The Long Hold Support Group

[[de...]]

Stut 55, that's great about the anxiety and the obsessive thoughts easing up, so good to know that they can get better, even if it takes 3 or 4 months, or even longer.  I do record everything, her doses, times, symptoms, complaints, and so on, but goodness it's all just so dire and I can barely survive each day, and that's just ME, and there's my poor mother feeling like she's gonna die every day because she's in so much agony!  I tell her about you guys here, that you're all fighting through this, that she can too, but I just know I'm not even beginning to soothe her pain! 

 

Ch33kyKK, I say cry when you need to, don't be mad at yourself or blame yourself, and you're still strong.  It's like a miracle that you found a caring psychiatrist.  How awful that "caring psychiatrist" sounds like an oxymoron to me now.  Horrid how so many doctors try to make normal human moods and emotions into "disorders"! 

[[Ch...]]

Delta, I know I'm very lucky to have found him.  He even took my call on Thanksgiving Day when I was sure I was losing my mind on Zoloft.  I've heard so many horror stories about bad psychiatrists.  He doesn't scoff at any of my ideas or feelings, and wants me to direct my taper, however I can handle it.  He is a very kind man.

Please tell your mom that we are all thinking about her, and hoping she gets some relief soon. 

[[St...]]

Delta you think you are not making a difference however trust me you are.Your mum will get through this sometimes the best way to fight withdrawal symptoms are to accept them.lf she can remind herself that these do pass.You are suffering as well as your mum so if you have questions and support come here and just ask for it.l hope in a short while things start to ease for both of you.

[[de...]]

Ch33kyKK, Stut 55, thank you, you big sweetie pies!

 

Ch33kyKK, your psych sounds phenomenal, unbelievable!  But don't even get me started on ADs, the Zolofts, Paxils, Prozacs, the whole lot of them!

 

Stut 55, thank you, thank you, thank you! 

 

 

[[St...]]

Thank you Greencup l am not very computer savvy but l will get my daughter to sort it out for me.Never again l will be staying on my own.l am much happier.Again thank you.

[[Va...]]

Hi, all.

 

How long did you hold before seeing any relief in symptoms, and what were these symptoms? 

 

Could you (1) give an example of a SYMPTOM that got better for you from holding, and also (2) how long you did the HOLD before you saw that improvement? 

 

Thank you!

 

We are about 2 months into holding.  We updosed back to 1.5mg Xanax at start of January, a week later started crossover to Valium while holding steady at 30mg Valium equivalent (=1.5mg Xanax).  We're partially crossed over, currently at 0.75mg Xanax + 15mg Valium daily, and still holding at 30mg Ve.  We did stray a little during this hold, missing a few night doses and doing a week and a half of dallying with 27.5mg and 25mg daily, but otherwise have kept at 30mg Ve.  Only adjustment I'd make in the foreseeable future is to change from 4 daily doses to 3, again holding at 30mg Ve. 

 

My mother's most agonizing symptom currently is an unholy coming-together of touch sensitivity, "dirty" phobia, "spit" phobia, and "OCD" where she can't touch anything without feeling "dirty" so has to wash repeatedly, can't be touched by anyone, can't talk near her, and takes her hours to shower and must do her own laundry even though she's weak and has no energy.  And no, she was never like this before.  We're hoping the holding will help relieve this godforsaken symptom, but 2 months into it, don't know.

Hi delta! I went back and grabbed a post I made at 4 months. These were the sxs I was having at that time:

 

Electric shocks in legs, feet and hands

Severe sweating

Muscle and nerve pain in shoulders, neck, feet, legs and back

Excessive DP/DR

Extreme fatigue

Terrible depression and suicidal ideation

Vertigo

Muscle fasciculations

Frequent urination

Anhedonia

Apathy

Activity intolerance

Terrible headache

Tinnitus

Blurry vision with floaters

Hands and body shaking

Feeling like I live in a dream world (even if it is a nightmare)

Neuropathy

 

These started to ease up around month 5 and I held until month 6. I joe this helps a little. Good luck with your mom.  —V

[[de...]]

Valley Um, thank you for that!  Definitely helps to have more info, good to know symptoms can ease up with holding 5 months, still hope at least, for some relief.  And quite a journey you've been on, hope all goes well. 

[[Va...]]

Valley Um, thank you for that!  Definitely helps to have more info, good to know symptoms can ease up with holding 5 months, still hope at least, for some relief.  And quite a journey you've been on, hope all goes well. 

Thank you! --v

[[He...]]

Sorry i have not been active for a while. Trying to bear with my flu, bronchitis and UTI.

OH MAN DO I FEEL HORRIBLE. BUT THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

TOMORROW I WILL GO TO THE DOC AND REDO MY CHEST X RAY , TO MAKE SURE I DONT HAVE PNEUMONIA. HOPE HE AGREES TO DO IT.

 

MAENWHILE, I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BETTER DAY TOMORROW.

 

HEATH

[[St...]]

Oh Heath l hope your lungs are clear and you start to feel better soon.Thinking of you and hoping you have a speedy recovery.Let us know how it goes.

[[no...]]

Hi everyone  I am posting this post I just put as a new thread in the Forum up as you really need to see it Read it and stay off Caffeine.  If your suffering bad symptoms and are drinking or eating anything that contains Caffeine  it will explain why

 

 

Love Nova xxx  :smitten:

 

 

 

                            22% REDUCTION IN DIAZEPAM PLASMA LEVELS WHEN COADMINISTERED WITH CAFFEINE.

 

 

I take Diazepam and  started drinking black tea with sugar and honey after stopping it 3 year's ago since Dec 2nd 2017 as at first it didn't seem to be having any negative effects on me for well over a month. Well it didn't appear it making my symptoms any better or worse so, and I was enjoying a tiny piece of 'normality' in the middle of all this hell as a cuppa represents that to me when there's so many things I can't eat or drink due to reactions, and severe non stop symptoms. But noticed after a  while certain things were getting worse, or symptoms I hadn't had for ages were flaring up and the severe ones were getting even worse 

 

Then I began drinking more than one cup a day I was originally planning to stick to and soon got hooked on drinking 4 or more cups a day, I was getting 'Addicted'' to tea again like a crack head on crack, cup after cup some days. I also noticed that I was getting symptoms like I did while tapering and taking  taking cuts when I was actually doing a long hold after having to up-dose to enable me to move as I had an upstairs neighbour from hell living above my head.

 

So I went through what I've been doing differently besides having mega loads of stress which although it had me teetering on the edge I was holding out with a struggle but holding out none the less. So I began wondering was it to do with the black tea its self or the caffeine or alone in the tea. As last year I tried a weak cup of Coffee after not drinking that for 3 year's as well and it made my tenacious screaming tinnitus even worse after a couple of mouthfuls so never tried it again.

 

I also began to feel like I did when I was in tolerance withdrawal and drinking before I knew about what was really happening to me and the alcohol connection as wel, so 3 year's ago I stopped smoking drinking and Caffine all on the same day when I found out the truth of why I was so ill for years. Then more symptoms began that I had when I was CT's off Benzos year's ago unreal!! So I stopped drinking the tea about 6 or 7 days ago so I'm now having probably having Caffeine withdrawal as well  but its got to be done so I'm glad I did it,  then I went looking to see if there was any known interaction between the Diazepam and Caffeine at all then I found this today.....

 

 

Abstract

 

The pharmacokinetic and dynamic interactions of caffeine and diazepam after single doses were investigated in six young healthy adults. Subjects received 6 mg/kg of caffeine, 0.3 mg/kg of diazepam, and their combination at 2-week intervals according to a Latin square design and a double-blind procedure. Subjects had blood samples withdrawn at 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60 minutes and every 30 minutes thereafter until 210 minutes after treatment. A battery of behavioural tests were administered before treatment and after each blood sampling, starting with the 20-minute period. [b]The coadministration of caffeine with diazepam resulted in a 22% reduction in diazepam plasma levels.Caffeine produced hand tremors and diazepam produced sedation and impaired memory and cognition. The two drugs did not antagonize the effects of each other except in the symbol cancellation task. There were significant correlations between the caffeine and diazepam plasma levels and performance on several tasks and evidence for the development of acute tolerance to both drugs. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3517081

 

 

 

 

Caffeine lowers the Diazepam dose by 22%  :D Man!!! no wonder I was feeling like triple hell that's nearly a quarter of my dose which would by 2.5mg cut right away, and 2 weeks ago I tried a 1mg cut as a taper restart trial to see if I could handle the 1mg cut and if not I would try 1/2mg instead as I was trying to work out if it was side effects from the drugs making matters worse as I had been convinced since January of this year before the tea crossed my mind. And I was shocked that less then 24 hours later the effect it had on me, in real terms unknown to me I had cut nearer 3.1/2mg due to the 22% drop in Diazepam blood plasma levels so I was now dropping 1/3 of my overall dose unwittingly??? Stands to reason I felt like quadruple hell at that point

 

 

 

 

Then I read this.....

 

 

 

 

Caffeine 250 mg** counteracted** diazepam induced (10 mg) impairment of cognitive skills and relaxation of extraocular muscles whereas caffeine 500 mg counteracted the same effects of diazepam 20 mg, respectively. Theophylline antagonized diazepam-induced impairment in digit symbol substitution and tapping speed tests. Subjectively, caffeine and theophylline counteracted diazepam induced drowsiness and mental slowness. The results suggest, therefore, that the ample use of methylxanthines (Methylxanthines /theophyllines) are medications with some pharmacological effects similar to caffeine.) compensates various side-effects of benzodiazepines in man. It may also increase the need of sedation and thus the consumption of benzodiazepines.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6374311

 

 

 

So you need to up the dose to compensate the drops it causes in Benzos? Stay away from Caffeine!!! Its a LOT worse than I realised, I knew that it may worsen anxiety in some people?? no bloody wonder, it does more than just that  :D

 

Love Nova xxx  :smitten:

[[Va...]]

Sorry i have not been active for a while. Trying to bear with my flu, bronchitis and UTI.

OH MAN DO I FEEL HORRIBLE. BUT THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

TOMORROW I WILL GO TO THE DOC AND REDO MY CHEST X RAY , TO MAKE SURE I DONT HAVE PNEUMONIA. HOPE HE AGREES TO DO IT.

 

MAENWHILE, I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BETTER DAY TOMORROW.

 

HEATH

I’m so sorry Heath. Don’t stress about not posting. Take care of yourself and get lots of rest.  —V

[[be...]]

Sorry i have not been active for a while. Trying to bear with my flu, bronchitis and UTI.

OH MAN DO I FEEL HORRIBLE. BUT THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

TOMORROW I WILL GO TO THE DOC AND REDO MY CHEST X RAY , TO MAKE SURE I DONT HAVE PNEUMONIA. HOPE HE AGREES TO DO IT.

 

MAENWHILE, I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BETTER DAY TOMORROW.

 

HEATH

I’m so sorry Heath. Don’t stress about not posting. Take care of yourself and get lots of rest.  —V

Hang in there Heath. 🕊 Peace.

 

Valley, I see you are 1mg of Valium good for you, please heed your advice and slow down, that Brain of yours is going to wondering what you are doing and we must be Pals with our Precious Brains or it will bite you in the behind. 🕊Peace.

[[Va...]]

Sorry i have not been active for a while. Trying to bear with my flu, bronchitis and UTI.

OH MAN DO I FEEL HORRIBLE. BUT THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

TOMORROW I WILL GO TO THE DOC AND REDO MY CHEST X RAY , TO MAKE SURE I DONT HAVE PNEUMONIA. HOPE HE AGREES TO DO IT.

 

MAENWHILE, I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BETTER DAY TOMORROW.

 

HEATH

I’m so sorry Heath. Don’t stress about not posting. Take care of yourself and get lots of rest.  —V

Hang in there Heath. 🕊 Peace.

 

Valley, I see you are 1mg of Valium good for you, please heed your advice and slow down, that Brain of yours is going to wondering what you are doing and we must be Pals with our Precious Brains or it will bite you in the behind. 🕊Peace.

Thanks BG! Not many sxs at this point. In fact sleep is getting much deeper and better.  —V

[[be...]]

Sorry i have not been active for a while. Trying to bear with my flu, bronchitis and UTI.

OH MAN DO I FEEL HORRIBLE. BUT THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

TOMORROW I WILL GO TO THE DOC AND REDO MY CHEST X RAY , TO MAKE SURE I DONT HAVE PNEUMONIA. HOPE HE AGREES TO DO IT.

 

MAENWHILE, I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BETTER DAY TOMORROW.

 

HEATH

I’m so sorry Heath. Don’t stress about not posting. Take care of yourself and get lots of rest.  —V

Hang in there Heath. 🕊 Peace.

 

Valley, I see you are 1mg of Valium good for you, please heed your advice and slow down, that Brain of yours is going to wondering what you are doing and we must be Pals with our Precious Brains or it will bite you in the behind. 🕊Peace.

Thanks BG! Not many sxs at this point. In fact sleep is getting much deeper and better.  —V

That is great, I generally feel better too, but still going to do my Slow holding dance.

[[Su...]]

Hi everyone  I am posting this post I just put as a new thread in the Forum up as you really need to see it Read it and stay off Caffeine.  If your suffering bad symptoms and are drinking or eating anything that contains Caffeine  it will explain why

 

 

Love Nova xxx  :smitten:

 

 

 

                            22% REDUCTION IN DIAZEPAM PLASMA LEVELS WHEN COADMINISTERED WITH CAFFEINE.

 

 

I take Diazepam and  started drinking black tea with sugar and honey after stopping it 3 year's ago since Dec 2nd 2017 as at first it didn't seem to be having any negative effects on me for well over a month. Well it didn't appear it making my symptoms any better or worse so, and I was enjoying a tiny piece of 'normality' in the middle of all this hell as a cuppa represents that to me when there's so many things I can't eat or drink due to reactions, and severe non stop symptoms. But noticed after a  while certain things were getting worse, or symptoms I hadn't had for ages were flaring up and the severe ones were getting even worse 

 

Then I began drinking more than one cup a day I was originally planning to stick to and soon got hooked on drinking 4 or more cups a day, I was getting 'Addicted'' to tea again like a crack head on crack, cup after cup some days. I also noticed that I was getting symptoms like I did while tapering and taking  taking cuts when I was actually doing a long hold after having to up-dose to enable me to move as I had an upstairs neighbour from hell living above my head.

 

So I went through what I've been doing differently besides having mega loads of stress which although it had me teetering on the edge I was holding out with a struggle but holding out none the less. So I began wondering was it to do with the black tea its self or the caffeine or alone in the tea. As last year I tried a weak cup of Coffee after not drinking that for 3 year's as well and it made my tenacious screaming tinnitus even worse after a couple of mouthfuls so never tried it again.

 

I also began to feel like I did when I was in tolerance withdrawal and drinking before I knew about what was really happening to me and the alcohol connection as wel, so 3 year's ago I stopped smoking drinking and Caffine all on the same day when I found out the truth of why I was so ill for years. Then more symptoms began that I had when I was CT's off Benzos year's ago unreal!! So I stopped drinking the tea about 6 or 7 days ago so I'm now having probably having Caffeine withdrawal as well  but its got to be done so I'm glad I did it,  then I went looking to see if there was any known interaction between the Diazepam and Caffeine at all then I found this today.....

 

 

Abstract

 

The pharmacokinetic and dynamic interactions of caffeine and diazepam after single doses were investigated in six young healthy adults. Subjects received 6 mg/kg of caffeine, 0.3 mg/kg of diazepam, and their combination at 2-week intervals according to a Latin square design and a double-blind procedure. Subjects had blood samples withdrawn at 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60 minutes and every 30 minutes thereafter until 210 minutes after treatment. A battery of behavioural tests were administered before treatment and after each blood sampling, starting with the 20-minute period. [b]The coadministration of caffeine with diazepam resulted in a 22% reduction in diazepam plasma levels.Caffeine produced hand tremors and diazepam produced sedation and impaired memory and cognition. The two drugs did not antagonize the effects of each other except in the symbol cancellation task. There were significant correlations between the caffeine and diazepam plasma levels and performance on several tasks and evidence for the development of acute tolerance to both drugs. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3517081

 

 

 

 

Caffeine lowers the Diazepam dose by 22%  :D Man!!! no wonder I was feeling like triple hell that's nearly a quarter of my dose which would by 2.5mg cut right away, and 2 weeks ago I tried a 1mg cut as a taper restart trial to see if I could handle the 1mg cut and if not I would try 1/2mg instead as I was trying to work out if it was side effects from the drugs making matters worse as I had been convinced since January of this year before the tea crossed my mind. And I was shocked that less then 24 hours later the effect it had on me, in real terms unknown to me I had cut nearer 3.1/2mg due to the 22% drop in Diazepam blood plasma levels so I was now dropping 1/3 of my overall dose unwittingly??? Stands to reason I felt like quadruple hell at that point

 

 

 

 

Then I read this.....

 

 

 

 

Caffeine 250 mg** counteracted** diazepam induced (10 mg) impairment of cognitive skills and relaxation of extraocular muscles whereas caffeine 500 mg counteracted the same effects of diazepam 20 mg, respectively. Theophylline antagonized diazepam-induced impairment in digit symbol substitution and tapping speed tests. Subjectively, caffeine and theophylline counteracted diazepam induced drowsiness and mental slowness. The results suggest, therefore, that the ample use of methylxanthines (Methylxanthines /theophyllines) are medications with some pharmacological effects similar to caffeine.) compensates various side-effects of benzodiazepines in man. It may also increase the need of sedation and thus the consumption of benzodiazepines.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6374311

 

 

 

So you need to up the dose to compensate the drops it causes in Benzos? Stay away from Caffeine!!! Its a LOT worse than I realised, I knew that it may worsen anxiety in some people?? no bloody wonder, it does more than just that  :D

 

Love Nova xxx  :smitten:

 

Whoa!  Maybe that explains some of the stuff that is happening with me!  I've started having a bit of coffee in the morning to help me get going.  I think I'll stick to Green Tea.  It's got caffeine but it's a different caffeine!  I was thinking that maybe I'd reached some kind of tolerance with the valium as I am now on two different benzos and have been at this dose of Valium for many months now....

 

Thanks for this post!!!!!

Thanks you!!

SS

 

[[Va...]]

Sorry i have not been active for a while. Trying to bear with my flu, bronchitis and UTI.

OH MAN DO I FEEL HORRIBLE. BUT THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

TOMORROW I WILL GO TO THE DOC AND REDO MY CHEST X RAY , TO MAKE SURE I DONT HAVE PNEUMONIA. HOPE HE AGREES TO DO IT.

 

MAENWHILE, I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BETTER DAY TOMORROW.

 

HEATH

I’m so sorry Heath. Don’t stress about not posting. Take care of yourself and get lots of rest.  —V

Hang in there Heath. 🕊 Peace.

 

Valley, I see you are 1mg of Valium good for you, please heed your advice and slow down, that Brain of yours is going to wondering what you are doing and we must be Pals with our Precious Brains or it will bite you in the behind. 🕊Peace.

Thanks BG! Not many sxs at this point. In fact sleep is getting much deeper and better.  —V

That is great, I generally feel better too, but still going to do my Slow holding dance.

I’m glad you are generally feeling better. We will get off this crazy ride eventually lol.  —V

[[no...]]

Hi everyone  I am posting this post I just put as a new thread in the Forum up as you really need to see it Read it and stay off Caffeine.  If your suffering bad symptoms and are drinking or eating anything that contains Caffeine  it will explain why

 

 

Love Nova xxx  :smitten:

 

 

 

                            22% REDUCTION IN DIAZEPAM PLASMA LEVELS WHEN COADMINISTERED WITH CAFFEINE.

 

 

I take Diazepam and  started drinking black tea with sugar and honey after stopping it 3 year's ago since Dec 2nd 2017 as at first it didn't seem to be having any negative effects on me for well over a month. Well it didn't appear it making my symptoms any better or worse so, and I was enjoying a tiny piece of 'normality' in the middle of all this hell as a cuppa represents that to me when there's so many things I can't eat or drink due to reactions, and severe non stop symptoms. But noticed after a  while certain things were getting worse, or symptoms I hadn't had for ages were flaring up and the severe ones were getting even worse 

 

Then I began drinking more than one cup a day I was originally planning to stick to and soon got hooked on drinking 4 or more cups a day, I was getting 'Addicted'' to tea again like a crack head on crack, cup after cup some days. I also noticed that I was getting symptoms like I did while tapering and taking  taking cuts when I was actually doing a long hold after having to up-dose to enable me to move as I had an upstairs neighbour from hell living above my head.

 

So I went through what I've been doing differently besides having mega loads of stress which although it had me teetering on the edge I was holding out with a struggle but holding out none the less. So I began wondering was it to do with the black tea its self or the caffeine or alone in the tea. As last year I tried a weak cup of Coffee after not drinking that for 3 year's as well and it made my tenacious screaming tinnitus even worse after a couple of mouthfuls so never tried it again.

 

I also began to feel like I did when I was in tolerance withdrawal and drinking before I knew about what was really happening to me and the alcohol connection as wel, so 3 year's ago I stopped smoking drinking and Caffine all on the same day when I found out the truth of why I was so ill for years. Then more symptoms began that I had when I was CT's off Benzos year's ago unreal!! So I stopped drinking the tea about 6 or 7 days ago so I'm now having probably having Caffeine withdrawal as well  but its got to be done so I'm glad I did it,  then I went looking to see if there was any known interaction between the Diazepam and Caffeine at all then I found this today.....

 

 

Abstract

 

The pharmacokinetic and dynamic interactions of caffeine and diazepam after single doses were investigated in six young healthy adults. Subjects received 6 mg/kg of caffeine, 0.3 mg/kg of diazepam, and their combination at 2-week intervals according to a Latin square design and a double-blind procedure. Subjects had blood samples withdrawn at 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60 minutes and every 30 minutes thereafter until 210 minutes after treatment. A battery of behavioural tests were administered before treatment and after each blood sampling, starting with the 20-minute period. [b]The coadministration of caffeine with diazepam resulted in a 22% reduction in diazepam plasma levels.Caffeine produced hand tremors and diazepam produced sedation and impaired memory and cognition. The two drugs did not antagonize the effects of each other except in the symbol cancellation task. There were significant correlations between the caffeine and diazepam plasma levels and performance on several tasks and evidence for the development of acute tolerance to both drugs. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3517081

 

 

 

 

Caffeine lowers the Diazepam dose by 22%  :D Man!!! no wonder I was feeling like triple hell that's nearly a quarter of my dose which would by 2.5mg cut right away, and 2 weeks ago I tried a 1mg cut as a taper restart trial to see if I could handle the 1mg cut and if not I would try 1/2mg instead as I was trying to work out if it was side effects from the drugs making matters worse as I had been convinced since January of this year before the tea crossed my mind. And I was shocked that less then 24 hours later the effect it had on me, in real terms unknown to me I had cut nearer 3.1/2mg due to the 22% drop in Diazepam blood plasma levels so I was now dropping 1/3 of my overall dose unwittingly??? Stands to reason I felt like quadruple hell at that point

 

 

 

 

Then I read this.....

 

 

 

 

Caffeine 250 mg** counteracted** diazepam induced (10 mg) impairment of cognitive skills and relaxation of extraocular muscles whereas caffeine 500 mg counteracted the same effects of diazepam 20 mg, respectively. Theophylline antagonized diazepam-induced impairment in digit symbol substitution and tapping speed tests. Subjectively, caffeine and theophylline counteracted diazepam induced drowsiness and mental slowness. The results suggest, therefore, that the ample use of methylxanthines (Methylxanthines /theophyllines) are medications with some pharmacological effects similar to caffeine.) compensates various side-effects of benzodiazepines in man. It may also increase the need of sedation and thus the consumption of benzodiazepines.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6374311

 

 

 

So you need to up the dose to compensate the drops it causes in Benzos? Stay away from Caffeine!!! Its a LOT worse than I realised, I knew that it may worsen anxiety in some people?? no bloody wonder, it does more than just that  :D

 

Love Nova xxx  :smitten:

 

Whoa!  Maybe that explains some of the stuff that is happening with me!  I've started having a bit of coffee in the morning to help me get going.  I think I'll stick to Green Tea.  It's got caffeine but it's a different caffeine!  I was thinking that maybe I'd reached some kind of tolerance with the valium as I am now on two different benzos and have been at this dose of Valium for many months now....

 

Thanks for this post!!!!!

Thanks you!!

SS

Hi SS  All Caffeine in whatever you drink  or eat, Tea, Coffee, Energy drinks etc,is the same substance/drug, the only difference is the actual levels and even 'De-caff still has a certain amount of Caffeine in it so its false advertising to call it 'De-caff' really

 

 

Love Nova xxx  :smitten:

[[He...]]

BeGood, Stut, Valley,

 

Thanks so much for you replies and get well wishes.

 

My doc has changed all my meds. Says these new ones would work better.

He wanted to give me levoquin but I told him “no!” And I told him why.

He never heard of that, but he listened carefully and told me he could give me two other meds instead of levoquin. And that’s just what he did.He is so terrific. He. Actually listens to what I have to say!

 

The doc at the urgent care facility had given me Macrobid I’d for the UTI, BUT IT WAS not working. My doc is NOT a fan of urgent care in general but he said Macrobid is crap and I should throw it away!

 

So I did!

 

I think I am finally on the road to recovery. Only problem is these two new meds are giving me diahhrea.

 

If it’s not one thing, it’s another!

 

Well feel good everyone!

Valley congrats on getting down to 1 mg! Butjust like BeGood says, be careful! Don’t go too fast that you mess yourself up!

 

And, BeGood, congrats on being at. .5 mg Valium!  You have such good patience! And you are doing exactly what you said you would do! That is really being true to yourself! A big bravo to you!

 

Take care everyone!  Heath  :smitten: :smitten:

[[St...]]

Great Heath so glad you are finally on the road to recovery.Fingers crossed in a week's time you will be feeling so much better.Drink plenty of fluids and don't let yourself get dehydrated.

[[Gr...]]

Heathcliff-  That's really great news.  What is the new med?  What did the doc say about macrobid?  I can't believe they kept giving me that, even though it always made me feel awful, they would tell me that wasn't a side effect.  UGH.  We need a name for this- the benzo withdrawal antibiotic sensitivity- like pamphlet or something.  I hope you feel better soon. 

 

Nova -  I am not surprised about the caffeine and benzo relationship.  One psychiatrist told me if I felt sleepy from benzos to have a cup of coffee or a cigarette.  I actually have been a coffee drinker before and during benzos and now also during benzo withdrawal so I'm pretty sure there's more to it than a complete counteraction of the benzo with caffeine, but I definitely see you point and I hope you feel better off the tea.  I often drink herbal tea, cause I do love a hot beverage. 

 

Am I understanding this right?  That caffeine can take away the cognitive impairment or benzos?  That's kind of amazing. 

[[Gi...]]

Heathcliff,  Good for you for refusing Levaquin.  We have performed tendon repair surgery on people with ruptured Achilles tendon after taking Levaquin.  No injury, it was caused by the med.  It amazes me that prescribing doctors don't know about that side effect of Levaquin.

[[Su...]]

So glad to read that you're doing better Heath.

AND that the docs are listening to you!

SS

[[...]]

Sorry i have not been active for a while. Trying to bear with my flu, bronchitis and UTI.

OH MAN DO I FEEL HORRIBLE. BUT THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

TOMORROW I WILL GO TO THE DOC AND REDO MY CHEST X RAY , TO MAKE SURE I DONT HAVE PNEUMONIA. HOPE HE AGREES TO DO IT.

 

MAENWHILE, I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BETTER DAY TOMORROW.

 

HEATH

 

So sorry Heath , I do hope you feel better soon , sending love and hugs, MiYu

[[He...]]

Ginger mint, suffering sixty, Stut, Miyu, greencup, be good, Valley, Freeme, and anyone else I

Forgot to name,

 

Thank you all for your concern and well wishes again. It means so much to know that someone is listening and cares.

I’ll try to answer all your questions.

 

From what I understand levoquin should be prescribed only after other antibiotics have failed to get rid of an infection.

My doc wanted to give me levoquin because it seems I needed something very strong. I had “crackling” in my chest. He never said I had pneumonia but I was told previously that I had bronchitis. The bronchitis was diagnosed by a physicians assistant but he never gave me ant antibiotics!

So when I finally arrived at my own doctors office, I was in pretty bad shape.

I imagine that’s whey he wanted to give me levoquin. He did warn me about torn tendons as a side effect but he said it was rare, and he thought the need for the levoquin out weighed the low chance of a tendon tear as long as I stayed home and rested.

But I refused it anyway because of the interactions levoquin has with benzos.

Actually, about 5 years ago, I took Cipro for a UTI AND AFTER TWO DAYS, I STARTED TO GET JOINT PAIN, SO THEY STOPPED  IT.  So actually, I probably shouldn’t take any flouroquinolones at all!

 

As far as Macrobid goes, it was prescribed by an urgent care facility doctor. I was taking it for 2 days. The UTI started to go away, and then on the second day, the symptoms returned.

When I went to my own dr, he said the macrobid does not work well. (Actually, he said it was crap and I should throw it away!)

Any way,

My doc has given me 500 mg Ceftin 2xday.  And Zythromycin ( z pack)

He sad the combination of these two drugs is just as effective as levoquin. They will take care of the UTI AND THE CRACKLING IN MY CHEST..

I AM SURE HOPING HE IS RIGHT!

I’ve been sick for 8 days now and I am worn out. My chest hurts from coughing. I think Ive pulled some muscles.

I have one more dose of Tamiflu left. I am glad of that. The stuff is a bit nauseating, the new meds give me diahharea. But Imodium is taking care of that.

Sorry to be such a complainer. I hope by next week I will be my old self again.

 

Please everyone, even if you have had the flu shot, as I did, stay away from anyone who is sick. This years flu shot does not cover all the strains of flu. You still can get the flu! Wash your hands frequently. If you work with children, be extra careful. God bless the sweet little munchkins, they are always sharing some kind of cold, sorethroat, Flu. Etc.

 

Feel good everyone

 

Heath  :smitten: