My withdrawal hell

[[jo...]]

hi i have been diazepam free for 6 weeks now i tapered down to 1mg from  around 50mg per day over a period of 5 years it has been a long and frightining process and i am still having trouble sleeping and anxiety levels are through the roof as are other rebound withdrawals u name it i have experienced it bar siezures i have no idea how long these symptoms will last and weather i will ever get back to my old self and live a normal life again...is there light at the end of the tunnel?

[Guest [Mi...]]

Hi, john80.

 

Welcome to benzobuddies. Glad you found us. 

 

I'm sorry you're are having so many problems after coming off of diazepam. Anxiety and trouble sleeping are common during withdrawal, but they are temporary. You will find a lot of information about handling these without benzos.

 

Please let us know more about your taper. I'm glad you've been diazepam free for 6 weeks. A good resource about benzodiazepines is the Ashton Manual. Here is a link to the manual: Professor Ashtons Manual  It’s great for learning about these meds and for taper plans. Ashton recommends reducing between 5 - 10% every 10/14 days.

 

You'll find a great community of people here who will support and encourage you. Feel free to check out the forum and to post to any of the dedicated boards.

 

In addition to the Ashton Manual, here are some other resources:

 

Post-withdrawal Recovery Support 

 

Insomnia 

 

Anxiety   

 

Please add a signature (history of medication/doses etc). It will help members give you relevant advice. This link will show you how to Create a signature

 

Please let us know if you have any questions.

 

~ Mind

[[Mo...]]

Hi john,

Good idea to join us and congratulation being Benzo-free. 6 weeks off is still

quite early , it can be a slow process but yes, there is a light at the end of

the tunnel. As months go by , i am sure you will be able to see it.

here are some videos.

http://cepuk.org/recovery-stories/

 

warm welcome

and all the best,

Claudia.

[[jo...]]

Thanks for replying although i am pretty sure i will get back to myself its hard to keep the faith when everyday anxiety etc is stopping me from living my life all i do is sit indoors i cant hold a conversation with anybody as i get fractured speech,shakes etc and this makes me even more anxious i feel as im going insane at times as i have always been a confident outgoing person...i started to take diazepam for reasons i know now is basically every day life as the levels of anxiety i felt before i took diazepam nothing compared to the levels now but i will continue on this slow road to recovery with hope.

[[Mo...]]

Hi again John, brings back memories, i've been through it, anxiety is a nasty thing.

i would suggest doing deep belly breathing exercise.

 

take a deep breath through your nose.....deep into your belly.....hold for a count of 6...

and slowly out through your mouth again. if you do it right, it will help.