My bizarre, inconsistent and scary withdrawal symptoms

[[yo...]]

Hi all! Day two on the site and I'm already loving it. I've enjoyed reading posts from others in the same situation and I've posted some things that are helping me as well. I'very been dosing off Ativan for a mon the now and am on day one of the Valium taper. I wanted to share a list of my symptoms in hopes anyone who has had these can give advice on how to curb or at least make them livable. I have some tools I use for anxiety, and they work great. However these physical symptoms of benzo withdrawal are new to me. OK here goes...

1) random dizzy spells

2) random outbursts of crying

3) tingling pain or deep muscle pain in various places randomly

4) sensitive to heat, sound and sugar

5) tunnel vision or blurred vision

6) unable to catch my breath for hours at a time

7) strange and irrational thoughts or fears of stuff that usually doesn't bother me (i.e. I rock climb. I've been hundreds of feet up a cliff many times. Now I sometimes get nauseous and scared less that 50 feet up)

the strangest and most bothersome is my irregular heartbeat. Every 4th beat is a double beat. This will last for hours and then go away only to return. It sounds like boom....boom...boom...boomBOOM.repeat.it sometimes forces air out of my lungs on the off beat.

I would like to note that I don't have all of these all the time...they come in waves. The most consistent being the heartbeat ireegularity.

thoughts?

I hope everyone is coping well

Namaste,

T

 

[Guest [ba...]]

All of these are pretty standard benzo withdrawal symptoms.  The heart stuff is called palpitations, and there's an entire thread dedicated to those who suffer from palps.  I found that I could control them to some extent by being mindfully calm.  The strange, irrational thoughts that you mentioned would rev them up.  When your mind goes to that irrational place, try to come back to the here and now, find some calm, and the thoughts and palps should lessen.

 

All of these symptoms will resolve in time.  The less you think/worry about the breathing, the less it should affect you.  Your body hasn't forgotten how to breath - you're just more aware of breathing than you used to be.  I found that I tended to hold my breath for long periods of time, and learned to not do that.  Some of your muscle pains can be the result of you holding some of your muscles rigidly for extended periods of time.  Again, relax.

 

My older daughter is also a rock climber.  Doesn't scare her, but it definitely freaks me out.  I think she's up to doing 5.10b climbs now.  Your fear will resolve (again, in time).  You might want to avoid difficult, long climbs for a while.  You don't want a panic attack up there.

[[Ch...]]

You don't have a signature, so I'm not sure what the history is, but as badsocref said, those definitely sound like typical symptoms, and they will resolve with time, as he said.

 

I like this piece of writing about recovery:

 

Recovery Tips [nobbc]http://www.psychmedaware.org/recovery_tips.html[/nobbc]

 

1. Recovery from bei ng an accidental addict to benzodiazepines is serious business. It takes time for the central nervous system to heal and for neurotransmitters to stop being sensitive. None of us had the faintest idea that this kind of situation lay in front of us. So we are dealing with shock at what has happened as well as the real physical and mental/emotional symptoms of withdrawal.

 

2. Recovery is not linear, as it is with other illnesses or injuries. If we cut our hands, we can actually see the cut heal and the pain diminish over time. In benzo withdrawal we can be well one day and very sick the next. This is normal and we have to look at our healing differently.

 

3. Recovery is an individual thing, and it is difficult to predict how quickly symptoms will stop for good. People expect to be completely better after a certain period of time, and often get discouraged and depressed when they feel this time has passed and they are not completely better. Most patient support programs tell clients to anticipate 6 months to a year for recovery after a taper has ended. But some people feel better a few months after they stop taking benzos; for others it takes more than a year to feel completely better. Try not to be obsessed with how long it will take, because every day you stay off benzos, your body is healing at its own rate. If you do not follow this particular schedule, it does not mean there is something wrong or you are not healing. Even if you are feeling ill in some respects, other symptoms may disappear. Even people in difficult tapers see improvements in symptoms very early on. So don’t let these time-frames scare you. The way you feel at one month will not be how you will be feeling at three months or at six months.

 

4. It is very typical to have setbacks at different points of time (these times can vary). These setbacks can be so intense that people feel their healing hasn’t happened at all; they feel they have been taken right back to beginning. Setbacks, if they occur, are a normal part of recovery.

 

5. When people are in recovery, they have a lot of fears. One is that they will never get better. Another is that their symptoms are really what they are like — perhaps what they have always been like. Both of these fears are stimulated by benzo withdrawal. In other words they are the thought components of benzo withdrawal, just as insomnia is a physical component.

 

6. There is no way around benzo withdrawal and recovery—you have to go through it. People try all sorts of measures to try to make the pain stop, but nothing can shortcut the process. Our body and brain have their own agenda for healing, and it will take place if you simply accept it.

 

7. When you are having a bad spell, healing is still going on. People typically find that after a bad spell, symptoms improve and often go away forever. Try to remember this when times are hard.

 

8. There is no magic cure to recovery, but you can help yourself by comforting and reassuring yourself as much as possible. Read reassuring information, stay away from stress, ask your partner, family and others for reassurance, and go back to the things you did at the beginning if you are experiencing really tough symptoms.

 

9. When we start to feel better, it is very typical to try to do too much. We are grateful to be alive and we have energy for the first time in weeks or months. But this can be a dangerous time. When we do to much and take on too much too early, it re-sensitizes the nervous system. It doesn’t prevent healing in the long term, but it can make us feel discouraged. So try to pace yourself, even if you are feeling good.

 

10. You do need to respect your body during recovery, although you don’t need to make drastic changes to your lifestyle. Exercise, in any form is critical—even if you can only walk around the house or to the end of the block. Eating well and avoiding all stimulants is crucial. Regular high-protein snacks can help with the shakes and the feelings of weakness we have during withdrawal and recovery.

 

11. Recovery is all about acceptance, but this does not mean passive acceptance. Set small goals for yourself that are achievable. Try to keep exercise happening. Work at your recovery even if that means accepting you are sick—for now. You wouldn’t be hard on yourself if you were in a traffic accident and had injuries; you would work at rehab. Try to take the same attitude and approach to benzodiazepine withdrawal.

 

[[Je...]]

 

I had some of these just today!  I love it when I wake up at 4 am, with palpitations because

my Xanax wore off.

 

 

Hi all! Day two on the site and I'm already loving it. I've enjoyed reading posts from others in the same situation and I've posted some things that are helping me as well. I'very been dosing off Ativan for a mon the now and am on day one of the Valium taper. I wanted to share a list of my symptoms in hopes anyone who has had these can give advice on how to curb or at least make them livable. I have some tools I use for anxiety, and they work great. However these physical symptoms of benzo withdrawal are new to me. OK here goes...

1) random dizzy spells

2) random outbursts of crying

3) tingling pain or deep muscle pain in various places randomly

4) sensitive to heat, sound and sugar

5) tunnel vision or blurred vision

6) unable to catch my breath for hours at a time

7) strange and irrational thoughts or fears of stuff that usually doesn't bother me (i.e. I rock climb. I've been hundreds of feet up a cliff many times. Now I sometimes get nauseous and scared less that 50 feet up)

the strangest and most bothersome is my irregular heartbeat. Every 4th beat is a double beat. This will last for hours and then go away only to return. It sounds like boom....boom...boom...boomBOOM.repeat.it sometimes forces air out of my lungs on the off beat.

I would like to note that I don't have all of these all the time...they come in waves. The most consistent being the heartbeat ireegularity.

thoughts?

I hope everyone is coping well

Namaste,

T

[[...]]

Like Challis said, it would be helpful to see how ur tapering. I believe heart apps are caused by your glutamate running amock and causing cortisol and adrenalin surges.

[Guest [ba...]]

Challis - I'd not seen that text before.  I like it very much!

[[me...]]

Hi all! Day two on the site and I'm already loving it. I've enjoyed reading posts from others in the same situation and I've posted some things that are helping me as well. I'very been dosing off Ativan for a mon the now and am on day one of the Valium taper. I wanted to share a list of my symptoms in hopes anyone who has had these can give advice on how to curb or at least make them livable. I have some tools I use for anxiety, and they work great. However these physical symptoms of benzo withdrawal are new to me. OK here goes...

1) random dizzy spells

2) random outbursts of crying

3) tingling pain or deep muscle pain in various places randomly

4) sensitive to heat, sound and sugar

5) tunnel vision or blurred vision

6) unable to catch my breath for hours at a time

7) strange and irrational thoughts or fears of stuff that usually doesn't bother me (i.e. I rock climb. I've been hundreds of feet up a cliff many times. Now I sometimes get nauseous and scared less that 50 feet up)

the strangest and most bothersome is my irregular heartbeat. Every 4th beat is a double beat. This will last for hours and then go away only to return. It sounds like boom....boom...boom...boomBOOM.repeat.it sometimes forces air out of my lungs on the off beat.

I would like to note that I don't have all of these all the time...they come in waves. The most consistent being the heartbeat ireegularity.

thoughts?

I hope everyone is coping well

Namaste,

T

 

Hi,

 

All I can say is no matter how bizarre and scary they feel, and they certainly felt bizarre to me at first, these are all common withdrawal symptoms, and they WILL go away as you heal.  But healing takes time.  Meanwhile, learn to distract yourself from focusing on them so much - self-distraction is the most valuable skill you can learn while dealing with these things.

 

 

Megan