lex1989: escitalopram / Cipralex and clonazepam / Rivotril / Klonopin

[Frogie]

@lex1989

 

If you think the Clonazepam isn't going to work, which at this point, it looks like it is not helping you at all you could try the switch to 15 mg Diazepam(I would round up also). It might be rough only going 5 days on crossovers. Only you will know. Then hold a good long time for stability. If you find the 5 days too much, you could hold a couple of days in between. 

 

After you are stable on the Diazepam, then you could start your taper on the Lexapro. But I really want you stable before so you don't end up in a big mess like you have had previously. Is that workable with you?

 

I know you want off of these, but I just don't want you to be in a huge mess as you were when you tried the split. 

 

Let me know what you think.

 

 

[lex1989]

32 minutes ago, Frogie said:

@lex1989

 

If you think the Clonazepam isn't going to work, which at this point, it looks like it is not helping you at all you could try the switch to 15 mg Diazepam(I would round up also). It might be rough only going 5 days on crossovers. Only you will know. Then hold a good long time for stability. If you find the 5 days too much, you could hold a couple of days in between. 

 

After you are stable on the Diazepam, then you could start your taper on the Lexapro. But I really want you stable before so you don't end up in a big mess like you have had previously. Is that workable with you?

 

I know you want off of these, but I just don't want you to be in a huge mess as you were when you tried the split. 

 

Let me know what you think.

 

 

 

I agree. Let's see how the Diazepam crossover works.

 

I am afraid just to become tolerant pretty fast on Diazepam as well, as being another benzo, it seems I have an affinity of being tolerant pretty fast on same dosages or benzos in general. That is why at the moment Clonazepam did very poorly from 0.3 to 0.7, a big increase would probably help.

 

That means I would not want to wait to much after the cross over to start tapper the Lexapro as it might help while I am not tolerant to it.

 

But anyway I understand very well your concern and I think we should find a middle way for this.

 

Let's see how it goes.

[Frogie]

@lex1989

 

Hopefully you won't hit tolerance on the Diazepam and you can stabilize and then taper off the Lexapro.

 

I'm really glad you understand why I am concerned about this.  I just hope, for your sake, it works and you can feel better.

[lex1989]

3 minutes ago, Frogie said:

Hopefully you won't hit tolerance on the Diazepam and you can stabilize and then taper off the Lexapro.

I hope as well, god help me

 

3 minutes ago, Frogie said:

I'm really glad you understand why I am concerned about this.  I just hope, for your sake, it works and you can feel better.

 

Of course I am, I am well aware of many changes I did that may cause to this, but also as I said there is more to it here (the adr increased, benzo tolerance, etc).

 

By the way, it seems the dizziness from 10 mg Diazepam has kind of wear of after 1.5 hour, this is a good sign.

[Frogie]

17 minutes ago, lex1989 said:

I hope as well, god help me

We will both think positive. Hopefully good vibes will work.

 

17 minutes ago, lex1989 said:

Of course I am, I am well aware of many changes I did that may cause to this, but also as I said there is more to it here (the adr increased, benzo tolerance, etc).

 

By the way, it seems the dizziness from 10 mg Diazepam has kind of wear of after 1.5 hour, this is a good sign.

I know you are aware of what has happened. I'm just concerned for you is all.

 

I'm glad the Diazepam dizziness had calmed down. Hopefully it won't last long for you when you crossover.

 

 

[Frogie]

@lex1989

 

Thought I would drop by and see how you are doing?

 

Hopefully no news is good news?

[Frogie]

@lex1989

 

Wanted to check in with you?

[Frogie]

@lex1989

 

Checking in with you? Hopefully no news is good news?

[lex1989]

Hey @Frogie,

 

I am tapering Lexapro, I am at 3.12, going 0.08 mg/4 day, until I will hit ~ 2mg to minimize the adr.

Then will do a break, 1-2 months. And go full out the benzo, because the tolerance is building.

 

That's my plan, hope it goes well.

[Frogie]

@lex1989

 

Sounds like a well thought out plan. Just listen to your body, it will tell you what you need to do.

 

Please keep me posted.

[Greatful]

@lex1989 So good to hear from you...way to go on the Lexapro.

Things going okay? I guess I should say as well as can be.  You've got this😊

 

[lex1989]

@Frogie I am tapering, as you know, Lexapro with powder in capsule.

 

I’ve got from a compound pharmacy the same, they prepare powder in capsule, but add glucoze as filler.

 

I heard it’s an inactive / inert substance. All beeing said could I switch directly to those pils as they are basically the same thing?

 

[Frogie]

@lex1989

 

Glucose is a common filler and is probably in the tablets you are taking now.

 

Do you know if they are from the same manufacture? If not, you could have a few bumps. You could also take your tablets to you and ask them to compound them for you to the dose you need.

 

You could try it but usually we don't like to see members change manufacturer's without slowly switching over.

[lex1989]

14 hours ago, Frogie said:

@lex1989

 

Glucose is a common filler and is probably in the tablets you are taking now.

 

Do you know if they are from the same manufacture? If not, you could have a few bumps. You could also take your tablets to you and ask them to compound them for you to the dose you need.

 

You could try it but usually we don't like to see members change manufacturer's without slowly switching over.

No no, It’s the same manufacturer. I made sure about that. It’s the exact same pills I use myself and crush them and fill the capsule with.

 

Only difference is that I crush them and fill the capsule without filling the whole capsule with glucose, that s the only difference.

 

They put the exact amount of active ingredient I need (e.g.: 2.8 mg escitalopram), but they fill the remaining capsule space with glucoze, so basically in that capsule is like 15-20% active ingredient and 80-85% glucose.

Where my capsules are 15-20% filled with crushed tablets and rest empty, you get what I mean. That s all.

[Frogie]

@lex1989

 

You should be fine then to start taking them since they are the same manufacture.

[lex1989]

@Frogie thanks. 

So the glucoze filler won t affect anything, even if it’s like 80% of the capsule ? As it s an inert / inactive excipient I assume it’s ok. 

I will do the switch directly than, would be even better, as they make much more precise than I do then myself.

[Frogie]

@lex1989

 

The filler shouldn't affect you because it is the same manufacture that you are already using.

[Carmie]

On 6/28/2022 at 3:08 AM, lex1989 said:

@Frogie thanks. 

So the glucoze filler won t affect anything, even if it’s like 80% of the capsule ? As it s an inert / inactive excipient I assume it’s ok. 

I will do the switch directly than, would be even better, as they make much more precise than I do then myself.

How did you go with the switch Lex? 
 

Did you do a bit of a crossover or did you go directly to the pharmacy compounded formula? 
 

Hope all went well🧡

Edited July 11, 2022 by Carmie
Autocorrect

[lex1989]

7 hours ago, Carmie said:

How did you go with the switch Lex? 
 

Did you do a bit of a crossover or did you go directly to the pharmacy compounded formula? 
 

Hope all went well🧡

It went very bad actually, I am bed bound. I think here in my country as we don’t have liquid solutions, smaller doses, etc, even this only pharmacy that cand preare your dosage / compound seems they are doing something wrong. 
 

I have no ideea what they are doing tbh, their equipments are working wrong, the glucoze filler is to much and the active ingredient in the capsule it s not absorbed well by my body, I am an ultra fast metabolizer as well, I don’t know.

 

It’s the second time I tried it, I tried compound for the V last 2 months ago, did go sideways as well, but recovered fast, now this one hit me like a truck. 
I took their compound 4 days, I hope it did not do much damage, i m back with my old tapering method (powder in capsule) by 3 days now.

 

It felt like a CT almost, I have no ideea what they did to that capsule…

[lex1989]

@Frogie you still here ? Are you ok after the covid? 
 

I was actually wanted to ask for some time now.

I mentioned many times when I first joined this forum that prior starting the taper I was :

-not stable

-in probably tolerance wd with benzos

-had definatelly adr from Lexapro (after I take it becomes bad in more than 75% of the cases)

-been on the drugs for 5 months and been my only drugs taken in my life

 

I’ve goten the clasical answers that I need to go slow, 10%/month etc, you know the drill and the copy paste links.

 

Now I’ve seen on a member (I usually don’t stay around much anymore, but was pointed out by someone)

that she has been on definatelly adr like me and could not stabilize.

You are guiding that memeber as well.

 

Alto did see this pattern and recognized that she cannot actually stabilize because of the adr (which makes complete sense) and also recommended a 20% taper.

 

I’m not giving names, pointing fingers, not the case, I am greatful for the info I learned here. 
 

But I am puting a simple question, why I have not been treated the same? While stating obviously that I have an adr and pointing many times this, would not be enough to understand that this is causing the instability and not actually possibility to stabilize ? 
 

Been just 5 month on them, now I am 14 months in…

 

I did some mistakes on my own that lost some months for that, that is true,

but I am just asking why I had different recommandation and put to a slow taper where the comparison is the same ? Not mentioning the person has been on drugs for a very long time, I think also more drugs as well, where I was just 5 months..

 

Please don’t take this as an argument or something, I am just asking because I am confused of the completelly different approaches and treatment and it’s frustating me that I am still suffering and lost so much time and could have been given the same approach.

[ChessieCat]

It would be helpful if you could provide the name of the member you are referring to and then we might be better able to answer your question/s.

[lex1989]

13 minutes ago, ChessieCat said:

It would be helpful if you could provide the name of the member you are referring to and then we might be better able to answer your question/s.

Chlo

[ChessieCat]

I have just gone back and checked to see the posts made by Altostrata, who is SA's founder.  Please go back and read those posts.  There were 2 times that she requested daily symptom notes.  The first time you did provide them but I cannot see them because the google doc has been deleted.  However I have looked through your posts and it looks like you never provided them after this request.  There is a very good reason why Alto requests these and if they are not provided then it is very difficult for her to work out what is happening.  Because Alto is very busy both on and off the site (she recently went to England and was doing interviews over there regarding psychiatric drug withdrawal and tapering, and last year she wrote a research paper using data from SA) as well as having her own life (she does not get any money from SA, it is totally volunteer by both her and the staff), if a member does not provide the notes when requested Alto is not able to continue assisting that member because she cannot help without the information.

 

On 2/13/2022 at 9:16 AM, Altostrata said:

Hello, @lex1989 Please keep daily notes of times o’clock you take your drugs, their dosages, and your symptoms throughout the day. We need to know how you feel before and after taking each drug, and your symptoms in between. Post 24 hours of notes at a time in this topic, in a simple list format with time o’clock on the left and notation (symptom or drug and dosage) on the right. This can show if your symptoms are adverse effects from one of your drugs.

 

[Frogie]

@lex1989

 

I don't recall me having Chlo taper faster than she should have. If I did it was like @ChessieCat said she provided notes and it was warranted at that time. But she has slowed down after having life circumstances that could not be controlled.

 

I do know I have tried helping you as much as possible. I have had you split doses (which didn't work) because you are an ultra fast metabolizer. I have tried to answer and help you every way that I could. I feel like I have been with you every step of the way as much as I could. You have made a lot of changes though, and I just want you to be stable so you can taper off this.

 

I know you have had other moderators chime in and help also.

 

I wish I had a magic wand and could help everyone on here so no one suffered, but I don't.  I'm sorry the compound pharmacy didn't get it correctly, but you said it was the same manufacture, just more filler which shouldn't hurt you at all. As long as the main ingredient was exactly the same. 

 

I can ask some other moderators their opinions and let you know what they think.

 

 

[Altostrata]

Chlo posts notes almost every day, and carefully follows instructions.

[lex1989]

On 7/11/2022 at 2:06 PM, ChessieCat said:

I have just gone back and checked to see the posts made by Altostrata, who is SA's founder.  Please go back and read those posts.  There were 2 times that she requested daily symptom notes.  The first time you did provide them but I cannot see them because the google doc has been deleted.  However I have looked through your posts and it looks like you never provided them after this request.  There is a very good reason why Alto requests these and if they are not provided then it is very difficult for her to work out what is happening.  Because Alto is very busy both on and off the site (she recently went to England and was doing interviews over there regarding psychiatric drug withdrawal and tapering, and last year she wrote a research paper using data from SA) as well as having her own life (she does not get any money from SA, it is totally volunteer by both her and the staff), if a member does not provide the notes when requested Alto is not able to continue assisting that member because she cannot help without the information.

 

 

 

1st one :

Have been told prior that I have an adverse reaction, the response :

 

On 11/19/2021 at 1:34 AM, getofflex said:

I know it doesn't seem right that it would take you a longer time to taper, than how long you were on the medication.  The problem is, even after 6.5 months, your brain is dependent upon this drug.  So in essence, you are caught between a rock and a hard place, because you are dependent on a drug that is causing you an adverse reaction, unfortunately.  Because of your adverse reaction, we do recommend an accelerated taper, so it should be faster than reducing by 10% of the current dose every 4-6 weeks.  It will be a balancing act. 

 

2nd one, clearly specified that I am worse after I take it: 

On 11/17/2021 at 5:38 PM, lex1989 said:

 

I have a question for the fellows taking Escitalopram, maybe @getofflex knows this as well :

 

Been reading about the Escitalopram absorption in body and that is rapidly absorbed and reaches maximum plasma concentrations in approximately 3-4 hours after either single- or multiple-dose administration (been taking it with capsule in powder and maybe even faster for me).

This is a bit odd, as I seem always to struggle the most during the day after a few hours after taking my dose (1 PM), the most anxiety wise hours being in the afternoon (mild or moderate), lasting even a good couple of hours. In the evening, after ~ 8 PM usually things are starting to get better (windows). I have also windows in the morning, usually until taking my dosage.

 

3rd one, even Alto interfered and acknowledge that I had adr from it from the beginning : 

 

 

On 11/9/2021 at 3:59 AM, Altostrata said:

It seems to me it's likely you had an initial severe adverse reaction to escitalopram, masked by the clonazepam prescribed at the same time (with escalations in dosage of that as well). After you had been taking 10mg escitalopram for some time (maybe even a few days), you became overcome by activation from escitalopram, not tolerance or dependence from clonazepam.

 

4th, responded to the exact mention you said Alto was referring to daily notes, I basically have my own daily notes that I provided for a long time, while no mods were looking at them via the link on google spreadsheet, this does not matter, as I already know exactly how I react to it and answered in a much more simpler way here : 

On 2/13/2022 at 3:34 PM, lex1989 said:

Hello @Altostrata.

 

I usually get in ~70% of the cases more increased symptoms after taking the Lexapro at 1 PM, as always.

The adr from this is clear, as we talked in the past. 

While things get slightly better in late evening and much better before sleep at night.

 

 

 

 

I think those are clear answers every time I was asked and now it's not different.

After I take the Lexapro dose the symptoms ramp up and can hold between 5-9 hours depending on the day, nothing new, I mentioned a lot of times.

 

I know this is a very busy site and it's completely volunteering to help people, I did say anywhere that I don't believe this ? If you look at my posts as you pretend to I actually was grateful for helping and having this forum to help people, while psychiatrist industry fail us and destroy us. I also donated here 2 or 3 times, it's not the case, I know very well how things are.

 

 

[lex1989]

On 7/11/2022 at 4:10 PM, Frogie said:

@lex1989

 

I don't recall me having Chlo taper faster than she should have. If I did it was like @ChessieCat said she provided notes and it was warranted at that time. But she has slowed down after having life circumstances that could not be controlled.

 

As I did not want to point fingers, I was told to by CheesieCat which member has been treated diferently.

I pointed out numerous times I did start to taper as unstable prior to tapering, because of adr and tolerance wd from benzo, no on actually listen to me, I said it numerous times, I was told to hold hold hold hold, while the adr was clearly keeping me in place for not stabilizing in the first place.

 

On 7/11/2022 at 4:10 PM, Frogie said:

I do know I have tried helping you as much as possible. I have had you split doses (which didn't work) because you are an ultra fast metabolizer. I have tried to answer and help you every way that I could. I feel like I have been with you every step of the way as much as I could. You have made a lot of changes though, and I just want you to be stable so you can taper off this.

 

Those dose split couple of good months ago were terrible, both for Lexapro and for benzos, it's not a problem it was in the past. I also did my mistakes where I learned from them, not doing many changes at a time.

Still this topic has a different meaning and has nothing to do with you, as you "picked" me up after fairly good months, while I was already told to hold for nothing, hold in adr, which other members are not and that is not fair, it prolonged my suffering for nothing.

 

I am very very pleased and grateful for how you treated me here, you are by far the best mod in terms of compassion and hearing out the person and it's exactly problems with this meds.

 

On 7/11/2022 at 4:10 PM, Frogie said:

I wish I had a magic wand and could help everyone on here so no one suffered, but I don't.  I'm sorry the compound pharmacy didn't get it correctly, but you said it was the same manufacture, just more filler which shouldn't hurt you at all. As long as the main ingredient was exactly the same. 

 

I can ask some other moderators their opinions and let you know what they think.

 

There is no need. The only frustration is the one that I told in those 2 replies for you and @ChessieCat.

I had adr, I told specifically I feel bad after I take it, but I was told to just hold, this is not ok.

 

You can all be mad on me now, warn be or whatever you want.

But the truth it is what it is, no matter what you say.

 

Thank you for all your help. Wish you all the best.

[Shep]

14 hours ago, lex1989 said:

I had adr, I told specifically I feel bad after I take it, but I was told to just hold, this is not ok.

 

Lex, I read through a few of the latest pages of your thread. I'm a bit confused by the miscommunications here. In this post here, you said you agreed that a "nice long hold" would be helpful - https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/25640-lex1989-escitalopram-cipralex-and-clonazepam-rivotril-klonopin/page/5/#comment-577979

 

I'm also concerned by the amount of benzo changes. Are you still taking  Bromazepam? Please add that drug to your signature. You also mentioned the drug Buspar, but it sounded like that may have been a one-off and than no more? And also the use of CBD oil. Are you still taking this? Please add it to your signature with the dates you were on it and the dates you stopped. 

 

I think you're right that getting off Lexapro is best, considering the adverse reaction. But concentrating on getting off Lexapro will require staying focused on this drug and using non-drug coping strategies to handle the upticks in symptoms instead of trying to fix symptoms with benzo changes and / or experimenting with other drugs or supplements. 

 

I think the miscommunications are coming from trying to fix two problems at once - the Lexapro adverse reaction and the problems with the benzo. Trying to fix the benzo issues is delaying your Lexapro taper. 

 

Going forward, it will really help to have a daily drug and symptoms journal. We've asked for this two or three times because it's invaluable in helping guide your taper and preventing these types of miscommunications and getting off track. We need to see your symptoms in context with when you take your drugs. 

 

Please post your thoughts on this.

 

 

[Frogie]

@lex1989

 

Just thought I'd check in and see how you were doing?

[lex1989]

On 7/23/2022 at 12:06 AM, Frogie said:

@lex1989

 

Just thought I'd check in and see how you were doing?

 Hey Froggie. I seem to not be able to stabilize properly, not matter how much I hold.

 

This concludes what I mentioned earlier, the adr from Lex is not letting me do this and also I am a bit concern about the V that I may be already in tolerance wd with it as well (as I was with K).

Once I take it I don’t feel anything and more than that sometimes I feel I get paradoxical effect from it as well, increasing the symptoms…

I feel I just wasted the last 10 months from the moment I started tapering… as the conclusion, at least as far as I see it, experiencing from my own body , stabilizing could not be possible in the first place. Some glims of stabilizing here and there I did had, but very randomly and very few over this months.

 

Some mistakes with supplements or dose splits had put their mark as well, but that’s not it.

 

I was not stable before starting the taper and have taken the dosages as adviced before taperint, that meaning from all that I learned and documented myself here and everywhere else, that thr problem was before tapering as well, adr from Lex and also some tolerance wd from K.

 

Now I am still thinking what is best to do in this situation, it seems a double wammy and I can’t figure out if the best solution as I cannot stabilize, maybe just taper no matter what at a manageble rate…

[Altostrata]

In situations like yours, we ask for daily notes of times o’clock you take your drugs, their dosages, and your symptoms throughout the day. We need to know how you feel before and after taking each drug, and your symptoms in between. Post 24 hours of notes at a time in this topic, in a simple list format with time o’clock on the left and notation (symptom or drug and dosage) on the right.

 

This is the third request for this information. If you don't care to do this, we cannot analyze your symptom pattern. Your symptoms could be from any of your drugs, or something else.

[peaceandlove]

On 10/22/2021 at 2:39 PM, lex1989 said:

Thank you for all the insights.  I took 4.5 mg today.

 

The thing is, I seem to be very very sensitive to everything now, 200% more sensitive than I am normally, today I choose to break up with my fiancée and put me in a big panic, that I never had before, horrible anxiety , panic attacks , a lot of heartburn , stomach burn, tingling, etc. And I barely managed to calm myself down.

 

I did very well with putting up / accepting the anxiety before, as it's mostly chemical and not adding fear above fear. Using the theory from Claire Weeks and Paul David, usually I do good with that. Now I seem to forget everything, can't control anything and keep reminding myself automatically that I never will be better and will always be like this, I don't know if you understand this feeling.

 

I barely can sleep, I get heartburn every night, usually in the morning after 5-6 am, can get some hours of sleep, but no more than 6 / day in this situation and this stresses me as well, until probably I get used to it again (as I did with the bladder problem, btw of that I think it's from benzo w/o, many ppl from benzo buddies admitted having a lot of pee in the night because of it)

 

I am almost 100% that this is happening to the major stress that occurred now , just after 1.5 months my fast taper and barely managed to stabilize for 2-3 weeks and also got a cut from the Escitalopram as well.

 

But the actual question is : 

I managed to be ok for a couple of good hours (from 20:00 to 01:00 Romanian Hour now) , having some windows during the day. But when I am in that hell of symptoms I am in a very dark place, like I never had been before and I seem to can't take it anymore if it happens to often, I really hope will not, because the big step has been made, but still want to be sure. Can I take 1.5 Bromazepam (have it from a former prescribed medication that I never took) ?

I know that treating symptoms created by psychiatric medication with another psychiatric medication is not a good idea, but I need some relief as at some point I seem to cannot take it anymore. Or should I bare with this hell couple of days until it's getting better ?

 

Or there are any "herbs" / supplements that may take a bit of the edge ? For me it seem to work L-Theanine, L-Tryptophan I read on the forum that it's not ok as it interferes with the A/D (although I tried it these weeks and I was fine), CBD oil (with very low THC 2%) you said it's not ok, Natural Calm did not work for me. I am just trying to find a solution instead of getting another benzo to help at least one of these days when I cannot bare it anymore (if it's the case).

hey I just started dealing with heartburn too out of no where. Has your stopped eventually over time yet?

[lex1989]

On 8/13/2022 at 12:12 AM, peaceandlove said:

hey I just started dealing with heartburn too out of no where. Has your stopped eventually over time yet?

Hi peaceandlove, next time write me a pm, I disambled all other notifications haha and seen your post 1 month later, sorry, I am not hanging to much here anymore, just chating time to time with few close person i’ve met here.

 

Regarding hearthburn, yes they stopped, but they come again time to time, now more less frequently, it’s a verry common effect of A/D wd and don’t forget wd symptoms are in wave and windows, come and go and also can change from month to month.

 

Hope you are doing better now 🙏🏻

[peaceandlove]

2 hours ago, lex1989 said:

Hi peaceandlove, next time write me a pm, I disambled all other notifications haha and seen your post 1 month later, sorry, I am not hanging to much here anymore, just chating time to time with few close person i’ve met here.

 

Regarding hearthburn, yes they stopped, but they come again time to time, now more less frequently, it’s a verry common effect of A/D wd and don’t forget wd symptoms are in wave and windows, come and go and also can change from month to month.

 

Hope you are doing better now 🙏🏻

Yes that weird feeling has passed. I’m not even sure if it was actually heartburn lol. I have completely different symptoms now 🙄 Thank you so much for the reply. & ok i will 🙂

[lex1989]

On 9/3/2022 at 10:51 PM, peaceandlove said:

Yes that weird feeling has passed. I’m not even sure if it was actually heartburn lol. I have completely different symptoms now 🙄 Thank you so much for the reply. & ok i will 🙂

I am glad it passed.

 

but exactly how I mentioned, now you have different wd symptom, this is completelly normal, it can change at any time during taper.

 

Don’t focus on the symptoms or anything else, focus on the taper and progress, that is what it matters. 
 

We eventually heal 😊

[lex1989]

Hello,

I haven't posted in a while.

 

I need guidance / help with tapering Diazepam.

I am off Lexapro since July this year.

 

Short resume of my history, some of you may not be familiar anymore with it :

 

Tapered an Lexapro over 1.7 years, while keeping my benzo dose.

Followed the advice from here.

Been on K 0.3 before (did a fast taper from 0.5 in 3 weeks in 2021 September, stopped and stabilized before switching to Lexapro taper).

Did loads of mistakes in January 2022 and needed to raise the dose to 0.7 K (that  topic can be seen here in my history, pages 2-4 I think) and crossed over to 14 mg equivalent of V.

 

Jumped on July from Lexapro, been ok / stable, even better than before overall, then in September started the benzo taper / 14 mg V ( to early between I know).

 

I have cut 1 mg every 3 weeks until 11 mg (~ 10% month).

No big issues at first 2 cuts (just some histamine issues , common with V), normal withdrawal that I had until then, but stable.

 

At 11 mg, was ok first 2 weeks, tingling and needle pin symptoms appeared for the first time, distressing nonetheless. Broke up with my gf after few days. (more stress)

Still 1 week “stable” then crashed.

Now I am waking up with the urge to urinate 6-8 times / night destroying my sleep (I had a previous post about this on page one, all of this started at my first fast taper of K to 0.3, then it stabilized 2-4 times / night until now).

Also I think the destroyed sleep and all of the mentioned above have made me bed ridden and with horrible withdrawal symptoms.

There is to note I am in tolerance withdrawal since probably some time, I know it does not build over night, but definitely I have a degree of tolerance with V (I don't feel anything when I am taking it and did not since 1 year ago).

Now, after a 5 weeks hold it does not help at all, actually only getting worse. I know that maybe in tolerance holding is not helping to much, for some people it does, it really depends on the level in tolerance I assume.

 

I really need someone with benzo taper experience please.

Sorry for the long post, I hope anyone has some input on this, I am doing terrible 😞🙏🏻

 

@Frogie I see you are in a break

@getofflex You Know my story a bit, you helped me in the beginning

@Altostrata Maybe you can assign someone to help me a bit here

I would gladly appreciate.