Is tapering not worth it for some people?

[[Ge...]]

I ask because since I started my taper I:

-Have been able to leave the house less and less and am now unable to do so without servers panic attacks/gagging/vomiting throughout the whole occassion, leading to more anxiety about the next time

-Never resolved my panic/anxiety issues before starting to taper and believe they are caused more by not having proper coping techniques, etc. than by the meds

-Can not eat more than a small meal or two a day and am suffering from it

 

Before I started my taper (no consistent dose either):

-I had some issues leaving the house and panic attacks, but nothing like this and still went about my life

-Could eat with relatively no issues

-Everything seemed so much easier, even the panic attacks felt easier to cope with

 

It could be that I hadn't hit tolerance when I began to taper, but the meds weren't really helping calm the panic attacks much either. Which is why I felt as if getting off was the best option. I'm beginning to question that as my life gets more and more unenjoyable (it wasn't very enjoyable to begin wth but this is terrible lol).

 

Can some people benefit from staying on benzos long-term? Or should I just grit my teeth and continue living my life in the same room every day, having more and more frequent panic attacks and increased anxiety, until I'm done tapering? I don't know if I can handle that right now.

[[Lo...]]

This is a pattern for me, too. Apparently some of us have unstable tapers all the way through, and it seems that we may need to just go through this. Apparently, we reached toxic levels of this drug. This happened to me when I got to 1-2mg/day range with lorazepam in later 2014. I was still somewhat ok when I was on 0.5mg 3-4 times a week.

 

It is horrible, but it is perfectly logical. I think the drug is leaving the system faster than the GABA receptors are recovering. I am not sure that one can stay on the drug indefinitely, but maybe a longer hold at your current dose can help.

 

I notice I call a lot more warmlines and hotlines and such just to seek reassurance....

 

 

 

 

 

[[bu...]]

Most folks taking benzos had some emotional or physiological disorder that needed to be addressed.  Benzos, at best, only provide symptomtic relief...they do NOT "cure" anything.  So it's only logical that when many folks try to discontinue their benzos, they still have their original underlying disorder.

[[Pi...]]

I'm at a really difficult point right now with my anxiety and panic attacks.  I hate leaving the house too. But, I'm trying to remind myself how good I felt a few days ago even it was only for a few hours.  My taper has been real up and down too. It helps me to talk about it. There are some good books out there that can teach better coping skills or at least reassure you that what you are feeling is similar to others. I read the Anxiety disease.  It's an older book which still says xanax is the best drug to help. But even in the 1980's when it was written,  6 weeks was the treatment time. I found the other parts helpful.  It goes thru each stage of Panic Disorder.  I'm sure there are plenty of newer  books that might help.  I too never resolved my panic problems before beginning my taper.  I decided to get off benzos because I was needing more and more just to function. 

[[pi...]]

I know several members here that were put on benzos for anxiety and panic and now do not have to deal with that issue.  Yes, coping skills are good such as CBT, meditation, yoga and deep breathing techniques.  Benzos can help in the beginning but they are not a long term solution for panic and anxiety, IMO.

 

I wasn't put on benzos for panic or anxiety but they did a great job creating it through my CT, tolerance and withdrawal.  It all did go away with time however I did withdraw from life for a period of time.  It was necessary for me in order to give myself time to heal.

 

pianogirl 

[[Lo...]]

 

http://www.benzo.org.uk/ashloraz.htm

[[Ge...]]

Thanks for all the kind and encouraging responses. I know I have to stick with this... I just wish there were some other way to make it at least a little bit less terrifying and depressing. It's hard to stay confident that I'll be okay eventually when I never really was even before benzos.

 

I'll have to wait and see what happens after I'm off, I suppose.

[[Kl...]]

I fully believe I needed to be on klonopin the first two years I was on it. It allowed me to overcome a massive event in my life that caused PTSD and anxiety. I was able to work and seek therapy and the help I needed to learn coping mechanisms and how to live life once again. If someone had insisted I taper during that time it would have added to the trauma I had experienced and compounded the difficulties I faced in life. I could only taper when I felt ready.

 

I didn't realize I was experiencing paradoxical reactions from klonopin though. I feel much better even though I'm in withdrawals and basically have c/t.