newbie and diazepam withdrawal problems

[joy2u]

Hiya
I`m wondering if anyone else is going through diazepam withdrawal or has gone through it and can please help me with some advice.

I was taking temazepam 20 mg for about 8 yrs. Then last yr I was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid (Graves disease) and one of the symptoms is insomnia. Before I had the diagnosis I was awake almost all night so ended up taking 30 mg and then my prescription would run out early.
During that time I would wake with terrible night sweats and dry retching. I came clean with my Dr about my over using the temazepam and he realized I was in withdrawal for so many days a month. I never knew you could get withdrawal from these. During this time I had my thyroid treated with RAI (radioactive iodine) that basically killed my thyroid gland and was put on levothyroxine a thyroid med- so for a time I was never sure if my malfunctioning thyroid was giving me problems or the temazepam?
Anyway at last my thyroid meds kicked in and I asked my Dr to help me withdraw from the temazepam. He crossed me over to diazepam and I`ve been trying to reduce them ever since.

I started with 10 mg diazepam but that made me so tired the next day- so reduced to 9 mg and the same happened.
I got to 8mg and held for one month and sort of coped.
I`m now down to 6mg and not coping at all.

I`ve taken the 6 mg for two weeks and am having nausea, night sweats, muscle aches, and terrible anxiety. I`m spending days in bed as I`m so tired too. I cannot face people and dread even my family coming to visit as it all seems too much. I`ve now developed dizziness as well.

I don`t know whether to hold at this dose or reduce a tiny bit further? Will my body eventually get used to the 6 mg if I stay on this amount and then it would be wiser to reduce after that?
My Dr has been very supportive and gave me Cymbalta as I was so depressed but I haven`t taken them as I really don`t want another drug to have to withdraw from.
I also take tramadol 5 x day and I`ll have to wean off these sometime too.
I take them for oesteoarthritis in my hip but they`re not helping the pain at all now- so I`m only taking them so I don`t have withdrawal from them too.

I would value any help in getting off the diazepam easier or even to hear other people`s experiences and what worked for them.
My Dr arranged a lot of blood tests and thank goodness nothing serious is wrong, he said I`m in withdrawal.
I looked on benzobuddies but to be honest that site has scared me to death.
Thank you sooo much anyone who replies and sorry for such a long post.

[yenool]

You are in withdrawal but it will get better. Unfortunately it is hard to say how long.

I would avoid benzo buddies and similar sites; they are almost like cults. Many of the people there are at the very extreme end of what people may experience with benzo withdrawal. They present an overly negative and pessimistic outlook. I'm not saying their problems aren't real, just that it is highly unlikely to happen to you.

I think the golden rule with benzo withdrawal is not to go backwards if you can possibly avoid it, so avoid going back to 7 mg if you can possibly cope without it. However as you are struggling it is worth discussing 'holding' your dose for a while with your doctor. Give your body a few months to adapt to 6 mg; 8 years is a long time and your body needs time to undo the physical dependence created by the drug.

Benzos (including temazepam) are well known for causing tolerance/dependence/withdrawal. You were prescribed quite a high dose for 8 years, this is far longer than doctors normally allow these days. Do not feel bad or guilty about becoming dependent on them, just focus on making steps forward. You have already achieved A LOT by going from 10mg diazepam to 6mg - a 40% reduction already.

How do you find the tramadol for pain? I found tramadol to be a good pain killer but it increased my anxiety and did give me nausea. I get on better with co-codamol which works nearly as well for pain but doesn't seem to cause side-effects.

I think the important thing is to keep open and regular communication with your doctor. They will have experience of helping people off benzos as this is quite a common problem. There may be other medications he can give you for the nausea and anxiety.

Sorry there is no magic cure... just to know there is light at the end of the tunnel.

[Baggs]

There is no easy way to come off addictions. I've been addicted to a few things over the years including Diazepam, would probably still be on it if my Doc hadn't retired. I don't have any advice just wanted you to know I feel for you.

[June L]

Hello Joy2u
I hope this helps you. I was on 3 Ativan a day for 15 years. I was addicted to it. I tried over and over to get off it with my GPs permission. Every time I failed due to bad withdrawals. I contacted a drug advisory clinic. They told me I was cutting the drug to fast and gave me the following advice. Just take a little bit off the mid day tablet if you can not cut it off use a nail file and file it down. Wait until any side effect settle then cut it or file it down again. Once your body has settled from removing the mid day dose do the same with the morning or evening dose and finally the last remaining tablet your on. Its what I did and it worked. Yes it took months to get off Ativan but years on I am still off medication and so glad I did it that way. I would file the tablet away first by a quarter if side effect were too bad then next time I cut it. I cut it by less than a quarter but it was wonderful seeing less and less of the drug going in my body.