Lorazepam and Zopiclone

[[Cl...]]

Hallo,

First: English is not my language.

I take Tavor/lorazepam and Zopiclon over 1 year. My doctor send me to hospital to make the withdrawal. I didn’t know that I have to tapper.

Now I am 14,5 months after Zero and it gets worth and worth.

After zero the doctor gave me the antidepressant Doxepin.

It was not good and I stopped it. Now I take escitalopram.

 

I am so ill, that I have to stay most of the time in bed.

The pressure in the head is so terrible. I can not stay, run because I have pain in the whole body. In legs and arms.

 

I have to write later because I can not concentrate.

 

Clarissa 13

[[ma...]]

Hi Clarissa13 Welcome to Benzobuddies

 

I'm glad you joined the forum, I understand your situation, I am sorry your having a tough time, we are glad you are here. Google translate works very well. Google translate.  You’ve come to a great place with lots of valuable information and plenty of support.  You will be able to connect with others who will understand about withdrawal and the suffering it brings.    I am sorry you continue to have symptoms this far out, unfortunately,  it’s not uncommon.  Withdrawal symptoms can take a long time to settle, especially after a fast withdrawal.  Hang in there, I know that you are going to recover eventually.  Feel free to browse the forum and post questions so members can respond.

 

The Ashton Manual I found to be a great help for me.  It gives  a better understanding on why you feel the way you do.  The manual also  includes a list of common symptoms.  With time you will get better and eventually recover from this ordeal.

 

Here are a few links to resources:

 

Post withdrawal recovery support.   

Cold Turkey, Detox& Rapid Withdrawal

The Ashton Manual. 

Colorado Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidelines

 

If you would like to add a signature (history of meds/doses etc) it will help members give you relevant advice.  Go to the top of the page and select PROFILE then choose forum profile then insert drug history into the text box and remember to click change profile

 

Welcome aboard

Magrita

 

[[Cl...]]

Hallo,

Will I ever be healthy again?

 

Clarissa

[[ma...]]

Yes Clarrisa, you will, but it takes time, I was 18 months off before I felt well again.

 

Try and distract from the symptoms best you can, It will get better

 

Magrita

[[Cl...]]

And thank you margrita.

 

In the moment I am not able to do this signature. I hope I can do it later.

 

Thank you!

Clarissa

[[Cl...]]

Hallo margrita,

but in the hospital they did cold turkey. They said to me, it is the best way and I believed it.

I am so angry about it.

 

And now they say, it can not withdrawal after 14 months.

 

Clarissa

[[ma...]]

Hallo margrita,

but in the hospital they did cold turkey. They said to me, it is the best way and I believed it.

I am so angry about it.

 

And now they say, it can not withdrawal after 14 months.

 

Clarissa

 

I am so sorry you went through a cold turkey, this has happened to many of our members.

 

Try not to be angry! save your energy for your recovery, 

 

Don't worry about signature, do it when you feel you can, no problem.

 

Magrita

 

 

[[Cl...]]

Hello,

why is it getting worse and worse? I have deprived in a clinic. 8 weeks for 3 mg lorazepam and 4 tablets zopiclone. On 1/12/22 I was down to zero. I was given amitriptyline for 4 days but it made me constipated so it was stopped. a few days later i got akathisia and i got doxepin. At first I was doing relatively well with it, but then I got constipated again and I wanted to stop taking it. then I had violent anxiety attacks and I took it again. This happened several times and I got akathesia and severe pain in my legs again.

 

I got my first windows at the end of April 2022 and I was happy and had hope. but then in august the windows suddenly stopped and it got worse. I got neuroleptics from the doctor and the akathisia started again. I tried doxepin again but it got worse.

I ended up in the closed psychiatric ward and they gave me zopiclone and neuroleptics again, although I said I couldn't take it.

since then it has gotten worse and worse.

since 16.11. I no longer take doxepin or neuroleptics.

only 10 mg escitalopram.

 

 

my question:

why did i first have windows in the summer and then suddenly not anymore?

 

why is everything getting worse?

I now sometimes have windows, but only briefly, around 2 to 4 hours.

 

Best regards

Clarissa

[[ma...]]

Hello Clarissa.  Withdrawal is up and down, there are days when you feel improved followed by days you feel much worse, and vice versa, that’s normal.  Windows, however short, are a sign of healing.  It can take quite a long time for the nervous system to recover after C/T.    I promise that with more time, you will get there, it will get better. 

 

Are you taking good care of yourself?  It’s important to eat healthy,  avoid sugar, caffeine, alcohol etc. Try to  distract yourself from the symptoms, go for a walk if you can, listen to music, read, meditate, find something to occupy your mind. 

 

Recovery Tips

 

Four Phases of Withdrawal-Where Are You?

 

 

Hang in there.

 

Magrita

[[Cl...]]

Hello Margaret,

Thanks for the answer. I'm just wondering why it was so much better for the first few months. and suddenly it got so much worse and the windows were gone.

I find that strange. maybe it was the doxepin and the neuroleptics?

 

I drink 1 to 2 cups of coffee in the morning. mixed normally with decaffeinated coffee. I don't notice any difference when I only drink decaffeinated coffee.

I'm careful with the sweets now, but I often have cravings for chocolate.

Unfortunately I can't walk, only a few steps. I can only lie and watch TV. However, I have to get up every 30 minutes because of restlessness or akathisia.

 

Clarissa

[[Cl...]]

Hello

Can you change the subject from

Tavor to lorazepam? I don’t know if someone knows Tavor.

It is a German name for lorazepam.

 

Thank you

[[Cl...]]

Hello,

Can you change the subject from

Tavor to lorazepam?

Tavor is the German word for lorazepam.

Thank you

Clarissa

[[ma...]]

Hello,

Can you change the subject from

Tavor to lorazepam?

Tavor is the German word for lorazepam.

Thank you

Clarissa

 

I've changed it for you Clarissa, yes I knew it was German

[[ma...]]

Hello Margaret,

Thanks for the answer. I'm just wondering why it was so much better for the first few months. and suddenly it got so much worse and the windows were gone.

I find that strange. maybe it was the doxepin and the neuroleptics?

 

I drink 1 to 2 cups of coffee in the morning. mixed normally with decaffeinated coffee. I don't notice any difference when I only drink decaffeinated coffee.

I'm careful with the sweets now, but I often have cravings for chocolate.

Unfortunately I can't walk, only a few steps. I can only lie and watch TV. However, I have to get up every 30 minutes because of restlessness or akathisia.

 

Clarissa

 

 

I found withdrawal totally baffling, we can feel absolutely awful, and then an hour later feel better, its very strange!  Please remind yourself its temporary, no matter how bad you feel now, it will improve and get better.  I had a myriad of symptoms,  mild Akathisia, was one of them, I know what you are going through.

 

Try and do something, anything, whatever you are able to do.  Distract and distract again, read, do puzzles, take your mind away from symptoms.

 

What is happening in your brain?

 

Magrita

[[Cl...]]

Hello,

I would like to name all my symptoms:

Headache, head pressure, stitches in the head

tremble tremble vibrate twitch

dizziness

balance disorders

Body heavy as lead, as if I weigh 300 kg

exhaustion

sleep without rest

sometimes I sleep through, sometimes I wake up 3 times

Abdominal pain constipation, no bowel movements

thinking disorders

concentration not possible

toothache

jaw pain

pain nose

sneeze

typing is very slow

restlessness akathisia

whole body tense

stitches and tingling legs feet and face

sometimes hives

in the morning i see pictures i don't know

racing thoughts

some kind of hallucinations

neck pain

can't stand

just walk a few steps

don't shower or wash me

 

Clarissa

[[Cl...]]

are so many symptoms normal?

 

and when do you notice that it is getting better?

when the windows get longer?

 

Thank you!

Clarissa

[[Pa...]]

You should find your symptoms on this list.  Ashton Manual symptom list

 

Recovery is typically between 1 and 2 years, so your brain is still making repairs.

 

[[Cl...]]

Thank you pamster for your answer.

 

is there anything that helps? vitamins or something?

 

in the success stories i have also read about people who needed 5, 6 or even 12 years. that scares me.

can it take that long?

 

Best regards

clarissa

[[Pa...]]

I don't see much consensus on what vitamins, what helps one person seems to hurt the next so approach with caution, you can look at this board to see what others have said. Alternative  Therapies & Supplements

 

A very small number of people will take longer than a couple of years to heal, we don't know why but they are in the minority.

[[Cl...]]

Thanks! Today I have a window, I could take a shower. I still have dizziness and pain in my legs, but I could stand in the shower for 10 minutes. otherwise I can hardly stand at all. a minute at most.

am bedridden. is that actually common?

my sister always tells me to run, go for a walk, but that's like telling someone who is paraplegic and in a wheelchair to just get up and walk.

but my sister and friends don't understand. they don't believe it.

Best regards

Clarissa

[[Pa...]]

I'm happy to hear you had a window and could shower, I'm sure that helped you feel better.  Many experience difficulty in standing and walking, they complain of jelly legs, not trusting them but I remember one of our members who found a way through that.  She loved to hike but had trouble trusting her legs.  What she found out was it wasn't her legs that were the problem, it was her brain communicating with them that was.  She made a conscious decision to trust her legs and it worked for her.  She started pushing herself to walk in the mountains like she'd always done and it worked.  She was able to increase her time walking and hiking by denying the reality her brain tried to impose on her and we know our brain is compromised by this.

 

I don't know if you can get past the dizziness and use her same reasoning but I hope you can stay mobile, this process lasts too long and you need to stay somewhat active to keep in good health so your body can recover.

[[Cl...]]

Hello,

no, that doesn't work for me. The pain in my legs and arms is so severe that I cannot walk. On a scale of 0 to 10, it feels like a 12. And if I can walk or stand a bit during a window, then I pay for it with even more pain the next day.

 

I think it's the doxepin withdrawal. don't know if the drug is also called that in English. That was also discontinued cold.

I had that with amitriptyline too. that's why i started tavor and zopiclone in the first place. because I couldn't take the pain anymore.

they then disappeared sometime overnight. then came back to the clinic during withdrawal. and got worse once I stopped doxepin.

Best regards

clarissa

[[Cl...]]

Hello,

it makes me sad and despondent when i read, i'm supposed to stay mobile and move and definitely can't.

I'm not self-pitying, I've never been.

I had CFS ages ago from contracting the epstein barr virus. It lasted 1.5 years and thank God I recovered. Back then, more than 30 years ago, hardly anyone knew about it.

At the time I thought it was the worst thing you can experience, but I was wrong.

In any case, I didn't give up and fight back then, although everyone thought, what's the matter with her. I was then in the hospital and a doctor knew about the disease and explained it to me. I was lucky at the time and got well again after 1.5 years.

 

but now even here no one seems to understand that I can do next to nothing. if not here, then where?

 

Don't get me wrong: the suggestion was certainly meant well, I understood that. and movement is certainly good and important. But it doesn't work.

 

Yesterday I had half a window. The head pressure then goes away, I can think, but all the other symptoms remain. is that normal?

 

Best regards

Clarissa

[[Pa...]]

I'm so sorry for making you feel even worse, my intent was to inspire, please forgive my mistake.  I wasn't aware of your pain, I thought it was jelly legs which may be something we can fool our brain about but pain is real and that can stop us in our tracks. 

 

I can see you've faced a number of challenges but I never got the impression you were self-pitying, you were sharing your story like we all do here.  I'm glad to hear you had a window and yes, its normal for it not to be fully open, hopefully the next one will.

 

 

[[Cl...]]

yes, it is horrible pain in arms and legs. walking is not possible.

Yesterday I was super stressed and I paid for it with even more pain and athesia.

last week i had short windows more often,

but many symptoms remain simple.

lately it's tingling, pecking and stinging everywhere.

I'm also so cold it hurts.

i have so many symptoms

and no doctor believes that.

hopefully it doesn't take that long.

I need help!

Best regards

clarissa