Chronic pain and tapering. Anyone with this get through the taper

[[He...]]

I have a chronic pain pre- existing condition.  It's a use it or lose it kind of thing.  Anyone with chronic pain have success getting through this?  You can see from my other post I'm severely fatigued.  Any positive thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

[[Ca...]]

Fatigue is very common...

Gabapentin probably doesnt help either, but will in other ways... and if u need it, u need it...

[[fr...]]

  I am a chronic pain patient also.  So hard as now I have been couch and bed bound mostly for over a year, not good.  I have three meds to taper and am so sick right now don't know which one it is coming from.  I tried Gabapentin but it made my burning neuropathy worse.  I only used it for 5 days so I might try again but so so scared to add any more meds.  Not moving is making my body worse, I know it is but I am so sick, in pain and on and on that I have no choice.  Hope you feel betterr, this is so hard.

[[Bu...]]

I have a pre-existing health issue that includes chronic pain, too.  I used CBD oil to help with the chronic pain and the withdrawal symptoms.  It helped me get through the taper with a little less pain.  At 4 months off the benzos, I need to re-evaluate what to use for the chronic pain.  More CBD or medical marijuana or a SAFE muscle relaxer? 

 

Is anything helping with your chronic pain?  I think it is so important to get out of pain to help the body heal.  I was able to taper off the benzos when I wasn't in as much pain.  Please get as much rest as you possibly can, too.  Sending healing thoughts.

[[fr...]]

  Thanks so much.  I can't use that oil as Pain Management patients aren't allowed any marijuana.  They are refusing to updose me because of the hoopla with benzos and pain meds now.  Last year they were pushing me to up to oxycodone but I wouldn't do it.  Then I had surgery and I think it sent me into WD worse, haven't been the same since and now I probably need furthur surgery.  I am so bummed at all this.  What a mess they have made of me but I put those drugs in my mouth so I have to take the blame.  I had ann older Dr. who said I needed them, stay on them etc. etc.  Now too late and suffering so.  I hope you can find some relief.  Doesn't seem to be much I can do at the moment but I won't give up yet. 

[[He...]]

Tried everything. I take gabapentin but that isn't helping anymore.  I need to move it or lose it but the fatigue and withdrawal symptoms are problematic.  And I just started.  Have a long way to go.  I didn't want to take opioids but got hooked on benzos. 

[[Se...]]

I'm posting a thread from last year.  I had significant issues with pain that were helped by this approach.  If you are interested, give it a read and click on the links embedded in the thread - you'll find the information that helped me combat and heal my body pain.

 

Hope this helps.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=159952.60

 

 

SS

 

[[He...]]

Thanks. I have a centralized neurological pain condition that I was diagnosed with 10 years ago.  It's called RSD/CRPS.  NO CURE. Anxiety makes the pain worse.  And coming off if benzos causes anxiety.  I'm stuck

[[Se...]]

Healing,

 

I had symptoms very similar to CRPS.  Thought that this might be the issue for a long time.

 

When I went on the protocol (particularly see Dr. Henry's blog and link to his clinic which is embedded in the thread I posted), my pain started to dramatically improve.

 

He has a very interesting theory underlying his protocol - he is a reknown Anesthesiologist at a major teaching hospital in Kingston, Ontario.  I was shocked by how rapidly I responded to the protocol.

 

My pain was very debilitating.  For what it is worth, the protocol is inexpensive and I tolerated it well.

 

I'm not dismissing your diagnosis and I'm not trying to say that I had CRPS but my doctor and I were fairly convinced that something like this was at the bottom of my pain and I know that the underlying reason for this was being on these drugs to begin with.

 

If you can tolerate some supplements, you really aren't risking much to try this approach.  I learned about this from our 'Change Pain' group here in Vancouver - they are part of our regional health authority tasked with treating difficult-to-treat pain.  I found Dr. Henry's blog but the ChangePain group have adopted his protocol/supplement recommendations for their own patients.

 

Within one month, my pain was dramatically lessened.  That was after almost 2 years of abject pain and many years prior to that.  No organic basis for my pain.  It would flare then spread down my body, I'd be in 7 or 8 level pain out of 10 at times.

 

I think the risks are few and the benefits enormous.  No one really knows much about how this type of pain can be treated.  Dr. Henry's blog (www.myolibria.com) was very interesting to me.  He writes more about the protocol on his clinic website - if I remember correctly there are links in my thread.

 

The other thing I'd mention is that my functional medicine specialist has many patients with COMT genetic variation, it makes it difficult to lower your neurotransmitter levels I think, can be an underlying cause of anxiety.  23andme has a genetic test, not too expensive.  If this is the case, there are nutritional approaches.

 

I've written a lot about some of my discoveries along this path over the past 5 years since my taper began if you look through my post history.

 

I am FIRMLY convinced that many if not most of our escoteric strange medical illnesses have their roots in iatrogenic benzodiazepine/z-drug side effects.  Most doctors don't know about the effects of these medications and I've seen some wild and wooly stories on here of so many strange and serious symptoms that resolve when we are off these drugs and healing.  I see that you were on them a very long time.

 

 

Ali

[[He...]]

Thanks.  Yes a very long time.  And I don't have the "traditional" symptoms of CRPS... no swelling...just burning pain escalated by activity.  My nervous system is soooooo sensitive that I cannot tolerate supplements,vitamins and I have food sensitivities.  I will check out your links.  Thank you for taking the time to help me.  I'm a newbie.  Horrified that I'm in this situation and wondering if my body can actually handle the withdrawal.  I've had so many health problems...could they all be Benzo related???  I wish I had a magic wand

[[Se...]]

I couldn't tolerate supplements early on.  Kept retrying, eventually I could.  This protocol was the ticket for me to resolve my pain.  I hope this thread helps you.

 

You will get better.  I believe that these drugs are at the root of many of our "strange" symptoms and health issues.  More common than doctors are aware of for sure.  It makes sense, they prevent us from properly dropping into the deep stages of sleep where our hormones are largely synthesized.  Most of us are profoundly hormonally deficient if on these drugs for any length of time.

 

Healing happens, it is slow.  I got help with my hormonal depletion from a functional medicine specialist.  That was the underlying ticket for me - everything else became possible once I got tested, properly diagnosed and on the right bio-identical hormones.  I written extensively about this in my posts.

 

I don't believe that we end up with all these strange and complex health issues by accident.  I think these drugs are insidious and are at the root of so much of it.

 

Especially when your symptoms are not "traditional".  Nether were mine.  I couldn't exercise either without flaring things up - my CNS was so compromised.  Getting help in 2010, getting properly diagnosed and put on bio-identical put a "floor" in my healing, helped me address everything else.  It was the start of me returning to health.  A long journey but so very worth it.  Changed my life.

 

 

Ali