Over 60 help and support.

[[es...]]

And I alternate. Some days it is depression. Some days anxiety. Some days I feel like my head is spinning and I am totally out of it. But everyday is a symptom that pretty much knocks me flat. At least, so far. I am hoping a long hold will give me a good day or two now and then. Esperanza

[[Ma...]]

And I alternate. Some days it is depression. Some days anxiety. Some days I feel like my head is spinning and I am totally out of it. But everyday is a symptom that pretty much knocks me flat. At least, so far. I am hoping a long hold will give me a good day or two now and then. Esperanza

 

It will Cousin, patience, you can do it!  Mary

[[es...]]

No choice, right? Cousin E

[[Ma...]]

No choice, right? Cousin E

 

No choice my cousin and friend, sucks though

[[2f...]]

Mary and Esperanza, do you have any copingskills for handling depression? Everyone talk about distracing. Im so not good at medication or distracting. The only thing I do (not every day...) is breathing 4-7-8 if I feel anxeity. I also try to walk for at least 40 minutes every day.

 

My ears are ringing (or is it tinnitus) saying its time for bed.

 

[[es...]]

This is not a very nice coping skill but I do it. I have a vivid imagination and I like to dream up ways I can payback my doctor, not for making a mistake, but for not owning it. Nothing really bad. Just like how someone he respects tells him how some stupid doctor has damaged his sister with long term Benzos and says”can you believe anyone would do that?” Then he turns on NPR and they are talking about Benzo damage. Then he knows how really cruel he treated me with the snide remarks and dismissive words. I really don’t ever get back at anyone. I think that is wrong. It is just a coping skill and a way for me to keep reminding myself that this is not my fault and I should not believe someone just because they have a medical degree. Hope I didn’t scare you off. I really am a sweetheart, just really hurting. Esperanza

[[Ma...]]

Mary and Esperanza, do you have any copingskills for handling depression? Everyone talk about distracing. Im so not good at medication or distracting. The only thing I do (not every day...) is breathing 4-7-8 if I feel anxeity. I also try to walk for at least 40 minutes every day.

 

My ears are ringing (or is it tinnitus) saying its time for bed.

 

Well, I go to physical therapy twice a week, always try to have a show I'm binging, spend a lot of time on here, exercises and stretches when I don't go to pt.  Try to do some housework.  You know a lot of people color and really enjoy it.  I read almost every night before sleeping.  Nothing exciting 

[[ea...]]

Early on (once I was sane enough!) I wrote a letter to my Pdoc, the one who prescribed all those benzos to me) and told him how poorly I thought about him. Made ME feel better but I doubt it will help anyone else. Being an RN I know doctors very well. They believe what they were told in school and that's about it. I don't know why the real truth about benzos hasn't hit physicians yet, but for the most part, it hasn't.

east

[[es...]]

Mary’s coping skills are really more appropriate than mine. I do have others that are more constructive, Netflix binge watching, reaching out to people on the forum who are having it worse than me(and there are many), teasing and joking with the long hold group. And there is always my family to love me through it, so I am lucky. I think I wrote that nasty post about my doctor, because I have to work everyday to reject the diagnosis I have lived with for 25 years. There is no disgrace in depression or any other mental issue. It is the fact that once you are diagnosed, it sticks like glue and even with evidence that maybe something else is going on, no one is willing to consider a misdiagnosis. And that got me more and more destructive treatment. I still wake up everyday with renewed shock that I was taking something everyday that was making me depressed. I am trying to take back my belief that I am capable of knowing who I am. I gave that away. The actually very nice, Esperanza

[[es...]]

Yeah, I know doctors well, too. If it isn’t in a controlled study, it does not exist. Maybe he will ignore your letter, but what if he keeps getting them. Our problem is we know if we speak out we will be told how misinformed(dumb) we are. We are also in the position of having to get the scripts from them while we taper. We are encouraged to make FDA reports, but they are only considered anecdotal. The fact is, no one really knows how many of us exist. Some people never find out why they are ill. I imagine some die. Some probably reinstate and  settle for diminished lives. It doesn’t make sense, Medicine can only learn from listening to sick people. And why would so many people be telling the same lie? Esperanza

[[Ba...]]

Have no support,65,  can't get off... all lataeral moves... see sig

 

Without sleep can't do this. ;(

[[ci...]]

Hi. Im 60 years  and feel so lonely in this tapering. My mood is low, some days its better, but mostly I feel depressed. I think it would be easier to taper when you are younger, thats how I see it. When you dont have a spouse or boyfriend and not a big social life, mabye had some or have some healtissues, no work, (I lost my job may 2017) its harder. I have a couple of friends and a daughter who is 39 years old. But I still feel lonely.

Im tapering Zopiclone now. Did a too fast taper on Oxazepam but I didnt know better. Do you ladies feel depression too? I hope its the tapering as some days are better than for instance, what today is like.

 

Zopiclone. Cut from 12.5 mg to 11 mg and hold for 12 days. Then a new cut so now I take about 9.5 mg and this is day 8. I dont have scale. Ordered one but it was boken...

Thank you for reading. Im from Sweden.

 

2forone, hi, my name is Mary.  I think we all feel lonely.  This is a hard road to travel, trying to taper benzo's, especially for people that live alone.  I do have a husband which I am very grateful for, but I am still here from  7 in the morning to 6 at night.  I think the tapering, feeling bad, makes us all feel alone, because so few people understand.  The nasty chemicals running around our body and brain.  It will pass, we just have to tell ourselves that over and over.  Reach out to me or anywhere you feel comfortable on this board.  We all understand that feeling and will be here for you.  I'm from the US

Mary

 

Mary, wow! No wonder I see you all over the boards!  You put in a lot of hours!  And you’re a wonderful friend and support to many here.

[[Ma...]]

Hi. Im 60 years  and feel so lonely in this tapering. My mood is low, some days its better, but mostly I feel depressed. I think it would be easier to taper when you are younger, thats how I see it. When you dont have a spouse or boyfriend and not a big social life, mabye had some or have some healtissues, no work, (I lost my job may 2017) its harder. I have a couple of friends and a daughter who is 39 years old. But I still feel lonely.

Im tapering Zopiclone now. Did a too fast taper on Oxazepam but I didnt know better. Do you ladies feel depression too? I hope its the tapering as some days are better than for instance, what today is like.

 

Zopiclone. Cut from 12.5 mg to 11 mg and hold for 12 days. Then a new cut so now I take about 9.5 mg and this is day 8. I dont have scale. Ordered one but it was boken...

Thank you for reading. Im from Sweden.

 

2forone, hi, my name is Mary.  I think we all feel lonely.  This is a hard road to travel, trying to taper benzo's, especially for people that live alone.  I do have a husband which I am very grateful for, but I am still here from  7 in the morning to 6 at night.  I think the tapering, feeling bad, makes us all feel alone, because so few people understand.  The nasty chemicals running around our body and brain.  It will pass, we just have to tell ourselves that over and over.  Reach out to me or anywhere you feel comfortable on this board.  We all understand that feeling and will be here for you.  I'm from the US

Mary

 

Mary, wow! No wonder I see you all over the boards!  You put in a lot of hours!  And you’re a wonderful friend and support to many here.

 

Oh thank you 2forone, there are many people on here trying very hard to help.  I don't have a lot of knowledge so I do what I can by supporting, but there are many many people on here helping more, believe me.  Love you, Mary ☮️💜🙏

 

 

[[2f...]]

Hi again. I was awake all night.... Today I have had anxeity all day and more pain because I didnt sleep. I either are depressed or I get anxeity ( but mostly its depression and not anxeity) most every day. Some days are good, but when tha bad come I get so sad of it all. Im use to pain, I have it cronic, but today its worse.

 

I dont know whats wrong with me, but I dont know how many times I have postpone things, like dentist , a phonecall or something. As if I dont have the energi. I get so dissapointed of myself.

 

When having anxeity I also get more afraid , and my healthanxeity get stronger.

Some days I feel that mabye I should start an antidepressant medication. But I had a very rare condition, and got very sick in oct 2017 ended up in hospital for three weeks. It involved the kidneys and platelets ( etc..). So if I should start AD I must take bloodsamples once a week, and I dont think I can handle that ( the fear/worry that I might be sick again) as Im so low already. Will this ever go away?

Sorry if I sound so negative, its not uplifting to read I know...

 

 

 

 

 

[[es...]]

2for1, what you are describing is my life. Without the physical pain,now. I am on an ad and I wish I wasn’t. It is something else to taper. You have to decide for yourself, but they have their own issues. If you have even a small break from the depression, take that as a good sign. I don’t know anyone who isn’t depressed during withdrawal. Dr. Ashton writes about this as being inevitable, no matter why you started the drug. Hang on, Esperanza

[[2f...]]

2for1, what you are describing is my life. Without the physical pain,now. I am on an ad and I wish I wasn’t. It is something else to taper. You have to decide for yourself, but they have their own issues. If you have even a small break from the depression, take that as a good sign. I don’t know anyone who isn’t depressed during withdrawal. Dr. Ashton writes about this as being inevitable, no matter why you started the drug. Hang on, Esperanza

 

Thank you for your kind words. What AD are you on and doesnt it help? Ive been on SSRI about three times in my life but didnt have w d after stopping. Guess it would be different now, as nervoussystem is sensitive (?)

Do you mean that if it was not a chemical depression, it would not go away  meaning that I have some days that are good evenif my energi is low and that I dont really enjoy things fully.  I usually feel better about 8 or 9 pm. Really dont why it is like that, I think that is strange.

[[es...]]

I am on fluoxetine. But I have tried others. Was told I had a chemical imbalance when I went in for adhd treatment. I had premenopausal fatigue, mood swings, and I was raising teenagers who were giving me the usual worries. I had lost my dad and nephew in car crashes, which led me to a tendency to panic if the kids were late. So, I am asked some questions about my life and get diagnosed with anxious depression. Told to just try an SSRI. Not addictive. But they d cause brain changes. Work magic briefly, then stop working, so you change. Over the years, even though they are doing nothing, you are trapped. Because I stopped once and had severe withdrawal. Thought that was because I needed it. Went back on, never worked well. This is just me, but I never knew what real anxiety or depression was until I got on meds. Told my doctor for years that my anxiety was not worry, it was just crippling fear without a cause. I just freeze. That I later found out, was a Benzo side effect. So is depression. Never spent a day in bed because of depression before the Benzo, which came several years after the ad. So I can’t say if the ad was harmful or useless. But it wasn’t a positive thing for me. I am sure that is not true for everyone, but many people do regret taking them. If someone is at risk, that may be the answer. I wasn’t. I needed therapy. So, would it help Benzo depression. I cannot say. Esperanza

[[ea...]]

Personally, I would NEVER take an SSRI again, no matter what. I truly believe they are "garbage drugs", designed ONLY to make money for the drug companies. In MY case, all of my depressive symptoms turned out to be  caused by the benzos I was also taking. I did not know about tolerance WD and the symptoms it causes. I used to have many weird symptoms and doctor after doctor could find nothing wrong, so they told me I might have: fibromyalgia, CFS, MS , Parkinsons and even Lou Gehrigs Disease. What a load of crap! ALL of my old symtpoms went away - including depression AND anxiety - once I got off benzos.

You guys need to know that SSRIs ALSO can have nasty withdrawals.

In my mind, getting off benzos was just the beginning. I will NEVER take another psych drug again, unless I have a true terminal illness and then it will not matter.

east

[[or...]]

ALL of my old symtpoms went away - including depression AND anxiety - once I got off benzos.

 

Mine, too, eastcoast.

 

I reluctantly took an SSRI in the early part of my taper and it didn't do me a damned bit of good. In fact, I had such a weird reaction to it that I had to stop it abruptly.

 

I just soldiered on with my anxiety and depression, which I believed were caused not necessarily by the benzo itself but by the fact that I was in the middle of a horrible mess and had no idea how long I would be trapped in it. My taper lasted 3 years. I thought I would go mad. But I didn't, and when I was off benzos I resumed life as a human being. Yeah, I have a bit of anxiety and depression from time to time, but boo hoo:  life is fraught with anxiety and depression. Both emotions are eminently "handleable".

 

Really, thinking that we can fix our psychological discomfort with a pill is what got most of us into this benzo mess, imo.

 

And if you do a little reading about ADs, SSRIs, and SSNIs, you will come to realize that they do not "fix" depression. I won't say more about this.

 

Just wanted to chime in with my experience. Hope it's helpful to someone.

 

Katz

[[es...]]

I agree with these posts. Psychiatry turned me from a normal person who had some very normal human issues to a mentally tortured permanent patient. Had I taken medical advice, I would now be on 2-3 mg of Clonazapam and would be taking Abilify and considering etc and ketamine. Not kidding, when the Benzo problems were mentioned(by me), this was the recommendation. At that point, I had educated myself enough to refuse. Esperanza

[[Ba...]]

Circlestar,

 

exactly what I feel.

 

Tapering off makes so much sense when you are younger, but older you don't have hte social support or strength you once had.

 

I just don't know...  ;o  But you have company 

[[Ba...]]

I agree with these posts. Psychiatry turned me from a normal person who had some very normal human issues to a mentally tortured permanent patient. Had I taken medical advice, I would now be on 2-3 mg of Clonazapam and would be taking Abilify and considering etc and ketamine. Not kidding, when the Benzo problems were mentioned(by me), this was the recommendation. At that point, I had educated myself enough to refuse. Esperanza

 

Agree completely. 

They had no idea at the time how to treat extreme sleep disorders, tho.  I tried therapy many times but they did not recognize the many issues we all know now: parental narcissism, PTSD, all that.  And they do CBT too, now, with the schedule and light and all.

BUT... after 35 or so years on this crap not sure how it turns out for me, esp since cannot take the usual adjunctive meds others on these forums tolerate ok.

[[es...]]

I am sending you a pm in a few minutes E

[[es...]]

Barbara, hope that u got the pm. Let me know.Esperanza

[[2f...]]

Im tapering Zopiclone since 22 days. I have had sleepingproblems since. Last night no sleep at all. Now Im worried what happens if I dont sleep this night?Dangerous? I allready feel awfull in this now I worry about sleep.