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Advice, anyone? Oxazepam to Bromazepam


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Hello good people.

I only woke up two days ago to the fact that I need to get off the oxazepam I've been on for the past year since my lung cancer diagnosis.  I've since learnt that Oxazepam has a short half life and so have been to a doctor today and tried to explain that I want to cut down and stop.  I was taking 10mg of Oxazepam (Seresta, or Serax I think) at night.  For the past two nights I have taken 3/4 of a tablet.  He has written down for me Bromazepam 6 mg, to take half a tablet each night.  I had found a good comparison chart online but it doesn't have Bromazepam on it.

So, I'm switching from 7.5 mg of Oxazepam to 3mg of Bromazepam.  Can anyone help because I can't find any comparison online.  Does this seem like an ok step to make?  I would not like to unwittingly increase my dose  :laugh:  Thanks in advance

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Hi Throughthewoods,

 

The Ashton manual indicates 5-6 mgs of Bromazepam is equal to 10 mgs of Valium and 20 mgs of Oxazepam is equal to 10 mgs of Valium.  I'm not good at this but it looks like you're going up in dose, what do you think, did you do it yet, how do you feel?

 

 

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Hi Pamster, thanks for your reply.  I looked on quite a few sites and Bromazepam is not listed on many, but I got the same impression as you, that 3mg wouldn't be reducing.  Given that I have already dropped to 3/4 of a 10mg.  I don't want to have to go back to this doctor and explain because I'm not that comfortable, so I've been working something out...The reason I went to him was to get something easy to split but perhaps this doesn't exist, and/or maybe he didn't fully understand.

I would say that 10 mg of Oxazepam is a fairly light dose, I haven't felt anything awkward since dropping to 7.5mg  four days ago, I don't know whether if the dose had been higher I would already be feeling it.  I have 11 pills left, so maybe just maybe I can get away with tapering using just what I have!  That would be resourceful at least. 

Any opinions, if I was going to be feeling rough I would already be feeling it no?  Oddly enough and surprisingly, I have slept better since.  I have been taking magnesium though also.

All the best x

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Listening to your body's cues is the way to taper, so if yours is telling you all is well, then it probably is.  Bromazepam has a fairly short half life, so I would think you'd know by now if you were going to feel symptoms.  It's amazing you're sleeping, very rare indeed, so this is another good sign.  I'm glad the magnesium isn't giving you any problems, I just worked with a member yesterday who had a bad reaction to it.  There is a lot of discussion about it in our Alternative Therapies & Supplements section.

 

Keep us posted, you sound good so perhaps you'll meet your desired goal of using only the pills you have left.  Please understand, if you begin to feel terrible, it's best to control the symptoms by slowing down. There will be healing to be done once you're off the the drug, your brain still has some repair work to do.

 

I wanted to ask you about your lung cancer, have you been treated, is your prognosis good?

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Thanks for your encouragement, very much appreciated.  I fully agree more than ever about listening to oneself.  I have read a lot of scary stuff since deciding to wean, but something inside is telling me that it will be worth it.

I came off oxycodone in early January no problem too after a year.

 

I was lucky with my lung cancer.  It was caught before it spread anywhere but I was lucky it hadn't already because it was large (6cm).  They were able to operate, I had a lobectomy last March followed by four rounds of chemotherapy.  The prognosos according to my pulmonologist is that it shouldn't come back.  I had a 6 month check up scan last week and it came back clear.  This was such a relief, more than I would have imagined.  This is probably what has nudged me towards stopping the benzos.

 

I have been worried for my boys as they are very young, just under three and just under five, worried if I won't be around for them.  I've never been that good a sleeper but with this on my mind I just stayed on the Oxazepam they gave me during my hospital stay, I knew there was no way I would ever sleep.

 

Since the chemo, life has been really complicated logistically and my 'chemo brain' has not been making things easier, but it's been 7 months since the chemo finished and although 'chemo brain' can last for years, it suddenly occured to me a few days ago that it could well be the oxazepam making me confused and manic.  It has a very short half life so I have probably spent every day since last March in withdrawal.  I was wondering whether I was depressed, had ADHD and all kinds of things.  Maybe I do.  But I would like to see how my brain is behaving on it's own.

 

It will be a huge achievement if I can continue sleeping! 

 

Thanks for asking Pamster, hope you are good.  All the best x

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That was a large tumor but I'm relieved to hear it was contained.  It's scary to know all it takes is one cell to venture into your lymph system or blood stream, so even though the chemotherapy was miserable, it was a good precaution.  I'm so glad you're going to be around for your boys, something like this really focuses our priorities, and it sounds like they're young enough to have been spared from understanding the full weight of your health scare. 

 

I don't know anything about chemo brain, but I don't doubt what you've been feeling could quite possibly be the oxazepam, benzo's wreck such havoc on us, while we're taking them, when we become tolerant to and dependent on and withdrawing from them.  I'm so glad you had a moment of clarity leading you to taper from it.

 

Let us know how you're doing, its a pleasure talking to you, you have a great outlook and positive attitude.

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Hi Pamster thanks ever so much for your kind words!  It means a lot.  I have just typed a long message and lost it so that is very frustrating.  I wasn't logged in so it just disappeared when I tried to send it.  Not happy
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Oh my goodness, that used to happen to me a lot, yep, very frustrating.  I'm glad you didn't try to retype it, leave it for another time, we'll be here. 
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I got over it  :laugh:  The message was really long and detailed and concentration wise a bit of an achievement with my lively boys being lively!  In the end I thought, well maybe it's for the best, maybe there was too much personal info about what's been going on in my life.

Yesterday I was feeling pretty rough, couldn't really think straight but kept rationalising.  Today I just feel invincible which is good to note.  I will keep that in mind for next time.  One day can be really tough on the brain but you're working through things and then the next day there is the possibility to feel better.  Each time I feel like I'm struggling I just think, well there's that out of the way  ;D

 

I wonder whether at such small doses of Oxazepam (I'm now down to 5 mg for past 2 nights and slept really well!  (?))  I could take some St Johns wort as was given a bottle.  Trying to find out whether it's compatible but the articles are too long for my brain so far!  I wonder whether you happen to know that Pamster with your experience?

 

Thanks again and all the best!

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Oh man, if you only knew how many posts I've deleted before hitting post for the exact reason you mentioned, TMI!  I think it's a good thing that happened, you don't want to expose yourself to anymore stress worrying you've overshared, the internet is permanent, we would all be wise to remember this.

 

Our symptoms wax and wane, so we're never quite sure how we're going to feel.  What I hated was some would leave, but others would pop up in their place, then the original would come back, what's up with that?  :tickedoff:  But, it sounds like you're accepting what is, because we don't seem to have much control.

 

As for the supplement, our central nervous system is very sensitive during this time, so an otherwise benign supplement might not be so benign, I'd do a search on the Alternative Therapies & Supplements board, just put St John's Wort into the box to see what you come up with.  Let others who have paved the way inform your decision.

 

 

 

 

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