Need Help With Valium Dependency

Kingpinguin

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Also another psychological thing with not being able to sleep. Think like this. Instead of lying in bed thinking really need to sleep now before the time becomes this much or i need to sleep within half an hour to get good sleep etc. just think the opposite. Lie in bed completely dark and stare up in the ceiling. Think now I’m gonna try not to fall asleep at all. Like focus hard on not falling asleep. Do this for 2 hours. Think im just gonna lie here look in the ceiling and try not to fall asleep. Whats gonna happen? Youll fall asleep. Brain does the opposite. Its much harder to try and stay awake on purpose then try to sleep on purpose. Why is it harder to fall asleep if you try? Because its a psychological must and a stress. The brain does not enjoy feeling it has to do something. Try this or just accept the fact that you dont care if you sleep anymore or not.
 

Nokoni

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Thanks for that as I was just going to ask you about starting dosage. I will search the forum for info on taurine. These are two supposed I haven’t tried.
I wouldn't start high. Maybe just a gram (1/4 teaspoon) the first day or two, then take it up gram by gram with days in between. I have to do that to avoid digestion problems. Let's my colon get comfortable with it.
 
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GreenEyedBlonde
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@Kingpinguin - I really do get worked up as I see the hours ticking by which makes things worse. Can try the staring at the ceiling as I have nothing to lose. Definitely think I can manage on 5mg three nights per week and then will try 2.5mg in a few weeks. Never thought it would be so difficult but then again, I never realized I had an addiction.

@Nokoni - thanks for dosage. I have a bit of shopping to do this weekend!
 

Kingpinguin

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@Kingpinguin - I really do get worked up as I see the hours ticking by which makes things worse. Can try the staring at the ceiling as I have nothing to lose. Definitely think I can manage on 5mg three nights per week and then will try 2.5mg in a few weeks. Never thought it would be so difficult but then again, I never realized I had an addiction.

@Nokoni - thanks for dosage. I have a bit of shopping to do this weekend!

The point was that stressing over not getting sleep will ruin both your mood and your chance to get any sleep. Try not to care about. What ever X amount of sleep you grt that night thats what you get. Eventually the fatigue and the adjusting to lower GABA levels will give you some sleep. I would try to stay on this dose you’re at right now untill you feel comfortable and is able to sleep some more then after you feel a bit more rested you can cut the pill again. Good luck buddy!
 
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GreenEyedBlonde
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Update: I am finally off the Valium for 6 weeks after a slow taper. Change in diet, magnesium, decreased exercise had no effect on my insomnia. The thing that helped was cyproheptadine. I’m taking 0.5mg about 4x/week. Have noticed a change in character of insomnia. On the nights I do not take the cypro I will wake after 3 hours of sleep and will be unable to get back to sleep. I do feel wired but do not have the next day lousy feeling that I got with the Valium. I just curtail my activities the next day and then take the cypro that evening. It seems to be working ok. Do notice a 5 lb weight gain and constant hunger but I still feel better than I did on the Valium. Just hoping I don’t build up a tolerance.
 

rei

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This is a prime case for progesterone. If i understand right in sufficient doses it should greatly reduce withdrawal symptoms from benzo and alcohol, and probably help restoring normal function of nervous system as it converts to allo.
 

lampofred

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Have you tried T3? A small amount of T3 before sleeping is powerfully sleep inducing, both according to Dr. Peat and from personal experience. Benzos (valium particularly) are really just imitation thyroid/progesterone anyway.
 
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GreenEyedBlonde
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Have you tried T3? A small amount of T3 before sleeping is powerfully sleep inducing, both according to Dr. Peat and from personal experience. Benzos (valium particularly) are really just imitation thyroid/progesterone anyway.

No I haven’t. With my TSH so low I didn’t want to chance adding more hormone. How much T3 do you think would be appropriate without exacerbating my insomnia? Thanks for your input.
 

lampofred

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No I haven’t. With my TSH so low I didn’t want to chance adding more hormone. How much T3 do you think would be appropriate without exacerbating my insomnia? Thanks for your input.

If sugar, salt, protein, red light exposure are inadequate then T3 might increase adrenaline and worsen insomnia but if you are well-fueled, just a nibble of 2-3 mcg is enough to induce sleep in a few min, in my experience. Also sugar and vitamin D might help to increase conversion of the T4 you are taking into T3 by lowering cortisol, which should help sleep. Plus vitamin D has valium-like effects when accompanied with sufficient calcium and cyproheptadine, so might help with withdrawal.
 
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S-VV

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0.5 mg of cypro is not gonna put you to sleep. The pharmacology just doesn't allow it. Try 4 mg, and you'll get relevant concentrations to block the central H1 receptors and go to sleep.

I also use gabapentin, clonidine and baclofen to help me sleep. Always keep half life in mind and space each drug with itself with two buffer days at minimum.
 

S-VV

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Also, low dose SSRIs (about 1 /10th) increase the limiting step in Allopregnenalone synthesis. There are some threads in the forum.

Allopregnenalone is a GABAa positive allosteric modulator, so it may help you.
 
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GreenEyedBlonde
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0.5 mg of cypro is not gonna put you to sleep. The pharmacology just doesn't allow it. Try 4 mg, and you'll get relevant concentrations to block the central H1 receptors and go to sleep.

I also use gabapentin, clonidine and baclofen to help me sleep. Always keep half life in mind and space each drug with itself with two buffer days at minimum.

If I take the 0.5 of cypro around 8:30 p I do fall asleep and usually wake up around 3a. If I don’t take the cypro I may fall asleep but wake after 3 hours without being able to fall back to sleep. So if you think it’s not the cypro, what do you think is happening? BTW 4mg of cypro would probably effect me negatively the next day. It took me a few doses of 0.5 to make it past the hangover feeling the next day. Thanks for your help.
 

aguineapig

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After I few days off cypro, one milligram had me out from 12;30 am to 11 without coming up for air.

I think the histamine blockade is only part of it's effect. If we look at 5-ht2a for example, 1mg trazadone blocks over 50% of those receptors, and cypro has a greater 5-ht2a proclivity.

The stress hormone lowering is likely a factor as well.

If it were just histamine, Benadryl would probably be as effective as a sleep aid for me, but it isn't.
 

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