22 months off. Hypnagogia. Read please who has it

[[Ro...]]

Hello buddies.

 

I am 22 months after my last dose of benzo. All this time I am tormented by a very terrible and strange symptom. Only today I learned that this is called a hypnagogic hallucination.

 

It's like when you fall asleep, you start to see different images, fast-paced movie pictures or frames from a video game you were playing, or some images from everyday life. But at the same time, you are awake and cannot fall asleep. It scares and torments me very much. This goes on almost every day from 3 am to 8 am.

 

Friends, I thought until now that I was going crazy, because according to the description I did not find the same sensations in anyone else.

Please write who has symptoms of hypnagogic hallucinations in withdrawal symptoms?

 

I am desperate and almost took one dose of benzos tonight. I was afraid I was going crazy. This is repeated every other day.

After I finished a course of antibiotics for COVID-19 a couple of days ago, this state of hypnagogia and other withdrawal symptoms returned with renewed vigor.

 

Answer who has experienced something similar. I am desperate and do not know how to live on. It seems to me that after 22 months it will never end.

[[Ro...]]

After I finished a course of antibiotics for COVID-19

 

 

I thought the virus did not respond to antibiotics. Why did your doc prescribe them? And I wonder . . . which AB did you take? I just finished a course of doxycycline which made me very ill and gave me some of the experiences you describe. Specifically, DR.

 

Hope you get to feeling better.

 

Katz

Against the background of COVID-19, I had pneumonia and lung damage on computed tomography, and I was prescribed a course of azithromycin and amoxicillin.

 

I drank them for 8 days and during this time all my withdrawal symptoms intensified. Dp / dr, confusion, internal tremor, hypnogogia, very strong depression on the verge of suicidal thoughts, anxiety and fear, sweating, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, photophobia and many others. I have written out the most severe symptoms.

 

Thanks for your support.

 

I hope you feel better soon.

[[sa...]]

I suffered from hypnogogia after my Xanax CT.  It was really scary, but it went away. 

 

I have suffered a major setback from C19 as well.  I also was prescribed azythromycin and it gave me horrible panic attacks.  I couldn't finish the course.  That was weeks ago.  I'm 7 weeks in and still suffering.  I know it gets better, but it's very slow!

[[Ro...]]

I suffered from hypnogogia after my Xanax CT.  It was really scary, but it went away. 

 

I have suffered a major setback from C19 as well.  I also was prescribed azythromycin and it gave me horrible panic attacks.  I couldn't finish the course.  That was weeks ago.  I'm 7 weeks in and still suffering.  I know it gets better, but it's very slow!

I am so sorry that after such a break after the last CT, you again plunged into these symptoms after Covid-19.

 

Tell me, how long did you suffer from hypnogogy after CT?

[[sa...]]

I suffered from hypnogogia after my Xanax CT.  It was really scary, but it went away. 

 

I have suffered a major setback from C19 as well.  I also was prescribed azythromycin and it gave me horrible panic attacks.  I couldn't finish the course.  That was weeks ago.  I'm 7 weeks in and still suffering.  I know it gets better, but it's very slow!

I am so sorry that after such a break after the last CT, you again plunged into these symptoms after Covid-19.

 

Tell me, how long did you suffer from hypnogogy after CT?

 

I'm not really sure, but probably no more than a month. 

[[Ro...]]

 

I'm not really sure, but probably no more than a month. 

 

You are lucky that this symptom went away so quickly.

For me, this has been happening for 21 months now - it's very scary. This is killing me

 

Can anyone else share your story? I need to know that I am not alone with this symptom.

[[tr...]]

ahh did not know the official name for it!

 

A buddy on here and I have nicknamed it psychotic sleep..asleep but not, like a fever sleep - can't tell if whats running thru your head is real or a dream...I find these happen to ppl  when they try to take naps early on in recovery too - it adds to the "toxic nap" symptoms.

 

Meds escalate symptoms for me too.

 

Good lord please don't take rescue doses of benzos - its just going to confuse your body.

[[Ro...]]

ahh did not know the official name for it!

 

A buddy on here and I have nicknamed it psychotic sleep..asleep but not, like a fever sleep - can't tell if whats running thru your head is real or a dream...I find these happen to ppl  when they try to take naps early on in recovery too - it adds to the "toxic nap" symptoms.

 

Meds escalate symptoms for me too.

 

Good lord please don't take rescue doses of benzos - its just going to confuse your body.

Friend, I'm trying very hard. True, I try very hard to stay away from thoughts of rescue doses. But when hypnagogue overtakes me and it continues all night for 4 hours at least - I am ready to die, if only this nightmare would stop.

 

Thanks for your response and support.

 

How long have you had this and how do you deal with it?

[[Bl...]]

I know exactly what you are experiencing. I just read your post to my husband as I am flabbergasted you wrote these words!  I have the exact thing, like scenes moving in fast forward, flashing through my brain, and my brain is so active. Sometimes it is just like flashbulbs going off, other times it is scenes like you describe. I don’t play video games so mine are from shows or real life experiences. I also have it sometimes all night and feel like I have not slept. I also have repetitive music playing over and over, even during the day.  It drives me nuts!  Sometimes it is a phrase from a show I have watched. You are not alone on your flashing scenes.  It is like there is a strange light show playing in my head at times. I also had hypnogogic hallucinations when tapering. When I was a kid I used to have them a fair bit as well.  Hoping they get under control and leave me soon!  I will be off Benzo 2 years in December. 

[[gs...]]

I know exactly what you are experiencing. I just read your post to my husband as I am flabbergasted you wrote these words!  I have the exact thing, like scenes moving in fast forward, flashing through my brain, and my brain is so active. Sometimes it is just like flashbulbs going off, other times it is scenes like you describe. I don’t play video games so mine are from shows or real life experiences. I also have it sometimes all night and feel like I have not slept. I also have repetitive music playing over and over, even during the day.  It drives me nuts!  Sometimes it is a phrase from a show I have watched. You are not alone on your flashing scenes.  It is like there is a strange light show playing in my head at times. I also had hypnogogic hallucinations when tapering. When I was a kid I used to have them a fair bit as well.  Hoping they get under control and leave me soon!  I will be off Benzo 2 years in December.

 

I had the same issue in terms of the same phrase or few seconds of a song looping in my head. I suspect that Zoloft was causing it so I got off of it.

 

 

[[gs...]]

Are you taking any other medications?

[[Ha...]]

I get this too. Never realised there was a name for it. Things I've seen on TV usually. Although it can be "scenes" from an imaginary story. I've got worse symptoms, I just try to think of it as the brain resetting

[[Bl...]]

Are you taking any other medications?

 

I am on 40 my Fluoxetine and 50 mg Trazodone

[[Ro...]]

I know exactly what you are experiencing. I just read your post to my husband as I am flabbergasted you wrote these words!  I have the exact thing, like scenes moving in fast forward, flashing through my brain, and my brain is so active. Sometimes it is just like flashbulbs going off, other times it is scenes like you describe. I don’t play video games so mine are from shows or real life experiences. I also have it sometimes all night and feel like I have not slept. I also have repetitive music playing over and over, even during the day.  It drives me nuts!  Sometimes it is a phrase from a show I have watched. You are not alone on your flashing scenes.  It is like there is a strange light show playing in my head at times. I also had hypnogogic hallucinations when tapering. When I was a kid I used to have them a fair bit as well.  Hoping they get under control and leave me soon!  I will be off Benzo 2 years in December.

Thank you for writing your story. It helps me a lot not to feel crazy.

I’m sorry you’re having this excruciating feeling, but it’s always easier to know that you are not the only one suffering from this. I really hope that our symptoms will go away soon and we will return to a normal healthy life.

[[Ro...]]

I get this too. Never realised there was a name for it. Things I've seen on TV usually. Although it can be "scenes" from an imaginary story. I've got worse symptoms, I just try to think of it as the brain resetting

I understand you. Thanks for your answer.

I was looking for a name for this symptom for almost 2 years, until I accidentally stumbled upon the concept of hypnagogic hallucination.

[[Bl...]]

I know exactly what you are experiencing. I just read your post to my husband as I am flabbergasted you wrote these words!  I have the exact thing, like scenes moving in fast forward, flashing through my brain, and my brain is so active. Sometimes it is just like flashbulbs going off, other times it is scenes like you describe. I don’t play video games so mine are from shows or real life experiences. I also have it sometimes all night and feel like I have not slept. I also have repetitive music playing over and over, even during the day.  It drives me nuts!  Sometimes it is a phrase from a show I have watched. You are not alone on your flashing scenes.  It is like there is a strange light show playing in my head at times. I also had hypnogogic hallucinations when tapering. When I was a kid I used to have them a fair bit as well.  Hoping they get under control and leave me soon!  I will be off Benzo 2 years in December.

Thank you for writing your story. It helps me a lot not to feel crazy.

I’m sorry you’re having this excruciating feeling, but it’s always easier to know that you are not the only one suffering from this. I really hope that our symptoms will go away soon and we will return to a normal healthy life.

 

Me too!  You’re not going crazy!!!! It is crazy how busy my brain can be, especially at night.  We both have to hang in there!!! If I try to think of it too much it will drive me crazy. But like another Buddy suggested, I’m trying to look at it as my brain trying to right itself.  I know it seems unbearable, but having lived through worse symptoms I just have to keep forging on.

[[gs...]]

Are you taking any other medications?

 

I am on 40 my Fluoxetine and 50 mg Trazodone

 

I was put on Zoloft at the beginning of my withdrawal and it caused a lot of issues for me including hypnagogic hallucinations. Please make sure these other medications aren't contributing to your issues.

[[Ka...]]

Feel better soon 

[[mu...]]

I am a relatively light user of Xanax and diazepam, typically having a combined dose of one milligram of Xanax and 2.5 milligrams of diazepam one or two nights at the weekend, just to help me to get a good solid night's sleep, because I tend to wake up too early during the week.

 

I have noticed that a couple of nights after taking such a dose, I almost always experience hypnopompic hallucinations, i.e. believing that I am awake, and even moving about, and then suddenly realizing that I am still in bed and still asleep.

 

These hallucinations can range from being fairly mild and even quite amusing, to severe and terrifying. Sometimes it feels like I cannot drag myself into wakefulness and it is sometimes combined with sleep paralysis where I am awake but cannot move.

 

However, they are always manageable and relatively mild, and in my case a price worth paying for the deep sleep that I enjoy from small doses of benzos. The correlation between these experiences and the consumption of benzos is absolutely 100%. My wife also experiences a similar phenomenon from taking a similar dose.

 

What I find surprising is that there seems to be little or no research or analysis on this phenomenon within the medical literature. Hypnogic experiences are barely mentioned, except in relation to specific medications.

 

I am interested to hear about your experiences, which I think indicate that these phenomena may be associated with benzo withdrawal. Although my own personal use is insufficient to be classed as a habit or a dependency, it is my belief that the hypnopompic experiences that I have are a miniature withdrawal from the doses that I have taken.

 

In your case it sounds as though having had a greater dependency, these phenomena are persisting for longer. I realise that at worst, these experiences can be frightening, paralyzing, and extremely unpleasant. I wish you well in overcoming them.

 

I would counsel against resorting to benzos to try and solve the problem. They are the cause of the problem, and as you can see from my experience even small doses can result in these kind of disturbances. Maybe some non-benzo naturopathic sleep remedies might help, or some mindfulness meditation before going to bed.

[[ma...]]

I am a relatively light user of Xanax and diazepam, typically having a combined dose of one milligram of Xanax and 2.5 milligrams of diazepam one or two nights at the weekend, just to help me to get a good solid night's sleep, because I tend to wake up too early during the week.

 

I have noticed that a couple of nights after taking such a dose, I almost always experience hypnopompic hallucinations, i.e. believing that I am awake, and even moving about, and then suddenly realizing that I am still in bed and still asleep.

 

These hallucinations can range from being fairly mild and even quite amusing, to severe and terrifying. Sometimes it feels like I cannot drag myself into wakefulness and it is sometimes combined with sleep paralysis where I am awake but cannot move.

 

However, they are always manageable and relatively mild, and in my case a price worth paying for the deep sleep that I enjoy from small doses of benzos. The correlation between these experiences and the consumption of benzos is absolutely 100%. My wife also experiences a similar phenomenon from taking a similar dose.

 

What I find surprising is that there seems to be little or no research or analysis on this phenomenon within the medical literature. Hypnogic experiences are barely mentioned, except in relation to specific medications.

 

I am interested to hear about your experiences, which I think indicate that these phenomena may be associated with benzo withdrawal. Although my own personal use is insufficient to be classed as a habit or a dependency, it is my belief that the hypnopompic experiences that I have are a miniature withdrawal from the doses that I have taken.

 

In your case it sounds as though having had a greater dependency, these phenomena are persisting for longer. I realise that at worst, these experiences can be frightening, paralyzing, and extremely unpleasant. I wish you well in overcoming them.

 

I would counsel against resorting to benzos to try and solve the problem. They are the cause of the problem, and as you can see from my experience even small doses can result in these kind of disturbances. Maybe some non-benzo naturopathic sleep remedies might help, or some mindfulness meditation before going to bed.

 

 

Hello murrayxx1  Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

 

You might not receive a reply from the OP of this thread, its 2 years old.  How long had you been taking benzos at weekends. Sporadic use over time can lead to dependency.  I’ve had the sleep paralysis where I am awake but cannot move, fighting to wake myself up, eventually waking up breathless.  I couldn’t say I found any of my hallucinations amusing!  they were all terrifying.  I am sure you will find others will have experienced hallucinations.  Did you have other symptoms ?  Congratulations on 22 months benzofree,  are you fully recovered?  Is your wife also benzofree? We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

This is a quote from Ashtons manual

 

The Ashton Manual

 

Hallucinations, illusions, perceptual distortions. The benzodiazepine withdrawal symptom that raises most fear of going mad is hallucination. Terrifying hallucinations have occurred in people undergoing rapid or abrupt withdrawal from high doses, but the reader can be reassured that they are exceedingly rare with slow dosage tapering as outlined in Chapter II. If hallucinations occur, they are usually visual - patients have described hallucinations of a large bat sitting on the shoulder, or the appearance of horns sprouting from a human head - but auditory, olfactory and tactile hallucinations can also occur. Somewhat less frightening are hallucinations of small creatures, usually insects, which may be associated with the sensations of insects crawling on the skin (similar hallucinations occur in cocaine and amphetamine withdrawal).

 

Sometimes hallucinations merge with illusions and misperceptions. For example, a coat hanging on the door may give the illusion of being a person. Floors apparently tilting and walls that seem to slope inwards are perceptual distortions.The mechanisms of these bizarre symptoms are probably similar to those which cause delirium tremens (hallucinations, classically of pink elephants or rats, in the "DTs" of alcohol withdrawal). As mentioned in Chapter I, benzodiazepines cause profound perturbations throughout the brain, and abrupt withdrawal may be accompanied by uncontrolled release of dopamine, serotonin and other neurotransmitters which cause hallucinations in psychotic disorders as well as in alcohol withdrawal and cocaine, amphetamine and LSD abuse.

 

Once the hallucinations, which seem real at the time, are recognised as "merely" hallucinations, they quickly become less alarming. They do not herald the onset of madness; they are simply instances of benzodiazepines playing tricks on the brain which will right itself in time. A good mentor can usually reassure and "talk down" a person suffering from benzodiazepine withdrawal-induced hallucinations. In any case they should not worry anyone undergoing slow withdrawal.

 

Magrita

 

[[st...]]

You're not alone. I'm 19 months off and have thus too still. Freaks me out.