Discussion: Four Phases of Withdrawal-Where Are You?

[[Bi...]]

I think I'm in phase 3.. foods etc don't trigger symptoms for me, stress does. My symptoms are dampening down for the most part and I'm beginning to wake without anxiety or much less for the first time in 14 weeks

[[Ma...]]

I’m in Phase 4 but I feel like hell…and incredibly impatient. I’m venturing out but…it’s not enough and I feel “stuck” in a relentless fashion….

Anyone else??

[[Ju...]]

Mary,

 

I think I'm understanding your situation, and it sounds like mine. My sleep keeps going from regular to nocturnal every few weeks, my muscles are still tensing up and stress still throws me into waves, but I'm still sure I'm in stage 4 if that's even a real thing.

 

I just try not to compare things to stages or phases or percentages personally, because each one of us is so different. Some of us might feel like we're in stage one, but maybe we're almost healed. Or maybe we feel like we're in stage four, but maybe we're really at the beginning and it will go on for 20 years. I mean there's just no way to predict this stuff, we're not Fortune tellers.

 

I look at it like this, how close are we to being completely functional and feeling normal? We can pretty much gauge that by whether or not we feel comfortable on a day-to-day basis. I would say if you feel pretty much normal, and you're not in pain and you're not getting waves, then you're pretty much good to go.

[[Cl...]]

hello, i don't want to offend or attack anyone here, but the 4 phases is just wrong. the withdrawal is not linear and does not follow any logic. so does baylissa and dr jennifer leigh. it can get much worse again after months. there can be windows and suddenly they are gone.

new symptoms appear that are even worse. Symptoms that disappeared come back. and so forth. this is also shown by many experiences here.

Best regards

Clarissa

[[no...]]

hello, i don't want to offend or attack anyone here, but the 4 phases is just wrong. the withdrawal is not linear and does not follow any logic. so does baylissa and dr jennifer leigh. it can get much worse again after months. there can be windows and suddenly they are gone.

new symptoms appear that are even worse. Symptoms that disappeared come back. and so forth. this is also shown by many experiences here.

Best regards

Clarissa

I said this a long time ago, and copped for a whole heap of dogmatic herd mentally kangaroo court type attacks on this thread by those who firmly believe every word regarding '' 4 stages'' and were hero worshipping the author at the time    Its  wrong, and  its causing needless stress, paranoia and worry for those who believe that there's something wrong or their never going to heal after reading this, because they not in line the with the imaginary '4 stages'  and I agree 100% with you Clarissa.

 

Its unreal and making the fragile feel under more pressure and down hearted about ever recovering DON'T BELIEVE IT KIDS!!  We all heal differently at different rates this is NOT reality that its done in ''4 stages'' Clarissa is 100% correct, you will heal but probably  at different rates  of time don't compare your rates of healing to a number or  to others its not realistic and will only make you feel more hopeless and depressed all of our journeys may be similar, but the path is  still unique to each individual.

 

If anyone's offend by my honesty like the last time I posted regarding this on this thread  I make no apologies although I hope I haven't offend anyone I refuse not to speak my truth, and the truth is its futile to believe there's a definitive ''4 stages' to healing and feel crestfallen and desperate and totally hopeless  because your not in line with them. Your healing in your time,it will come along try not to despair and please defiantly don't judge your selves or your symptoms time of healing by the titles and so called ' 4 stages' of this thread its not the Gospel truth., live you own truth and follow your own path don't worry about not matching someone else's that's not for you, that's for them as mine is for me.

 

 

Love peace and healing to all 

Nova xxxx  :smitten:  

[[fl...]]

I am one year post withdrawal from Klonopin. It took me a year and half to wean completely off. Now one year later I am getting some pop up anxiety feelings again. Usually they go away rather quick but I am in a period of 7 days in a row. Just when I thought I was in Phase 4. Is this normal? 

[[Pa...]]

Normal is a strange word to describe this process but yes, its common for symptoms to rear up again and again. 

 

I have a friend who is 12 months out from Ambien and he’ll feel perfectly fine for 3 weeks, then like clockwork, he’ll feel bad for about 9 days.  But each episode, the symptoms are slightly less intense but still, isn’t it crazy that this can happen, how do we make sense of this? 

[[Bi...]]

im jumping between stage 2 and on ocassion stage 3 and possibly 4. I was almost symptom free for nearly two weeks, just mild symptoms and now I feel back in stage 2, symptoms varying from mild to moderate, new symptoms ie dizziness ( felt I was going to pass out a day or so ago). Inner trembling back, head pressure, depression, jelly legs/ arms etc, hopelessness and more. I'm hoping for another window very soon!!

[[le...]]

hello, i don't want to offend or attack anyone here, but the 4 phases is just wrong. the withdrawal is not linear and does not follow any logic. so does baylissa and dr jennifer leigh. it can get much worse again after months. there can be windows and suddenly they are gone.

new symptoms appear that are even worse. Symptoms that disappeared come back. and so forth. this is also shown by many experiences here.

Best regards

Clarissa

I said this a long time ago, and copped for a whole heap of dogmatic herd mentally kangaroo court type attacks on this thread by those who firmly believe every word regarding '' 4 stages'' and were hero worshipping the author at the time    Its  wrong, and  its causing needless stress, paranoia and worry for those who believe that there's something wrong or their never going to heal after reading this, because they not in line the with the imaginary '4 stages'  and I agree 100% with you Clarissa.

 

Its unreal and making the fragile feel under more pressure and down hearted about ever recovering DON'T BELIEVE IT KIDS!!  We all heal differently at different rates this is NOT reality that its done in ''4 stages'' Clarissa is 100% correct, you will heal but probably  at different rates  of time don't compare your rates of healing to a number or  to others its not realistic and will only make you feel more hopeless and depressed all of our journeys may be similar, but the path is  still unique to each individual.

 

If anyone's offend by my honesty like the last time I posted regarding this on this thread  I make no apologies although I hope I haven't offend anyone I refuse not to speak my truth, and the truth is its futile to believe there's a definitive ''4 stages' to healing and feel crestfallen and desperate and totally hopeless  because your not in line with them. Your healing in your time,it will come along try not to despair and please defiantly don't judge your selves or your symptoms time of healing by the titles and so called ' 4 stages' of this thread its not the Gospel truth., live you own truth and follow your own path don't worry about not matching someone else's that's not for you, that's for them as mine is for me.

 

 

Love peace and healing to all 

Nova xxxx  :smitten:

 

 

 

 

 

I totally agree with your comments. I think the 4 phases thing, makes people like me think we are brain damaged or going to be like this for ever. My symptoms are largely mental, which people seem to think are easier to deal with, but totally restrict my life, haven’t been able go out fir day, or go on holiday in over 3 years. Had really bad reaction to AD’s then the flu jab, so have made little progress in all that time. My symptoms are OCD type symptoms but fail to respond to all the traditional therapies, meds for it. I think I will be stuck in  this hell forever. Don’t post much as don’t get responses anymore. Just think some people are lucky enough to go through phases and get waves and windows, but those of us who don’t, it just throws into even more despair when we don’t follow the 4 phases pattern. I think the 4 phases only applies if you have physical symptoms, with mental symptoms there is nothing you can do to make it heal quicker just takes long long time.

[[Re...]]

I don't completely relate to this but maybe phase two??? But still tapering another med so...maybe this is for people off all meds completely.

[[Th...]]

that's a great question   

 

I guess I am in phase two 74 days after jumping off Bromazepam. I had hoped I'd be in phase 3 but started to be a bit more realistic, given the 6-12 months estimate.

 

Same as Rebecca also struggling with another medication (Zyprexa), jumped off that several times, which complicates things...

 

So here is to phase 3 upcoming, fingers crossed

[[Bi...]]

Felt I was in three but I'm back in two..

 

I'm in anxiety hell right now with other symptoms on top

 

 

[[Wi...]]

Hi Warrior,

 

“ I have symptoms that don't fall into the normal categories even on here so that perpetuates all the fear...”

 

Wanna bet?  I could use the extra money.  Ha!

 

Seriously, Warrior, none of us gets all the 322 reported symptoms Ashton named.  But I did manage to amass 130 or so.  They may not be your symptoms, but they are no more, or no less, dire than yours. They are just symptoms of something really good going on—healing and rebalancing your gaba and cortisol.  Think of the scales ⚖️ of justice.  Right now your scales are uneven.  With time and a lot of hard work on your body’s part, those scales of yours get level.  All your symptoms related to the imbalance will go away.  If you had a prior illness or condition before withdrawal, you may still have that to contend with, or maybe not.  I’ve known people with lifetime allergies who had no more allergies when their recovery was complete.  I’ve known people who got gobsmacked by menopause and had no more symptoms related to menopause when they healed.  See, your body is healing everything, things that you didn’t even realize were heading south.  This is a complete remodel going on.  As much as it sucks, embrace the healing and the symptoms.  Something really good is about to happen to you and you will not regret a minute of all the pain you went through.  That’s how good you are going to feel. 

 

You are three years off and you don’t feel well.  You are discouraged because you have seen no improvement.  That’s exactly how I felt at your timeframe off.  It wasn’t until about five years that my healing started picking up steam where I could actually “feel the healing.”  It’s hard to be patient.  It’s hard to keep hope alive.  But, when you have no other choice, you do what you need to do to survive.

 

What I am here to tell you is that you will not merely survive this.  Survival is no way to live!  You will THRIVE.  You will feel better than you did in your 30s because you were forced to eat nothing but healthy whole foods for years.  You’ll be full of energy.  My grandkids can’t keep up with me!  You will have no pain whatsoever.  Your body fixed what was headed south.  In the middle of a crisis, you’ll be the only calm person in the room because nobody but you truly knows what hell is.  The rest life has to throw at you is child’s play next to this.

 

So wipe your tears.  Shrug off the fear and shout “STOP STOP STOP.”  Start every morning with the silliest of phrases:  “I’m going to have a great day today.”  Because you WILL. 

 

You are healthy.  You are strong.  Nobody you know could go through what you’re going through.  Just like your name. You’re a WARRIOR.

 

Sofa

 

 

Love love love this. Thank you Sofa for writing this and sharing about your protracted healing for any of us struggling longer timelines. I need to come and read this post often.

[[Bi...]]

I THINK ( hope) I'm now between 3 and 4.

[[Co...]]

Wow Birdiepie, so fast!! How nice for you 

[[Ca...]]

I am phase 2! I think phase 2 started off for me at about 3 weeks off. I am 9 weeks off now and I have a strong window and wave pattern. Fatigue is my worst symptom. The one that is always there in varying intensities. Sometimes I have short lived anxiety. I think mental symptoms are much harder to deal with. So I am sort of thankfull to have physical symptoms the most. Though if I get hit with anxiety or panic I can distract and just force myself to do something and it will disappear then. But if my fatigue is at its worst I can not even go on benzo buddies and read or write! My waves are also triggered by stress a lot as in phase 3. I hope I get to phase 3 soon... though the waves are still tough in phase 3.. as it's not my first Benzo withdrawal...  phase 2 for me was still more waves than windows, phase 3 the other way round (sometimes I had 6 weeks window straight) ...phase 4 is when you have almost made it. For me my symptoms only decreased in intensity when I reached phase 4. In phase 3 the waves just got less often. Now I see a lot of slow but gradual improvement after every wave... sometimes my waves last a few days only, sometimes 2 or 3 weeks

 

Back then I remember phase 1 and 2 lasted 8 weeks together... it was like early acute (phase 1) and late acute (phase 2)...phase 3 and 4 lasted 6 months each! I was healed after 14 or 15 months off. In phase 4 I had very mild symptoms that were hard to distinguish from every day stress reactions.

 

Now in Klonopin withdrawal (rapid detox) I am not out of acute after 8 weeks. It takes longer...

[[ty...]]

HOW IS YOUR AKATHISIA? ARE YOU STILL ON THE PROPRANOLOL?

[[Ca...]]

Yes, I am still on Propanolol 60mg, rarely 70mg... I do not have akasthisia...at all. I am rather hypokinetic this time around in Klonopinwithdrawal.. though naturally I have a very hyperactive ADHD... I don't even know whether I would have akasthisia if I wasn't on the Propanolol...I

I had to deal with (the absolute worst) akasthisia in Lyrica Withdrawal (after 7 weeks used)... I thought I develloped akasthisia when I tried to get off Ritalin a couple of weeks ago... way too early as I was /am still in acute... Then I started the Propanolol... it immediately helped! Then I stopped it again but took it (successfully) for other anxiety and panic related symptoms a week later... It helps me with a lot of w/d symptoms

[[La...]]

I’m nearly out of phase 2 finally….mild waves now daily with a rougher one about every week or two. I started to incorporate some things I haven’t tried in years and it sends me into a rougher wave. For example: exercising for 10 extra minutes, trying a different hair product or food. So my foot is in sensitivity phase now…which is 3.

I’m excited! Yay!!! 

 

[[Ca...]]

I think at about 10 weeks off I probably got into phase 3. I hope at least!... There was a drastic change! I had my first 100% windows where I was feeling super close to my old self or even a better self and not just about up to 70 or 80% of a window as before... the windows took much longer, they were nicer. the waves decreased in intensity and duration a lot and I became much more functional...I could stay up most of the time throughout the day and didn't have to lay down all the time! I could do things that were impossible before like cleaning my apartment and getting a bit rid of my chaos in there and stuff... the first 10 weeks off I was bedridden most of the time! It just felt like finally being out of acute.

 

...then it took maybe 2 to 3 quite beautiful weeks of mostly nice windows or more- and only mild super short lived waves ...and then my oldest bird died and at the same time I was scared for my mom who has cancer and is kept alive only by medication...she had one of her 2x a year check ups at the oncology... we hope every time the medication which is her only chance to survive will help her as long as possible...she had to vomite a lot the last few weeks we were all scared for her health...but gladly the test results proove it's not caused by her cancer, gladly!!!...but this fear and a really  rough sleepless night with my beloved bird who would die sent me in a bad wave again the other day that lasts quite long. My waves still last up to 14 days or something with slightly bit better days in between and then worse days. Usually it gets bad at the end of the wave before it finally gets better...Today it's really bad. It's a peak day. I feel thrown back to stage 2 today. I almost cannot believe I already felt that good before ... before this wave hit me! But just to know that the waves will end and the windows will come back again.. whenever it will be - helps me to be brave and hopefull! Because even if I can’t believe right now and it seems like a dream I do remember how good I felt before the wave hit me.

 

I am 3 months and 3 days off now. I finally felt somewhat like me again! It's been long time, a very long time since I felt like me the last time! I guess I forgot how good it can feel to be me in withdrawal and on Klonopin... It's so hard and stupid to feel like shit again and at the same time you know you could actually feel so much better .... but it's part of the healing and recovery process to feel this way ... you unlearn how to deal with unpleasant symptoms so quick! ...