Exercise support group

[[Ve...]]

Well maybe I can but I think the only way I would be able to run five to nine miles would be if a psychiatrist was chasing me down the street with a needle filled with Haldol! 

 

[[Fi...]]

Well maybe I can but I think the only way I would be able to run five to nine miles would be if a psychiatrist was chasing me down the street with a needle filled with Haldol! 

 

 

Laugh out loud points from me, too!

[[Sh...]]

Hey,

 

So nice that there is a support group like this. I danced and gave dance classes to kids for 10-12 h a week.  Got a burnout due to months of not /few sleep. Now tapering of benzo's i try to walk, bike, dance, run, .... whenever I feel upto this. Most of the time i feel better after then in advance.

Does this help for all you guyz/girlz as well.. I'm curious.. because I really love to sport ! I'm also a real zumba freak and hope to be able to kick some zumba ass after all of this.

Grtz x

[[...]]

Hello !  Before withdrawing from 16 years of a nightly Xanax dose, I hiked four miles with my dog 5 to 6 mornings a week.  During most of my withdrawal I have had difficulty walking.  I had a huge window after being off 9 to 10 months but symptoms returned at about 14 months.  I joined curves yesterday to start some strength training.  I signed up for a balance class.  I want to join a beginning yoga class.  I may not be healed enough to hike up and down my favorite mountain (Mt Rubidoux) , but I need to start exercising more than just working in my garden and cleaning my house. 

[[Fi...]]

Hello !  Before withdrawing from 16 years of a nightly Xanax dose, I hiked four miles with my dog 5 to 6 mornings a week.  During most of my withdrawal I have had difficulty walking.  I had a huge window after being off 9 to 10 months but symptoms returned at about 14 months.  I joined curves yesterday to start some strength training.  I signed up for a balance class.  I want to join a beginning yoga class.  I may not be healed enough to hike up and down my favorite mountain (Mt Rubidoux) , but I need to start exercising more than just working in my garden and cleaning my house.

 

You are definitely on the right track!  I'm a Xanax survivor too, 64, and also got worse around 15 months.  I'm almost completely well now.  I've been doing a half hour of yoga at home every single day without fail for three or four months.  Getting back to weight lifting at the gym when I can.  I think weight training is super helpful for us older women.  When I do all these things I think of it not as a punishment but as doing something good for myself.  If I hit a day of fatigue and can't, then I just don't.  And no beating myself up over it!

[[...]]

Thanks Finally Joining,  I like that you said no beating yourself up if you are fatigued a day and can not exercise.  I find it interesting that you became worse in month 15.  I know we all heal at our own rate but their is something very comforting in finding someone whose healing has been similar to mine.  During the worst of my withdrawal, if I could not do ANYTHING except keep breathing, I would tell myself that the headlines of The L A Times was NOT going to read "Southern California Woman Did Nothing Yesterday".

[[kr...]]

Hi everyone

 

I quit the klon 2 weeks ago!    Ive been goin down the "what if its something else" road when it comes to these muscles

I have made big progress since summer! the sleep has really helped. But stuck at plateau lately. I miss the interaction here and Im going to try to stick around to receive and give support

 

MT - Awsome that you can snow ski!  I see some new people here too. And Bets..HI.  I had a little set back when my hip locked up after shoveling and both hips are tight and just tight and burning  all over really.

Im doing acupuncture, chiropractic, and now physical therapy and massage.  I dont think any of the drs give much credit to the Klon being the cause of all over muscle/joint pain, inflammation, tightness, weakness. I make my appts late cause it takes me soooo long to stretch and get body to move w out pain when i get up

 

I joined the gym  cause its just too cold and snowy for walking. Thought at least being in my old habitat may keep me positive!

I am going to start using a foam roller too...has anyone had luck with this? It is incredibly painful and I can hardly hold myself on it with my arms giving out!

 

Any reassurance that all this pain and tightness is just wd??   Would explain the jaw and neck tightness besides large muscle groups. Its lasting so long and I thought Id bounce back quicker since Im getting sleep (I used to be very very fit). seems to go up and down even w stress. When am I gonna feel in my own skin again 

 

 

 

[[Fi...]]

You're just two weeks out?  My suggestion is to settle in for a long time of just assuming every weird thing that happens to your body is withdrawal.  Some people seem to like to get reassured by going to the doctor all the time, but my plan was always to steer clear of the jokers who got me into this mess in the first place.  Chasing down individual symptoms is just expensive and stress inducing in itself.

 

You sound like you have a great attitude and will no doubt do fine!

[[kr...]]

Hi thanks veganexceptparmesan

I was wrong its been 3 weeks out and I was literally on wafer crumbs before that. Ive heard of people having tightness in the back and neck (me too) and around the head (not me)....anyone have weakness/tightness in the hips/low back? feet n lower legs? thighs hurt.

I know everyone is different...I see some of you running! and some have bad sx with exercise like heart palps...

 

My question is..  9 months int klon is when I became anxious, irritable, and had exercise fatigue, then a few months later pain in low back/hips and feet. I thought I was just stressed/out of shape (not working out as much).  I kept trying the gym but felt nothing out of it and no improved strength.

Was this all tolerance?

Fast forward, past summer I fixed the insomnia (15mg remeron) for the most part which was over a year consistently (no muscle repair during sleep) Past fall began walking, then hiking, could even jog a little, yoga. Overdid it on bike ride xmas day, shortly after hip locked up after shoveling. Since I have been struggling. Withdrawal hasn't been bad, I have some bad anxiety now and then and trying to not get depressed or worried about my future or beat myself up over past.

 

I went to PT today and it was so hard to do littlest exercises - maybe it will get better after all my walking improved in the fall. They think could be trauma induced or an imbalance that worsened... not addressing klon at all.

 

[[kr...]]

Wondernova I am impressed you can do vigorous exercise! I just don’t have strength for some reason and I miss pushing it hard…lucky that you can do enough to get the cardio benes

My only reaction to exercise is muscle fatigue and burning and stiffness

 

[[Ve...]]

I have had muscle stiffness, cramping, and spasm since about half-way through my taper almost two years ago. It was pretty bad for me. Things didn't start to get better until after about a month and a half of running and stretching and really until the last couple of weeks where I just don't have much stiffness at all in my legs and even the spinal stiffness is starting to recede.

 

For me, running has been the most amazing recovery tool of all.

 

Kris, it sounds like you had tolerance withdrawal back then. I got tolerance withdrawal back in 2003 after being on clonazepam for only two weeks, but my doctor kept me on it because it was "probably" still helping with anti-anxiety (it wasn't doing that either, but it made me so afraid of what horrors awaited me if I were to stop that it became impossible to do so). I spent the next decade unable to walk because of it. What you're describing sounds exactly like that. I'm making a full recovery, it seems like, so there's no reason to think you won't.

 

I know it can be painful and scary. Hang in there. All reports is that this goes away, whether we exercise like crazy or not. I personally think exercise makes it go away quicker, but I'm no expert. That's just how it feels for me. If you need to rest and recover then do that. No one is going to judge you badly for being kind to yourself. Whatever you have to do to get by is what you need to do.

 

Just don't ever give up on yourself.

[[kr...]]

Thanks so much Vegan for your support and reassurance! wow 10 yrs thats rough. I know I excpect a lot of myself. can i ask how old you are?

I had improved so much in the fall w hiking that it was so frustrating for my muscles to burn so bad doing simple pt exercises. then comes anxiety.

 

I was reading about the foam rollers and myofascial release and came on a page about the golgi tendon. Does anyone have knowledge in this area??

Its like your alarm system telling muscles how much they can take. Because our muscles are so tight, could it be that the set point for this alarm system is real low? There was a list of things that contribute to the golgi and muscle spindles and muscle imbalance, but not wd of benzos. Even trauma which I did have alongside chronic stress...stuck emotion..really?

 

I like reading the stories here. Just wonder what exactly some of you mean when you say "just couldn't do it today" or sx flared up. Also how long it took to get back to fitness level. I know I was not exercising for a year so not sure what is realistic for me to expect now.

At the moment deciding if i should try 10min on treadmill w occas jog or just monitor how i feel tonight  after first day of my little pt exercises

[[Ve...]]

I just recently turned fifty.

 

My understanding is most people have good days and bad days and usually refer to them as "windows" and "waves", respectively. Some days it's a huge accomplishment to just get out of bed. Some days it almost feels like that extra mile is holding its arms out wide for me. If you have all good days, great! But when a bad day comes along, try your best not to let it get you down. It happens to us all.

 

I think the best advice I could give myself if I could go back and give myself advice is to manage my expectations. Don't feel like I need to be in a particular place at a particular time. For me, this has been a very, very slow process, but feeling like I wasn't getting well fast enough always made it feel worse. If it feels like it's taking too long for you to get better, then that just means you're progressing as well as any of the rest of us do.

[[kr...]]

yes i feel the same way. i am also almost 50

I dont know if i have windows and waves though. I am going to keep better track in a journal of what causes what

My new dr is wholistic MD and i see her the 23rd. gonna look into my hormones

I notices my right leg feeling more "normal" in the store after my accupuncture!   Skipping the gym. relax time

[[Wo...]]

I think Vegan is right on about this stuff. Try not to get frustrated by any of it. We're temporarily out of whack. Every system in our body can be affected. I'm convinced exercise revs us up at a certain point and that brings symptoms. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing either. Waves signal our brains that we still need more up regulation of GABA receptors. I think a good rule is to challenge ourselves, but only to a level we can tolerate. Don't beat yourself up if you can't do it a given day. Try again the next day. This is truly a marathon, and we get better when our body is ready to. No sooner.

 

[[dr...]]

I'm back to getting revved after my two mile walks.  There out until this mega wave passes for me. Ugh.

[[...]]

My exercise induced muscle spasms seem to relax with a magnesium soak in the tub using Epsom salts and baking soda.  I bought a tub pillow which makes soaking much more relaxing. 

[[kr...]]

thanks marathon. I do think that way sometimes.  I really depend on being fit and active to conquer anxiety. do you have burning pain at a certain level of exercise and not getting further along? Anyone have this and break through at some point? w out pain?

 

i just want to express why I go to wondering if its really just wd.

I see how long some of you have taken klon and how much, which is partly why I think i should be feeling good again. when I ct off lots of tranzene for four yrs, I had paxil to come off and bounced back like normal in 2 months. then i stopped paxil we moved back to MI and i had anxiety. bf probs. didnt eat well or sleep ...was it situational or wd???

 

Even w my normal anxiety i worked out . Ill admit i have had anxiety my whole life w situations and people/conflict. (im a sensitive type) and the whole experience with parents dying and me smoking put me in a place of fear and I didnt enjoy things or look forward to things. is that mostly klon??? or my own demons???

 

I held on to anger with a lot of past and all this in theory is what could be making me stuck physically mentally emotionally. Im suddenly 50 and have doubts of everything like maybe all this physical pain started cause i got back w my old bf 3 yrs ago and wasnt ready and it wont go until i break up or we have counseling (although he is the positive one and im negative and tells me just wait it out its the klon)....

i mean i have all kinds of ideas scary thoughts, regrets etc come to mind....this is really klon wd??? Do ya all think and feel too much cause of this drug???

 

sorry to veer off topic.

[[Ve...]]

Kris, what you're describing sounds so much like benzo withdrawal symptoms. I've learned so much by reading a lot of the success stories on this site. I can't recommend them enough. The common themes are that everyone reacts a little differently but also that we go through a lot of the same things. The biggest thing, though, is that we all feel "stuck" and we all worry it's not because of the benzo withdrawal, that there is something permanently wrong with us. Almost all of the stories reveal these fears to be unfounded.

 

I can't promise you that there are no underlying issues with you. Heck, I can't even see what underlying issues I might have myself. What's important right now is that even if you do have underlying issues, they'd be impossible to untangle from the benzo withdrawal symptoms because the benzo withdrawal issues mimic about a million different physical and mental illnesses. Most doctors can't even tell them apart.

 

We have a rare and poorly understood illness. One of the worst things about having a rare illness is that treatment options are trial and error but mostly error. One of the best things about this particular illness, though, is that we have a large number of anecdotes posted here on these forums and the overwhelming preponderance of them all come to the same conclusion: we get better without any medical intervention, it just takes a very, very long time for some of us.

 

We all get hyper-focused on feeling like something is horribly wrong with us. That is part of the illness. It does make it more difficult for those of us who actually do have underlying issues that aren't part of benzo withdrawal. However, it seems that we are far more likely to be misdiagnosed as having an illness that is being mimicked by benzo withdrawal.

 

No one here can tell you what is really going on with you. I wish we could. That would make it so much easier, wouldn't it? I don't even feel like there is really very good advice to give you other than to read the stories of people who went through the same thing you're going through now and realize they got better and that's almost with 99.9% certainty going to happen to you too.

 

The nature of this illness, however, is that we're going to assume we're the 0.1% who has some crazy other illness even though we don't.

 

But you know what? That's the human condition. Everyone deals with that, even so-called healthy people. Everyone has anxiety, everyone gets depressed. Everyone experiences pain. We just live in a screwed up society that thinks there's a perfect idealized way of experiencing life and everyone but us has access to it. But the fact is, everyone is screwed up and that's okay. It's okay. Some of the most wonderful people in the world have been freaked out, unhappy, and miserable. Half of the battle with this illness is realizing that 10% of our "symptoms" are stuff everyone deals with every day.

 

Take lots of deep breaths and tell yourself you're going to be okay. Even if you're not, it feels pretty good to do in the moment, and the moment is all any of us can count on.

 

Hang in there. Stay strong.

[[kr...]]

Thank you

 

My life has been all about outdoor activity and fitness. I can work through the time it takes to heal. Hard part is believing its just that. sorry for the rant

[[Fi...]]

Vegan--so much calm wisdom in what you write.  I agree with everything you say.

 

It distresses me to see people continually running to the doctors for what will invariably turn out to be "just" withdrawal.  The amount of anxiety the visit causes is appalling.  What will happen if they have to swallow barium etc?  And then the negativity of the encounter with the doctor.  Why do they put themselves through this?

 

Well, duh, because, as you say, it's the nature of this beast, to keep hoping for some answers, some help, some compassion from the medical community.  People sometimes claim to come away feeling reassured, but with people stuck in this loop, it's only a matter of time before they'll have to go be reassured again.

 

Kris--as far as relationships go, I think the best thing to do is just hang in there and don't be trying to make huge decisions while your brain is still compromised.  I shudder now to think I could have even thought  :idiot:for a moment, in acute, that maybe I should be leaving my husband of 42 years.

 

Maybe go to a counsellor on your own to talk this stuff out?  That's what I did and it helped.

 

 

[[kr...]]

Thanks FinallyJoining...Im glad the counselor helped you. I talk w my accupuncturist shes very nice. Ive been to a therapist/hypnotist specializing in anxiety. Im in overthinking  state

[[Ve...]]

No need to apologize, even awesome athletes like us need reassurance and we all need a place to lay down our burdens; that's what this place is for. We're here for you, and y'all are here for me.

 

 

[[MT...]]

From my perspective many (most?) of us deal with a combination of most symptoms being from wd and wd amplifying/magnifying and distorting preexisting issues. Those of us who had any anxiety or insecurity prebenzo have even more during wd on top of the usual wd menu. And how many of us didn't have any preexisting issues with our bodies or minds. Not many. Fortunately, it seems like exercise is often helpful wherever we lie on that spectrum. And yeah, it can be super hard to believe all of this is wd when our minds and bodies are screaming at us. They're lousy sources of info right now. Mine is at least. We consult but I try not to make decisions based on those voices.

[[Te...]]

And yeah, it can be super hard to believe all of this is wd when our minds and bodies are screaming at us. They're lousy sources of info right now. Mine is at least. We consult but I try not to make decisions based on those voices.

 

So true, MT!! I've never thought of it that way, but you're completely right - they ARE lousy sources of info right now!! Thanks so much!!  :thumbsup: