kmae89

So basically I know that I am going through withdrawals from benzos. I've been sober from alcohol for 18 days now. I got through those withdrawals with taking Valium. The first few days I took anywhere from 3-6 of the 10 mg a day. Then, usually I would take one or two a day after that. I've been taking them on and off since December last year. Lately I have been taking klonopin up to 2-3 mg a day.. Sometimes skip a day or two. I haven't taken any for a day and a half and I am suffering from extreme anxiety, jittery, nervous, jumpy, shaky.. And for some reason I am afraid of looking at people(maybe in my mind I think I look crazy?) I refuse to go in public right now. I am so restless and in a panic state.


I am 25 years old, and I've suffered with anxiety and panic attacks since I was 18. So I did have anxiety prior to these withdrawals and I know it's just making it worse. I also have OCD and social anxiety.

I was wanting to know if anyone else felt like socially isolating themselves in fear that people think you're crazy? I can't look into people's eyes at all. What's wrong with me?!! Just want some insight on what anyone's symptoms were or if they can relate? This is only day two without benzos and day 18 without alcohol.

ScottFromWI

Benzo withdrawals can be pretty severe and quitting cold turkey without seeing your prescribing doctor first is not recommended - have you seen your Dr?

zjw

i recently read that isolating becuase of anxiety is the exact wrong approach. suffering from anxiety and being an introvert i didnt like this. But the article went on to explain that a /good/ social support system is whats needed most to overcome this stuff. We need the distraction of social engagemetn and the benefits of it.

I walked away agreeing with the article but I felt the article should really emphasize GOOD social support. And given that I do not have many friends and such its not always so easy for me to find GOOD social support. But it is something to think about.

Maybe pick and choose who you isolate from but dont isolate everyone keep the good support in the picture.

Soberwolf

Congrats on 18 days sober

As for the benzo wd Scott is right it can be really dangerous i think speaking to a Dr would be a good idea congrats on day 2 bud

kmae89

I don't see the doctor that prescribed these anymore. I see a new doctor on the 25th. Hoping to get on a SSRI for my anxiety. I don't want to have to rely on benzos anymore. I understand that this is potentially dangerous to quit cold turkey. Last year I was forced to because I was in jail.(long ridiculous story on that one) but last year I was taking anywhere between 10-20 mg of Xanax per day! Crazy I know, but in jail they do not let you have narcotics, so I was forced cold turkey and I got through that somehow.

This time, I only take when extreme anxiety. Every other day or even several days apart. Some days it would be everyday though. I know, confusing! The past week or two, I've taken about 2 mg of klonopin per day. It doesn't compare to what I took last year...

I really just want to know what anyone has experienced with symptoms?? Am I just going crazy with not wanting to be around people or making eye contact? 😔 ughhhh! This is terrible.

MemphisBlues

How long ago did you take your last benzo?

Does your new doctor know you are withdrawing from benzos?

Was the prescribing doctor for Xanax a psychiatrist or a just a MD. Is the new doctor you saw a psychiatrist?

I had a decade-long run on klonopin, ending up on 20 milligrams a day for years. Heck, there was a period of time I was prescribed 30 milligrams a day.

kmae89

It's been a day and a half since I last took klonopin. I took 1.5 mg on Tuesday, didn't take any on Monday. I don't take them everyday for the most part.

The prescribing doc was a psychiatrist who I can't see anymore from missing too many appointments... So there is no way to call her to get any.

I almost wonder if I am freaking myself out? Thinking about it too much because of Google. (Lol)

I just took a sleep aide to try and sleep this off..

And wow that's a lot to take!! How did you get off of klonopin? I've been back and forth between Valium and klonopin recently.

MemphisBlues

I reread your post and see you are just on day two without a benzo.

You can expect your anxiety to worsen over the next few days. I went cold turkey from 20 milligrams of Klonopin. From what I've learned and experienced, peak acute withdrawal doesn't really hit until about two weeks out from your last benzo.

This is where you really have to keep your eye on the goal. Being just a few weeks sober from alcohol itself will produce a lot of anxiety, but the suffering you are going through now will ease over time.

I strongly urge you to make sure your new doctor knows your ware both withdrawing from alcohol and benzos.

This is not going to be easy, but it is certainly doable. The discomfort you feel now is like money in the sober bank you cash out when your symptoms diminish and then go away.

MemphisBlues

I would be cautious reading all of the horror stories or benzo withdrawal. If you are anything like me you can read of the symptoms and then manifest them subconsciously.

I had pretty horrific experience, but I think I am a very unique case as I was on that mega dosage for years and then went cold turkey, which entailed a 10-day hospital experience.

You really should tell your new doctor you are withdrawing. Most people urge a strict tapering regimen. I didn't have that luxury, and if I were to adhere to recommended tapering schedules, I would probably still be on a maintenance dose 4 years and 10 months sober.

Many, many people withdraw from benzos with limited discomfort. I think the internet is filled mostly with those who had very bad experiences; the squeaky wheel posts the most.

kmae89

Well, in all honesty, I don't want to tell my new doctor because I don't want him to not prescribe them to me or anything. I want to get started on an SSRI for my anxiety, then slowly taper off so it hopefully won't be as miserable. Right now is nearly unbearable.. Maybe because I read too much on the Internet and freaked myself out.

I'm so jittery and nervous. My mother has people over now and my anxiety just went through the roof. I shut myself in my room..

I've been through this before, as I've said. I was forced to when I was in jail and I was on a much higher dose. So I would think being home would make this much easier. I know of family that gets prescribed Valium. I asked one person and they might get theirs tomorrow but that feels sooooo far away right now! Maybe I will keep taking them until I see my new doctor. I sure don't want to go to the ER. I know I have gotten through this before so I "know" I can do it again...? 😕

ScottFromWI

A couple of things here - first off, not being honest with your doctor about what you are taking is both dangerous and not really conducive to getting the proper treatment. SSRI's take weeks, sometimes even months to start working, and knowing that you have recently been taking benzo's will be critical in prescribing the proper drug/dosage.

Secondly, it's very easy to "freak yourself out" by using Dr. Google. Believe me, I've done it many times myself! Talk with your DR and be honest...that's the best course of action.

Zufrieden

Hi there.
Yes... please be honest with your doctor. If for no other reason than the fact that "dishonesty" and addiction seem to go hand in hand. I am really trying to be honest in all areas of life as part of my no drinking plan
With respect to Google I have had an interesting experience. My sister and I are both less than mentally healthy but we have different issues. I am not a worrier and am fairly circumspect when researching issues on Google. She, on the other hand, googles something and immediately decides that she is dying.
We have both taken Klonopin for the same sleep disorder. Neither of us has increased beyond the original dosage prescribed and we both fall way beneath the threshold where a person would need to taper with a doctor's health.
We both recently decided to wean off and both of us were under doctor's instructions. I tapered quickly just to be done and experienced nothing negative other than a slight return of my original sleep issues.
She, on the other hand, has been a complete wreck and is convinced that she is experience "rebound", acute withdrawal, she is doomed for life, will never get past this etc.... She was on .5 mg for less than 6 months and I was on 1 mg for more than 15 years, daily.
I really think that the research combined with a predilection for believing awful news can have the opposite of placebo affect....
Seeing the doctor about this: good.
Researching yourself into a frenzy online: not so good.
Good luck and I hope your withdrawal smooths out.
Jonathan

Behan

I have read it is always advisable to change/reduce any kind of medication, particularly psychoactive ones, under strict medical supervision.

Best wishes to your recovery!

B

blueberry2015

The only experience i had with med withdrawal was anti-ds, i tried to wean myself off too quickly and the withdrawal was horrific i felt like a drug addict. Seriously you need to see a doctor and quick... you NEED to tell your new doctor they will probably prescribe you more benzos but they will also advise you how to wean yourself off them safely. With my anti ds it took me six months to wean off under my doctors advise. Do not attempt to do this alone okay? You can come off them under a specific plan of action as directed by your doctor. x x x

Anna

Please be honest with your new doctor. If not, it seems like you will just continue to play one thing against the other. And, reconsider going to the ER if things get worse.

Saskia

I agree that it's important to work with your doc! I was on clonazepam (Klonopin) for about 20 years, usually 2 mg per day with a brief time at 3 mg/day per doc's orders. It took me about a year to gradually taper off and I had few problems by doing it so gradually. Near the end, I had a problem going from 0.25 mg (1/2tablet) to nothing. I found out that there actually is a dissolvable tablet that is 0.125 mg that my pdoc didn't know about. He called the pharmacy and the pharmacist said he could order it. They are a bit more expensive but worth it for me. The very slow taper worked for me.

Note also that clonazepam has a long "half-life" so skipping a day may not be useful for some. Stopping benzos is said to be especially important for alcoholics.

Andante

This discussion of benzo withdrawal is interesting and helpful to me. It would seem that there’s a gray area in benzo discontinuation where it’s very difficult to say with any certainty whether one is experiencing addiction withdrawal, or simply a recurrence of the symptoms for which the medication was prescribed in the first place, or is worrying so much about withdrawal as to auto-suggest the symptoms in one’s self.

I take Ativan occasionally to help manage anxiety. As a recovering alcoholic I have a healthy concern about cross-tolerance and dependence. I don’t take anywhere near the 2 mg a day that my doctor prescribes with a free hand, and there are periods of up to a week that I don’t take it at all. When I ask my doctor (medical director of a highly-renowned rehab, BTW) about it, he dismissively says “Eh, there are people who will get addicted to anything,” yet it doesn’t take much web research or reading posts on SR to support the notion that at least some concern about addiction is justified.

So it’s a bit of a quandary — I could just stop taking the medication entirely, but it is very useful indeed at the times I need it. How could I tell for sure if I’m becoming addicted to it before it’s too late? If I did stop entirely, how would I know that any recurrence of anxiety symptoms is attributable to withdrawal, and not just a flare-up of the condition that occasioned the use of the medication in the first place? And how would I know I wasn’t just auto-suggesting the symptoms? I’m not so much looking for advice as I am commenting on what strikes me as a curious puzzle.

Regarding the OP's original question: I've come to realize that what other people think of me -- including whether I'm crazy -- doesn't matter nearly as much as I once thought it did. However, I know from experience that when in the throes of intense anxiety, your mind will seize on anything and everything to worry about. Have you pursued non-medical avenues of relief? I've found them to be more helpful as a primary strategy than medication, although I believe drugs can have their place as an adjunct.

Saskia

In my IOP I was told that benzos and alcohol affect the same receptors in the brain and they believe that using benzos could be a part of the slippery slope that's part of alcoholism. Whether or not that's really the case I don't know. What is logical is that both can enable us to avoid dealing with stuff. My pdoc told me that he has seen a huge variation in difficulty of stopping benzos. I was already near the end of my taper when I read about the supposed connection between benzos and memory loss. That was enough to push me to completely stop! I'm sure I lost plenty of brain cells from drinking. I don't need to lose more from benzos.