Any thoughts on Tapering while crossing over from 4.5mg A to 45mg V

[[Buddie]]

Any thoughts on Tapering while crossing over from 4.5mg A to 45mg V

I am currently on 30mg Valium and 1.5mg Ativan.
I dose 3 times per day:
Morning: 8mg V, .5mg A
Afternoon: 7mg V, .5mg A
Evening: 15mg V, .5mg A

I am starting to find the increase in Valium difficult to handle. My body feels tired and my thoughts are becoming more negative. I like to swim and exercise and find it harder to do.
I see in the Ashton manual on the crossover from 6mg Ativan that once you reach 30mg Valium, the .5mg Ativan cuts are not bring replaced with 5mg Valium. From stage 5 to stage 11,  you cut from 60mg Valium equivalent to 30 mg equivalent.

Being on 4.5mg to 45 mg crossover, I wonder if I should taper as well but maybe not quite so much. Perhaps, when reducing .5mg Ativan, I could replace with 2 or 3 mg Valium?

I was thinking of my next phase as follows:
Morning:  9mg V (+1mg ), Stop Ativan
Afternoon: 7mg V, .5mg A
Evening: 17mg V(+2mg), .5mg A
 
My Valium would be 33 mg and my Ativan would 1mg. I would taper my total by 2mg.
My total Valium equivalent would be 43mg.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcomed.
Thanks
Ativan 75

[[Buddie]]

From what I've seen of equivalence charts Professor Ashtons is the highest, so I think its smart of you to look at your symptoms and figure out what's going to work the best for you.  Here is calculator that shows the range but also the middle ground. https://clincalc.com/Benzodiazepine/

I've been told the sedative and depressive qualities of the Valium will dissipate as you become accustomed to it but its good to be flexible, Professor Ashtons schedules are just guides, you're wise to tailor your taper to your needs.

[[Buddie]]

Thanks [...],
Did not realize there was a wide range of equivalence between Valium and Ativan.
I did not taper this week.
I am now 1mg Ativan and 35mg Valium
10 mg Valium in the morning
7mg mg Valium and .5mg Ativan in the afternoon
18mg Mg Valium and .5mg Ativan in the evening / before bed
Thanks
Ativan 75

[[Buddie]]

How are you feeling, still tired and negative?  Is your dosing schedule working for your lifestyle?

[[Buddie]]

I recently started a crossover from alprazolam to Valium using the Ashton conversion and first of all I think I went way too fast. Anxious I guess but I used the Ashton conversion and got very numb and depressed feeling. I have a doc appointment tomorrow. I probably should have converted one dose at a time to see if I would stabilize but didn’t. Stopped Valium because of the depression. Went from unstable at .5 xanax 3 times a day to 40 mg Valium in the course of a couple of days and just went numb…

[[Buddie]]

This crossover is much harder than I thought it would be. I feel I need to push through even if it's difficult. I do feel depressed and tired during the day but hope this can go away once I finish the crossover and start to taper the Valium. Thanks Ativan 75

[[Buddie]]

I cut the the Ativan down to .5mg on March 4Th and increased the Valium to 40 mg. I felt this cut affected my sleep more than previous cuts.
I now sleep well every other night. The strange thing is that the nights where I sleep well, I feel the most tired during the day. I think I might stay at this level for 2 weeks. I fear the final cut of Ativan will really affect my sleep.
Thanks Ativan 75

[[Buddie]]

I really appreciate you documenting your crossover [...] because I feel its important for members to know that switching benzo's comes with challenges so they need to have strong motivation and realistic expectations, and you're providing this.

I'm sorry to hear its causing you sleep issues and I'm sure that sedation during the day is unpleasant.  I was under the impression that Valium can help with sleep, maybe when you get totally crossed over you'll see that benefit, I hope so.

[[Buddie]]

Hey [...],
unfortunately in my case valium does not make me sleepy at night.
Friday, the 18th of march I plan to cut the .5mg of the ativan that I take at night.
I will be taking 45mg of valium as follows:
I will be taking 26 mg of valium at night at 10 pm
I will be 10 mg of valium in the morning at around 9am
I will be taking 9 mg of valium in the afternoon around 4pm
I have increased the my remeron from 15mg to 30mg during the crossover but
I don't it's helping with my sleep. I take at the same time as I take the valium.
Thanks
ATivan 75

[[Buddie]]

I appreciate knowing this about Valium, thank you.

Do you have previous experience with Remeron, I've read it can be challenging for some to withdraw from, just want to make sure you're aware.