PLEASE HELP!!!! 🙏

[[md...]]

Looking for help!

 

I have been in early Benzo w/d while tapering due the misguided assistance of my NP and my own knowledge of Benzos. I was on Ativan and needed last year PRN and last winter more commonly for a few months on and off and then stopped c/t by my Dr when I started having insomnia and was moved to multiple trial and error sleeping meds. I was back on klonopin for 3 months between .50 mg and .75 mg, after previous c/t in between other failed meds before my dr transitioned to me over to Valium to taper, in which she dis to quickly,( 1 week, from .50 mg Klonopin to 8 mg Valium ). She fast tapered me at 1 mg per week until I got to 6 mg, where I held for 2 weeks before going to 5 mg. I was so sick she updated me back to 6 mg for 3 weeks which I never stabilized and have been sick the entire time. I just did. .25 mg cut this week and have been felling even worse. I have been hitting withdrawal symptoms and tolerance badly waking up an hour after I take the 5 mg at night with soaking sweats, shakes, skin on fire, flu symptoms and more. I believe its from the fast transition, quick cuts and Klonopin w/d's. The Valium makes me feel worse and my Dr wants to change me back to Klonopin to taper. I do not trust her and do not know what to do as I have been sick. Do not know if I need to up dose and use DLMT, or just try to taper down with the current severe w/ds and continued micro sleeps waking with flu symptoms.

 

Any suggestions or guidance would be be life saving!

 

[[ne...]]

 

 

Hello  I wanted to pop in and offer you some reassurance/guidance as I was in a similar position last year. As I'm sure you are aware, you are in acute withdrawal from fast tapering the medication. Just a tiny background for you, I cold-turkeyed 2+ mgs of klonopin last year around this time and was in acute for about 3-4 months. I had abused the drug for about 5 years prior to cold-turkeying it. A true CT...no cuts, rescue doses, just stopped taking the medication entirely. I had every symptom in the book including the ones you mentioned and wanted to tell you that at 1 year out, the only lingering symptoms are slight hypersensitivity, minor head pressure and vision issues (all of which are entirely manageable and diminishing with time). That is my reassurance that this is temporary, you WILL get through this as I have and everyone on here who has stayed COMPLETELY sober from medication and alcohol.

 

I won't offer you medical advice but I will tell you what helped me during my acute phase of w/d:

 

1. Stayed at my Mom's so I could be around someone and would call my dad when it got really bad (find a support person who will just listen, I'll tell you in advance they wont understand but it's OKAY, you just need to get it out)

2. Kept a journal and wrote in it daily, it really helped to get my thoughts down on paper as there were a lot of them!

3. Drank a TON of water. This helped a bunch as I could feel my brain and body being oxygenated.

4. Practiced deep breathing exercises to further oxygenate and relax my system.

5. Eliminated stressful stimuli during acute: watching TV, playing video games, overextending myself at work (yes I stayed in my job as they were aware of my struggles and payed for disability income when I went to rehab)

6. Was open about my situation to people I met rather than hiding it (taking my mask off and being honest helped a lot in my recovery)

7. Found activities I enjoy that were rewarding: riding a motorbike daily (helped a ton to clear my head and with my adrenaline surges) and jiu jitsu (intense physical training/re-connecting with people after isolation).

8. Joined a church to connect with people again.

9. Heated rice packs on my forehead at night helped with the head pressure.

10. Warm showers.

 

Unfortunately, there really is not way out but through and I won't lie and say it will be a walk in the park. HOWEVER, you must find a way to turn the experience into a positive  For me, I used it as a chance to change everything in my life: I broke my addictions to drugs, medication, video games, porn, negative thinking and unhealthy eating habits. I am now (at just one year out) happier than I've ever been in my life, even before benzos.

 

That's what I have for you  I know it may not all be practical advice for you and that's okay. I'm simply letting you know what worked for me to get me through my darkest hour and let you know that I made it and life is fantastic on the other side. It will be for you too, that's my promise.

 

You're welcome to PM me if you'd like and I am happy to offer any support/guidance within my realm of experience  :smitten:

 

P.S:  I personally would not up dose unless it's absolutely unbearable and life threatening.. keep the possibility of reinstatement/updosing in case of emergency and try to taper yourself off the medication so you can begin healing.

 

 

[[md...]]

I truly appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and suggestions with me. You mentioned going into Detox, I have thought about this as I am alone a lot, home on disability and driving myself more crazy with all of these thoughts. Did you find the detox helpful? My sleep has been so bad, I have had chronic insomnia for 9 months now, and it has been getting worse with micro sleeps, waking soaked in sweat with heart palpitations, burning skin and flu symptoms. How long did this last for you? Did you find anything helpful at night as this is the worst time? I sometimes wonder if I should speed up my taper as I am already in acute w/d, but have no idea if I could get worse, or if it would help heal in the long run?

 

Thank you again for all of your feedback, I truly appreciate it!

[[ne...]]

Seriously, don't mention it! The pleasure is all mine being able to give back to people who are going through the hell I experienced and you'll understand that joy someday soon 

 

I went into intensive outpatient rehab for about 3 weeks (not the conventional detox like you are thinking as I was already off of the medication for about 2 months at that point) and I will say this: it was helpful seeing where the road to addiction was leading me and to hear/share my troubles and experience with others in group therapy sessions (I saw 65 year olds who were essentially still children as their brain never developed due to abusing drugs/alcohol their entire life. Truly sad). I am 27 by the way. I also gained the understanding of what it really means to be an addict and it wasn't what I thought.. I thought it was just the fact that you enjoy being loaded all the time  the truth is, people become addicts due to trauma in their life that they are unable to cope with otherwise.  SO.. it was helpful in that it helped me come to terms with why I was abusing medication, but honestly I could have gotten through without it.

 

As far as the insomnia and symptoms.. I didn't sleep for a solid 2 weeks and had those symptoms intensely during that time. They were the most severe during acute and began to diminish with time. After about 4-5 months, I no longer had night sweats, that electric buzzing feeling in my body, ect… As far as managing the symptoms I highly recommend intense exercise. It made my brain and body feel amazing and definitely helped with sleep. I also believe cannabis helped a lot with sleep but the trade off was that it intensified anxiety so I ceased using that too after I got through acute. Lastly, as far as the tapering goes, you really have to go at the pace that you can physically bear. I'm a pretty young athletic and "experienced" young lad (in the Jimi Hendrix sense of the term  ) so I knew what I was capable of enduring physically... For me, I just wanted it to be over so I grinded through the pain but that can be very dangerous. I believe if I had done a taper though, my symptoms would not have been as severe but the process would have been longer. You should consult some tapering experts on here as that is not quite my expertise.

 

Please don't hesitate to contact me. I'll add you to my buddy list and make sure to check on you if that's okay

 

na-

[[md...]]

I was c/t twice earlier this year and had lighter symptoms accept for chronic insomnia. After my last NP transitioned  and tapered me to fast, I hit a wall over the past couple of months that has been really bad. My new NP wants me to go back on klonopin or Ativan and states I need for my anxiety disorder.....but I’m already down 5.75, i feel ready that something had to give and I want off! I want my life back and the real healing does not start till after your last pill. It almost feels like I’m prolonging while tapering? But scared to go ct. I also feel like making the change to Valium was a bad idea. Thank you for your help, I save your email and suggestions. If you have any other suggestions that you think can help, especially with sleep, drop me a note. Talk Soon, mdv