C/T off of Soma 750 mgs and 5 mgs ov Valium after 10 yrs 25 days now

I am about 25 days off of Soma and Valium, tapered the Valium from 10 mgs to 5 mgs for 2 mos and cut the Soma in half. Now in wd due to c/t. I had a brief day at about 8-9 days where I felt good but it quickly turned to ugly the next day. Now it seems that I am much worse. My girlfriend told  this morning that I looked horrible, like I am dying. She said of you have lost weight but you look like you are dying. I feel like I am. What is bad is that I am getting worse each day not better. The sys get worse each day. I tried THC edibles but that made it more  intense. My rebound pain is horrible, I have had 8 back surgeries with hardware. My rx's were prescriptions since 2002. I had to c/t off of pain meds twice in my life and this is much worse. I hoping that even though I feel like I am going to die I am not. That is what the pain dr told me in 2002 when it took me off oxy 280 a day and fentyal  due to complications with spinal surgery. I am 71 and this is harder when you are older. I have read 2 books about benzos. Also, read the Ashton Manual. Just feel so lost and unsure what to do next,

I’m so sorry you’re going through this. It will get better, you’re early into a cold turkey from a significant dose of Valium.  Since you jumped on September 20th, you’re still in what’s considered the ‘acute’ stage of withdrawal. And it can be horrible, which is obvious in how we look, too.

 

Many people have the feeling they’ll die, but it is just that...a feeling, not reality. 

 

Your doc has checked your overall health, right? Probably the most important health issue would be to monitor blood pressure. It would be normal to have higher than normal blood pressure and you and your doctor would need to decide whether it needs treatment.  Otherwise, it’s the highly sensitized central nervous system that magnifies little aches and pains into feeling much worse than they usually would.

 

Take care, do what you can to calm your symptoms as you wait for them to diminish. 

 

I have read 2 books about benzos. Also, read the Ashton Manual. Just feel so lost and unsure what to do next,

 

 

Hi tmac,

I don't understand why  you jumped from such  a significant dose of Valium c/t ...

chances are high this will get much worse and you  might end up housebound ,

non functional etc.

 

If I were you I would reinstate....stabilize for quite a while...eventually start a sensible taper.

 

Explaination what is happening to the brain...

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=66397.0

 

All the best to you. 

I thought I was at a low dose. I have read two books and read a lot on this blog. If I had it to do over I would do a slow tapper. I did this on my own. I didn't want a slow withdrawal period and thought I could tolerate this. Surprise to me about how horrible this all is. But being into my 4th week I want to try one more day. I am thinking that I am trying to c/t off of 2 drugs (Soma abnd Valium) which my be too much. My bp and hr are fine. The sys are all just horrible. I might go back to 5 mg of Valium and no Soma. It seems like a insurmountable task though,

tmac48,

I started my journey at 62. I am now 69. I was forced to go CT off a lot of Klonapin plus 2 SSRIs. My withdrawal was truly awful, just as yours is.

In my experience (7 years on BB!) I have met MANY other older people and amazingly, we seem to do better than younger folk. Maybe because we have dealt with life's crisises and troubles before...? Older people do not seem to have worse withdrawals, but we do seem to have an advantage in recovering. That is just my humble opinion.

 

This has to be YOUR call. If you reinstate, it may not help you feel much better, but if that is what makes you feel safer, then do it. I would not. Cold turkeys are awful but even they do end. I had a truly bad withdrawal that lasted a long time, but a THIRTY year history of huge doses of benzos every single night kind of guaranteed that. You might want to visit my current Blog. Read the first several pages and then get back to me. You are NOT alone in this. Hardly. We have lots of company here.

 

Whatever you decide, let us know and we will try to support you no matter what

east

"Eastcoast's Trip Two"

 

Cold turkeys are awful but even they do end.

 

 

Question is when ....

I feel sad..... I wish this place was more focused on harm reduction.

 

Pianogirl , Megan and many others reinstated...best choice they ever made.

 

 

 

 

That is just your opinion, Morregg. Which you are entitled to of course. But pianogirl, megan and others did eventually get entirely OFF benzos. That IS the goal oif BB, isn't it?

People here differ on how to get off these drugs. And that is fine. What worked for me might not work for you.

Going cold turkey was my only chance. Period. Enough said, as I have always tried to be honest about this and all other things. But that is JUST me, not you or anyone else. We all find our way through this mess.

Our goal is to support each person in their personal journey to get off benzos. And we try to do this with love and care, without harsh words or criticisms. ALL of us are in a journey together.

The last thing we want to do is scare someone who is new to this nasty process.

east

A lot of good wisdom. here It is almost too much info. I would never do c/t again but 26 days in makes me want to try another day to see. But everything I read supports slow taper. I have done to pain med tappers that were brutal. Maybe I think at 71 I can do it one more time with benzos. I think Lisa Ling's CNN Special on benzo's caused me to take action. Thinking the Dr's will stop rx'ng Valium. My Dr of 11 yrs has stopped all pain med rx's due to legal liability. Next up will be benzos. I want to be ahead of the curve if I can. But there doesn't seem a quick fix or magic way to get off or detox. My morning was slightly better slept hard for 2 hrs and was hopeful. But the afternoon all the sys come back, the jerking, twitching, sweating, tremors, muscle spasms, mental racing, etc. Day 26 now.  Funny thing is that my medical conditions almost required muscle relaxants. I have undergone 8 back surgeries, 2 with hardware in cervical and lumbar so I am pretty much cripple and in pain with severe muscle spasms. I take the rx for serious medical condition. Valium did and has worked quite well for 17 yrs. Soma helped also.  But time to try my best to get off and see what awaits me. Thanks again.

 

That is just your opinion, Morregg. Which you are entitled to of course. But pianogirl, megan and others did eventually get entirely OFF benzos. That IS the goal oif BB, isn't it?

 

The last thing we want to do is scare someone who is new to this nasty process.

east

 

 

Oh dear...I can't believe you are texting this...I'm lost for words. 

 

tmac, so sorry ...I don't want to argue here...I hope everthing works out well for you.

 

Interesting thread here....

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=231236.msg2967538#msg2967538

Thank you. I am day 27. Sys are still bad. Afternoons and night are the worse. Seems like early morning hours I fall asleep. I took a couple Unisom to sleep but they didn't help, made me more nervous. Got a couple hours sleep at 4 am that I am grateful for. Hanging in one day at a time. I have also read two very well written books about Benzo wd. I thought some of post here were exaggerated, but truthfully they are actually very accurate and correct about this process. Maybe I wanted to believed it couldn't be true. It is all true. Now I am wondering how these drugs (benzos) made it to the market, the downside is pretty horrific but being tranquilized is its own hell.

That is just your opinion, Morregg. Which you are entitled to of course. But pianogirl, megan and others did eventually get entirely OFF benzos. That IS the goal oif BB, isn't it?

People here differ on how to get off these drugs. And that is fine. What worked for me might not work for you.

Going cold turkey was my only chance. Period. Enough said, as I have always tried to be honest about this and all other things. But that is JUST me, not you or anyone else. We all find our way through this mess.

Our goal is to support each person in their personal journey to get off benzos. And we try to do this with love and care, without harsh words or criticisms. ALL of us are in a journey together.

The last thing we want to do is scare someone who is new to this nasty process.

east

 

Annie.  No, it isn’t BB’s purpose to get people off benzodiazepines... we’ve chatted about this a few times already and asked you not to write this.  BB’s purpose is to support those who’ve chosen to taper their benzodiazepines, not to decide what the goal should be.  We are not anti-benzodiazepines or anti-medication in general.  Many of our community is anti-medication, but that doesn’t reflect BB’s stance on medications.

 

You often write that BB has changed, and we all know you feel you’ve been treated unfairly. We’ve talked about all of this at length confidentially, but if you continue to post moderation publicly, you open yourself up to being answered publicly. There is history behind each decision, including the moving of your success stories/blogs.  A lot of moderation time has been taken up with these issues.

 

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but my goodness...give it a rest.  Why not simply offer your support to the community without these implied and/or open criticisms.

 

P.S. I reinstated successfully, too. 

I was confused by your reply about texting? I didn't text anybody but maybe it was directed at me. Thanks

I was confused by your reply about texting? I didn't text anybody but maybe it was directed at me. Thanks

 

Sorry , you misunderstood.....I was responding to east....I inserted her quote...

look again please. 

Pianogirl , Megan and many others reinstated...best choice they ever made.

 

I reinstated and then did a slow taper. So thankful I found a doctor who was willing to prescribe these drugs and at the same time allow me to do a slow taper. I feel it was the best decision for me.

Pianogirl , Megan and many others reinstated...best choice they ever made.

 

I reinstated and then did a slow taper. So thankful I found a doctor who was willing to prescribe these drugs and at the same time allow me to do a slow taper. I feel it was the best decision for me.

 

I wish I did...whatever the outcome its worth a try I think....

too little too late now. ...so glad it worked for you Rose.

Pianogirl , Megan and many others reinstated...best choice they ever made.

 

I reinstated and then did a slow taper. So thankful I found a doctor who was willing to prescribe these drugs and at the same time allow me to do a slow taper. I feel it was the best decision for me.

 

I wish I did...whatever the outcome its worth a try I think....

too little too late now. ...so glad it worked for you Rose.

 

Thank you Morreweg. This entire benzo/z-drug ordeal has been surreal. I was very fortunate when a doctor apparently realized I needed to be put back on Ativan.

 

The VA had c/t'ed me off both Ativan and Ambien. Fortunately I had enough Ambien to get me through this nightmare that the VA had thrown me into. Once I realized Ambien needed to be tapered, I did just that. It took around 6 months to taper it.

 

It was a doctor outside the VA medical system that came to my rescue and from an angle I couldn't have dreamt up. He reinstated me back on to the Ativan at 1/3 my original dose. Thankfully that amount was enough to stabilize me.

 

I then had to find a doctor who would agree to prescribe Ativan and allow me to taper. At that point in time I had found the Ashton Manuel on-line.

 

Only because I had stabilized while under the two week care of the doctor who put me back on Ativan...I was in an Inpatient setting....is why I realized Ativan CLEARLY needed to be researched on the Internet.

 

I was so miserable by then that I was DESPERATELY grasping at straws. It is no wonder people turn to the Internet for answers. Wish I had done it sooner. But this whole nightmare crept up on me and took over my life like a tornado.

 

I would have continued in a c/t state if not for that Inpatient stay that was a fluke in itself. And sadly, I may have never made the connection that the drugs were causing my intolerable symptoms.

 

I question how many people have suffered, due to a lack of whatever it is, within the medical community. SO very sad.

Thanks for sharing Rose...amazing .

Thanks for sharing Rose...amazing .

 

You're welcome Morreweg. I was a bit long winded...as usual. Especially on this subject. If I get going...it is hard to stop.

 

The further out I get from my taper, and the clearer my head gets with the passing of years from this bizarre chapter in my life, the reality of it all gets absurder and absurder.

 

No one but someone who has been through what these drugs can do to the human mind and body can fully understand. We really are a unique group of people when one thinks about it.