myheadhurts

Hi,

5 months ago I cold turkeyed from a high doses of benzos and an alcohol addiction. I haven't touched anything since.

The first weeks were beyond hell, I did it all myself at home and ended up seizing, eventually I ended up in ER and took one dose of medication, I trashed the rest and determined to get through it all without meds.


Five months later I still have severe symptoms some days. Has anyone gotten off benzos and fully recovered? My main concern now is that I am going to be permanently stuck in this state.


Thanks

dreamscape

Good for you for getting off those things.

I am living proof that you can recovery from benzo addiction. I had a pretty hefty addiction to klonopin and went thru some bad times withdrawing but its gets better and better.

I have recently relpased on codeine but did never did have a benzo addiction again.

myheadhurts

Thanks dreamscape (nice movie name )

Did all the benzo withdrawal symptoms go? if they did how long did it take? This makes every other cold turkey I've done seem like a walk with rabbits on a rainbow.

Impurrfect

Welcome to SR! Though I never recommend going off benzo's c/t, due to thei high rsk of seizures and everything. However, i do know that many people have come off benzo's..it just takes time.

Hope you keep reading and posting...you'll find a lot of ES&H (experinece, strenth and hope) Plus it's a good feeling that you're not alone in thsi sutation

Hugs and prayers,

Amy

myheadhurts

Thanks Amy,

yes CT is bad and I did have a seizure, but there was no other way for me though, a taper would have never worked I would have ended up just taking more.

Isaiah

After five months I would start getting concerned. The severe, acute part of withdrawal lasts for different times for each person, but I've never heard of anything close to five months before. There might be other damage or illness causing what you have.

Any plans to see a doctor about this?

Or reasons why you don't see a doctor about this?

myheadhurts

The general recovery time for benzo withdrawal is 6 -18 months.

There is nothing a doctor can do, most of them don't even recognize post acute withdrawal syndrome.

I just need to hear from people who have fully recovered from benzos.

Sasha4

I quit cold turkey from clonazepam (i think this is the name for klonipin in the uk) about three years ago now.

I took a week of work and just stopped some days, I couldn't get out of bed. I could not life my arms high enough to wash my hair. I could not string a sentence together.

I felt strange for about 10 months. I felt very very fragile - it's hard to explain in words. Almost like I was constantly taking dainty steps. That I could fall over any minute and I mean that in a physical sense rather than an emotional sense.

I also felt very, very sad at times. Sad that I could not take these pills again. I knew deep down that just one would lead me into danger. And I could not face going through that withdrawal again - the brain fog, the aches, the feeling that I was on the edge of a seizure.

I never spoke to my GP - I don't know why as I was legally prescribed them. But I do know that when he asked me how I had stopped taking them six months later, I said I just stopped them. He was amazed and actually said he was really proud of me. And I felt ten foot tall.

I think it's a lonely journey when you quit. Not many understand. But I do.

Take care
xx

Isaiah

It's true there isn't much that can be done for post-acute withdrawal, but it was that you said your symptoms are "severe" that got me worried.

myheadhurts

Thanks Sasha, how long did it take for all your symptoms to diminish?


I hope there are more success stories who can post.

windysan

I've never met anybody in person who had protracted withdrawal syndrome. I know lots of people who came off benzos with no problems. There are a couple of internet sites full of people who claim to be all messed up years later.

Sasha4

Sorry for the late reply.

Took about a week for the flu type symptoms to go. I spent a lot of time in bed.

About two weeks for the brain zaps/electricity feeling jolts to go.

So I would say two to three weeks for the physical symptoms.

But I felt emotionally fragile for about four months. Like I could cry at the drop of a hat. Just a strange sadness that lingered. Which was strange considering I was so proud of myself for getting off them.

How are you feeling now? Any better?

Take care
xx

myheadhurts

Thanks Sasha,

the last two days I have had a "window" of no symptoms, which is a relief, however this is normal and has happened before. Psychologically I am fine now, physically I am mostly back to normal, cycling 100km runs every few days, weights etc, just the headache that keeps coming back which causes dizziness then mental fogging. It sucks, but unfortunately is very common.

This could go on for years, it's only 5 months now, it gets hard to deal with sometimes..............

Sasha4

It sounds like you are doing a heck of a lot of exercise. Are you drinking lots of fluids? One of the main reasons for headaches is dehydration. And are you eating well.

Could the headaches be something else - like migraine?

You can get different types of migraine - some of them cause a foggy confused feeling.


Keep well.

xx

krug

Cold turkey, great news. I'm tapering, .25mg as needed and I try to hold off as much as I can. I've been walking, running and cleaning the house like mad. Xanax should be against the law. Took 6mg daily for years, I'm tired of being a zombie, no emotion, nothing, almost like a sociopath. I'm afraid though.

karma35

all i can offer is that for me ..after the initial period...its very much a mind game... I'm clean of heroin and all except a lil mary jane... And i know that i could think myself into full wd's after even 3 years.. You're doing so well that the headache could be dehydration and loss of electrolytes... I'm sure you know that tho... Good luck.. Do you have face to face help too? take care.. Karma p.s. Windy tends to be right xxx

BullDog777

yeah, i have. towards the end of my drinking, i was taking about 8mg of klonopin a day, and i went cold turkey.

my withdrawal lasted a solid month with multiple seizures and horrific insomnia including a list of other symptoms. it was beyond horrific.

after a month, they really started to taper off and start to go away.

i was really lucky. by the end of month 1, i could sleep almost normally again but i did have alot of other symptoms wax and wane on me.

I still get rebound symptoms sometimes...even after 14 months. but it's few and far between. what you have is called protracted withdrawal syndrome.

after 14 months, the only withdrawal symptom i still get... that still comes and goes is some very minor eyelid twitching.

my withdrawal list included myoclonus, tremors, horrible multiple limb twitching, muscle cramping, dizziness, displacement, vomiting, hypertension, digestion problems, ocd, paranoia, ringing in my ears, light sensivitivy, sound sensitivity, and anxiety.

this manual helped save my life.

http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha03.htm

the author is THE most educated addiction specialist on benzos that exist.

i'll save you a bunch of reading, there has never, ever been a single case of protracted withdrawl syndrome becoming permanent.

however, there is a ton of great reading in there. it really helped me know what to expect.

most of the people that still have any degree of difficulty after years are people that were addicted on high levels for decades. alot of what i read on the net scared the crap out of me, but this manual gives a realistic timelines and things you can do to improve the pws.

I was almost completely recovered by 6-7 months. i have 14 now. My life is 1000% better than it was. I live and lead a normal life.

if you ever need any encouragement or have any questions, i've read that manual probably 20 times. drop me a pm.

hang in there,

bulldog.

myheadhurts

Thanks BullDog,

yes that manual is a lifesaver, I've read it numerous times, the first month off I just looked at it because I had lost the ability to read.

Your list sounds like mine except I was fortunate enough to avoid any GI troubles. It's really hard that unless someone has been through this they don't really know what it is like, as much as they try to empathize it just isn't the same as talking to people who have endured it.

I'll have a look at the manual again, it's shocking how many more horror stories there are than success stories, all too easy to fall into the trap of doom and gloom when looking at benzo sites, it's a non stop torrent of misery.

Anyway, thanks again for your post, I might just hit you up on that offer of encouragement when things get overwhelming.

cheers,

karma35

ahh well good luck... I realised you may have read me wrong... 5 mnths 14 mnths its all good.. Take care xxx

dubloosh

hi I have a question, please. for months a friend has been telling me he wants to be free of his 10-plus year addiction to benzos yet after a bad experience in detox last year (they sent him home with no drugs, and he got scared and went back to his personal doc - the one who got him addicted - for more scripts) he's leery. I am in AA and sober and share my ESH with that however he (friend) wants a guarantee. any suggestions on how to quell his fear about "what if they don't do it right and send me home a mess like last time?" since I am out of words. thanks in advance.