Discussion weaning benzo

[furax53]

there are people who managed to wean themselves off benzo here ?

 

[JustAboutDone]

*raises hand*

 

[furax53]

*raises hand*

his step was too hard to wean himself

 

[JustAboutDone]

Are you trying to stop them?

 

[furax53]

Are you trying to stop them?

I will soon start weaning

 

[JustAboutDone]

Definitely best to go as slowly as you can over a period of weeks dropping incrementally til on lowest possible dose then stopping. Do Not cold turkey as risk of seizures is huge
(v unpleasant experience :-( ) and risk of severe benzo withdrawal symptoms are massive.

 

[Anima]

I will soon start weaning

I haven't been in your situation, but in case you have used short-acting benzos it's possible to first change to diazepame.

https://www.mdedge.com/psychiatry/a...e/consider-slow-taper-program-benzodiazepines

Havent read all of the article, but you might want to look into that.

 

[furax53]

I am currently on prazepam 10 mg in the evening to fall asleep

 

[Anima]

I am currently on prazepam 10 mg in the evening to fall asleep

So it's long-acting. Is it available in liquid form as well. If the craving is too strong and not managable you might look into something that helps with this too.

 

[furax53]

So it's long-acting. Is it available in liquid form as well. If the craving is too strong and not managable you might look into something that helps with this too.

yes available in liquid version

 

[Jen Erik]

I was on clonazepam, 1mg, three times a day, every day. For almost ten years, I think.

I am now taking 0.25mg (0.5mg tablet, cut in half) every other day, pretty much a maintenance dose to avoid withdrawals. It took about a year to get here.

My tolerance has improved, so that I can now take 1mg when I am having an acute episode of anxiety and it helps. I do this very rarely, though. I don't want to get back into a high dose habit.

I tried to do a complete taper recently based on a modified schedule like those described on https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha02.htm but I stopped after a week, because my anxiety soared through the roof, not because of anything having to do with medicine, but because I realized this was it: after I ended the taper, there would be no more benzos for me, it would be extremely unlikely a physician would ever prescribe them again. And that terrifies me. It's like a psychological dependence. I might try again someday.

 

[Moony21]

Since almost 3 years I take lunesta.

I started in october to reduce. I took 14 mg per night and now I am taking 7 mg. I tried to change to valium but I felt like out of my body. Just try to do it really slowly

 

[kkatt]

I cut right down on my Morphine script,but the Benzos are another thing. I kinda gave up on it and just accepted it'll always be there.
I'm currently taking 2mg Alprazolam mixed with 7.5m,g Xanax at night and using 0.5mg tabs of clonazepam as needed in the day. Also topping up with 2mg Rivotril tabs when I feel like I might have a seizure.
I do know people who've come off them but also those like myself who just accept their fate.

 

[Kyrok]

I used Xanax nightly for years. Stopped a couple years ago. Cut your doses slowly.
Anxiety about not sleeping without a pill can keep you up, but eventually, that goes away.

As needed, I take something still, though can go weeks without.

 

[kat_illusion]

I used to be addicted to benzos, even overdosing a couple times. I stopped abruptly one day cause i realized I had a problem. i stopped cold turkey though, which i do NOT recommend, even if you are at a relatively low dose. The withdrawal symptoms are just awful, I wouldn't wish them upon anyone. You'd be waay better off weaning off them in a period of two or three weeks, to lessen the withdrawal effects.

 

[Armadillo]

I guess my worst benzo whitdrawal was quitting cold turkey a daily habit of 10 mg Lorazepam, 2 mg Delorazepam, 30 mg Flurazepam and 10 mg Zolpidem (not a benzodiazepine per se but still a GABA-A positive allosteric modulator) and an SSRI too. After more than a month of use.

I can't express in words how much I wanted to die.

 

[JustAboutDone]

I guess my worst benzo whitdrawal was quitting cold turkey a daily habit of 10 mg Lorazepam, 2 mg Delorazepam, 30 mg Flurazepam and 10 mg Zolpidem (not a benzodiazepine per se but still a GABA-A positive allosteric modulator) and an SSRI too. After more than a month of use.

I can't express in words how much I wanted to die.

Armadillo that must have been worse than hell. X

 

[Moony21]

I guess my worst benzo whitdrawal was quitting cold turkey a daily habit of 10 mg Lorazepam, 2 mg Delorazepam, 30 mg Flurazepam and 10 mg Zolpidem (not a benzodiazepine per se but still a GABA-A positive allosteric modulator) and an SSRI too. After more than a month of use.

I can't express in words how much I wanted to die.

that sounds heavy.

has you prescribed such a dose by doctor ??

 

[Armadillo]

that sounds heavy.

has you prescribed such a dose by doctor ??

Yes. I was prescribed all that crap. And my stupid addictive personality kept taking all that for a mild buzz.
Then school started and I realized I couldn't concentrate and memorize anything with all that in my system and my dumbass decided to quit it all at once.
Even crawling out of bed felt like moving a mountain.

Fun fact: I didn't even had that bad of an anxiety problem, fuck those doctors who only care about money and getting people addicted on drugs they don't need.

 

[Moony21]

Yes. I was prescribed all that crap. And my stupid addictive personality kept taking all that for a mild buzz.
Then school started and I realized I couldn't concentrate and memorize anything with all that in my system and my dumbass decided to quit it all at once.
Even crawling out of bed felt like moving a mountain.

Fun fact: I didn't even had that bad of an anxiety problem, fuck those doctors who only care about money and getting people addicted on drugs they don't need.

what the hell?!
how irresponsible can these doctors be! I am always shocked. that's a benzo cocktail. And he also prescribed you a ssri at the same time?

 

[Armadillo]

what the hell?!
how irresponsible can these doctors be! I am always shocked. that's a benzo cocktail. And he also prescribed you a ssri at the same time?

Yup. The SSRI was Fluvoxamine, 150mg.

IDK if it's something that happens only in my country (Italy) but all the psychiatrists I've met are either extremely incompetent or don't give a crap about the patient.

They don't know shit about the drugs they prescribe and the interaction and side effects, can barely make a diagnosis and hand out prescriptions like candies.
The main aim is to zombify the patient with neuroleptics and other sedatives, not to cure.
I do believe that we'd be better off without public psychiatric services. And I hope things are at least a bit better in other western countries.

 

[Moony21]

Yup. The SSRI was Fluvoxamine, 150mg.

IDK if it's something that happens only in my country (Italy) but all the psychiatrists I've met are either extremely incompetent or don't give a crap about the patient.

They don't know shit about the drugs they prescribe and the interaction and side effects, can barely make a diagnosis and hand out prescriptions like candies.
The main aim is to zombify the patient with neuroleptics and other sedatives, not to cure.
I do believe that we'd be better off without public psychiatric services. And I hope things are at least a bit better in other western countries.

I didn't know that the Italian doctors are so negligent. For me it sounds like a hospital psychiatric dose. in Switzerland they r often a bit carefully Benzos prescribed but many antidepressants.