Temazepam withdrawal schedule

I have been on Temazepam 30 mg for 4 years taken before bedtime.  I have tapered off of Clonazepam with my last dose being early January.  I am ready to try to withdraw off of the Temazepam now using titration.  I would like to know the recommended cuts and schedule to carry this out the least painful way.  I believe I may be in tolerance withdrawal already.  My biggest concern is the sleep. I have all the equipment described in the titration procedures.  I also have left over from the Clonazepam withdrawal some Clonazepam and Diazepam.  Are these of any use to help in the Temazepam withdrawal concerning the sleep issue?  The date I want to start is the day I get a reply with the requested recommendations.

 

Thanks,

 

William

 

hi william,

 

congrats with your taper off k and your plan to taper of another benzo.

 

i'm sure one of the moderators/staff here will be along to help you with a taper plan soon.

 

welcome to BB.

Truck

hi william,

 

i took 30 mg temazepam nightly for 3 years.  before i knew about the ashton method, i was trying to withdraw myself using the cuts the manufacturer made...30mg to 15 mg to 7.5mg.  (many drs do not know about the 7.5mg capsule.)

 

when i tried the 7.5mg i got really sick.  if i had to do it all over again, from what i know now, i would probably have crossed over to valium and then followed the ashton method of a 5% cut each week for a 5 month (or even slower) taper. 

 

find a doctor that is willing to help you on this...every doctor i contacted told me to just stop taking the 15mg because that was the lowest dose.  after following those orders, 3 days later i was in the ER.

 

please let us know what you decide.

 

leslie

Hi Leslie,

 

How did you deal with sleep?

 

William

well...i didn't taper unfortunately....i was tapered in 13 days from klonopin in a rehab.  i didn't have any trouble sleeping while on the k.

 

they also gave me other meds for sleep which i took for about 1 months post benzo.  i took trazadone sometimes, hydroxyzine and gabapentin.

 

those helped some.  during week 4 and 5 i went through a couple almost back to back stretches of literally days with ZERO sleep.

 

finally, i stopped taking all that stuff and my sleep returned to near normal during week 7 on.

 

there is another member here, teakettle that you might want to chat with...he was the opposite of me...he did a very slow taper off temazepam and he is sleeping just fine.  i would highly recommend you do a slow taper.  like i said, if i had to do it all over again, with what i know now and what i went through, i would definitely taper if i were in your place.

 

best wishes to you as you make your decision,

 

leslie

I have been on Temazepam 30 mg for 4 years taken before bedtime.  I have tapered off of Clonazepam with my last dose being early January.  I am ready to try to withdraw off of the Temazepam now using titration.  I would like to know the recommended cuts and schedule to carry this out the least painful way.  I believe I may be in tolerance withdrawal already.  My biggest concern is the sleep. I have all the equipment described in the titration procedures.  I also have left over from the Clonazepam withdrawal some Clonazepam and Diazepam.  Are these of any use to help in the Temazepam withdrawal concerning the sleep issue?  The date I want to start is the day I get a reply with the requested recommendations.

 

Thanks,

 

William

 

 

Hi William,

 

If you've successfully tapered from the Clonazepam, I suggest disposing of it and the Valium as well.  In order to become benzo free, you'll want to taper the Temazepam without reaching for another benzo for sleep.  You might want to check out our Insomnia board for tips on sleep using natural methods. 

 

Please provide the information we'll need to draw your titration schedule.  It might be a few days before someone will be available to do this for you, so I'd suggest using August 6th as your start date. 

 

Start date: when you would like your titration to start.

 

Dose: the dose you anticipate you be taking at the start date (in mgs).

 

Tablet dose: the dose of your individual tablets.

Number of tablets: the total number (and/or fractions) of tablets you take per day. Examples: 2 tabs; 2.5 tabs; 0.75 tabs. These are the number of tablets (not doses), and the tablets used must be of the same dosage (strength).

 

Taper rate: if you are unsure, ask for the input of others. The majority of people probably titrate at a rate of about 10% of their dose every 7-14 days. If you are unsure of where to start, and unless you have good reason to think you need a particularly slow taper, 1% per day is probably a good starting point. The taper plan can be altered later if need be.

 

Cylinder details: I will need to know the size of the cylinder you are using (100ml is recommended). I will also need to know that size of the marked increments. Just make sure that there enough increments for the given cylinder to ensure that the pill can be divided into small fractions (100ml cylinder with 1ml increments is always fine; 100ml with 2-5 increments is probably fine; 50ml with 5ml increments is not very useful). If you are using very large dose pills (for your given benzo), such as 10mg Valium or 2mg Xanax, you will absolutely need lots of increments. This usually means a 100ml cylinder with 1ml increments.

 

 

 

Start date -  August 1

Dose - 30mg temazepam Tablet dose - 30 mg temazepam

One Tablet at bedtime

Taper Rate - 1% per day target (1 ml per day)

Have a 100 ml cylinder graduated at 1 ml increments

Have a 30 ml syringe graduated in 2 ml increments

Have a 1 ml pipette graduated in .1 ml increments

 

I will probably start tonight at these rates and wait on any recommended adjustments to be implemented when I receive them.  I need to know if there is any advantage in splitting doses or is that just individual preference.

Thank you for the information, it will be a few days before someone can get back to you with a schedule.  However, since Temazepam has a relatively short half life, I feel you would benefit from dosing more than once a day.

Do you have suggestions for splits.  Now once a day lasts about 4-5 hours.

Pamster,

 

I think he may be okay dosing just once a day...temazepam has a fairly decent half-life. 

 

 

It's prescribed for sleep so people normally only take it once a day at bedtime.

 

William...please keep us posted on your progress. 

 

Leslie

 

I did my first 1% cut last night and also split the dosage to 60% at bedtime and 40% at 3:00 AM which is usualy the time the full dose wears off and is also the time the 60% lost effect.  I think I actually may have slept better doing this.  Somehow just that change made me feel some better than I have been this morning.  I am thinking it may have affected the tolerance withdrawal symptoms I was having simply by changing the dosage times.

Yay!  Yes, I can see how adding that second dose would help if you were already experiencing tolerance withdrawal.

 

The process has begun...you're on your way.  Congratulations! 

 

 

Leslie

I did my first 1% cut last night and also split the dosage to 60% at bedtime and 40% at 3:00 AM which is usualy the time the full dose wears off and is also the time the 60% lost effect.  I think I actually may have slept better doing this.  Somehow just that change made me feel some better than I have been this morning.  I am thinking it may have affected the tolerance withdrawal symptoms I was having simply by changing the dosage times.

 

Wonderful to hear you felt better this morning, I hope it continues for you.  I've sent a message about your request for a titration taper schedule, it should be ready later this week.

Hi William,

 

This actually does not need a formal titration. You will just need a 100ml cylinder with 1ml markings, and a syringe between 1 and 10mls, the smaller the better.

 

I'll write you up a plan tomorrow. 

 

Just curious, how did you already cut 1%? Did someone else help you already? Let me know.       

I watched the video on this site concerning the titration method and followed the procedure.

I watched the video on this site concerning the titration method and followed the procedure.

 

Oh, ok.

 

Here is a plan for you, though it sounds like you are already doing it! 

 

Mix the contents of your 30mg capsule with 100mls of liquid in 100ml cylinder. Mix thoroughly, and immediately remove 1ml. The remaining amount is your dose for the first day. You can take it all at once or split it into two dose if you like. You will remove 1ml cumulatively, every day.

 

 

Day two: make your mixture and remove 2mls. Drink remaining liquid.

 

Day three: make your mixture and remove 3mls. Drink remaining.

 

And so on, for 100 days.

 

 

If you use milk, refrigerate the unused portion, and always mix well immediately before drinking.

 

Keep a log so you don't lose track of your cuts.

 

If this is too fast for you, you can do your 1ml reductions every other day. If it's too slow, you can remove more each day. For instance, 1.5mls cumulatively.

 

Let us know if this makes sense and if you have any questions!!