Support for Teen Taper

[[me...]]

I'm new here and wanted to share... what a great group.  I had just finished reading every word on Prof. Ashton's website  yesterday and then came here to this site. I'm having very mixed emotions. There is so much I didn't know and I thought I was helping. 

 

Here is his my son's story... feel free to direct me to different forum for this post. I just wanted folks here to know me and him.

 

Started on Lorazapam at age 15, small dosage for anxiety that came out of nowhere... Then the real problems started.. He was a gifted student and athlete who completely removed himself from social situations and began having much more anxiety and just acted out of his head...Within 6 months was on clonazapam 8 mg/day, vyvanse 70 mg, stratera, wellbutrin 450 mg, seroquel to sleep 150 mg. No going out with friends, no prom, no graduation, no interest in learning to drive etc.

 

Still managed to get through and graduate HS (with help of IEP his senior year for medical impairment) and received a small baseball scholarship to college, but he never went anywhere or did anything other than baseball. Became a complete recluse and I was too close to see that the real problem was the meds. One after the other. He wanted to give college a try, but completely busted. Meds went up and we moved 3 hours away to support him and ended up saving his life. Now we are in new town and he is out of college, but maybe its for the best - new place, new start?

 

Last Jan-April, he ended up on having to cycle through benzos every 4 weeks on really high doses. He seemed immune. Now I know that's not the case, but when in it, hard to see. All of this through PHONE APPOINTMENTS with a doctor a state away. Amazing. When he finally stopped sleeping, lost his head and just busted, he was on a boatload of valium and alternating between alprazolem and clonazapem every few weeks - by doctors orders. The pharmacies stopped filling them b/c they knew it was wrong. He stopped sleeping when he couldn't get high doses anymore. By late April, no more going to class. By mid-June, took about 10 seroquel just to get some sleep. Ended up taking him to hospital and they admitted to try to detox him off all meds. What a mistake, but at least it woke all of us up.

 

Spent last 6 months tapering and is currently on 1 mg clonazapam, 75 mg doxepine at night, 40 mg Fetzima, 10 mg melatonin and 38 mg sleep aid found in tyl pm... forget name.

 

He is just starting to feel human again. Lost scholarship, lost baseball, no friends and gained 70 pounds. Tough go for a 19 year old athlete. He describes it as being "broken" and not knowing how to fix it, but he's tough and pushing on.

 

A positive step though... wants to take a class at a community college to get out of house.

 

I should add he was taking amino acid supplements and was very careful with them, but now I look back and wonder how this affected everything too.

 

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for reading!

 

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[[me...]]

I've learned so much here in two days... Thank you everyone!

 

My son hasn't been taking the 1mg of clonazapam every day. He will go 3,4, 5 or over a week and take none. Then, if he intends to leave the house with one of us for an extended period of time like going out to eat, he will ask for a few pills to carry. We keep them for him. See earlier post.

 

Is this wrong? Until I started reading about taper off of clonazapem, I saw it as a good thing. He will need up to 5mg of clonazapam over a 4-8 hour period if out of house or in social situations.

 

Rx is written for 1mg per day.

[Guest [Ma...]]

Welcome!

 

Your situation is heart breaking.

Wonderful your son has your love, knowledge and support.

Have you found a "good" dr to help taper him off the meds?

 

Take good care,

Marija

 

 

[Guest [Mi...]]

I've learned so much here in two days... Thank you everyone!

 

My son hasn't been taking the 1mg of clonazapam every day. He will go 3,4, 5 or over a week and take none. Then, if he intends to leave the house with one of us for an extended period of time like going out to eat, he will ask for a few pills to carry. We keep them for him. See earlier post.

 

Is this wrong? Until I started reading about taper off of clonazapem, I saw it as a good thing. He will need up to 5mg of clonazapam over a 4-8 hour period if out of house or in social situations.

 

Rx is written for 1mg per day.

 

5 mg of Clonazapam in a 4 - 8 hour period is a LOT of medication.

 

I would sit down with your son and get a very clear and stable game plan worked out. Taking this "as needed" during a taper is not the way to go, in my opinion.

 

For one thing, benzo withdrawal works in a non-linear way meaning withdrawal symptoms will happen very erratically and your son won't know the difference between his own anxiety and the chemically induced anxiety from withdrawal. I'm afraid he'll end up medicating the withdrawal symptoms and increase his use as opposed to decreasing it.

 

One of our members, Parker, wrote a very good explanation of how benzo withdrawal works: What is happening in your brain - Parker

 

You may wish to have your son read this as well.

 

Also, can your son join this site? He may find it helpful. I believe you said he's 19 and we allow anyone over 18.

[[me...]]

Marija, we have a PA at a neurpsychiatry practice. She seems very helpful, but son doesn't care for her... thinks she judges him. However, she has titrated him down to 1 mg and off other drugs and has refused to put him back on vyvanse which he really wanted. No therapy... he doesn't like it and has tried 3 different docs for this.

 

Mindseeker - i'm going to introduce him to it in a few days. He has resisted talking to others, but I thought if I tried it and could speak to the support here, then he might give it a try. He's/we've been thinking that he had heavy anxiety and depression, but the more I read, the more I think this is all from the meds.

 

Thanks for replies.

 

 

[Guest [Mi...]]

Marija, we have a PA at a neurpsychiatry practice. She seems very helpful, but son doesn't care for her... thinks she judges him. However, she has titrated him down to 1 mg and off other drugs and has refused to put him back on vyvanse which he really wanted. No therapy... he doesn't like it and has tried 3 different docs for this.

 

Mindseeker - i'm going to introduce him to it in a few days. He has resisted talking to others, but I thought if I tried it and could speak to the support here, then he might give it a try. He's/we've been thinking that he had heavy anxiety and depression, but the more I read, the more I think this is all from the meds.

 

Thanks for replies.

 

I also started these meds as a teenager at 17 and that was almost 30 years ago.

 

The more my mind clears from the meds, the more I realize how much damage they have done.

 

I've never had any luck with CBT over the years, but I'm getting some relief from guided mindfulness meditations and doing yoga. I completely understand your son's reluctance to do therapy that involves "talking."  I'm handling my anxiety and depression by learning to relax the mind and body. No need for words in this practice.

 

We do have members that started the polymedication journey as teenagers. I have yet to meet anyone who regretted coming off these meds.

 

 

[[be...]]

This is probably the saddest story I ever read here. The great thing about it is that you care about him very much, to the point of actually moving. Some day I hope he will be grateful for what you are doing for him. I agree with Mindseeker. In fact, I never even knew she was given benzos at such an early stage in her life. But you see,  she has healed to the point of being a moderator. You have to be quick and determined and thoughtful to be one of them. So there is a lot of hope for your son. He just must learned to cooperate and tough it out. Four things really bother me here:

 

1. 5 mg of kpin in a 4-5 hour period? If you cut those hours to reach the middle, that means he was taking 5 mg every 5 hours. That means he was taking 25 1 mg pills a day. I've never heard of someone taking that amount, even me, when I was on a high dose of Kpin myself when I first joined BB. That's a lethal dose and you should be grateful he is still alive.

 

2. Not meeting with his doc but just talking over the phone? That is more than ridiculous to me. The whole point of seeing a doctor in person is that he can watch his patient, and see what kind of shape his is in.

 

3. 8 mg of kpin at the age of 15? That is also a very high dose and his body/brain is still growing. If it were me, I would sue him for malpractice. I can't say what I think of him on the open forum because I will get kicked out.

 

4. Polydrugging at such a young stage in his life? That is inhumane and bad medicine. It's not wonder he is acting this way. He is not the person you know now. He is the drug/benzo person. But once he gets rid of these drugs, he will return to himself, and perhaps go to college after all.

 

Luckily, you have gotten him down to a much more reasonable amount so you have a plan. Taking extra pills when he goes out is bad news. He has to have a consistent amount of drugs in his blood stream. Doing this will always make his already compromised CNS even worse. It won't know if it is coming or going. I really feel sad for you, and especially your son. He was a young victim of an already dreadful medical system. Wishing you only the best. We are happy you are here and are always welcome. I think trying to get him here, like another poster said, is a great idea! Hugs, Bets

[[Ca...]]

Dear Mentormom,

I came across your post this morning. I am writing to commend you on your dedication to your son and his healing. I have seen the pained look on my husbands face as he witnesses my experience with benzodiazepine withdrawal. It is hard to imagine watching my child go through such difficulty. Be sure to take good care of yourself through this. Mothers often forget to practice self compassion.

 

  There is a very helpful website called a Mad In America...you may find some supportive articles there. Many people have been drugged and are having difficulty tapering these prescriptions....your son is not alone. I have learned more here and at Mad In America than from any physician I have seen during my benzo journey. It was a tremendous relief to know I was not alone or facing insanity...I was an accidental addict.

  I send you friendship....take good care.

Warmly,

Carita

[[Cl...]]

Hi Mentermom, I agree with others that you are a GREAT mother of a wonderful son!!!, it is such a sad story, but I am sure you are going to get the best help from the experts in this forum.

I just want to add that you may want to research in here what doctor is prescribing to your son before he takes the meds.

I send to you and your son a long and big hugs.

 

[[me...]]

I agree. We just had the talk a few hours ago about taking the 1mg per day and not going days with none. We were thinking this was progress and he seemed to be better. Because of all of you here on this site and your compassion and encouragement, I now know that this was just prolonging lifelong progress. He is going to try to take the 1mg at night. I'm looking for doc/mentor/group/holistic approach for him to taper.