Three Months and Two Weeks Since Jumping From 2.75 MG Diazepam Using NAD+ As An Assist.

[[Be...]]

And during my absence there's a whole new forum? 

 

1) I am still in post-acute, but getting better. Windows and waves are cycling. I was having more windows, but hit a rough patch. I know some would like to know how I am doing, and right now not well. Really bad wave, the burning on my face, headaches, stuff that had gone mostly away, returned to frustrate me again. 

I also am out of my state's program for assistance, the social worker who was my case manager told me that the administrator want to close my case at the end of June. Really wanted to stay until at least the end of July, felt I wasn't ready. She agreed, and tried to advocate for me, but got overridden. My DCW said she would stay on and help me until I was on my feet. I was getting there, until ↓↓↓

2) My 5 you dilute calico, who I raised and socialized, died after a brief illness. House call vet was here twice, SubQ fluids with B12 and Vit C, antibiotics, appetite stimulant because she was barely eating. Had an infection and became anemic, I was caring for her, hand feeding her, for over a week. She had perked up by Sunday, was curling up with me and purring, instead of hiding all the time. But by Monday she got worse, despite a second round of SubQ fluids with B12, she lost her fight and died on my bathroom floor sometime during the night. I found her Wednesday morning. 

3) I know stress makes things worse. Caring for my very sick kitty, only to have her die, really has rocked me.

4) Overall things continue to rapidly improve. I'm close to eating normal, I can't handle anything to acidic yet. Sleep is getting better, I'm alternating between Hydroxyzine and Belsomra, and down to 1 mg gabapentin. I'll be off the gabapentin in 30 days. After I'm off the gabapentin, I'm doing a final round of NAD+, with the remaining iontophoresis patches and solution I have here. I think that will give me a final boost in my recovery, I shouldn't need a repeat. Tinnitus is mostly gone, burning, stinging was almost gone. Headaches faded, but I'm having mild tension-like ones now since the kitty got ill. That floaty-boaty, rocking, swaying, dizzy thing is mostly gone. Close to completely ditching my walker, I'm really not using it much now. 

5) I fully understand why many drift away from here after jumping, because I'm now there, and I just feel less inclined to be here. Far from ready to write any kind of success story, can't even quite figure out how to navigate the new site, and a bit overwhelmed now. Music has been my lifesaver. I have been upgrading my audio components, and just keep music playing during the day. I have a high-end Denon AVR, Denon CD changer, Yamaha and DUAL speakers, and a cool vintage TEAC equalizer with a spectrum analyzer. The display is so cool. Trying to keep up with the music listening while mourning my cat. 

This was Sascha, she loved those treats that come in squeezable tubes as a kitten. I used them to socialize her. She stopped eating them as an adult, she moved on to Friskies Party Mix and Purina Temptations. I was feeding the tube treats again when she fell ill, up to the night before she crossed the rainbow bridge. 

So, if anybody has an tips for dealing with stress and grief following benzo w/d and recover, I'm all ears. I'm just trying to push myself through, and hope it doesn't last long.  Post-acute with windows and waves is very unpredictable. The good thing is that my overall symptoms have continued to subside, I just get a few that reappear out of nowhere, or ramp up unexpectedly. I'm guessing this is pretty much normal. I still have to figure out where everything is on this site. It looks like existing content was archived, and only new threads/content are able to be responded to. 

[[kl...]]

@[Be...]how many rounds of NAD + did you do? Did you do it during your taper or just at your jump? Glad you are recovering and off this! I hope you have continued success and healing!

[[B1...]]

Hey Lottie, just popping in to say I'm very sorry for your loss. Your kitty was beautiful and I am sure they were so lucky to have you as a parent and had a blessed life. Thanks for updating us on the NAD+. I hope you continue to recover at a decent pace. So much love for you❤️

[[Be...]]

On 7/30/2023 at 12:16 AM, [[k...] said:

@[Be...]how many rounds of NAD + did you do? Did you do it during your taper or just at your jump? Glad you are recovering and off this! I hope you have continued success and healing!

Thread: https://benzobuddies.org/topic/267791-nad-iontophoresis-for-benzo-detox-a-journal/   A lot of questions are answered there, and in the threads of others I linked to in that thread. I did one round of 12 days to jump, 2 rounds of 3 days since jumping, doing a final round of 3 days after I step off the gabapentin in less that a month. Overall, I have been doing pretty good, windows and waves, the windows are more, the waves have been less. Dealing with the sick kitty sent me into a wave, but it appears to be lifting somewhat. I still think I will be on track for being mostly recovered by month 5 or 6. Most who did NAD+ recovered by month 5. 1 month acute followed 4 to 5 months of post-acute is fairly typical with NAD+.  

[[Be...]]

On 7/30/2023 at 12:50 AM, [[B...] said:

Hey Lottie, just popping in to say I'm very sorry for your loss. Your kitty was beautiful and I am sure they were so lucky to have you as a parent and had a blessed life. Thanks for updating us on the NAD+. I hope you continue to recover at a decent pace. So much love for you❤️

TY, I so miss her. House is so quiet. My other cat is quieter. Sascha would run through crinkle tubes, and bat toys around. I think the wave I got thrown into from caring for her, only to lose her, is starting to subside. 

I still can't believe she's gone.

I know people were following my iontophoresis NAD+ thread, and some thinking about doing NAD+. And wondering how I'm doing with post-acute. I've got a ways to go, but I'm getting there. Each month is better than the last. Trying to distract myself as much as possible, and not focus on the downsides, but see the healing and milestones. Hope you are doing okay.     

[[kl...]]

@[Be...]thank you! I am very interested in tapering this way. I’m stuck now in my taper and feeling pretty discouraged. I’ve gone from 2 Mg of clonazepan for 18 years and now am stuck at .50 Mg. I need some relief this has gotten rough I’ve been here for about three months.

[[mc...]]

I’m sorry about your cat. I’m still in the thick of things. Lost my dog unexpectedly the other night. I still have pretty severe dpdr and anedohnia. I feel terrible that I haven’t been able to truly connect with my animals and kids. I look at them through a fogged lens. Losing him has really put me in a bad wave. Life keeps happening during this. I have had a hard time but just keep trying to go day by day. 

[[ne...]]

You guys are not alone and my condolences. Our 14.5 year old Golden Retriever has a large cancerous tumor on his spleen; we found out two days ago. He's home resting but these next weeks will be very difficult. 

[[Be...]]

7 hours ago, [[m...] said:

I’m sorry about your cat. I’m still in the thick of things. Lost my dog unexpectedly the other night. I still have pretty severe dpdr and anedohnia. I feel terrible that I haven’t been able to truly connect with my animals and kids. I look at them through a fogged lens. Losing him has really put me in a bad wave. Life keeps happening during this. I have had a hard time but just keep trying to go day by day. 

I'm stuck in a wave myself. Was having lots of windows prior to Sascha getting sick. It's hard when we lose our furkids. Not the outcome I had hoped for. I'm just pushing myself, I think things will ease up a bit. I'm also only about halfway through post-acute, for those who did NAD+. All we can do is try to hang in there. 

[[Be...]]

6 hours ago, [[n...] said:

You guys are not alone and my condolences. Our 14.5 year old Golden Retriever has a large cancerous tumor on his spleen; we found out two days ago. He's home resting but these next weeks will be very difficult. 

TY. Devoting time caring for them when they're sick, takes a toll on you. I was surprised how quickly my little calico went downhill. I'm guessing there's nothing they can do but provide comfort care? I was hand feeding Sascha 5 times a day, and she was eating tablespoons. She wouldn't eat without me putting it in her mouth. I just wish she wasn't so young.  

[[mc...]]

On 8/3/2023 at 8:44 PM, [[B...] said:

I'm stuck in a wave myself. Was having lots of windows prior to Sascha getting sick. It's hard when we lose our furkids. Not the outcome I had hoped for. I'm just pushing myself, I think things will ease up a bit. I'm also only about halfway through post-acute, for those who did NAD+. All we can do is try to hang in there. 

Do you think NAD helped?

[[Be...]]

On 8/5/2023 at 4:51 PM, [[m...] said:

Do you think NAD helped?

Absolutely yes. But it isn't a cure or fix, just an assist. You still have acute and post-acute, they just aren't as intense. I don't regret doing NAD+, I'd still be slowly tapering, I'm off completely, and healing day by day.