Interdose withdrawals - switching to Valium at low dose?

I am getting interdose withdrawals now from being on Oxazepam and wanting to switch to Valium, but the equivalent is only 7mg Valium - does anyone have any ideas on how to hop over. The Ashton method only specifies at higher doseages.

Thanks!

Should mention I only take 1 dose of the Oxazepam at night, the rest of the day I am shaken and weak until my next dose. Will this not happen if I switch to Valium and how should I plan the crossover? 1/2 and 1/2 for a few days/weeks? Then just whole Valium? I’ve been on Valium before so I know what to expect, but just want to be sure I do this right as I am suffering now

Bump! Anyone? I went ahead and took 2.5mg Valium this morning and plan to drop my serax dose by 2.5mg tonight and likely take another 2.5mg - once the Valium starts to build in my system I will change the whole dose to pm. How long does it take for the Valium to build? How long should I taper off the serax? Anybody have any clues ? Thanks

Be careful , i transitioned to fast to low and I’m in withdrawal

Thank you - how fast did u transition? I’ve been on and off different benzos for insomnia since June 1 but on Oxazepam since late July so hoping I can transition over easily and start my taper

I was transitioned in one week 50/50 K & V and then tapered to fast and now I’m w/d.

Oh I am very sorry to hear that. Is it from tapering down too fast or the crossover itself do you think?

I think it was from both

So now I am at 7.5mg oxazepam with an added hold of 1.25mg Valium and it’s just enough to keep the id w/d at bay. My question now is according to my taper schedule I should be off the oxazepam in 2 weeks and will have been on the Valium for about 6 weeks at1.25mg. Will it be relatively the same trying to taper the Valium? What kind of timeline should I be looking at (or method) for coming off 1.25mg Valium if I have been on for 6 weeks?

So now I am at 7.5mg oxazepam with an added hold of 1.25mg Valium and it’s just enough to keep the id w/d at bay. My question now is according to my taper schedule I should be off the oxazepam in 2 weeks and will have been on the Valium for about 6 weeks at1.25mg. Will it be relatively the same trying to taper the Valium? What kind of timeline should I be looking at (or method) for coming off 1.25mg Valium if I have been on for 6 weeks?

 

Once stable on only the valium, I would follow a slow taper plan of reducing 5-10% every 10-14 days. It is important to listen to your body and adjust the rate if necessary. There is no rush, slow and steady is the way to go.

 

pianogirl

pianogirl,

 

We have some similar meds in our history, I started with Ativan, was c/t and moved to other sleep aids, then reinstated ativan to be switched to klonopin for a month, c/t again to be moved to other sleeping meds, then reinstated on klonopin again In june when I incorrectly transitioned to Valium in 1 week, cutting my dose in half where I have been in acute w/d ( see history) I have been suggested to up dose, switch back to klonopin, hold and just looking for the best way to get to healing. Currently at 5.75 mg of Valium. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Hello,

 

Yes, we were on a lot of the same drugs. However, your usage was much shorter than mine, especially for klonopin and valium.  I did ct from ativan for a medical test, as directed by my doctor. I was off ativan for a few of months and in a very acute withdrawal.

 

I saw another doctor who put me on clonazepam and I stayed on it for over a year and crossed to valium when I knew I had to get off the drugs that were making me so sick. I was likely in tolerance for a long time, lots of trips to the ER, lots of tests with negative results.

 

You've changed benzos so frequently that it's hard for your central nervous system to adjust. Each benzo has particular properties and half lives. I hope you can stabilize on one and work on a sensible slow taper.

 

pianogirl

Thank you. I am at 5.75 mg Valium and wondering if I also have a tolerance to all Benzo's as Klonopin and Valium has not been working for me? I sometimes wonder if I should just cold turkey and as I they make me feel worse?

 

Thank you. I am at 5.75 mg Valium and wondering if I also have a tolerance to all Benzo's as Klonopin and Valium has not been working for me? I sometimes wonder if I should just cold turkey and as I they make me feel worse?

 

I do not recommend cold turkey, having experienced it I can tell you that for me it was brutal.  I was in tolerance when I started my taper and throughout.  I was still successful tapering off. 

 

There is some information about tapering for those who are paradoxical to benzos, I'll see if I can find it for you. However, at no time is there a suggestion or recommendation to stop cold turkey.

 

I would not want you to go through what I did.

 

Whatever benzo you decide to taper from , klonopin or valium, please give yourself a little more time to stabilize. It can take a while, nothing is immediate.

 

pianogirl

Thank you, I apprecieate whatever help you can give. I feel like I am truly suffering and do not know what to do. Getting so many mixed suggestions, but I do not want to up dose if I can avoid it!

 

Best! mdv

Pianogirl, I see in your signature that you could not taper from clonazepam and I have hit the spot where the I/D withdrawals (even on 3x per day) are killing me with it.  I have crossed over a .10 mg dose to 2 mg of Valium and the Extreme hyperacusis that I have had has dissipated.  I am going to cross over the other 2 doses in a step wise fashion over the next few weeks and was going to go to a total of 6 mg, while Ashton shows it should be 7.2 mg.  My doctor, however, says it should be 10 mg of V for 1 mg of K....which would have me at like 3.6 for a cross-over. 

 

Your signature shows you only crossed from 1 mg of K to 3 mg of V?  Wasn't that quite low?  Ashton shows it should be 20 mg of V for 1 mg of K.  I just don't want to "kindle" but I don't want to be in misery in a cross either - I'm looking to get rid of some of the nasty interdose w/d symptoms.....what was your experience with the ratio?  I know you can't give advice - I'm only interested in what YOU experienced yourself.  Thanks so much.

Hello,

 

My entire crossover was wrong working with my NP. She had me crossover from .65K to 8 mg V doing 50/50 for one week and then stopped the klonopin with cutting . 1 mg of Valium every 1 to 2 weeks until I got sick, I since have held and slowly reduced .25 mg every 2 weeks but have been in acute w/d.

 

Sounds like you are doing it the right way. Keep up the good work!

 

 

MDV42, I'm so sorry you are suffering.  I have been suffering immensely on K and feel that it's too hard for me to taper.  Unfortunately, so many do just fine on a direct crossover or a crossover like the one you described but for those of us that are sensitive to this stuff, it's turned out badly. 

 

The V is definitely causing me its own issues and I'm concerned about it but the K is just too hard to taper from for me with the I/D withdrawals.  I was going to cross over 1 dose every 7-10 days but may give it a little more time.  My neck, shoulders and back are killing me and I'm having acid reflux like tummy (though nothing is coming up) from the V itself.

 

I hope you can find a solution for you.  I'm so sorry that you are enduring this.  Please hang in there. 

Pianogirl, I see in your signature that you could not taper from clonazepam and I have hit the spot where the I/D withdrawals (even on 3x per day) are killing me with it.  I have crossed over a .10 mg dose to 2 mg of Valium and the Extreme hyperacusis that I have had has dissipated.  I am going to cross over the other 2 doses in a step wise fashion over the next few weeks and was going to go to a total of 6 mg, while Ashton shows it should be 7.2 mg.  My doctor, however, says it should be 10 mg of V for 1 mg of K....which would have me at like 3.6 for a cross-over. 

 

Your signature shows you only crossed from 1 mg of K to 3 mg of V?  Wasn't that quite low?  Ashton shows it should be 20 mg of V for 1 mg of K.  I just don't want to "kindle" but I don't want to be in misery in a cross either - I'm looking to get rid of some of the nasty interdose w/d symptoms.....what was your experience with the ratio?  I know you can't give advice - I'm only interested in what YOU experienced yourself.  Thanks so much.

 

Hello Mom,

 

You are correct, I found it impossible to taper from clonazepam.  To be honest, the first couple of times I tried I had no information about tapering, I hadn't even found the Ashton Manual at that point.  Those cuts were very large and it was brutal. Even when I tried smaller reductions the symptoms were too strong.

 

The reason my crossover was not equivalent was because first,  the sedation from the valium made it difficult for me to function and I would fall asleep before my scheduled dose. Secondly, that is what my doctor recommended. You have to remember, he was learning along with me. We were both novices, I had not found the forum until after I jumped off.

 

The sedation eased up as my body got used to valium and when I started tapering. I didn't 'like' valium because of the sedation, the lethargy and the depression but the reductions were much easier on my system.One thing with valium is that I did not experience interdose withdrawal.  The long half life of valium was very helpful in that regard.

 

Since my crossover was not equivalent it took me a while to stabilize and my body to get used to valium, it just 'felt' so much different.  I was in tolerance for such a long time that I knew I would not be symptom free during my taper.  That is just my reality.  Tolerance for me was just as difficult to deal with as withdrawal, hence the many er visits.

 

I hope this helps a little, but feel free to ask more questions.

 

PG 

Thank you, I pray for healing for all of us effected by this horrific drug!

Thanks so much. Wow - that was a "big" cut technically - per Ashton, you should have been more at 20 mg but you only crossed to 3!!!  Yes I am in severe acute tolerance withdrawal so not expecting a symptom free taper, but perhaps just a less brutal one (without the extreme hyperacusis and some of the other CT hellish symptoms). 

 

I think you have made me realize that I likely need less of the Valium than I originally considered - I have debated and I saw someone else who CT'd from 1 mg, only re-established to 5 and while it took a few months to stabilize, after micro-tapering very slowly, they actually healed on the way down.  I could only hope that this could be me but I'm not counting on it because I am in such acute withdrawal and it's from tolerance and not from a CT.  I don't want to kindle more by doing an updose (dragging out my taper further either) but I don't want to destabilize my CNS.  I replaced my .1 mg with a 2 mg of Valium and it did "feel" like it could have been an updose to my system - well, really just made me sedated and took away the severe hyperacusis, constant crying spells and severe akathisia.....and I got some new symptoms/side effects.