Anybody else have problems cutting? Valium WD

[barrylincoln]

A month ago I was doing good at 7.5mg Diazepam. I have been stuck there. Every time I try to go to 6.25 I get incredible anxiety, notice my heart skipping beats and pounding, not sleeping good, night sweats, etc. I don't go to a PM/addiction specialist for 2 weeks and a few days, he has no openings. Have been breaking 10mg pills, not very accurate. Went to a Walk In Clinic and got 30 5mg valium. Been taking 1/2 of a 10 and 1/4 of a 5, I may be confused but I think that's about 6.25mg. I didn't have as much trouble going from 30mg to 20mg to 15mg as this tiny 1.5mg cut. Under 10 has been rough.


What am I doing wrong? I had a heart attack in 2011, is this anxiety? The Doc that gave me the 5s said in the hospital they usually go from 15mg to 10mg for a week to 5mg for a week, then stop. I tried to go faster and almost ended up in the ER. HB was 141 and irregular. This time is not that bad, my HR has stayed under 90 but I feel like crap. Only been at this dose for 2 days. Is it worth all this? might be better to just get it over with and stop at this level?

Sorry to whine, You Guys did it, I can too.

[lulu747]

Hey Barry-

I've been tapering benzos for 3 years.  I started at 60 mg of oxazepam and tapered to 30 mg in about a year and a half.  I kept hitting the wall every time I tried to jump further.  It was so frustrating.  I would stick it out as long as I could but the insomnia (the reason I was taking it in the first place) was KILLING me.  I have 3 autoimmune illnesses and no sleep is just about guaranteed to make them flare.  So I switched to valium and went from 10- 5 mg in a few weeks with NO issues.
But.
I did add prescription strength Tryptophan into the mix.  I dropped my prescription sleep med zoplicone (I think in the US this is known as Lunesta) without skipping a beat and I didn't have any w/d symptoms going down on the Valium
My Dr told me that the Tryptophan is a natural seratonin booster and mood stabilizer and binds to your GABA receptors in a similar way to benzos.
Just a thought...
But you do have heart issues.  I do not.  I take the benzo for sleep, not for anxiety.
So really you need to talk to your doc and just go slower.
No taper is the same for any two people, especially a benzo taper.
It is SO personal.
If you want to be successful and not cause undo stress to your body and brain then you need to go super slow.  Stay at a dose for as long as you need to before dropping.
Remember, you're still going to get to the finish line but it is a marathon and not a sprint.
Also, in my experience my pharmacist has been more helpful with benzo tapers than the doctors.  In fact, my doctor consults with the pharmacist directly to come up with a plan.
Many studies suggest doing an alternate taper.  For example:
One night take the higher dose, the next night the lower dose.  Go back and forth until the lower dose feels more comfortable.
Again,
I am not going to give you taper advice.  But if you google this and bring this info to your prescribing doc, then they can help you decide if this taper would be more suitable for you given your health issues.
Keep us posted....
Lu

[Jinx_777]

it always gets harder when you get to such low doses. you really need to take it slow.  let your body adjust for a good while before dropping again.  
for some, it can take a year to properly get off benzos.  
with all your heart issues, you cannot taper fast.  the doctor should support a slow taper.

[Ejm7263]

Soma is extremely addicting.
I'm on day 18. For me it was a decision to live with muscle spams, pain & neuropathy. But for you the most important ting is tell your doctors everything so they can support you correctly. My choice would be an addiction specialist. Your PCP should be able to send you to one. Then exercise appropriate for your age & diagnosis. There's lots I can't do because of 2 stable fractures. Relaxation, acupuncture. It goes on & on. I'm researching as soon as I can concentrate. Maybe another week.
Hang in there message me anytime.  We are all here to support you.
Together we can do this. I already feel better than I have in 3 years.

[barrylincoln]

Wow Ejm, I just re-read your post and you have been through it. As a Nurse, what do you think about Soma? To me it has been a Godsend for terrible pain without a real bad withdrawal.. My Sister had a friend that was a Nurse who took 100 Soma and died. There has been a lot of that. If people take 100 aspirin they would probably die. I think Soma is a good drug, it's because so many people abuse it the DEA is against it. That really doesn't seem fair.

I want Big Brother out of the office when I see my Doctor! Now the Fed's have all my records from a Dr that I have been seeing since 1997 because he over prescribed subutex. I think it's a long acting patch with suboxone on it. He has patients coming hundreds of miles to see him. He was always a good Dr. that did a lot of testing and I thought he was stingy with meds. He was with me.

[barrylincoln]

BTW. One question has not been answered, why does it seem to get harder when you get down to smaller amounts of Valium? I understand you have to take smaller pieces, which I am. Isn't a cut from 7.5mg to 6.25 mg about right?

Thanks again,
Barry

[barrylincoln]

Thanks for the responses. Yes atthebeach, I went to the Dr that got his office raided by the DEA for prescribing $6 million worth of subutex, whatever that is. He was m back up doctor, now he's in a world of $#!!. He has a new Doc there that has the DEA breathing down his neck. He offered me a choice, Norco was fine but he could only give me Soma like I said I take 1-1/2 a day or Valium. I think he was surprised I chose to stay on Soma. The busted Dr said his new guy is just afraid to get in trouble like he did.

Bad motorcycle wreck. I had over 24 fractures. Some places the bone is gone, ribs pointing the wrong way, ruptured discs, bones rubbing together non union, pelvis fracture and big hole in my scapula(wingbone) The Soma somehow stops nerve pain. I am never out of pain until I take a Soma. I was never a pill taker before my wreck. The family Doc that moved put me on these meds 12 years ago and left me hanging. The Doc that got busted had been continuing them. I was planning on staying on all 3 for life. I thought I wouldn't be as addicted if I only took 2 Lortab, 1-1/2 Soma and 15mg of Valium. I wanted off the hardest one first and don't want off Soma because I will have to take more Norco. I have been offered Percocet 10s and oxy but don't want the jones. I never thought that after I cut back to 15 mg that I was taking enough valium for a serious jones, I was wrong. It's a bad one. The others will be gone in a few weeks tops. Valium is a bad one. Why don't Drs tell you how bad it is?

VICourageous Thanks! I am a bit surprised to hear from someone that has had a stent. I too had another 60% blockage besides the 99% blockage. I asked the Cardo why he didn't fix both. He said they don't fix em until they are 70%. How dumb, they were in there. I was not happy. 50 years ago we might not have lived. I have to see the Cardiologist Oct 28th and get badmouthed for not taking my heart medicine. Maybe you're right, there may be something that will help and I can still breathe. What heart meds are you on?

Thanks a bunch to both of you for taking the time to respond.

Barry

[VICourageous]

PS..All detoxes cause Sweating. The toxins have to come out and they will come out in all areas it can. If this continues after you are clean then I would talk to the Dr because of your Heart issues..I started to sweat bad again before the Heart thing but last month he said it was nothing to do with my Heart but maybe hormones..hahaha. Just be Safe..OK!
Bless

[VICourageous]

Hi Barry. Benzo withdraws are the worst and are very dangerous..NEVER go c/t off a benzo. 2 years ago I went c/t off my Methadone and I was also snorting it with street bought adderral for the crank buzz. I took benzos to come down. I did go c/t from all 3 and I sure could of died. My Anxiety was on the moon for way over a month. No Sleep for months and my Heart pumped hard..This is a very serious med and needs to be tapered by a DR.
In my 23th month I ended up in the hospital with 2 blocked arteries and they could only put a stent in one. SO you really, really need to be careful about detoxing this benzo. I was very Lucky not to have a Heart Attack when I was withdrawing from all 3 of those meds..The DR said that the Benzo is why it took me so long to come down from the Moon..It was not even the same as detoxing just off of a opiate..Please be safe..Talk to the DR and maybe they can give you some comfort meds..Maybe a light BP med would be OK for now..It has nothing to do with your BP but it will help to keep your heart from over pumping..I know my BP has been perfect all my life but right now I have to take a few to keep the Heart Calm..Please be safe and talk to the DR..Your heart does not need to beat hard right now. I will hold you in my Prayers.
Bless

[atthebeach]

I thought so. Barry because of your heart issues you really need a doctor on board. You need to tell them about the side effects of the lisinpril and the metoprolol. The heart palpitations, elevated bp and sweating are withdrawal symptoms. You need to be on the bp med it is important.
The benzo withdrawal, along with your bp and heart issues really need to be monitored. There are lots of other bp meds they could prescribe.
It's not uncommon to have to try different ones until you find the right fit.
What happened with the doctor you were supposed to see a few weeks back?

[barrylincoln]

Hi atthebeach, yep it's Barry, I couldn't log in under that name. Tried the password reset,. maybe I typed the wrong user name in. Had to flush my computer a few days ago.

No, I don't take BP meds. The cardiologist ordered lisinipril and metoprolol. I don't think I mentioned I have pulmonary fibrosis, maybe I did. Both those drugs, especially the metoprolol, I can't breathe on it and it lowers my HR to around 50 BPM.(bradycardia). Feels like I'm in a bear hug. Needless to say my Cardiologist isn't too happy with me, but he can breathe good, he thinks I'm a bad patient. lol. While I was having my heart attack they told me I would be in the hospital 4 days after my stent. Had the surgery in the morning and was calling his office the same day trying to get released. He was really mad at me, he said "I can't let you go home today,, you just had a MI and a heart cath and stent!!" Talked him into letting me go the next morning, I lied and said I felt great. When they wheeled me out the nurse said "where's your ride? I said right there in the parking lot. She said I can't let you drive. I told her that's the only way I can get home and I was gone. I should probably tell him about the Valium, he put on my discharge papers to take Valium as prescribed, but only 1 Soma, I still take 1-1/2 of those a day.

My HR usually runs from 60 to78, my BP runs low a lot. Sometimes it's 120/70, a few days ago it was around 86/58 for a couple days. I thought it was the Valium WD making it act up. Just checked it and I'm at 119/73 with a 76 HR, not irregular. Can't beat that but I am sweating with ice cold feet. lol. ahhh life,, ya gotta love it. I don't figure I'm going to die 1 second before my appointed time no matter what I do.

It would be nice to have a Family Doctor again. I don't have time to get to know a new Doc.like I did the one of 25 years that moved. Does Benzo withdrawal cause sweating, especially at night?

Thanks to all of you for the responses.
Barry

[atthebeach]

hi barry is this another screen name?
are you also dbarry?
are you on bp medicine?

[Ejm7263]

Hi & welcome.
I'm 17 days off Valium some day none some 40 mg, but also methadone, hydrocodone, & other things. Point is if initially prescribed for anxiety then expect some at time a lot:) while doing this.
However I was also a nurse for 33 years if your having elevated irregular heart rate & your concerned (no non medication techniques work) go to the ED. No foul no harm if it makes you feel better to get an EKG especially with your history.
Remember the more we dread, think about, start our minds the harder anxiety is to deal with. Since I was also doing methadone I've had a ton of anxiety & Epsom salt baths have saved me. Sometimes several times a day.
You can do this. I was initially prescribed Valium for anxiety & just like the pain medication I have been taking for 7 years, I've just decided to live different & the people on this site are the ones that gave me the courage to do so.
We're here for you. Hang in there. Ask anything people will respond.
Bless you.