Withdrawal Symptoms and Cold Plunge

[[Li...]]

I am not sure is this is the right spot to post this but I wanted to share something that shockingly helped me with my withdrawal for a bit.  My brother has been doing cold water plunges for over a year to help with inflammation in his joints.  Over Thanksgiving break he challenged me to do it with him....  (mainly because he didn't think I would...LOL).  He and I have been reading up on benefits from doing this and there are so many of them..  The time range you shoot for is 3-6 mins up to your neck.  We got in the cold creek by his house.  A shock to my system to say the least.  Starting that day I did it until probably 3 days after I noticed that my WD symptoms were so so much better.  I'm still tapering and I've been on this taper journey for about 4.5 year so far and nothing has given my that much relief.   So here are my thoughts....  to aid in healing anything in our bodies every cell needs oxygen.  The more oxygen that you can get into your cells the better it can heal itself.  When you cold plunge your body floods your brain with oxygen in a sense to save your life.  What if something as simple as cold plunges and other techniques that increase the oxygen in our body and cells could help to heal us.  I am pondering doing this 1x a week from here on out just to document how I feel with my WD with the plunges compared to how I feel now.   Has anyone else experienced anything like this?    

[[de...]]

Hopefully, others will weigh in.  It will be interesting to follow your results after you do it once a week.   Unfortunately, if the solution were that simple we would know it by now.   I think benzo induced neurologic dysfunction (BIND) is multi-faceted and very complicated.   Having said that if the cold plunge helps you in any way, that would be great.  

I know there have been members who tried hyperbaric chambers.  I don't remember what their results were, but it must have not been overwhelmingly positive or most of us would be trying to find ways to use a hyperbaric chamber. 

Please keep us posted!!!

[[Re...]]

I don't know much about cold plunges. But, I know about cold showers. And by cold, I mean cold. It does seem to help me, too. I was also surprised. The physical symptoms tend to be a lot better even after a cold water face wash. 

Everyone reacts to these things differently as it seems... 

[[Li...]]

18 hours ago, [[d...] said:

Hopefully, others will weigh in.  It will be interesting to follow your results after you do it once a week.   Unfortunately, if the solution were that simple we would know it by now.   I think benzo induced neurologic dysfunction (BIND) is multi-faceted and very complicated.   Having said that if the cold plunge helps you in any way, that would be great.  

I know there have been members who tried hyperbaric chambers.  I don't remember what their results were, but it must have not been overwhelmingly positive or most of us would be trying to find ways to use a hyperbaric chamber. 

Please keep us posted!!!

@[de...] The increase in oxygen to the brain is only one of many benefits.  Maybe it is a combination of the oxygen, the anti-inflammatory benefits int he whole body... it is a long list of what happens when you do this.  Hydrotherapy has been used for thousands of years for many different things.  I  wasn't expecting to feel the lift of my wd from doing it.  I will absolutely keep updates posted!!!   

[[Li...]]

18 hours ago, [[R...] said:

I don't know much about cold plunges. But, I know about cold showers. And by cold, I mean cold. It does seem to help me, too. I was also surprised. The physical symptoms tend to be a lot better even after a cold water face wash. 

Everyone reacts to these things differently as it seems... 

@[Re...]  Cold and/or contrast showers are really good for you too.  I actually found that the contrast showers were harder to do then the cold plunge...  lol.  

[[he...]]

Wim Hof to the rescue!

Seriously... interested in hearing if this continues to help. Thank you for sharing.

[[Li...]]

UPDATE:  I wanted to come back and post on my progress that I made over Christmas break.  I used the cold plunge to help me manage the withdrawals along with cold showers and cold packs.  I know that this may sound a bit extreme but this was my experience.  I spent a lot of time praying and asking for God's guidance in my taper to be able to listen to my body and not take things too far if my body couldn't hand it.  I also added specific foods and supplements to support brain health and pushed myself to get 30 mins of light exercise each day. With that being said I did make some drastic cuts.  On 12/15/23 I cut my dose by 50% and went from 2 mgs of V to 1 mg.  I held there for a few days and continued cutting by 50% each time until I hit 0.25 mgs.  I held there for several days and as of January 1, 2024 I have been completely off my valium.  The cold plunge therapy has helped tremendously and I am still doing that now.  I try to do it at least 1 time a week and I still use contrast showers as needed.  I have continued my regimen of supplements and trying to exercise when I can.  Overall, for me, I say that the cold plunge was a great help.   Now 1 month off the v I can say that the pressure heads are gone.   I am taking something for sleep at least for the short term and I still continue the healthy eating and supplements that I started at the beginning.  Another thing that I found very helpful is to claim God's promises and thank him continuously.  Through this process I have also tried to go outside more and practice taking slow deep breathes to get good oxygen into me for healing and sunshine.   I am very excited to see how healing will go from here.   

[[dj...]]

That’s great, Lisaloo.  Glad you are off the Valium and doing better.  
 

I had a therapist who once told me that if I was ever feeling really anxious and if it was practical, fill up the sink with ice water and submerge your face in it a few times, holding for 10-15 seconds each.  It definitely shocks the system and kills the anxiety.  
 

I may try a cold shower or bath.  

[[he...]]

Wonderful you could cut at that speed and get off it... I tapered between 5 and 10.3% every 14 days as a microtaper. That's as fast as I could go. I imagine you'll heal quickly. Congratulations on jumping!

[[mi...]]

 

 

 

 

Nice to hear that cold exposure has helped you. I've been taking cold showers for 8 years and a year ago started cold plunges. I made my own DIY plunge and has been a life changer.

I'm a long timer here at BB and I've been promoting cold exposure several times. As many people say is not for everybody. In my case it helps me tremendously to fall asleep. I also take cold showers at night, but I noticed lately that contrast showers Cold -Hot Cold made me sleep even better and longer.

There is a new wave of youtubers and health hackers supporting cold therapy these days. As per some studies cold exposure increases our Dopamine and noradrenaline 250 and 500 % respectively. That's why we feel good afterwards. 

I was floxed and took benzos at the same time 5 years ago. Was prescribed to me for digestive issues. I've been off two years and had to go back due to supplements. I' m now in the last stages of my third taper. Most of the five years I've been on this poison was to taper it.

I encourage everybody to eat healthy, exercise if you can and be extremely careful taking supplements or even herbal teas and let the big healer take over. YES, that's TIME!

Happy cold showers! 

Mice