Hi all,
Not sure what to say either. I too take Clonazapam at .5 mg per day, although I have reduced it to .25. When I tried going off completely I felt I went off too soon. (anxiety issues increased) It's hard to cut that pill into anything smaller than a quarter. I will try tapering even more slowly staying at .25 for a longer period before cutting it further. I would like to hear more about the baclofen that some use. Maybe the next time I go in to the doctor I can ask about it. I will not consider stopping the tsm as I am now in my 8th week. It's hard though to think that for some of us, it may be hampered by our use of benzos. I think we just have to stay the course and see what happens. So far my cravings are the same except for the first week when they went down as expected. Isn't 12 weeks when we should start seeing a decrease in our craving/drinking? Maybe it will take longer for those on benzos? I guess we will find out!

What about GABA supplements? I have seen them in the health food store, but I don't know if they would do any good or make things worse. I probably don't really understand the whole connection....

Cal, have you felt any different at all? I see nothing has changed for you either in the unit amounts.
I have been drinking daily which is unusual for me, just to follow the method and also gave myself permission to do so. The problem with that is I was drinking daily too much as opposed to too much just a couple of days a week! I have two alcohol free days under my belt this week. Yesterday was a push but I stuck to it only because I was too lazy to go out and buy anything. The cravings at times were a 10 and I was a bit depressed also which I think is why I drink in the first place to alleviate those feelings. Not sure which came first the chicken or the egg! Not sure about today, so far thinking of another AF day but not sure. It would be good because when I drink I feel awful the next day and it ends up as a lost day where I drink sometimes just to soften the hangover!

PLEASE do not cut benzos too fast. GABA supps do not cross the blood-brain barrier and are of minimal help.

Go to benzodetoxrecovery.com, and the benzo thread there, for info. Even Ashton (ref'd by Dr. E) says never more than 10 %, and many think that is too fast. Slow and steady wins the race.

Again Lena, thank you for all of this! You seem to know what you are talking about. I don't think that many doctors that perscribe these meds actually know what happens with a taper or even how to do one for the most part! When I was tapered off of xanax it was brutal and no I was not all right at all for a very long time! I was not drinking in those years either so it was different. Too bad there isn't more info out there about this. I read a book called Toxic Psychiatry that I think tells the story on all of these meds. antidepressants also and how dangerous they all are. I am a believer but unfortunately because of the meds I was on for so many years now I must take something for this horrible anxiety that I believe is actually caused by those drugs! I was off of everything for two years but the panic attacks were quite severe and quality of life was questionable. I am going to try to go off very gradually again, but the jury is out, not sure that I can! I am posting this for those of you in the same boat! Be very careful!

I think the fact that our consumption has not decreased is a typical pattern at this stage of tsm. So, I am not too concerned about it yet anyway. Of course I just worry that the Benzo's are going to have a negative effect on my progress down the road. Right now I am only taking half of a .5 mg of Clonazapam and so far I seem to be ok on that. I'll stay on that dose and keep gradually cutting it down. I also plan to mention the Baclofen (sp?) on my next visit to the doctor. Thanks for the info on the GABA supplements. I wasn't sure how they worked.

Hello everyone: I've been a 'lurker" on these boards for quite some time now and decided to come out of the closet... so to speak. I have been using SM since November of 2008. I am a total binge drinker, I can go several days without drinking and then all the sudden, the urge strikes me to go to the liquor store and buy a huge bottle of vodka and go crazy for up to 3-5 days straight. When i first started SM I was on 4mg of xanax a day for anxiety. Not knowing much about drugs I had no idea it would hamper the effects of SM. At first i saw some small results with SM, but would still binge... maybe not quite to the extent of my previous binges but they were still pretty bad. I was discouraged as hell. I've had several e-mail conversations with Dr. Eskapa (always responds and is very caring and helpful) and when I finally told him I was on xanax, he said "that's it!!" "it's the Benzo's causing your problem" I have since switched to Valium to taper off the bzd slowly. The funny thing is though, is that the binges are even worse on Valium than they were on Xanax... I have no clue why... but they just are. It's like the Nal does not work at all with valium in my system. Just last week I went on a 4 day bender and thought i was going to die from the alcohol withdrawals I suffered.

anyway, my point is this: I believe that Dr. Eskapa truly believes that if those of us on Benzodiazepines would get completely off of them, SM would truly be able to work for us. I don't know yet as I am still tapering off the valium... you have to do it so slowly to avoid all the shitty side effects. I am down to only taking 2.5mg in the am and 2.5 pm and haven't taken any yet today (although it's only 8 am here) I am trying very hard to just stay abstinent and made a promise to myself that i am not going to drink again until the valium is out of my system completely. It's going to be tough titrating completely, but I know i can do it. I would honestly like to be a non drinker, or mayber just an occasional beer or 2 at family gatherings or days at the pool with friends. Right now, I can't seem to stop after i start though.

Anyway, I know I have rambled enough in this post but there is one other thing I would like to pass along to the Benzo users here who are trying to taper off of them. There is a supplement called L-Theanine that can be purchased online or probably in any health food store that I am benefiting from greatly while coming off the Valium. It DOES cross the blood brain barrier and helps to bring up your natural levels of GABA.

Ok, I'm done now I hope this may help some of you.

Bminor

B, thanks for the post. I hope you will continue to let us know of your progress both with your taper and tsm!
Glad you have joined us.

Benzo users, please read previous post by a new member. I looked up L Theanine in Vitamin World and they have it on sale now for $12.99 for 100mg. 60 caps. Thinking about purchasing it! Any comments would be appreciated.

Hi LaBear,

Approximately two years ago, I took a product called Seredyn for several months. The formula for this product (http://www.seredyn.com/formula.html) shows that it contains L-Theanine. As you'll see from the supplier's website, they say it "relieves anxiety fast", which is why I gave it a try. In fact, it did nothing for me whatsoever during the period of time that I was taking it. I haven't tried it as an aid to tapering off clonazepam because, quite simply, I haven't felt the need - yet. However, should the need arise, I think I still have some left so I shall bear in mind Bminor's comment.

All the best.

V.

Virgil, thanks so much for the info. You are always so helpful to others. I will wait and see what others have to say also, but I don't think it would hurt for the anxiety and the taper.