Posted , 6 users are following.
hi guys,
quick question. i've been on lorazepam 0.5mg per day and zopiclone 3.75mg a day for about 4 months. plus about 20mg codeine a day, so not a huge amount! do you think its safe to cold turkey off these? i want to be off them asap!
0 likes, 10 replies
We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.
nancy39057 JP1986
Posted
I wouldn't go off all of them at once. I am almost 100 days off valium. still going through hell. join a group on Facebook called Benzo warriors. now, some people can and do go off without too much problem, but as you will see if you join that group, most people warn to go off one at a time and to do it slowly. VERY slowly. slow taper. look up the Ashton manual. Dr Ashton from England wrote it yrs ago as a guide to stopping benzos. I don't personally know too much about the other drugs your on, but if I can help someone else I will let them know, it can be a very slippery slope. good luck and blessings to you. hopefully your journey will be easier than mine or others who have gone off these horrible medications🙏🙏
coby08389 JP1986
Posted
I agree with Nancy39057's advice to go slow and to taper one drug at a time. So very slow means to cut between 5-10% every 10-14 days. The other thing to consider is the half-life of the drugs that you are taking. Lorazepam has a half life of 10-20 hours while Zopiclone has a half life of 5-6 hours. You would begin your taper on the drug with the shortest half life (Zopiclone) first then leave a considerable amount of time before you begin your next taper.
Zopiclone is commonly called a Z drug and is much stronger than the older drugs like Valium so if you were to work out an equivalency - 1mg of Zopiclone equals 15mg of Valium according to the Ashton Manual chart. You can do the math - it is not a small amount at all.
I used the Ashton Manual to taper nearly 9 years a go and I've been helping people ever since. The Ashton Manual really is a bible of sorts because heather Ashton's advice was based on the research and work that she did in her clinic in Britain.
When I was working as a moderator on a forum called TRAP which has since closed down, we warned people about trying supplements which often had an adverse reaction in people, drinking alcohol - which is dangerous because it uses the same brain receptors as your meds, and advised them to eat real unprocessed food and drink filtered water.
You may be able to go a little faster than what the Ashton manual advises because you haven't been taking these drugs for very long but please don't be in too much of a hurry and if you begin to feel like you can cope, slow your taper down.
ann55375 coby08389
Posted
you know a lot and i wonder if you could help. my dr took me off anti deps a year ago and left me with diazepam. i am using it to sleep mainly but needing more. now up to 9mg . i am using ashton manual and have reduced 10% and about to do another 10% but then i seem to need it in day. want to get off it
nancy39057 coby08389
Posted
I am eating as clean as possible, drinking spring water. is spring water okay to drink coby08389? I go through windows and waves, today is a slight wave. My anxiety decided to rear its head a little today. last couple of days anxiety was almost gone. also, I am experiencing frequent urination, which a lot of people in my Facebook group are experiencing as well. Do you remember people having that problem or did you? it's driving me nuts. never expected that as a withdrawal symptom. night time is the worst and laying down. please tell me it will go away. Thank you for any help you can give me
coby08389 nancy39057
Posted
I don't drink spring water because it is usually in cheap plastic bottles. I have my own ceramic water filter at home and the water quality is good. Cheap plastic bottles put phytoestrogens into the water and that can affect your hormones.
I found that my anxiety would come and go after I completed my taper and at one point it got really bad so I began to investigate. I was drinking alkaline water and the magnesium in the water was the problem. The point here is that all kinds of things but mainly supplements that are supposed to be good for us may not be if our bodies aren't ready to consume them.
Hope that helps.
coby08389 ann55375
Posted
It always takes time for your body to adjust to a cut so you need to ride it out a bit. Although The Ashton Manual is an excellent guide, you don't have to cut 10% - it can be less. Anything between 5-10% is OK. You can also stretch it out to cutting every 14 days.... the thing is 1. Listen to your body 2. Understand that with every cut brain/body need to adjust 3. It doesn't matter if you go slow, its about moving forward at a pace that you can cope with. It is never going to feel great, accept that but keep moving forward and you will get there in the end.
nancy39057 coby08389
Posted
Thank you
nancy39057 coby08389
Posted
I looked up crystal geyser water bottles, that's the water I drink, there aren't any phytoestrogens or bpa in their bottles. I appreciate your information and help, thank you👍👍💐
Lolasmom JP1986
Posted
I completely agree with Nancy. PLEASE DO NOT COLD TURKEY. I was on Clonezepam and trazodone. I went through hell coming off both of them. I am about 21 months post withdrawal and I still get waves and windows. And I took 9 months to wean. There is over 2 years of my life I will never get back.
Lolasmom JP1986
Posted
Oooops. sorry
off both.I was on cloneszepam and trazodone. I took 9 months to wean off both, and I should have taken longer. I am 21 months post withdrawal, and still having waves and windows. Noe, there is over 2 years of my life |I will never get back.
Most important is that you have time and patience. That's the way to go through it.
What a wonderful feeling to be done with those.