Physical Appearance

[[Go...]]

Did anyone let their physical appearance slip and/or gain significant weight while using benzos?

[[Od...]]

Yes, I experienced weight gain while using benzos. Managing the impact on physical appearance was a challenge, but I've been working on regaining a healthier lifestyle since. Also I had a good diet which I found at https://betterme.world/articles/healthy-indian-food/.It's important to prioritize well-being during such situations.

[[or...]]

Well, I think mines been mostly just the aging process.  I already was on a low-carb diet which I lost the extra 30 I had gained.  Some of that has to be genetics because I ate a lot of junk-food over the years.  Probably since I only took 1mg C had some to do with not doing too bad on the weight, not sure though.  I wasn't an exerciser either, but started that late in life at I think I was 68/69, 70 now.  I did walk some but never got serious until I was diagnosed with T2 Diabetes and wouldn't take anymore drugs after suffering with a CT and then a "too fast" taper with MD.  The CT was caused purely by my decision to just quit my prescription.  I was never so sorry in my life I don't think.  Well, it was the sickest I ever felt in my life and was sure I might have stepped into the Twilight Zone

[[or...]]

I'm a little different, I guess because the incredible nausea I suffered as a s/x of my taper made me pretty much unable to eat. I lost 40 + pounds. None of my clothes fit . . . I looked like a bum. But I didn't care. Talk about lethargy. I showered now and then, got my hair cut now and then, and didn't really give a rip until my taper was over. Then I started caring again, and taking care of myself. Sheesh. It's criminal what  benzos rob us of. 

[[or...]]

7 minutes ago, [[o...] said:

I'm a little different, I guess because the incredible nausea I suffered as a s/x of my taper made me pretty much unable to eat. I lost 40 + pounds. None of my clothes fit . . . I looked like a bum. But I didn't care. Talk about lethargy. I showered now and then, got my hair cut now and then, and didn't really give a rip until my taper was over. Then I started caring again, and taking care of myself. Sheesh. It's criminal what  benzos rob us of. 

I went to read your About Me, but it's not there so I will just ask you what sort of taper did you do @[or...]? I think beginners, including myself are helped more if we know a person's taper, especially those not settled on a plan, and yes, benzos hurt me long before I was even tapering, I just didn't know the meaning of my illnesses, pain/aches, etc.  Tolerance Wd was something I never ever heard of.  People that come here can get a lot of info which I pray will help more and more people, maybe NEVER start these things Denise

[[or...]]

1 hour ago, [[o...] said:

I went to read your About Me, but it's not there so I will just ask you what sort of taper did you do @[or...]? I think beginners, including myself are helped more if we know a person's taper, especially those not settled on a plan, and yes, benzos hurt me long before I was even tapering, I just didn't know the meaning of my illnesses, pain/aches, etc.  Tolerance Wd was something I never ever heard of.  People that come here can get a lot of info which I pray will help more and more people, maybe NEVER start these things Denise

I followed the Ashton Manual from 15 mgs down to 5 mgs. Cut and hold. It was pretty much okay although I felt seriously unwell all the way down. Upset stomach. But at 5 mgs I got really sick -- that's when the nausea, headaches, body aches and dizziness ramped up and I felt like I had descended into hell. Nevertheless I continued cutting and holding until I couldn't do it any longer. Getting to 3 mgs was awful -- I even changed the amount by which I cut and the dosing schedule  -- 2x a day didn't really help. I thought I'd die at 3mgs. Finally at 1 mg I decided to do a DLMT (daily liquid microtaper) and that saved my bacon. I know it's not a popular w/d method but mixing up 1 mg of valium, a little alcohol, and 98 ml of water, then reducing by the same miniscule amount daily, got me to zero.

Maybe I'll put this in the About Me. I haven't, because the method that "saved" me is not recommended here -- the water taper. It's a question of how soluble valium really IS in alcohol. I consulted my chemist partner who did a little research for  me and we agreed it was soluble enough. I would have used liquid valium from the pharmacy if I could have tolerated the taste. If anyone is going to try a DLMT, I think they ought to try the pharma liquid first. A DLMT takes time (it took me 100 days to reduce 1 mg so you have to be patient) and is not really "scientific" as you're reducing by the same am't daily, but it let me walk off gently. 

Hope this helps. 

[[or...]]

I can't think now what the Ashton manual recommends, but how much were your cuts?  Same every time, how long were your holds?  It's too bad some doctors/scientists don't join up and let us do trials, from home so they can gather info on how to do these tapers the best way.  It's frustrating not to see more actual "people" evidence except we do see folks here doing good on slow-tapers, but I am not sure how many I see that have done the best on faster tapers.

I know one person that swares by the water taper, but I haven't actually dug deeper into the forum to find out who else has done it.  I tried it but honestly I got so much anxiety just trying to get the C to dissolve, then, I slopped water everywhere because the jar-lids leaked when I tried shaking it up each time. Payed good money for them too on Amazon.  They water taper sounded so great, the first one I tried out.  I have a pretty bad anxiety tremor I'll call it because high anxiety makes me shake like a leaf

Everyone finds their own way to taper, and whatever works for you is the best as far as I'm concerned

[[or...]]

I also remember now that my TEVA brand of Clonazepam didn't completely dissolve when I shook the jar.  I wonder if the brand of C or K, C is generic for Klonopin, but I think there are other "types" than TEVA.  Mine say TEVA on one side and 333 on the other.

[[or...]]

1 hour ago, [[o...] said:

I can't think now what the Ashton manual recommends, but how much were your cuts?  Same every time, how long were your holds?  It's too bad some doctors/scientists don't join up and let us do trials, from home so they can gather info on how to do these tapers the best way.  It's frustrating not to see more actual "people" evidence except we do see folks here doing good on slow-tapers, but I am not sure how many I see that have done the best on faster tapers.

I know one person that swares by the water taper, but I haven't actually dug deeper into the forum to find out who else has done it.  I tried it but honestly I got so much anxiety just trying to get the C to dissolve, then, I slopped water everywhere because the jar-lids leaked when I tried shaking it up each time. Payed good money for them too on Amazon.  They water taper sounded so great, the first one I tried out.  I have a pretty bad anxiety tremor I'll call it because high anxiety makes me shake like a leaf

Everyone finds their own way to taper, and whatever works for you is the best as far as I'm concerned

From 15mgs on down, Ashton's cut is 1 mg. every 1-2 weeks. That sounds conservative right? But I  never bothered to calculate that 1 mg from 15 mgs is a far lesser cut than 1 mg from 6 mgs, say. So the percentages just keep getting bigger. And that's why I got into a mess at  5 mgs. I just didn't do the math. Nor did I realize that I just couldn't follow Ashton. Some people can, some can't. I mean what alternative was there? So I persevered down to 3 mgs. I held once for about a month, but things just didn't get better. Then a buddy (Builder) was explaining the water taper method and I thought I'd give it a try. Once I was satisfied that valium actually DOES dissolve in alcohol, I started a  microtaper. It worked well for me. (The little white bits in the solution were the undissolvable binders and fillers in the pill . . . not the valium). Yeah, the liquid pharma valium would have been better but I couldn't tolerate the taste. I mixed up a new batch every night, took out my dose in a syringe,  squirted it in my mouth, and tossed the rest. Brother was I glad to be done with all that. But withdrawing teeny amounts (the same amount -- 1 ml) every night was what saved me.  Lordy, what a miserable ordeal. 

[[or...]]

Yes maybe you could consolidate that a little bit and make a signature for yourself in the about me section of your profile that's such good information and you really thorough and then in the future if you're asking for info or then people that have gone before us can read your about me and that would be very helpful to them to know more about you take care and maybe we can talk some more tomorrow I know you're in Oregon and I was very interested because that's my home state, Denise ps I just have 5 months that I've put into my signature area but you can take a look at how I did mine I always keep everything real simple as I just can't do complicated anything especially numbers haha 😆

 

[[or...]]

On 24/08/2023 at 19:17, [[o...] said:

From 15mgs on down, Ashton's cut is 1 mg. every 1-2 weeks. That sounds conservative right? But I  never bothered to calculate that 1 mg from 15 mgs is a far lesser cut than 1 mg from 6 mgs, say. So the percentages just keep getting bigger. And that's why I got into a mess at  5 mgs. I just didn't do the math. Nor did I realize that I just couldn't follow Ashton. Some people can, some can't. I mean what alternative was there? So I persevered down to 3 mgs. I held once for about a month, but things just didn't get better. Then a buddy (Builder) was explaining the water taper method and I thought I'd give it a try. Once I was satisfied that valium actually DOES dissolve in alcohol, I started a  microtaper. It worked well for me. (The little white bits in the solution were the undissolvable binders and fillers in the pill . . . not the valium). Yeah, the liquid pharma valium would have been better but I couldn't tolerate the taste. I mixed up a new batch every night, took out my dose in a syringe,  squirted it in my mouth, and tossed the rest. Brother was I glad to be done with all that. But withdrawing teeny amounts (the same amount -- 1 ml) every night was what saved me.  Lordy, what a miserable ordeal. 

Hi @[or...], thought of you today as I may be moving to Florence at some point.  But also, I was looking for threads, or posts by @[bu...] but darned if I can find them now.  I was talking to a buddy today and they brought up the liquid titration using alcohol and that builder had a lot of info on it.  Do you know where that info is so I could take a look?  I'm pretty interested in trying it when I get it because it might be easier on me than the way I'm doing things right now   I'm not 100% sure the "holding" method is best for me, and that's what I've been doing. Now I know 2 people that have had success, great success with tapering smaller and every day. Thanks for any info, Denise PS it's funny I thought of you because of the opportunity I may have to rent a place in Florence, then found out you followed the same taper as my other buddy   I don't really believe in accidents so maybe just fate hey

[[Ma...]]

I gained 65 pounds on them and tapering off

[[or...]]

On 29/08/2023 at 17:18, [[o...] said:

Hi @[or...], thought of you today as I may be moving to Florence at some point.  But also, I was looking for threads, or posts by @[bu...] but darned if I can find them now.  I was talking to a buddy today and they brought up the liquid titration using alcohol and that builder had a lot of info on it.  Do you know where that info is so I could take a look?  I'm pretty interested in trying it when I get it because it might be easier on me than the way I'm doing things right now   I'm not 100% sure the "holding" method is best for me, and that's what I've been doing. Now I know 2 people that have had success, great success with tapering smaller and every day. Thanks for any info, Denise PS it's funny I thought of you because of the opportunity I may have to rent a place in Florence, then found out you followed the same taper as my other buddy   I don't really believe in accidents so maybe just fate hey

@[or...] I will try to find builder's info. That may not have been his complete screen name. I'll research it. Another guy named SG57 had a lot of good info on the alcohol/water/valium method also. He posted interesting papers on solubility. My partner is a chemist and looked into the question of solubility of valium in alcohol and that clinched the deal for me. DIY methods like builder's and mine are not in favor on here . . . I understand why. Better to do a DLMT with liquid valium from the pharmacy. But when you can't . . . oh dear. Personally the tiny reductions in a DLMT were perfect for me. No more worrying about getting sick after a cut, no more holding. 

So you may be moving to Florence? Nice town. Especially the waterfront shops. We moved from the coast to Corvallis a few years ago, and I sure do miss the coast (we lived in Waldport). I go back there often to see friends. 

I'll get back to you about builder's info. 

[[or...]]

35 minutes ago, [[o...] said:

@[or...] I will try to find builder's info. That may not have been his complete screen name. I'll research it. Another guy named SG57 had a lot of good info on the alcohol/water/valium method also. He posted interesting papers on solubility. My partner is a chemist and looked into the question of solubility of valium in alcohol and that clinched the deal for me. DIY methods like builder's and mine are not in favor on here . . . I understand why. Better to do a DLMT with liquid valium from the pharmacy. But when you can't . . . oh dear. Personally the tiny reductions in a DLMT were perfect for me. No more worrying about getting sick after a cut, no more holding. 

So you may be moving to Florence? Nice town. Especially the waterfront shops. We moved from the coast to Corvallis a few years ago, and I sure do miss the coast (we lived in Waldport). I go back there often to see friends. 

I'll get back to you about builder's info. 

Oh thanks @[or...], I would like to have the info on this for later use just in case I do want to try it.  No hurry on finding more info, I'll be around   On moving to Florence, I've just been offered an opportunity to move into another apartment here in my little town, and may stay if I get that one.  I don't know anything for sure but yes, I love Florence, especially the shops   Plus it's I think just 70 miles of good highway to Eugene, some of the best Medical on the West Coast ttyl, Denise, and thank you again!!

[[gr...]]

While on Benzos, I was 35 pounds heavier then I am now after 14 month CT. I slept, but not really and didn't have much pride in my appearance. As I awake more each day, I eat far healthier and walk. Some days are harder then others to walk because I am still so tired all the time. Still, I'll take the lack of real sleep over what I had become on the pills....

[[or...]]

3 hours ago, [[o...] said:

Oh thanks @[or...], I would like to have the info on this for later use just in case I do want to try it.  No hurry on finding more info, I'll be around   On moving to Florence, I've just been offered an opportunity to move into another apartment here in my little town, and may stay if I get that one.  I don't know anything for sure but yes, I love Florence, especially the shops   Plus it's I think just 70 miles of good highway to Eugene, some of the best Medical on the West Coast ttyl, Denise, and thank you again!!

@[or...] I found a link to get you into one of his discussions on vodka and valium. I asked a mod who helped me find him:

https://benzobuddies.org/profile/226684-[bu...]/

Hope this helps!

 

 

[[or...]]

16 minutes ago, [[o...] said:

@[or...] I found a link to get you into one of his discussions on vodka and valium. I asked a mod who helped me find him:

https://benzobuddies.org/profile/226684-[bu...]/

Hope this helps!

I cannot thank you enough thank you thank you thank you I looked for that for two days. ❤️❤️❤️