PLEASE OFFER SUPPORT FOR MY CONTINUED WITHDRAWAL

[[do...]]

Hello,  I am 57 days off the benzo - and am experiencing a lot of mental anguish.  I continue to have an inner critic and miss-perceptions about everything.  I am requesting that after this many days of being in withdrawal IS IT really still withdrawal??  I am depressed beyond belief.  I have been researching the Ashton manual and wonder if any of you took antidepressants to get out of this rabbit hole??  PLEASE RESPOND - so I may have some comfort in knowing what path is the right one for me.  I have lost all that I once held dear to me - my spirituality, love, passion for nature, joy, happiness, gratitude and the ability to see clearly all which I used to enjoy in life.  I am seeking your advice on what you have done to get through the darkness.  Again I look to you, those who have been through this, now without the benzos in your system and struggled as I am doing now, please help me with some direction to get through this pain and get well.  Thank you.

[Guest [he...]]

Just know that this will end...you need to keep the faith that it will....this is the withdrawals making you feel bad....there is the light at the end of this tunnel...take care.  :)Hugs.

 

Peach, Sheri

[Guest [he...]]

That should say Peace, not peach, lol.

[[pr...]]

dolphins,

I am thinking of you tonight. I don't know you obviously but feel your pain. This is when we are so vulnerable to get on an AD. Pls keep fighting. You mentioned passion for nature. One of the few things that continues to help is being outside. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, stand. If you can't stand, just sit but try to go outside. I don't know. It helps me a lot.

[[Po...]]

Dolphins,

 

I regret that I started amitriptyline right after I had jumped. That time I felt

l can't stand the anxiety. Now I wish I had accepted it and tried harder. Now I have very hard time tapering off amitriptyline. It has felt like benzo. I have a feeling that everything that "helps" is really hard to taper off - and takes a long time.

 

My feeling is that in this chain people are using more support meds than, say, in Success stories. Or then people will not mention them there.

[[de...]]

Hi Dolphin,

I am sorry for all the suffering you and torment you have to endure at this time in your recovery. I know all to well the hell that the symptoms will do to a human being with no mercy. I am coming up 22 months benzo free after my taper. I did not take any A/D's although I had thought about it many times, but with all I read from others I decided to stay away from them. I have not posted in a long time, I just could not put two sentences together or read very long. But, today I can do many things I could not do a year ago or even 6 months ago.

 

These are things I did to help me cope and manage my symptoms. ACCEPTANCE was very important, once I accepted that my healing was going to take some time my symptoms lost some of their power. "The only way out is through." I would tell myself, "This is just the way it is gong to be... just for now, this is benzo wd and I am healing".  DISTRACTION, DISTRACTION, DISTRACTION, although there are many things we can not do, there are many things that we can do. I found ways to distract myself, my distraction coping skills changed along with the linear process of healing. The better I got the more I was able to do! Nutrition is so important, stay away from sugar, caffeine and processed foods, exercise as much as you can and keep yourself hydrated. Support is so very important. Benzo Buddies gave me what I could not find anywhere else, they walked me through the puzzling process about titration, coping skills, withdrawals symptoms and the healing.

Chattering Benzo Brain was a big one to manage, I would create a safe place in my mind and use self talk to quiet them down. I would tell myself, "It is just the benzo brain, it is lying, cheating and stealing from me, I am doing good, I have come this far and I am going to make it to the finish line'" at that point I found something to do to distract. Protect Yourself. Say no when you have to, when I found myself in a bad scene or negative surroundings I got away, I found they made my symptoms worse. And get as much fresh air and sunshine as you can.

Remember Fear is just horrible imaginations... our benzo brain distorts our emotions and thoughts.

And we do heal! I thought so, so, so many times I would not heal, that I was going to be like this this the rest of my life... but as time passed by slowly minute by minute, day by day and month by month I went through my own healing process, I am not completely healed yet, I still have cognitive issues that are still under construction, but I am so much better today. I can do so many things today like take care of my personal needs, there was a day that all I could do was brush my teeth, drive, go to public places without wanting to run out, talk to people, pray, clean house, drive, work in the yard, carry conversations on the phone, babysit my grandchildren, do favors for people, create a nice dinner, laugh, make decisions, although there is still some difficulty, look at my self in the mirror with out seeing a benzo face looking back.... The D/P and D/R is completely gone, that was a major symptom for me.

Just remember the Footprints in the Sand, although I felt spiritually dead and abandoned The Almighty Lord carried me through the storm and set me upon the still waters in the sunshine! God Speed and Many Blessings!

[[ea...]]

Some of the benzo-wise doctors use antidepressants for withdrawal depression. Seems like they usually use the older ones, the tricyclics. Those drugs help some people with sleep, anxiety and depression. But they have some risks, of course. Others use Remeron, which also has an effect on sleep and depression for some people. It can also help you gain weight, if that's a problem for you.

 

Sorry to say but 57 days isn't long in the world of benzo withdrawal. The "acute phase" can last up to 4-5 weeks, and then you go into regular, miserable withdrawal. For most people, all this stuff gets better in a few months....others aren't so lucky. And there is no way to predict how long it will take you. Everyone is so different!! But with time, we all do heal.

 

While you're waiting for healing to happen, its important to do the things that willkeep you going during the rough times. Most people feel that distracting yourself is the best way to handle symptoms....I agree. But there are other ideas. Have you read about this and started trying a couple?

east

[[Ch...]]

I took no drugs during and after my taper.  OTC meds like Ibuprofin and Tylenol didn't help for aches, pains and headaches so I didn't bother with them after a try or two.  At that point I felt burned by medications/chemicals and thought I'd be better off going au naturel as much as possible.

 

 

[[do...]]

While you're waiting for healing to happen, its important to do the things that willkeep you going during the rough times. Most people feel that distracting yourself is the best way to handle symptoms....I agree. But there are other ideas. Have you read about this and started trying a couple?

 

Can you give me some examples? And where can I learn more?