Fresh off of Temazepam

[[Jo...]]

Hi everyone this is my first time posting. A little backstory of what has been going on with me. I have always sort of had a little problems with sleep but could always eventually fall asleep even when I would work long shift hours in the military. I am a very healthy person and very active in the gym. I was until recently was trying to get my personal training certification. However, I feel like my whole life has now been put on hold. I never thought I would be dealing with chronic insomnia. I started dating my Girlfriend about a year ago and would stay over at her place but the bed was always cramped and she tossed and turned a lot and would keep me awake. To sleep better I started taking Delta 9 to help fall asleep which would work but I didn't want to take that everyday and I also needed to pass drug tests for potential jobs I was applying for. So I started take Z quill at night for about 3-4 months. I started working at a new job and an active shooter type event happened. I really wasn't scared during the event but maybe something in my sub conscience was triggered. Anyways after that I went about 3 days without sleep and went to the Dr. They prescribed me hydroxyzine and doxepin which did not work. I didn't know at the time but I am sure it is because of my body being use to Z quill. That was a Friday so I went the rest of the weekend without sleep then went back to the Dr on Monday. They then prescribed me Lorazepam and Ambien. This put me to sleep but I couldn't function in the day time and didnt feel like myself until early evening. This was no way for me to live my life I thought and I needed off it. After about four days of use I stopped taking them and was put on Seroquel at 50 mgs which did not work either along with a prazosin. I developed neuropathy from being on the Seroquel and other psychological affects as well. All in all my brain was put through about 15 different types of medication before landing on Temazepam. It worked and didnt make me have to much brain fog. However, I know I didnt want to be on it but I needed to sleep. The hypnic jerks i was having would startle me back awake and prevent me falling into sleep so i gave in and took the temazepam. I was taking 22.5 mg along with 600 mgs gabapentin was doing the trick to knock me out. I was on temazepam a little over two months about 9 weeks. I have been off of it now for five days. I was able to taper temazepam by supplementing using various natural herbs to help with my sleep. My naturpathic Dr I have been seeing has a pretty good protocol set up for me but im still concerned with sleep. During the taper and being off sleep hasnt been the greatest but then again it wasnt that great while on temazepam either. Its not like you get restful sleep at all. Right now I am sleeping basically every other night since being off of temzepam. Which is weird because even when I had the dose down to only 1.5 mgs I slept everynight at that dose on temazepam. Now I know alot of people on here have been on benzos alot longer than two months but I guess my question is will my sleep ever come back to being normal. I am hopeful that it will come back sooner rather than later. I am hopeful that after a month of being off of it my brain will be more balanced. I know i need to get off the gabapentin as well which I want to do this month as well but I think I need to give my brain a couple of weeks of being off of temazepam before i taper gabapentin. Im also on a drug called dayvigo that doesnt affect gaba receptors and apparently from the research I have done has no withdrawl effects either. I dont really think it helps for sleep at all really. I guess what im asking here is do you guys think I have a good chance of getting my life back soon? I have lost so much weight and I feel like im just wasting away and I feel hopeless. Is this just the benzo brain telling me this?

[[Co...]]

Hello @[Jo...]. Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

Well. It seems that you have been taking a long list of medications. Are all these recent?

What do you take now - and at what dose, and for how long?

What other medications have you quit recently? Sorry, it is little hard to follow your history in your post.

[[Jo...]]

22 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

Hello @[Jo...]. Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

Well. It seems that you have been taking a long list of medications. Are all these recent?

What do you take now - and at what dose, and for how long?

What other medications have you quit recently? Sorry, it is little hard to follow your history in your post.

Yes all of them recent. I was medication free before all of this happened. The Drs throught all kinds of different drugs at me. What I am taking now is 600 mg gabapentin and 10 mgs of Dayvigo. I have been taking gabapentin for about a month now and Dayvigo just under a month. I am also taking a variey of herbal supplements as well to help rebalance my brain and to eventually help me come off the gabapentin as ell. Some of the meds the Drs tried to put me on were Trazadone, Seroquel, Mirtazapin, Ambien, and Lunesta. I only used Ambien for about five days and Lunesta I only took one time. Trazadone I took for about a week and Seroquel was about two weeks and Mirtazapine was about a week as well. So nothing long term. The Drs were just throwing random stuff at me to see what would work for my sleep but I also didnt want to be on them anyway due to the side affects I was experiencing.

Edited December 12, 2023 by [Jo...]

[[Br...]]

Hello @[Jo...] - Can you tell us more about your taper off temazepam? How long did you taper for? 

[[Jo...]]

I tapered off temazepam in about three weeks time. When I started the taper is was at about 6 weeks on it. I did it by dumping out about a quarter to half a capsule per taper every three to four days. I pretty much slept for the most part on each taper. I never went multiple days without sleep while going through the taper. I relied on various herbs to help me sleep like valerian root, apegenin, glycine, melatonin, magnolia bark, L theanin, CBD/CBN and gaba.  I just know I can’t be on this stuff long term.  If wasn’t for the supplements I’m sure I would not have been able to taper like I did. My last taper was all the way down to 1.5 mgs for three days and I figured at such a low dose it would be fine to just cut it. I didn’t sleep last night and I fear the benzo brain is really starting to set in because I’m so afraid of going multiple days without sleep again. Today is day 4 of being off of temazepam and I have had some extreme anxiety in the day. I’m sure if I had slept last night I wouldn’t have been feeling the anxiety like I was earlier but it also doesn’t help I returned to work this week too. There is a part of me that feels I should take more time off of work at least another week. I don’t know. I guess I’m afraid I will not sleep for months or this is my life now. Or am I being irrational and paranoid. I just want my old life back. 

[[Br...]]

I don't think you're being irrational and paranoid.  I think you're in withdrawal from temazepam.  You may also feeling effects from the various other meds and supplements you've been taking on and off.   I think your system has had to adjust to a lot.  

Insomnia, extreme anxiety and intense fear are all very common withdrawal symptoms.  I would guess most of us have worried while in the thick of early withdrawal that our symptoms would remain with us permanently.  But the brain and body have an amazing capacity for healing.  It takes time and asks for a lot of patience from us.  

I'm personally not a big fan of supplements - they work for some people and make thing worse for others.  You have no way of knowing whether you'll be one of the lucky ones who are helped.  When you take a bunch of supplements you also have no way of knowing which one is helping.  I suggest you join the Alternative Treatments group to learn more.

Bottom line - I hope you won't consider going back to temazepam (or any other benzo or Z-drug).  If you can power through this first rough phase of symptoms I believe you'll find healing and recovery on the other side.  It's rough, it takes time, but it's worth it.

[[Pa...]]

Hi @[Jo...] 

I am a temazepam user too.  I am checking in with you to ask- after several months of being off temazepam, how much sleep do you get and how is your brain fog and anxiety now?  When do you hope to be off all Rx meds and supplements?

I am a 60 year old female, but I have a story similar to yours in that my dr had me try many different meds for sleep in a short amount of time- I tried 7 different meds in one month's time. I believe trying all those different drugs has caused you and I "kindling" and thus worse w/d symptoms.

None of the Rx drugs I tried helped me sleep more than 2 hours.  Temazepam was the one that worked best -up to 6 hours of sleep per night- at least until my system quickly built up a tolerance to it. I sometimes would then would (stupidly) take two 30 mg capsules during the night just to get a few hours of sleep.

Long story short, I just had to cold turkey off temazepam for the 2nd time!  I wouldn't wish the horror I've experienced from the cold turkeys on my worst enemy. (You can search my user name to read my posts about my extreme symptoms).

You were so smart to taper your temazepam and I hope you are now feeling much better!

You are lucky Zquill helped you to initially sleep. Zquill and other otcs like Benadryl and Unisom/doxlamine always made me wired. A pharmacist told me that happens in 10% of the population. Since my body doesn't like antihistamines hydroxyzine most likely wouldn't work for me.

I am desperate to find something natural to help my sleep and extreme anxiety. Melatonin at any strength hasn't helped, nor has L-theanine, CBD/CBN, valerian, chamomile or any form of magnesium.  Next up to try are magnolia bark extract, jujube fruit extract and/or apigenin. I've read these may mess up gaba receptors just like benzos, so if they work I will need to taper them at some point. 

My husband is a disabled veteran, so I get free healthcare from the VA (Champva program in the US). Not sure if the VA covers the cost of Dayvigo since it's a newer drug, but I'd be willing to try that too. You feel it doesn't help much though, right?

 

 

 

 

Edited March 21 by [Pa...]
2 cold turkeys, not 3.

[[Jo...]]

5 hours ago, [[P...] said:

Hi @[Jo...] 

I am a temazepam user too.  I am checking in with you to ask- after several months of being off temazepam, how much sleep do you get and how is your brain fog and anxiety now?  When do you hope to be off all Rx meds and supplements?

I am a 60 year old female, but I have a story similar to yours in that my dr had me try many different meds for sleep in a short amount of time- I think I tried 9 different meds in one month's time. I believe trying all those different drugs has caused you and I "kindling" and thus worse w/d symptoms.

None of the Rx drugs I tried helped me sleep more than 2 hours.  Temazepam was the one that worked best -up to 6 hours of sleep per night- at least until my system quickly built up a tolerance to it. I sometimes would then would (stupidly) take two 30 mg capsules during the night just to get a few hours of sleep.

Long story short, I just had to cold turkey off temazepam for the 3rd time!  I wouldn't wish the horror I've experienced from the cold turkeys on my worst enemy. (You can search my user name to read my posts about my extreme symptoms).

You were so smart to taper your temazepam and I hope you are now feeling much better!

You are lucky Zquill helped you to initially sleep. Zquill and other otcs like Benadryl and Unisom/doxlamine always made me wired. A pharmacist told me that happens in 10% of the population. Since my body doesn't like antihistamines hydroxyzine most likely wouldn't work for me.

I am desperate to find something natural to help my sleep and extreme anxiety. Melatonin at any strength hasn't helped, nor has L-theanine, CBD/CBN, valerian, chamomile or any form of magnesium.  Next up to try are baicalin/skullcap, magnolia bark extract, jujube fruit extract and/or apigenin. I've read these may mess up gaba receptors just like benzos, so if they work I will need to taper them at some point. 

My husband is a disabled veteran, so I get free healthcare from the VA (Champva program in the US). Not sure if the VA covers the cost of Davigo since it's a newer drug, but I'd be willing to try that too. You feel it doesn't help much though, right?

Im sorry you're going through it again. I have good days and bad days still but not like I did when I was going through the acute stage of my withdrawal. Unfortunately, I am still taking hydroxyzine and dayvigo. I have tapered them both down to their lowest dose and I want to cut hydroxyzine out next week. I am nervous about this jump but its not doing much at 25mg. Dayvigo I have down to 5mg from 10mg. My sleep is still not great. I honestly don't know how much sleep I am getting. I feel like I lay in bed and I am tired and I start to have dream even when it feels like I am awake a little bit. I guess this would be light sleep. I have cut out alot of my supplements. I am only taking L theanine, CBN, Chamomile tea w/ Valarian root, magnesium l threonate right now. However, I am taking alot of supplements in the morning and have changed my diet up as well and i have started taking NAD nasal spray. I am thinking of doing the complete NAD IV therapy. I am also going to be doing Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Treatment as well starting on the 1 April.

I did make an appointment with a guy named Peter Smith who has been helping people get off of benzos, SSRIs, and Anti-Depressents for over 30 years. He uses natural supplements and changes in our Diet to accomplish this. Here is a link to his site: https://www.balancingbrainchemistry.co.uk/peter-smith/144/Benzo-Withdrawal-Treatment-with-Natural-Remedies.html . I made an appointment and he has given me a whole new prescription of natural supplements that are supposed to increase neuroplasicity in the brain. All I know is I know im not as bad as I was before but I am still scared to cut out hydroxyxine and dayvigo. I also know I have to if I want to get back to natural sleep. For the record I think I am getting about three to four hours a night and sometimes I get about six. About a month ago I actually slept for seven hours and it was a deep sleep too but I ended up getting into an argument with a family member that day and it completly set me back I think becasue I didnt sleep that night.

I don't know the answers but I think no matter what we do we will eventually heal as long as we don't take another benzo.

[[Pa...]]

Thank you for the link to Peter Smith. Wow, his mental health story!  His website has so much good info on it. I just made my first appt with him.

Did you buy your Nad+ nasal spray on Amazon? I only found one to choose from on their site. Do you know if Nad+ capsules work as well as the nasal spray?

And one more question- do you think if you were only on Dayvigo it would be helpful for sleep?

 

21 hours ago, [[J...] said:

Im sorry you're going through it again. I have good days and bad days still but not like I did when I was going through the acute stage of my withdrawal. Unfortunately, I am still taking hydroxyzine and dayvigo. I have tapered them both down to their lowest dose and I want to cut hydroxyzine out next week. I am nervous about this jump but its not doing much at 25mg. Dayvigo I have down to 5mg from 10mg. My sleep is still not great. I honestly don't know how much sleep I am getting. I feel like I lay in bed and I am tired and I start to have dream even when it feels like I am awake a little bit. I guess this would be light sleep. I have cut out alot of my supplements. I am only taking L theanine, CBN, Chamomile tea w/ Valarian root, magnesium l threonate right now. However, I am taking alot of supplements in the morning and have changed my diet up as well and i have started taking NAD nasal spray. I am thinking of doing the complete NAD IV therapy. I am also going to be doing Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Treatment as well starting on the 1 April.

I did make an appointment with a guy named Peter Smith who has been helping people get off of benzos, SSRIs, and Anti-Depressents for over 30 years. He uses natural supplements and changes in our Diet to accomplish this. Here is a link to his site: https://www.balancingbrainchemistry.co.uk/peter-smith/144/Benzo-Withdrawal-Treatment-with-Natural-Remedies.html . I made an appointment and he has given me a whole new prescription of natural supplements that are supposed to increase neuroplasicity in the brain. All I know is I know im not as bad as I was before but I am still scared to cut out hydroxyxine and dayvigo. I also know I have to if I want to get back to natural sleep. For the record I think I am getting about three to four hours a night and sometimes I get about six. About a month ago I actually slept for seven hours and it was a deep sleep too but I ended up getting into an argument with a family member that day and it completly set me back I think becasue I didnt sleep that night.

I don't know the answers but I think no matter what we do we will eventually heal as long as we don't take another benzo.

 

Edited March 21 by [Pa...]

[[Jo...]]

I will let you know about the Dayvigo when I get off the hydroxyzine entirely. Again my sleep is garbage still. I am just scared to get off stuff because I am getting some sleep and i am afraid I wont sleep at all again if I cut everything out. I got the nasal spray from Ageless RX. The pills are not as good as the spray or getting an IV because of the way the body metabolizes it.

[[Pa...]]

There's a insomnia Dr. on YouTube who I think will be very helpful for you. His name is Daniel and his channel name is "The Sleep Coach School".  He teaches ACT therapy to cure insomnia (acceptance commitment therapy).  

Basically, he teaches how to not be afraid of not sleeping so you can sleep. Sounds weird and too simplistic, but there are real tricks to it. His videos were very helpful to me for curing the insomnia I had years before I took temazepam.

https://m.youtube.com/@thesleepcoachschool8192 

One more question...are the supplements you take in the morning different from those you listed above?

 

 

 

 

Edited March 20 by [Pa...]