Long Post - Looking for Experiences For My upcoming Appointments ....Thank You sooooo Much :)

[[Da...]]

Hi All,

Thanks for everything thus far.  Prior to upcoming appointments I greatly appreciate if any of you can comment/share experiences related to some symptoms...I have upcoming appointments and don't want to undergo unnecessary testing/diagnosis and or treatment if this is mostly Benzo related.  As we all know....most doctors and specialist are not familiar with Benzo tolerance/withdrawl   Here are some questions:  These are mostly psychosocial.......(Note:  I am post menopausal - surgically induced 20 years ago....and apparently that causes a more than 30% of all dopamine neurons disappearance in a major area of the brain...who knew! However, I would still greatly appreciate your feedback before my appointments so they have the whole picture.)

We already talked about Anticipatory Anxiety and thank you for all the responses.

1.  Have many of your friends/family said "Your whole personality has changed or you are not the same person...."  

2.  Looking back before your Benzo use, were there signs/symptoms of low dopamine.

3.  Are you feeling much disassocociation/derealization/depersonalizaton - Looking at the world though the opposite end of binoculars, is the best way I can describe it lol  (Like overnight)

4.  ANhedonia (Loss of interest in pleasure in everything)......seemingly overnight.....and was it present prior to Benzo use to some extent or periodically?

5. Apathy and Avolition ( No motivation to do anything and complete inability to start/complete anything including self care)

6.  Social withdrawal/idolation, even with family?

7.  Negative, repetitive thoughts, almost like OCD rumination, both during Benzo use and prior?

8. Excessive feelings of guilt?

9.  Headaches......do they start in the neck?

10.  Total inability to focus on anything except Benzo buddies

11.  Dramatic Aging Appearance?

12.  Thyroid Problems/Nodules?

13. Anemia?

14. Petachaie Spots....little red spots on skin that do not turn white when you press on them?

15.  Tingling/Numbness in hands and feet both with Benzo use and Prior?

16.  Symptoms of Low Dopamine before Benzos ex. , tiredness, clumsy movements, procrastination, (could still be highly successful and these may be subtle signs), preference to get home after along day, social engagements not a priority.

17.  Lastly, but very important, support system?  High stress?  Social Isolation?

I know this is a lot...and if you can only comment on a few...that is ok    Any correlations are great to avoid misdiagnosis or to help with diagnosis for uncommon symptoms.  I am taking some notes for my appointments.  Thank you so much for reading and for any input

 

 

[[ns...]]

28 minutes ago, [[D...] said:

Hi All,

Thanks for everything thus far.  Prior to upcoming appointments I greatly appreciate if any of you can comment/share experiences related to some symptoms...I have upcoming appointments and don't want to undergo unnecessary testing/diagnosis and or treatment if this is mostly Benzo related.  As we all know....most doctors and specialist are not familiar with Benzo tolerance/withdrawl   Here are some questions:  These are mostly psychosocial.......(Note:  I am post menopausal - surgically induced 20 years ago....and apparently that causes a more than 30% of all dopamine neurons disappearance in a major area of the brain...who knew! However, I would still greatly appreciate your feedback before my appointments so they have the whole picture.)

We already talked about Anticipatory Anxiety and thank you for all the responses.

1.  Have many of your friends/family said "Your whole personality has changed or you are not the same person...."  

2.  Looking back before your Benzo use, were there signs/symptoms of low dopamine.

3.  Are you feeling much disassocociation/derealization/depersonalizaton - Looking at the world though the opposite end of binoculars, is the best way I can describe it lol  (Like overnight)

4.  ANhedonia (Loss of interest in pleasure in everything)......seemingly overnight.....and was it present prior to Benzo use to some extent or periodically?

5. Apathy and Avolition ( No motivation to do anything and complete inability to start/complete anything including self care)

6.  Social withdrawal/idolation, even with family?

7.  Negative, repetitive thoughts, almost like OCD rumination, both during Benzo use and prior?

8. Excessive feelings of guilt?

9.  Headaches......do they start in the neck?

10.  Total inability to focus on anything except Benzo buddies

11.  Dramatic Aging Appearance?

12.  Thyroid Problems/Nodules?

13. Anemia?

14. Petachaie Spots....little red spots on skin that do not turn white when you press on them?

15.  Tingling/Numbness in hands and feet both with Benzo use and Prior?

16.  Symptoms of Low Dopamine before Benzos ex. , tiredness, clumsy movements, procrastination, (could still be highly successful and these may be subtle signs), preference to get home after along day, social engagements not a priority.

17.  Lastly, but very important, support system?  High stress?  Social Isolation?

I know this is a lot...and if you can only comment on a few...that is ok    Any correlations are great to avoid misdiagnosis or to help with diagnosis for uncommon symptoms.  I am taking some notes for my appointments.  Thank you so much for reading and for any input

I think most symptoms are related to benzo,hormones and of course our past experiences in life. If your on ssris for example. They put me on an ssri after total hysterectomy because I couldn't take hormones for 5.months after surgery. Changed that one to Celexa.  When I went on hormones they should have taken me off if Celexa. 

 I went protracted for 3 yrs after forced taper and then back on benzo 3 yrs later, withdrawals are worse than ever before, still going, I took hormones again 2.5 yrs after start of 1st withdrawal , it was a nightmare.  Seemed the hormones didn't work well with wthdrawl. Er tested for thyroid, t3 t4 numbers were high. Later they were normal after I stopped hormones. 

So I think it depends on the stage of withdrawal,  yes I think benzos are mostly to blame but hormones are a big part of who we are, if they're off or your low on hormones you'll have many health issues, and i dont think benzos mix with hormones at all.

Just rambling I guess! 

[[Pa...]]

Hi @[Da...],

Have you been to your appointments, if so, how did it go?  I'm sorry I didn't see your post until recently but I hope you didn't have to endure a bunch of tests which most of us know are pointless.

I wanted to say that I dealt with many of the items on your list, I think 11 of them.  In the years since my recovery, I've wondered if my symptoms were mostly mental or physical but in looking at your list, I think I was equally plagued by both.  

Would you care to let us know where your taper stands now?

[[Da...]]

On 15/02/2024 at 10:56, [[P...] said:

Hi @[Da...],

Have you been to your appointments, if so, how did it go?  I'm sorry I didn't see your post until recently but I hope you didn't have to endure a bunch of tests which most of us know are pointless.

I wanted to say that I dealt with many of the items on your list, I think 11 of them.  In the years since my recovery, I've wondered if my symptoms were mostly mental or physical but in looking at your list, I think I was equally plagued by both.  

Would you care to let us know where your taper stands now?

Hi Pamster,

I am at .25 with my taper..going fast was rough but I am actually a little more clear headed.  My body isn't absorbing nutrients so we are looking into that...that was pre-benzo and apparently I am not metabolizing meds well either.  I have to do a stress test....and a bunch of other things.  I am not sure if guys experienced the same, but I noticed that I had not have a fever in years and when I looked that up benzos not only lowers blood pressure but also body temperature!  That's dangerous.  So docs have missed stuff with me bc of that!  Additionally, it's listed in the FDA Alert that it is one of the medications that can throw blood work off.  To add to this, where most of you have histamine intolerance, my histamine is blocked so I not sure wha t that all means yet.  I am going to start a new topic regarding my most concerning symptom.  Hugs