My doc is suggesting residential detox.

[[Je...]]

As an option.  I'm considering it........

Xanax has a tight grip on me.

[[Ra...]]

how do you feel about that? I've been researching this myself as I'm so tired of feeling like death warmed over.

 

It seems like the treatment centers do dpfairly rapid detox, and that is my biggest concern about it.

 

I did a 50% reduction on Ativan from .25 to .125 and by the third week, I was so anxious it was intolerable and I checked myself into the hospital and am back up in dose.

 

If I felt that I could trust the detox to deal with the racing heart and raised bp, Along with the sky high anxiety (i.e., if I knew they would say we've see Mathis and we know what to do and you'll get through it before we kick you out), I might consider it.

 

And then do a month of rehab.

 

I don't know. Its so tough to know.

 

I hope you will be able to make a decision that feels right to you.

 

[[Ca...]]

For what it's worth, I finally went to a rehab to get off valium.  I found they did use BP meds to deal with BP spikes and racing heart and also a mood stabilizer to help with acute withdrawal.  The constant attention, including nursing, was very reassuring.  I stayed two months.  I would have preferred to taper but I was in such withdrawal from the taper, I ended up updosing.

[Guest [Ka...]]

Hello. I would do the residential treatment/detox, if you can afford it/and/or insurance can help. Xanax was my addiction. I did not go to a rehab/detox, but looking back, I think if I did I could have stopped sooner. I think a peaceful setting with loving support would be ideal for withdrawal, and for making new plans on the "after".

Xanax is insidious and spellbinding. Perhaps that is the grip you feel. It actually makes the brain believe it cannot live without it at times, especially in tolerance/withdrawal. Once off of it though, I never craved it, sort of: very odd. It was very extreme: that tight grip, she was my lover and best friend.  What I thought would help the most was if someone would just hold me through it, tell me how to fix this thing, whose spell I was under.

Tapering? No, it was not possible. No Valium either. No antidepressants.

My advice is to get some help at a facility, get all of the help available. I just read a bit in your past bio/posts, and it seems you have been " in a dance" with this for awhile (I was too).

What helped me was (is) inner acceptance of all of it. Inner Acceptance of the withdrawal symptoms. Go with the symptoms in a gentle path. Note them perhaps, letting them flow onward...

Transcendental meditation.

Meditation tapes: i.e. You Tube video tape on laptop (in bed sometimes). Soothing: views of nature, someone else talking quietly, guided meditation.

Radio: Classical music. Smooth Jazz. Classic Jazz. Leave radio on all day, perhaps in bedroom while you're in the house in other rooms.

Exercise. Just walking the dog, and then (and now) progressive hikes/walking. Eventually oxygenating...more (cardio).

Music: Everyday, I played guitar:classical, rock, (and in between). (using the hypersensitivity to sound)

Writing Music, tons of lyrics.Singing, plugging in everyday.

Writing a book: Logical Steps...Step#1:Is this Useful? Step #2 Small steps I can do today...

 

It's not a Habit, it's Cool, I feel alive, if you don't have it you're on the Other Side...I'm not an Addict, Maybe that's a Lie...We're so Creative, We're so much more, We're so high but on the floor...Deeper stick it in your vein, I'm a God, I feel no pain...

Good Luck. Peace.

Karuna

[[Je...]]

Thanks to both of you!

[[fe...]]

I did the rehab last year after several attempts at tapering. I was on klon over 20 yrs. They were pretty professional, took bp often. It was rough but I didn't have a choice. Benzos were killing me. I looked like death warmed over.

[[Da...]]

Hi Jerryk, I went to rehab last November and they took me off Xanax and Opiates really fast. They did a five day taper and released me after 10 days. They told me nothing about benzo half life. They told me I would be fine in 2-3 weeks.

 

I think a lot of them are more geared toward alcoholics or opiate users (Heroine).

 

Im not saying don't go to rehab to get off benzos, if you need it go. I am saying to ask about their program and see if they have a realistic view of benzo withdrawal, it seems like they would be mine did not, they either lied to me or are uniformed in withdrawal.

[[No...]]

Jerryk! I like that tagline! "I am also not a pussy "(Office Space, anyone? No? OK, then)

 

I went to a two week detox/ outpatient program for Xanax/Klonopin where they took me off very quickly and I ended up w/ my head spinning and my mind racing. The constant bp checking and general health monitoring was indeed comforting. However, the multi-faceted allocation of the  stretched and mediocre resources of the center I went to fell short of what I needed to recover properly.The people that worked there were compassionate, thoughtful people whom I admire. They were not set up to handle someone with my specific problems, unfortunately.

 

I wish I could have stayed longer but there were, ahem, issues w/ some drugs making their availability present within the confines of the rehab. I am ashamed to say, that I haven't been afraid to "rob Peter to pay Paul" when it comes to taking illicit substances in an attempt to alleviate symptoms. I'm done with all this crap though, and it sounds like you are to. So I left after my detox with the understanding that this all would get much worse before it got better. To throw a little sodium chloride upon the injury to the dermis of the skin (salt on the wound), there were a bunch of drug addicts flicking me off and talking shit when I left. Mmmm. Lovely. Looking back, most people were actually really nice, supportive friends and allies...But it's always those few bad apples that spoil that otherwise warm, delicious apple pie, right? I dunno, still bitter. Sorry. 

 

Now, that specific rehab was a state-run and sponsored center so my experience will not be everybody's, to be sure. It did have a separate private insurance pay facility but by no means were they immune to the "outside influences" and "insider trading" happening within. If you can find a well reviewed private detox that would be the safest bet, I'd say.

 

So that's what I went through. Despite the colossal failures of the detox I went to, in the end, I'm glad I went. I feel it played a fairly vital role. The rest was up to me. But detoxes and inpatient programs should really be chosen by the based on the individual's needs. I would research the places to go and ask a lot of questions of the staff before you make your decision. 

[[ne...]]

Thanks for posting this. I've been considering a detox even though I've been of the benzos for 6 weeks now. I did tell my doctor and a consulting nurse that I wanted to try a detox if my symptoms didn't improve. Now after reading the posts, I wonder if it would be any better than just white knuckling it.

 

I see a new pdoc tomorrow who will review where I am. I hope to educate them on how bad it is out here in the real world since they are getting the whole clinic off these damn meds. They are aware of the long term issues now but they talk like it will all be fine in a few weeks.

 

I hope the new pdoc is smarter than the rest I've spoken with including my primary care and my counselor they assigned to me. Mindfulness is the new in vogue treatment. I say "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."  When I finally got them to call me the other day, their idea of help was to go outside and get some fresh air.  Wow..REALLY???

[[Li...]]

Wow, what a range of experience. After I went on a xanax binder recently, my doctor suggested detox. Firm no from me. I have two sick parents, I simply can't. 

 

But I'm so very happy for those who did. I'm trying to find support and learn to do this. My (very firm) doctor is going to taper me, I have to pick up my xanax weekly now.  That's fine.I wish it had always been that way so the temptation wasn't there.

 

I'm going to try everything. Meditation, bible study, exercise (barf), deep breathing. I just downloading 8 million dollars worth of zen apps on my iPhone!!!

 

I do wish I could find a support group in real life. This is a life saver, don't get me wrong. But I need eyeball to eyeball support, too. Everything is messy. It feels pretty lonely.

[[gr...]]

I went to Centennial Peaks Hospital to detox off of 4 MG Clanazapam a day, i was on for at least 4 yrs or longer. I was there for aprox 6 full days and they monitored me and took my BP  a  couple times a day. When I got home thats when the real withdrawals started and I haven't been the same since! I AM SO ANGRY AND THEY ALSO DID NOT TELL ME WHAT TO EXPECT. NO ONE HAS I Went to the ER 2 days after I went home, BP sky high  they told me I was in the hard 2 week w/drawl phase. and AGAIN NO ONE TOLD ME ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT I AM EXPERIANCING, NOT MY PRIMARY, MY PHYS. DOC ANYONE. THANK GOODNESS I came across this BB website, or I would think and I still do think Im going nuts. Im tingly, numb ear problems worse balancing problems bezobelly on and on and on I can go I am crying now I am so upset. I want those people to experience what hell I am going through.

[[ne...]]

You found the right place.

 

Hope this helps make sense out of this for you.

It was a huge help for me.

 

 

What is happening to us:

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=66397.0

[[be...]]

I went to Centennial Peaks Hospital to detox off of 4 MG Clanazapam a day, i was on for at least 4 yrs or longer. I was there for aprox 6 full days and they monitored me and took my BP  a  couple times a day. When I got home thats when the real withdrawals started and I haven't been the same since! I AM SO ANGRY AND THEY ALSO DID NOT TELL ME WHAT TO EXPECT. NO ONE HAS I Went to the ER 2 days after I went home, BP sky high  they told me I was in the hard 2 week w/drawl phase. and AGAIN NO ONE TOLD ME ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT I AM EXPERIANCING, NOT MY PRIMARY, MY PHYS. DOC ANYONE. THANK GOODNESS I came across this BB website, or I would think and I still do think Im going nuts. Im tingly, numb ear problems worse balancing problems bezobelly on and on and on I can go I am crying now I am so upset. I want those people to experience what hell I am going through.

 

I became straight up psychotic as a result of mistaking the serious mistake of going inpatient to detox from the last of the prescription pain medication I had taken for chronic pain that stopped being chronic.  Anyhow the place had a 'no benzo' policy and they were going to discharge me so I agreed to both an opiate and benzo detox.  I told myself I could put up with anything for five days. 

 

Serious disaster.  They failed to give me any clonazepam (or any other benzos) for five full days.  I woke up on the fifth day and was completely out of my mind.  Actually, I didn't wake up at all because I never went to sleep the night before. 

 

They released me!  I explained that I felt lunar nuts and they released me!  Within an hour, there was an ambulance at my my house and I had become full blown psychotic.  I think I was about to start seizing when I called 911.  I had taken 2mgs of Klonopin when I walked in the door an hour earlier but they take four hours to reach their full potential.  I do think that is what saved me though.  I shook for the next week.  I trembled at all times even though I was back on 2mgs on clonazepam per day. 

[[ne...]]

Wow...what a story.  I am amazed that after all this time so many are clueless that this is delicate process, not a 30 day fix.

[[be...]]

Wow...what a story.  I am amazed that after all this time so many are clueless that this is delicate process, not a 30 day fix.

 

Yeah.  My point was that I don't think inpatient is where one ideally should be attempting to detox from benzos unless one is planning on a very extended stay.  That is what I was trying to say but 'benzo brain' recited a horror story about long term benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome instead.  It was not reasonable to abruptly take me off of clonazepam for five days after having taken 2mgs per day for six years at the time and expect for it all to go well.  Live and learn.  I am just lucky that I lived through that horrible medical mistake.

 

I would not even consider going inpatient to detox from benzos after taking 2mgs for 12 years now.  That would be one expensive and extended stay!  I would much rather be at home with Netflix, in my own bed with my boyfriend and my dog and ice cream when I want it and all of the other conveniences we take for granted until we find ourselves locked up in a facility where we are treated like inmates in a prison, told when to eat, when to sleep, when to go to meetings, etc.  Screw that. 

[[ke...]]

For what it's worth, I finally went to a rehab to get off valium.  I found they did use BP meds to deal with BP spikes and racing heart and also a mood stabilizer to help with acute withdrawal.  The constant attention, including nursing, was very reassuring.  I stayed two months.  I would have preferred to taper but I was in such withdrawal from the taper, I ended up updosing.

 

This was my experience also. Fought with tapering a long time, but the detox (in a university psych facility) finally got me off and on track for recovery, but it took a few years for the waves to go away entirely.

[[ke...]]

Just be prepared to feel crappy for a few months when you get home. Make sure your OP doctor has your BP and heart rate monitored. I was on beta blockers for 2 months after being released. I tapered them myself when my system settled.

[[no...]]

I've been to nice private rehabs getting off opiates. I think detox and rehab is great fpr most drugs, but for benzo users they generally fall short. The people coming off benzos were practically non existent on campus, staying in their bunks etc. Because as everyone else like myself was feeling better, the benzo users continued to suffer. Most rehabs work with insurance, and once insurance thinks your ready(usually at 3 weeks in treatment, they will cut off partial hospitalization and you either pay out of pocket or leave. For people like me, 3 weeks was okay, but benzos take months sometimes. I don't see myself ever going to a rehab for benzos unless they changed how we are received in the system

[[Ca...]]

We need good outpatient programs for slow tapering benzos.  They do not exist.....yet.

[[gr...]]

Loved reading everyone's story. Yes I wish I could have tapered as well!  I binged watched TV all summer, and I still am.

[Guest [ch...]]

I would not go to detox. Most are geared toward alcohol and opiates and are clueless about benzos. You'll be yanked off your benzo, suffer cold turkey hell in confinement for a few expensive weeks, then sent home to suffer months more on your own. There's nothing these places can do for you that you can't do on your own. People mention blood pressure - well, I have beta blockers I got from my primary care doctor and a blood pressure monitor I bought at CVS. So why should I go to a 50,000 dollar a month detox to take care of my blood pressure when I can do it equally well for 50 bucks at home? On top of all that there's plenty of evidence that a cold turkey increases your chance of protracted withdrawal vs a slow taper. The detox model is just a bad way to get off benzos.

 

That's my 2 cents on the subject, for what it's worth. It's based on a brief but hellish  experience with detox back in March 2015 that I wrote about in my blog. Basically after 1 day I was like, "get me the hell out of here". After which I tapered on my own at home.

[[Ja...]]

Carol Jean can I ask where u went to rehab?