Stuck at 7.5 Valium Hate to keep posting, beaten

[bBarry]

OK, Sorry, I asked similar questions in the past couple months, not like this. I feel beaten by this drug. I went to 7.5mg around August 23. I got 30 5mg a couple weeks ago to go with the 10mg ones I have, easier to break up. Every time I try another cut (from 7.5 to 6.25) when  I do that I feel terrible. I can deal with that, It's the heart pounding that gets me. I had Big Martha in 2011, critical condition, ICU, stent, cardiac rehab, the works.. Blessed to be here. I don't like it when my heart pounds. I have seen that some people have this. How common is it and why am I having a problem with this cut when there was never a problem before? It feels like anxiety in my chest. I thought going from 7.5 to 6.25 was reasonable. I have tried a few times and have to go back to 7.5. Been at that for around 6 weeks,, too long, gotta get this crap outta me. I don't drink much water, just a 2 liter of decaf coke a day.  :>}

I know you cant give taper advise but if you guys could tell me how many of you had heart palps,  pounding and the anxiety in your chest it might ease my mind and make the symptoms less. "They" say most of it is mental. I have appt with new Pain/addiction specialist Doc on the 14th and Cardiologist the 28th. Maybe someone could tell me if 5-6 weeks is long enough to make this tiny? cut or should I do less of a cut?.

[lulu747]

Also-
What Purrk said about treating the mind as well as the body is REALLY important.  I know what medical trauma can do to you having gone through a few myself and it is really important to get some talk therapy going.
You had a major cardiac event so of course you are terrified when your heart starts to pound.
Try going at your anxiety from all angles.  Treat the body and mind holistically.  And please don't cold turkey off the valium.  So so dangerous.  And that is probably true what your sister said, but EVERYONE is different and you have a unique set of circumstances.
Lu

[lulu747]

Hey Barry-

I would listen to Vickie and Debbie if I were you.  You need to talk to your cardiologist.  It could be that you just really need to be on this med to manage your disease.  There is no shame in that, you are not abusing it.  As I mentioned to you in previous posts, I have been doing a long and slow taper off of benzos.  But I didn't take them for anxiety, only for my wretched insomnia which has plagued me for 15 years.  I hit a wall for awhile but tapered quite comfortably from 10 to 5 in just two months.  BUT- I don't have heart or anxiety issues.  Just sleep issues.  And I found a better and natural med that helps with this and I am transitioning slowly.
Really, when taking any medication you have to weigh the pros and cons.  For me, sleep is integral in managing my autoimmune illnesses.  If I don't sleep, I get really sick, and then I have to take a whole bunch of other awful drugs to deal with my diseases.  SO.  If I had not found a natural alternative to benzos that worked for me, I would happily stay on a med that was helping me sleep.  But I also want to get pregnant and need to not be on any drugs that could harm a fetus.  
I really really think you should talk to your cardio.  If they can suggest a drug that will help you in place of the valium, then try that.  But if not, then take the 7.5 mg of Valium.
And you should not be drinking so much coke.  WAY too much sugar and other crap that makes anxiety worse.
Drink water, try some light exercise as Weaver suggested, and work on your diet.
Honestly, the best way to all over health is to approach from all angles. Do all the healthy natural things but recognize this very important truth:
Sometimes we need drugs.  That is why they were invented.
Go easy on yourself.
Okay?
Bless-
Lu

[VICourageous]

Hi.
When I came off my Methadone with street bought adderral I also came off of Klons. I did tell you in your last post that my Heart pumped so hard and so fast and the Anxiety was on the moon for Months and I mean Months and so was there no sleep. This slowly came down and the Heart slowed down. It was way different this time then just a regular opiate. The pharmacist told me all of this was mostly due to the Benzo. However, with my past drug use it did take and still is taking time for my Brain to find a balance right now after 2years..BUT like you I ended up loosing most of my Family and my Boy dog who was my kid all in a 90 day period when I had only 16-18 months in..THEN last month in my 23rd I had that stent put in too and still have one blocked artery. I have to agree with Purrfeclykitty here because we have had so many curve balls. I still am sweating and I thought it was hormones or the Heart. The Dr now is sending me to see a therapist because they think all of this is depression and mostly Anxiety from everything that has happen in the last two years.. SO I would be very careful too about your taper. I went c/t and payed the price not knowing how bad a c/t is with a Benzo. Maybe talking to someone at this point would help. When we are not right upstairs then it affects downstairs a lot. Maybe you can find a weaker Benzo and try to taper off of that..BUT like the one poster said the other ones are strong too. I know the the klons have a long life and last a long time in the body/brain. I know at one time they finally gave me the clonidine (bp) med to help with sleep & anxiety but if you are already on a BP med this should help..However your heart pumping right now is a Big NO-NO and the Dr should 100% know about this..As you know when we have this kind of heart disease they DO NOT want are heart to over pump at all. This is what most of my meds are now is the ones to keep my Heart from pumping to hard. They did suggest a Benzo at night too help calm me down and keep me calm overnight. BUT I am afraid to go down that road. I know they have a Anxiety med called Buspar but it is like a sugar pill at first, but when it did kick in after months it did help alot and it is non-addicting..I might just have to take that one at night right now. SO I would make sure you talk to the DR for sure..You can not have your heart pumping hard right now!!! I wish you the best and may all go good from here on..
Bless

[bBarry]

See how messed up I am? I thought I hadn't been here in a couple weeks but I made this original post just 4 days ago. Seems like a long time ago.

[bBarry]

Wow, I haven't checked in for a couple weeks, my wife is in Oklahoma City visiting her Mother for 2 weeks, she'll be home Tuesday. Thank You Guy's for all the positive support, it's a breath of fresh air.

How can breaking a 10mg Valium in half, then break 1/2 of it in half (7 1/2mg) be fine, but breaking that same 1/2 into 1/3's cause w/d symptoms? I thought this taper plan was painless. I can't put my wife through this forever. I don't do anything anymore but sit like a lump. Any minor task seems like moving a mountain. Haven't been out of the house in over a week but am trying to do some deep cleaning around the house. I was content to stay on all my meds for the rest of my life and would have if my Doctor didn't move away. Thanks to the DEA breathing down Doctors necks, they are afraid to prescribe drugs, even to people that don't abuse them. There are so many people Doctor shopping and abusing meds, there is nothing I can say to a Doctor that a huge addict hasn't already said. A new Doctor doesn't believe you, they think everybody is scamming for drugs.

I just talked to my sister, her friend who tapered off Valium says no matter how you taper you have to go through a rough 8 days or so at the end. Is that true?

Should I just quit at 7.5mg? How long would the w/d last? I could take metoprolol in place of valium, since the only problem has been the rapid HB and anxiety feeling in my chest. Since I have trouble breathing on metoprolol because of pulmonary fibrosis. It will have to be just long enough to get over the hump.

I was told I was terminal by the Lung Doctor in 1999. When I found out the average life expectancy is 3-5 years I was devastated. I went back and asked the Pulmonologist how much time I had left and he said, "oh, you could last 15-20 years." I was relieved but now it's been 15 years and all this drama is just not fair. Turns out I was right not to ever trust a Doctor. I didn't ask for the friggin Valium and didn't know it had horrible w/d's  If I knew it was such a bad drug I would have told him what to do with his valium. I don't have any use for them after what they have done to me, waiting until my life is almost over to start making me wean off medications I have been on for 15 years. We are just sheep that look like $$hundred dollar bills$$ to Doctors.

[atthebeach]

Barry until you see your cardio specialist and start to take your blood pressure meds as prescribed you should stay on the 7.5 mgs valium.

[ymouszanon]

continued: remember that valium and all benzos are one of the toughest and dangerous withdrawals, worse than heroin.  you must find the best withdrawal protocol do your research. it is much better to stay on valium than to even go into detox for them if you have a heart condition.  valium and other benzo withdrawals are the most painful, long and traumatizing.  a smack addict can get through his worse w.ds in a day.  it takes at least a week of suffering in benzo withdrawal.  and for even a year after that you are going to chronic leg cramps that are so bad they tear your muscles. imho the slow, perhaps over a year long gradual ween is the most humane.  unless you can pay 40,000 for this greedy ******* who owns the proprietary trademark for anaesthisia assisted detox. its called the waismann method and it is a crying shame that in this greedy free market anti health system that these mofos should not be forced to make the treatment available to all doctors and hospitals.  many doctors used his regimen before him but in the good old bad us of a the first **** i mean doctor can buy the right to a medical procedure.  if i had the money i would move to norway or france, their national healthcare is not only better but cheaper than our $$$$$ anti health care system.

[ymouszanon]

note: I am not a doctor

TAKE IT SLOW MY FRIEND(unless you have a medical emergency)

7.5 mg of valium(diazepam) is very week.  10 to 20mg of valium is roughly equivalent to just 1 mg of ativan.  And many people on ativan take 1 mg 4x a day.  You can never compare mg to mg for different drugs even in the same class, in this case benzodiazepines. valium is quite a week benzo.  at 7.5 mg per day you are doing very well regards addiction.

But since what i can gather you had major heart surgery, you should not be trying to reduce your valium now.  while it is week, you will still have be in danger of seizure or even death if you go cold turkey.

You say your heart is pounding?  I would tell your cardio specialist or doctor about that.  Beta Blockers like propranolol are really good for palpitations, and they are not a controlled substance either.  In fact they mimic the calming effects of benzos without the addiction and serious withdrawal

From your post, i don't know if you are taking this dose once or how many times a day.  If its just once a day, and with your serious medical condition you are not having an addiction problem.

[vicki595]

Hi- Have you thought about changing your plan? Maybe you need the support for your heavy anxiety. I don't know. Some folks are on meds forever. I'll share with you about my Mother: she was 18 years older than you are. She took Tramadol for Years. She was so miserable without it because it worked so well for her pain. The AD component helped A LOT as well. I mention it because she was better off with the drug than without it and she took it for about 20 or so years.  That's why I suggest re thinking your plan; although the drugs are different, sometimes folks just need to be on a medication because they function better than without it.  Discuss with your doctor.

In the meantime, I think the drop you're making is too much. Try cutting a smaller amount when you drop,after speaking with your doctor.

[weaver71]

I suggest you get more water in you and really get on a good diet of nutritious veggies, grain, lean protein. Anxiety is heightened by stressors, malnutrition and dehydration of major stressors. If you want some tips on diet, just post about what is a good diet to heal in detox from benzo's. Also, try to do light exercise every day. Building up your natural defense and strengthing your body will reduce the anxiety and make the taper easier, not easier, but doable. Definitely talk to your doctor, as mentioned above, but I believe 2 liters of diet coke a day is what is killing my mother and keeping her on drugs too. As I took better care of my body and brain, it takes better care of me. Keep posting.

[Pat1956100]

Yes it does sound like anxiety.  I used to call it "impending doom".  You could try just a very small decrease until your mind and body got used to it and then a little bit more.  There is no race and actually the smaller the decrease the better on benzos and AD's.
With all of your medical conditions, you really should discuss it all with your doctor and I am sure he can put you on a healthy safe taper.
Good luck

[PurrfectlyKrazy]

I meant to tell you that yes, you can have a condition like that even several years after the event.  We went through this after his transplant...2 years later he ended up going to counseling to deal with those subconscious feelings of doom...which of course caused anxiety.

[PurrfectlyKrazy]

Hi hun

My hubby has had a heart attack, two open heart surgeries, valve replacement....and much, much more.  He describes the same feelings also.  I think that you are having some pretty good anxiety attacks just like he did.  He too was relying on benzo's like valium....and if he knew that we tapered them he would have the attacks.  When I tapered them and he didn't know he did not have the attacks.

I'm going to suggest to you what I suggested to him.  Have a good serious talk with the doctor...especially about depression.  Yep, you can have some horrendous anxiety attacks when you have depression.  Now I am not saying that you are depressed about everything in your life but when something so huge happens to you it can and will affect your mind...especially subconsciously....my hubby said it is like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

You just may not be ready to drop the medication yet or, like my hubby, you could maybe try a very, very low dose of an anti-depressant...and believe me he hates them but it got so bad that he actually said yes, I'll try that.  He is now on a child-sized dose of Prozac...and it seems to do the trick.  It hasn't turned him into a zombie but he doesn't have the attacks any more like he did.

Just think about it okay?  Sometimes we have to treat our minds in order for our body to complete the healing process.

Hugz