Diazepam taper period

[doctorjohn]

Hi folks...

my Sister went on Diazepam 10mg, 10 years ago, and has had in that time periods of great crisis due to some dreadful life events. she has been on 30 mgs a day for a couple of years but for most of the time 3x5mgs a day has been her long term dose.

her local doctors surgery ,in their wisdom, have recently decided to get EVERYONE off diazepam or on a low dose of 2mg

she was expected, ordered really, to drop the dosage by 2mgs every month or so until free of diazepam....this method would have taken just a few months to come off completely.

this all started in the Autumn and she has been free of diazepam for a good few months now but is a total nervous wreck....crying constantly, unable to sleep or get out of bed and an overwhelming feeling of anxiety.

I have read how there should be a lengthy taper off time for someone who has been on these meds for a certain length of time

she has mentioned to her surgery that she feels her quick and ruthless withdrawal could be responsible but the docs and nurses there deny this.....I don't think for one minute that the surgery will accept responsibility for this ,do you?

her surgery was recently voted the worst doctors surgery in the UK and this was BEFORE all this diazepam controversy

thanks for listening folks....my question is really......is there a recommended safe taper timescale for someone who has been on these meds for over 10 years?

[doctorjohn]

anyone?

[nicola1980]

Hi i don't know much about Diazepam taper but I do know it must be done very slowly and in my opinion dropping 2mg's a month seems quite alot, i would have been inclined to drop 1mg or even just a quarter of a tablet and go from there. Unfortunately Gps don't know an awful lot about Diazepam or mental health really, could your sister ask for a referral to a physc? She really shouldn't be left to suffer like this, is she on any other medication to help her? XX

[singersongwriter123]

Dr Ashton's guide to tapering is a good one. http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/

---------- Post added at 07:22 ---------- Previous post was at 07:21 ----------

She says it should be done in 1-2 week stages.
tage 1 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 18mg diazepam 20mg 38mg Stage 2 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 18mg diazepam 18mg 36mg Stage 3 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 16mg diazepam 18mg 34mg Stage 4 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 16mg diazepam 16mg 32mg Stage 5 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 14mg diazepam 16mg 30mg Stage 6 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 14mg diazepam 14mg 28mg Stage 7 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 12mg diazepam 14mg 26mg Stage 8 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 12mg diazepam 12mg 24mg Stage 9 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 10mg diazepam 12mg 22mg Stage 10 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 10mg diazepam 10mg 20mg Stage 11 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 8mg diazepam 10mg 18mg Stage 12 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 8mg diazepam 8mg 16mg Stage 13 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 6mg diazepam 8mg 14mg Stage 14 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 5mg diazepam 8mg 13mg Stage 15 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 4mg diazepam 8mg 12mg Stage 16 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 3mg diazepam 8mg 11mg Stage 17 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 2mg diazepam 8mg 10mg Stage 18 (1-2 weeks) diazepam 1mg diazepam 8mg 9mg Stage 19 (1-2 weeks) -- diazepam 8mg 8mg Stage 20 (1-2 weeks) -- diazepam 7mg 7mg Stage 21 (1-2 weeks) -- diazepam 6mg 6mg Stage 22 (1-2 weeks) -- diazepam 5mg 5mg Stage 23 (1-2 weeks) -- diazepam 4mg 4mg Stage 24 (1-2 weeks) -- diazepam 3mg 3mg Stage 25 (1-2 weeks) -- diazepam 2mg 2mg Stage 26 (1-2 weeks) -- diazepam 1mg 1mg

[doctorjohn]

^ many thanks