help need some advice on my taper

I have been tapering off of  15mg temazepam and .75 ativan.  I dropped fairly quickly with some withdrawal but am now at the end, I dropped .25 of ativan 5 days ago and did ok, then I dropped the final 7.5 temazepam - yikes am having a big problem, what do I need to add back in - 1/2 of the 7.5 or all of the 7.5.  Need your help with this last taper....

 

Mylosmiles

My history:

 

I was on 1mg ativan and 30mg temazepam for 39 days.  I did not realize that these drugs were so addictive and tried to quit cold turkey, 2 days later I was back on 15 mg of temazepam and .75 mg ativan.  I started dropping a couple weeks ago and found that I could drop .25 ativan every week and 1/2 of the temazepam in between.  I may have had something I saw someone say about going between doses???  Anyway, I dropped the last ativan 5 days ago and had some pretty good withdrawal but thought that I was stablilzed enoght to drop my last 7.5 pill the temazepam - not good, I dropped it at 8pm last night, how much temazepam should I reinstate? and does it matter what time I take it, I have my worst symtoms at about 4 am and morning, what do you suggest as a final taper?

 

My husband believes that I should stay off the pill and finish no matter how hard, what should I do?

 

Please advise me soon....

Hi,

 

It was suggested that you taper just one of your benzos at a time. We generally recommend that people cut by no more than about 10% of their dose every 7-14 days, but since you use has been relatively short, and accelerated taper is worth trying. However, you seem to have tapered far too quickly, and I'm not entirely sure of exactly what you have done. Have you totally quit now? Given that you tapered so quickly, and your last cut was only last night, then reversing that cut might well be advisable. We can help with methods that will allow you make smaller cuts than 7.5mg Temazepam. I am not suggesting that you make this very long drawn-out taper, but you could taper off the final 7.5mg of Temazepam over 10-14 days.

I think I need to stablize first and then use your reduction of  the 7.5, could you please post it.

 

The easy way is to simply grind up the 7.5mg into a fine powder, and add it to water or milk. Then to make you first reduction, drink just three-quarters of the liquid each day for 4-5 days, then half the liquid for 4-5 days, and then just a quarter of the liquid for another 4-5 days. This is faster taper rate than I would normally recommend, but since your benzo use has been short-lived, and you have rightly expressed the desire to try tapering off more quickly, I think this a reasonable guide to your taper. If you fair very well, then maybe you can go a little more quickly, but conversely, if you don't feel recovered from the previous cut, hold off for a while longer.

I am having a little trouble with the quick reduction, I am considering the 10% per week for the end.  My question is - slowing the reduction down to 10% per week will help with the withdrawal symptoms? and at this rate do people find that they can work and function in their daily lives?  I know that this will help with the final drop,

Yes, it will help very much to slow down rate of reduction. Also, slowing the speed of your taper will help too. If you can (if you have a good supply), every 10 14 days might work better for you, and you will feel more functional. Your taper plan shouldn't be too rigid. You can adjust your rate and speed as you go, depending how you feel.

It's not a race. 

Question:

 

The 10% taper is taken as follows:

 

10% of whatever dose you are on and that reduction rate remains the same throughout the entire reduction.

 

ie - 5.6mg of temazepam becomes .56 drop each week or so?  until finished

 

How was your reduction?  you reduced the same amount each week? How was your withdrawal and were you able to work during your reduction?

 

My problem is that my husband believes I am just addicted and should be able to just go through withdrawal and quit - I am very stressed over this

 

I came off of 30mg of temazepam and 1 mg of Ativan in 3.5 weeks, minus the 7.5mg of temazepam.( I was put on these two drugs for anxiety and sleep aid. ) Had some very severe withdrawal and could not finish the last 7.5 pill.  Stayed off for 24 hours but had to reinstate.  Now I need to get off of the 7.5, I have reduced it by .25 last Saturday, am having some withdrawal again and am thinking about slowing down the reduction because I need to get my life back at this point.  My husband says that no matter how much I take the symtoms will remain the same so just quit! 

 

Your advice is most welcomed

Try and get your husband to read the Ashton Manual.  http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/index.htm

 

The only way to do regular 10% (or any %) cuts all the way down is to do a liquid titration. This involves crushing your pill and mixing it with  a liquid, allowing for exact percentage cuts each time. Or get liquid klonopin at a compounding pharmacy.

I fyou are cutting pills, each cut will become a larger %. So if cutting .125mg away each time, When you are at 1mg, this is a 12.5% cut. But when you are at .5mg, this becomes a 25% cut.

My taper was fairly uneventful. I did suffer a bit following each cut, but not as bad as some. Maybe it is because I wasn't on terribly long. Or maybe I'm just one of those people who had an easier time of it due to my biochemistry. Who knows?

I am self employed and work mostly from home during the winter months, so I was fortunate in that.

 

My husband says that no matter how much I take the symtoms will remain the same so just quit! 

 

 

He's wrong!

Don't do that, it will make matters so much worse. Slow and easy does it. It will be so worth it in the long run.

So, you cut the same 10% away each time?  you did not take 10% off of the doseage that you were actually on?

The temazepam is in a capsule which you can open and cut, but a little difficult.

how often did you make your cut?

I was only on the pills for 39 days, so I was hoping that I could get off sooner rather than later,

Colin:

 

Does the tritation help with the withdrawal?  Someone from CITA in the UK said this method is not very exact, but right now I have 15mg capsules that we cut in two to make 7.5.  Would it be better to use the 15mg pill and divide it into two exact groups and go from there? Do you think it is better to tritrate or try to cut these pills ourselves? I have made the first .25 cut by just cutting the capsules, not too bad on withdrawal end of day 2. 

 

I would like your advice, I have a little glass beaker type thing (glass measuring device) it goes to 4 oz with 1/2 divisions in between.  Could I use this instead of a syringe?

 

Please advise

Thank you

Well, titration is vastly more accurate than pill-splitting, so long as some care is taken in the preparation of the liquid. The potential problem is if the benzo powder is not evenly distributed throughout the liquid. If using water, you must make sure that the water agitated before any measurements or reductions are made to the liquid. Also, the benzo must be ground to a fine powder. If instead you use full-fat homogenised milk, the benzo powder tends to cling to the fat globules within the milk, so an even distribution is better assured.

 

Your glass beaker is fine. I repeat (from my earlier post), because you have been on benzos for a relatively short period of time, and you have managed a fast taper so far, you should be able to taper off far faster than 10% every week. In your shoes, and at this dose, I would aim to taper off over a few weeks. If you find that it is too tough, simply slow down. There is nothing mysterious about this process.

 

The comments about you needing to reduce the size of you cuts as your dose diminishes is mostly true, but at low doses this is not the case (you are on a low dose). The same size cut can be carried out until you have quit. Your 4oz beaker, with 0.5oz divisions sounds ideal for you. Simply make up 4oz of liquid with your regular daily dose (7.5mg Temazepam, I believe), but drink just 3.5oz of the liquid. When you are ready to cut again, make up 4oz with 7.5mg Temazepam and drink just 3oz. Keep doing this until you have quit. Maybe you should try making new cuts every 3-4 days, but adjust the frequency of the cuts according to how you react.

So, you cut the same 10% away each time?  you did not take 10% off of the doseage that you were actually on?

The temazepam is in a capsule which you can open and cut, but a little difficult.

 

No, I didn't cut by percent, I just cut by .125mg each time. I started at about 1.25mg. So by the time I got to .5mg, my cuts were 25%. And they grew from there. This actually seems to be too hard for most people to do. I don't know why It worked ok for me. I think I just felt that this was the way I wanted to do it, therefore my body cooperated. There is a step off chart that I loosely followed. Here is the link. Its on the left side. http://www.benzobuddies.org/buddiesguide

Colin:

 

Can you please help me with some advice:

 

I am tapering off the last 7.5 temanzepam as you suggested, now on day 3 of the first drop, the first two days and nights were moderate and ok, now the third day I am a bit more uncomfortable, racing heart and shaky but still functional. It seems as if the third day of a reduction is always worse - is that something that is real or just in my mind?

 

Is it normal to have withdrawal symptoms at these small doseages?  I assume it is or people would just quit. Again, I am being told that at this small dose, to have withdrawal is only because it is in my head and if it is really in my body than even after I quit I will be miserable for possibly months.

 

My husband is of the belief that the longer I take these pills, even while reducing, the end will be worse than if I just stop right now.  From all the reading and help that I have gotten, it would appear that the end will be worse if I just stop now.

 

Also, how long after I drop the last pill will I begin to feel better?  I know that you don't have a crystal ball but can you guess according with my history?

 

Need your advice please

My

 

 

 

 

Hi My,

Colin will reply too, but I just wanted to reassure you that yes wd symptoms are normal even at these "small" doses. Unfortunately, most doctors and lay people just don't get this. Hopefully someday it will be more common knowledge. For the cut to hit you at 3 days is typical. Mine hit me around 4 to 7 days following a cut. (klonopin is longer acting than temazepam)

You are right that it will be worse (immediately AND in the long run) if you just stop now.

By tapering you will actually recover and feel better sooner than if you cold turkey.

 

As for your husband saying it's going to be worse the longer you are on, this is untrue. There is constant healing going on with each cut. So you are not becoming more addicted, you are becoming less addicted as your taper progresses.

I was only on klonopin for 3.5 months, and my taper was almost 4.5 months! Tapering was totally worth it though, and 2 months off I feel pretty terrific.

To stop now may set you up for lingering symptoms long after you would normally recover with a taper.

 

As far as when will you feel better after you finish. It could be right away, or it could be a few weeks. It's really too hard to give you a time frame.  Or you could feel great right away, only to feel some symptoms come up a few weeks later. This is normal, and nothing to be alarmed about.

Just be strong and stick to your guns! Don't let anyone talk you into a ct. What's the hurry? Be gentle to your body and it will be gentle to you. 

do you know anything about noni juice?  I was told to take it after I finished as it leaches out the old drugs still in the system.

do you know anything about noni juice?  I was told to take it after I finished as it leaches out the old drugs still in the system.

 

Well, I don't know too much, but definitely wait tell you are well off, as it may cause a detox reaction, which you don't want right now as it can cause a ct effect. Also, it is rather stimulating and may rev your system too much, I hear.

 

Trust your own body to cleanse itself. It knows how.

ejay,

thanks for all the great advice and help

 

question for you, when you finally took your last pill, did you go through some pretty tough withdrawal?  When I first stopped the drugs I was on for 39 days, I did not know anything about being addicted - I never take any drugs.  So, i had a ct reaction, scared me to death and went back on the pills at a smaller dose and have tapered off in about 3 1/2 weeks down to where I am now.  I have had some pretty tough days in the beginning, but seems to be getting better as I go along.  I am a little fearful to cut the last two pills, Colin gave me a 10-15 day taper off of the last pill I am on.  I intend to see this through though, I need my life back.

 

Thanks,

my

question for you, when you finally took your last pill, did you go through some pretty tough withdrawal? 

 

No, I really didn't, except a couple of weeks out, I developed some nasty sleep anxiety and have been dealing with that on and off. But right now I'm sleeping ok again, and have no more anxiety.

 

Those first couple of weeks off I didn't have any wd sx. A little weird, I know! Everyone's different.

 

I am tapering off the last 7.5 temanzepam as you suggested, now on day 3 of the first drop, the first two days and nights were moderate and ok, now the third day I am a bit more uncomfortable, racing heart and shaky but still functional. It seems as if the third day of a reduction is always worse - is that something that is real or just in my mind?

 

Maybe it is both. Undoubtedly you have suffered from withdrawal effects, and if you always suffer on the third day, then you might be setting yourself up to experience withdrawal effects even after a modest cut to your dose. At the same time though, many or most of our members would experience some withdrawal effects if they made a similar cut to you - but we are supposing that you will react better than most because of your short-term use and because, mostly, you have managed a very accelerated withdrawal without too many problems. The truth is that this cut is far smaller than your past cuts, so you might expect it to be easier. At the same time though, tapering is not very predictable, and some cuts are felt harder, often for no apparent reason. It is best to not dwell upon this stuff, but just take it as it comes. If a cut hits particularly hard, then allow more time before your next cut.

 

Is it normal to have withdrawal symptoms at these small doseages?  I assume it is or people would just quit. Again, I am being told that at this small dose, to have withdrawal is only because it is in my head and if it is really in my body than even after I quit I will be miserable for possibly months.

 

Most of our members would experience withdrawal symptoms with similar sized cuts. They also, mostly, would not be tapering as fast as you.

 

My husband is of the belief that the longer I take these pills, even while reducing, the end will be worse than if I just stop right now.  From all the reading and help that I have gotten, it would appear that the end will be worse if I just stop now.

 

He can believe what he likes, but it doesn't make him correct! I wouldn't be too hard on him though, as his reaction is very typical - few people that have not been through benzo withdrawal are very sympathetic - they just don't get it.

 

Also, how long after I drop the last pill will I begin to feel better?  I know that you don't have a crystal ball but can you guess according with my history?

 

In your case, because of your short-term use and largely successful accelerated taper, and so long as you don't quit cold turkey, you are likely to feel much improved after some weeks, maybe even sooner. Again, don't dwell upon this stuff, just take it as it comes.

Thanks Colin:

 

Regarding the withdrawal effects, I always wait until I feel better before I cut a dose.  Usually this happens on the 4th day (with the exception of the one time I took some supplements and made myself very sick)  The first reductions had much worse side effects than now.  What I have now is sometimes not comfortable (mostly foggy head, heart palipations and some shaky ness) most of these subside during the day and occur from 7am until 12 or 1pm.  As far as the worst day being the third day, ejay said her worst day was 4, she was on a different drug with longer life. This relates to the amount of drug out of the body, I would think.  I will try not to think about it, I would like it to stop anyway.

 

Did you mean quitting ct to be stopping right now without finishing this short taper that you helped me with?  I plan to finish that, I understand why my husband feels the way he does, we have been over a month with almost no life, everytime I reduce, we would have some bad days.- followed by some good days.  I am hoping that I will have  quick recovery once I have stopped - if it follows my general pattern it should be fairly quick.

 

 

 

Did you mean quitting ct to be stopping right now without finishing this short taper that you helped me with? 

 

 

Yes, that's what we mean.