well I've been tapering now for oh 8 weeks and I'm down to 1 every 24 hrs so its possible just do it slowly and when you fall just get back on the horse . it does work you take less and less then its not such a shock to your body. the benzo are the ones that are the hardest take it easy on those slit the pills in quarters too. just keep writing you can do it.

You are doing very well on taper. I tried to taper and did not do so well. I was only taking 5 mgs of hydro when it got really bad. I held off for as long as I could and found it help a little, still had the w/d's.I think if you could cut down to 3 to begin with it might be better than 6. In some way you have to feel the pain and will make it easier in the long run.  I could get some sleep at night and though this might sound a little crazy, I took Robitussen nightime cough syrup. It seemed to help with the sleeping end of it. I started the cough syrup because of everything running from my head it would be make cough terribly at night. You are started a new chapter of your life and will feel so good when you can let go of the little *********** and just live life as it was meant to be. I am thinking of you and sending good thoughts and peace your way. I will help you any way I can. I find that reading helps me a lot because I can escape, that is what the pills helped me do. Keep on fighting and it will get better. Please keep me posted.
Peaceful thoughts are coming your way.

Always,
Mariyah

thank you both very much. i will slit the benzos in quarters and hopefully i'll have the courage to go down to 3 a day of the hydros, as suggested, instead of 6...you're so  right, i can't possibly avoid all the pain. thank you for your help and i'll keep you posted. i want to be free. i can do this. i can do this.
athena

That sounds good to go down to 3, if not try 4 and try to decrease in 3-4 days. I know you can do this and I am rooting for you. You sound like a very strong person...like dye said, "If you fall get right back up again and start over."
M

i did it. i took two. also set aside two for tonight, plus split the 4 xanaxes i have left into halves (they're oval and i don't think i can successfully cut them in quarters) to have one each night for the next 8 nights. thank you, thank you; i can't believe that i was able to do that. and thanks for the suggestion to stay this dose for the next 3 days--i thought tapering meant i was committed to cutting down every single day and that thought scared me cuz at the rate i was going down, i'd be done in a few days. i will keep posting every day. and thanks dye for the "get right back up and start again if i slip," tip; not cuz that is a loophole, but cuz i have a tendency to interpret  a slip as full-blown failure and therefore license to go back to my old ways. bye y'all.

Sorry it took me so long.  I had a job interview and I GOT THE JOB WOOHOOO lol.. LOL means laugh out loud!!! I was thinkin about ya today... you are doin' awesome and everyone slips up but just start again and again til ya get it right.  Don't stop tryin'.  Tell yourself this is it, I HATE THESE DAMN THINGS, THEY ARE RUINING MY LIFE!!"  Then go outside and enjoy the beautiful day.  You're almost there, ya just gotta taper yourself off then after each day without anything pat yourself on the back and look back at the agony you went through and say to yourself "I ain't never doin' that again lol"  You can do it... omg if i can anyone can lol.What your on right now 4 5/500's?  I was takin equivelent to around 80 of those a day yikes!!!  I don't see how I didn't kill myself, DAMN!!!  What the hell was i thinking?  I guess I wasn't thinkin' just thinkin' about gettin high really.  They are very gross things... write me back.  I love the posts Luvs ya, Lil.  I'm here for ya!!

thank you for finding me. i am feeling very supported today. congrats on the job! i'm sure you are very likeable and employable, especially with all those hard-earned days under your belt. another blessing of being clean, eh?! wow, you certainly were taking a lot. amzing what the body can survive.  a week ago i was putting as much **** in my body as it would allow (without puking) then i turned to the needle when my tummy rebelled, so i was injecting **** that shouldn't be injected...i'm very bad. i am a regular garbage can. "whatdyagot?" is my answer to the question "what are you addicted to?" lol (i love that--laugh out loud!). so yes, today i am down to four 5/500 plus 1/2 tab of xanax at night to help sleep. yesterday and the day before it was 6 and a whole xanax, but with the help of others at this site i was able to continue my taper and cut back. so far so good today, i haven't even thought of raiding the cookie jar, lol! thanks for your words and i look forward to chatting w/you some more.
have a lovely day.
yours, athena.

You have a wonderful day as well.  Thank you for your posts.  And yes, I was a trashcan pill junkie too. lol.  Anything I could get my hands on.  Hell, I would take 10 of something that wouldn't get you really that high so I would take 10 to see what it would do.  Isn't that awful?  Peace to you and I'll talk to ya later, Luvs ya, Lil.

I was just reading through the other postings and I was suprised to see you asking for help with the tapering. Why was I suprised? It's because you have been so helpful to me and I just assumed that you had been through the worst of it. You are doing the best thing, tapering does help with the wd's. I guess that I just wanted you to know that I am thinking about you and I am praying that you get through this as easy as possible. Elisa