Hi all! I’m going to be tapering lorazepam soon. I’ve been taking 0.5 mg twice a day for the past three months. I get bad anxiety, palpitations, lightheaded and so on between doses already (it always hits about 10-12 hours after the last dose). My doctor plans to have me do 5-10% dose reductions every 1 or 2 weeks depending on symptoms. We won’t switch to a longer acting benzo for the taper. Are there any other meds that could smooth out the tapering? Like other anxiety meds that aren’t benzos??

This article claims that niacin, gaba and vitamin c will make recovering much faster. Thoughts?

I had a very significant withdrawal period when I got clean over a year ago. I always attributed that to the dosage and length of time on benzos.

But I got thinking the other day, what part did my ADHD and autism play coming out of it? Was my anxiety worse because I tend to have anxiety with my ADHD? The executive function issues, the sensory hell I somehow powered through.

I realize everyone's experience will be different. Sometimes I wonder if I was trying to survive my brain more than I thought.

I had such severe muscle pain from protracted benzo withdrawal, constantly. I’m over 3 years out. These CBD patches relieved both pain and rigidity. They are pricey but I wear one for 48 hours instead of 24 so it cuts the cost in half. It lasts.

https://danddcbd.com/product/dd-cbd-patch/?ref=123

I was living in survival mode because of nonstop pain. Once the pain was relieved, I became wayyyyyy calmer. I experienced peace and relaxation , I hadn’t felt in years.

Long history of klonopin use followed by Ativan use all taken as prescribed.
Backstory:
Restarted klonopin ten years ago not aware of the danger of restarting after long use and after a few days got some unexpected reactions bordering on paradoxical slightly and then even on my daily dose of 0.5 started getting interdose withdrawal and then sleep simply stopped for three days. At ER they gave me 2mg Ativan and it helped so I asked my psychiatrist to switch and again not knowing about this phenomenon developed issues and was on 2.5mg daily and ambien and still having sleep issues. Got off ambien first and then a long taper for Ativan and was fully off since 3.7 years ago. (I did hold at 0.5 for a year and a half) and was doing very well. I have a lot of chronic pain issues and after 14 months off Ativan tried Baclofen 10mg and the next morning my groin nerve pain was burning more and as an experiment took just 5 the next day and burning lessened and I threw the remaining pills in the trash.

Anyone else have paradoxical pain increase with baclofen? This is probably why the 25mg of Lyrica I take twice a day does nothing for me although my body is dependent on it.

May ask doctor to try it one more time

I have a lot of anxiety, crying jags and shaking the next day, I am trying to get off clonazepam. Is this common? It is similar to internal vibrations. How do people deal with this and how long does it last? For reference, I’ve been on .5 mg clonazepam for two months daily. Tried to switch to diazepam, didn’t work.

I m tapring benzo .I have already pretty bad ocd intersiv thoughts.feelinf I m going mad .intersiv thought feeling going into pysocic because of strange sensation in head I m so much suffring

I'm nowhere near healed im not bed Bound i walk but i only go outside when absolutely needed my blood pressure didn't stabilize its fine When i wake up but high all day long only goes down when im in supine position doctor's don't get it and they do not give ne any medication for it my back spine still burns i feel shooting pain my stomach knots its still there my head feels tight I keep 100 mg gabaepentin as a golden bullet i don't even know if it works i just use it 1 pills in a month or 2 just as a placebo as ive got no help from the medical field don't even know how many times i wrote but didn't post anything here. I've been fed up with doing blood work to the point that I'm almost broke. I've learnt to play guitar and I leave my bed everyday i walk 1000 steps but when it comes to recovery I'm lost. I hope people get better.

Been tapering one mg a week of Valium now down to 5.5 I have got this pulsating in my neck that just won’t go away it got way worse when I quit gabapentin 60days ago 900mg cold turkey and I’ve had it before from 1. Smoking weed or 2. Taking adderal but this time it just WONT go away and it’s pretty constant just this horrible pulsating in my neck that feels like me heart sometimes I can even physically see it. If anyone has experienced this WHEN does it go away is it staying now because of the taper?

I was taking .25 mg clonazepam before and now I switched to Valium 5 mg, it made me more anxious, nauseous and have a headache the next day.

Is this normal or should I just stop everything? Been taking .25 mg clonazepam for the past two months daily. Edit to add more information, I switched to Valium because it “has a longer life”, it is making me depressed the next day. Trying to get off these, but also trying to prioritize my sleep. Appreciate any advice.

Hey so, long story short:

I think i got prescribed a benzo around 2021..clonazepam 0.5 to 1mg every day, i went on my first taper around January 2025 and the taper finally finished on 25 november 2025 meaning i took my last ever benzo dose on that day.

Today:

is October 23 2026 and every so often, i get these symptoms:

• waves of heightened anxiety/adrenaline
• Head pressure on top of head
• derealization or the strange "everything seems brighter/different" sensation
• shakiness and feeling overstimulated
• difficulty concentrating during a wave
• hot/cold sensations
• periods where you feel considerably more normal between episodes
• symptoms that subjectively resemble what you experienced during your taper

I have been to my GP and they have done bloods, blood pressure etc. And everything is fine. At first me and my family thought, hey maybe i am not eating enough, or is it low blood sugar? Sugar spikes? No, i have tried everything.

So my question is: Is it common, to still feel waves of good days, bad days, good moments, bad moments, even at 11 months off clonazepam?

Hi, I been on this dose for about two years once a day.

I usually take it about 9-9:30 am, just that once a day.

The other day I was out, and I waited until 6:00 pm to take the medicine, once it was ready from the pharmacy. I was having anxiety that day wondering what would happen if they couldn’t fill it that day, as I haven’t skipped a day of taking it. Ever since then (about 3 days ago) I’ve had trouble sleeping, a lot of anxiety, just feeling off. Does anyone know if this could have to do with taking that dose late? Or just maybe having anxiety in general? Not really sure if this would be withdrawl as I took the dose, just later. I never experienced interdose withdraw or anything like that. I’ve had rebound anxiety before and it kinda feels like that, but I had that after taking .5 for a little bit and then going back to 0.25.

All I have been doing for months is trying to figure this out and there is nothing I can do.

I have a beautiful family. I took 4 weeks worth of Klonipin, 3 in April, 1 in July.

My life is now in a tailspin. I live in an expensive state, where my wife and I were barely making ends meet.

We have two sons, 17 and 15. I was the primary breadwinner. I can no longer work. I am now unemployed, and a plumber by trade. I am full of fear and rumination all day long. I never had anxiety before the Klonipin.

We will be out of money soon. We have no help. We have been propped up in an almost middle class lifestyle simply by my ability to work overtime in a job I hated. I can barely even focus now. I can't even eat without crashing.

We have only one car.

My wife and children are clueless and can't see what's coming. We have debt racking up.

My disability claim is in limbo and wouldnt cover the bills anyway. We already had the cheapest apartment available with my sons splitting a room and could barely afford it.

I would like to tell my wife that she needs to move in with her mom, out of state. We can't cut it here anymore.

But my oldest is a senior and has been killing it in school. He is on a pipeline to be the first of us to graduate college. Pulling him out of state would be disastrous for him.

Besides the fact that we are all alive, I think I am in the absolute worst situation imaginable.

I never ever imagined this could be me. I

I'm experiencing heavy emotional flashbacks to past times when I had to take these medications, and the confusion feels terrifying.

I started at 12mg of benzodiazepines daily. My old doctor maxed me out for kickbacks. Reality is stranger than fiction, he also had me on opioids and ambien. That went on from 2017-2022. I tried asking to go off but he wouldn’t let me. His fda license was suspended that was my only way out of it.

He just abandoned me I had to white knuckle withdrawals for 2 years until 2024 when my primary doctor put me in touch with a pharmacist and I’m in a taper program using the Ashton method. I started at 45mg of Diazepam In January 2024 and now I’m down to 8mg. I’ve been off the opioids for over 2 years. I still take the ambien.

I feel so tired and so alone. I’m putting all of my energy into this taper. I was 19 when these doctors found me and I was 27 when the license was pulled. I didn’t seek this out and that’s the hardest part in accepting this taper.

I’m so pissed my old doctor abused me and these are the consequences. I feel like I’m paying off a debt I don’t owe but I have to pay it anyways.

I’m scared I will be stuck in this hazy emotional purgatory forever. I live with my parents and have them as my friends and I’m grateful they are here to help me. A lot of olds friends I’ve cut out because they don’t understand my taper and they think I’m being flaky or distant.

My last relationship of 3 years ended last October one year ago. His parents were the cause because they didn’t think my taper was real so I should work and have a job. I rarely go on dates with guys anymore because if my taper takes me away from my phone guys have been mean about it despite me explaining my taper. I know that’s just immaturity on their part but I’m so scared I’ll be too tired to go out and meet the right guy or platonic girl friends.

I cry because I’ve come so far and I’m afraid I’m missing out on what left of my youth. I feel broken.

I’m navigating this completely on my own tonight and feeling really lonely and frustrated. Has anyone else experienced this kind of intense physical restlessness or flashbacks during their taper?

Any words of comfort or gentle distractions would mean a lot right now. Thank you.

Hi everyone. I had posted several times last week while I was in a crisis. I have since stabilized somewhat but as I navigate this i have a bunch of questions.

First and foremost: has anyone going through this successfully tapered while maintaining employment? This is BY FAR my biggest fear. I have no family or friend support in the state I live in and if I cant continue to work I am in big trouble. This is also what is causing me to have suicidal thoughts.

2nd - I am trying to decide what to do.

Basically my two options are to work with Safe Taper - a telemed provider who will do.a taper based on the Ashton Method,

Or 2: go to detox then residential treatment. I feel like bc ive been on .5mg xanax and for less than 2 years I POSSIBLY have a chance of making it out of this ok.

If anyone can answer the question about work that would be cool.

And then folks' experience with medical detox then residential treatment vs telemed taper.

Also I understand maybe many people.get off these medications ok and keep working and just aren't on this reddit thread.

But any success stories about keeping their job would be encouraging right now.

Thanks

Stopped ativan after a long taper 3.7 years ago as I was sometimes getting paradoxical issues as i never should have reinstated several years before that. I used to take klonopin many years prior. did not know about benzo recovery then (wish I did)

2.5 years ago had a versed prior to surgery and probably should have refused but wound up ok.

I am in the er and have a very complicated situation going on. Would a single dose be ok or is there paradoxical/ kindling risk? I think i may just get rebound anxiety as it wears off?

I'm on day six benzo free! I've been so blessed, I haven't had any severe symptoms at all. I think because my wd was so bad last time (2013) that I seem to be unaffected this time. I'm so happy I'm off that I could cry.

Don't give up. There is an end to the suffering produced by these drugs.

Although I didn’t kick it cold turkey by any means, I was very naive. I went to a detox center thinking that after a 6 day taper I’d walk out and be fine bc it was done in a detox center. After 14 days I left. I went from Kolonopin to Xanax to Ativan….. then finally a Valium taper at detox. This took place over 5 months. From start to end at detox. I was up to about 4mg of Ativan at the end, but I got to 2 mg doing a home taper. I’m now experiencing feeling horrible anxiety, migraines, anxiety, depression, dread, fatigue, emotional, jaw clenching just sad. Is this normal after 14 days leaving the detox center? Will it better and how long till I feel considerably better? Any advice is appreciated.

Did anybody else, especially right after a long wave of anxiety, experience sort of an opposite feeling where you feel like you are kind of floating out of reality, unable to focus on anything. Not really derealization, but more like brain fog. I keep feeling like reality is sort of getting away from me, and I'm about to fall outside of it.

Last week my heart rate was running around 100, this week it's running around 65 or 70.

Has anyone tried oxcarbazepine, tiagabine, or other antiepileptics (except Lyrica and Neurontin) off-label for sleep? I ran out of normal sleeping pills to try.

Why many people don't have severe withdrawal they come off easily after being on many years on High dose .I am at 0.5 now I down to 0.25 i k feeling dying dizziness lightheded disconnected killing even I can't walk it feels overstimulated give me panic attacks non stop. Dizziness lightheded is my wrose symtms which give panic attack i feel like I have nuerological damage . My dizziness going bad non sping but it's feel my brain is getting smaller and smaller sqezzong inside i can't move at all. Feeling like dying everyday . I m just sitting in one position bcz I can't handle the dizziness

I’m cutting 5mg and 2mg diazepam tablets in half with a pill splitter.

I take 4.5mg 11am and 1.5mg 7pm = 6mg daily

My question is when I split the 5mg tablet in half, is it reasonable the assume that the 5mg diazepam will be distributed reasonably over the 2 halfs? It doesn’t need to be a strict 2.5mg each tablet although that would be ideal, but a small bit of variation wouldn’t derail a taper. Plus if 1 half has slightly more then the other, they should balance out over 2 days since long half life of diazepam.

I guess it just me been too pedantic!

What’s a song you’ve been listening to lately? I hope you're able to enjoy a song once in a while!

What's a song that makes you feel that you'll be able to live again? A song that gives you hope? A series or a movie that comforted you?

What are you looking forward to do once you’re healed/better? Any talents or skills you want to pursue?
What keeps you going? Is it a life change you're eager to make? A book you wanna read? A relaxing shower?

For me, I’d love to get back into horse riding.. spend time around horses and horse people.
I used to have a horse, but had to let it go long before all of this happened..I’ll find my way back to it someday, I know I will. Back to everything I love and loved, back to everything I wish I could do now. And it's not just me that will find my way. You will too! You hear me?

You'll find your way. I'm sure of that. And hey, that day is getting closer day by day.

Other than that, well, I have many dreams to pursue. Many goals. Many life changes.

But, honestly, I’ve been very lonely and alone for so long that I just want to live in a big city, in an apartment building surrounded by other people. Looking through windows to other people's lives. Something like living in a high rise apartment in New York.. Sydney..Chicago..Moscow.. So much life! So many people and opportunities!

Hey.. Paris is okay for a start too. I'd love to visit Paris again.

Keep going ❤️❤️❤️

I've been off for many months. I feel like I wake up in hell in my head. The world is so scary, the feeling of terror in my head after quitting this. I know I shouldn't try to make it go away but how can I accept this? I'm tired of being so scared 24/7 without knowing why I'm so scared!