Our director, Dr. Christy Huff, shares tips on how to find a prescriber to help with a benzodiazepine taper.
Tip 1: If you are cut off abruptly go to the emergency room
Tip 2: Have a backup prescriber in mind before talking to your prescriber
Tip 3: Find a benzodiazepine-cooperative prescriber
Tip 4: Make a list
Tip 5: Rehearse before the appointment
Tip 6: Be calm, respectful and concise when speaking to your prescriber
Tip 7: Bring evidence-based information to your prescriber
Tip 8: Have a taper plan in mind
Tip 9: Bring a supportive family member (or friend)
Tip 10: Don’t give up!
Relevant Links
Find a doctor list
Free Ashton Manual
Benzodiazepine Tapering Strategies and Solutions
FDA Announcement
FDA Labels
FDA Freedom of Information Act
How to Find Tapering Help
Dr. Huff. Many many people simply cannot financially afford to find a doctor that
will cooperate in a taper process. If we go outside our insurance, the cost can be
prohibitive. What do we do ?? What would you suggest ? ?
Secondly, if someone is NOT tapered, and experienced seizures and near death,
put on heavy, very toxic Neuroleptics, can they ever get off Klonopin after 27 years ? ?
please answer for all those damaged by Benzos. Thank you.
Stacy,
What I do works for me … I was on 10mg Diaz per day when I found my tapering start.
I called the manufacturer (accord) of the Diaz and they confirmed what I’d found, that a tablet weighs between 174 & 176mg for a 2mg tablet.
I then bought a good quality weigh scale, (On Balance) and then began my reducing program.
I reduced by 2 mg every 2 weeks and then every 10 days.
I am now down to taking a 2mg tablet weighing 66mg … 5 times a day … so a daily dose of 3.3 mg
It is slow … but you may be able to cut down more quickly… by 4mg every 2 weeks for example?
Prof Ashton is generally a good source of info but I know that the small number of people in her analysis sample when it was taken, years ago, was a factor in her (in my opinion, wrongly) making the claim that people could take all or half of their total daily dose at the beginning of the day … is wrong and several pharmacologists agree with me here.
In my view .. the efficacy of Diaz lasts for a max of 6 hours-ish … so I used 5 hours-ish … this gave 5 doses per day and I. along with pharmacologists, doctors etc. concur on this point.
The efficacy period for Diaz is how long it has a “noticeable” and “effective” effect on you. We all know about the half-life of Diaz which can be several days … I believe that this period is irrelevant to its efficacy!
Good luck Stacy!
Ken, I agree with you I dose around the clock. My pharmacist told me it was better to space out the doses through a 24 hour period to keep yourself stable.
I am scared to get the COVID vaccine due to so many problems with several antibiotics since being in Ativan for 25 plus years. Do you have any idea if there are people who had problems with Ativan and the Covid vaccine? I am scared of mixing any other medicine with Ativan. Do you think it’s safe to get the vaccine I’m scared of getting Covid and scared of getting vaccine it’s a viscous circle. I need someone to help me figure this out, please.
Where can I buy the Ashton book?
It’s free on line just type the Ashton manual into any search engine you can always print it off
Ken, I agree with you I dose around the clock. My pharmacist told me it was better to space out the doses through a 24 hour period to keep yourself stable.
Andrea it is available right on this sight.
Pam, I’ve been on xanax for 30 years, and I got the phizer vaccine. I had no problem at all. I would recommend phizer over Moderna. Moderna seems to knock people out for a few days. Phizer did not do that to me. Good luck in your decision.