Went to a benzo support group
 

Had to do a group thing with a benzo withdrawal group today. I was in disbelief at how common it is for people to use benzos and alcohol together, and also at how many people (like myself as far as benzos) were prescribed them, they were a Godsend- totally naive to the seriousness of their addiction and abuse potential- and the withdrawals.
I really liked this group because it was lead by a psychiatrist. It was just a small group sharing their experiences and knowledge with anxiety being the common factor.
A guy there was saying that there isn't anything specific to benzos and the benzo experience as fr as getting off them is pretty specific- so he was going to AA, NA, and another group but felt that the benzo group was the most effective. I have to say I agree. He was saying that in the groups nobody was really dealing with benzos.
And sadly, money talks. No free benzo support groups that I have ever heard of like AA and stuff... but for a fairly large sum I can go to this group. I save really hard to go. Hope it works out. The doctor suggested Naltexrone I think? About curbing cravings for alcohol?

I really hope it will be a great benefit to you sleepie :)

D

Glad to hear you liked the group!

I think they call it Narcotics Anonymous for benzo recovery. In Maryland, lots of benzo recovery is in AA and NA.

Glad you had a good meeting!!! Rooting for you!!!!!!

Hugs and Love to you!

I hope you share what you learn there more. I know it could benefit others here but I cant help but think there gonna have some tricks up there sleeves to help with anxiety and such and i'd be interested in learning anything i could!

That sounds awesome sleepie, I would have loved something like that

I'm also interested to hear how naltrexone works for you ! I've heard good things but have no experience with it, I believe they are making a documentry about it so I'm excited to watch it :)

I am not taking Naltexrone. He said it does not help with the psychological cravings which is what I have all the time.

i'm glad you had a good experience, sleepie.

Ahh I see

Really glad to hear that you enjoyed the group, sleepie. Congrats for taking such a proactive step.

zjw the trick we learned today was breathe in a paper bag... 135 bucks for that?
oh well. Gotta admire the guy's technique though, he gets a group, does one hours work and charges each individually. cha-ching.

Think how much you've spent on alcohol. Any money spent that helps you get sober sounds like money well spent.

Sleepie,

If you're not having luck with AA you should check out what your insurance offers as far as drug and alcohol counseling. Also, you might want to check where you work to see if they offer an employee support program, Most employers do have a hotline that you call and can set you up with free counseling.

If you don't have insurance contact your states welfare office. The ACA act will provide insurance (at least in PA) for little or no cost to low income individuals where professional counseling costs $3 a visit. It may differ from state to state but I doubt by too much.

Sorry is it's been mentioned before but sometimes when your in the thick of things you miss the simple stuff. Keep chugging until you find something that works. We're rooting for you.

That's ok otter I am gonna stick with this benzo taper thing, at least this guy seems to understand the relationship between benzoes and alcohol and how easy it is to rely on one when discomfort from living without the other is. I was actually surprised he suggested the naltextrone (I think it's called that?)
He seems genuinely interested in getting me off both of alcohol and benzoes.
I had a state funded counselor for awhile and he sucked.
Sad as it is, money talks.

Look up 4-8-7 Breathing technique.

Simply put, you inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 8 seconds, and exhale for 7 seconds.

This helps with panic attacks, nervousness, and falling asleep, according to the experts.

The bill is in the mail. (joking)

Sleepie,
I've been on Naltrexone for a month, for alcohol abuse and I can tell it is really helping to decrease the cravings. I am pretty sure it will work for benzo cravings also. I had no side effects and the script was not that expensive. I would say "why not" give it a try, you might be surprised with the results....Best Wishes.

Hey Sleepie, I always tend to forget to mention the benzos when I talk about getting sober. I really shouldn't do that. In my country benzos are a real plague, they used to be subscribed when you twitched your finger so to speak.

I used the xanax in the morning to combat the hangover from drinking. That worked for a long time and I even thought I was "beating the system". After a while it became clear that was an illusion, as I was withdrawing from benzos in the evening and booze in the morning.

Benzos are a plague, and the folks at the rehab said as much: they found that many people who came in for alcohol also were addicted to benzos, and that it's very hard (almost impossible) to become sober from just one of them.

I don't want to share how they treated this double addiction during detox, as that would be too close to medical "advice", but it worked very well with very few side effects. Have not longed for a xanax or equivalent since.

In short: benzo and alcohol abuse are often closely linked, and have a weird and dangerous cross-effect, but you can stop both at the same time, it can be done, but to be safe (and I really want to stress this), not without medical supervision.

sometimes we have trouble telling whats physical addiction and whats chemical addiction untile one or the other is cured with meds.

I know for me I never thought i had a depression issue till i took a supplment that was mainly geared towards depressin and i started feeling a lot better I thought it woudl just help with anxiety tho.