klonopin withdrawals
Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Greensboro, NC
Posts: 683
dedubya,
I have the same troubles with sleep sometimes. Here's what I do.
I make sure that I calm my mind down a few hours before bed. If I'm sure I know I can't fall asleep right away I take an OTC remedy to get over the hump of falling asleep. I usually wake up about 4 hours later and want to be wide awake. My mind races about all kinds of stuff. I use mind clearing exercises to calm down. Sometimes it takes 30 min to an hour to go back to sleep but I manage to get there. It's a mind game yes but resist the temptation to watch TV or something else that will keep you up.
Are you napping in the day?
BTW, I highly suggest you see a doctor about this and tell the the absolute truth about what is going on!
I have the same troubles with sleep sometimes. Here's what I do.
I make sure that I calm my mind down a few hours before bed. If I'm sure I know I can't fall asleep right away I take an OTC remedy to get over the hump of falling asleep. I usually wake up about 4 hours later and want to be wide awake. My mind races about all kinds of stuff. I use mind clearing exercises to calm down. Sometimes it takes 30 min to an hour to go back to sleep but I manage to get there. It's a mind game yes but resist the temptation to watch TV or something else that will keep you up.
Are you napping in the day?
BTW, I highly suggest you see a doctor about this and tell the the absolute truth about what is going on!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: moving target
Posts: 956
i was on K for almost 4 yrs..forgot to mention the hallucinations both auditory and visual. Scary stuff...saw people that werent there. Talking to phone when i heard someone but those around me didnt hear anything, and being paged on a public PA system over and over, and that wasnt happening either. too weird, and pretty frightening
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 31,179
(((Dub)) - I agree with ((Dee)). My stepsister went through K withdrawal, and though she had other health issues (heart problems), she had to go through detox. They tapered her slowly, and she still had a rough time.
Benzo withdrawals are nothing to take lightly, nor are the symptoms you are going through. I'd really suggest seeing a dr. who is experienced in all this.
Hugs and prayers,
Amy
Benzo withdrawals are nothing to take lightly, nor are the symptoms you are going through. I'd really suggest seeing a dr. who is experienced in all this.
Hugs and prayers,
Amy
Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Greensboro, NC
Posts: 683
Everyone posting here is correct about seeing the doc. Certain meds like benzo's CANNOT be stopped CT without serious complications. PLEASE see a DOC ASAP. We'll listen because we are your friends. We are not trained/licensed medical professionals. However, we are smart enough to tell you to see a doc!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: moving target
Posts: 956
Yea- I just got out of nine days of detox, they had me on phenobarbitol for a few days then tapered that down...at home now bandaging my wounds. But no drinking or K! I got everything checked out- thanks for the advice.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,126
Klonopin detox...No such thing. did you go to a hospital? Were they versed in Klonopin withdrawal? Many find that detoxing from Klonopin is like no other drug. The whole class of benzos are like that.
I certainly am no doctor, but went through protracted benzo withdrawal after living on Klonopin -- 20 milligrams a day -- for a decade. I spent months researching benzo withdrawal...well, after 10 days in the psych ward and during the months when I couldn't crawl to the door to leave my apartment, and after one month of not even being able to type on the computer to begin researching the subject.
Most drugs leave our bodies and in doing so produce severe withdrawal symptoms. Think of the heroin addict, writhing in agony as his body screams for another hit.
With benzos, we experience something like that as the drug leaves the system. After that initial shock, and here is where many rehabs and hospitals make a big mistake, the body tries to deal without the drug. And it can't.
The brain can't deal with the absence of the drug, and that produces protracted withdrawal. That's why the hallucinations come, the soaring blood pressure, the fevers, the shakes -- and these symptoms kick in for many a couple of weeks after detox, not during the time the chemical is leaving the body.
Call for help. Tell someone you trust what you are going through. Call doctors who are versed in benzo withdrawal and who can help you deal with what you are going through.
Benzo withdrawal doesn't necessarily kill you -- it does make many kill themselves, however.
Rehab and detox facilities treat benzos detox like every other drug and that is the fatal flaw in their treatment. Benzos simply must be tapered slowly over a long period, and still then it is not a pretty experience.
Going cold turkey seems to exasperate the symptoms. It's an evil paradox. I certainly am not encouraging you to reinstate benzos, but I am screaming at you to get professional help now.
I certainly am no doctor, but went through protracted benzo withdrawal after living on Klonopin -- 20 milligrams a day -- for a decade. I spent months researching benzo withdrawal...well, after 10 days in the psych ward and during the months when I couldn't crawl to the door to leave my apartment, and after one month of not even being able to type on the computer to begin researching the subject.
Most drugs leave our bodies and in doing so produce severe withdrawal symptoms. Think of the heroin addict, writhing in agony as his body screams for another hit.
With benzos, we experience something like that as the drug leaves the system. After that initial shock, and here is where many rehabs and hospitals make a big mistake, the body tries to deal without the drug. And it can't.
The brain can't deal with the absence of the drug, and that produces protracted withdrawal. That's why the hallucinations come, the soaring blood pressure, the fevers, the shakes -- and these symptoms kick in for many a couple of weeks after detox, not during the time the chemical is leaving the body.
Call for help. Tell someone you trust what you are going through. Call doctors who are versed in benzo withdrawal and who can help you deal with what you are going through.
Benzo withdrawal doesn't necessarily kill you -- it does make many kill themselves, however.
Rehab and detox facilities treat benzos detox like every other drug and that is the fatal flaw in their treatment. Benzos simply must be tapered slowly over a long period, and still then it is not a pretty experience.
Going cold turkey seems to exasperate the symptoms. It's an evil paradox. I certainly am not encouraging you to reinstate benzos, but I am screaming at you to get professional help now.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Omaha
Posts: 75
The 10th day is the worst. Make it through.
Drink lots of water, take Valarian root buy at any grocery store or GNC, take Melatonin (same place), Drink gatoraid, eat bananas, do mindless things like cleaning drawers, folding clothes, scrubbing tile. Take baths, deep breathing, prayers.
Good luck
Drink lots of water, take Valarian root buy at any grocery store or GNC, take Melatonin (same place), Drink gatoraid, eat bananas, do mindless things like cleaning drawers, folding clothes, scrubbing tile. Take baths, deep breathing, prayers.
Good luck
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Omaha
Posts: 75
Yes you NEED A DR.
I tried cold turkey, (I ran out of scripts) and it was hell. ELECTRIC shocks, I couldn't walk, tunnel vision. The previous post is what I did to make it bearable until I could fill scripts, but please see a DR. Benzo WD is the worst form of WD, it changes your brain's neurostransmittors.
Your neurons have been substituting GABA with the Benzo. GABA is like your own natural antianxiety medication. As you progress with Benzo use, your brain get comfortable, produces more GABA/Benzo receptor sites, and actually "forgets" how to make GABA.
Once you stop taking Benzo, not only do you have all these extra, but empty GABA receptor sites, but your brain has forgotton to make GABA. You are in a double whammy of hurt which requires weeks of brain rebuilding.
I must say, after 30 days treatment, I made it, and almost 1 year clean. It sucked, but not as bad as some of the horror stories I read. After 2 months WD's were all over. But to each his own.
The first 15 days were hell.
See a Dr.
I tried cold turkey, (I ran out of scripts) and it was hell. ELECTRIC shocks, I couldn't walk, tunnel vision. The previous post is what I did to make it bearable until I could fill scripts, but please see a DR. Benzo WD is the worst form of WD, it changes your brain's neurostransmittors.
Your neurons have been substituting GABA with the Benzo. GABA is like your own natural antianxiety medication. As you progress with Benzo use, your brain get comfortable, produces more GABA/Benzo receptor sites, and actually "forgets" how to make GABA.
Once you stop taking Benzo, not only do you have all these extra, but empty GABA receptor sites, but your brain has forgotton to make GABA. You are in a double whammy of hurt which requires weeks of brain rebuilding.
I must say, after 30 days treatment, I made it, and almost 1 year clean. It sucked, but not as bad as some of the horror stories I read. After 2 months WD's were all over. But to each his own.
The first 15 days were hell.
See a Dr.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: moving target
Posts: 956
thanks friends- just made an appt for tomorrow (Tuesday). I will ask my Dr about the detox (psychicatrist- not GP), he has seen many come off of this so he has experience. I really appreciate your feedback.
Dub
Dub
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