Why stop benzos if they help?

[[pa...]]

If I knew my life was going to turn into this torturous hell I would have NEVER started a taper. Someone that is doing well on a benzo is not going to come here and talk about it. They have no need to. When I told the doctor that was prescribing the Xanax that (He warned me not to go off of it) I was thinking of joining a taper support group he said that all I would see is the horror stories. He's retired now so with all the anti-benzo rage going on I'm f**ked.  I ONLY started a taper because every time I had to spend an extended time in a hospital doctors kept trying to stop me cold turkey from a high dose of Xanax. I was afraid one of them was going to kill me. I wish they had. Even Dr. Ashton that everyone worships says that no one should be denied a benzo. People seem to leave that little tidbit out.

 

Yeah, I kind of agree. I’ve got many pdocs who allow me to stay on a minimal dose of Valium for sleep. Like 10 mg. Forcing one to CT benzos if they don’t want to is a fascist attitude. And Ashton was strongly against it. As the effect achieved was the opposite. What really sucks about benzos is that one hits tolerance. I take Valium for insomnia. I’ve suffered from insomnia and social anxiety since childhood. No sleep aid seemed to work for me.

 

I’m trying to take less V. and more Phenergan syrup. It’s an antihistamine. Funny thing is, one also hits tolerance with antihistamines. Not that quickly, though. Benzos downregulate GABA receptors. The brain doesn’t produce enough GABA on its own. Those who have to take benzos on a daily or/and nightly basis are kind of cursed.

 

I still have some hope to substitute my nightly Valium dose as much as I can with Phenergan. The only antihistamine I tolerate. As it doesn’t cause appetite. And I have ED. There is an additional factor in all this. A severe neck discopathy which causes acute pain. It requires surgical intervention, of which I’m scared. Valium, as a muscle relaxant, alleviates that pain. But I guess even 1-2 mg Valium would do the trick.

 

Prozac makes the pain worse, cause it stiffens the muscles. Each psych med is a double-edged sword. I understand your frustration with pdocs who wanted to force you off benzos perfectly. But there comes a time when we just wish we could lower the dose as much as possible... Rock bottom, I guess.

 

Our bodies are made to heal themselves.  God created the perfect body, we damaged this by adding all these drugs, preservatives....  How do you fight against this?  You slowly taper down and get off these drugs.  We created these drugs for MONEY, because the day you are cured they won't make any money so why would they create a drug that once you use it you are free of pain? So again, if you want your whole life to live like this then continue to take these drugs, if is helping you without having the need to upper you dose every month then God bless you.  If you feel the same or worse, then God bless you but is time to slowly taper down and get off.  Yes, is a slow and painful process so having complete support from friends and family is very important.  Now, I want to point out that if you use the same dose you did before and you are feeling worse is because you are addicted and your body is asking for more (my personal opinion, I'm not a Doctor nor do I want to be. jejeje). Or you increase your dose or you step back and get off this drug. I decided to get off and I'm glad I did.  Still a work in progress, but I feel good I did and have no regrets. ;-  God bless you all!

[[ma...]]

God created the perfect body

 

No he didn't.  The human body is far, far from perfect.  We eat through the same hole we breathe through; that is in fact extremely inefficient design.  And that doesn't even scratch the surface.

 

If the human body were "perfect", things like drugs and preservatives would not cause us harm.

[[gi...]]

God created the perfect body

 

No he didn't.  The human body is far, far from perfect.  We eat through the same hole we breathe through; that is in fact extremely inefficient design.  And that doesn't even scratch the surface.

 

If the human body were "perfect", things like drugs and preservatives would not cause us harm.

 

Wow.

[Guest [ou...]]

No he didn't.

 

Why would you assume it's a He?

[[id...]]

The reason, there are things you can not control which could separate you from your ability to take or even get your medications.  In our volatile world, what if a rogue nation hit us with an EMP (very plausible) then there would be no electricity for years - no pharmacy, no refrigeration - just you against the elements with an addiction to Xanax.  The scenario doesn't even have to be that harsh.  Just any situation no matter how great or small that keeps you from receiving your doses  - well, then we're screwed.  Instead of survival we're facing the possibility of grand mal seizures and mentally horrific deaths.

 

I love the visual!

 

Before I got much worse on K and AD and floxed, I was contemplating moving to another country (I've lived in a few), but the logistics of figuring out how to 1) get a month worth script of K and bring it through security (needed to figure out the laws of the new country) 2) pack and move to another country while still having enough pills 3) find a new doc in a new country 4) convince them that I need benzos 5) find a trustworthy pharmacy that dispenses benzos, all this logistics actually stopped me from pursuing my dream. Because I was panicking something would happen and I'd be cut off of Klonopin. Klonopin stripped me of my freedom.

[[ju...]]

I think this may be happing to me  I'm on 1.5 mg of Ativan a day have been for  since march 2013    this whole time I have been taking a .25mg every 4 hours  now it seems like I'm losing my shit out of now where crying  I cant leave the house I'm scared to death for no reason I've been getting health anxiety like something wrong with my insides when there not  I'm making  a dr apponintment this Monday because I don't know what's going on

[[Ja...]]

I think this may be happing to me  I'm on 1.5 mg of Ativan a day have been for  since march 2013    this whole time I have been taking a .25mg every 4 hours  now it seems like I'm losing my shit out of now where crying  I cant leave the house I'm scared to death for no reason I've been getting health anxiety like something wrong with my insides when there not  I'm making  a dr apponintment this Monday because I don't know what's going on

 

Breathe for a moment.  You are not alone. 

Welcome to ... here ... you are not alone.

 

[[Su...]]

I think this may be happing to me  I'm on 1.5 mg of Ativan a day have been for  since march 2013    this whole time I have been taking a .25mg every 4 hours  now it seems like I'm losing my shit out of now where crying  I cant leave the house I'm scared to death for no reason I've been getting health anxiety like something wrong with my insides when there not  I'm making  a dr apponintment this Monday because I don't know what's going on

Hey Jumpman,

this is a good place to get some information -- BB.... It sounds like you've been having interdose w/d for a long time.  I so like having a name for what is happening with my body when it seems that things are completely loopy!  There are lots of positive threads around that can offer a lot of information on what you might want to do .....

Good that you'll be seeing your doc, hopefully they are benZo wise.

And Janna says good stuff!  Here.....

SS

[[Ju...]]

A very interesting thread.  I was started on 5 mg. of Valium three times a day in 1972.  I too did not increase the dosage all those years.  And I got good benefit.  I now know that I got tolerance withdrawal in 2004.  I was very, very anxious and didn't know why the Valium wasn't working.

 

I was older by then, and in a couple of years or so, I developed a balance disorder.  I searched and searched on the web to try to determine what was causing this, and I finally found evidence that it was the Valium.

 

My balance disorder has improved, but is still not 100 percent, and that is basically why I am trying again to get off Valium.  I have to be very, very careful because of my mental health.

 

So:  The point is that benzos may help for a long time, but they don't help forever.  I doubt that I was getting much benefit for many years, though I was telling myself that I was.

 

This thread began in a controversial manner, contrary to what many say on this web site.  But the original writer had a valid point.  Just incomplete, because benzos don't work forever.  And symptoms may develop, like balance disorder, that are very disturbing.

[[La...]]

I agree, Julianna2014. My balance has been severely affected by the benzos, and really, there's no way to get better unless you get off the medication. These meds have long-term serious consequences.

[[Es...]]

Terrible for the memory. Once you hit tolerance, the memory improves. But it tends to be 40-50% worse than before. All the cognitive functioning deteriorates considerably.

[[ge...]]

I felt the same way when my Dr suggested tapering. I now realize for tears I was in tolerance withdrawal. my dose never quit working effectively, and I never had to go up. I took it before bed and slept great. However...I had a weird pinching pain in my hip that wouldn't go away. Tingling in my hands and feet from time to time,  and I swayed when I walked sometimes, falling. My bladder would spasm and the pain was crazy. My anxiety before that nightly dose was amped, and of course I felt I needed it to help! Fun fact...Once I went completely off, I no longer have those panic attacks. I knew the moment I started to wean that we were on the right track, as the pain I had been experiencing intermittently now was constant and x10. Sure I had the thought to go back, but once I started to see the damage I got really excited about what life might look like after. I'm still waiting, it's been a long road, but I'll never go back.

[[Kr...]]

In my case the benzo I had been taking for 18 years was no longer being carried by any pharmacy.  My benzo had been phased out and was considered "old".  Yet I now realize that I had developed a physical dependence on my wonderful benzo and am glad that I'm tapering.

 

Withdrawal sucks, but I have no choice since my benzo is gone ...

[[Sw...]]

I agree, Julianna2014. My balance has been severely affected by the benzos, and really, there's no way to get better unless you get off the medication. These meds have long-term serious consequences.

 

This is one of the issues I had on clonazepam as well.  I fell 8 times in a five year period, the last time I got a hairline fracture of the tibia.  After haphazardly (little did I know at the time) tapering off the drug I no longer have a balance issue, but still am a little anxious in any situation that could present a balance problem.

 

Sweet pea

[[La...]]

Ah, Sweet pea, it's great news that your balance is better! Congratulations! I'm sorry to hear about all of those falls and the fracture, though. I, too, now have a fracture due to my balance issue. 

 

ALL of the medical literature mentions falls, fractures and motor vehicle accidents as known risks when taking benzodiazepines. ALL doctors should be aware of that information when prescribing these meds.

[[Jr...]]

What makes benzos so much worse than any other medication for other co ditions? If taking a rherapuetic xose and not abusing them. I was put on klonopin because i was having panic attacks all xay every day. I tapererd down amd guess what? Back to continuous panic attacks. Ive been on it for arou d 14 years and have no sixe effects that i k ow of. No tolerance witjdrawal. Whatever that is which doesnt even really make sense. No memory loss that im aware of. So why is this drug labeled so horrible if it helps? Why suffer instead of taking something? Its just my opinion that those that are supposedly protracted for years and so on are just back to their same problems and not being medicated properly.  Thoughts? Agree? Disagree?

 

I’ve taken every benzo, I use to defend them. Until I realized that I was taking these pills and feeling worse after. I guess it depends on the individual, no doubt they make you feel good but it is a temporary fix for an underlining issue. I know I can live without them, I’ve done it before, with no panic or anxiety. It’s just a matter of finding coping skills. I personally feel there is no reason to feel drowsy and out of it to control anxiety. I find myself having a hard time to do normal things I use to enjoy. Just my opinion...

[[pa...]]

God created the perfect body

 

No he didn't.  The human body is far, far from perfect.  We eat through the same hole we breathe through; that is in fact extremely inefficient design.  And that doesn't even scratch the surface.

 

If the human body were "perfect", things like drugs and preservatives would not cause us harm.

 

God didn't create drugs, preservatives and everything else that harms our body.  We did!  He gave us free will so we changed everything and then complained.  Is so much easier to blame others for our mistakes. ;-(

 

God bless!

Jose

 

[[pa...]]

God created the perfect body

 

No he didn't.  The human body is far, far from perfect.  We eat through the same hole we breathe through; that is in fact extremely inefficient design.  And that doesn't even scratch the surface.

 

If the human body were "perfect", things like drugs and preservatives would not cause us harm.

 

So you eat through your nose?

 

We suppose to breathe through our nose, not the mouth.  The mouth is on option if the nose is blocked.  ;-)

 

God Bless!

[[Ju...]]

I just read this whole thread.  I had repressed my sleep problems when I was in tolerance withdrawal.  For years, I had taken 5 mg. upon awakening, 5 mg. at lunch, and then 5 mg. at 5 p.m.  Then I started waking up at 1 or 2 in the morning, and--yes--I did realize it was withdrawal from Valium.  I would make myself wait until 3:30 to take a 5 mg. Valium, and then the Valium would get me back to sleep until 7.  This went on for a long while, and then I realized that this was no way to live.

 

I started minute dry cuts, and then held for 6 weeks each cut.  Now I am trying again, mainly for balance issues and the fact that I still can't sleep, ever, longer than seven and one-half hours through a night.  I am using milk daily titration, and so far I have had no side effects because I am reducing so very slowly.  I am healing as I go down, I hope.

 

Thank you for this good thread in benzo buddies.

 

 

[[ma...]]

So you eat through your nose?

 

Food goes down our throat.  The nose and mouth both lead to the throat.  We have to stop breathing to swallow.

[[ho...]]

Chris. Ive had that question in my head alot. Bit i decided to get off after the bad reaction to alot of other meds and I justleft the dr and got off. Bad move probly. Bit i personally think benzos are the safest med to take. The reason I say this is because the way antipsychotics and ssris work is pretty much like driving a car full speed constantly with no oil in it. Killing a drained body causing mania. As where benzos slow you down. But tolerance will catch up to you eventually. Thats what I think. And it is true that there will come a time when the only thing you can do is come off maybe not today or in a while bit it will come. So you do you and fuck the rest

[[ho...]]

And no it not always bcause they are not medicated properly.

[[pa...]]

Yes, you are correct.  Isn't that beautiful?  Is perfect because we have lived so long just like this and even with the damage we have created ourselves. ;-)  God Bless!

 

 

[[Am...]]

You're body gets so good at metabolism of the drug that you actually withdraw from it on the same dose. It is an unfortunate inevitability with most people hence their need to updose. Over time, and studies have been done, benzos alter your brain chemistry and mechanism of action and can cause permanent damage. They are not a long term solution.

[[id...]]

One good reason to stop before one might be forced to and not believed you're having a horrible withdrawal:

 

http://michiganradio.org/post/fbi-investigation-macomb-county-jail-death-no-criminal-charges-plenty-red-flags