12-24 months and up support group

[[Ga...]]

Hello Dear BBs/Friends.  First of all, Happy and Healthy 2023 for all of us.  Secondly, LadyDen please get rid of the nasty flu bug, and get back to us, your buddies who love and miss you!🙏♥️🙏♥️.

 

For those of you who are at present down in the trenches……LiveLife, JBen, Helen, and Jordan, and any others suffering…..remain assured that your window days are coming.  Truly they are.  How do I know?  Because, I am now at almost 34 months off and after a pretty bad run of ill health from June to October, my window has been consistently open and I am up and about almost every day with only a slight headache in the morning.  I was very busy during the holidays, but for the first time in three years I suffered no wave after!  This is major as previous years saw me back in bed in January with all sorts of viruses and terrible head pains.  Now into mid-January I have been doing very well and have been entertaining friends with great gusto. 

 

In the morning I awaken with a slight tinge of a headache which miraculously disappears around 8:00 a.m.  I am an early riser, so I have a whole day to enjoy being symptom free and my life has pretty much resumed to a pre-benzo existence.  I am beginning to believe that the 12 to 18 month timeframe is a little optimistic, whereas the 24 to 36 month timeframe seems more realistic for some of us.  I can’t believe that my doctors told me that most people recover within 3 to 12 months.  This projection sure led to disbelieve and depression as the clock ticked on.

 

So, Dear Buddies, please find comfort and hold onto hope from my story: Head pains and weird sensations will go away, sleep can be beautiful once again, food no longer is a boogeyman, and your energy will resume. Overall your immune system will reset and you will not be dragged down into the benzo flu as I was over and over again.  I have not had Covid or the flu, nor have I had any type of virus.  I am knocking on wood and holding my breath that this remains the case, but I have been fooled a few times before when my windows slammed shut.  I thought I was healed at 9/17/25 months, which is kind of weird as the months are each 8 months apart!  Now that I am passing my 33rd month, it also falls into the 8 months apart pattern.  So very strange!!!!!

 

I am entertaining guests tomorrow evening and have all the food made, the table set, and the home tidy and clean.  Could I have done this during the summer and the autumn months….no way!  So trust me, if I can heal at 75 years young, have undergone three surgeries, put on way too many antibiotics, had terrible waves with my Covid vaccines and one booster, and endured some family stress off and on, then all of you CAN AND WILL HEAL😍😍😍😍😍

 

Love, prayers and hugs,

 

GG

[[fe...]]

GG,

You are so kind to post such encouragement…I’m so very happy that you are getting back to your pre benzo self… it sounds wonderful!!!

❤️Fire

LadyDen, hope you’re feeling better! 

Everyone else… keep healing until we can post something like GG.

 

[[...]]

Ah GG that is great!!  We are right behind you.  Well, we are behind you lol.  Not sure how close yet.

 

Feelingfire how are you doing?

[[Li...]]

Helen,

Thank you so much for your kindness and encouragement.

 

LadyDen,

I'm so sorry to hear that you're not feeling well. Hope you get better ASAP!

 

JBen,

Sorry to hear that you're struggling. I'm right there with you. Let's hope we all turn a corner very soon.

 

GG,

It's so great to hear from you. And it's even better to hear how well you're doing. Such an encouragement you're a couple months ahead of me I sure hope I turn the corner soon. I'm still really struggling as bad as ever. So something good must be taking place.

 

Big hugs to all!

 

LiveLife

[[ka...]]

Yay garden. Happy music. Enjoy the guests. I see you garden. So clear I see you.

[[de...]]

GG:  Loved getting the update from you.  So glad you are doing well.  We may have talked about this, but my "I think I am healed" moments came in 8 month intervals as well.  So weird.  And yes, I agree, I think the 12-18 month idea is a little optimistic.  I think it is more 30-36 months.

 

So glad you are doing so well.

 

A big shout out to everyone else.    Lady Den-hope you feel better soon.

 

Lisa

[[He...]]

GG,

 

You really perked up this group with your gorgeous message of hope.  Woweeee, was that needed!! I'm beyond happy for you and hope you'll keep up all the best practices you've adopted so well to keep you on the path of feeling good. ENJOY entertaining and seeing your friends. You'll be back in the garden this spring!

 

XO,

Helen

 

[[Ha...]]

Hi all, I will be one year off my next month. I’m not counting a couple of isolated rescue doses I had in the summer.

Just been reading a few posts here and getting some hope put in my backpack. I’m having some fairly good weeks but then get slammed. The waves don’t seem to be any less intense, shorter maybe but just as horrid. It takes a lot of effort to keep struggling through the bad days. Your happy posts will help a lot. Thank you.

Hardy xx

[[He...]]

Hardy,

 

Yes, please join this supportive group.  You're close enough to 12 months.  Lots of nice people here.

 

Helen

[[...]]

Wecome Hardy. 

 

Wow Leann.  That is great to hear.  Wishing you a speedy recovery!!

[[Mi...]]

Hello Dear BBs/Friends.  First of all, Happy and Healthy 2023 for all of us.  Secondly, LadyDen please get rid of the nasty flu bug, and get back to us, your buddies who love and miss you!🙏♥️🙏♥️.

 

For those of you who are at present down in the trenches……LiveLife, JBen, Helen, and Jordan, and any others suffering…..remain assured that your window days are coming.  Truly they are.  How do I know?  Because, I am now at almost 34 months off and after a pretty bad run of ill health from June to October, my window has been consistently open and I am up and about almost every day with only a slight headache in the morning.  I was very busy during the holidays, but for the first time in three years I suffered no wave after!  This is major as previous years saw me back in bed in January with all sorts of viruses and terrible head pains.  Now into mid-January I have been doing very well and have been entertaining friends with great gusto. 

 

In the morning I awaken with a slight tinge of a headache which miraculously disappears around 8:00 a.m.  I am an early riser, so I have a whole day to enjoy being symptom free and my life has pretty much resumed to a pre-benzo existence.  I am beginning to believe that the 12 to 18 month timeframe is a little optimistic, whereas the 24 to 36 month timeframe seems more realistic for some of us.  I can’t believe that my doctors told me that most people recover within 3 to 12 months.  This projection sure led to disbelieve and depression as the clock ticked on.

 

So, Dear Buddies, please find comfort and hold onto hope from my story: Head pains and weird sensations will go away, sleep can be beautiful once again, food no longer is a boogeyman, and your energy will resume. Overall your immune system will reset and you will not be dragged down into the benzo flu as I was over and over again.  I have not had Covid or the flu, nor have I had any type of virus.  I am knocking on wood and holding my breath that this remains the case, but I have been fooled a few times before when my windows slammed shut.  I thought I was healed at 9/17/25 months, which is kind of weird as the months are each 8 months apart!  Now that I am passing my 33rd month, it also falls into the 8 months apart pattern.  So very strange!!!!!

 

I am entertaining guests tomorrow evening and have all the food made, the table set, and the home tidy and clean.  Could I have done this during the summer and the autumn months….no way!  So trust me, if I can heal at 75 years young, have undergone three surgeries, put on way too many antibiotics, had terrible waves with my Covid vaccines and one booster, and endured some family stress off and on, then all of you CAN AND WILL HEAL😍😍😍😍😍

 

Love, prayers and hugs,

 

GG

 

GG !!!

 

I am so happy for you! So very very happy for you!!

So fun to hear what you're up to now that you're feeling better!

Oh my goodness ! Hugs & hugs ! 

 

Enjoy it all ! Every moment ! Enjoy your beautiful life!

So powerful to read about how well you're doing after watching all that you went through!

 

Hurray for You Sweet Brave GG!

Hugs

- Fortitude 

[[Mi...]]

LadyDen

 

Prayers for you that you are feeling better soon &  back on track.

You will get there !

 

Hugs

Fortitude 

[[Ac...]]

GG,

 

So glad you're feeling great!  Thank you so much for posting your positive message. 

[[Ha...]]

Leann, so pleased to see you are doing better. You were in a bad place with not much hope so it’s tremendous you’ve clawed your way out. Brave Lady!

Can I ask……how did you find a benzo wise therapist?

Hardy xx

[[le...]]

I’m doing it via zoom, it’s the Priory, they have places all over, expect you’ve heard of them, figured they deal with lot people coming off drugs, the NHS psych GP referred me to deals with geriatrics so was useless. Not cheap £113 a session, but first person to agree forcing me to CT triggered all this, and said should been weaned off over several weeks. The diazapam did help but weaning off so expect be off that in few weeks so combination of both. Long way off recovered but finally feel more hopeful x

[[Ha...]]

Did you just ring The Priory? Is there a certain number or webpage for therapy information?

Thanks Hardy xx

[[Pa...]]

The pain seems way more intense lately, feeling like a zombie too because sleeping hasn't been going very well either the last few weeks. Hate my current job and keep making dumb mistakes at work or in life because my IQ feels like it's been slashed in half. It's just all so exhausting at this point.

[[le...]]

Did you just ring The Priory? Is there a certain number or webpage for therapy information?

Thanks Hardy xx

 

 

You probably can ring, I just looked online as I wanted to do it from home, then clicked on online therapy. Filled in the enquiry form. Then they rang me and gave me an appointment. Part of my issues are caused by emotional stress from stuff in the past that never really dealt with coz was on zopiclone. Only had a couple sessions, they seem very flexible, if you don’t like the therapist can swap. Can be quite draining but hopefully will help long term.

[[...]]

Hello Dear BBs/Friends.  First of all, Happy and Healthy 2023 for all of us.  Secondly, LadyDen please get rid of the nasty flu bug, and get back to us, your buddies who love and miss you!🙏♥️🙏♥️.

 

For those of you who are at present down in the trenches……LiveLife, JBen, Helen, and Jordan, and any others suffering…..remain assured that your window days are coming.  Truly they are.  How do I know?  Because, I am now at almost 34 months off and after a pretty bad run of ill health from June to October, my window has been consistently open and I am up and about almost every day with only a slight headache in the morning.  I was very busy during the holidays, but for the first time in three years I suffered no wave after!  This is major as previous years saw me back in bed in January with all sorts of viruses and terrible head pains.  Now into mid-January I have been doing very well and have been entertaining friends with great gusto. 

 

In the morning I awaken with a slight tinge of a headache which miraculously disappears around 8:00 a.m.  I am an early riser, so I have a whole day to enjoy being symptom free and my life has pretty much resumed to a pre-benzo existence.  I am beginning to believe that the 12 to 18 month timeframe is a little optimistic, whereas the 24 to 36 month timeframe seems more realistic for some of us.  I can’t believe that my doctors told me that most people recover within 3 to 12 months.  This projection sure led to disbelieve and depression as the clock ticked on.

 

So, Dear Buddies, please find comfort and hold onto hope from my story: Head pains and weird sensations will go away, sleep can be beautiful once again, food no longer is a boogeyman, and your energy will resume. Overall your immune system will reset and you will not be dragged down into the benzo flu as I was over and over again.  I have not had Covid or the flu, nor have I had any type of virus.  I am knocking on wood and holding my breath that this remains the case, but I have been fooled a few times before when my windows slammed shut.  I thought I was healed at 9/17/25 months, which is kind of weird as the months are each 8 months apart!  Now that I am passing my 33rd month, it also falls into the 8 months apart pattern.  So very strange!!!!!

 

I am entertaining guests tomorrow evening and have all the food made, the table set, and the home tidy and clean.  Could I have done this during the summer and the autumn months….no way!  So trust me, if I can heal at 75 years young, have undergone three surgeries, put on way too many antibiotics, had terrible waves with my Covid vaccines and one booster, and endured some family stress off and on, then all of you CAN AND WILL HEAL😍😍😍😍😍

 

Love, prayers and hugs,

 

GG

 

Dear GG

Thank you so much for this, which gives me hope that there will be an end to this missery. I am now 18 moths off, and I think you are right that many of us are looking at a 24-36 months timeframe.

I think many of your symptoms you had are similar to mine. The worst being the excruciating headaches, with shaking burning electric acid brain. Isn't that right? I also have muscle stiffness and pain all over.

Big hugs, Jorgen

 

[[le...]]

Do those of you recovering find if you do too much get a bit jittery. Had a busy few days, havent’t cooked for while but did the Sunday lunch, then yesterday went to new Pilates class which lot more strenuous than the previous one, then friends came round in afternoon. Been catching up on washing this morning, then trying go bit  further in the car so we went to nearby village about 20 minutes drive away this afternoon. Since flu jab set back had this fear of contamination sometimes not too bad , but had flare up tonight. So wondering if it’s maybe doing bit too much. Am having more fairly reasonable days, plus weaning off the diazapam, so hoping it’s just that and need pace myself a bit?

[[Ga...]]

You can definitely overdo!!!!!  I found this out several times after either exercising too hard, or doing too many activities over a period of a couple of days, or eating too much of a not so healthy food and paid a price, with some symptoms returning for several weeks.  I have found that if you have a busy day or two, spend some down time for a couple days.  Not sleeping, just resting and reading or whatever you enjoy when resting.

 

Now that I am further out….34 months….I find I can do much more without any setbacks.  Have been quite busy since the holidays began and so far no flare ups! 

 

So happy that you are doing better, Leann🙏

 

GG

[[le...]]

Thanks that’s reassuring. I spent about 2 and half months not eating, bedridden lot time, almost psychotic, so now feeing bit better probably been trying make up for lost time bit too much. Glad you are doing so well xx

[[Ha...]]

It really is lovely to hear that you are able to do more Leann. Keep us posted please.

Hardy xx

[[Be...]]

leann, I had a toxic mother too, so you're not alone.

[[La...]]

Hello my beautiful friends! How I’ve missed you all so much! Firstly thank you for the well wishes,private messages and prayers. Greatly appreciated your love! I’m doing better as of yesterday. Meaning that I’m eating a little bit now, fever is gone, awake longer, starting to walk around more. I still have a ways to go but definitely on the mend. Turns out it wasn’t the flu…I had COVID. I didn’t lose my smell or taste but lost my appetite and extremely fatigued for 10 days! And fever that was persistent! Wow! I had my new beau taking great care of me day and night! My knight in shining armor…my king for sure! Wow I’m so blessed to have him! He refused to leave my side.

I thought if you all daily. I was way too sick to even reply to you all. I’m sorry. Helen did relay messages to me. What a precious sweetheart she is! Thank you Helen for being an awesome lady and dear friend!

 

I’m still not back to my old self. I require much rest so I’ll be here more often but not daily. Wishing you all a great day. Let’s turn those corners! Come on….time to hunt down the window fairy!

I’m also celebrating 31 months! Woooohooo!

❤️❤️❤️❤️