Quitting benzos and booze at the same time?

[[Se...]]

I am curious to hear what people have experienced after removing the benzos from the equation.  During the first six months what have your cravings for other substances been like? How are you managing? 🙏🏼

[[ma...]]

Hello  SeaMoreClearly  I want to welcome to benzobuddies

We are glad to have you here.  What cravings are you having?   Did you taper off your benzo or quit cold turkey.  Hopefully you will tell us of your experience’s with benzodiazepines   Alcohol is best avoided for quite some time after complete withdrawal of benzos.  

"Benzodiazepines or cross tolerant drugs (like alcohol) should be avoided after discontinuation, even occasionally. These include the nonbenzodiazepines Z-drugs, which have a similar mechanism of action. This is because tolerance to benzodiazepines has been demonstrated to be still present at four months to two years after withdrawal depending on personal biochemistry. Re-exposures to benzodiazepines typically resulted in a reactivation of the tolerance and benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome"

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome#Medications

Magrita

 

 

[[Se...]]

That’s @[ma...]! So glad to have found this forum. So frustrating how little is known about what we are all going through. I went to a treatment center in mid May and was able to taper off (Valium taper from 7+ years of being on Klonipin) over a 10 day period. Even under the watchful eyes of the facility I was at (which was one of the best) I still was rushed to the ER when my withdrawal symptoms peaked. Now I know what dying feels like. Anyways, so I was able to get off of them successfully which is a miracle and also stop the drinking as well and am currently in IOP. I have had several slips with drinking which is beyond shameful and disappointing.  I have been out of work for a while now and am running out of money while also proudly co-parenting my daughter of 3. She is my beacon in all of this. The only light in a very dark room. 
 

So it has been just over a month since the last benzo I took as part of my monitored taper and I still don’t know what life looks like. I find that if I exercise like 5 times a week I feel decent but if I don’t I go to a dark place very fast. 
 

I have so much anxiety about not having a job and running low on money when all I want in life is to give my daughter the best life and to make sure she is safe and loved. I find it so difficult to have to try and sell myself to a potential employer when my mental state is so unstable. I spend so much of my day silently tearing myself apart and experiencing waves of physical anxiety when I think of something I am ashamed of or something I am avoiding. This is so unbelievably hard. 
 

Also, I currently don’t have a doc prescribing me meds so I am going through my primary doc. My old doc was the one who first put me on benzos in 6th grade to counterbalance the Ritalin he was giving me. Crazy that 30 years after he would give it to me again knowing my history with substance abuse. I have been taking prestiq for anxiety and gabapentin as a continuation of what they gave me In treatment. I have no real intentional direction with my meds which is beyond frustrating. 
 

Feel like I am so thankful to be off of that poison but now am damaged goods and don’t know how to proceed.

[[ma...]]

2 hours ago, [[S...] said:

I went to a treatment center in mid May and was able to taper off (Valium taper from 7+ years of being on Klonipin) over a 10 day period

Hi @SeaMoreClearly.

I am sorry you were taken off so quickly, remember these symptoms are not permanent.  You are temporarily damaged but you are definitley fixable just like I was.  I know you will get better....just give it more time.  Well done on quitting alcohol, don't be too hard on yourself, for having a few sips since quitting, try and stay sober from now on. You can do it... I know you can!  I quit alcohol many years ago, it's not easy but it will be worth it.   Well done on co-parenting your daughter, I can imagine she is the light of your life and your pride and joy! 

My doctor who new how hard it was for me to quit the alcohol, said well done and gave me diazepam..."out of the frying pan and into the fire" I should never have been given an addictive medication after quitting alcohol. My heart goes out to you, because i know what you are going through.

Right now, you will be feeling hopeless but I promise if you keep moving forward a day at a time, you will get through this dreadful process.  I have also been to that awful place you mention and I know there is a light at the end of that dark tunnel.   Try and  distract from the symptoms, go for a walk,  listen to music. What do you like doing? do you have a hobby?  Do something you enjoy doing, one day you will recover, life will come good again I promise you.

Magrita

 

[[gr...]]

Crazy how they prescribed Benzos to stop the booze!!! My retired doctor shared with me - that he thought at the time - Benzos were the answer. He said - "Well, you took them as prescribed..." and I agreed with him....

[[Se...]]

@[ma...]thanks again for your response. I am leaning into hobbies and just forcing myself to exercise. Just out of curiosity - why would it be bad to stop abruptly if it was in a relatively safe environment? What are the downsides of a quick taper vs a prolonged one? Sorry there is just so much I don’t know about what is happening to me that knowledge has become my best friend. 
 

The biggest win out of all of this is that you could not pay me enough money in the world to ever subject myself to a medication like that ever again. In fact, my level of caution about anything medication related is on such high alert that I don’t really worry about pills. I worry about me using alcohol to numb myself and pot to make me forget so I can feel as little as possible. I worry about not being able to move forward and regain a sense of pride about who I am and what I stand for. 
 

I just feel so taxed by this all and it seems so uncharted seeing the world in the harsh light without the false sense of relief that benzos gave me. It’s like waking up from a coma and trying to catch up with everything you have missed. Trying to remember how life was easier before and trying to get back to that place but not knowing the way. 

[[ma...]]

14 hours ago, [[S...] said:

Just out of curiosity - why would it be bad to stop abruptly if it was in a relatively safe environment?

Benzodiazepines are best tapered slowly. A slow taper is usually better tolerated than an abrupt one, but we have plenty of members who have come off fast/abruptly and they have managed okay. You seem to be coping with symptoms.  It’s just generally advised to taper slowly  to avoid some of the severe symptoms that often occur when we come off too quickly.  I tapered off slow, it wasn’t easy, you will recover just the same as I did. A faster taper is generally a tougher journey.

14 hours ago, [[S...] said:

I worry about me using alcohol to numb myself and pot to make me forget so I can feel as little as possible. I worry about not being able to move forward and regain a sense of pride about who I am and what I stand for. 

Alcohol acts on the same receptors as benzodiazepines and can worsen symptoms, so please try and avoid if possible.
 

The person you were is still in there somewhere  just buried for now, but you will emerge from this, intact, so keep moving forward.  Take it one day at a time, life will get better and when it does, if you’re anything like me, you will appreciate everything even the little things we usually take for granted.
 

Keep positive, find something you like doing, distract yourself from symptoms, they will improve and eventually go away.

Magrita

[[Lo...]]

@[Se...] this resonates with me so much:

"I worry about me using alcohol to numb myself and pot to make me forget so I can feel as little as possible. I worry about not being able to move forward and regain a sense of pride about who I am and what I stand for".

I could have written this myself. I struggle to give up booze entirely, and there are nights where if I'm still awake by 3 or 4 am I'll just down 4-5 G&T's to numb myself in the hopes it would just switch my brain off, which of course it doesn't, and I then go right into the next phase - shame, guilt, and feeling like a total failure.

I also worry about losing the plot completely - so often, I just feel like I don't know what's "normal" anymore, what might a "normal" me look like, and how do I get my identity and my sense of agency back. It's like I'm walking on quicksand and I've no idea how to find solid ground again.

But this, too, shall pass, right? 🤗

Regarding anxiety about work & money, have you considered going freelance or working remotely? I couldn't face a regular job so I'm freelancing a lot and it helps as I make my own schedules and don't need to interact with people much if I don't want to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[el...]]

Alcohol definitely doesn't make the withdrawal process easier.

[[ve...]]

Alcohol is dangerous as it lowers the seizure threshold.  I had to quit alcohol and now I'm quitting benzos.

[[Th...]]

Alcohol works on GABA receptors pretty much the same way Benzos do that's why it is HIGHLY recommended that you avoid ALL alcohol while on Benzos, tapering off and even after you're healed.  Siggy had 2 terrible experiences with alcohol after he was healed.  Both times he was thrown back into withdrawal for months.

[[ve...]]

I only drink non-alcoholic beer.  The Germans know how to make it taste better than alcoholic beer. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by [ve...]

[[ha...]]

While I understand your curiosity about people's experiences after removing benzos from their lives, it's important to note that individual journeys and coping strategies can vary widely. I decided to seek professional help and engage in support groups. Also, I do my best to lead a healthier lifestyle to manage cravings. But still, I have a fear of breaking (I guess, I need to discuss it with my therapist). I even looked through the life alert reviews and started considering having their system, just in case. 

Edited December 19, 2023 by [ha...]