COLD TURKEY VS RESCUE DOSES

If someone took a couple of rescue doses within the second month off during massive wave periods but after just went off and continued with the withdrawal.I remember taking 4 rescue doses of rivotril in month 2 every after 4 days and stopped because my symptoms could easen then I would go into a hell after.Any input could be welcome.

Is it considered cold turkey and when should I count my months off .Is it after jumping or after the last rescue dose.?

Many member here report having two weeks of rebound anxiety from rescue doses and that's it. You know my story. For me it threw me into full-on cold-turkey withdrawals. You've dodged the bullet my friend, but I should've reinstated right away.

 

Even though Ashton says drinking alcohol and taking rescue doses is fine, it's not. Some people may be able to tolerate such things, but many are not so fortunate. Indeed, research shows that it can reawaken tolerance and withdrawal, which is what happened to me. From "The natural history of tolerance to the benzodiazepines" by A. Higgitt, P. Fonagy and M. Lader:

Benzodiazepines or cross tolerant drugs, substances such as alcohol should be avoided after discontinuation, even occasionally. These include the nonbenzodiazepines Z-drugs, which have a similar mechanism of action. This is because tolerance to benzodiazepines has been demonstrated to be still present at four months to two years after withdrawal depending on personal biochemistry. Re-exposures to benzodiazepines or cross tolerant drugs typically resulted in a reactivation of the tolerance and benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome.

I would believe so but I was still suffering by the time I took rescue doses.They made things worse for a while but after went back to baseline.I am nearing 10 months off and 8 months since the last rescue dose.

My current symptom is acid reflux and some mild anxiety especially in the morning.

Waiting for the 1 year mark.

I would believe so but I was still suffering by the time I took rescue doses.They made things worse for a while but after went back to baseline.I am nearing 10 months off and 8 months since the last rescue dose.

My current symptom is acid reflux and some mild anxiety especially in the morning.

Waiting for the 1 year mark.

This was my second taper, so I'm speaking from my experience. Previously I had tapered off and was doing fine (had only insomnia and dyspepsia), then I reinstated because I started really loosing sleep amidst the COVID panic and lockdowns and threats of sending people into concentration camps (wish I hadn't, I would've been fully recovered by now, but unfortunately doxylamine and other OTC sleep aids are for some ungodly reason no longer available in my country, and benzos are prescribed as candy) and have just finished the second taper (my second taper wasn't worse than my first) when amitriptyline setback happened. I know that it was different for you, you said to me that you were hit with withdrawals only late post-jump, but for me rescue doses were probably worse than cold-turkey would've been (I used 5 mg diazepam for sleep, rescue doses to counter amitriptyline were 60 mg in two days).