Cold turkey off Dexedrine exacerbating Ativan withdrawal?

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I've withdrawn from short-term benzo use before with minimal symptoms, but they are extreme this time

Cramping so severe I thought I had appendicitis and ended up in the ER. No appetite at all, I cannot eat. It's not even an option.

 

I had appendicitis treated with antibiotics back in May and it's been a constant source of anxiety since

Earlier last month I had a really bad panic episode, and I began to associate the Dexedrine with the pain I was feeling, and went cold turkey off dexedrine (10mg 2x/daily)

I was prescribed a week of 1mg/daily ativan. My symptoms subsided but immediately worsened when I ran out (lower abdominal cramps and tenderness), leading to an appointment with my psychiatrist for another week of Ativan, because at this point he was treating it as somatoform symptom disorder.

I accidentally told him the wrong dose and was prescribed 2mg daily instead of 1mg daily. Anyway, I take this, see my surgeon, everyone's convinced everything is alright, see my psychiatrist again, he reiterates his point about it being somatoform and prescribes clomipramine.

 

2 days go by, the pain and anxiety is so severe I end up in the ER thinking my appendix is going again. They disagree, differential me with Diverticulitis, prescribe 7 days of flagyl and amoxil and send me packing.

2 days go by, the antibiotics are doing nothing for my pain, I'm in severe panic mode and extremely nauseated, having not eaten in several days. They give me a shot of Gravol and a rediculous dose of ativan for the anxiety (1mg/4x/daily)

 

Now, at this point I had no idea I was dealing with ativan withdrawals. I took it on and off for a couple years prior and managed to get away with only the most minor of withdrawals, as my use was never continuous. I took the 4mg a day as I was having severe panic attacks. At this point, with complete symptom resolution, I figured the antibiotics had worked.

Then, I run out of the 4mg/day ativan, symptoms and panic return, and I call my doctor begging him to either help me with my pain or anxiety. He prescribes a further week of Ativan.

This is where I realize i have a problem.

He prescribes me 1mg/day. I start taking it, experience very very mild symptom relief, and decide to test my hunch. 4mg/day ? No symptoms at all!

 

I desperately start trying to wean myself off with the little bit I've got left, to no avail. Saturday was a return to the ER with an updated presentation of benzo withdrawal. They prescribe me 4 days of Ativan.

1mg. At this point, the 1mg is barely doing anything. I'm basically forced to take at least 1.5-2mg per dose for about 4 hours of relief, which means their 4 day supply will last me until the end of monday.

 

 

So, at this point, very little relief from the Ativan, I try taking a 5mg dexedrine.

I don't know whether it's the lack of intense mental depression, or what, but it feels like at this point the rest of my symptoms resolve.

 

So basically I've come here to find out what kind of hell demon I've created. Which symptoms are due to dexedrine, which are due to ativan? Can Dexedrine withdrawal cause nausea and vomiting, or did Ativan somehow 'take over' for the cold-turkey Dexedrine and expedite my physiological addiction to it?

 

EDIT to add further details: I took my full regular dose of Dexedrine a few hours after my last Ativan pill. I now feel completely normal, and am not yet relapsing into the benzo withdrawal.

What the hell is going on? Can dexedrine cause withdrawals identical to those of a benzo?

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Apologies if the first post seemed a bit manic.

I was in a really bad state.

I've resumed my dexedrine in full and the worst of the Ativan withdrawals are gone now.

I think there is a legitimate dual-withdrawal syndrome here that compounds with the withdrawals from either drug.

 

 

I'm going thru my recent prescriptions and it looks like I finished a 10-day supply of Cipro the day I was prescribed 1mg 2x daily ativan.

With previous use, and followed by a prescription for Ativan, is it possible the Cipro is responsible for the severity of my withdrawals?

Doctors in this country are not taught about the interaction between them, so I'm compiling citations to write a short paper which presents this to mine empirically.

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Well, no one seems to have any idea.

But just incase someone cares and is following this.

 

I saw my GP today. He's convinced it's not ativan withdrawal, that I'm dealing with acute anxiety and (surprise surprise) appendicitis.

Left-sided appendix.

That is treated with Ativan.

Luckily, he got my psychiatrist to expedite our appointment, and this guy is the regional admin for addiction recovery, so I think he'll have a bit more of a clue.

 

Will update as situation progresses.

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Update: Leukocytosis confirmed.

Doctor suspecting sepicemia.

Well.

It was nice knowing y'all.