I need to get off benzos and I don’t know where to start.

[[oz...]]

 

I have been dependent on benzodiazepines for a long time now, and I really need to get clean for my health, my family, and everyone around me. 

Unfortunately, I was never given a real prescription and sourced them myself. I have been dealing with anxiety for good portion of my life. I found it was the only thing that could help me so I started taking them to try and make it through life. 

I know it was a horrible choice and I should’ve probably just gone to therapy but I I guess I took the easy way. Now I find myself years down the line in a pretty bad situation with a lot of anxiety. The supplies that I sourced will probably last me another eight months at the most. 

I need to find a rehab facility that can help me out. My problem is that I am not prescribed them and I am taking diclazepam, (not diazepam) which isn’t really used in the United States, and was just scheduled last year. 

I know of a local hospital that has a rehabilitation program. Do you think that they would help me in my process of tapering? I have tapered down quite a bit from my highest dose, but I am still taking a considerable amount (around 2.5mg.) 

I was told that there are certain drugs that can help with the withdrawal process, but I am not sure the doctors would be willing to help me out with my situation. My fear is that they would put me into a rapid taper, I am afraid of getting PTSD or having a heart attack and seizures. 

Honestly, I’m just really scared. I don’t know who to talk to about my situation so I came here. 

Thank you for any kind of help that you can give me, I just need somebody to point me in the right direction or maybe give me some good advice. 

 

Have a great day. 

 

[[Ka...]]

Hello @[oz...] as a starting point here is a link with some useful info:

 

https://www.benzoinfo.com/2018/04/20/why-prescribed-benzo-patients-shouldnt-go-to-detox-or-rehab/

The Benzo Information Coalition is an excellent resource. It will have links to address many questions you may have. 
It is best to reduce slow & steady with a taper plan that goes at a pace to suit you: https://www.benzoinfo.com/benzodiazepine-tapering-strategies/

Hoping these links may be of help for you. You are not alone as many of us are going through tapering. 

 

Edited May 17 by [Ka...]

[[Re...]]

10 hours ago, [[o...] said:

I have been dependent on benzodiazepines for a long time now, and I really need to get clean for my health, my family, and everyone around me. 

Unfortunately, I was never given a real prescription and sourced them myself. I have been dealing with anxiety for good portion of my life. I found it was the only thing that could help me so I started taking them to try and make it through life. 

I know it was a horrible choice and I should’ve probably just gone to therapy but I I guess I took the easy way. Now I find myself years down the line in a pretty bad situation with a lot of anxiety. The supplies that I sourced will probably last me another eight months at the most. 

I need to find a rehab facility that can help me out. My problem is that I am not prescribed them and I am taking diclazepam, (not diazepam) which isn’t really used in the United States, and was just scheduled last year. 

I know of a local hospital that has a rehabilitation program. Do you think that they would help me in my process of tapering? I have tapered down quite a bit from my highest dose, but I am still taking a considerable amount (around 2.5mg.) 

I was told that there are certain drugs that can help with the withdrawal process, but I am not sure the doctors would be willing to help me out with my situation. My fear is that they would put me into a rapid taper, I am afraid of getting PTSD or having a heart attack and seizures. 

Honestly, I’m just really scared. I don’t know who to talk to about my situation so I came here. 

Thank you for any kind of help that you can give me, I just need somebody to point me in the right direction or maybe give me some good advice. 

Have a great day. 

The rehab model is rapid tapering off of benzos so you are right to be concerned. Many people are harmed by the way rehabs taper people and layer in other drugs. One of my buddies went to a top pricey facility and left in a wheelchair after being improperly taken off of a benzo. They are fine now, years later, but they were hammered with other drugs because that is just the rehab model. They had to learn how to walk again.

Your local hospital will probably keep you max 7-10 days due to insurance limitations. I have only heard of one case in Europe where someone was able to stay 30 days in a hospital for benzo help.

Have you thought about going to Narcotics Anonymous for support and slow tapering off the drugs getting a prescription from a benzo-wise doctor who will let you do a patient-led taper? No drug or cure helps with withdrawal, unfortunately. Anything you take can complicate matters or you could end up stuck on whatever they give you to taper for years. And I mean decades possibly. This is not fear-mongering. I wish I had known these facts before I turned to the rehab model for help. Case in point LCSW Chris Paige who has been stuck on an antidepressant and antipsychotic for over a decade after going to rehab. You can read about his tapering experience on this site.

You might choose to get advice from leading deprescribing experts Dr. Mark Horowitz and Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring. Horowitz is in the UK but does consults worldwide. Doerring is in the US. Consultant Angie Peacock is excellent to talk to. She has tapering and withdrawal groups as well where you can connect with other people. All of these people have videos on YouTube you can watch to educate yourself before making your decision. Dr. Horowitz recently released the first modern evidence-based deprescribing book you can get on Amazon.

 

Edited May 18 by [Re...]

[[oz...]]

Thank you for your reply Rebecca. I might have a consultation with a one of the doctors you mentioned. If I try to find a good doctor I am going to walk in there with the Ashton manual and and kind of information I got from my consultation. Hopefully I can find someone in the upstate New York area.