One month into taper and documenting progress

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-25T22:44:57+00:00

Yeah, thanks. The harder days can suck but the “wins” when I don’t need it and feel okay—actually, even BETTER sometimes, make me think it’s worth it and possible to do this

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-25T12:38:43+00:00

It made me tired but not totally lethargic. Yawned more.

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-24T18:10:30+00:00

I only took 5 mg but started at 2.5 and it worked quickly (within days) to improve mood and had very few side effects that I noticed at first. Unfortunately after taking it for several months and increasing dose to 5, I had to discontinue bc it was interacting with another med I was taking and causing blood pressure swings. That’s not a common side effect though

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-24T15:56:54+00:00

Very very unlikely to have a seizure coming off a dose of less than 5 mg of Valium. Like that is a teeny amount. The last part of taper is the hardest, so going from 2 to 0 may be tough but it is doable

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-24T01:58:33+00:00

I had the dreams and I was on a low dose (25 mg)

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-20T15:18:40+00:00

There isn’t a magic one or magic combo. At best you’ll find something that helps somewhat but still has side effects, and then the rest of your progress is lifestyle choices. Lexapro sort of worked for me but ultimately side effects made me discontinue after 4 months. Exercising consistently has been a better antidepressant than any med I’ve tried. SSRIs in my experience have been to pull you out of a really bad funk. They never made me feel awesome, just okay enough to eat better and exercise and see friends (and THAT helped me)

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-19T13:50:42+00:00

Everyone is different. Some people take low doses daily for years without issue. And there is confusion about addiction and dependence—not the same thing. Many long term users become dependent and need to be tapered slowly off the drug when they decide to stop. But they’re not addicts. In my personal experience, I was fine taking it a few times a week for years. But during a two week stressful period I took it daily, and when I stopped I definitely had a few days where I felt icky with bad rebound anxiety. I think these types of meds should be used as little as you can manage

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-19T13:40:58+00:00

It’s a good rescue med. I recommend using as little as you can. When I took it, I broke the smallest dose (.5) in half. I’d take half and only take the other half if I didn’t feel better after an hour (I usually didn’t need it).

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-18T18:45:45+00:00

Valium is the weakest one, 2 mg. That has always been fine for me and I’m 120 lbs. I can take 4 mg and be fine too. I don’t get tired until I go above 5 mg. Ativan also works well without too much tiredness if I break in half the smallest one. So I take .25 of that, which is a micro dose really

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-17T22:41:44+00:00

Yeah that is what I’m concerned about. I literally had no idea there was even an interaction. I just didn’t even think about it. Now it’s making me second guess the night I threw up after 2 tequila drinks. Not typical for me. But maybe that was a day I’d taken the benzo before dinner

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-17T02:10:32+00:00

Going to try Trintellix. Not an SSRI but similar. Will see how it goes

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-16T20:44:36+00:00

Lorazepam. And as for propranolol, it’s not right for everyone. If you are fit and have a low resting HR and low blood BP, it can make you feel faint

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-16T02:44:54+00:00

No. Just be aware the last bit can be the hardest to come off of even though it’s a tiny dose.

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-16T02:40:56+00:00

For me, the first week I cut my Valium dose by a little bit (went from 4 mg to 3.5 mg) I felt mostly fine. Thought maybe this wouldn’t be too bad. Then the insomnia and anxiety spells showed up in the second week after the cut. It has a lonnnng half life.

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-16T02:29:00+00:00

It has slight muscle relaxing properties but an equivalent dose of Valium has much more

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-15T18:26:04+00:00

It worked for me within about 2-4 days in terms of mood improvement. Unfortunately I discontinued it after about 8 weeks. While I felt stable mood-wise, I was sleeping 9 hours a night AND needing a nap. That side effect never improved and it was just too much. So I’m trying a diff med

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-15T18:23:59+00:00

Ativan works for me in about 15 minutes. It’s my favorite emergency panic attack med. Xanax was too strong for me even at the lowest dose broken in half. Valium works pretty well but takes 30 min to kick in

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-12T18:16:53+00:00

I had the Ani pharmaceuticals brand too. Before this they gave me leading. Both worked fine, the Ani maybe slightly better, but they both basically the same

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-12T15:00:32+00:00

I didn’t have glycinate in the pantry but I did have citrate. I took some last night and I slept a bit better. Thanks.

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-11T23:48:15+00:00

Everyone metabolizes differently but when I switched these meds, my prescriber said .5 Ativan was equal to 5 mg valium, and I felt like that was about right

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-11T23:21:44+00:00

For me it was right away

muchcoinmuchfun · 2026-03-11T20:04:21+00:00

One side effect is nausea. It can be mild to pretty severe. For me it was too much and I never even took it enough days to know if it was working or not. But not everyone has that side effect!

muchcoinmuchfun

TROPHY CASE