Too long

[[Pa...]]

My wife is 14 years and 3 months off of benzos or any type of med.   She is in a bad wave and is feeling all alone and hopeless.  Any one out there near this long?   Any hope for recovery.   She has had good times but getting hit hard now.  Thanks   

[[Na...]]

I’ll be 9 years in about 5 months. Not 14 years but a long time.

I am so sorry your wife is going through this. No one should have to go through such long term misery.

[[Ca...]]

Depression, sounds like but at 14 yrs out? I'm so, so sorry for her. I see these high numbers and just think, OMG, that's incredible, even at a mere 7.5 yrs off (my case), that we are still standing, still sane, as it were, and still hoping!! I don't think any of us will ever get back to how we were before Benzos, as we might have hoped. It continues to be a most humbling experience.

[[Pa...]]

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

Depression, sounds like but at 14 yrs out? I'm so, so sorry for her. I see these high numbers and just think, OMG, that's incredible, even at a mere 7.5 yrs off (my case), that we are still standing, still sane, as it were, and still hoping!! I don't think any of us will ever get back to how we were before Benzos, as we might have hoped. It continues to be a most humbling experience.

My wife asked me to post that just the way it reads, however she was doing very well the day before.   She has had some very good days, it seems like the bad days seem worse to her maybe because she has good days.   She is no where near where she was in the early days.  Also she was obsessive about things before benzo's and I think she is more so now.   However, it also seems that the obsessive thinking can happen to many as they age.   The mysterious body pains seems to be what sets off other symptoms, when the pain comes its hard to think in a positive way.   

[[zi...]]

I'm over 12 years off. I still have good days and bad days. Sometimes the good days are really great and sometimes they are "good" just because I've learned how to deal with whatever physical symptom is bugging me. I guess I've learned to control the panic to some degree. Pain makes everything worse and when things have been going well, getting yanked back down the rabbit hole....it's almost worse than just slogging along through the misery because for a while you had HOPE that maybe it was all gone for good. All this leads to more anxiety, etc. I tend towards being obsessive myself and going through w/d certainly has not helped that! I wish I had some great advice but I think we all come up with what works for us to cope. For me it's distraction, sometimes meditation, sometimes working out, reminding myself that "it's just pain", or if I am in panic mode, going and getting whatever it is checked out. If it's nothing (usually the case) then great, but no matter what, you know what you are dealing with and have removed the uncertainty. Thinking about what it "could" be creates a lot more anxiety and more pain and stress. It's a battle for sure, I'm in a bad pain spiral right now myself, lots of temp and humidity changes and that never helps. Anyway, she is not alone, I think there are a good many of us around that are many years out, they just don't post much because after 10 years or so, what else can you really say? Tell her to hang in there! Zippy

[[Pa...]]

24 minutes ago, [[z...] said:

I'm over 12 years off. I still have good days and bad days. Sometimes the good days are really great and sometimes they are "good" just because I've learned how to deal with whatever physical symptom is bugging me. I guess I've learned to control the panic to some degree. Pain makes everything worse and when things have been going well, getting yanked back down the rabbit hole....it's almost worse than just slogging along through the misery because for a while you had HOPE that maybe it was all gone for good. All this leads to more anxiety, etc. I tend towards being obsessive myself and going through w/d certainly has not helped that! I wish I had some great advice but I think we all come up with what works for us to cope. For me it's distraction, sometimes meditation, sometimes working out, reminding myself that "it's just pain", or if I am in panic mode, going and getting whatever it is checked out. If it's nothing (usually the case) then great, but no matter what, you know what you are dealing with and have removed the uncertainty. Thinking about what it "could" be creates a lot more anxiety and more pain and stress. It's a battle for sure, I'm in a bad pain spiral right now myself, lots of temp and humidity changes and that never helps. Anyway, she is not alone, I think there are a good many of us around that are many years out, they just don't post much because after 10 years or so, what else can you really say? Tell her to hang in there! Zippy

Thanks for sharing that was very nice of you and it helped my wife feel she is not alone. 

[[Be...]]

What type of pain do you all mean?  

[[Pa...]]

Burning pain all over, total body pain, feels like acid on the skin, the worst is the female parts.   Anxiety and insomnia are the main mental issues.   I make myself go somewhere every day. 

[[co...]]

she's def not alone...hope she's feeling better now

 

it does get tedious

[[Na...]]

On 25/01/2024 at 13:59, [[P...] said:

It seems like the bad days seem worse to her maybe because she has good days.   She is no where near where she was in the early days. 

I believe that's true. It's the contrast. And if you feel better for just a day or two you sort of get used to it, which makes going backwards feel so much worse.

But, if you can have good days then maybe you can have more and more good days. At least your mind and body is capable of feeling better.

[[Sh...]]

On 27/01/2024 at 17:27, [[P...] said:

Burning pain all over, total body pain, feels like acid on the skin, the worst is the female parts.   Anxiety and insomnia are the main mental issues.   I make myself go somewhere every day. 

She's still dealing with insomnia this many years out? Can you give us more details on her condition? Like is it broken sleep that she's dealing with? Sleep onset insomnia? How many hours does she get?

[[Pa...]]

At 70 years old there are not many old folks that don't have some level of insomnia, hard to make it through the night without a bathroom visit.   She gets about 6 to 7 hours a night total sleep.   

[[be...]]

On 26/01/2024 at 23:40, [[B...] said:

What type of pain do you all mean?  

Nerve pain in legs..sometimes arms..but the leg pain is everyday.

Numbness from feet to waist. Crotch and butt pain. Ache all over like joints are swollen. Squeezing and tightness. Off balance. Body is always vibrating.

 

[[Wa...]]

I am five years off and just feeling like my symptoms violently cycle. Don't know anyone else like this where I can be stable-ish for a few hours or even a day and then WHAM....the crazy train rolls in or I feel like I've done 2000 rounds of chemo and then it morphs into something else. I am sorry she is still struggling and happy that she has you by her side for support.

[[le...]]

I am exactly the same. I had friends over first time in months had a nice afternoon, Next day like being in acute. I get crying spells can wake up first couple hours fine, then literally cry the rest of the day. Since trying anti depressants got whole load more symptoms, then the flu jab made things even worse, I have really bad insomnia, have resorted to taking zopiclone otherwise go several nights with zero sleep. Not ideal but can’t cope with mental symptoms on zero sleep. And never had any problems with zopiclone although I know others have,  14 years is way too long to still have symptoms, she deserves a medal.

[[Gi...]]

On 12/04/2024 at 16:24, [[b...] said:

Nerve pain in legs..sometimes arms..but the leg pain is everyday.

Numbness from feet to waist. Crotch and butt pain. Ache all over like joints are swollen. Squeezing and tightness. Off balance. Body is always vibrating.

Hi Beulah,

I noticed you have been off a long time. Are you taking any other meds? Did your muscle issues improve over the years?

Have you gone through times where you felt healed?

Edited April 17 by [Gi...]