Amen! I used alcohol and benzo's together for over 4 years. I am still withdrawing from Valium and it is so tough. I managed to go down from 30 mg to 7.5 mg by myself in a period of approx. 9 months. Then my doctor recommended a fast taper, cutting 50% every 2 weeks, way faster than the Ashton manual recommends.
This is a part of my post in November after 2 weeks of the taper:
"Right now I have basically over 50% of the symptoms that occur from benzo withdrawal. Anxiety, impaired concentration, small muscular spasms in my legs and arms, amnesia, dry mouth, flu like symptoms, I lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks, no appetite at all, distorted smell and sounds, increased urinary frequency, numbness and tingling all over my body, a strange hot/cold sweat in the morning and after exercise, I wake up a dozens time, feelings of unreality. The worst is the tingling all over my body and the amnesia. I have to write everything down or I will forget it. Some days are blanks, I can't remember what I did, I have a lost feeling of time and space."
I was like a zombie. Currently I am at 2.5 mg but using a much slower taper plan, decreasing my dosage 10% every 2-3 weeks. I feel much better now and a lot of symptoms have disappeared. I hope to quit this horrible drug, but I know that I will have some of the symptoms for even up to year.
But there is hope. After a year most of the people that used benzo's have regained their mental capacity and feel much better. Also benzo's are way less toxic than alcohol, but you have to plan your withdrawal plan very carefully to avoid the horrible symptoms that Memphisblue described like suicidal thoughts or psychosis.