Shaking vision etc please help

[[Ra...]]

Please help, I need to understand what has happened to me, and my prognosis, I feel like I'm running out of hope and feel like my life is over...

 

In April 2016 I took sertraline and St Johns wort together by accident. Had serotonin overload but not so bad to cause serotonin syndrome.... developed some weird health issues.

 

Then i complained to my doc and was assumed mentally ill for complaining about some nasty effects from the serotonin poisoning. I was forced to take Remeron, Seroquel, and daily or every two days Lorazepam... I smoked extremely heavily due to the stress of all this.. 80 a day or more

Then i developed eyesight/hearing/nerve issues I thought were drug side effects..

Double vision type effect

Fluctuating hearing loss

Developed weakness in limbs.

Severe headaches like being hit over the head with a spade

Amnesia and altered mental state

Was collapsing after a cigarette all sorts

felt like I had brain damage

 

It was torture. At one point my limbs completely locked up almost....

 

I was on seroquel for May till July, Mirtazapene May till September, and Lorazepam on and off 1mg May until September. There was no taper, nothing , just given to shut me up...

There was daily lorazepam June till August, then the occasional every 2-4 days say August till September/October.

 

It's now February! 4-5 months since I took anything.

 

I now have have;

-High frequency hearing loss

-Tinnitus

-Eyes seem that they can't stay still/fixed on an object I'm looking at - completely debilitating

-Eyes have hazy (visual snow), things look odd, dim - this got worse and worse every day after withdrawal

-Weakness/heaviness in limbs

 

Could this possibly be protracted withdrawal???

Could it be symptoms of CO poisoning from excessive smoking?

 

I'm absolutely going mad, my eyes won't stay still and it's been 5  months now...surely this can't be drug withdrawal this far down the line?

 

If this continues I cannot see any future whatsoever, I cannot keep them STILL!? any ideas or help, similar stories.

 

It's the EYES slightly wobbling when I look at things that's driving me insane.

 

How can I know if this is drug withdrawal or a vestibular problem?

 

Many thanks

 

Keith

 

[[me...]]

I now have have;

-High frequency hearing loss

-Tinnitus

-Eyes seem that they can't stay still/fixed on an object I'm looking at - completely debilitating

-Eyes have hazy (visual snow), things look odd, dim - this got worse and worse every day after withdrawal

-Weakness/heaviness in limbs

 

Hi Keith,

 

I'm sorry you're going through this. At a few months off now, you're early in the process yet, especially after a cold turkey.  "Protracted" withdrawal doesn't start until you are about 18 months off.  All the symptoms you mention above are typical withdrawal symptoms after quitting benzos and other psych drugs.  They may be severe for awhile, but they ARE temporary and will go away in time.

 

I had many weird and bizarre eye/vision problems during my withdrawal, they terrified me at times, but they're all gone now.  I even thought I was going blind, but that was just part of my extreme health anxiety (another w/d symptom). But I had multiple eye exams, and nothing was found.  It really WAS withdrawal.

 

Benzo withdrawal and healing is a waiting game.  Time is the healer.

 

 

 

[[Ra...]]

Thanks for the response, really pleased you healed!

 

Similar experience, I thought I was going BLIND too, vision getting dimmer and dimmer, more noise, colours getting darker...

 

How would you describe what happened to you?

 

I think my issue is I was only on these for a very short time, and at low doses.

 

However smoking so heavily due to the stress of being forced to take these nasty drugs.

 

All my symptoms could be nerve damage from CO poisoning, but also withdrawal symptoms, it's knowing which really...

 

I lost my high frequency hearing and the tinnitus came when I had oxygen therapy to try and get cured of all this! That on itself is horrific and life changing...

 

The eyes looking at something and unable to stay fixed on a target is HELL, it's like looking through a camera held by someones hand...

 

 

[[me...]]

Thanks for the response, really pleased you healed!

 

Similar experience, I thought I was going BLIND too, vision getting dimmer and dimmer, more noise, colours getting darker...

 

How would you describe what happened to you?

 

I think my issue is I was only on these for a very short time, and at low doses.

 

However smoking so heavily due to the stress of being forced to take these nasty drugs.

 

All my symptoms could be nerve damage from CO poisoning, but also withdrawal symptoms, it's knowing which really...

 

I lost my high frequency hearing and the tinnitus came when I had oxygen therapy to try and get cured of all this! That on itself is horrific and life changing...

 

The eyes looking at something and unable to stay fixed on a target is HELL, it's like looking through a camera held by someones hand...

 

If you look near the bottom of my "signature," there's a link to my story, which has all the details.  One of the blessings of healing from benzo withdrawal is that once you've healed, you don't think of or even remember many of the details.  Possibly because it was so tramatic.

 

Unfortunately, there's no logic to this process.  Even people who've been on benzos for only a short time do, in rare cases, have long healing periods.  This can happen especially if you were on other psych meds, or if it's not your first withdrawal from benzos. 

 

 

[[Ra...]]

Thanks. Your recovery story is inspirational. I can't believe these drugs...

 

I'm really worried about my prognosis, it's just scary. I look at the TV and it's kind of double vision, I've got this eye wobble thing,  like no image stabilisation, I'm absolutely debilitated.

 

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced a similar thing?

This occular muscle twitching thing I'm honestly not convinced by....

How can I improve this situation??

 

The other horrific thing is this benzo stuff I had no idea fluctuating hearing loss would result... How can doctors be so ignorant.

I literally took matters into my own hands doing oxygen therapy and have actually caused devastating hearing loss, I don't know how  I'll EVER get over that, it  was my life and career music...

Absolute HELL im in

[Guest [We...]]

I have that double vision sensation going on as well. Sometimes I feel that it's hard to stabilize on things, too. I haven't had that wobbly stuff, but I wouldn't put much worry into it since benzos affect the eye muscles and the visual cortex.

[[Ra...]]

Why didn't the doctors tell me any of this...

 

I lost my hearing thanks to this hell being dismissed as anxiety??

 

 

[Guest [We...]]

Why didn't the doctors tell me any of this...

 

I lost my hearing thanks to this hell being dismissed as anxiety??

 

 

Why? Because some of them are c*nts and the others just don't know.

 

I hope your hearing recovers. I'm also into music a lot and haven't been able to produce anything while tapering and then later being in full-on withdrawal.

[[Ra...]]

My hearing is f**ked.

 

I had fluctuating hearing loss from the drugs I now see

But got so anxious about it and panicked si much I went and had oxygen therapy that put the nail in the coffin, now tinnitus and high freq loss...

 

I was a music lecturer and audio systems design engineer for real high end audio, and a producer, musician, and researcher in music, those absolute c""ts!

 

 

[[Ra...]]

I have that double vision sensation going on as well. Sometimes I feel that it's hard to stabilize on things, too. I haven't had that wobbly stuff, but I wouldn't put much worry into it since benzos affect the eye muscles and the visual cortex.

 

Whats the double vision thing like for you?

 

Mines weird,it's like not two images, but as if I'm looking from two different angles at the same time...this happens if I'm looking through one eye or two, like a brain processing issue...

 

It only really happens looking at people's faces, so weird and I'm so tired of these problems...

 

Hows it feel for you?

[[Ex...]]

Please help, I need to understand what has happened to me, and my prognosis, I feel like I'm running out of hope and feel like my life is over...

 

In April 2016 I took sertraline and St Johns wort together by accident. Had serotonin overload but not so bad to cause serotonin syndrome.... developed some weird health issues.

 

Then i complained to my doc and was assumed mentally ill for complaining about some nasty effects from the serotonin poisoning. I was forced to take Remeron, Seroquel, and daily or every two days Lorazepam... I smoked extremely heavily due to the stress of all this.. 80 a day or more

Then i developed eyesight/hearing/nerve issues I thought were drug side effects..

Double vision type effect

Fluctuating hearing loss

Developed weakness in limbs.

Severe headaches like being hit over the head with a spade

Amnesia and altered mental state

Was collapsing after a cigarette all sorts

felt like I had brain damage

 

It was torture. At one point my limbs completely locked up almost....

 

I was on seroquel for May till July, Mirtazapene May till September, and Lorazepam on and off 1mg May until September. There was no taper, nothing , just given to shut me up...

There was daily lorazepam June till August, then the occasional every 2-4 days say August till September/October.

 

It's now February! 4-5 months since I took anything.

 

I now have have;

-High frequency hearing loss

-Tinnitus

-Eyes seem that they can't stay still/fixed on an object I'm looking at - completely debilitating

-Eyes have hazy (visual snow), things look odd, dim - this got worse and worse every day after withdrawal

-Weakness/heaviness in limbs

 

Could this possibly be protracted withdrawal???

Could it be symptoms of CO poisoning from excessive smoking?

 

I'm absolutely going mad, my eyes won't stay still and it's been 5  months now...surely this can't be drug withdrawal this far down the line?

 

If this continues I cannot see any future whatsoever, I cannot keep them STILL!? any ideas or help, similar stories.

 

It's the EYES slightly wobbling when I look at things that's driving me insane.

 

How can I know if this is drug withdrawal or a vestibular problem?

 

Many thanks

 

Keith

 

I'm almost 7 months out and I have the same symptoms. Visual disturbance, and dizzy spells. My neck gets stiff and my shoulders and my vision is just crazy. I was okay for about 2 months, but when I hit month 5 and 6, things got crazy. I've had a couple of days without it, but then it comes back, I'm giving it a few more weeks to see how it goes, then I will have to do something. I'm praying this lifts soon.

[[Ra...]]

What type of visual disturbance are you experiencing?

 

If what you're saying in your signature about such a low dose is true I'm really amazed these things can happen... I was only on them for a short time too and my vision is absolutely screwed...

 

Bobs around can't get a fixed image

Dim dark colours, things look magnified?

Get loads of haze visual snow

Strange double vision effect looking at faces people etc, as if I'm looking at things from two different angles even through each eye

 

Really appreciate comparing symptoms, thanks

 

[[me...]]

I'll see how many of my eye symptoms I can remember.  Some of them were pretty strange and very scary:

 

darkened colors at times, dim vision

snowy vision, pixelated vision

innability to look at bright colors or busy visual patterns without feeling sick

intolerant to flourescent lighting, having to avoid large stores

crawling landscape sections, like stock tickers

seeing birds, bugs, etc in peripheral vision that weren't there

minor hallucinations, like peoples heads seeming to morph

dialog and mouth movements on TV looked very out of synch

walls seeming to lean inward

poor depth perception and trouble driving

 

and many more...I'm an artist, so instead of being terrified by these things tried to adopt an "isn't this interesting" attitude.  That helped a lot.

 

 

[[Ex...]]

It's crazy we can go through this from a short term use. I jumped in June. I had lots of physical symptoms and also experienced dp\dr, but not as intense as now. I got better, almost 100% it felt, during my 3rd and 4th month. At the end of my 5th month I recall things just getting worst. I was going through lots of stress which I think caused this setback.

 

My vision is blurry, and its hard to drive at times. I don't really have the double vision. I also still suffer from tingling in the back of my neck and I get dizzy when I stand sometimes. The vision is worst when my anxiety is high, so I try to calm myself. I'm also taking supplements that's helping me stay calm.

 

I am having windows now, but they don't last long, but I'm grateful for them. So it's no so much double vision as it is blurry.

 

 

[Guest [We...]]

Whats the double vision thing like for you?

 

Mines weird,it's like not two images, but as if I'm looking from two different angles at the same time...this happens if I'm looking through one eye or two, like a brain processing issue...

 

It only really happens looking at people's faces, so weird and I'm so tired of these problems...

 

Hows it feel for you?

 

It feels as if the two images created by my eyes aren't fused together properly in my brain. Because of that my 3D-vision/depth perception is all out whack and I see my nose all the time in my field of vision. It came with other withdrawal symptoms a few days after jumping, and got progressively worse up until around month 5.

 

It's definitely from withdrawal, as I've never experienced anything like it before the withdrawal symptoms hit me. There was also a thread where a member said he experienced the same thing when he came off of Xanax cold turkey and it disappeared when he reinstated.

[[Ra...]]

This is very close to what I'm experiencing although it's not about fusing the two images together, more a perception issue.

 

What happens when you close one eye?

 

At its worst, I would look at say a glass, and my brain would create almost two 'perceptions' of which way was vertical, so weird. Like if you drew a line through vertical of the glass, it would be two slightly pointing different ways...

 

Now I just have trouble mainly only looking at faces or people, it's like there's two different camera angles simultaneously, however it persists wether I close one eye or not...

 

Depth perception also screwed up (you have balance issues).

 

And wobbling especially distant objects wobble like gaze instability...

 

Will it ever get better :/

 

 

 

 

[[Ra...]]

Also have the stiff neck etc too, and the lightheaded/dizziness standing up...

 

 

[Guest [We...]]

This is very close to what I'm experiencing although it's not about fusing the two images together, more a perception issue.

 

What happens when you close one eye?

 

At its worst, I would look at say a glass, and my brain would create almost two 'perceptions' of which way was vertical, so weird. Like if you drew a line through vertical of the glass, it would be two slightly pointing different ways...

 

Now I just have trouble mainly only looking at faces or people, it's like there's two different camera angles simultaneously, however it persists wether I close one eye or not...

 

Depth perception also screwed up (you have balance issues).

 

And wobbling especially distant objects wobble like gaze instability...

 

Will it ever get better :/

 

It's quite difficult to analyze this issue, but at this point, nothing happens when I close one of my eyes. Still, I understand the feeling of two different camera angles, I had that big time when it started, I guess at one point my brain just adapted to it or something. I can't wait till it's over.

 

All the symptoms you described (including the stiff neck and dizziness) are benzo withdrawal and should pass in time.

[[Ra...]]

I just pray this is withdrawal, I'm going mad, my eyes won't even keep still and ive got no depth perception, hardly quality of life, and I lost my hearing thanks to incompetent doctors. Should I end my life now or endure any more months?

[Guest [We...]]

I just pray this is withdrawal, I'm going mad, my eyes won't even keep still and ive got no depth perception, hardly quality of life, and I lost my hearing thanks to incompetent doctors. Should I end my life now or endure any more months?

 

I have it and I've seen many others have it here, so it's definitely withdrawal. It'll pass in time for sure, the problem is no one can tell you how long it will exactly take, so until then you just have to dig in and survive somehow.

 

Did you come off the medication cold turkey or did a proper taper?

[[Ra...]]

I was just given 0.5-1mg lorazepam as and when needed over the course of 3 months, sometimes daily, sometimes none for a week or two.

No taper, no consistenty in taking.

Was also on other drugs mirtazapene and seroquel however these were tapered.

Also had smoked a LOT due to the stress of being forced to take these drugs...even the possibility I may have had CO poisoning

 

I'm really really screwed.

 

[Guest [We...]]

I was just given 0.5-1mg lorazepam as and when needed over the course of 3 months, sometimes daily, sometimes none for a week or two.

No taper, no consistenty in taking.

Was also on other drugs mirtazapene and seroquel however these were tapered.

Also had smoked a LOT due to the stress of being forced to take these drugs...even the possibility I may have had CO poisoning

 

I'm really really screwed.

 

I see. It was similar to how I took Xanax at the beginning and because of that it's easier and might even seem logical to come off it immediately. Try not to diagnose yourself with what you might or might not have, your health anxiety is probably off the roof (I know mine has been since jumping), so it's impossible to come to a rational, definite conclusion. Regardless, just know that no matter how bad you feel, you're not the only one suffering from these symptoms.

 

Also, try to make a signature with your medical history (how long and which drugs you were on etc), so people could have a better overview of your situation; it'll be easier for others to answer to you then.

[[Ra...]]

Updated my signature, honestly don't know if I'll ever recover from these nasties, double vision watching TV drives me nuts, I don't understand why it only seems to occur looking at PEOPLE and not objects?? The brain gone mad

 

What do I do? Doctors? It's been 5 months now, if I stick like this I'm dead

[[Je...]]

I have had this for almost 14 months. It is absolutely horrible hell. But I have read enough success stories to just keep walking through it moment by moment. I try to read. I am impacted by the light and so sometimes I will watch tv or have it on and just listen to it. I am so sorry you are suffering so greatly too. But dont give up. I dont even waste my time at the doctor anymore. I figure if I heal I will be overjoyed and if I die, I will be free. Hahaha...kind of strange but they just give me the run around for nothing. Tryin to just accept this temporary even if long is the best advice I have. Hang in there!

[[Da...]]

I don't have double vision anymore but my eyes are totally shot. I can't see things over two feet from me, I get terribly disoriented in the dark, and my eyes are constantly bloodshot, like I've been vomiting for hours. I so want this to be visible when I go to the optician so they can actually see something. My right eye also randomly gets very painful and swells shut. I thought it was styes to begin with but it happens so suddenly and goes so suddenly. We're going to try and get my eyes checked at the optician today because even though I don't have psych sxs, people such as the addiction agency who deal with my Subutex, are trying to pass this one off as such. It's been mistakenly noted as 'perceptual distortions' by them, but I know full well it's not. My sxs are physical, neurological issues. I perceive my reality and things around me pretty well for someone as sick as me.