Canadian Eh? Pre and post withdrawal support

[[Se...]]

Hey guys.  Eastcoaster here.  Maritimes.  Fun times in the Maritimes with benzodiazepine withdrawal.  Have yet to meet face-to-face anyone else who is suffering with/has suffered from this shitshow.  Just thought I'd put that out there.  Are benzo w/d sufferers IRL as elusive as coyotes?  Seemingly so.

 

I am certainly grateful for BB.

 

Wishing lots of good healing to all.

 

Serenity 

[[No...]]

SerenityNow  ... I am in Halifax ... many moons ago I met another BB here who was down the Valley ... haven't seen them online for a while ...

[[Na...]]

NS,

Thanks for the V info

[[od...]]

Hey, cool to see all the V dose advise & car talk & diet advice here in the last few days. Sorry I forgot what maritimer said this but I liked that comment about face to face BBcontact being like seeing a coyote IRL. Good funny way of putting that frustration, dude. (The only person I know is the guy I'd played hockey with wising me up to this site, and hooking me up with his doc.) Who knows, maybe we can have a canuck convention some day since there's been people checking in from across the country. Maybe not every province, but still pretty good on us, I'd say. Keep on rockin' those c/o's and tapers and take it as it comes when the crap stuff hits.

[[ba...]]

Sigh, I guess it's that time again-our Canuckian thread is nearing the bottom of the page, so time for a nudge from wee Bab  . I really don't take any megalomaniacal pleasure from being the 'self appointed nudger,' but hey, someone's gotta do it (if ANYone would like to depose me, feel free  !!).

 

It was great to see all the action here-somewhat surprisingly, I found-on Easter weekend, but it looks like we've generally reverted back to our 'reclusive coyote' mode, as discussed above (thanks SerenityNow). Or perhaps it's the ol' Spring is in the Air phenom, whereupon we all ditch our toques and rush outside to catch up on vitamin D.

 

I hope everyone is in that category, as opposed to feeling out of step with all the greening of the north; if you're having a benzo challenge on a more challenging level, we can all empathize with not being up to frolicking around the May Pole. Whatever the case, please check in if you're so inclined, and maybe share YOUR fave sign of spring?!

 

One of mine is seeing kids outside on their skateboards and razor scooters-in summer clothes when it's 9 [that's celcius, if any Americans etc. drop by] degrees out  !

[[Na...]]

Spring is my favorite time of year. The one bird I've grown to love is the RedWinged Blackbird. This time of the year is when you here them most. Love the sound they make.

[[Ki...]]

Thanks for the nudge Babs 

 

My favourite sign of spring is hearing the birds sing after the silence of winter.

[[ba...]]

Hey Navita and Kiddo-inspiring birdsongs of spring, absolutely  . Funnily enough, I took a walk on a nature trail Tues. late aft., and I heard a particularly melodious  bird; I'm pretty sure it was a male cardinal (had a crest, and was the right size, just couldn't see much colour due to dense branches).

 

My grandfather was sort of a 'bird whisperer,' and could imitate quite a few birds. He'd also have chickadees feed from his hand and that sort of thing, obviously a talent I didn't inherit, alas. When I lived in the country, the frogs were deafening(!!) in the spring. Any more heartening signs of spring? Bring 'em on  !!

 

p.s. I read some years ago that red-winged blackbirds were on the wane due to loss of habitat etc.  , but

      to my relief have actually seen lots of them over the past while-phew.

[[al...]]

Well, my 'spring bird'  coincidence involves watching a pretty silly and 10ish? year old romantic comedy last night, where a young woman is being driven crazy-ish by the constant singing of a mockingbird...to the point that she tries to um, eliminate it (THEN performs CPR to rescue it, yeah, silly movie all right ).

 

Of course, the movie was set in California where there's no winter season with few songbirds...clearly a lifestyle entirely at odds with Canuckland, where we all leap around giddily at the return of the robin et al., frogs, lack of muffling snow ETC. Oh, and clearly the writers of said movie wanted to work in the whole "To Kill a Mockingbird" reference . To-whit, to-woo??!!

 

I have a specific spring sign I greet with ambivalence each year...horse hair shedding!! Unless you have a show horse you clipped in the fall and blanketed well, horses/ponies SHED like :crazy even if you do keep them blanketed, in which case there's maybe a bit less to shed).

 

Equines shed not according to temperature so much as the amount of light there is each day; sometimes you notice a bit of hair coming loose even in Feb. (and they start growing their winter coats around August). If you have a bit of a hairy beast, it seems as if one day that longer hair is staying put...then a millisecond later all of a sudden you start brushing, and brushing...

 

It doesn't take long to almost have a pile of hair that rivals the size of a small/medium dog , and this process of brush/shed/pile o' hair can last for days, depending on the length of time you wish to inhale hair. NOTE: one is highly advised to wear a nylon jacket and pants during the brushing process, unless you want to end up resembling your horse -before you started!

 

p.s. they even have 'Furminators' for horses...everyone seems to have their fave shedding tools/brushes...

[[od...]]

Fall & winter my favourite time due to hockey and snowboarding, but spring & summer good too. Fastball practice just started up, and I like the smell of the first time they mow the diamond. Even tapering off my small dose of Ativan has got me a bit off physically, but I just try to hammer through it, cuz sports are my thing. Growing up on a prairie farm, my mom would get all excited when the first meadowlark birds came back. They have a cool yellow & black color combo, and their song rocks.

[[ba...]]

Ookay, looks like the ol' Canucky thread has been stagnant for a few days, so maybe time to move things along (can you tell I used to work in Parks & Recreation  -but was NOT one of those rah rah types i.e. "How's everybody?! I can't HEAR you!" UGH). P & R at any level of enthusiasm isn't something I really feel up to these days; I don't feel so 'cog fogish,' as weighed down by excess gravity.

 

Kind of the opposite of being an astronaut, this, when every movement-or even the contemplation of same-just seems awfully exhausting. After being kinda hyper and creative for a lot of the time (PRE benzos, and while on icky Ativan), this inertia slash lassitude state is frustrating, BUT then again I'm almost totally off Ativan and on Valium re: c/o, so at least I hope to s-lo-w-l-y taper the V and regain some zip.

 

Anyhow, before I get really nuts about thread input, and invent some kind of irresistible $$$ lottery or something, I was thinking some folks might consider contributing to a 'stereotype theme' i.e. national, provincial, municipal or ? Whaddaya say, fellow toque-sters? It doesn't have to be too personal, or relate to your present location, for those on the reticent side.

 

And needless to say, gotta avoid any negative or nasty stereotypes; it's easy to be mean, but much more challenging and noble  to be creative and/or humorous!! (We'll all here to try to be positive, so that should be a given, eh?) I'll get the puck sliding with some pro and con stuff on Winnipeg, since I lived and worked there for quite a while.

 

Ah, Winterpeg, land of mosquitos the size of Wpg Jets  . Also home of: the Forks (skating, 'events'), Manitoba 'gumbo clay,' the Guess Who, Confusion Corner, Salisbury's restaurants, the Perimeter Highway, Portage and Main (even since the tunnels went in), the Floodway and Floodgate Dam (used to live right near there), Assiniboia Downs, Polo Park, U of W and M, community club system, the Blue Bombers (have a relative with 2 Grey Cup rings, so ya know he ain't no spring chicken!), Disraeli Freeway (world's shortest?), Pembina Highway, Osborne Village (from hippy funk to chic?), Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg Strike ETC.

 

Since I moved away a few years ago, some of these references may be out of date-let me know! Please chip in with your own 'impresssions'; I've lived in a few provinces/cities/towns so I've got lots of material, but I'm sure we've all heard enough from me for a while  !! I'd love to learn more personal takes on places I'm not familiar with .

 

p.s. went to school with Colin James, if that means anything!

[[od...]]

Just some stuff on Saskatchewan and the prairies I guess? So-Sask. is NOT JUST FLAT (parts for sure, esp. in south, but even there, is Qu'Apelle? Valley), Duck Mountain Prov. Park & Madge Lake, Prince Albert Nat'l Park, grain elevator (not so many any more), gravel grid road system, Diefenbaker Dam, xc ski trails, lots to do in Saskatoon and Regina plus many great small towns, Roughriders CFL football, good fastball/baseball teams, S'toon blades jr. A hockey, Wascana Park in Regina, North Battleford, even some sailing regattas some places & rowing clubs, ETC. ETC.

 

Nowhere else in all of Canada except Sask. and Wpg?? 

[[al...]]

hey guys i'm in canada also... halifax nova scotia.. the weather here today is snow flurries ugh! we've had eough already..

[[ba...]]

Hey allbymyself in Halifax, thanks for stopping by  ! Aside from the far north, I'm least familiar with the Maritimes-although I did do 'de tore o' de fish plants' etc. (sorry if that's a bad non-Maritimer line, truly ) on a family trip in my teens. Jigged for cod, toured the Bluenose II, swam briefly in the ocean, saw some historic sites in Halifax, and so forth. I'd love to go back!

 

My dad was in the military, and went to the base at Gander, NL a lot, as well as trips to Greenwood; he learned a TON of fishing songs (i.e. "The Squid Jigging Grounds"), and always said his guys from the Maritimes were the salt of the earth. There was a Newfie store right by the [former] base in Toronto, and we had many meals of cod's tongues and fish 'n brewis  .

 

Hope you drop in again with some more accurate (from the horse's/cod's?? mouth!) info about the East Coast. And sorry to hear about the recent snow-ugh!! I'm used to prairie/N. Ont. blizzards and cold, but when I hear about the crazy storms you get off the N. Atlantic et al., that sounds really brutal. Hang on, spring is definitely just around the corner !!

[[al...]]

So benzo affected Canucks, no reminiscences/stereotypes/comments for a while...I'll take a leap with a place I spent a few [non-consecutive-ish?] years growing up in a while back-our nation's capital; yay/boo  , depending on how you feel?!

 

I spent one period of time in the Ramsayville semi-rural area, and the other south of Bell's Corners, and east of Kanata...on what was then still a fairly quiet country road, but with big Nortel plants both north and south of our house. We used to bike to Kanata on back roads, and fish for goldfish at one Nortel plant's beautiful grounds...no, goldfish do NOT thrive in bathtub water, oops  ).

 

Things I loved in Ottawa were: skating on the Rideau Canal (along with briefcase wielding civil servants  ), tobogganing on Hog's Back  Hill, the great bike trails, hiking in the Gatineau Hills, going to the National Arts Centre (parental's had a friend who was a Cdn international opera star, so saw "Der Fleidermaus" when I was 8...dunno much about the opera, but he was cool to watch, and he practised his scales while he stayed with us, AND we threw a wild cast partay at our house).

 

Also, LOVED birch bark maple sugar cones at the Bytown Market in the spring (OMG, sugar overload  ), National Art Gallery/museumS and mint tours, Science Center...and Ottawa is where I got to start riding horses i.e. working for lessons when I was shorter than a pitchfork! We also canoed on the Ottawa river, from a friend's back yard...not the rapids part  !!

 

I liked French lessons, and actually getting to practise it, although maintenant, je le parle un peu, seulement?! (My sister became fluent, but that requires real effort  !) Ooo, fireworks on Canada Day on Parliament Hill, that was good. Visiting Meech Lake-I think!-and the Governor General's residence...well, the public part, anyway.

 

So much patriotic stuff to do, eh?! ...That's my kid's eye view, FWIW.

 

 

[[od...]]

Navita65, I like your boss new vintage muscle car avatar. Guess this is finally a good times to go cruising. I'm just a 'pick-me-up' guy, so nothing to rumble around in style. Enjoy the open road. What all are canucks doing now the snow shovels are history? I'm on the ball diamond, doing the fastball thing, mostly. Not as sharp as usual with the benzo taper, but determined to keep out there anyway. Enjoy the sun, peeps!

[[ba...]]

Quick quiz: 'What is more rare than finding a 4 leaf clover in the Gobi Desert?' Answer: 'Apparently, participation in this BB Canuckian thread!'  Seriously, folks, pleasepleaseplease consider stopping in, if only to say "Hey, eh!" and to keep us from slipping away into nothingness.

 

I understand we all have benzo challenges et al., and for many it's a grind just to get through the day without any interaction or demands on our fragile psyches/bodies, but doesn't anyone else think it's kinda nice to have a specific Canajun presence on BB?

 

Whether or not we share some salient benzo info pertaining to our country, or simply relate ANY info or anecdotes others may find helpful and/or amusing, why not donate a few words to the Canadian Eh? thread? It won't cost you a thing  !!

 

On the other hand, if we fade to black and that's that, perhaps it'll be the Darwinian path to take-survival of the fittest vs. demise of the indifferent  ??  So, uh, yoo hoo, anyone  out there, from Iqualuit to Pelee Island and Vancouver Island to Newfoundland?

[[Ch...]]

Spring is my favorite time of year. The one bird I've grown to love is the RedWinged Blackbird. This time of the year is when you here them most. Love the sound they make.

 

Hey Navita,

 

I like your new avatar. I wish I could make it bigger though as it's hard to see. Is that a 70 or 71 Challenger? Is it an RT? Nice!

 

Hope you're enjoying Spring. It's my favourite time of year too.

 

Take care.

 

Chinook

[[Na...]]

Yes thanks.

That shot is taken from the movie Vanishing point. It's a '70 Dodge Challenger R/T and Kowalski (Barry Newman) is turning the wick up at that point. 

 

If you google Vanishing Point images it'll come up for a better/larger pic

[[ba...]]

Well, much as I hate to butt in-per usual  -I see OUR!! Canajun support thread sinking to the bottom of the page, and we're not going down without a fight-right?!  It's good to see some regulars dropped in a week or so ago, but where are all the rest of us? Lessee, if our nation's population is somewhere well over 20 (?? sooo not good with numbers) million by now, there must be more than just um, the 20ish? folks who've posted thus far out there in Benzoland.

 

Of course, not all those will have been fortunate enough to find BB, or perhaps even to know they're in for a rough ride when/if they decide to try to discontinue those 'harmless lil' pills'-HA!-that most medical staff seem to think are no problem to ditch. After all, most of us ended up here after the rude shock of tolerance/wd sxs etc., after searching high and low for answers, so who knows what the 'numbers' are.

 

However, I do wish more of us above the ol' 49th parallel would stop in-at the risk of sounding like a CD stuck on 'repeat.' I don't have plans to stop my regular entreaties to others (from any nation!) to leave a post here, but as I've said before, nor do I want to make this the "Bab Diaries," ugh !! Like some kind of  Canadian trapper-live traps only!-I've trailed my cyber bread crumbs a number of times; perhaps I'm using the wrong bait??

 

Since I don't have a benzo miracle cure, sigh, or a lottery prize to dangle in front of prospective posters, I'll just leave y'all with my thought for the day. Nothing too inspiring or 'Pollyana-ish,' just a benzo related thing to ponder i.e. what do/have benzo's made difficult for you in particular? Maybe it would be easier to enumerate what all these narsty little pills HAVEN'T made challenging??

 

This IS supposed to be a positive kind of thread, after all! I guess I'm just musing on the subject of tough stuff 'cuz I've been called for jury selection. Seriously!!?? When I'm wandering around in a bit of ye olde cog fog, I may-if selected-have to try to fake being totally rational? I should have tried for the 'hardship/excusal' clause when I mailed back my response to my call to duty, but just didn't forsee being called for the ol' voire dire thingy.

 

And because I've chosen to try to stay at arms length of sorts from the more intense health care system i.e. just being supervised by the GP I've 'trained' re: Ashton, there's no paper trail or solid proof of my lack of general competence, at least at this stage. I am also just poised to start my taper after a rather harrowing-at times-c/o, so thank you justice system, for your amazing timing, arghh!!

 

I did write a heartfelt letter to the sheriff's office outlining my situation, and begging to be excused, but that was a few weeks ago; they haven't gotten back to me, and my 'call' is in just over a week. Guess I'll have to get on the phone, and repeat my pathetic plea, something I'm really not looking forward to. Ordinarily (as in pre-benzo times) I'd welcome the chance to experience sitting on a jury, but now is NOT the time to bust out of my comfort zone-which is not that comfy in the first place!!

 

Anyone have a similar challenge, or even one that makes my jury panic sound like a cakewalk?? C'mon, I dare ya to outdo me  !

[[Na...]]

Hi Bab's...........sorry to hear this about the Jury duty. That's just crappy luck big time.

I recall a number of years ago, I got hauled in and it got right to the point of watching all the pre-hearing videos. I even submitted a long letter trying to get relieved of the duty as I run a business and I am the only employee. My beef was, I needed to work to sustain my family and this could create a large debt and hardship for us.

 

Anyhow, what happened is at the last minute, I guess the defense and prosecution came to an agreement. So the case was dismissed. I don't think my letter was even read. Hopefully you will luck out the same. Maybe you will get relieved when you go to the courthouse as I recall others had submitted letters as well. Not sure how it all works.

 

How is your taper going, or have you started yet? I read in your post the C/O was dicey, it can really test a person for sure . Wife was swapped directly with V from Ativan, no C/O and it was nasty......to say the least. She describes Valium to Ativan like drinking straight Rye to drinking Bud light. To sprinkle a little humor in there.

 

 

[[ba...]]

Hey all (and Navita65 in particular for your kind encouragement  ), I'm just checking in quickly, 'cuz I was out celebrating my release!! from jury pre-selection; needless to say NOT with "Alcohol & Pills", which is the title of a song by Brantford-ish born 'Fred Eaglesmith', one of my fave salt of the earth Canadian musician dudes.

 

Yup, the fickle finger of fate saw fit to smile on me today  , as I received a morning call from the sheriff's office relieving me of my imminent duty. PHEW. Sometimes it does pay to write a two page letter spilling out your guts to bureaucracy-much to my shock. To celebrate, I went out to a friend's farm to help her set up a predator [we hope] proof area for her new ducklings.

 

I'm not really a 'fowl' person; I like birds in general, but just don't know much about them, especially domestic stock (gimme a 1200 lb. horse to wrassle with any day!), but these lil' fowl are awfully cute. However, I have approximately doubled my body weight in dirt/mud, so must take immediate steps not to transfer said muck to entire house; must think of it as cheap spa mud wrap?!

 

Thanks again for the advice etc., Navita, and will post soon to respond to some of your other topics i.e. your wife's description of her abrupt benzo 'type' switch sounded like an excellent way to describe that transition (so sorry she had to switch over like that, drat those dummy docs!!). Here's hoping we can all avoid untimely stresses like jury duty  !

 

p.s. you would sooo not want to let me near your hot vintage muscle car(s?), Navita, in my "Peanuts" Pigpen mode , yoiks!! Also glad to hear YOUR jury duty case was 'stayed' and you didn't have to put your biz on hold.

[[Na...]]

Hey great news on the JD! The less anxiety the better at this stage eh Babs.

 

Sounds like ya needed a power wash after the ducklings  It's mandatory shower to ride in the muscle car  .........just kidd'n. I'm not too anal......well no mud flinging anyway 

My cars are drivers, not so called "trailer queens". They're meant to be driven and thats what I do especially the '87. I've loosened up alot over the years

[[ba...]]

Well, still feeling a bit guilty for evading my civic duty, but more relieved than anything. Wanted to go kiss/hug  judge who let me off the hook, but hubby convinced me that might be overdoing it a tad! If and when I'm ever called in again-when I'm more coherent and articulate, especially before noon, eek-I would hope to fulfill that obligation.

 

However, I can see why Navita (and many others, no doubt) aren't keen on the experience; for anything but loooong trials, you don't get paid at all. In fact, you even have to pay for parking, cripes! Talk about no incentive at ALL  ! Anyhow, that should be it for the jury selection saga-a bit of a panic, followed by compassionate excusal, tank goodness.

 

I don't want to turn this GROUP ahem support thread into a dialogue, but I do want to thank Navita for his empathy. And maybe a vintage car ride after I've soaked in a tub for a day or two (just kidding!)? But Navita, your mention or mud and cars triggered a long supressed memory involving those two ingredients.

 

A few years ago, I was riding my horse with the friend of a friend, and my close friend had neglected to tell me her friend had a bit of an alcohol issue. We were about 10 k from the stable, when [not noticeably tipsy] friend of friend just sort of dropped off her horse, into a mud puddle, ick! After ascertaining that she was unhurt, I dashed off in pursuit of her horse.

 

He was headed for home, and alas, a major highway stood between him and the farm; I pursued him from the other side of a sort of long berm/dyke so as not to spook him into greater speed, and as my horse and I reached the highway I was very relieved to find we'd beaten him by enough space to come to a halt, and stop traffic-with the assistance of some kind and alert drivers-as he galloped across.

 

When my horse and I reached the farm, I cooled out both horses with the daughter of tipsy rider. At the time, I had no vehicle handy (hubby was at work); the young teen daughter asked me if I would drive her mom's car back to the inadvertent dismount spot to pick mumsey up. I really didn't want to drive friend's friend's (??) car, but the kid had the keys and I couldn't see mom walking all the way back.

 

Sooo, I gingerly drove the car along an extremely muddy road, only to find no sign of tipsy mom. We also checked in at a couple of nearby farms, with no luck. Returning to the barn after our search, we were relieved to find that mom had been picked up be a passing farmer and dropped off at the stable. I supplied her with a towel so she wouldn't dirty her car seat-and that was the last I saw of her.

 

I didn't even get my towel back, let alone a thank you! And now comes the really!! stressful part of this little anecdote: Mrs. Tipsy's car was a vintage WHITE CORVETTE, arghhhh!!! That's why I was so reluctant to drive the lovely low slung vehicle down a muddy dirt road with deep ruts; I think I cringed the whole 20 minutes or so I drove the beast!

 

Sorry for the novella, but just had to convey that recently recalled tale to Navita, in light of your gorgeous cars; you pointed out they're not just 'garage divamobiles,' but I kinda doubt you would want to take them on the crazy little trip I subjected that fabulous Corvette to!! Anyhow, that's it for jury stuff, and my traumatic vintage car experience  !!!!

[[Na...]]

Well that's quite a story. And no I wouldn't be venturing down a muddy road in either "summer" car. Sounds like she was a real appreciative "piece of work".........tongue firmly planted in cheek.