problems with Valium withdrawal

Hi folks,

I'm new to the board and don't know much about these drugs, except that I took Valium for 6 months from Jan-July 2007. I had a daily dose of 10mg for about 4 months and then the doctor (my mother-in-law) told me to 'back off' so I went to 5mg daily for the final two months. I don't know if that dose of Valium is strong enough to cause withdrawal symptoms, but since I stopped altogether (july) I have been in the worst health of my life and getting worse. The day after I dropped my dose from 10 to 5 mg, I woke up with my chest feeling like it had been crushed in a vise. I couldn't breathe normally for hours after waking up. This got a little better and then the day after I stopped altogether the same thing happened but about 10 times worse, and since then all kinds of horrible things have happened ranging from extreme stress and anger to weight loss (about 20 pounds) to urinanry tract infections, awful changes in appearance and mood, really bad stuff. I have been in and out of doctors offices for a few months now with no results, and the usual response is that everything that's happening is psychosomatic. I haven't mentioned anything about the Valium to the other doctors I have been seeing because I have been afraid that given the ease with which anti-anxiety of depression drugs are prescribed, they might just try to put me on something else that might have more effects I don't want.

Well, that's my story - I don't know if it has anything to do with the Valium or not but I do know things have been really awful since I stopped. Any feedback, experiences or anything else anyone wants to share would be welcome.

Many thanks + best of luck to all,

Dan

Welcome Dan,

It sounds like you have been having a rough time since you got off the valium. Chest pressure is a typical w/d symptom. Benzos do have all kinds of side effects. Based on your dosages, you may have come off way to fast, but re-instating at this time is usually not a good alternative. Someone else with more expertise in your area should be along to help you out with some of your questions and concerns.

Take care and hang in there!

Hi Theresa,

thanks a lot for replying. What a great thing to have some feedback! There is no question of resuming the meds at this point, as I don't think they were right in the first place. As for the dosage drop, it was 10mg/day for 4 months, then an overnight drop from 10 to 5mg, then two months later an overnight drop from 5mg to nothing. With the same reaction at both 'drop points'.

Thanks again + good evening (I'm in Paris) or good afternoon,

Dan

Hi Dan,

That's a 50% drop both times and the usual taper is 10% over a 7-14 day period. Are you familar with The Ashton Manual? You can find a lot there that will also help you gain knowledge based on what you are going through. I will add the website, as soon as I find it. PS-I'm in Oklahoma, been to Paris about 15 years ago--had a great time.

Here it is....

http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/index.htm

Yeah those are big cuts Dan. A slow taper would have been better, but no good crying over spilt milk, right? 

At least you survived it without any "major" symptoms like grand mal seizures, so that's a plus. Sounds like a lot of what you are going through is related to a CNS that has been shocked and is trying to heal itself, i.e.: benzo withdrawal.

There are lost of people here who have made similar mistakes and who are recovering or who have recovered so hopefully there will be more support coming. Chin up! It will eventually get better.

Tony

Hi Dan,

Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

This does sound like withdrawal symptoms. The fact that you expereinced peaks in symptoms with each cut supports this as being the cause of your symptoms. Also, the fact that you are receiving medical care should rule out any other cause.

At 9 months off, it would be crazy to reinstate now. The fact is, you have been unlucky to feel this unwell for so long, and 10mg Valium is not a large dose (however, it is significant). I would expect that you will improve vastly over the forthcoming months. Just try to put this behind you and have a positive outlook. Think back, what improvements have you noticed since quitting last summer?

hi everybody,

thanks for the replies; Theresa, thanks for the link. I read the manual and indeed it seems like I should have taken more time than I did to get off of the meds. It's a funny thing because my impression of it was that it was more like a glorified ibuprofen with some extra effects. The doctor gave it to me for back tension, and otherwise never mentioned anything about potentialy problems stopping the meds.

Colin and Tony, thanks for the input too. I have in fact had a few episodes of fainting and some other really crazy neurological symptoms along with what feels like toxic (adrenaline?) problems. I think I have some other problems along with this, but no doubt going nearly cold turkey did not help. The really lousy part is this all happened about a month before I got married and so I was a total basket case and had everybody around me trying to feed me more pills (help!).

Things have calmed down a good bit psychologically since the summer although there are still significant issue to be resolved.

Have any of you used any kind of non-habit forming, minimal side-effects support (herbal or otherwise) during the withdrawal?

Thanks, folks. Much appreciated.

Dan

Hi Dan,

I know some around here use different things to mitigate their withdrawal symptoms. Everyone is different and things that work for one may not work for another. During my taper, I have increased my protein intake and drink Chamomile Tea to calm the jitters. That's all I've been doing so far. Others will be by to let you know of things that have worked for them. Feel free to scan blogs for others that are in the same situation. Read their signature lines to see who may best fit your situation, but remember not everyone's recovery will be the same as yours.

All the Best,

Theresa

Dan, you could also try something called Calms Forte by Hylands. It is a homeopathic treatment. It isn't habit forming, but if you take it daily it may lose some effectiveness. Other people have used valarian root. Also for sleep, there is melatonin, but again, may lose some effectiveness when used daily. But not always!

And Theresa is right, Chamomile tea works great! I never realized that til I actually tried it the other day for some extreme hyper reactions I had to some hormone replacement. It totally took the edge off. Very nice.