.

As of today, it's been approx 1.5 weeks since I took my last Valium. At this point in the journey towards being healthy again I'm in the "cold turkey" category which I see is not recommended. Looking for advice on if I should continue to ride it out, or resort to taking the 5mg pills that I have left (and how often).

Thank you for any help/advice you have to offer!

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!  We are glad you decided to join us.  You'll find a lot of support and information on this forum, which is the only one of its kind online.

For those starting a taper, we generally recommend starting out at a rate of 5 to 10% every 10-14 days, then adjusting the taper to suit your own needs.  Note: very short term users may be able to taper faster.

Withdrawal symptoms, which vary widely but commonly include anxiety and insomnia, often occur during a taper, but these are temporary and will get better in time.  In general, first tapers are easier, but cold turkeys or multiple withdrawals may be more severe and longer lasting.  Here are a few links to get you started:

The Ashton Manual, a concise reference for tapering and symptom issues.

post Withdrawal Support

Once again, welcome!