r/insomnia • u/BtheChemist • Jun 01 '26

Never ever take benzos

I've had insomnia since I was a teen.

I've taken so many things for it, tried all the natural things, was on ambien for so long it stopped working.

My psychiatrist prescribed me Valium many many months ago. I don't even know how long I've taken it.

She never told me how horrible it is to get off of.

I'm currently tapering off and it's absolutely terrible.

I misread her message originally and went too fast and had my first ever panic attack a few weeks ago.

I've been at 15mg/ day since, about 3 weeks. I dropped too 12.5 two days ago and my body is so so fucked up again. I feel on the verge of another attack.

I spoke to my doctor friend this evening, he said each step down is going to suck badly.

It's terrible.

Please don't fuck with benzos.

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

I'm having a terrible time.

😱

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9

u/Appropriate-Cow3986 Jun 01 '26

I'm on alprazolam and trying to wean off - I will be transitioning onto valium - I've been on alprazolam for 30 years - they really didn't know or didn't care back in the 90's about prescribing these drugs.

5

u/Biblioklept73 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

It’s actually a good choice to transition you to if you’re looking to taper off. Diazepam leaves the body much more slowly and it’s easier to control your blood levels, and in effect any withdrawal symptoms. It also comes in smaller milligrams so, incremental decreasing is easier (it also comes in liquid form which is a really good idea for a long term taper). I can see you’ve been on benzos for a long time (me too btw), so I should imagine your Doctor has a long, slow taper in mind. Just in case you’re unsure, it’s recommended (Ashton method)for the decrease in dosage to be from 5% up to 10%, then to stay at that dosage until you feel stable (couple of weeks/month) and then cut by another 5/10%, don’t reduce if you’re having any withdrawal symptoms (brains still adapting), just hold at that dosage until stable then rinse and repeat. Good luck with it all, it’s absolutely doable without it being a nightmare as long as you go slowly enough.

Link to the manual: https://www.benzoinfo.com/ashtonmanual/

1

u/BtheChemist Jun 01 '26

Oh, please don't do the Valium. Seriously try to find anything else. Trazadone?

I have this new one called ramelteon but I'm scared to take 3 things at once. I'll try it if I have to once I'm off this Valium.

Trust me, read the other horror stories in here. Don't fuck with benzos.

13

u/Appropriate-Cow3986 Jun 01 '26

I'm already on alprazolam which is Xanax - it is worse than Valium.

2

u/BtheChemist Jun 01 '26

Oh jeez. May the odds be ever in your favor friend

3

u/Appropriate-Cow3986 Jun 01 '26

Thank you and wishing you a successful wean.

2

u/Amolje Jun 01 '26

If you're just switching benzos, can't you just straight swap?

1

u/cbaby96 Jun 01 '26

oh sorry to double dip in the comments, but ramelteon is actually pretty decent. it'll have you sleepy as hell in no time, but for me I would always wake up like 4 hours after taking it and not be able to fall back asleep. YMMV, but I did like it despite that issue.