The Dizziness Group: For those who are floating, boating, falling or flying

[[Yo...]]

Yes, I wanna know why I got hit with this crap during a slow and methodical taper and have had no sign of improvement or "windows" a year on... And no other symptoms. The Curious Case of Shook goes on...

 

Hi Lapis! 

[[Ko...]]

I wanted to wish all my dizzy buds a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

In two more weeks I will have endured 48 months being Benzo free. I’m thankful that most of my side effects are gone. I’m still suffering from painful stinging shins. I am thankful that it’s only on the shins.  I also suffer from boatiness on a scale from 6 to 10, mostly 7’s. It never goes away except when Im lying down. My new MO is to do what ever I can as if this may not get better. So I do what I can. I’m going to try going to the gym next week. Just have to push myself. I got hit with a bad wave last week that included Akathesia. It lasted for 48  hrs. Just awful, couldn’t sit still all I could do was pace. Haven’t had that for at least a year. I’m hoping it’s a sign my body is taking another step towards healing.

 

A special thanks to Lapis for keeping this thread going, sometimes with little help from the rest of us.

 

Again, Happy Thanksgiving to all.

 

Korbe

[[La...]]

Yes, I wanna know why I got hit with this crap during a slow and methodical taper and have had no sign of improvement or "windows" a year on... And no other symptoms. The Curious Case of Shook goes on...

 

Hi Lapis! 

 

Hi Shook,

Good to see you and your eyeball broth picture! Those of us with inquiring minds (that wanna know) are obviously frustrated at not having the answer to the question "Why?" I do hope we'll get some facts at some point. In the meantime, I hope your taper is going okay and that your road isn't too rocky.

[[La...]]

I wanted to wish all my dizzy buds a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

In two more weeks I will have endured 48 months being Benzo free. I’m thankful that most of my side effects are gone. I’m still suffering from painful stinging shins. I am thankful that it’s only on the shins.  I also suffer from boatiness on a scale from 6 to 10, mostly 7’s. It never goes away except when Im lying down. My new MO is to do what ever I can as if this may not get better. So I do what I can. I’m going to try going to the gym next week. Just have to push myself. I got hit with a bad wave last week that included Akathesia. It lasted for 48  hrs. Just awful, couldn’t sit still all I could do was pace. Haven’t had that for at least a year. I’m hoping it’s a sign my body is taking another step towards healing.

 

A special thanks to Lapis for keeping this thread going, sometimes with little help from the rest of us.

 

Again, Happy Thanksgiving to all.

 

Korbe

 

Hi Korbe,

Nice to hear from you! I admire your courage and strength, and I think your attitude is excellent. I'm sorry to hear about that nasty wave, but you seem to have pulled out of it fairly well. Going to the gym is a great idea! If you have a sec, can you drop in to let us know how it goes?

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and all the Americans in our midst! Here in Canada, it's just another day -- except that there seems to be some talk of "Black Friday", which seems to have crept across the border for some strange reason.

 

Take good care!

[[...]]

Hi everyone, hope things are a little better.

I wanted to ask something about some symptoms...

When I stand up I get my neck very tight even painful, my head is buzzing (like muscular + kind of anxiety), my belly get sometimes full of air... Its not real dizziness.. Do you have/had these symtoms ?

 

[[La...]]

Hi yong,

Are you tensing up your muscles when you stand? I know I tense up a lot because of the dizziness, and I constantly have to check my posture (neck and shoulders, in particular). Is that buzzing in your head different when you're sitting? What about the stomach symptoms? Are they different when you change positions?

 

For me, it's all part of the whole. That is, I know that many strange sensations can go along with benzo/SSRI withdrawal, and that they're worse on some days than others. In your case, do you think something else might be going on? Or are you pretty sure they're part of your withdrawal?

 

By the way, I asked you a question a few days ago, but I'm not sure if you saw my post. I wondered what word(s) you use in French to describe your dizziness. Etourdissement? Desequilibre? I don't have "vertige". It's not vertigo; It's disequilibrium. Anyway, I'm just curious.

 

 

[[...]]

Hi lapis,

What do you mean by tensing my muscles ? My neck is just getting hyper stiff, seated is so-so, sometimes its okay and sometimes its awful. I'm good when I lay down. My belly is full of air when I eat or Just after getting up.

I'm trying to Check with lot of doctors if there is something else, i'm a bit lost about all this. The only thing I can Tell is that I have a lot more symptoms after quitting xanax and paxil together In june. Never had dizzi or belly full of air before. I'm sure of nothing, my others options are lyme disease or neurological problem.. I have further appointment. Yes étourdissement could be a good word, or déséquilibre too.

[[La...]]

Hi yong,

At the beginning of my dizziness, I did a lot of testing -- eyes, ears, vestibular system, neurological system, etc. It all turned out to be fine, and I would say that it helped to remove all of those other possible causes of dizziness. Since there's no definitive test for benzodiazepine withdrawal, it's usually the process of elimination that leads us to the appropriate conclusion.

 

Please let us know how your appointments go. If the testing for those other possible issues comes back negative, then it's more likely that your problems were caused by the medications. At this point, it's quite likely, but I totally understand your desire to check things out.

 

As far as your neck goes, I wondered whether your head might be in a forward position, which causes strain to the neck and shoulder muscles. It's extremely common. The ears should be directly over the shoulders, and the shoulders should be back and down for best posture and less strain to the muscles.

 

Merci for the French language help!

[[...]]

Haha always a pleasure to see english speakers learning another language

do you speak or learn other languages ?

 

I speak french, english, spanish and a bit russian

[[La...]]

I speak English, French, some Spanish, and a tiny bit of Tagalog. Where I live, it's good to know a few words in many languages. But I must say, French is my all-time favourite. I've loved it all my life. C'est une belle langue!

 

 

[[Si...]]

hey guys.

i am short term benzo user. but its about 6 monts i have weak legs, shaky legs and i dont have balance... is this related to weakness of the muscles?

who has such problem?

[[La...]]

Hi Silent singer,

I think most of us have those same symptoms. Many of us refer to the lack of balance as "floaty-boaty" dizziness, and it usually includes shaky, weak legs. Muscular strength may be an issue for some -- especially if the dizziness goes on for awhile and they can't walk well. The muscles can get weaker. The shakiness goes along with feeling unbalanced, which almost always creates anxiety and fear, i.e. fear of falling. It makes sense.

 

Have you had a chance to look at the first few pages of this thread? I tried to put up some useful descriptions and links for dizzy BBs. The medications can affect balance, and they also act as muscle relaxants, among other things.

 

If you can do seated or lying exercises to keep your muscles strong, that would be a good thing. Whatever walking you can do is good too. The idea is to stay strong while your body is working on healing. Depending on one's symptoms, it's sometimes easier said than done. Do whatever you can.

[[Iv...]]

I have been this way for 3 years I thought I was the only one and now I see I’m not. I’m doing better but it hasn’t gone away completely it feels like it never will. I can barely ride in a vehicle much less drive it’s the one thing that is left after 3 years,  before this I went anywhere I wanted to now I stay home for months at a time. I’d like to know if anybody has gotten better?

[[La...]]

People have definitely gotten better, but they don't always come back to report that. Oftentimes, people just go off and live their lives. Sometimes in the Success Stories, people list dizziness as one of the symptoms that they had, but others just say "You know the list!" So, it's really hard to get details.

 

You don't say in your signature how long you were on the medication. Was it very long?

 

And yes, you're definitely not alone! This symptom can be short-lived for some and longer for others, just like all of the benzo symptoms. But this one is particularly debilitating, as I'm sure you know.

[[Iv...]]

Lapis2 I’m sorry I didn’t mean to leave that out I’m very new here I’ll correct that and I took Xanax for 27 years haven’t had any since October 2014. Like you it is the most debilitating symptom left for me and it’s been so long that it’s very depressing! Thank you for your reply.

[[La...]]

Hi Ivy27,

Thanks for putting that info in there. It's pretty important.

 

The benzos are "vestibular suppressants", so they interfere with normal balance. It can be a long slog to get that balance back, as we both know, but if you've had vestibular testing, and you're pretty sure there's nothing else sinister going on, then it seems to be a matter of time. How much time is unknown, of course, but if we go by others before us, it seems that people do, indeed, get better. More pills are definitely not the answer. And I'm not aware of any treatment that specifically addresses what we're dealing with.

 

I do check PubMed (central online library of medical studies), and I post any articles that I think are relevant to people around here.

 

I wish the people whose dizziness has resolved would come back and let us know that, but they tend not to. 

[[...]]

Hi lapis, Hi everyone ))) Just a little hello from Paris 

[[La...]]

Bonjour and Hello yong!

Nice to get greetings from the other side of the ocean! I hope you're doing okay. 

[[...]]

Haha thanks, not really good but I get used to 🤒😊

[[La...]]

Have you had any further testing, yong? You mentioned that you wanted to get some things checked out by your doctor(s).

[[...]]

I had an horrible evening, i played 1 hour to my dusty unused PlayStation and I had an horible kind of panick attack after. Never again. I made a blood work last saturday, they took me 5 tubes to Check some liver diseases. And I have an appointment for lyme and rare diseases this tuesday 7th. Will keep u aware.

 

How are you anyway ?

[[La...]]

Hi yong,

I've never used a PlayStation, but I get the idea that it's not good for dizzy people. For some, even regular computer use is a problem, but obviously, none of us would have found BB without these amazing machines!

 

Please do let us know what you find out with your testing. You said "Tuesday 7th", but did you mean today, the 5th for your next appointment? Five tubes of blood sounds like a fair amount, so I'm guessing that they're looking not just at liver issues, but other things too. I just had three vials taken the other day, and a few things are low. Time for my iron supplement again!

 

I'm still dealing with a slow-healing fracture in my foot, so it's been a really, really tough time. The complex situation of fracture + dizziness has made certain things impossible for me. I'm just taking lots of calcium (and a few other key nutrients), minimizing my activities and hoping for the best.

 

Take care, yong!

 

 

 

[[...]]

Are you seeing improvement with Time ? I'm nearly 6 months off and still struggling a lot with horible symptoms. I feel like my brain is changing, like chemically impaired. Only with 4 months use. I'm afraid of that being only psychological and not really withdrawal and never get better I cant believe this is only withdrawal, I Just hope i'm not getting mad Because i get social phobia right now, I never has such thing before and I cant do nothing, I mean I cant control anything.

I meaned the 7th, In two days

I had my blood work résults and all is good about my liver again.

 

I hope your fracture Will heal soon

[[La...]]

Hi yong,

I'm glad your blood test results are normal. I hope that gives you some solace. I know this is really, really frustrating, and it requires an enormous amount of patience. In my case, some symptoms are gone, but my disequilibrium has hung around. For other people, their lingering symptom is something else entirely, and they never have any dizziness or disequilibrium at all. There's such a huge range of possible situations, so it can be problematic to make comparisons.

 

I usually try to read the Success Stories, because they remind me that people do get better -- even despite some pretty bad circumstances. I also think about two people who have written books on the topic. They both took benzos for years, were dizzy and are now better and helping others through withdrawal. Don Killian drank alcohol and took benzos for many, many years, and he also took a number of psych meds at various points. And Baylissa Frederick took clonazepam for 8 years, I think. Although I haven't read Don's book, I did read the two that Baylissa wrote. They're just two examples, but they've been quite public about it.

 

Anyway, try to stay hopeful, yong, and believe that your body will heal. None of us can know how long it will take, but we have to hang onto the hope that it will happen soon.

[[...]]

I Just hope this isnt only psychological with a general anxiety disorder or thing like that. The fact is that there is no test to know if its withdrawal.