Benzo Taper - Update - 1 Aug 2023

Elijah's Benzo Journey2023-08-02

Valium#Benzo#Benzodiazepines#Benzo taper#ashton manual#heather ashton#withdrawal#benzo withdrawal#Elijah

478 views|12 months ago

💫 Short Summary

In this video, Elijah provides an update on his Valium taper, sharing that he is not following a specific schedule but rather a symptom-based approach and is keeping himself busy with activities like work and concerts. He emphasizes the importance of consistency in dosing and taking a gentle, patient approach to tapering off benzodiazepines to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Elijah encourages others going through a similar experience to stay positive and firm, reminding them that the medication does not define them and that they will be just fine in the end.

✨ Highlights

📊 Transcript

✦

Elijah provides an update on his Valium taper, emphasizing a symptom-based approach and the importance of keeping busy.

00:00

Elijah is tapering off Valium at his own pace, based on a symptom-based approach.

He experiences rough mornings due to cortisol, but staying active helps.

Keeping busy with work and activities like playing drums and going to concerts helps keep his mindset going.

He emphasizes the importance of keeping the central nervous system stable by not touching other medications.

✦

Consistency in dosing is important when tapering off benzos, and a slow, gentle approach is recommended to avoid post-acute withdrawal symptoms.

01:41

Dose at consistent times, and once adjusted, consider a slow micro taper.

Tapering should be gentle to avoid post-acute withdrawal symptoms.

Paradoxical reactions and high tolerance can occur with benzos, so it's important to find the right balance for tapering.

Elijah is tapering off a long-acting benzo, focusing on one dose at a time and not rushing the process.

✦

Communication with a doctor and having a plan in place is important for a successful tapering process.

04:11

Open communication and having a plan of action with your doctor can help avoid being cut off or put on a quick taper.

Doctors are more likely to support a tapering plan if they see the patient is taking it seriously.

✦

Tapering off medication takes time, and it's important to keep a steady pace to allow the body to adapt to the changes.

05:01

Time plays a big role in allowing the body to adjust during the tapering process.

Keeping a steady pace with tapering is important for the body to adapt.

Elijah acknowledges that not every day is perfect, but he is functional and able to enjoy life despite underlying uneasiness.

00:00 hey everyone it's Elijah here I wanted

00:03 to make another update video of my taper

00:06 and how I'm doing

00:08 uh my Valium taper is going good

00:14 um

00:15 slowly going down

00:19 um

00:21 and just to make it clear I am not

00:25 on a

00:27 schedule I'm not on a doctor's calendar

00:31 of when I have to be off no I'm on my

00:35 own schedule

00:36 because I'm going on a symptom-based

00:39 approach and that seems to be working

00:41 great the only rough times I have are

00:43 mornings because the cortisol and

00:46 everything but when you force yourself

00:48 up and move

00:49 uh

00:51 pretty much goes away

00:53 another thing is keep yourself busy

00:56 that's an important role

00:58 um

01:00 went to Europe this past spring

01:04 uh play drums at uh

01:07 Amphitheater concert hour here

01:10 been to concerts just saw Tears for

01:13 Fears

01:15 um so yeah

01:16 busy with work which is good because

01:19 that keeps my mindset going

01:21 um I'm not touching my other meds I'm

01:24 keeping those the same dose

01:26 because the last thing you want to do is

01:28 mess with your central nervous system

01:30 and you want to keep that

01:34 as stable as possible

01:36 so

01:38 for those that don't know what to do

01:41 one thing

01:43 I want to make clear some people dose at

01:49 different times or they'll be like okay

01:51 I'm gonna take benzo now I'm not gonna

01:53 need it

01:54 tomorrow or they skip a dose Etc

01:57 but if you're looking at tapering make

01:59 sure your doses are consistent

02:02 don't skip a dose if you dose twice a

02:04 day or three times a day

02:07 be consistent with it

02:10 then once you're consistent

02:13 and you adjust to that and you adapt

02:17 then look into a slow micro taper I

02:21 understand each person is different

02:24 but just make sure you take it gently on

02:26 your body you will have symptoms that's

02:29 a given

02:31 but

02:32 that's better than rushing and getting

02:34 uh post-acute withdrawal symptoms

02:38 no just gentle it's not a race everybody

02:42 um

02:44 there are instances where benzos become

02:47 paradoxical that's a whole different

02:48 case

02:50 I've had that happen to me before on

02:52 another benzo

02:54 hence why I crossed back over to Valium

02:59 and the paradoxical reaction went away

03:01 and I don't know if it was paradoxical

03:03 or it was just a high tolerance for it

03:07 and withdrawal because it was short

03:09 acting potent benzo I think that's what

03:12 it was and I think some people get that

03:14 confused paradoxical versus tolerance

03:18 and withdrawing

03:20 so

03:23 I'm not completely sure

03:25 but I'm on a long-term long-acting benzo

03:29 I'm currently tapering it I dose three

03:32 times a day

03:34 and I taper windows at a time I don't

03:36 worry about tapering this dose this dose

03:39 or this dose

03:40 I focus on my midday dose which I'm

03:43 getting down making fantastic progress

03:47 um when that's done

03:49 I might chill for a month or two

03:52 I'm not in a rush

03:53 I'm not in a rush at all

03:56 and then I'll tackle the next one

03:59 so

04:01 um

04:02 just try not to let anybody rush you

04:06 um

04:09 just make sure if you're working with a

04:11 doctor

04:12 try to stay

04:16 and communication as much as possible

04:18 because I know people get cut off or

04:20 they get on a quick taper

04:22 but what I've noticed is if you're open

04:24 with your doctor you have great

04:26 communication you have a plan of action

04:28 in place on what you want to do

04:30 and you're following it doctors a lot of

04:33 times tend to go with that because they

04:34 know okay they're taking this serious

04:37 and they're going with it so that's just

04:40 my personal opinion when it comes to

04:42 that

04:44 um better than that

04:46 if you're going through this

04:49 and you have bad thoughts ruminating

04:51 thoughts you feel like you can't escape

04:54 just stick to it you're gonna get out of

04:57 this

04:58 because remember this is not you this is

05:01 just the medication

05:03 and the big factor in this is time

05:07 plays a big role and our bodies are very

05:11 smart

05:13 at fixing themselves

05:15 but when you're jumping back and forth

05:17 going up and down constantly on doses

05:21 your body doesn't know what to do

05:23 because there's so much change

05:25 so keep a steady Pace with everything

05:30 um

05:31 and luckily it's working for me but

05:34 unfortunately I had to go through hell

05:35 to find that out

05:38 um

05:39 but yeah everything's going okay on my

05:41 end not every day is perfect of course

05:44 but wow

05:46 I'm functional

05:47 I work I go out

05:50 I enjoy life

05:52 even though there is an underlying

05:55 feeling of uneasiness just a little bit

05:58 but don't stop me from doing anything

06:01 so

06:03 um yeah that's my latest update

06:05 everybody

06:06 just stay positive stay firm and just

06:08 remember

06:10 it's just the medication doing this

06:12 and you're going to be just fine

06:15 so don't believe the lies

06:18 that your mind's producing from the

06:20 medication

06:21 as real as it is

06:24 just know it's not permanent

06:28 I know coming up I'm gonna have to deal

06:30 with my lower doses as I get really low

06:33 but that's okay it is what it is you

06:36 know

06:37 but going slow

06:41 in my view

06:43 is so much better because it gives your

06:46 body time to adapt to those new levels

06:52 so

06:53 but I'll make a video update here soon

06:56 and uh I look forward to

06:57[Music]

06:59 speaking with y'all later

07:01 till next time everybody

07:04 bye

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