Any positive stories about Benzo tapering? I need hope

The longer you take, the safer you will be. What's wrong with starting say 2 wks cut 1/4 off the 1.5MG. Wait 2 wks to see how you feel, then do 1/4 less again. This way you can always go up 1/4 for 2 more weeks. SLOW IS THE WAY TO GO, AND DO NOT LET ANYONE TELL YOU DIFFERENTLY. You could even do 3 weeks for each cut because of the low dose of Lorazepam you are taking now. This keeps you in control and less stress and worry.

Tapering is a great journey! You have finally made the decision TO STOP THIS DRUG, congratulations are in order. I did it and I had many problems because my DOCTOR and PSYCHIATRIST gave me the incorrect MG'S of a longer half life for tapering. I really went thru hell, however, in the end I celebrated and was so excited, I DID IT, many cannot. I have suffered many horrible problems, only because of the incorrect dose of 0.5 Clonazepam for 6MG of Lorazepam. I should have been taking 3MG OF CLONAZEPAM to taper from 6MG OF LORAZEPAM. I DIDN'T REALIZE UNTIL 7 DAYS AFTER TAPER FINISHED AND I HAD HORRIBLE SIDE EFFECTS to ask my Pharmacist what the transition should have been and found out it should have 3MG NOT 0.5MG. I had researched many times on line and found lots of Deprescribing, most were with Diazepam (which is what Ashton Manual uses). However, this was all after all was said and done that I found out all the fact. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, and ask your Dr and or Psychiatrist what questions you might have AND KEEP A JOURNAL, we forget so fast all those important details that are monumental when reviewing your taper. You will be so proud of yourself when you finish the taper.

My wife is currently taking Temazepam for sleep, along with an antipsychotic, fluphenazine/prolixin, that has kept her out of the hospital for her schizoaffective mental illness for over 40 years, she's 72 now. Recently, during the last 5 years, she began taking the Temazepam, first at 30mg, which helped for a while, till she began getting real depressed, wanting to die depressed, and wasn't sleeping, 45mg and for the last 2 years at 60mg. As her depression worsened, her use of temazepam increased... then she ran out, and had to go without for 4 days, as the pharmacy would not grant her a refill. Major withdrawal symptoms, nausea/dryheaving, etc., started occurring, called her psychiatrist, and he recommended Lexapro.... She took one, and it brought her completely out of her depression... stopped her fall... but on the second pill, her side effects were 10 times worse, nausea/dryheaving 4-6 times every hour., bad side effects... sever nausea and dry heaving, so she stopped eating... nothing changed... never took a third pill, the dr put her back on Temazepam, and after 1 week, the side effect began diminishing and 3 weeks, Lexapro, was gone. During that time the dr refilled her Temazepam and I hold the pills, and giving them to her to just stabilize her dosage, no more than 60mg in a 24 hours. She still has a slight nausea but no dry heaves, as she found the 30mg stops the nausea, but we realize that is from the Temazepam... either as it leaves her system... or like when she was taking too much.

Thing about Benzos though they will stop working sooner or later. Tolerance. Things really go south when one hits tolerance.

Sears, Did I give you a positive story or what? Had it not been for the Dr And Psychiatrist Deprescribing the incorrect dose I would have had a huge party. Life I is still going on, I am walking and talking in spite of it all. DO NOT GIVE UP! Easy to say when the Dr's and Psychiatrists lost their thinking caps. Please, hang in there. I am in San Francisco and if you are ever here, we can go to lunch and share at least one success story and better than when we started. Breaks my heart to hear all these tragic stories and we cannot help, nor obviously can anyone else. Let's thanks our blessings daily, that helps to keep us going, any little thing, going in a room and remembering why we went there, is cause for CELERATION!!!!!

I get really down sometimes when I think about my last year of hell. I have always been hyperactive and of course all that has changed, however, when I walk I feel alive and free for that time. After, I have more energy and feel better about myself than before. Anything you can get your wife to do which she enjoys but has not felt like doing in a while, try that. DON'T LET HER STAY IN BED, THAT BECOMES A COFFIN!!!!!!! I am 79, not overweight, no heart problems, just BENZO PROBLEMS. I do not want to sound like "sure that's easy to say", I know it is not and NO ONE knows unless they have taken that road. You are her support, God bless you, you have taken on a huge task, I support you too>

Thank you for your kind words, and encouragement. My wife hasn't, due to her depression, hasn't been out of the house in 3 years... around the time Covid started, which has left her physically weakened, however, on days when her depression lifts her mood slightly, she makes herself walk around, inside the house, about 1000 to 2000 steps... and does feel better, and hopes she can do equal to or more the next day if the depression stays away. I will tell you that my wife is an ex-smoker, and about 4 years ago, after 7 years of not smoking... being quite depressed, stormed out of our bedroom and told me to get her a pack of cigarettes, right now, stating... I don't care, just want to die, get them now. So I did... gave them to her with some new lighters... she told me I'm only going to have 2 or 3. She went out on our enclosed porch... after about 15 minutes came back inside, and told me, somethings changed, I'm feeling better. For an entire 12 months, she was depression free. I researched this and found that this was, sad to say, a normal, documented and studied phenomena that happens once, but doesn't repeat. Needless to say, we know and then, talk about the wonderful experiences we had. I'm not without hope... right now, even though I'm doling out the temazepam to her, she is enduring, hoping the reoccurring nauseous feeling goes away, as her body slowly accepts 60mg/day... hoping to try TMS therapy, when she doesn't get nauseous....That's her long range hope, I'm just thankful she has that.

I know what hitting tolerance feels like. I'd be extremely interested in knowing what YOUR experience was like at that point. Did you make your way back? Are you feeling "normal" again........whatever the hell THAT feels like? I certainly can't remember. Hoping your experience will help me. Thanks

I’m going to make a long story short. I hit tolerance, went to my physchiatrist of 25 years, told him what was happening. Could not eat, massive weight loss, agoraphobia, constant crying, horrible insomnia. He wanted to put me on the antipsychotic, Seroquel, I said “no”, he then refused to see me or take my calls. I wound up in the hospital for three days, had to find a doctor that would take on another doctors “benzo patient, ”took several months, had to get stabilized, switch to Valium and begin tapering. It’s been 33 months. I’m still tapering, no I’m not normal. Neither my physchiatrist or internist ever discussed tolerance with me. I didn’t even know what it meant. I started taking Xanax in 1987. There was no Google, nothing at that time. It didn’t occur to me to go to the library.🤦🏼‍♀️ I trusted my doctor. I did well on the medication so I questioned nothing. I was married, worked, raised my children. And then the Xanax quit working. My life has been awful for the last 33 months. I am definitely NOT the same person I was 33 months ago. I’ll be 70 years old. I hope I get a few good years. Sick of drugs, sick of tapering, sick of everything.

Have you considered, AS a last resort, TMS therapy... and Medicare may approve the treatment for you. I've taken Xanax, while I was working, because I got paranoid that everyone was out to get me... the Xanax helped me to cope, for many years... then, while I was still working, slowly tapered, as my attitude changed. If you are depressed, see if your dr will recommend TMS for you.