This explains what benzos do to the brain:

[[Gr...]]

This is by the Austin Benzo Awareness Group on Facebook. I printed it off to save in my records and also emailed it to my sister-in-law. She thanked me for sending it and now has a much better understanding of not only what happened to me but why it'll take so long to heal.

 

This explains what benzos do to the brain:

 

Glutamate and GABA are the brain’s major “workhorse” neurotransmitters. Over half of all brain synapses release Glutamate, and 30-40% of all brain synapses release GABA.

GABA and Glutamate regulate action potential traffic.

GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, stops action potentials.

Glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter, starts action potentials or keeps them going.

 

Since GABA is inhibitory and Glutamate is excitatory, both neurotransmitters work together to control many processes, including the brain’s overall level of excitation.

 

Tranquilizers (Benzodiazepines) increase GABA activity. (Calming the CNS and PNS)

Alcohol increases GABA activity (Just like benzos).

Alcohol decreases Glutamate activity but it spikes back higher when the alcohol wears off (hangover, anxiety and tremors the next day).

Caffeine increases Glutamate activity.

Caffeine inhibits GABA release. ---> (You feel anxious, wired)

Benzodiazepines effect GABA by unnaturally boosting its intake and keeping it elevated (alcohol has the same effect) resulting in sedative, hypnotic, anxiolytic (anti-anxiety), anticonvulsant, and muscle relaxant properties. Conversely, the body produces more Glutamate (taking in higher amounts of Glutamate) to compensate for the now elevated levels of GABA being absorbed. (the body likes to stay in balance.)

 

Here is where it all goes wrong…

 

Over a long period of time (4 weeks or more) Benzodiazepines slowly down-regulate your GABA receptors since they don't need to work as hard to utilize large amounts of GABA. (They become lazy, weaken and unnecessary GABA receptors are absorbed back into the body.) At this point Inter-dose withdrawal might start occurring or worse, tolerance of the medication.

 

When Benzodiazepine Tolerance hits (the medication starts to fail) your GABA intake slows down and it’s like you’re slowly letting off the brakes on the now elevated Glutamate system. This causes Inter-dose Withdrawal symptoms i.e. anxiety, panic attacks, anger, rage, insomnia, phobias, depression, memory issues, etc. (even though you are taking your medication as prescribed). Doctors will prescribe more of the Benzodiazepine to compensate for this event (Up-Dosing) and some relief may be experienced but your body will adjust and withdrawal symptoms come roaring back. This is an endless cycle which must be avoided. When all else fails your doctor will prescribe an SSRI, Anti-Depressant or SNRI to try to put a band-aid on the symptoms, but it's too late and you must now come off of the medication.

 

Your GABA receptors, now damaged, weak and under-performing due to benzo use (unnaturally forcing high levels of GABA through them), must "Up-Regulate" (heal) back to their original, natural, non-medicated state before they can once again function properly balancing out GABA and Glutamate levels, however your Glutamate receptors are now Up-Regulated (taking in more Glutamate than normal) and these Glutamate receptors must adjust back down (Down-Regulate) for your body and mind to once again perform normally. This imbalance of high glutamate levels and low GABA levels is what causes Inter-dose Withdrawal and the horror of tapering off. Only time and patience can heal GABA receptors once the medication is completely out of your system. Slowly tapering off of your Benzodiazepine over a long period of time is the only safe, logical and bearable method to rid yourself of Benzodiazepines and restore your health. Your GABA receptors must Up-Regulate back to normal and your Glutamate receptors must Down-Regulate back to normal to balance out. Tapering allows this very slow process to begin while slowly reducing benzo levels forcing the body starts healing your remaining GABA receptors and growing new ones.

 

If you Cold Turkey (abruptly quit taking) your Benzodiazepine, Glutamate levels spike (no brakes) and the excitatory neurotransmitters go nuts causing insomnia, anxiety, panic, muscle tightness, elevated heart rate, muscle twitches, seizures, psychosis, and many other horrible side effects.  Do Not Do This!!

 

For most of us it took years to get into this mess (GABA receptor down regulation) and it's going to take years to get out of it. Try not to fear what side effects might occur as you taper off. Everybody is different therefore the experience of withdrawal, for you, will be different as well. Just take it a day at a time.

 

P.S.  .5mgs of Klonopin, or .5mgs of Xanax, or 1mg of Ativan are not low doses.. they all equate to 10mgs of Valium.. If you have been taking any of these medications for more than 3 weeks you are already physically dependent and cannot just stop. The record for physical dependency is 9 days. Additionally, some people take years to reach tolerance, some over a decade, while others can hit tolerance in a matter of weeks or less. If you require more and more of the medication to experience a therapeutic effect, you are already in tolerance. Slowly tapering off is your only option. Look up Liquid Titration of Benzo, or Dry Cutting Benzo to start your education. Do not taper faster than 5 - 10% per month. Above all, look up and read the Ashton Manual for more information and safe tapering instructions.

 

DO NOT drink alcohol during your taper or for 18-24 months after it has ended!!

 

Benzos also heavily impact the Limbic System of the brain causing horrendous depression, OCD like compulsions, overblown states of fight or flight responses, (i.e. over exaggerated startle response) and incredibly wild depressive, hopeless states while experiencing Inter-Dose withdrawal, tolerance of the medication, while tapering off and in recovery. This brain system also needs to heal back to its original, non-benzo state. Some people have compared what benzos do to the Limbic System to a chemical burn from which it needs to recover.

 

The ammonia smell is from the breakdown of amino acids.

 

[[Tw...]]

Pretty damn spot on and easy to understand. The human mind is wild place.

[[lo...]]

the "whats happening in your brain" sticky is very good too, and much more in depth for those who are wondering.

[[Bu...]]

Thanks Grandma D!

[[on...]]

That was really helpful Grandma!! Clears up a lot for me.  Thanks so much for posting it!!

[[pe...]]

Thank you for the explanation. I didn't join BB until I had almost quit cold turkey - cut down to only 1 of my .05 xanax per night for only 3-4 nights and then cold turkey. It wasn't smart and the first week or two was hell but I don't think after 9 weeks now and feeling better more than worse I would try to start again.

I feel so sorry for my poor brain and what it is seeking -- peace.

I feel so sad for my body and what it is seeking - calm.

 

Hopefully the days ahead will bring me both in generous amounts rather than the start and stop feelings now. But as I said it is more clear than foggy. Sleep is happening in small but deep periods.

 

Thanks. I am on the journey.

 

pearlgirl

[[be...]]

This readily implies many might all be destined to have screwed up brains for years. Fortunately for most our brains are absolutely marvellous in how they often fix themselves. That's why we have symptoms. The brain is busily correcting itself. The brain works hard to correct itself as quickly as possible. Sometimes people do struggle for years but this in no way takes into account other factors. General health, age, environmental factors, physical disabilities, surgeries, poverty, lifestyle,  unrelated stress and so forth. Years on it I'm doomed if this is accurate. Offers little hope for my family if that's the case. Or little hope for me. Yet oddly I have hope always. But this tells me not to fear this taper. Well perhaps I should if it's going to take years to heal. Anyway I'm giving my family more optimism by just leaving well enough alone and getting off the bloody drugs. And her methods of a wonderful crossover to Valium are not scientifically based at all. But I'm told her lecture fees are exorbitant. Just rumours. And her plan often proves to be much too fast for most. So would leave my family totally confused as to why I'm still not done. What's wrong with you mom? Look how slow you're going. This plan doesn't say to cut your Valium into quarters. Disappointed in you mom. Your way mom will take forever. I'd need to somehow explain that!

So no even though my kids are grown with their own kids I'd prefer they simply accept that I'm a tad confused at times, a bit anxious, agoraphobic at times but in time it will pass. I was much worse on full doses. They understand it's a difficult process but are thrilled I'm doing it. They don't need a biochemical lesson of the brain. They just want mom back. And so do I.

But if this helps others share their experience which is next to impossible except with those going through it by all means share. Just hide the recommended taper schedule or you're doomed. Sorry but this is just how I feel.

B

 

 

[[Ce...]]

Nice post, D...thank you, as usual. I really love your threads...Gonna have my bf read this this evening. Hopefully it will sink in.

[[be...]]

Grandma D I meant no disrespect to you. I love your posts. I'm just saying that my family has been through so much with me and these drugs for me this would be overkill. It's how I know they'd react and right now they're actually acting well. I've found that the less I talk now about the benzos the better it is not just for them but for me. I'm done focusing on the technical side of it I guess because they all can literally observe that this has been hard. But they remember even more how out of control and sick I was before I began my taper and so are also amazed that I was even able to do it. How far I've come. So I'm just saying I don't want to rock the boat. It's sometimes not needed to keep showing my family on paper what my brain is doing. But it's healing. I'm sure of that. So are they. That's what's important to me. Others maybe will find this useful but I'm just saying use caution. Too much info for others can be overwhelming. But it's certainly not directed personally to you. B

[[Gr...]]

Barb, I didn't take it personally. It's all good! 

 

I posted this here so people would have something they could use to explain what's going on in the brain. Take it or leave it. I don't want to eliminate parts as I was not the original writer of it.

[[be...]]

Thanks grandma. 

[[Fe...]]

Thank you! This certainly helps explaining why my body and brain love fight nd flight mode so much. And I wasn't even on a high dose for long...

 

wen

[[Be...]]

That sounds like what is going on.  I read some mice research articles and when they autopsied the brains of these mice who'd been on long-term benzo's then withdrawn from them, they had too many glutamate receptors.  The article said they had an increase of up to 50% in glutamate receptors. I saw the mice brains they had photographed showing the increase in glutamate receptors.   

[[jo...]]

Grandma D thanks for posting this info from the facebook group but after reading it , it did not mention anything about what to do when You hit a wall when You get down to a lose dose during tapering. I hit a wall at .125mg so I have been holding  for a few days but not sure what direction to go to from this point on. I cant afford total insomnia again.

 

I would also like to thank benzo barb for Her post. We are all individuals and as the old saying goes no one shoe size fits everyone. I think how We approach a taper or how We do it depends on many factors the problem is which is the correct one for a paticular situation. Its very difficult for anyone to be stuck and not know which is the best choice or direction to go.

[[be...]]

Lol Beck. I'm glad I'm not a mouse. B

[[Gr...]]

That sounds like what is going on.  I read some mice research articles and when they autopsied the brains of these mice who'd been on long-term benzo's then withdrawn from them, they had too many glutamate receptors.  The article said they had an increase of up to 50% in glutamate receptors. I saw the mice brains they had photographed showing the increase in glutamate receptors. 

 

Interesting information Becks. Thank you!

[[Gr...]]

Grandma D thanks for posting this info from the facebook group but after reading it , it did not mention anything about what to do when You hit a wall when You get down to a lose dose during tapering. I hit a wall at .125mg so I have been holding  for a few days but not sure what direction to go to from this point on. I cant afford total insomnia again.

 

I would also like to thank benzo barb for Her post. We are all individuals and as the old saying goes no one shoe size fits everyone. I think how We approach a taper or how We do it depends on many factors the problem is which is the correct one for a paticular situation. Its very difficult for anyone to be stuck and not know which is the best choice or direction to go.

 

Hi Johnnyapple! Have you tried a search here at BB on "hitting a wall"?

 

I think that it can be difficult to decide what to do at any point in this journey. Without the Lord's help I don't know what I'd do!