Catwoman35: withdrawal or relapse?

[Catwoman35]

Hi @Frogie, thank you so much!

I guess I could stay on oxazepam if I insist, but I have already been taking 5mg of diazepam in the morning and 5mg in the evening for 2 days (yesterday and today). Is it too late now to go back? My anxiety increased but I am managing somehow. I guess the idea was to switch me and then taper cause oxazepam stopped working.

[Frogie]

Hi @Catwoman35

 

I would just stick to the morning dose for now and go back to the oxazepam for the afternoon and evening dose for a week or so and see if there is any improvement. It’s not to late to switch your afternoon dose as you’ve only been on it a couple of days.

 

Hang in there. 😊

[Catwoman35]

OK I can do that @Frogie

Would it bad if I would just switch to diazepam without slowly replacing oxazepam? So far I have headache and increased anxiety from switching but nothing worse.

 

How are you doing? 🌻

[Frogie]

2 hours ago, Catwoman35 said:

OK I can do that @Frogie

Would it bad if I would just switch to diazepam without slowly replacing oxazepam? So far I have headache and increased anxiety from switching but nothing worse.

 

How are you doing? 🌻

You need to do a gradual switch to allow your body to get used to it and so you won't go into severe wd. I'm sorry you're having headaches. Hopefully it won't last long. 

[Catwoman35]

I understand, thanks for clearing that up @Frogie

I am just thinking why am I even switching instead of just tapering. If I will go through withdrawal, maybe it is enough to do it once.

I really don´t trust doctors, they seem to have no clue what they are doing. My doctor did not even consider slow switch but just told me to start taking new benzo and quit old one. Ehh.

[Frogie]

@Catwoman35

Unfortunately most dr.’s don’t understand tapering at all and don’t believe in wd symptoms.

 

If you don’t want to switch you can certainly just taper off the oxazepam as you were originally doing. If you can get the refills from the dr.

 

That’s your decision to make. But I’ll be happy to help you in either direction you decide.

[Catwoman35]

@Frogie I could not reach my doctor on Thursday or Friday (go figure). I called, sent messages in digital clinic - nothing... And I am out of oxazepam. 😐

 

I´ve been taking 5mg diazepam in the morning and 5mg diazepam in the evening since Wednesday. Today is day 5 without oxazepam (with diazepam as substitute). I feel OK, better than I thought I would. Would I normally start withdrawing already?

 

I expect doctor´s call on Monday. Not sure what to do now. Going back and forth does not sound like a good idea. But of course, I am scared of withdrawal. 😶

[Frogie]

@Catwoman35

 

I'm sorry you are going through all of this. Hopefully your dr will call you back very soon.

 

Oxazepam has a half life of 6-25 hours so it could be that the diazapam is covering the wd symptoms. 

 

It's not good to go back and forth as you know and I don't want you to suffer with this anymore than you have to, but if your dr will not give you the oxazepam then you'll have to stick with just the diazapam. But I would take 11 mg a day, split into 3 doses as we talked about before. 

 

Let me know what the dr says.

 

Take care  

Frogie xx

[Catwoman35]

@Frogie I really dislike doctors. Nowadays it is nearly impossible to reach them when you need them. What happened with Hippocratic Oath and all that stuff? They just don´t care! 🙄

 

Anyhow, still feeling OK, I guess diazepam is masking wd symptoms. Hopefully that does not change. Doctor will call me on Monday, will let you know what she says. But I think I´ll just take your advice and go with schedule you suggested (11mg split into 3). I wonder how soon should I start taper.

 

Thank you Frogie, your help means a lot. 💝

[Frogie]

@Catwoman35

 

It is ashame you don’t have trust in drs at this point. I have a hard time trusting them also. I think that is perfectly normal in the condition we are in.

 

I think you should be ok to go ahead with the diazepam schedule like we discussed. I would get stable on the 3 doses a day and hold at least 2-4 weeks and see how you are doing. Diazepam has a very long half life so I’m sure it’s masking your wd symptoms.

 

Take care of yourself and please keep me posted.

 

Frogie xx

[Catwoman35]

Hi @Frogie, my doctor phoned yesterday. She thought I should continue with diazepam only (cause I feel OK), so she re-filled my prescription and told me to start tapering after few weeks, when I feel ready for it. She said I should take 5mg morning and 5mg evening and then, when I´m ready, reduce evening dose to 2.5mg. Honestly, I feel that´s kind of a big cut. I think it´s better to go with your plan. But yes, I will wait a bit to stabilize and then start taper.

 

How are you feeling? Are your wd symptoms gone? 

[Frogie]

@Catwoman35

 

Unfortunately Dr's don't know to taper slowly. Please don't drop your dosage in half as they suggest. It will only increase wd symptoms. 

 

Hold for a few weeks and I will be happy to help you taper off. You'll want to keep your doses even, not taper one then the other  

 

Hope you're doing well and keep me posted. 

 

Take care,

Frogie xx

[Frogie]

@Catwoman35

 

Just wondered how you were?

[Catwoman35]

Hi @Frogie, thanks for checking up on me. Still on same meds, I think I am ready to start tapering diazepam now (10mg total).

How are you doing?

[Frogie]

Whenever you are ready, I’ll be happy to help you. Are you going to do it with a scale or do you have a prescription for liquid. I’m sorry, I don’t remember.

 

 I’m holding my own, thanks.

[Nanda]

@Mulher-Gato35Hello! How are you? 

[Catwoman35]

Hello everybody, sorry for not being around, I needed to focus on my recovery. I am happy to report I am off benzos now, I reduced gradually over the summer. Still using sertraline though (and on higher dose of 100mg now), but not ready to start tapering that just yet. Feeling OK, anxiety subsided and I sleep relatively well also. Life is better now!

[Frogie]

I’m glad to hear you’re doing better!

[Shashal]

Great news! Hope you will get better and better Catwoman😁