Back on Benzos
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Melbourne Australia.
Posts: 3,748
Back on Benzos
After 7 weeks nil benzos I started again 2 days ago after feeling pretty r/s.
Had got down to roughly 3 mgs diazepam daily average for about 3 to 4 years so maybe a nil taper for 7 weeks was too sharp, yet the really bad feelings were pretty long in becoming manifest. Maybe I am chronically anxious,inhibited, intense, since birth, and can either bear it or take the bare minimum benzos intermittently? Some doctors say withdrawal is simply rebound anxiety.
Just turned 71, so don't want to make a martyr of myself, benzo free, just to impress others.
Any advice or similar case scenarios? Thanks all!
Nil alcohol 51 days
Had got down to roughly 3 mgs diazepam daily average for about 3 to 4 years so maybe a nil taper for 7 weeks was too sharp, yet the really bad feelings were pretty long in becoming manifest. Maybe I am chronically anxious,inhibited, intense, since birth, and can either bear it or take the bare minimum benzos intermittently? Some doctors say withdrawal is simply rebound anxiety.
Just turned 71, so don't want to make a martyr of myself, benzo free, just to impress others.
Any advice or similar case scenarios? Thanks all!
Nil alcohol 51 days
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Melbourne Australia.
Posts: 3,748
My personal view, is that doctors, even psychiatrists, are often quite lacking in knowledge re benzodiazepines as well as anti- depressants.
Yes I do a lot of my own research, and for many years have kept the benzos to a workable low dosage.
I always would recommend medical advice, despite the fact that some doctors lack rapport, time, interest, and even , at times, the most basic interest of the patient. This is not a blanket condemnation, many do their best, dealing with extremely difficult cases.
Yes I do a lot of my own research, and for many years have kept the benzos to a workable low dosage.
I always would recommend medical advice, despite the fact that some doctors lack rapport, time, interest, and even , at times, the most basic interest of the patient. This is not a blanket condemnation, many do their best, dealing with extremely difficult cases.
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,378
I used to feel that way too.
I was very knowledgeable, but I found invariably I lacked that the other vital part of medical care - a little distance.
Sometimes that little bit of distance, that slight shift in perception that another person can have, allows for insights that you or I can't possibly see.
Just another viewpoint to consider
D
I was very knowledgeable, but I found invariably I lacked that the other vital part of medical care - a little distance.
Sometimes that little bit of distance, that slight shift in perception that another person can have, allows for insights that you or I can't possibly see.
Just another viewpoint to consider
D
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,126
I fought the benzo fight, and glad to say I have benzo free for two years. I really hope you can find a doctor to help with a well-thought out taper. From my experience and what I've read, slow is the way to go.
What your doctor's are calling rebound anxiety is sort of a double whammy. You are dealing with the underlying anxiety that caused you to seek relief in a benzo in the first place, and then the rebound variety worsened by relying on benzos for years to quell anxiety. Anxiety simply gets worse coming off of benzos or after benzos than it was when we first tried benzos to treat anxiety in the first place.
I am like you. Anxious since birth, I suspect. If it's any comfort to you, I went cold turkey from a boat load more of benzos than you were on. I was prescribed a mega dose of 20 milligrams of Klonopin for panic and anxiety, which works out to an equivalent dosage of 400 milligrams of Valium a day. I survived. I'm not washing them down with Abita Amber beer anymore either.
What you are trying to accomplish is doable. You just really need to find a doctor who buys into the dangers of long-term benzo use and fully understands that weaning off of the drug to avoid protracted withdrawals is the way to go.
Not everyone experiences the horror others go through getting off of benzos. I think it has lot to do with the amount of time you were on them versus how much. One thing to remember -- you have to give it time. It does get better. Just awfully slow for some of us. I suffered protracted withdrawals for a year or more, but I went cold turkey from a massive dosage.
Good luck
What your doctor's are calling rebound anxiety is sort of a double whammy. You are dealing with the underlying anxiety that caused you to seek relief in a benzo in the first place, and then the rebound variety worsened by relying on benzos for years to quell anxiety. Anxiety simply gets worse coming off of benzos or after benzos than it was when we first tried benzos to treat anxiety in the first place.
I am like you. Anxious since birth, I suspect. If it's any comfort to you, I went cold turkey from a boat load more of benzos than you were on. I was prescribed a mega dose of 20 milligrams of Klonopin for panic and anxiety, which works out to an equivalent dosage of 400 milligrams of Valium a day. I survived. I'm not washing them down with Abita Amber beer anymore either.
What you are trying to accomplish is doable. You just really need to find a doctor who buys into the dangers of long-term benzo use and fully understands that weaning off of the drug to avoid protracted withdrawals is the way to go.
Not everyone experiences the horror others go through getting off of benzos. I think it has lot to do with the amount of time you were on them versus how much. One thing to remember -- you have to give it time. It does get better. Just awfully slow for some of us. I suffered protracted withdrawals for a year or more, but I went cold turkey from a massive dosage.
Good luck
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: NY, NY
Posts: 76
Wow, Memphis. I cannot fathom coming off that much Klonopin! I am struggling to come off 20 mgs of Valium (currently at 10 mgs) and am already feeling with my anxiety. I also stopped drinking though, too.
OP - you def don't need to be a martyr. Have you tried anything other than benzos for your anxiety?
OP - you def don't need to be a martyr. Have you tried anything other than benzos for your anxiety?
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: SE and then South some more
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How about instead of a Psychiatrist you see a Psychotherapist and do some talking and seeing about some cognitive behavioral exercises? Can I tell you that I used to suffer from some very debilitating panic attacks and was on meds. When I FIRST found out what was going on with me, that was the first part of relief (ok, I'm not really dying), and then talking about allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll of my past trauma. I sound like craziebabie if you've read her posts. My "normal" world was far from that... It was bad, and as an adult I really suffered trying to deal with myself.
Just suggesting, I hope you're well.
Just suggesting, I hope you're well.
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Join Date: Dec 2012
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Thanks V/bean I do a lot of cognitive therapy; it is quite helpful.
True, some psychiatrists are very aloof and self centred.
As for past traumas, I think they can be dissected, essentially accepted,:
and then move on, as best as possible.
All good wishes.......
True, some psychiatrists are very aloof and self centred.
As for past traumas, I think they can be dissected, essentially accepted,:
and then move on, as best as possible.
All good wishes.......
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Southern California
Posts: 365
I actually just got back from my doc... I have been on klonopin (2 MG) for about 2 years (originally prescribed for anxiety and sleep)... He has put me on a taper plan that should have me off in 9 weeks...
If I would have done the research BEFORE he prescribed this drug I would have never taken it... Good luck to you!
If I would have done the research BEFORE he prescribed this drug I would have never taken it... Good luck to you!
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: NY, NY
Posts: 76
hey you...so glad to see another Valium taper. thanks for sharing. I am at 7.5 mg and due to go to 5 mg and then 2.5. So, I do feel your pain. I am so grateful you're posting. I am amazed at the generosity of spirit I find on the boards.
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Join Date: Dec 2012
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It's obviously such a variable and personal thing. I had an awful time coming off 50mg of Valium a day (along with opiates) and is only been on that for a couple of months. I jumped from 50 to 15 a day then to nothing over the course of a week or so. I felt several times like I was on the verge of a seizure. My brain literally felt like it was shaking and nothing would get rid of that and the headaches (except alcohol unfortunately). It was definitely not all anxiety for me but some of it was. For me personally, I would be in alot of trouble coming off a more long term habit. I guess everyone is built differently hey. Be careful and good luck.
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Righthere, Rightnow
Posts: 1,424
I'm Off, and Damn Glad!
It took me years to commit to getting off. I agree that many doctors have no clue and hand out benzos as if they were aspirin. If I knew then (when first diagnosed with panic disorder) what I know now, I’d have quit drinking coffee and taken up yoga. I am sure I’d have been just fine.
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