8 replies to this topic

[Sonnie]

Hello Longecity community,

I'm reaching out for opinions/suggestions/experiences for a challenge that's soon approaching.

I've been using Nitrazepam everyday for almost 3 years now and in less than two weeks I've decided to quit cold-turkey. I no longer wish to be dependant on a medicine to function normally.

Nitrazepam (unlike other Benzodiazepines) has a unique effect on my brain chemistry; rather than sedating me it energises me and motivates me to get tasks completed. It's my organisational medication which improves my speaking skills making me more witty and generally pleasant to be around.

It's the closest thing to that serenity and clarity of thought one feels after silent meditation.

I understand that tapering off slowly with Diazepam is the norm - I've done this before 'successfully' but found that even after tapering off my energy and motivation levels were severely depleted.

I want to do it naturally! Self-discipline to rise early in the morning for meditation followed by supplementation which will compensate for the GABA absent.

Now is the time to end this weakness; I'm expecting withdrawal systems but suggestions regarding natural supplementation would be greatly appreciated. I have academic commitments which hold me back from doing the research myself.

My current dose is around 20mg/day and after 24 hours I can feel the effects of withdrawal.

Thank you in advance.

Sonnie.

[niner]

If your energy and motivation levels are depleted after tapering, wouldn't they be a lot worse if you quit cold turkey? I think you're likely to be more successful if you taper. I'd recommend that you don't look at this as weakness. Instead, look at it as a medical problem. You have a self-induced illness where your brain chemistry has been altered. It is going to take a long time to get it back to normal, and you aren't likely to be very successful on your own, using only "natural" methods. If you had tuberculosis, you'd go to a doctor, right? You will probably need help with this drug dependence. You've been on a high dose for a long time. Try to find someone who can help you with this.

[tarasco]

Hi Sonnie,

I once quit a dopaminergic substance cold turkey (I live in Canada and ran out of the supplement that i had to order from the USA). I can't for the life of me remember which one of a number I was taking (the phenfen protocol).

I began a period of suicidal ideation in the form of OCD circular thinking....not a pleasant (but still an educational) experience which I seem to have survived....

Now, when they say taper, I T A P E R...!

Hopefully you can do the withdrawal with an understanding MD....or someone you can lean on when and if necessary
I'm new to Nootropics but can't help wondering if someone out there knows what supplements to take during the withdrawal and re-stabilizing period for diazepines


Best regards,
Tarasco

[Sonnie]

Thanks for your advice,

I saw my physician yesterday and the procedure in Australia is self-managed withdrawal through the supervision of a GP. I have to manage the reduction myself and I'll do so very slowly over the course of 6 months. I'll use spreadsheeting to monitor the withdrawal doses and considering Nitrazepam only comes in 5mg tablets in Australia I'll be crushing them into a fine powder before weighing them and placing them in vegetable capsules to get 1mg doses (when my reduction schedule requires me to do so). I won't be switching to Diazepam as I don't respond to any other benzodiazepines.

It really is unusual how something like this can happen to someone who doesn't have an abusive nature...

Likening my initial intentions to an attempt to naturally cure TB was a sharp analogy and I too have experienced these unusual circular thoughts, very unpleasant.

Life is good for me right now and I need to thank the community for highlighting my egotistical self-inflated sense of will-power. I'll do it right!

I have extensive experience with nootropics and I'll contribute my experiences and experiments when time allows it.

Until then,

Thank you everybody,
Sonnie

[Augmentation]

Your initial idea was not a bad idea, in fact I was excited to see you succeed in that manor, however it did set you up for a potentially dangerous series of events that tapering will help you avoid. Do you plan to combine tapering with your original plan on meditation and supplementation?

Best of luck,
-

[cudBwrong]

Sonnie, you have a paradoxical reaction to Nitrazepam. It's not unknown but it's rare. Perhaps there is
a genetic factor, given the rarity of this response, but at this time, we don't know.

I encourage you to taper off. This drug can have serious side effects, and its benefits
to you do not appear to be worth the risks.

If your issues are alertness and motivation, I wonder how you respond to caffeine. It also is involved
with the GABA pathway, and in moderate doses it might be of some help during and after your withdrawal.

Caffeine certainly seems to be safer than Nitrazepam.

[adamh]

They say to taper no more than 5% to 10% per week. Rapid tapering will give you brain zaps, possibly insomnia or rebound anxiety. Benzos are very insidious because even after you have completed your taper and quit, you will likely be subject to post benzo syndrome. This gives a run down feeling, loss of mental acuity, foggy memory and possibly depressed feelings. Everyone is different so your symptoms may be less. Cold turkey will likely give seizures that in some cases are fatal. Don't go that route. Post benzo symptoms can last from 6 months to several years though a 3 year habit is not that long. People who were on them for a decade or more have reported they never got over the post benzo part. That too is subject to individual differences.

Its good that you have taken the bull by the horns. It will be a long fight but in the end you will feel better and not be a slave to a drug.

[tunt01]

They say to taper no more than 5% to 10% per week. Rapid tapering will give you brain zaps, possibly insomnia or rebound anxiety. Benzos are very insidious because even after you have completed your taper and quit, you will likely be subject to post benzo syndrome.

Seizures, risk of a manic anxiety episode, etc. You have to taper. This isn't like quitting cigarettes.

Look up the Ashton protocol.

Edited by prophets, 20 July 2013 - 09:51 PM.

[Sonnie]

Thanks for your responses everyone. This really is a great forum.

I've managed to bring it down from 4 pills a day to 2 pills a day without experiencing any severe withdrawal syndromes. Less than 2 a day and I begin to feel exhausted so I've found my plateau point.

Interestingly, I've found that Korean Ginseng and Rhodiola Rosea Extract really do help boost my energy and motivation levels. I'm not using them for replacement but they have helped reduce the withdrawal lethargy.

I remember reading the Ashton protocol; it's basically what I'm doing but I'm not switching to Diazepam - a slow Nitrazepam reduction will get me clean in a matter of 3 to 6 months.

Thanks again to everyone who talked me out of trying to quit CT again - I humbly feel I will soon be a success story for those of us with benzodiazepine dependence.


Sonnie