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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Benzodiazepines
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Benzodiazepines
by dippy1, Nov 04, 2008 12:09PM
Hi.
I've been tapering my valium over the past few (8 or so) weeks and have reduced from 15-20mgs daily down to 2mgs daily. Before this I tried going "cold turkey" and had a very unpleasant few days (days 3-5 I thought I was going mad). I am however still taking temazepam 20mgs at night and am wondering whether I'm fooling myself by reducing diazepam without reducing temazepam. From what I've read the temazepam is the equivalent of 10mgs diazepam; should I switch that to valium and taper the whole lot or continue with current plan and worry about temazepam later. I've been on the temazepam for over a year. Currently taking 2mgs diazepam in the afternoon so I'm not too drowsy in the mornings from my antidepressants. Thanks
I've been tapering my valium over the past few (8 or so) weeks and have reduced from 15-20mgs daily down to 2mgs daily. Before this I tried going "cold turkey" and had a very unpleasant few days (days 3-5 I thought I was going mad). I am however still taking temazepam 20mgs at night and am wondering whether I'm fooling myself by reducing diazepam without reducing temazepam. From what I've read the temazepam is the equivalent of 10mgs diazepam; should I switch that to valium and taper the whole lot or continue with current plan and worry about temazepam later. I've been on the temazepam for over a year. Currently taking 2mgs diazepam in the afternoon so I'm not too drowsy in the mornings from my antidepressants. Thanks
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Nov 05, 2008 07:17PM
, Nov 05, 2008 07:17PMTo: dippy
You should consult your doctor but in general you should get off one medication at a time. The schedule for the valium from this point forward is the 2 mg every other day for a week; then every third day for the next ten days...then stop...you should not have any rebound effect if you follow that schedule.
