For years most nights I would take 1.25mg of Valium (1/4 of a 5mg) and/or 1.65mg of Ambien (1/3rd of a 5mg). When I asked my Drs. about it they said it was "a homeopathic dose" and not to worry about it. Since I usually didn't sleep well I kept taking the pills. I assumed it was either the mattress or me getting older (I'm now 79.) that made me need the drugs. However for the past year or so my daytime fatigue has become near total exhaustion. I saw a cardiologist wondering if the cause might be cardiac. He said "No. You have disturbed sleep. Here's a prescription for 0.5mg of Klonopin." I foolishly thought that a dose as low as 0.5mg of anything couldn't amount to much. It was only after taking it a week that I did the research and found that Klonopin is 20 times the potency of Valium, so my 0.5 of Klonopin was = to 10mg of Valium. (Thanks doctor!!!)

So now I am using my Zeo to track my sleep while I do a slow taper, since all my research says reducing doses too quickly is extremely hazarous. I am currently down to 3mg of Valium from 2 months ago when I started at 10mg Valium. My Zeo says I generally get 7-8 hours of total sleep with 2.5 to 3+ hrs. of REM, but my Deep sleep is usually 9 to 13 mins. There is the occasional night of 22 Deep but for no reason I can figure out.

So here are the questions.1. Does anyone have stories of their withdrawal from Benzos or Hypnotics to share? It seems to be getting harder to sleep as I drop my dose 6-9% every 3 or 4 days. Hypnosis tape, Melatonin, Brain Wave CD haven't helped. What is it like when you get down below 3mg or so?  2. When you get down to micro doses and finally quit does your Deep sleep go up, and if so, how soon? And does it make a big difference in how you feel the next day? Some of the stories I read say the effects of Benzos can be long term and it may take months for recovery.  3. And of course, any suggestions for increasing Deep sleep while going through withdrawal would be greatly appreciated.

I'm so grateful to have a Zeo and the opportunity to post this. Having a community for support makes such a difference when you feel alone and hardly able to make it through the day.