DA/DP

[[Ma...]]

Trying to get an idea how long till' this side effect goes away?  Can ya'll please let me know how long it lasted for you guys?  I feel like I'm floating and cant focus because of the vertigo.

[[al...]]

Sorry to say that there is no definant answere to that question, it varies with everyone. Some have it only a short time , some longer. It depends how long your CNS takes to heal. It seems to be different for all of us.

 

For me, it took months for the worst of it to lift. I still get it lightly from time to time but nothing like before.

[[Ma...]]

I'm worried about it never going away.  If it's not, then what's the point of trying to even stop

[[ea...]]

What is DA? Did you mean DR?

 

Everyone heals differently, so there is no way to  tell you how long it will last for you. Wish there was. I wanted to know the same thing.

If your DR/DP is caused by withdrawal (you did not have it before-) it WILL go away. Some people think that these things are a way our brains/minds sort of protect us from anxiety and fear...by making things seem unreal, far away, almost distorted. I know that sounds strange, but our brains are very complicated. As we heal, DR/DP slip away, like other symptoms. If I told you how long mine lasted, it might frighten you even more....so I wont. You are healing right now, and eventually you will FEEL that healing.

Distraction is your best weapon against these symptoms, and all others.

east

[[Ma...]]

Thanks east.  I was just reading your success story, actually!  Scary!  But I'm glad there is hope.  I have been experiencing dr/dp for 2 years now. (been on kpin for about 6 years).  .5mg each night.  I think I am having tolerenace w/d and my choices are to go up in dose, or quit.  So I'm going to quit.  I cut back to .25mg and will stay there for a few more days.

[[ea...]]

Please, don't let my story scare you. Keep the circumstances in mind: on benzos for 30 years straight, drank alcohol every night, and went cold turkey. I was almost guaranteed a horrible withdrawal. You are so smart to be tapering!!!

I didn't have a choice - I did the best I could given what happened.

 

There is always hope. That is something I have learned, finally. I amazed at the body's ability to heal from trauma.

 

Because you cut your dose, you may have an increase in symptoms for a while. Just expect that, and don't be scared. You are always, always healing, even when you don't feel it. I think you are very wise to have decided your goal is to get off it entirely.

east

[[be...]]

What is DA? Did you mean DR?

 

Everyone heals differently, so there is no way to  tell you how long it will last for you. Wish there was. I wanted to know the same thing.

If your DR/DP is caused by withdrawal (you did not have it before-) it WILL go away. Some people think that these things are a way our brains/minds sort of protect us from anxiety and fear...by making things seem unreal, far away, almost distorted. I know that sounds strange, but our brains are very complicated. As we heal, DR/DP slip away, like other symptoms. If I told you how long mine lasted, it might frighten you even more....so I wont. You are healing right now, and eventually you will FEEL that healing.

Distraction is your best weapon against these symptoms, and all others.

east

 

I think she meant D/R, but could possibly have been thinking of disassociation.  Who knows??

[[Ma...]]

Thank ya'll very much.  Should be completely off in less than 2 weeks.  East, did you drink during withdrawals?  I drink beer a few nights a week and am hoping a few beers may knock the edge off after work!

[[ea...]]

Machina,

I have a long history of drinking too much. I had stopped several years before I went cold turkey. During the early part of my second year of healing, I started drinking again, at night.  Big mistake. I didn't yet understand that alcohol works on the same receptors in our brains that benzos do, and I had a BIG upswing in symptoms. I stopped drinking, and haven't had any alcohol now in about 6 months. I plan to keep it that way, because I have felt a lot better since stopping entirely.

Alcohol is a depressant, as are benzos. Alcohol may make you feel better briefly, but by drinking, you are interfering with healing. It is also physically dangerous to drink when youre taking a benzo.

Look I will be very honest. I liked taking my benzo, and I thought I liked drinking, too. I liked being able to go to sleep easily. I liked the "warm fuzzy" feeling that alcohol used to give me. But you know what? I like a LOT more feeling calm, clean and focused. I really didn't see how much either drug was affecting me. I didn't understand that alcohol actually interferes (in a huge way-) with sleep and with healing from a benzo.  Now that Im off all of it, my memory is great, my thinking is once again pretty sharp. I still cant do math, but that's fine with me! I FEEL better, and Im not thinking about my next high. I get my warm fuzzies now from my cats, my friends and my life in general.

east

 

 

[[Ma...]]

Thank you for that.  Guess I have 2 things to work on now 

[[ea...]]

Well, join the crowd. A lot of people here have more than one problem to work on! And its all okay....to admit we are human, make mistakes. Ive sure made a lot of them. What counts is what we do once we know we have a problem.

east