Three Month Progress Report of a Very Short Time User

[[Ne...]]

As my signature reads, I was a very short-term user of Temazepam and basically CT’d after a 50% reduction of five days.  The first two weeks were really rough in that I even thought of going back on and trying a taper.  I had severe stomach pains, lost about 18 pounds, chills, night sweats, headaches, muscle aches and significant anxiety.  But due to the short duration that I was on and the advice of a buddy on this site (ThEwAy2), I decided to tough it out and not reinstate with a taper, and I am so glad that I chose this path.

 

The most difficult of all my symptoms was lack of sleep.  During those first three to four weeks, I had most nights of zero sleep.  I use to get so agitated when the sun went down as I dreaded the bedroom as I was so fearful of the long night ahead of me.  A real plus for me was that even though I was getting next to no sleep, I was never really tired as I simply had no sleep drive to speak of.

 

Around week four, my husband said that I was indeed getting some sleep, and I did not believe him.  He then proceeded for the next couple of nights to record me on his cell phone of my snoring.  I needed this proof that I was indeed getting some sleep.  This simple fact helped me accept, relax and I started sleeping just a bit better.  I purchased an inexpensive sleep watch on Amazon – Amazfit for $49 and started wearing it.  Although this watch is far from accurate as it records light sleep when I am wide awake, it goes more by movement, breathing and heartbeat. I believe that REM and Deep Tracking is a bit more accurate – at least to differentiate from inaccurate light sleep.  I use these daily measurements to track trends, and I am slowly increasing my REM/Deep Sleep and my nights seem to be getting “shorter.”

 

During month two, I started getting headaches which start around 2 pm until around bedtime.  Also, tinnitus set in and a few mornings I woke with pain in my gums/teeth of which felt like a tooth ache.  I still have tinnitus and the headaches along with broken sleep as I complete month three.

 

Although I was initially so angry with myself and my doctor for the fact that taking a pill for 21 days could do so much damage to my CNS, I decided to make this a positive learning experience for me.  I mediate daily, listen to positive life lesson teachings, keep a journal, practice gratitude and acceptance, and I am striving to be a more giving and better individual.  I walk two miles daily and drink green smoothies for breakfast while taking Omega 3 Fish Oil and a good probiotic.  Although I fully understand that time is the only real healer for this, I am trying to keep my body healthy to be ready to embrace my total recovery when this happens.

 

I am so grateful to BB for the support that I have received to-date and for my husband, who is usually so practical and often a skeptic, to believe in me and how I am feeling as he has been so supportive to me during this whole ordeal.  Although I know that I cannot put a timeline on my recovery, I am hopeful that I can write a success story at 95+ % by end of month six to give others hope and encouragement.  Wishing all of you safe passage as we continue this journey to the other side achieving wellness and recovery.

[[ka...]]

Congrats

[[Ne...]]

An update to my previous progress report as I just completed month 4 after my prescribed very short-time usage of Temazepam.

 

Still broken sleep waking up several times during the night.  I fall asleep quickly but do not stay asleep.  I am not bothered by this as I have learned not to fear restless sleeping and this acceptance has helped me immensely along with going to sleep the same time every night, deep breathing and calming music.

 

Constant tinnitus but for the most part, I can tune it out.

 

My mild headaches in months 2 and 3 have become much more pronounced along with significant neck strain/pain.  I try not to stress over this as I view it as signs that my CNS is healing.

 

This is the extent of my current symptoms - much less than the early days of my withdrawal.

 

I was hopeful that I would be writing a success story but I am not there yet.    Although we are all so different, I want to share my progress with any/all short-term users to provide a view into my journey and to wish you the very best as to travel your journey.  TIME IS THE HEALER is so true in this recovery.

[[ne...]]

How many hours of sleep are you getting? How are your mental symptoms?

[[Ne...]]

Nerd1211:  I fall asleep around 10:45 and wake up around 1 pm and then again every hour for the most part.  I am able to fall back to sleep but it is comprised of a lot of light sleeping and dreams.  My sleep watch says that I get about .75 to 1.25 hours of deep and another 1 to 1.5 hours of REM.  And then I would say that I get about 3 hours of light sleep so I am getting about 5 to 6 hours of sleep.  Early on a BB buddy - ThEwAy2 shared a post that I really thought was positive and encouraging - he told me to not fear sleepless nights and from that point on, I did not and my sleep seemed to improve.  Before that time, I dreaded nighttime and the bedroom and became really anxious.  Read his lengthy and insightful post on sleep and staying positive in recovery.  It really helped me.  Also, we are similar on timeline and short-term usage so feel free to PM me as to status checks.  Although I never dreamed that my short-term usage would end up here and with this long of recovery, I take one day at a time and look at my symptoms as signs of healing.  I never had a problem with sleeping before except for a short duration as a result of a health scare and that is why I even entertained going on a sleeping pill.

 

I don't really have any anxiety issues.  During the first two weeks, I thought that I may need to be committed but journalizing, meditation and deep breathing has kept any lingering anxiety at bay.  Keep in touch and we can help each other stay focused and positive!

[[3B...]]

Congratulations on being benzo-free. I appreciate your mind-set on your experience. It seems that the benzos cause such different tapering experiences that are not dose or length of time dependent. I am sorry that you went through what you have and glad your husband is supportive. Thank you for writing your progress report. I look forward to hearing your "all healed" Success Story soon.

[[Tj...]]

Congratulations on making it this far, it’s an excellent showcase of your grit and determination. This story is particularly important because it’s a clear example of how much damage benzodiazepines can cause in such a short amount of time. Benzos are a true danger to society. So much lost time in such a little amount of time, if that makes sense. Please tell as many people as you can about your story.

[[Hu...]]

Fellow short term user here. Really positive to see this, thanks for sharing!

[[...]]

Pretty much what I’m going through down to the tiniest detail! How are you feeling these days?

[[Ne...]]

KZW, still my manageable headaches, 24/7 tinnitus and broken sleep.  Went into a wave last week of an uptick in anxiety with only about 1 to 2 hours of sleep but knowing that waves can come helped me.  Seemed to only last five days as I am back to my better but still broken sleep and next to no anxiety.  I get really bad neck aches sometimes as well. How are you tracking?

[[...]]

I’m on 3 consecutive good days! Meaning that anxiety flutters, headaches have subsided and felt some notmal energy and focus returning. And then just my luck, I caught a stomach bug — fever of 102 with body aches for a day. The fever subsided and I’ve mostly recovered.

 

The weird part… I felt so thankful to be “normal sick”. All the w/d symptoms were masked completely by the fever. Now the fever is gone, and the “normal” headache is replaced with the w/d headache which has a completely different character.

[[Ne...]]

An update to my previous progress report as I just completed month 4 after my prescribed very short-time usage of Temazepam.

 

Still broken sleep waking up several times during the night.  I fall asleep quickly but do not stay asleep.  I am not bothered by this as I have learned not to fear restless sleeping and this acceptance has helped me immensely along with going to sleep the same time every night, deep breathing and calming music.

 

Constant tinnitus but for the most part, I can tune it out.

 

My mild headaches in months 2 and 3 have become much more pronounced along with significant neck strain/pain.  I try not to stress over this as I view it as signs that my CNS is healing.

 

This is the extent of my current symptoms - much less than the early days of my withdrawal.

 

I was hopeful that I would be writing a success story but I am not there yet.    Although we are all so different, I want to share my progress with any/all short-term users to provide a view into my journey and to wish you the very best as to travel your journey.  TIME IS THE HEALER is so true in this recovery.

 

At the end of my fifth month of recovery post CT in June, my symptoms are pretty much the same as at the end of month four.

I still have tinnitus, heavy head with pronounced headaches and pressure around the eyes and sinuses and broken sleep.  I am averaging around 2.25 to 3.0 hours of REM/Deep with deep sleep up-ticking ever so slightly.

 

I have finally let go of a time duration for recovery that I am hoping for as this is taking much longer than I could have ever imagined.  Rather, I have accepted it for what it is and am striving to enjoy each day to its fullest.  The common thread in so many of the success stories is that Time is the healer and once again, my own story is proving this.

 

I wish everyone safe passage as he/she travels their own personal journey to recovery.

[[Hu...]]

kzw,good to hear you're making such improvements! Hope the illness cleared up.

 

Newbie, yes I am currently trying to adopt the same attitude! I've been in a window since Wednesday afternoon, it's Saturday now. Still fragile and a teeny bit anxious but just trying not to let the fear of a wave returning scare me too much.

 

We will get through this!