Stopped Taking Diazepam (Valium)

I started taking 1mg once a day before bed to try to lower a spike and it worked, I continued to take it to sleep easier. Fast forward 7 months later and I was still taking 1mg a day, maybe the odd 1.5mg. I stopped a few weeks a go without tapering and although I noticed my tinnitus baseline get louder just before I stopped taking them it seems like now, the tinnitus is unbearable. I also have a high pitched hiss that I can hear above everything which started last week and have only had a day or two without it.

I don't have any withdrawal symptoms otherwise apart from ramped up anxiety maybe due to the louder tinnitus but the anxiety is only there around the thought of going to work. I must admit my job doesn't help, I hate it and find it very boring and tedious, but the thought of doing anything than staying in and playing computer games (which take my mind off my tinnitus) is just too much for me. I took a week off work recently and I sleep better despite my tinnitus.

I'm not sure whether to go back onto 1mg every two days or something, I have a prescription for 28 2 mg tablets.

 

My inclination would be to continue withdrawing from it. It's been a few weeks and you don't want to throw a wrench into the process. You were on it for a long time but it was a low dose. Hopefully things will even out soon.

 

Hang in there! I spent 8 years at 20mg of valium. I have done many things in my life. Many difficult things. Honestly my benzo withdrawal was more emotionally difficult than the loss of a loved one. It is important to remember that the increased T will pass after withdrawal has passed.

 

Thanks for your replies guys, haven't slept much at all and going into work soon but at least on a positive note.

 

I have never used it, but a lot of people recommend the Ashton Manual for benzodiazapine withdrawal. It's online for free.

Valium is considered the best benzo to taper from.

 

In my case of using klonopin, I got a static type tinnitus too. I think it had something to do with glutamate excitotoxicity. I took a medication called Riluzole a few times which seem to get rid of it. Also, Lamictal seem to get rid of it too but Lamictal counteracted some of the effects of klonopin and I believe made withdrawal harder. If I hadn't had tinnitus, I would have probably been okay though. Unfortunately, I didn't get to try Riluzole long so I don't know how that would have effected me long term. I haven't taken Klonopin in a while and haven't noticed that bad static.

 

How did you k ow that Riluzole would help?

 

Well, I wasn't 100% sure but I read that it lowers glutamate. I accidentally took 100mg (instead of 50mg) and it the really bad static tinnitus went away after about 15 to 20 minutues (I don't remember the exact time but I'm pretty sure it was within an hour. However, after I went back to sleep and woke up again the static was back. Then I took it again and it went away. I would like to note that I was on a small amount of klonopin at the time so I don't know what it would do for other people and I didn't get to take it for long and had no refill. Fortunately, all that bad static is gone now that I have been off klonopin for a while. Another thing I did was I started taking a small amount of Neurontin and stopped the klonopin and after about 3 weeks or so of that the static went away. However, I also was on a very low dose of Klonopin before that so I don't know how it would effect other people. In addition, I do remember drinking alcohol and then sleeping would often bring the static back when I woke up. That would seem to last for a few days (perhaps if I would have taken Riluzole at that time it would have gone away).