Rollercoaster

[[Fr...]]

I took 2.5mg of Diazepam, three times a day, for almost five years.  This was prescribed for anxiety.  The prescribing doctor retired and my new doctor requested I start weaning.  I weaned for five weeks and started the withdrawal process about two months ago.  The physical symptoms were horrendous at first, now my biggest complaint is motion sickness like feelings.  The rollercoaster feeling is horrible.  I also have a boat load of other symptoms.
 

Was I  prescribed a high dosage?  
 

How long will the withdrawal take?
 

Coping mechanisms?  

Thank you.

Edited June 11 by [Fr...]

[[Bu...]]

Hello @[Fr...],

Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

I am sorry that you're in this spot.  If I understand correctly, you have been off of diazepam for 2 months?  If so, what you are dealing with sounds pretty common for the early stages of withdrawal.

While I wasn't on diazepam, to my knowledge you were not on a very "high dose".   But just about any dose of any benzo can cause physical dependency very quickly, which then will require a slow taper.

As for how long withdrawal will take, that depends on many factors.  How long you took it, what the dose was, how you tapered and just the fact that we are all unique.  In general terms, most people who took their med. for years can expect a months long withdrawal/recovery process.

As for coping mechanisms, those are many and varied.  Most of us rely heavily on distraction from our symptoms along with a healthy diet, meditation/relaxation techniques, rest, drinking lots of water, and light exercise.  You can do a search at the top right of the page for threads about coping strategies or start another thread with this topic.

We're glad you found us and we'll do our best to help you with this.

[[Cr...]]

Hi @[Fr...], welcome to Benzo Buddies.

Like BurnTheShips said, the are many varied coping mechanisms for getting through withdrawal. A lot of coping skills that may be of use to you will be dependent on the symptoms that are currently affecting you the most. BurnTS gave you some great overall tips to help cope with the withdrawal process in general, but for specific symptoms like insomnia, anxiety, physical sensations, etc... you may want to start individual topics on this forum for feedback or use the search function to see what cumulative knowledge has been posted throughout the site's history.

One coping tip I always like to focus on for anyone in withdrawal is fear. Fear of withdrawal symptoms can make anxiety worse which in turn will make the already uncomfortable symptoms feel even more intense. Always keep in mind that this process can take many months and even beyond a year for almost all symptoms to finally retreat enough for a sense of normalcy to return. It is not uncommon for symptoms that you thought were gone or had gotten better to return weeks or months later. Doesn't always happen but for many it does. That is still a normal occurance for this process. The more you educate yourself about this process the less it will catch you off guard.

There is no way, as far as we know, to speed up the withdrawal process. Time and patience are unfortunately the only reliable factors for getting through withdrawal. Occupy your time the best you can, as that can help make it 'feel' like the recovery process is being sped up.

Use this forum as one tool in your recovery arsenal, but try not to obsess over it or benzo withdrawal too much or you may find it consuming your life. Your symptoms may be with you for quite awhile, so do your best to get used to their presence like annoying roomates whose lease will eventually run out.

Many people here will gladly support you through this til the end. While every recovery is unique, you are not alone. Many have walked this path before you, many are walking it along side you, and I am sure many will be following in your foot steps.

Take care

Edited June 11 by [Cr...]

[[Fr...]]

Thank you for the encouragement.  It has taken me some time to sign up for an account.

My dosage may be considered small, but the damage it has done is absolutely terrible!

This group is fabulous!

[[Bu...]]

@[Fr...],

I didn't mean to imply that your dose didn't wreak havoc on your system.  My dose was small too and it caused a mess.  it seems like any dose can do awful things.  

But at least we're all in this together. 

[[Fr...]]

1 minute ago, [[B...] said:

@[Fr...],

I didn't mean to imply that your dose didn't wreak havoc on your system.  My dose was small too and it caused a mess.  it seems like any dose can do awful things.  

But at least we're all in this together. 

I didn’t take it that way.  My feeling is any dose is horrible!  You are right, we are all in this together.