Ten weeks into withdrawal

[[je...]]

I am now entering week ten of acute withdrawal. As my signature says I was taken off a very high does of Xanax cold turkey. I have heard that people start feeling a little better after three months. My symptoms have been extremely strong and long. I am really trying to be patient but it is hard. To make matters worse I broke my ankle. It is withdrawal related. My legs have been very wobbly. I was going some stairs and they gave out on me. I know have a cast one that I have to wear for five more weeks.

 

I also had a question. For people who have had to stop working what have you told your work?  I am on FMLA leave now but that will end soon.

[Guest [Or...]]

I told my work the truth. My boss saw what the pills were doing to me my last week of work. Made me retarded and short of breath just talking to people. So, there was no point in lying. This is just for me! And that may screw me over when I return. But I figured telling them that I had an adverse drug reaction (which they saw) and that I had pltemporsry brain damage was better than saying I'm off work because of anxiety.

 

And keep up the good work! Be happy you were on xanax. Typically the people who take short half life benzos recover faster, on average, than those who take longer ones.

[[Je...]]

I told my work the truth. My boss saw what the pills were doing to me my last week of work. Made me retarded and short of breath just talking to people. So, there was no point in lying. This is just for me! And that may screw me over when I return. But I figured telling them that I had an adverse drug reaction (which they saw) and that I had pltemporsry brain damage was better than saying I'm off work because of anxiety.

 

And keep up the good work! Be happy you were on xanax. Typically the people who take short half life benzos recover faster, on average, than those who take longer ones.

 

Can u provide any data on that? 

[Guest [Or...]]

I told my work the truth. My boss saw what the pills were doing to me my last week of work. Made me retarded and short of breath just talking to people. So, there was no point in lying. This is just for me! And that may screw me over when I return. But I figured telling them that I had an adverse drug reaction (which they saw) and that I had pltemporsry brain damage was better than saying I'm off work because of anxiety.

 

And keep up the good work! Be happy you were on xanax. Typically the people who take short half life benzos recover faster, on average, than those who take longer ones.

 

Can u provide any data on that? 

 

Scientific, no. This is purely based on observations I've made in my time research here on BB. But if you look in the Benzo free section or success stories, the majority of people that took short half life benzos recover quicker. This is probably because withdrawals start much sooner. Heck, most people that join the forum on short half-life benzos just up and disappear a few months after joining. (This is how I keep myself sane, trying to find people that disappeared before writing success stories to remind myself it may not take years to recover.

 

My first month I wasn't even in withdrawal really. I got smacked in week 6 taking K. Which makes sense. Its got a looooong half-life of 50 hours. Its also why, given the opportunity to do this over again, I would taper straight off Ativan. Valiums half life is insane.

[Guest [Or...]]

Oh, actually...my psychiatrist told me that people that take long half-life benzos recover slowly. He wasn't shocked that I was still out of it 3 months out. So I guess that counts as "proof". Coming from an expert. =/

[[be...]]

I am so sorry to hear about your ankle. A cold turkey withdrawal can be absolutely brutal. I, too, stopped a comparable dose of benzodiazepines (8mg of Ativan) cold turkey. I know firsthand how horrific the symptoms can be. For me the mental torment was excruciating. I thought I was losing my mind. I thought I was going insane. I thought the acute phase would never end, but it did. Starting at about three months I took a huge positive corner. Although I still was very sick I was able to start engaging in life again and was actually able to manage my symptoms. Each month after that I started to get better and better. I am now 11 months out and healed. Others told me months ago that I would heal but I never believed them. I was too consumed in withdrawal. But we do all heal, and that means you will too. I wish I had a crystal ball to tell you when that would be. I think it would be so much easier for all of us if we just knew when.

[[dr...]]

Could you say more about low half life benzos? Is it easier to get off them when when you are going c/t or also when you are tapering slowly.

 

[Guest [Or...]]

Could you say more about low half life benzos? Is it easier to get off them when when you are going c/t or also when you are tapering slowly.

 

If you CT. Its going to be a nightmare and may last longer. If you taper without having felt cold turkey, its gonna be a nightmare on a short half-life benzo. I pretty much ct:d and nothing could be as bad as this. Lol. In general though, it takes a shorter amount of time for the body to get rid of short half-life benzos, therefore you are in acute faster, but have the potential to heal fast too.

 

Keyword: Potential. This is not a guarantee. There are people that CT Ativan after a few weeks and still healing months out.

[[ca...]]

Orionbash, there is No scientific proof about withdrawls lasting longer or shorter from any Benzo! Prof. Ashton is one of the few who has done any real work with getting people off of Benzo`s and Her method was to C/O from short half life Benzo`s to longer life Benzo`s and she claims she had very positive results doing such ( smoother withdrawl ) so where is this all coming from? Lot`s of Buddies on here are coming off of Long Half life Benzo`s and by your post i feel your just striking up more anxiousness in them!!! I don`t mean to be causing troubles on this sight or getting into any troubles here but i do feel posts like the one you posted should be monitored and not just thrown out there yes i could have just not read it and blew it off but it`s not my style! Please any ADM. please jump in here! Again i just had to post this to help people coming off Long Half life Benzo`s Again this is not a personal attack on you Orionbash !Just trying to calm some fears that might have ben created !!!!

[Guest [Or...]]

Really...its a known fact it takes the body less time to get rid of Ativan or Xanax than it does Valium or Klonopin. The point of a slow taper is to whittle down Valium to nothing and have virtually none of it in your system by the time you leap off. Tapering would counteract this.

 

If someone jumps off .25mg of K and .50mg of Ativan, assuming all things being equal, and withdrawal was just based on half-life, the one using Ativan would be done quicker. I don't understand why this would upset you or incite, "fear".

[[ca...]]

Orianbash, the whole point i was making is that it`s alot better to have a smoother taper by going to longer half life Benzo sloww is best to avoid very bad withdrawls. Alot of Buddies are on long time Benzo`s and to come off them C/T or to fast would be a mistake ! As far as healng goes it is very dependent on the brain damage and repair that needs to take place and everyone is different !Look at all the posts on here you will see different Benzo`s having different effects on everyone! Not saying your wrong or right just trying to help those that might be concerned over you theory !Peace Bro !

[Guest [Or...]]

I still don't get why it would incite fear though...the whole point of coming off a benzo is to taper slowly. And I wish I knew that because I cold turkeyed and its been brutal. And obviously switching to a long acting one would help. But this guy has been off benzos for 10 weeks. A reinstatement may be difficult. I was just trying to reassure him, based on MY observations, that those with short half-life benzos recover faster than those who are on long acting ones (cold turkey at least). There are always outliers though.

[[ca...]]

Orionbash, i agree 100% on not going C/T or too fast my point was that healing time is an individual thing yes from your observation i can see your point but your point on healing was what threw me off !As you know part of W/D is healing and on long term Benzo`s yes you may heal slower agreed but the W/D are suppose to be softer if you can call it that get my point ? Was just trying to fill some people in so they did not take it the wrong way as i saw someone ask you to explain about the half life etc. of different Benzo`s !Alot are not well informed yet. Anyway no fear here just trying to help people out Bro !

[[ca...]]

drad dog , go google Benzo half lives it will explain the story on the duration the different Benzo`s have on you , basically how how long the stay in your system. There might be a LINK on here but i can`t find it !

[[bo...]]

Posted at the risk of being accused of "always arguing".

 

Anecdotally I  have noticed xanax and valium users have easier and shorter wds. So my observation is that half life doesnt really matter. But that's anecdotal so sort of meaningless. From what I hace read it doesn't matter how long it takes the drug to clear because we are waiting for receptors to heal.

 

Also technically ativan and klonopin have intermediate half lives. ativan around 10 to 20 hours and k around 20 to 40. Neither has any active metabolites whuch is what really separates valium.

 

Interesting study

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1694983/

 

BTW Nobody should be scared of any information or observation because I think we xan agree that the only thing we really know is that everyone is different and even for tge same person every wd may be different.as u sadly am finding out.

[[sc...]]

I think maybe he was saying that the ones taking shorter acting benzos will have it out of their system quicker than say valiums 50-200 hour lag time,,I'm not saying that's what he meant but I will be withdrawing from valium and either way I'm a little scared,,imo

[[dr...]]

The drug being out of your system doesn't stop the effects that we are all here to deal with, does it? We are all here because our nervous systems need to reregulate and has not to do with life of the drug in the body.

Comments?

DD

[Guest [Or...]]

The drug being out of your system doesn't stop the effects that we are all here to deal with, does it? We are all here because our nervous systems need to reregulate and has not to do with life of the drug in the body.

Comments?

DD

 

It doesn't stop the effects, no. But someone that has it out o their system faster can begin to healing phase faster. That's what I'm trying to get at. Thus giving you a faster chance to heal. Is that a definite? No. But it helps I'm sure.

[[dr...]]

Well that would mean that C/T is the best way to get off these. I'm new here but I have seen many testimonies that C/t does not speed up this process (for them) that it can be full of setbacks, and may be more painful and damaging. That's why tapering is so prominent here on the boards and is recommended by so many here. A cold turkey would involve Drs to prescribe for seizure prevention and after 5 days they would declare you benzo free and send you out in the world, without regard to GABA etc. which you may be coping with for years. (Hopefully not, trying to be positive)

DD

[[ru...]]

Jethaze, sorry to hear about your ankle. I hope you find some relief in the near future. Just keep believing in your ability to heal and you will!! I did not give my employer specific details regarding my illness. My doctor's report stated I was unable to work and that is all they need to know. The insurance provider requires medical details to approve claim and they can't disclose information.

 

And keep up the good work! Be happy you were on xanax. Typically the people who take short half life benzos recover faster, on average, than those who take longer ones.

 

Orion, you said your p/doc told you this as well as what you observed here on BB. First off, my p/doc told me lots of nice things too, like benzo's are okay and safe? Last appointment he questioned why I would be experiencing withdrawl symptoms when I'm ONLY cutting by 0.125mg every 2 weeks?? I now leave his office and hit the "delete from memory" button. The guy got me into this mess and I'm going to get myself out.

 

And my withdrawl symptoms started fairly quickly with Clonazepam so what's up with that??? To everyone that reads this thread, don't get wrapped up in the; this benzo is harder or easier to withdrawl from. This site is BenzoBuddies, not Valium and Clonazepam Buddies. Most here are struggling, some more than others and I have seen members on ALL benzo's battle the withdrawl to various degrees.

 

Sorry Jethaze for going off topic and please keep well.

[[be...]]

Could you say more about low half life benzos? Is it easier to get off them when when you are going c/t or also when you are tapering slowly.

 

If you CT. Its going to be a nightmare and may last longer. If you taper without having felt cold turkey, its gonna be a nightmare on a short half-life benzo. I pretty much ct:d and nothing could be as bad as this. Lol. In general though, it takes a shorter amount of time for the body to get rid of short half-life benzos, therefore you are in acute faster, but have the potential to heal fast too.

 

Keyword: Potential. This is not a guarantee. There are people that CT Ativan after a few weeks and still healing months out.

 

I have three friends who took between .25 mg and .5 mg of Ativan for four weeks and are still suffering after 12 months...

[Guest [Or...]]

Could you say more about low half life benzos? Is it easier to get off them when when you are going c/t or also when you are tapering slowly.

 

If you CT. Its going to be a nightmare and may last longer. If you taper without having felt cold turkey, its gonna be a nightmare on a short half-life benzo. I pretty much ct:d and nothing could be as bad as this. Lol. In general though, it takes a shorter amount of time for the body to get rid of short half-life benzos, therefore you are in acute faster, but have the potential to heal fast too.

 

Keyword: Potential. This is not a guarantee. There are people that CT Ativan after a few weeks and still healing months out.

 

I have three friends who took between .25 mg and .5 mg of Ativan for four weeks and are still suffering after 12 months...

 

Like I said...its not a guarantee.

[[Be...]]

The drug being out of your system doesn't stop the effects that we are all here to deal with, does it? We are all here because our nervous systems need to reregulate and has not to do with life of the drug in the body.

Comments?

DD

 

It doesn't stop the effects, no. But someone that has it out o their system faster can begin to healing phase faster. That's what I'm trying to get at. Thus giving you a faster chance to heal. Is that a definite? No. But it helps I'm sure.

There is zero truth to that whatsoever. If that was true then hell lets just all C/T today so we can begin healing faster. If you are tapering slow enough the healing process has already begun. Just because the drug is "out of your system" does not mean you begin to heal sooner.

Regardless, shouldn't we be focused on what this post is about? The guy breaks his ankle and we're discussing this on his post. Perhaps we should turn our focus towards him and his situation.

[[ma...]]

Hi Jethaze,

 

This is my second sick leave I ask at job because the withdrawal process... At the beginning I said "stomach problems" but then, as in this second one they will see in the document the kind of doctor who is (psychiatrist) I chose to say the truth, even if I could lose the job because of this. Hopefully not, but I'm trying to convince myself that I shouldn't care now, the important thing is to rest and recover my health and brain of this awful decision I made 6 years ago having alprazolam regularly (thanks doctor). So, I send to HR the document and an email to my boss with the truth: that I was with an anxiety problem for a lot of years and I can deal with it, that I can work normally and have a 'normal life' (not true, but I do a lot of efforts for that), and that I was having a hard medication that was actually worse for my problem than te problem itself, so I'm now in the process of eliminating this medication with doctor prescription. I will need some days and I'm looking forward to come back to work. Send. Surprisingly they understood pretty well. Maybe they still firing me when I come back but really, I don't care now... My health is the first.

 

Anyway this thing about say it or not at the job is very personal, it depends on a lot of things... I just made it cause they will see the kind of doctor it is, and I prefer they know it will be something temporary, that I won't be asking for sick leaves cause of anxiety of depression... That is just because something specific that will finish and I will be better than ever soon

 

I will come back to work in one week, it will be the week I eliminate the last pill, the one of the nights so I'm very scared! Hope to be able to deal with it, cause I don't want to ask for more sick leaves

 

Lot of energies and rest!