Dropping too fast?

Do you think it would be possible to drop .125 mg of Ativan every 10 days to 2 weeks? I am now taking .125 mg 4x per day for a total of .5? Would this be too fast? I don't know how I'm going to cut the .125 pieces again! They are so tiny. Anybody?

 

Hugs

 

P2

Hi P2,

 

You can just shave a little off each pill and toss the powder.

 

Your doing so good :) :)

 

Hugs

 

Bird

Well, that's true Birdman! I guess when I get to .0625 4x per day (if I can cut that little,) I will just lick on the bits and pretend I went to .03125!  sorry, just a little benzo humor. That's a good idea and worth a try.

 

Birdman, I hope that you are feeling good these days. My days are okay but nights not so good. Hopefully it will get better. Thank you and you are doing great too!

 

Hugs and love

 

P2

Birdman, are you at 1.5?

Do you think it would be possible to drop .125 mg of Ativan every 10 days to 2 weeks? I am now taking .125 mg 4x per day for a total of .5? Would this be too fast? I don't know how I'm going to cut the .125 pieces again! They are so tiny. Anybody?

 

Hugs

 

P2

Yes, ask your doctor to prescribe you (half of .125 mg's) .0625 mg doses of Ativan.  I asked my doctor to prescribe the dose I needed and then took it to a compounding pharmacy and they made up capsules for me. Just google your city and compounding pharmacy and you'll find the one nearest to you, or just ask your doctor. They'll know.  Then I had him presribe me .0312 mg doses.  It helped me to get through my taper because I was also dry-cutting and didn't know how to titrate. Was too sick at the time to work that out. 

 

Hope this helps P2.

But, in answer to your question, yes, I think you'll find that .125 is going to be tough to get off of without tapering further. That's just my experience though. 

Thank you so much Cedartree. I am trying to follow your tapering plan as best that I can because I think it's a good one. My doctor is not very cooperative and didn't understand why I would even want to come off. I now have enough scripts to finish my taper and then some, if all goes well with the taper. I have changed doctors 3 times and I'm exhausted dealing with people who think I should drop 50 mg in a month. I appreciate your idea and if he will do it maybe that will help. The water titration seems beyond my grasp right now because I'm exhausted at the end if the day and right now night time is my lowest point.

 

I think it was wishful thinking on my part to think I could drop that much at this point. I have almost 11 months invested so I guess a couple more or so won't matter. :-)

 

Hugs

 

P2

This is my opinion, but try not to rush it at the end .5 mg's a day is still a pretty large dose. You've come so far, so do yourself a favor and slow it down.  It's good that you have lots of scripts for the taper, but you really are going to have a hard time cutting them. I remember trying to make accurate cuts with that tiny little pill. Impossible. They come out all crumbled and uneven in little chips. Ack. That's why I asked for the compounding doses.  I don't think I could have done it without it. It was very useful.

 

You can do it P2, you're more than halfway there! 

I guess there is always that temptation to rush. If I can't get it compounded maybe my hubby would help with the water titration. We have one place that will do compounding. I live in a fairly small town by most standards and the whole mental health scene is not great. Also, everybody knows everybody.

 

Thank you for encouraging me. I have to keep reminding myself that I used to be on 3.00 mg a day. That I've dropped 2.5 mg. Cedartree, it's so good to have your knowledge and experience here. 

 

Hugs

 

P2

Hi P2,  Yes i am at 1.5mg - I am using the aspirin trick. I probably take 24 aspirin a week now (Not good for my body I know)  and I can cut faster and still feel super.  I have to go with any trick I can find so I am exploiting this one, it does work for me (it kills w/d pain and s/x effectively)  If I wake up in a pool of blood well, it will be my own fault then.  Either the aspirin is up regulating my GABA or it is just my time to heal, either way it's going great on this end!  Just in case I screw up will just up dose a smidgen if I get into trouble, not a big deal to up dose on a failed cut, I am no longer concerned, I am rapping this thing up in the next 3 weeks. I am jumping Feb 1st.  Time to live again and if I jump and fail I'll just re-dose a smidgen for a week or so. At this level it's a Win-Win game

 

You will get there too. Your so close, do what your body tells you, simple.

 

Hugs

 

Bird

 

P.S. My husband took a massage class and he thought me so we give each other an oil massage before bed (I love the almond oil with real white sandalwood)  Talk about relaxing sleep ;)   I always go last and I'm asleep by the time he is done, HEAVEN

That's awesome Birdman! I'm so thrilled for you! The fact that you are feeling good gives me some hope. Yes, I'm almost desperate to get my life back! The oil massage sounds divine.:-)

 

One question, where did you come up with the aspirin idea?

 

I hope you don't abandon the joint once you are finished.:-) 3 weeks! That's fantastic and yes, I'm a little envious.

 

Hugs

 

P2

Hi P2,

You will get there too. When you get down to .25 your going to feel way better. The more of this stuff you lose the better it gets.

 

Read my thread on aspirin - Lots of other people seem to like it too.

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=70797.0

 

Hugs

 

Bird

Thanks Birdman! I will check it out. I appreciate you very much.:-)

 

Hugs

 

P2

Hi Bird

Sounds like the aspirin is really going well for you. Do you take 3 (975mg) at night?

I've tried it intermittently and sometimes I feel better the next morning and sometimes not. It's hard to correlate with symptoms.

You're really going to jump Feb 1?

 

Bart

Birdman-  So you take like 3-4 asprin per day?  What sxs does it help with?  I just cut and feel horrid...major issue is numbness.  Just curious...

Hi Jessica,

Yes the aspirin helps me very much but my symptoms are all HEAD related, I feel my heart beat in my brain, vertigo, buzzing brain, visual disturbances, blurry vision, sensitivity to light and especially sound, balance problems, etc.  So for me or other people with similar s/x aspirin may work for them too.  Also I spent a month in cold turkey and my brain can override the fear factor so and can make sense of it and bear with it. I am healing and that's good enough for me. I know I will have some PAWS for 2 or 3 months. I have made peace with that fact and am ready for it.

 

Hi Bart,

Feb 1st.  Yes that's my goal. I hope I am ready for it, my stomach gets tied in knots just thinking about it, but in my case I think its best. On the aspirin I am at 975mg every other day now (48 hours)  that seems to work best. The Meloxicam works too but the aspirin is actually better for my head related s/x.

Bird, I checked out your thread on aspirin and its very informative and interesting. You have really researched it thoroughly! I'm so glad this is helping you and maybe it will help others.

 

BTW, I didn't know I was posting to a super intelligent person, intelligent yes, but oh my, you are impressive Bird! Thank you for dumbing down some of your replies to me. ;-) JK of course. I'm so glad you are getting close to your jump. I am getting very antsy and after almost a year,

I'm really ready to heal and put this behind me. Right now, it feels like I won't ever sleep naturally again. :-(

 

Hugs

 

P2

Hi P2,  I am not that smart or I wouldn't be in this mess   I honestly thought that taking tranquillizers had no repercussions like my Dr. told me 

I have been talking to people in other benzo blogs all over the world and many agree that towards the end of the taper you should learn to exploit your own bodies natural opiates (endorphins)

 

Body Massage

Vigorous exercise that makes you catch your breath (important).

Eating a lot of meat before going to bed, turkey or chicken is best (Lyons sleep).

Laughter and comedy.

Ingesting at least 2 or 3 tablespoons of REAL Coco powder before going to bed (Hot Coco? Do do use much sugar, best to use Splenda)

Topical capsaicin, a spice found in hot peppers (Topical capsaicin can be found in health food stores)

Shopping, amusement parks, movies, dinner out,  fun stuff, etc.

And (drum roll please) sex, of coarse, that had to be on this list :$

 

http://www.vitaminstuff.com/articles/healthfitness/articles-healthfitness-1.html

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorphins

 

Hugs

 

Bird

 

 

 

Thank you very much for all of the great ideas. I did exercise daily for the longest time and haven't been good about it the past 2 months, also picked up a few pounds. Ugh! Sex? What's that? :-)

 

You always have great ideas and so different from what I normally read. I believe in keeping all your options open. One question....the cocoa....what about the caffeine? Anxiety producing I thought.

 

I went to bed at 11:30 p and woke up at 3:30 am. Exhausted today but still have to work all day. I can't wait for 5pm. I hate wishing my days away to try to get to the end of this road!  I try to find some joy where I can but its been tough the past few weeks. I hope it eases up soon. Maybe a few more cuts and I will feel better. The lack of sleep is the worse. Causes so many other symptoms.

 

We are getting closer my friend.

 

Hugs

 

P2

Thank you very much for all of the great ideas. I did exercise daily for the longest time and haven't been good about it the past 2 months, also picked up a few pounds. Ugh! Sex? What's that? :-)

 

You always have great ideas and so different from what I normally read. I believe in keeping all your options open. One question....the cocoa....what about the caffeine? Anxiety producing I thought.

 

I went to bed at 11:30 p and woke up at 3:30 am. Exhausted today but still have to work all day. I can't wait for 5pm. I hate wishing my days away to try to get to the end of this road!  I try to find some joy where I can but its been tough the past few weeks. I hope it eases up soon. Maybe a few more cuts and I will feel better. The lack of sleep is the worse. Causes so many other symptoms.

 

We are getting closer my friend.

 

Hugs

 

P2

 

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I also forgot too  :laugh:

 

More on Coco

 

Pure, raw cacao also has extraordinary potential for helping to support weight loss - quite the opposite from the everyday chocolate bar!

 

That certain "euphoria" you may feel after consuming your favorite raw cacao treat isn't in your minds! Chocolate has actual compounds with the unique ability to satiate our appetite for pleasure like no other substance.

 

By increasing the levels of specific neurotransmitters in our brains, cacao can help promote a positive outlook, facilitate rejuvenation, and simply lift our spirits:

 

- Serotonin - Cacao raises the level of serotonin in the brain and therefore acts as an anti-depressant, promoting an overall sense of well-being.

 

-Endorphins - These are our natural pain and stress chemicals known as neurotransmitters. Cacao stimulates the secretion of endorphins, which can help to produce a pleasurable feeling.

 

- Phenylethylamine (PEAs) - PEAs are a natural chemical compound that are also created within the brain and released when we are in love. It acts as a mild mood elevator and an anti-depressant, and it helps increase focus and alertness.

 

- Anandamide - Anandamide is known as the "bliss chemical" because it is released by the brain when we are feeling happy. Cacao contains both N-acylethanolamines that are believed to temporarily increase the levels of anandamide in the brain and enzyme inhibitors that slow its breakdown. This promotes relaxation for a longer period of time.

 

Caffeine note:

Hot chocolate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_chocolate

The very small amount of caffeine found in cocoa,

 

Cocoa has 40 times less caffeine than a cup of coffee.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/264573-caffeine-in-hot-chocolate-vs-coffee/

 

 

Delicious Cacao Smoothie

2 Frozen Bananas (remove skin, cut into medium size pieces and freeze)

2 Tablespoons Organic Cacao Powder

1 1/2 Cups Almond Milk - more or less, depending on desired thickness

Your choice of sweetener, if desired

Blend all ingredients on high until smooth and creamy.

 

Enjoy your life! That's part of the process to UP-REGULATE your GABA

 

You must have some fun, that's an order

 

Hugs

 

Bird

 

 

Wow! I can have chocolate! I remember reading years ago that Yoko Ono ate nothing but dark chocolate after John Lennon was killed. She said she lost weight and it helped her mood. I had forgotten about that until now. You have alot of sources to back up your statements and that's great!

 

The smoothie? Well, as my little granddaughter would say it sounds "dee wish us"!!!

 

I need to remember how to have fun. So easy to forget. Live normally again! What a wonderful approach!

 

Hugs

 

P2

Hi P2,

 

Make sure you get quality RAW natural cacao powder.  90% of the garbage they call 'chocolate' these days does contain extra caffeine and all sorts of other junk in it. 

 

I like this one, you can google it

Navitas Naturals Organic Cacao Powder Raw Chocolate -- 16 oz

 

That's interesting about Yoko Ono and chocolate, I remember that also now that you mention it.

 

Hugs

 

Bird

 

 

Thank you for the suggestion! Yes, that makes sense about the raw. When chocolate is processed I suppose you don't know what's going into it.

 

You have given me a boost and some things to think about. That's a good feeling because I tend to get bogged down in the humdrum day to day motions and I need to remember what a big world is out there and how many wonderful discoveries are yet to be made. My job is stressful and not as much fun as it used to be due to several changes over the past few years. I'm responsible for several employee's performance and I get alot of pressure from the top. Life should be enjoyed and not wished away on a daily basis. That's just wrong.

 

Thank you for being who you are Bird. You are very special. :-)

 

Hugs

 

P2