How to find a Taper Groove? Builder? Anyone?

Good Evening,

 

I am trying to figure out the best taper rate that correlates with my ability to recover.  I am about a week away from reaching 2.5mg of Ativan after reducing from 6mg. in the past six months.  I started out relatively fast.  Since 3.5mg. I have slowed down considerably and switched to DLMT.

 

My symptoms have a distinct pattern.  I start each week feeling good with enough energy for the things I want and need to do.  I feel good, close to my normal self.  Then towards the end of every week my energy crashes and I have a day or two feeling nauseous.  Its difficult to do anything and I spend three or sometimes four days on the couch.  I can accept a certain amount of lowered energy but not being able to get off the couch and feeling nauseous half the time is not tolerable.

 

So I slowed down from 5% every 14 days to 5% every 21 days.  Then I started feeling better so I increased the rate again by a tiny amount.  Then I felt  bad again so I went even slower (again by a tiny amount)  and now I feel much better at the beginning of another week.  As of today I am trying to go back to 5% every 21 days and see how that goes.  It amazes me how such small percentages can make such a difference.

 

My question is should I try to find a taper rate that I can stick with at least for a few weeks and stop trying to speed up, slow down, speed up?  Or should I continually be trying to make small adjustments according to how I feel every few days? 

 

What have other people found successful?  I am having a hard time getting into a groove with my tapering.

 

Any suggestions, experience of what works appreciated.

 

Thanks for the input.

 

Luey

Hi Luey,

 

I am also in the process of learning where the sweet spot is for tapering and currently have it pegged at about 5% every 17 to 20 days.  Wish it was faster but have learned the hard way multiple times that pushing it does no good no matter how bad I want this crud out of my system.  I typically do not change my schedule over one rough day, however, if the SX seem to be increasing over a few days in a row then I back off and hold for a few days before hitting the trail again. I see you switched over to DLMT which in my experience is a good way to really control the taper pace.  So I would say experiment a bit with your taper rate and slow down when the sx start to creep in and don't rush it. 

 

Best of luck to ya...no doubt we can all walk off these drugs one day at a time.

MW

Hi MtWhitney

 

Thanks for reaching out.  I relate so much to what you are saying.

 

"Wish it was faster but have learned the hard way multiple times that pushing it does no good no matter how bad I want this crud out of my system." 

Same here!

 

"I typically do not change my schedule over one rough day, however, if the SX seem to be increasing over a few days in a row then I back off and hold for a few days before hitting the trail again. I see you switched over to DLMT which in my experience is a good way to really control the taper pace.  So I would say experiment a bit with your taper rate and slow down when the sx start to creep in and don't rush it".

 

Thanks for the helpful perspective.  For me the psychology involved in this process is not easy, especially on bad days! 

 

"Best of luck to ya...no doubt we can all walk off these drugs one day at a time".

Thanks for sharing your experience and encouragement,

 

Also wishing you success one day at a time. 

 

Luey

 

DLMT allows a lot of room to make changes. You can adjust amounts and times easily.

 

Ativan has a longer half life than Xanax (which is my benzo), so your sweet spot will be different and would likely be even if taking the same benzo.

 

I shoot for a reduction of .03. But, if I have a bad day I may do .01 for a day or a few days. When my son came to visit I held steady for a couple of days to be on the safe side. In other words, I taper based on my symptoms. I do run a percentage check occasionally just to be sure I'm not going super fast.

 

I hope you find a rate that works well for you.

 

LA

Hi LilyAnn,

 

Thanks for your helpful response and perspective.

 

Since lowering to 3.0mg, I have been reducing by approximately 1/8mg. every month, holds included.  My daily reduction rate is around .06.

 

It doesn't seem to matter if I slow it down by a couple of decimal points or hold, I still have some good days and bad days each week.  Maybe I should stay with a slower rate for longer and see if it helps?  It's hard to accept such a slow rate that would take more than two years more to complete.

 

My hardest time is during the day.  I wonder if redistributing my doses would help?

 

Indeed, DLMT is easier but its still difficult to find a groove that works consistently. 

 

It looks like you are making good progress.  I am sending you wishes of ease and wellness.

 

Luey

I moved my doses around.

 

I was taking Xanax 3 x per day and then shifted to four small doses. My times have shifted over time. I never set an alarm for the morning dose, so that one can vary. It's usually around 5 a.m., but I slept until 7 a.m. YAY this morning so I took it then.  The other three I keep very close the same time but did move the night dose a bit earlier trying to get myself to bed earlier.

 

My thoughts have been that if I'm feeling bad I might as well make small changes. If they don't work out, I can always go back to the original plan. If something works better, that's good news.

 

I hope you find what makes you feel the best possible. This journey can be awfully tough.

Good Evening,

 

I am trying to figure out the best taper rate that correlates with my ability to recover.  I am about a week away from reaching 2.5mg of Ativan after reducing from 6mg. in the past six months.  I started out relatively fast.  Since 3.5mg. I have slowed down considerably and switched to DLMT.

 

My symptoms have a distinct pattern.  I start each week feeling good with enough energy for the things I want and need to do.  I feel good, close to my normal self.  Then towards the end of every week my energy crashes and I have a day or two feeling nauseous.  Its difficult to do anything and I spend three or sometimes four days on the couch.  I can accept a certain amount of lowered energy but not being able to get off the couch and feeling nauseous half the time is not tolerable.

 

So I slowed down from 5% every 14 days to 5% every 21 days.  Then I started feeling better so I increased the rate again by a tiny amount.  Then I felt  bad again so I went even slower (again by a tiny amount)  and now I feel much better at the beginning of another week.  As of today I am trying to go back to 5% every 21 days and see how that goes.  It amazes me how such small percentages can make such a difference.

 

My question is should I try to find a taper rate that I can stick with at least for a few weeks and stop trying to speed up, slow down, speed up?  Or should I continually be trying to make small adjustments according to how I feel every few days? 

 

What have other people found successful?  I am having a hard time getting into a groove with my tapering.

 

Any suggestions, experience of what works appreciated.

 

Thanks for the input.

 

Luey

 

I had the same issues.  I'm on my second half of my Clonazepam taper and had to slow everything down. So now instead of my taper ending in six months it's going to end in a year.  I've been doing this taper since 2017.  When I was going too fast I was feeling REALLY tired, unmotivated and sick.  So when I backed off I started to feel slightly better but I admittedly don't feel the way I used to before I became tolerant to Clonazepam.  I am just patiently and slowly plugging away looking forward to the day when this is done and I'm med free. I'm praying and hoping that my energy comes back.  I truly wish you well! 

Hi Raquel,

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Since I originally asked my question on this thread, I have slowed down even more.  I am now lowering at a rate of 5% every 28 days and plan to stick with that pace rather than trying to adjust it every few days or hold because I'm going too fast.  This is a 50% slower rate than what is often recommended on BB and it's difficult to accept needing to go slower and slower.  But any faster and I was having too many days of feeling sick.  This pace seems to be working but no matter how slow I go or hold, I have some better and some worse days each week.  Lowered energy is something that seems to never go away.  So unless I consistently improve, I must accept this very gradual rate as minimizing suffering along the way is my priority.  It looks like I am going to be here for quite a while.  I'm trying to celebrate the small victories and not get discouraged by my slow rate of progress.  In two more days I will be at 2.5mgs of Ativan, down from my starting point of 6mgs. of Ativan.  One day at a time...

 

I also wish you wellness and success!

 

Luey

 

 

Yes Luey. Do celebrate progress and any milestones. It gets emotionally exhausting otherwise. And, progress is progress.

 

I hit a snag this week after a really good run. It was hard. I've slowed down and feel better and am working on acceptance. Easier said than lived. Trying to get my head in this game.

 

You'll get this!

 

All the best - LA

Thank you Lilyann for the support and encouragement. 

 

I really appreciate hearing it from someone who is further along.  (and try not to get envious about how much further I have.  I know, I know this is not a competition!)

 

Acceptance and patience are just a couple of the things I have to keep working on. Being hard on ourselves on top of everything doesn't help and yet for someone like me it's an on-going challenge.  Difficult life lessons!  Hopefully all this self-learning we have to do will serve us beyond just this experience.  Sometimes I am a slow learner of these important life lessons.

 

Sorry about your "snag" but as you are telling me, please try not to be hard on yourself.  It's good to hear you feel better since adjusting to a more gradual pace. 

 

Congratulations to you on your progress!  You sound like you are really paying attention to how you feel and from everything I've read and am experiencing, it will help you now and in the long run.  Thanks for being a role model. 

 

Nice connecting with you here, keep up the good work! I will be celebrating your milestones and progress!

 

Luey

 

Thanks Luey. I am working really hard to get off this Xanax. Listening to my body and learning acceptance has been difficult. I'll keep plugging along and make changes  as needed. You hang in there. I'll be celebrating your progress too! LA

I’ve been cutting .005 a day the lasts few days. I actually find reducing more I feel better than when I did .002? Is that normal? Curious if I should increase to find a sweet spot. My length of time wasn’t long and my dose isn’t extremely high.. also a lower age 28 may have a factor? Klonopin cuts for daily micro cut should be felt roughly about the next day or two correct? Not trying to have anything creep up on me, but wondering if I should try .006 or maybe a larger cut on Friday since I can see how I feel over the weekend to avoid interruptions at work.

 

Has anyone found a higher cut rate better for them than smaller? Not drastically larger , but similar in my case?

 

 

Thanks for the replies!

 

Through trial and error I figured out an answer to my own question.  It works better for me to stick with the same daily fixed reduction rate where my sxs are tolerable.  At this point, a reduction of .004mg per day (5% every 28days) has been working.  I have slowed down considerably since I started and it has been a process of discovery which has not always been pleasant.

 

At this rate I am still not symptom free.  I have some good windows and some minor waves each week.  I still have my main on-going symptom of diminished energy but I can live with it.  In general I feel better than when I was always trying to adjust my rate up and down according to the day. I plan to stay at this pace, paying attention and only changing if I see a consistent pattern of worsening (or improving!)  I appreciate DLMT for being able to make small adjustments, but plan to make them less often.

 

Best luck to everyone in finding your own "groove,"

 

Luey