Posted by yxibow on February 27, 2009, at 23:29:57
In reply to worries about diazepam tapering, posted by howl108 on February 27, 2009, at 19:26:43
> I'm worried that a doctor may try to taper me off of it too fast. I've been on it for about three years now.
>
> Also, is the Ashton Manual's schedule too slow? I'm centering my ideal tapering schedule on the Ashton Manual. And I could imagine a situation in which a doctor thinks it is too slow.
I'm simply going to agree to disagree on Ashton and benzo.org.uk as this seems to be a contentious subject and I feel always constrained to be civil here by any comments.
Basically 10% per week, or less if you have reemergent syndromes, is the general psychiatric recommendation.Yes, you can come down harder on benzodiazepines but its not recommended and you may be in a hospital clinic doing that.
Basically, the benzodiazepine will still be there, its not going to harm you or do anything more to you than it already is doing, so you don't have to feel shame if you need to back up.
You've already been on it three years, what is another few weeks here and there.
And if you have a ways to go, don't drop it cold.
Lots of things can happen from muscle spasms to anxiety and its outfall and other things I needn't say to make you feel any more concerned than I can imagine you are even if people have said they've dropped a load of a benzodiazepine on a dime.
I'm just telling this by my own experience of a partial taper of a fair amount of diazepam (I still need for a special situation the amount I'm on -- its far too difficult to explain how many no-good-answer choices I have on medication.).As they say, your miles may vary. But I think you should share your concerns with your doctor and make a plan for going off of it.
And just curious, are you/the both of you considering this because you have completely habituated, or are you worried that you will become so ?
Not everyone does quite as fast as everyone else. Anyhow, just wondering -- I assume you have a different plan to replace the diazepam with something else that will help you, or you have reached a point where you think you can do without.
-- best wishes
-- Jay
poster:yxibow
thread:882897
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090223/msgs/882990.html