Normal tapering dose suddenly feels way too strong?

Hi all,

I've been tapering down from 40mgs diazepam daily to 8mgs daily over the past 7 months. It wasn't easy and I always got pretty hefty withdrawal symptoms after making a cut, but it was somewhat manageable. I reduced pretty steadily, with similar withdrawal symptoms after every cut.

Out of the blue, 2 weeks ago me regular dose of 8mg daily felt way stronger than usual, and actually felt sedating. I immediately cut down out of fear of taking too much and going backwards in my taper. I have now decreased my daily dose to 0,5mg daily from 8mg daily 2 weeks ago.

I'm pretty scared because i planned to go down from 8mgs daily over the next 4 months, not in a matter of days and i absolutely do not want to taper too rapidly/Cold turkey. However, if i take any more i feel really sedated. Has anyone experienced something similar? Should i be following the gradual taper or keep decreasing until i no longer feel sedated? I've been at 0,5mg daily for 9 days now without any real withdrawal. I just don't get it.

Any input/insights/help would be highly appreciated. Any questions are of course welcome too. Thank you all.

Wow, this is really a strange thing to read, I've never heard of this before!  I can see why you're concerned, but if nothing else is going on, this is good news, right?

I'd suggest you ask the folks on the Valium Support Group thread, they know all there is to know about this stuff. 

Was there a change in manufacturers, is it your usual brand?

We all are completely cheering you on, kiddo. You’re right to be cautious, but we’ve all heard that the majority of people get off benzodiazepines without a lot of difficulty, so here’s to your being in the majority!

Two weeks is the usual hold-your-breath period for symptoms showing up, so you’re more than halfway there. Fingers crossed!