Wondering if this is good for me right now

Greetings!

 

I can see this can be a confusing topic. Just wondering if there is some expertise out there I can call on. Today is Monday. My new doctor prescribed Diazepam 5 mg, on Friday, & I first took it Friday night. I took it that night, & Sat & Sun nights, as part of my established routine. He said he followed the Ashton table of substitution or whatever it's called. Sorry...I also am not very technical. So, his instructions are to only take 1 mg of Clonazepam at night, with the 5 mg of Diazepam. That lowers the Clonazepam from 1.25 (my regular dosage since 12/11/18) to 1 mg. The .25 was taken off. So he said the 5 mg of Diazepam is the same amount of Benzo...it's just substituted. The grand scheme is substituting the Diazepam somewhat, over time, & lowering the Clon. I can't understand the whole scheme at this point. Too overwhelmed. I started having side effects the first night of this switch & they seem to have gotten worse but I've only done this new technique for the past three nights. Maybe this is too complicated to read      I didn't get much sleep, sorry. I will do more research but I wondered if taking Clon. down by .25 was too fast...too much at once? Thanks for any help.

Greetings!

 

I can see this can be a confusing topic. Just wondering if there is some expertise out there I can call on. Today is Monday. My new doctor prescribed Diazepam 5 mg, on Friday, & I first took it Friday night. I took it that night, & Sat & Sun nights, as part of my established routine. He said he followed the Ashton table of substitution or whatever it's called. Sorry...I also am not very technical. So, his instructions are to only take 1 mg of Clonazepam at night, with the 5 mg of Diazepam. That lowers the Clonazepam from 1.25 (my regular dosage since 12/11/18) to 1 mg. The .25 was taken off. So he said the 5 mg of Diazepam is the same amount of Benzo...it's just substituted. The grand scheme is substituting the Diazepam somewhat, over time, & lowering the Clon. I can't understand the whole scheme at this point. Too overwhelmed. I started having side effects the first night of this switch & they seem to have gotten worse but I've only done this new technique for the past three nights. Maybe this is too complicated to read      I didn't get much sleep, sorry. I will do more research but I wondered if taking Clon. down by .25 was too fast...too much at once? Thanks for any help.

Sounds about right, -even a little generous... 1:20...

 

https://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm

 

But they are equivalances, not the same med, so there can be some adjustment to be had...

-Particularly if one has become pretty sensitive to all this from changes, other meds, etc..

 

I would just suggest giving it the time it needs..  From that, you may determine you need to try a slower approach or not next time...?

 

Hope that helps a bit, and hope you improve quick...  certain aspects of the V may take a few days or so to build up..

 

THANK-YOU CANTFLY!! I appreciate the response! Thanks for the equivalency table! Although I am afraid I don't understand it...half-lives...it's OK. I am feeling MUCH BETTER TODAY!! I slept from 12:30am last night to about 7 or 7:30am today. That's GOOD for me at this time! I also have a marked absence, right now, of the panic stuff I was feeling for the past three days. I definitely noticed a huge improvement when I got up today although now I am slipping into the spacey sleepy feeling a bit. But that's normal for now. It got me thinking I was just going through an adjustment period, like you said, & should simply soldier on for at least a full week or week and a half of adjustment.

 

My MIRACULOUS new MD (not a psychiatrist) who is supervising my withdrawal & read up on Ashton as soon as I told him about it...I phoned him about these symptoms today. He said he was about to call me & check on me. Can anyone believe that of an American doctor? I really lucked out with him. Oops. Didn't mean to make too much of a comment like that about doctors. He's just SO different! So, with your comment, I can see he is just following the tables correctly. During the phone call, he agreed with me that I was adjusting & he suspects I will even out in a week or so, which is what I have also decided. I can't see that anything else is going to happen for me unless I succeed in this substitution. I am very hopeful right now. He doesn't see the need to see me again until next Monday. He is available for any kind of phone call at any time, from any of his patients if things go south. He works with addicts all the time; opioid & I don't know what else. I can walk to his office if he is there, any time in an emergency. I've only seen him twice so far. What a great guy! I am his first 100 percent benzo patient. So, he is learning from me. I think he is probably brilliant. 

 

My alternative chiropractor found him for me...he is just down the hall from him. My chiropractor read up on the Ashton method first, after I talked about it during an adjustment. He has another patient who mentioned benzo addiction, so he probably felt he would be seeing more of it & tried to figure out what he could do for us. I am very blessed with doctors recently after a year or more of looking for the right people.

 

I'm on a writing tear...better go. Thanks again!

Hey, Great news..!! Its always good when things go somewhat to plan around here..

 

A reasonable Dr can make a huge difference.. I have a very supportive Dr, but this was all new to her, -now its not.. lol

 

See how things go.. There are many variations that work for different people.. Some find it better to do a partial C/O, due to sedation etc.. They would then perhaps hold the V, and taper the Original med... -As one example..

 

Just meaning that if things dont work quite as expected, there are usually solutions... Though having some symptoms usually cant be avoided, obviously... The aim is to try and keep it manageable...

 

Hope the week goes well...

You might wish to read some of the "orange sticky threads" above a page... -If you havent..

 

Half lives are just a rough indicator of how long a med might work for, in a round about way...

The conversion numbers in the chart are equivalent to 10mg of Valium/diazepam, also in a round about way..

 

 

Thanks again Cantfly! Lots of new information for me here...I appreciate it! I did very well yesterday & slept very well the night before. Today I am awake too early after not that much sleep. I can see that it is going up & down. Definitely I will try this for two weeks. I suspect & hope this technique will go very well for me once it evens out. After that, being well-established with it, I will change my signature. Cheers!

Thanks again Cantfly! Lots of new information for me here...I appreciate it! I did very well yesterday & slept very well the night before. Today I am awake too early after not that much sleep. I can see that it is going up & down. Definitely I will try this for two weeks. I suspect & hope this technique will go very well for me once it evens out. After that, being well-established with it, I will change my signature. Cheers!

All the best..