Duneman1 HELP !! having a.m. dizzy spells and hand numbness

73 year old man tapered valium frim 5mg. 3 x day to 2.5 mg. A day 50% over 3 weeks ago. Now 2 mornings in a row dizzy spells and hand numbness and heartburn. Goes away after chores and eat and have coffee. Never rest of day. Is this normal after 3 weeks ?  Am planning on current taper 2 more weeks to be safe and then cut taper to 2.0 mg x 3 times a day. Is that okay ?? How long dizzy etc.  stay like that??

Doctor not aware of my taper.  Any help/advice appreciated

Thanks.. Duneman1

Mornings are typically rough for most of our members so I'm not surprised to hear you're feeling this way but I'm very surprised to hear it goes away completely, that's wonderful!  These symptoms are very common so nothing to be worried about.

Valium is very slow to leave your system so experiencing symptoms 3 weeks after a reduction is normal, my suggestion would be to maybe taper only one of your doses when you're ready to reduce again to hopefully avoid what you're dealing with now. 

The purpose of a taper is to rid yourself of the medication while using the medication to minimize withdrawal symptoms because once you're off the drug, you won't have it to help you anymore, you'll be at the mercy of them during the recovery phase.  Might as well use the drug to your benefit while you have it. 

Hi Duneman1,

you reduced your dose by 50%?! That seems way too much, way too fast. Try reductions around 5% every two weeks or when you stabilize.

73 year old man tapered valium frim 5mg. 3 x day to 2.5 mg. A day 50% over 3 weeks ago. Now 2 mornings in a row dizzy spells and hand numbness and heartburn. Goes away after chores and eat and have coffee. Never rest of day. Is this normal after 3 weeks ?  Am planning on current taper 2 more weeks to be safe and then cut taper to 2.0 mg x 3 times a day. Is that okay ?? How long dizzy etc.  stay like that??

Doctor not aware of my taper.  Any help/advice appreciated

Thanks.. Duneman1

Dosage times now at 50 % reduction for 28 days now.

2.5 at about 7 a.m .....2.5 at about 11:00 a.m. and 2.5 at about 4 p.m.