11 years off setback after 6 years stable

[[co...]]

Hey everyone,

I'm going through a tough time after being relatively stable for 6 years. I've been off benzo (first alprazolam, then diazepam) for 11 years. Recently, I had a sore throat and lost my voice, so I saw an ENT doctor who gave me some medications like a PPI, a steroid, and an allergy medicine (cetirizine). None of these helped, so he gave me another allergy medicine (desloratadine), but my throat didn't get better. Instead, I started feeling really anxious and having panic attacks. Now, I have tension headaches and sinus congestion, waking up with depression everyday and I'm feeling like I did 6 years ago when my symptoms were bad. Should I see a psychiatrist? I'm scared of taking more psychiatric medicine. I'm 51 years old. Any advice would be really helpful (DM or reply). Thanks.

 

 

[[Re...]]

@[co...] I am sorry to read about your struggles so far out. 

I wonder if it is possible that it is indeed some kind of infection or/and reaction to medication you are having. Not to mention being sick, the withdrawal experience itself might cause some bad memories to surface. I absolutely can relate, I have something similar myself, too.

Before rushing to a psychiatrist I would personally wait a little, see if my symptoms settle. I am trying some home remedies now, taking care of myself, good food, warm tea, etc.

I hope that with enough patience our systems will settle soon enough, and another psych medication just won’t be woth considering.

Edited March 1 by [Re...]

[[bw...]]

Recurrence of symptoms after successful withdrawal  It is not unusual to experience recurrence of apparent benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms years after a successful withdrawal and a return to normal health. The particular pattern of symptoms is unique to the individual, depending on his physical and psychological makeup, and no doubt on the innate density of his/her benzodiazepine receptors and the balance of his endozepines (see above). The experience of benzodiazepine withdrawal is deeply etched into the mind and memory of those who have been through it, and is actually physically present in the strength and connections of their neural synapses, as all memories are. These recurrent symptoms are all signs of GABA underactivity with its accompanying increased output of excitatory neurotransmitters, resulting in a hyperactive, hypersensitive central nervous system. The mechanism is exactly the same as that of benzodiazepine withdrawal, which is why the symptoms are the same.  In nearly every case of apparent recurrence, the precipitating cause for the return of symptoms turns out, on close inspection, to be an increase in environmental stress. The trigger may be a new stress or worry which may be unrecognised so that the return of symptoms seems to occur out of the blue. Contributing factors can be an infection, surgery, dental problems, work problems, fatigue, bereavement, family problems, loss of sleep, adverse reaction to a drug, change of environment - almost anything. It may also be that with increasing age and long-term worries, the brain simply gets less efficient at coping with stress. In addition, there may still be some lingering old disturbing worries/thoughts/memories that have been buried in the unconscious mind but are resurfacing now because the brain has not been able to deal with them adequately in the past. For those who have experienced a traumatic benzodiazepine withdrawal, an element of post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD) may be involved. This is a recurrent condition that can be triggered by small reminders of the past trauma. It is as if any new stress pushes the individual over the limits of his stress-coping abilities. As discussed above, some people who have been on long-term benzodiazepine treatment have a lowered tolerance to stress, even after they have stopped taking the drug, and are therefore more vulnerable to new or recurrent stresses.  It is not clear why many people report experiencing adverse effects from new drugs or drugs they have tolerated before taking benzodiazepines. The drugs involved are so disparate - from skin ointments to eye drops to local anaesthetics to antidepressants, steroids and many others - that it is difficult to attribute these reactions to metabolic effects, allergies or other known effects. Presumably the general hypersensitivity of the nervous system magnifies the reaction to any foreign substances, but no clear explanation has yet emerged. An exception is quinolone antibiotics which displace benzodiazepines from their binding sites and should not be taken by patients on, or recently on, benzodiazepines. 

 

If it was me, dont go to a psychartrist.

Stay off all meds and ride it out. You will eventually come good again.

[[Ma...]]

@[bw...] Is that from the Ashton manual?

A very similar thing happened to someone name Matt Samet. You can read his story (s) at Mad in America.

Psychiatrist? Who knows-but you know the risks of taking meds & tapering. If you do decide to go on 1, I would encourage taking a gene test as it tells you exactly what your specific system can tolerate.

I hope this passes for you real soon!

 

Edited March 1 by [Ma...]

[[bw...]]

Indeed from the ashton manual. - 1999. Referencing to setbacks

 

The success story of MR B.

He had an acure setback at 6yrs off like myself. His wife contacted professor and she said sometimes this happens. You will heal.

 

His success story is under

Healed at 12 years.

Edited March 1 by [bw...]

[[co...]]

@[Re...]The doctor thinks it's allergy-related post-nasal drip. Now, I can't tolerate any food or drink like coffee, tea, not even vitamins or supplements without having symptoms. Thanks for the words of encouragement.

Edited March 2 by [co...]

[[De...]]

 

It seems that the effects of ppis like pepcid toxicity have something to do with the Na+/K+ or H+ Exchanger, that something with It in regards of  their neuronal toxicity

Maybe nimodipine that stablizes that could do something, but Its based on Its effects on the  regulation of nimodipine-sensitive and -insensitive Ca2+ influx by the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger and mitochondrial function 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 pepcid and others mess with, Na+, K+-ATPase

 

 

Na+, K+-ATPase in the Brain: Structure and Function

 

 

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-0-387-30380-2_10

 

 

Edited March 1 by [De...]

[[dj...]]

13 hours ago, [[c...] said:

Hey everyone,

I'm going through a tough time after being relatively stable for 6 years. I've been off benzo (first alprazolam, then diazepam) for 11 years. Recently, I had a sore throat and lost my voice, so I saw an ENT doctor who gave me some medications like a PPI, a steroid, and an allergy medicine (cetirizine). None of these helped, so he gave me another allergy medicine (desloratadine), but my throat didn't get better. Instead, I started feeling really anxious and having panic attacks. Now, I have tension headaches and sinus congestion, waking up with depression everyday and I'm feeling like I did 6 years ago when my symptoms were bad. Should I see a psychiatrist? I'm scared of taking more psychiatric medicine. I'm 51 years old. Any advice would be really helpful (DM or reply). Thanks.

How long has this been going on?  I would definitely ride it out for at least a few weeks and see if it goes away.  

[[co...]]

@[dj...]On December 23rd, I had a terrible panic attack. Since then, I've been dealing with anxiety, sometimes for half a day sometimes whole days that come in waves. The pain in my throat and ears are getting worse when I speak. Waking up feeling depressed, knowing that I have to go through this again after 6 years, is tough.

[[Ta...]]

I just had a nightmare experience with Benedryl. It turns out that Benedryl is a Serotonin reuptake inhibitor. And I believe that I was suffering with Serotonin Syndrome. Perhaps the antihistamine that you were taking works on Serotonin in a similar way. Increasing Nitric Oxide regulated Serotonin for me. Search the BB site for Nitric Oxide (NO) and see how to increase it. I drank unfiltered cranberry & tart cherry juices, and ate organic blueberries. Also, there are breathing techniques that increase NO. Your health problems might be histamine related. Maybe diamine oxidase (DAO) would help you.

I wish you all the best.

 

[[co...]]

@[Ta...]The ENT prescribed me cetirizine for two weeks, followed by desloratadine for another 2 weeks. I'm not certain if second-generation antihistamines affect serotonin, but I'll look into it. I suspect I may have histamine intolerance because I had a severe panic attack after eating kimchi for 5 consecutive days. Right now, I'm hesitant to take any supplements, so I'll just wait it out for a couple of weeks. Thank you for the kind words 🙏

[[or...]]

I'm taking Zyrtec only as needed, but I believe my hives are either benzo wd, or histamine over-production.

What I'm trying to do, because I'm just to afraid of pills, is change up my nutrition to low-histamine, or no histamine foods.  I can't say I'm over a bad case of PND, which is better, about half what it was.  The hives rage when I've not take zyrtec for a couple days.

I'm still in taper-mode though, unlike you being 6 years after final dose if I read that right.  So I don't have much to contribute I'm afraid.  It wouldn't hurt to look at you daily nutrition though.  I dropped the spinach as I read it was way high in histamines, for example, and turned to using only the leased processed cheeses like FETA,

I know it's totally reasonable for me to have other sxs after I jump as I'm 71, and have under-lying issues that may not be healed.  I've used the C benzo for 35 years, on slow, micro taper, that looks like tapering .001g of  1mg C Tablet (TEVA brand), hope something here might help though, oregonlady, stick with BB

[[co...]]

@[or...] I'm sorry for taking a while to respond. I'm having a tough time with stomach problems right now. It's really bad, and I'm not sure what to do. If I see the doctor, they might prescribe PPI or H2 blockers, but those actually caused the issue in the first place. My stomach is burning whether I eat or not.

[[or...]]

Hi @[co...], Please try not to worry or feel it necessary to get back to me.  I have days, even weeks when I just can't even get on here, let alone respond to someone's replies.  I think most of us feel the same way.

I do see that kimchi is very high in histamine and also can cause digestive issues that can last for days.  I don't see any issues, but others may, with anti-histamines.  You can try not to eat high histamine foods, I really believe that's helped me a lot but it can be trial and error to find out

I do a lot of "alternative" things but mostly nutrition, and some supplements that I've read don't interfere with the healing of our GABA/Glutamate receptors. I'm not off the benzo, just one year through my taper so far this month.  So I'm not sure how folks that are no longer on a benzo can do to help our receptors.

A lot of us end up with having to "heal our guts", when I first heard that phrase I sort of laughed it off, but since then I've learned a lot. I always read about what doctors want to give me first though, and I do come here first  as well, to checkout what my peers say about different remedies, oregonlady

here's something to read when/if you're up to it.  Our guts/digestion have a connection with our brains so I find it very interesting and helpful to understand:  Brain-Gut Connection, John Hopkins Medicine

 

 

Edited March 7 by [or...]

[[Ma...]]

@[co...] When I was discharged from the hospital in October they had me on a PPI and I have never been so sick in my life. Honestly, I am surprised I didn’t die.

Google reviews on drugs.com and you will read side effects from those not benzo injured.

I would encourage drinking Kefir. It’s a probiotic and natural antibiotic. For me it was a miracle. Truly a miracle for all of my gut issues.