georgiagirl5

OK, I need help. Has anyone else been through this mess? I am off hydrocodone for three weeks, had one slip, fine. Now I am trying to come off of Ativan. I was taking it as prescribed 4-6mg a day for about a year and a half. Last week, my doc switched me to Tranxene 15mg twice a day for two weeks and then 15mg once a day, then to 7.5mg, then to nothing. Well, I really do not feel well on Tranxene. I feel like I am in benzo withdrawal, lots of anxiety, a little shaky, basically miserable. My moods change by the hour and I am just not doing well with this. Has anyone else out there been through this with benzos? I am happy to be off the hydrocodone but this is actually harder emotionally. Please, if there is anyone else out there who has been through benzo withdrawal and actually got off them, let me know. At this point, I am thinking it is impossible. I need to get off of them because I want to have a baby and obviously cannot be on Ativan pregnant. But this is just terrible. So if someone out there gets this, please let me know. Thanks in advance!

sophiamarie2007

I get it..I was on numerous meds and the benzos werre the last to go. My doctor prescribed me an anti-seizure medication and I went cold turkey at home. It was hell and I was up several nights in a row. I do not recommend doing this without a doctors help. I don't know how long you took the antivan-but if you were only on it a few weeks it shouldn't be too bad. I took benzos for decades, so my system went into shock.-I had a grand-mal seizure a few years back trying to come off of them, so again Please see a doctor. It can be done. It was only bad for me for about a week-It does get better but its not something to mess around with.

georgiagirl5

Sophiamarie...thank you so much! I talked to my doc this morning and because in the last month I have come off hydrocodone and Paxil (ugh), we are not going to mess with the Ativan right now. So I am back on it. My husband is a by the book AA member and will not have a baby with me until I am nine months to a year sober from opiates. So I have time to get off Ativan in the future, I am just not strong enough right now. I also have to get off Ambien, that will be the last one. VERY interesting to hear that you took anti seizure medication during benzo WD and just got it done. I never thought of that. I also had two grand mal seizures when I was 23 when my doc would not refill my Xanax early. I have no idea why he did not tell me what could happen--I was taking way too much of it and he knew it. So I am very, very scared of the seizure thing. Never thought about anti seizure meds. That is a really good thing for me to know. I guess you still get all the other WD (throwing up, headaches, horrible anxiety) but not the seizures? Is it like severe opiate withdrawal without the seizure risk? I am interested in your experience, as no one has ever mentioned being able to cold turkey Ativan because of the seizure risk. I would rather do it that way. I will talk to my doc about it. Thanks for your help. By the way, you sound really, really strong in your recovery. I don't know exactly how much time you have but you are amazing!

bbthumper

I recovered from a benzo addiction in addition to alcohol. It is absolutely possible. I am glad your doctor is involved as it can be very dangerous.
Best wishes to you.

georgiagirl5

BBThumper, you just made me smile because if your name indicates anything, you are a by the book AA member like my husband. I really admire that. He is right to say he will not have a baby with me until a year sober. Not sure I like it, but he is right! No big changes until a year sober.

georgiagirl5

OK, now I need help with something else! Can you believe it...Paxil withdrawal! I took the last dose last week after a long taper of 20mg. Right now I am so dizzy I cannot even stand up. Has anyone else experienced this after stopping an SSRI? I am sorry that I have so many different issues that I am asking for help on. If anyone knows about this one, please let me know. Thanks again!

likehappiness

Did you taper off of the Paxil too? That needs to be tapered also. You will need to taper off of those meds. The Ativan withdrawal can cause seizures so yeah....better taper from those too. Ambien is also a type of Benzo too but no the effects of the others. I changed my SSRI to something I could take and be pregnant. Paxil is NOT one of those I would ask if you need something.

SlimSlim

GeorgiaGirl:

I tapered from 1 mg. Klonopin down to .5mg and am pretty much stuck there right now.

Here's the a link to Paxil prescribing information: http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_paxil.pdf

The information on discontinuing treatment with Paxil starts on page 16; read it and you might want to give your doctor a call and let her/him know what is going on.

georgiagirl5

Thanks guys for your replies. I have talked to my doc about all this. That is why we started the Ativan again for now until this Paxil thing is totally over. He seems to have no clue about Paxil withdrawal though, he seems to think it doesn't even exist. And he is a psychiatrist. Yes, the Paxil was tapered over a month and a half. That is why I am so confused why I am so dizzy now. I have been off it for a week! Again thanks for the replies. Keep em coming if anyone knows about Paxil and dizziness! I am not sure I can even drive. How did I ever get so mixed up with all these meds? It was gradual. First, it was Paxil for depression. Then Ativan was added as needed, which lead to him upping it to daily use 4-6mg. Ambien, that one I have been on since college and I am 34 now. I keep thinking in the long run of course I want a healthy baby so I have to get off all this before I get pregnant. It is the only thing getting me through. But my goodness, how did I get here? LOL

sophiamarie2007

I used to sell antidepressants (Effexor XR) for a pharmaceutical company and they can be wicked to get off of. Paxil gets and stays in your system in about 7-10 days. So it's not as tough to get off of as the shorter acting ones, but it is still awful. You are on 20mg now? Ask you doctor about cutting your pill in half. I had to literally spinkle out some of my Effexor each day until I got down to nothing. What you are describing about the dizziness is what we used to call brain zaps. Coming off of any antidepressant too quickly can cause this. Most psych's aren't aware of the withdrawl effects of antidepressants because technically they aren't addictive and the drug companies don't tell them about the dangers of getting off of those medications. Please be care about rebound depression-it can come on quickly and people have really lost it coming off of antidepressants. I would give your system a while to adjust to coming off the pain pills, plus the ativan will help with the paxil withdrawl.

In rehabs they usually use ativan to help wean people off of xanax and klonopin. It's still a benzo, but is suppossedly milder. My doctor put me on neurotonin when I was coming off of Xanax. It's for seizures and pain (non addictive)-And yes, if you were taking high doses of Xanax, then quit all of a sudden it could definitely bring on a seizure.-That was the scariest part for me with coming off benzos. Even on the anti-seizure meds, I still felt like I was going crazy. It's not the flu feeling you get with pain pill withdrawl, but you are anxious and can't sleep. But I promise you it can be done!-It's good you are working with your doctor on this.-Tell them everything so they can help you. That is the only way I was able to detox at home on my own. Good luck!

georgiagirl5

Sophiamarie, I have tapered off Paxil for a month and a half. I was on 20mg for two years. My doctor wanted me to taper off in two weeks! He told me there is no Paxil withdrawal, that is a joke. I am seeing him Thursday. I am just done with all of this. He needs to tell me how to safely get off Ambien and Ativan too. I cannot take the back and forth anymore. And I thought coming off opiates was bad! It now looks like a walk in the park (not to say that anyone in opiate WD is not having a hard time, I know they are). I have not slept in two days due to the Ambien not working anymore. About 45 minutes a night at most. Why on earth my sleep meds decided to stop working when I am a month sober from opiates I have no idea. The only thing I can come up with is that it is just my body and the universe telling me enough. Time to stop it all. Safely, under a doctor's care, but it is time. I have had it. So yes, I will be safe and work with my doc but expect to not sleep for who knows how long. I am seeing an accupunctrist tomorrow to start trying something different. I hope it helps!

sophiamarie2007

I feel your pain!-Ambien is not fun to get off of at all. I was taking several for sleep, because like you said they quit working after a while. Also Paxil can be slightly sedating, so lowering your dose may be causing you to have added insomnia. I agree the lack of sleep is what usually set me over the edge.

The good news is once your system gets cleaned out-it really doesn't take too long for your natural clock to get reset. I know I felt pretty tired and unmotivated for while coming off the opiates-but my anxiety and sleep actually improved after cleaning out my system off the sleeping pills and benzos. Hang in there!

babyblueeyes39

Georgia, I'm sorry for the problems your having. It took a long time when I came off xanax to be able to sleep. I've never taken paxil but I did take zoloft. It wasn't fun coming off either. Just remember all this will pass too. I'm glad your working with your doctor, because like others stated it could cause serious problems. I hope it gets better for you. If there's anything I can do let me know. We can talk all night if you need to. Lol as I'm not getting much sleep either. I think that ssris have a ridioulos half life. At least that's what I've been told. Hope to here from you soon.

georgiagirl5

Hello all, just an update. The Paxil thing was not going away. For two weeks I was so dizzy and having brain zaps and I could not take it anymore. I took a very low dose (5mg) and it went away. It has to be tapered slower. My doctor does not seem to understand this.

As far as the Ativan and Ambien, I hated the Tranxene so I decided I just want to taper off of Ativan. I have gotten it down a little bit and I have six months to play with before we intend to get pregnant, so I just will taper it very slowly.

Now for the Ambien....I was switched to Ambien CR and I think it works better for me. They also added Lyrica and that helps. I started acupuncture for my insomnia since it has been going on for 15 years. She told me that my body was so off balance sleep wise because of all of the pill use it would take a couple sessions for the acupuncture to start working. I felt a tiny difference after the first session. I am going again tomorrow.

So overall, that is kind of where things are. The biggest thing is that I did not take hydrocodone to deal with this. I know I may have some tough days ahead (namely getting off the Ambien) but I have faith that the acupuncture will help and maybe just maybe I will get a miracle! I have gotten a few recently so maybe I will get one on that too. Who knows?

likehappiness

Georgia - It just goes to show you that everyone is different when taking medications. I liked Paxil but hated the side effects so changed my meds. I didn't taper much but hadn't been on them for a long time (4-5 months) and was on a super low dose but my doctor absolutely wanted me to taper.

I occassionally take Ambien CR and like it better then regular Ambien. I think anything you are tapering can and changing your body chemistry will cause you to loose sleep. So I am not sure that this will go away anytime soon.

I wish you good luck. Nothing is as cool as becoming a mom! You don't really find out how much you love someone until you give birth to a baby! It's cool!

Just keep going towards your goal.

georgiagirl5

Thanks all for the support. I can't wait to be a mom. Everything I am doing in this recovery is for me, but also so that I can be a good mom. Of course, I am investigating everything now. What is this "chemical imbalance" that I have been always told I have? Is that proven? What about this insomnia and anxiety? What is the real reason behind the fact that I have these symptoms? Why do I just keep treating the symptoms but not the real cause? Those are some things that are coming up for me now. There is no way that I could have even looked at these things addicted to hydrocodone. Hydrocodone was the biggest form of denial that ever was in my life. Now that denial is broken, it is like everything is coming forward! It is crazy! Denial is broken on everything. And it is fine because I am gaining tools to deal with all this stuff in my recovery. I thought I had gotten it all when I recovered from alcoholism ten years ago. Not so. Not even close. But oh my gosh, my life is getting so much better!