Should I ask Dr. for a 1.5 mg K daily or 1.0 mg daily K script in 2 days?

I see my prescribing Dr. in 2 days.  He dropped my script from 2 mgs. a day to 1.5 mgs a day back in middle of May.  I am now at 1.0625 (I am ready to drop that .0625 crumb).

 

Should I show how much progress I have made by requesting he lower my script to 1.0 mg daily Monday? 

Or should I stay at 1.5 mg at least another month, as I am trying to build a 3 month reserve of pills for my final taper?  And right now I have only 16 mgs. set aside.  At least if he stayed at 1.5 mgs daily for another month, and I only took 1.0 mgs a day, I would instantly add another 15 mgs. to my taper stash and I would worry a lot less about being cut off from my prescriptions.  I would have a full month set aside for an emergency.

I plan to keep tapering until I am at .75 mgs daily in November while my script remains at 1.0 mgs daily.  Then I can continue to set aside the extra every month.  (If I remain functional, I will keep tapering to .5 mgs a day after November.  Then I am not sure but think I will hold there for awhile as I am still working full time for another year or two.)

 

I am a bit paranoid about my Dr. retiring and me being left to cold turkey.  I am in the States.  This is not an imaginary fear - I see people on social media every day who say their Dr. just cut them off.  One woman was on 5 mgs. K a day -- yes, we all asked her, You mean .5 mgs don't you? And she repeated NO, she was prescribed 5 x a day 1 mg. k pills. 

 

Do drs. have to show the "regulators" that a patient like me us dropping dosage regularly?  I am worried about being *flagged* as a benzo abuser if I ask to stay at the 1.5 mg daily dose for an extra month.

 

I was offered a different plan by the psychiatrist at the center where I get my talk therapy sessions - it's laughable - he wanted me to cut .5 every 2 weeks from a starting dose of 2.0 mgs K a day, so I would be completely off after 6 weeks.  He said he would give me gabapentin and Seroquel & that would take care of any withdrawal.  I was pretty horrified & said no thanks, I will have my general practitioner keep prescribing for me.

Hi Ivy - this is just my experience, I don’t know the regulations.  My doctor prescribes what I am taking currently even though I might be planning to take a cut at some point during the month. I was worried what would happen if I decided not to cut or had to updose if the WD was too much.  He wouldn’t write a scrip for what I WAS taking originally, but was happy to write one for what I reported I was CURRENTLY taking, even knowing I might have a few extras if I decided to cut.

 

Can you talk with you GP about your concerns regarding his retirement and his plans to transfer his patients to a new provider? You should be able to talk to the new person and confirm they are willing to continue on the path your GP is currently doing. If they won’t then perhaps your GP will help you find a provider who will.

 

I hope this works out smoothly for you so that you are properly supported throughout your entire taper.  I think we need our doctors all the way through even when we have jumped.

 

Best wishes,

Butterfly 🦋

 

 

I take the largest prescription I am given, I check to make sure I'm getting the same generic tablet manufacturer as before and I stockpile my tablets. If I was meeting with nearly ANY other doctor than the one I have right now, I would not even mention I was tapering; I would just try to maintain my script and keep collecting. Tablets appear to last for a VERY long time, and I'd rather be safe than sorry if there's any interruption in my script.

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/07/18/537257884/that-drug-expiration-date-may-be-more-myth-than-fact

OK.  If he says nothing, I will keep the 1.5 mg script I have now.  Technically I am still a bit above 1.0 a day, so yes I may need the extra through September. 

As far as his retirement, I will have a session with my counselor in Sept.  She said she can probably connect me with a psychiatrist who will continue my prescription.  Not the one who wanted to do the 6 week taper!  I don't think he's there anymore. 

I see my prescribing Dr. in 2 days.  He dropped my script from 2 mgs. a day to 1.5 mgs a day back in middle of May.  I am now at 1.0625 (I am ready to drop that .0625 crumb).

 

Should I show how much progress I have made by requesting he lower my script to 1.0 mg daily Monday? 

Or should I stay at 1.5 mg at least another month, as I am trying to build a 3 month reserve of pills for my final taper?  And right now I have only 16 mgs. set aside.  At least if he stayed at 1.5 mgs daily for another month, and I only took 1.0 mgs a day, I would instantly add another 15 mgs. to my taper stash and I would worry a lot less about being cut off from my prescriptions.  I would have a full month set aside for an emergency.

I plan to keep tapering until I am at .75 mgs daily in November while my script remains at 1.0 mgs daily.  Then I can continue to set aside the extra every month.  (If I remain functional, I will keep tapering to .5 mgs a day after November.  Then I am not sure but think I will hold there for awhile as I am still working full time for another year or two.)

 

I am a bit paranoid about my Dr. retiring and me being left to cold turkey.  I am in the States.  This is not an imaginary fear - I see people on social media every day who say their Dr. just cut them off.  One woman was on 5 mgs. K a day -- yes, we all asked her, You mean .5 mgs don't you? And she repeated NO, she was prescribed 5 x a day 1 mg. k pills. 

 

Do drs. have to show the "regulators" that a patient like me us dropping dosage regularly?  I am worried about being *flagged* as a benzo abuser if I ask to stay at the 1.5 mg daily dose for an extra month.

 

I was offered a different plan by the psychiatrist at the center where I get my talk therapy sessions - it's laughable - he wanted me to cut .5 every 2 weeks from a starting dose of 2.0 mgs K a day, so I would be completely off after 6 weeks.  He said he would give me gabapentin and Seroquel & that would take care of any withdrawal.  I was pretty horrified & said no thanks, I will have my general practitioner keep prescribing for me.

 

Hi Ivy. Is there a reason u don’t feel comfortable saying what u wrote here to ur Dr? Tell them ur fears just like ur doing here. It’s been my freq experience that espec if u already hv a relationship w one for benzo that they are willing to work w these concerns n questions you hv.  You just hv to b straight up w  them. You hv every right to hv a controlled wd w support.  Wd is not symptom free. It is painful n there’s pushing thru hard moments but it’s totally doable when u hv the right support. If we keep looking at what we can take to feel better we’re going to miss a boat load of other things that work to help a person push thru and out the other side.

If we’re not honest w the prescribers then I’m not sure how we can blame them too. 

It's because I am afraid my prescribing Dr. might see me as someone with a problem with benzos and cut me off completely if I start telling him the details of my tapering and such.  I cannot risk that.

It's because I am afraid my prescribing Dr. might see me as someone with a problem with benzos and cut me off completely if I start telling him the details of my tapering and such.  I cannot risk that.

 

I understand that fear. Just know there are drs that won’t do that to you. I had an amazing dr my first time thru. I did a 4 mo Valium wean thru IOP, I went every day, n I did great. I hopped off at 4 mg Valium.  Hving support from ppl that can help u w skills to help w symptoms. I’m so sorry u hv to do it this way. I hate to see you worrying about it. It wd help so much if u didn’t hv that as a worry. I encourage ppl to interview drs n find one that fits like a glove.  I’ll b 🙏 for u. 

Ivy - after reading your responses, it seems like you’re doing the right thing and I completely understand your reluctance to engage your current provider.  I hate you feel that unsupported by him/her that you can’t talk about these important things, but it is what it is. I hope your counselor has ideas about someone who will be more supportive and open that you will be able to transfer to once your GP retires.

 

I have had a very spotty experience with prescribing physicians.  The last one had me on 13 meds and I was a complete zombie. I had to transfer to someone new (long story) and I was really nervous.  But so far this guy is SO MUCH better.  He has been very open to a patient led taper and has gotten me off of 7 of the meds.  I feel like a completely different person.  I didn’t know what I was taking was excessive, but his explanation to me made very good sense and his discussion with me made sure I was knowledgeable and aware of the plan. When I cut too much Clonazepam  and was miserable, he didn’t want me to be in that state and readily agreed with my proposed updose. He’s been very open to letting me propose next steps.  I tell you this because it is so freaking scary to change docs, but sometimes things work out better.

 

I hope you are doing okay - it sounds like you now have a way forward with which you are comfortable.  I’m wishing you the very best.

 

Butterfly

 

OK.  If he says nothing, I will keep the 1.5 mg script I have now.  Technically I am still a bit above 1.0 a day, so yes I may need the extra through September. 

As far as his retirement, I will have a session with my counselor in Sept.  She said she can probably connect me with a psychiatrist who will continue my prescription.  Not the one who wanted to do the 6 week taper!  I don't think he's there anymore.

 

It's great to hear you have options! 

It's all worked out for now.  I will get the 1.5 mg script filled tomorrow, then start at 1.0 mgs for October script.