How many of you had to diagnose yourself with benzo WD?

[[Ni...]]

Perseverance and Ben zolo, I'm with you on this. Another thing that should happen is pharmaceutical companies need change the Patient Information sheets they hand out at the pharmacy. If they said: "Do not take a benzodiazepine longer than 4 weeks, as they are highly addictive". I would have stopped right then and there. My bottle of Xanax said "as needed" too, and I'm reading the PI sheet right now and it says: take as directed by your doctor.  I don't know if the PI sheets are consistent through out the states or not. Someone on another thread said one time that it says to only take 4 weeks. Maybe that's in the UK or another country?

 

I will definitely be sending a letter to my state rep too. I don't think there is anything on BB, per say, that is dedicated to pro-action, I've looked elsewhere on the web and I haven't found anything.

 

My ex-doctor and benzos really messed up with my health and life, I know I will get passed this, but I feel like I lost a 5 years of my life because of this. I never even asked for an anxiety med. I was given Xanax when I was hospitalized for pneumonia and it was just slipped in with all the pneumonia meds I really needed.

I asked my doctor periodically if it was ok to take, as I didn't want to become dependent and he said Xanax was fine. The last time I asked him about it he said some people need to be on it the rest of there lives. That is just plain wrong.

[[tr...]]

I think when we look at our history...each one of us lost a number of years of our lives to these drugs. All of us have acted or behaved in unpredictable ways, once these drugs completely over ran our systems and took over our defenseless minds. I think doctors respond in habitual ways...they hand out a pill that best fits the prognosis or illness. There was a time where you could have a discussion with a doctor, but now you are given your allotted time and God help you after the fact. I have mentioned the fact that I was talking to a psychologist, who admitted to the fact that it all comes down to just getting you out of that room as quickly as possible, and most of the time the doctor is trying to fit the pill to the symptom. They  Hippocratic Oath is a joke, no doctor takes it seriously anymore. We as patients are now playing Russian roulette the minute we walk into that room. When I told my doctor I that I ended up in the hospital ER for w/d...he was disbelieving. I learned one thing about depression, that holds true...as paranoid as a depressed person may be...we are more realistic about the world we live in...dark as it may be, we are more intuitive and we are really good at reading faces. I could see it in his face...that when I told him about my sojourn to the ER, he knew I was addicted to this crap...there was an "admission of guilt" plastered all over his face. His face went white, he was really uncomfortable and he tried to change the topic a number of times. He fixated on my suicidal ideations or if my psychiatrist recommended anything to alleviate the ideations. He did and there was no way in hell that I was gonna tell him that. I wanted off these meds...I said.

 

My only fault in all this is that I did not do my research. I had made it a point in life to always look up whatever meds I was taking. I researched all my grandma's meds. I knew what each one did...how it affected her and possible side effects. I watched out for any sign of those effects, whenever I gave her those damn pills. I did the same for my dad...why the F^*K did I not do it for myself. I still don't understand why I just let it go...why I was so short sighted, and brainless this time round. The only thing I can come up with, is that I was already entranced by these drugs...life was kicking me in the shins really hard, and I was incapable of caring.

 

I also found out a cousin of mine is on Cipralex. I told him about my battles with Paxil and the hell that Clonazepam was putting me through. He says that he has been trying to decrease his dosage, by cutting his med in half. When he tried to go without Cipralex for a few days...he would get anxious and overall, his brain was fuzzy and so would reinstate. I warned him to talk to his doctor or to do some research before weaning. If he was not willing to do that...wean really, really slow. He replied that his doctor told him, "that he will probably be on these meds for the rest of his life". I said good luck to him...because he believes he will be able to just jump off whenever he wants.

[[Be...]]

Travuz,

 

Yes we should all be proactive in our health care, and be mindful of the substances we put in our bodies. That being said, it was not your responsibility to know you were going to be prescribed a poison by a medical proffesional. It's only natural we be inclined to believe doctors have our best interests at hand when they do things like prescribe meds, suggest surgery, etc. This is obviously not how it works, and your observation about the alloted time (usually a couple of minutes) is dead on.

 

Don't get me wrong- doctors that behave in an ethical, well meaning fashion have my utmost respect and admiration. They are heroes. They are also becoming an ever increasing rarity in this mindless greed machine.

 

Try not to be so hard on yourself. Although I abhor being identified as a victim, the reality is that everyone on this site is a victim. We have enough to deal with without feeling guilty about how f'd up we are.

 

Can't wait till the day that patents don't have to be afraid of being surgically/chemically sodomized by negligent bafoons. I think Perserverances call to sending out a letter should be taken very seriously by all; Every little bit counts, and we can help save others!

[[da...]]

I had to diagnose myself as going thru benzo w/d also.  Hey Billwill I was only on 2mg/dy Lorazepam for two months and that was all it took to get hooked really bad!

docs at hosp in-patient and ER had only the most general of guidelines-useless! so I screwed up again and did a 60% reduction in 3 weeks and am now paying for it with severe w/d symtoms.  No warnings from original doc and no warnings on presc. bottle.

[[li...]]

My neuro doctor told me my nerve damage was healing when it was the klonopin this doctor and is head of the board here in fort worth texas when I get this behind me. I want to go back and tell him doc you messed up on this one.

[[Bi...]]

Sorry to hear that David - those short half life benzos (Ativan and Xanax) are particularly problematic.  I started my downward spiral on Ativan and was hooked in three months.  Best, Bill

[[Wi...]]

I was told I was being non-compliant because I wanted to taper off, she also told me that the emotional distress couldn't possibly be w/d and that the GI problems I was having combined with the emotional distress strongly indicated I had a mood disorder.  Since I've had previous experience with anticonvulsants (I had severe PMS that she also mis-diagnosed as a mood disorder, now as a result I have a chronic auto immune disease directly related to too many years on tegretol) I refused to go on the Depakote she told me I needed. 

 

She told me she was the expert, not me and that she'd stop providing the valium for my taper if I refused the Depakote.  So I acquiesced as I felt I had no alternative and I took it for two months (one month going up and one month w/d'ing) since in that time I lost 25 lbs, was sick as a dog and entirely disabled.

 

End result, shortly after all of this I was diagnosed  with Celiac disease.  GI Pain stopped as soon as I stopped eating gluten. Fired my old psych, found a new doc and am now very slowly but so far successfully tapering off the valium. This psych acknowledged my Benzo w/d. No mood disorder, no additional medications, just a lot of reassurance.

 

If I had left it up to the original psych to "diagnose" and "cure" me, I'd probably be dead by now.

 

 

[[Fl...]]

Wow, great stories everyone. I knew that there would be a lot of people who were failed by the medical community but it looks like almost everyone had to diagnose themselves. That is inexcusable.

 

I just thought about something. I'm betting that the longer you are on them the more difficult it is to figure out that it is the drugs that are what is making you sick. At least someone who has only taken it for a few months has a better chance of being able to make the connection.

[Guest [Si...]]

I had to dx myself. I knew something was a bit out of whack.

 

I have other issues and they are worse than withdrawal, but I can def. tell it was the Klonopin making me sicker.

 

S#

[[Be...]]

 

I have other issues and they are worse than withdrawal, but I can def. tell it was the Klonopin making me sicker.

 

 

 

Word. I feel your pain Sig. I wish I didn't have to play the guessing game of how much is w/d, and how much is the other stuff. I know Klon is really embellishing my real symptoms too. I guess I will find out the truth eventually :'(

[[Ta...]]

You know you are probably bang on Florida Guy. Since it took less than 2 weeks for my body to 'rebel' against the ativan, it was an obvious connection. The other thing to consider though is that it is hard to think straight when you are suffering mentally, like anxiety and depression. Your deduction skills are severely disabled. I know I would have stopped the Ativan in the first week, if I hadn't been so frazzled. It makes you even more dependent on the deducing skills or lack there of, of your doctor.

-Tanya

[Guest [Si...]]

 

I have other issues and they are worse than withdrawal, but I can def. tell it was the Klonopin making me sicker.

 

 

 

Word. I feel your pain Sig. I wish I didn't have to play the guessing game of how much is w/d, and how much is the other stuff. I know Klon is really embellishing my real symptoms too. I guess I will find out the truth eventually :'(

 

 

Just know withdrawal is temporary, some things are permanent. 

 

You will make it!

 

 

[[...]]

Good question.

 

My doctor did not figure it out. I had interdose withdrawal and he put me on Effexor 

 

I was on vacation in Puerto Rico agitated with interdose withdrawal and not knowing what the hell was happening to me, and called my former provider of 29 years (retired, now a friend) asking what to do. He was the one to point out I had developed physical dependence on xanax. Thank god I called him.

[[Na...]]

I found out myself as well.  Dr's kept tinkering with different AD's but couldn't get my anxiety calmed down.  Only thing that would help would be the increase of the benzo.  I also never had depression before and that also came while I was in tolerance withdrawal.  You would think that would be obvious signs for a professional to see what is going on but no.  I searched the internet and found symptoms of benzo tolerance and then stumbled across Heather Ashton's work.  Everything came to light.  Found benzo buddies and the rest is history.  Still struggling but atleast I have hope now...

[[Fl...]]

My mom is an RN. I asked her to talk to a few doctors and ask them their opinion. I told her that even if they do acknowledge the possibility of WD that most of them will deny that it is possible for it to carry on for more than a few weeks.

 

Can't wait to hear what they have to say.

[[am...]]

Thank you for posting this! This had to be the most damaging of my trust of doctors. I am so shocked that most of them are not only ignorant of it, but close minded! We pay them - we are the patients and listening is the most critical piece to finding a diagnosis.  It is because of their refusal to listen that benzo withdrawal is real and it goes on for months that lands many of us in a hopeless place.  So glad I listened to the little voice in my head and that I found you guys. After being told I was only dealing with anxiety, I seriously thought, if this is anxiety, I can't live with it and seriously seriously considered suicide  - there was no hope - no way out - nobody to help me if left up to the doctors.  I am lucky though, that my own doctor watched me go through this experience and was genuinely concerned and she has learned some things along side of me.  I write a letter to her every month or so - kinda my "doctor blog" LOL. But I really want to be part of whatever exposes the truth to the public about benzos - hope there is opportunity for us to warn the world - maybe I'm dreaming.