Felt bad before benzos, what will it be like when I'm done?

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In April I was not on any medication and struggling with severe anxiety, panic attacks, and fatigue. It was affecting my ability to do simple things like drive, go to work, attend meetings at work, etc... So after an ambulance trip to the ER (during a typical work day) the nurse told me to take Xanax as needed. I started taking it every day and it helped me cope with the anxiety a lot. I switched over to Valium and feel my base-line anxiety has stabilized for the most part. I haven't had a full-blown panic attack in months. I want to get off of Valium but am terrified that my life will just go back to how it was before I started benzos.

 

Anyone else experience something like this or have advice?

[Guest [Mi...]]

Hi, courtney. Yes, I understand your fears on this. I had severe depression prior to years spent on meds, and I'm in the process of learning to live med free. It's a long, hard process.

 

Have you tried Cognitive Behavior Therapy? Also, a number of BB's are finding mindfulness to be helpful. Google Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn on YouTube - he has a lot of lectures and guided meditations available.

 

Check out the threads on the Anxiety forum. You'll find a lot of resources for handling anxiety. 

 

I found that my anxiety greatly decreased after coming off of benzos. A lot of others have reported the same. Life is much better off than on, IMHO. 

 

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In April I was not on any medication and struggling with severe anxiety, panic attacks, and fatigue. It was affecting my ability to do simple things like drive, go to work, attend meetings at work, etc... So after an ambulance trip to the ER (during a typical work day) the nurse told me to take Xanax as needed. I started taking it every day and it helped me cope with the anxiety a lot. I switched over to Valium and feel my base-line anxiety has stabilized for the most part. I haven't had a full-blown panic attack in months. I want to get off of Valium but am terrified that my life will just go back to how it was before I started benzos.

 

Anyone else experience something like this or have advice?

 

I too started on benzos to deal with a sudden onset of crippling, disabling anxiety.  But at each dose escalation I quickly became tolerant to the effects.  My pdoc then gae me scrip for remeron, and I did not become tolerant to it.  After about 3 years I realized my GAD was "in remission", and I really no longer needed any meds.

 

If you have been on benzos for 4 months, you are almost certainly fully tolerant to the effects, and no longer getting any therapeutic benefit anyway.  If you taper off (which I recommend) you will probably have some WD fxs to deal with, but will probably find your anxiety disorder has disappeared.

 

I quit remeron 3 years ago, and am almost done with my V taper, and am please to  report I have no lingering anxiety sxs.

 

JMHO

 

[Guest [ba...]]

Benzos have their place.  They are probably a good med for temporarily diminishing various anxiety 'disorders'. However, (IMHO) they should only be used for a short time and their use should be coupled with a more long-term curative approach such as therapy.  Sadly, once the drugs are handed out (and the patient feels better), there's often no follow-up to deal with the root cause of the problem.

 

I was prescribed benzos for insomnia, and upon stopping the benzos the insomnia has returned.  I do sleep, but not as long as I would like.  That used to bother me a lot.  It doesn't bother me much anymore.  I started therapy at the same time that I jumped off Ativan, and it's really helped me. 

 

I think that you'll need to explore alternative treatment options such as therapy (if you're not already seeing somebody), else there is a chance that your anxiety will return.  It's a way different approach to deal with the cause versus dealing with the symptoms (which is all the benzos did).  However, in the long-run, I think there's much more power doing it the slower, more involved way versus popping pills.

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badsocref,

 

AGREED!!!! 

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Thank you all for the responses! And builder, I found what you said to be encouraging: "If you taper off (which I recommend) you will probably have some WD fxs to deal with, but will probably find your anxiety disorder has disappeared."