Face twitching

[[Ry...]]

Hey guys so I’ve been trying to stay strong and hang in here but it’s so hard. I just keep going somehow but am still recovering. I’m 6 weeks out this Saturday. Just always having different symptoms but the head muscle symptoms are the worst. I’ve been wearing a headband on my head and that has helped a lot but its like my face has a mind of it’s own. I sleep fine and eat fine. Occasionally I get cog fog but coffee helps. I am able to eat healthy and do get days of going out but things feel so terribly hopeless sometimes. I do not know what normal feels like since this hell started 6 months ago. I am a member of surviving antidepressants also but find it hard to concentrate to even fill out my signature. Does this really end and do people fully recover and get to return to a normal life. I hear stories of so many people years out and not yet recovered. It makes me sad. I am having my teeth out next week and getting nitrous oxide which scares me that it might kindle my gaba receptors. I would hate to make things worse. Anxiety wise I do not know what to do. While I am seeing great improvement in that field I do not know if I will manage without anything but I do not think my brain can handle more chemicals. I live at home and have been able to rest because of my family which don’t care if it takes 2 years for me to get better. Hopefully all this cbt will get rid of the anxiety enough that got me here in the first place. I really wanna be able to go back to school... and work out but the most I can manage right now is some cardio. Does this really get better? My dad has gone on and off benzos his whole life easily and I am honestly jealous. He does not take them anymore but takes flexeril. He too had a bad reaction to ssri’s which almost killed him. However he thinks I should try a tricyclic antidepressant because we have many family members who did find with this drug, but they also did fine on benzos. I had an aunt with a klonopin addiction she died very young and ended up on methadone and I am afraid of following her footsteps and ending up an alcoholic or on methadone. Something tells me she did it to supress klonopin withdrawal that a doctor put her on at 19. She also died very young. I do not know what to think anymore. All these people friends and therapists care about me but I feel lost and have lost complete trust in the medical community. I also feel cursed that my body does not tolerate medication when I am so mentally ill. Another part of me is greatful I have time to recover and sleep off years worth of stress hoping that one day I wake up better from both anxiety and withdrawal. I was brutally cold turkeyed off ssris by a very mean doctor who called me crazy when withdrawal started. Then a rude psychiatrist at the hospital forced me on zoloft knowing that I was having an adverse reaction to ssri’s. I ended up having to take a benzo everyday to cope and after a 8 week taper am better then most but clearly still unwell. Thank-you for listening to me rant.

[[Ar...]]

 

Poor guy .. You are poisoned with these poisons .. Who could give you such a bad idea ..

[[Ar...]]

 

Honor the sane man Dr. Peter Breggin about psychiatric drugs.

https://www.madinamerica.com/2018/01/what-really-call-psychiatric-drugs/

[[Ry...]]

I full out believe it’s neurotoxicity myself... I am trying my best to remain positive and eat antioxidants and exercise. I’m young so I suppose theres hope. Too scared to have an MRI. I just can’t believe a docotr did this to me.

[[Ar...]]

Hold on and do not allow any more experiments on your health.

[[ti...]]

Hey Ryebread,

 

It does get better. The facial twitches and the general fear you are feeling are normal. While it's true many users are years into their WD and still have symptoms, it's important to remember the staggering variance there is from person to person. Just stay strong, keep talking, and let the healing take its course. My mantra is 'this too shall pass' - maybe that could help you

[[di...]]

Coffee might help with the cog fog but being a stimulant, might not be the best thing if you have twitches and anxiety issues. It's also likely to raise blood pressure which is high for many people in benzo withdrawal anyhow. I would strongly recommend limiting your coffee consumption to occasional use, perhaps when there is some extra pressing need to be alert or perhaps as a pick-me-up treat kinda thing, if it's something you enjoy. Tea would be a better beverage if you need caffeine in your life more regularly. It has a milder stimulant effect but is more sustaining. Green tea is best for its high l-theanine content which has a soothing effect to balance out the stimulant effect from the caffeine. Normal black tea has this but in smaller amounts.

 

Obviously not trying to tell anybody what to do. Perhaps the trade off is worth it in your situation but for many, dropping caffeine will have a beneficial effect after you get over the withdrawals. I recommend weaning off over the course of a week or two, if your intake is quite high. Cold turkey won't be the end of the world but might turn you into a raging monster for a short while. Headaches and irritability would be expected.

 

All of that said, I had twitches come and go all over my body right throughout my taper. There's only so much you can do to help it. Be reassured that it's all normal and completely benign.