Third Time is Not a Charm

[[br...]]

I am a supporter of a family member who is in her THIRD cold turkey withdrawal -- each time has been protracted and the two previous times I was unsure what was going on, esp because the first time was a once or twice overdose of Halcion by a dentist.

 

The second time was after the family member (FM) was forced to take antipsychotics after the overdose that caused symptoms I'd never seen in anyone before.  Then she was put on benzos to calm down the antispychotics.

 

kept on them again and then the prescriber left town and the FM learned she was pregnant so she didn't renew her prescriptions.

 

My frustration over the lack of understanding and proper treatment of TBI alone in this are is enough without having the local health care agencies drug her to the point of addiction and then remove her cold turkey -- on top of TBI they never addressed.

 

Now she is in the third withdrawal and has left the area so she will not be further mistreated by the agencies who continue to force her into addiction and then create a circumstance where she is force off of benzos cold turkey - then labeled mentally ill.

 

This is a cycle of ignorance - and the worst part is that it is almost impossible to find a doc who will document the withdrawal and help with it--- they wait until she's so out of her mind and then say she's mentally ill, never acknowledging that she's been in benzo withdrawal three times on top of a head injury -

 

Found someone to help taper  --- but only after she was in cold turkey withdrawal for 2 months and now I'm wondering if it was a mistake to go back on them.  only did because we feel so much pressure to get well fast for the idiots here try to take over and drug her again ----"for her own good."

 

does this happen in other places of the country -- or am I in the most ignorant of them all?

 

too sleepy and frustrated to make sense right now.

 

It seems not taking a least a little is too drastic and taking too much is worse -- tapering after cold turkey is a challenge and she never should have been put in this position in the first place.

[[Er...]]

Hello Brainrobber,

 

    I am sorry that you have experienced such difficulty with benzo's.  I am quite confident that you will find comfort and answers to many of your questions from the great people in this forum.  I encourage you to start by visiting the message boards and read many of the posts and subsequent answers by members.  It is a great place to start.

 

I want to welcome you and offer my personal assistance to aid you in your journey to heal. 

 

Take care,

Eric B

[[be...]]

Hi Brainrobber  Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

I am so happy you found us. You are right! The third time is not the charm. I did three cold turkeys, and the 3rd was horrific. Typically reinstatement is only done when symptoms are debilitating or life threatening because reinstatement comes with risk. There is something called "kindling" where each subsequent withdrawal is worse the previous one, so reinstatement does not always help. The good thing is we all heal. I am one year out from my horrific 3rd cold turkey and healed!

 

You might like to check out The Ashton Manual it is an authoritative source on what to expect in withdrawal and recovery.  Dr. Ashton is an expert in the field.  She describes and explains withdrawal symptoms.

 

Please feel free to post to any of the dedicated boards, we have a wonderful community of people here, who will give sound advice. Members have been through all aspects of benzodiazepine use and withdrawal and are more than willing to share their experiences.

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

 

 

Please take the time to Create a Signature.  This will allow others to see where you are in the process so they can better support you.

 

Again Welcome! 

 

benzos-R-cruel