12-07-2019, 01:06 PM
(10-12-2018, 02:32 AM)Aquarius Wrote: All very useful information. As much as I would love to not have to use another medication to get off this medication (benzo), it may be necessary because of work etc. Because I am coming off two things (opiate+benzo) it makes it a bit hatder especially during post acute wd. Just wondering how dependant I am for using benzo every day for one year. Is there even a timeline for dependancy and how hooked in you are?
Been on and off the benzos for about 6 years, but in the last year took them daily.
Ah, that's difficult. Are you going to come off one and then the other? I guess you could do the opiate first since the withdrawal will be quicker and then do a slow and steady taper off the benzo.
In relation to other points people have made:
I agree about the problem of suggesting a medication to a doctor. The way I have managed that is to write it down and make out that some pharmacist I know mentioned it, or a friend who has a similar problem told me about it. I'm then careful to mispronounce the med. I know it sounds silly, but it lets your doctor have control as they can correct your pronunciation, but now they are talking about the drug you want which can help.
I have also heard people really struggling at the end of tapers. Sometimes it is because their taper schedule isn't done by percentage, but by a specific mg reduction. So at the start that's pretty easy, but by the end you might be making a 50% cut or something. Of course that doesn't account for all of it. In devising my own taper (based on Ashton), the end stage is incredibly slow and steady with tiny reductions. At that point I'll have to use volumetric dosing as I won't be able to cut a pill with enough precision. To combat the psychological dependence I plan to continue taking the liquid each day for a while after I've reached zero, since by then it will be an established routine. But I think you can only make such tiny reductions by having diazepam in a solution and then very carefully measured with a 1ml syringe. I guess someone who tapered down but could make the final jump to zero would still have reduced their tolerance, so that's still good in itself (I would think).
Good luck to anyone tapering as everyone on this forum knows it is a serious business and hard to do. Thanks to Chris5555 for the original advice.