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Lorazepam sub w/Diazepam worked but now very bad Diazepam taper-need alternative Help

Posted , 6 users are following.

carol09801
carol09801

After 6 months of self-taper from 2.5mg Lorazepam-3/8, I failed. Was a few days before Xmas-both sons coming w/families from far away. Updosed to 1.5 Loraz. Found excellent psychopharmacologist who used 9mg Diaz to get me off Loraz in 2 months by 3/5/18. Wish I had asked him to just help me finish off Loraz, but I didn’t. 

Been cutting Diaz by .25 but sxs are brutal: chest pain, teeth ache, itching, insomnia, constipation, headaches, backaches, BP spikes, shaky. For BP, Lisinopril made sxs worse and Clonidine gave me insomnia. Hydroxizine helps now w/BP, sleep, and itching. Now I have terrible acid reflux/GERD (lots of ibuprofen, but I also think the Diaz contributed to it). PCP prescribed omeprazole but it made everything much worse. She approved me going off as of tomorrow-only been on it for 6 days. I am just starting to hold at 6mgs Diaz until GERD settles down. Going to stick to GERD diet and maybe Slippery Elm-nothing else. PCP wants me to ask my addiction doc about an SSRI to help with the Diaz taper, but I do not want to go on anything else I have to wean off of. I tried liquidV but it didn’t seem to work. I know my addiction doc will use a compounding pharmacy if needed.

BUT I am concerned i just can’t tolerate Diaz. This is soooo much worse than my own Loraz taper (even though I failed at the end). Has anyone had to change from the Diaz substitution taper to something else that was a bit easier? If so what was it? I’m not looking for no sxs, but Diaz seems to be poisoning me, e.g. the GERD, which I did not have with my 6 month Loraz taper even though I took a lot of ibuprofen. 

I respect this forum and would be so grateful for any HELP.

0 likes, 17 replies

17 Replies

  • pauline05267
    pauline05267 carol09801

    Posted

    Sorry to hear this .Have  u heard of beating benzos fb? There is lots of detailed advice and support on there. Diazepam is a terrible drug and is often used to taper but then u have to taper off the diazepam as well. Have u read the Ashton Manual? This is a detailed guide to tapering off benzos .  I am weaning off clobazam so empathise with you completely. Take care 
  • d11091
    d11091 carol09801

    Posted

    Very bad to take Ibuprofen a lot- it will ruin your liver. I have Gerd and barrets esophogus. You need to take the drugs unless you want it to get worst. Take diazepam, but not every day- just when you really need it. Good luck.

     

  • neil73588
    neil73588 carol09801

    Posted

    Why swap one benzo for another, its seems very counter-productive! 

    Im not surprised you came off the lorazepam without any probs.

    I defo think alls you can do is taper as low as possible then go for it!

    Im going through it now and its not pleasant, but absolutely nessessary.

    Good luck!

    • carol09801
      carol09801 neil73588

      Posted

      Thanks and yup, my addiction doc pretty much said the same thing. First I have to get stable on 6mgs of Diazepam a day and get the gut problems under control and then he said I can continue tapering. Man, this is definitely not pleasant-at all!
  • neil73588
    neil73588 carol09801

    Posted

    Thats a high dose! You definately need to come down - quite a bit. I came off 30mg 5 weeks ago this Friday and its not been nice.

    Today ive suffered, sweating, shaking, freezing. My appetite is virtually non-existant. I'm having to have bits of fruit here and there just dor the nutrients.

    The hole 5 weeks has been grim but im glad ive done it.

    I think the best thing to do is get youself down to 2mg a day for atleast 4 weeks. 1mg am (half-a-2mg) then the other half in the pm. I know this might not seem nessassery but when your down to a very low dose it makes all the difference.

    I was silly and have ended up being very lucky. Ive risked having seizures coming off such a high dose.

    Your doc really has done you no favours.

    • neil73588
      neil73588

      Posted

      Im sure i remember my doctor saying that the guidlines suggest 40mg a day MAX! I could be wrong, im just trying to understand your doctors logic. I probably will never understand some of these doctors!
    • carol09801
      carol09801 neil73588

      Posted

      6mgs total a day is where i am. I started at 9 with the sub plan. I only cut .25mg at a time and I’m holding until I get my gut issues leveled off. I will go down by tiny bits probably when i get lower cut by .2 and then .1 It will take quite a long time. I know that. I probably won’t stop until it’s a tiny amount like .25 or less total a day.
  • coby08389
    coby08389 carol09801

    Posted

    I have worked with a lot of people going through tapers and recovery - i was a moderator on a forum called TRAP (Tranquilizer Awareness and Recovery Place) before it closed down. I have been through withdrawal myself and I'm 7 years free now. I've heard of quite a few people who couldn't tolerate Vaium - I wasn't one of them :-) You might want to try another long acting benzo but in reading what you have written, I feel that it might not be the Valium causing the problem. It can take time for a delayed reaction to occur to updosing or trying other drugs. One person I know tried an antidepressant for just one day and stopped it because he didn't like how it made him feel and now his body is reacting - big time! Another person I know successfully tapered off klonopin and a few months later - I can't remember exactly how long, but I do know it was months, not weeks, she started to experience extreme withdrawal symptoms and ended up in the ER a few times. Things calmed down for her and she has recovered but it was a scray time for her. What I'm trying to say here is that chopping and changing drugs, introducing new ones can increase symptoms rather than alleviate them because the brain and rest of your body are in a state of over excitement. Your GABA hasn't had a chance to heal so any changes that you make can upset the apple cart  even more. 

    • neil73588
      neil73588 coby08389

      Posted

      I couldnt agree more. Theres definately delayed symptoms. Just when you think the worst is over it slaps you right in your face! Happened today to me and from feelling o.k the withdrawels came right back like a wave. This is especially true of Diazepam.

      Congrats on 7 years by the way.

    • carol09801
      carol09801 coby08389

      Posted

      We’ll said. My doc said no changes and I’m not. Trying to get stable at 6mgs a day and get the gut issue level. Then cuts of .25, .2, and .1 until I am at a tiny amount like .2 or .1. I know it will take months, but only way to go. Thanks for your comments.
  • angela66615
    angela66615 carol09801

    Posted

    what happens when u cut then get side effects.
    • carol09801
      carol09801 angela66615

      Posted

      My psychopharmacologist M.D. doesn't use the exact Ashton as frankly, her method has to be adjusted for each person but the method he uses is the same-get rid of Lorazepam by using Valium with decreasing amounts of Lorazepam 'til done and he did that. So now it's tapering the Valium. We are tapering at even smaller cuts than Ashton describes. Turns out I have acid reflux/GERD and the chest pain, teeth ache, and nausea is attributable more to that. Now insomnia that comes with a cut is the cut, not acid reflux. As of today, I am completely adjusting my diet to be as acid-free as possible. Also, I've had some BP issues but my PCP and I think we've got that solved with a tiny amount of daily Clonidine-either .25 of 1 mg or .50.

      My psych doc wants me to hold at 6mgs as a daily total until my gut calms down and my BP is controlled and I agree with him. Then we'll go back to .25 cut probably every two weeks (and two weeks is an Ashton feature-I'm just doing less than 1mg or .5 cut. Thanks for asking.

  • angela66615
    angela66615 carol09801

    Posted

    Sorry clonidine is not for blood pressure.
    • angela66615
      angela66615 carol09801

      Posted

      Thanks for your reply re tapering. It has to be done very slowly that's for sure to avoid protracted withdrawal syndrome and to minimise the side effects of the benzos. Keep strong . 

    • carol09801
      carol09801 angela66615

      Posted

      I am trying my best to keep strong. Trial and error in managing the GERD, which is really my biggest roadblock right now, but I "think" some things are starting to work. And it appears that my two docs and I have gotten my blood pressure under control which is great.

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