Please, I Need Your Help. Am I Tapering Benzos Too Fast?

I’m 70 years old and have tinnitus since 2004. I’ve been taking .75 mg of Lorazepam + 4.75 mg of Diazepam nightly for the last four months.

4 nights ago I decided I would taper off .25 mg of Lorazepam + 1.25 mg of Diazepam.

My tinnitus today has been louder all the time and I’m very worried about it.

Do you think I’ve tapered too fast?

How long will the tinnitus spike will last?

Can I stop the tapering and go back to my previous dose so my tinnitus might get better?

I’m very worried about the future, I don’t know what to do now because my tinnitus was already severe before and I don't think I could bear a permanent spike now.

I will appreciate every comment from you. Thank you very much.

 

I would taper under your doctors instructions and plateau for a week or two between each reduction as withdrawals and anxiety and tinnitus spikes can happen as your brain adapts to changes.
Love glynis

 

Thank you, Glynis for your response. My ENT told me to stop cold turkey, I'm glad now that I didn't do it his way. My GP is the one who told me to taper it the way I'm doing now, but I’m afraid it is still too much, according to the level of my tinnitus today. I wish it was only a temporary spike, a coincidence with nothing to see with the tapering. Can someone tell me whether would it be right to go back to the previous dose, just in case, or could it be even worst doing so? It’s incredible that my ENT ( tinnitus specialist, by the way) knows so little about the hell that benzos can be if not tapered the right way. Your comments will be wellcome. I'm much obliged.

 

Such a bad advise! Just another proof that ENT's are (almost) useless when it comes to tinnitus.

 

ENT doctors know about the anatomy of the ear. They are able to treat it medically or surgically and most do this well. However, the majority of them no nothing about tinnitus because they have never experienced it. It is the Audiologists and Hearing Therapists that work with tinnitus patients that know about the condition. They give counselling , TRT, CBT. It is not unusual to find most of these health professionals, were either born with tinnitus or acquired it at some time in their life. My Hearing Therapist was born with tinnitus and has a thorough understanding of the condition which is something that cannot be learnt by training.

Michael

 

I'm not a doctor but you probably would want to taper slowly. Sometimes Lamictal has helped me with the tinnitus that was caused by benzo tolerance and withdrawal. It's still hard for me to quite figure out to get everything going on a long consistent basis. I think Lamictal can help because it can lower glutamate that increases when withdrawing off benzos. Withdrawing off benzos too fast can cause excitotoxicity. Sometimes I wonder if the drug Riluzole would help me but I don't have a doctor that would prescribe it for me to try. Then again, it might not be a good idea for me to take. You may want to call your doctor and talk to him. I hope it goes down soon for you.

 

JansonP, what do you think about going back to the full dose for a few days and starting a new tapering with a lower dose, would it help my tinnitus to go back to its normal level? I was talking to my GP this morning and he was not helpful at all, he believes that the tapering he recommended is fine. Janson, I only take the benzos at night to get some sleep, I wonder if taking tonight the skipped dose would be a good idea. What do you think? I know you are not a doctor, but I’m aware that you know a lot about benzos and your opinion really matters to me. Thanks so much for your time, I’ll be awaiting for your response.

I’ll call my doctor tomorrow about Lamictal, thank you, but I don’t think he will be very cooperative, mainly because it’s not an idea of his own.

I’m very sorry about your own situation and I wish you a full recovery very soon. I really mean it.

 

I wish I knew the answer 100%. I remember Beste on here reinstated her benzos and I think she said the tinnitus dropped around 70% or 80%? but it didn't fully reduce it to the beginning. Although, she didn't have tinnitus before benzo's. With me I don't think it helped BUT, I believe mine was caused by rapid klonopin withdrawal, stress, and depression at the same time. If you are doing a small gradual taper, it might lessen if you go back to your previous levels or at least lower it some. I wish I knew for sure though.

The only way I had any experience with lowering tinnitus was by taking Lamictal but I believe I should have stayed at a lower dose. I took my daily for years and I was tranquilized and after the Lamictal it "slammed me into reality" which was kind of good but I think I could have had it less had the dose been less. Nevertheless i think I got used to it after a while. Right now I am seeing if reducing my Lamictal will lower my T more consistently and help with my moods since I am still on a small dose of klonopin.

It is really complex and I have bipolar II according to some doctors so its hard to figure out what is causing what. The Lamictal can be used for depression in some people so you could ask your doctor about it in that instance but it has to be titrated up very slowly or a deadly rash could break out or with certain people it could break out anyway. I don't know if it will lower anyone else's tinnitus though, it just helps with mine sometimes

Also, hearing aids lowered my tinnitus as well because medications ruined my hearing so you could look into that. In fact, that may be the first place to start as amplifying hearing can reduce the noticability of it.

You may want to check out the benzobuddies forum or some other tinnitus talk threads but don't let the horror stories scare you and if they do, you may want to avoid them. I have never had most of the symptoms they talk about. In fact, if it wasn't for my previous tinnitus that I had, I could have easily got off with a taper.

This is just my experience though and because I'm not a doctor so I can't really give medical advice. I hope you get better asap.

 

Hi, Michael! You are right, couldn't be more agree with you. You are, in a way, very lucky having a Hearing Therapist who has personal experience with tinnitus. My HT doesn't know much about tinnitus (by own experience), just like my ENT, both of them are tinnitus free, and here I'm asking for the help that they can not provide me. They can't feel the suffering that tinnitus brings to people's life. My ENT wanted me to stop all my medication, benzos included, at once, because he wanted to put me on an AD, dipotassium clorazepate, and mirtazapine low dose for sleep. Can you belive it?

 

Yes, Sandra, that's right.

 

I hear you @Anima. You have had tinnitus a long time so I would have thought it would be manageable unless it has increased in severity. Benzos are not good to take long term and that's probably the reason you ENT doctor wants you to come off it and try something else.

Hope you are able to get the help you need soon.
All the best
Michael

 

I think I’ll wait till tomorrow and see how I feel. If I’m not better, I’ll reinstate the benzos and after that I’ll taper again but very slowly. I hope I’ll be lucky and my tinnitus will get better. I’ve no other symptoms, only spiked tinnitus, which is quite enough. I’ll post tomorrow for an update.

Jason, I’m most grateful to you for taking your time to reply me. You’ve been very helpful and very kind.

I’m much obliged to you. I wish you well.

 

Starting Benzos or tapering off them can increase tinnitus and same with AD medication as the brain needs time to adjust .
I know Mirtazapine is ear friendly as is Amirtyptaline and Nortryptaline and can help reduce tinnitus for some people and all 3 help sleep in a low dose.
My only advice would be to plateau till your tinnitus settles till you feel mentally ok to taper as could get another spike.
Be kind to your self and have relaxing music on and as much family support as you can and we are here for you also...
Wishing you well with your taper...
Love glynis

 

It has incresed in severity. I never took benzos before, only in the last four months. All my ENT wanted is put me on a new medication with another type of benzo included. Thank you Michael for your concern.

 

Thanks for caring, Glynis. I'll wait till tomorrow and if I'm not better I'll reinstate and I'll will taper later very slowly. Yes, I'll try Mirtazapine for sleep, 7'5 mg, because sleeping is now a problem for me. Thanks very much for caring, Glynis. Best to you.

 

I was on a very LARGE dosage on benzos because of an idiot DR. Tapering slow is a good idea. I speak for myself, when being on them for 3 months at such large dosages, my mind and body were affected and in hell(Brutal addiction). I tapered very slow and my tinnitus has increased a bit due to that addiction i had. Take it slow, rushing it is not something i would do. MY tinnitus increased because of the benzos and i been off them over 8 years now and i still feel it. Cold turkey is a one way ticket to HELL, I don't recommend anyone doing this...

Being on any dosage of benzos for 4-5 days straight can start an addiction....

It's gonna be ok, just go slow and we will support you

 

Does this mean that you dropped it down to those dosages or you reduced it by those amounts?

 

Hi, I reduced it by those amounts. I skipped 0.25 mg Lorazapam + 1,25 mg Diazepam. According to my GP, this is a low tapering. I'm very confused, the amounts didn't seem too high to me, but after what I've read about benzos, I'm absolutely paranoid. If I had to do it now, I would only skip half of this amount.
Thanks for asking.

 

I'm glad I didn't lisen to my ENT, and, although my GP apparently was not accurated with the tapering, at least is not a cold turkey given up. My tinnitus has spiked and I have a new hum caming and going, but this started 4 days after starting the tapering. It might be just a coincidence though. Do you get the withdrawal symptoms after a few days?
Thanks for the support.

 

Was given 1mg of Lorazepam as a muscle relaxant Twenty years ago.
I stopped overnight after taking 1mg a day for Three months.
Ended up with far ranging and horrible symptoms ( none of which I had before taking ) in withdrawal....racing heart, tinnitus, stomach cramps, insomnia...etc. It was horrific and some symptoms lasted over a year.
So your ENT gave bad advice.
Taper really slow over as long as possible. This may be a year or more but check with a sympathetic and good doctor.
ANY symptoms are more than likely withdrawal related.
Lorazepam is an evil and powerful medication.
Be careful and don't panic.
X

 

Can someone tell me whether stoping the tapering after five days and reinstating the skipped dose from tonight would be advisable, please?

 

Hello, Glynis; when you advice me to "plateau" till my tinnitus settles,do you mean stoping the tapering now even I started it five days ago? Do you think it's going to work if I reinstate the dose. I'm in panic. Sorry about my english. Thank you for your time.

 

Thanks for your words. You are all very kind. I'm sorry about your bad experience with Lorazepan. It is an evil medication indeed. I wish I had known before. At the moment my main symptom is my tinnitus, it has spiked to the roof. I wonder if I should stop the tapering just to see if my tinnitus gets better. I dont't know, but I can't help being in panic. The tinnitus was already severe before it spiked, go figure now.

 

I would ask your doctor but when you do a reduction it is always better to give it a couple of weeks on the new dose give your brain time adjust and the tinnitus spike to settle.
When you feel ok yourself and ears then do another small reduction and then as before wait 2 weeks or more till you feel ok to reduce again.
( any medication that works on the brain can cause tinnitus and anxiety,brain zaps etc changing dose up or down)
Side effects kick in about 12-24-48 hours after reduction.
Always check with your doctor about any alterations so he can guide you.
Love glynis x

 

The reduction can basically throw everything that L has been suppressing into overdrive...its a rebound !! This was not understood when I took it 1997, but is well known and documented now. Some people don't suffer and others do. Seems its all down to your DNA.
It WILL subside though you just have to ride the storm...X

 

I really appreciate your words, Glynis, you’ve been very informative and cleared up all my doubts about this annoying matter. I wish my GP was able to guide me, but tapering off benzos is not his speciality, believe me. Once more, I thank you very much for your help and your kindness. I wish you well.

 

Thanks very much for the information, Kelvin, let's hope that the storm won't be too severe. I hope you're doing well.

 

That's really tough to say. I think it would be worth trying. You could go back to the full dose tonight and see how things are tomorrow.

 

@Anima

Consider this slow-taper program for benzodiazepines

http://www.mdedge.com/currentpsychi...e/consider-slow-taper-program-benzodiazepines

"Slow tapering is safer and better tolerated than more abrupt techniques. If the patient experiences overt clinical signs of withdrawal, such as tachycardia or other hyperadrenergia during dosage reduction, maintain the previous dosage until the next tapering date.

For persons who take a short-acting benzodiazepine—eg, alprazolam or lorazepam—convert the dosage into an equivalent dosage of a long-acting benzodiazepine—eg, diazepam. Metabolized slowly, with a long half-life, diazepam allows a consistent, slow decline in concentration while tapering the dosage. This helps avoid severe withdrawal. For patients who have been taking alprazolam or clonazepam, 1 mg, the equivalent diazepam dosage would be 20 mg; for temazepam, 30 mg, the diazepam dosage would be 15 mg; for lorazepam, 1 mg, oxazepam, 20 mg, or chlordiazepoxide, 25 mg, the diazepam dosage would be 10 mg.

Prescribe the to-be-tapered benzodiazepine at five-sixths of that dose and prescribe one-sixth of the diazepam amount daily. Proceed with tapering every 1 to 2 weeks by a one-sixth dose reduction of the tapered medication and a one-sixth increase in diazepam. Continue until diazepam is used alone and well-tolerated.

Once the patient is taking only diazepam, decrease the dosage by 2 mg every 2 weeks until the patient is doing well on a relatively small dosage of diazepam. Subsequent diazepam reductions are at 1 mg less every 1 to 2 weeks, until the patient is able to completely discontinue the medication."