Travelled to Europe after tapering and being off Clonazepam for almost 11 months.

[[He...]]

Quick summary for my post: Do not let the fear/anxiety from being off the benzos stop you and secondly, eat a clean diet.

Now for the longer part of my post. I agreed to go on a plane to Europe which the trip over was a little bit more than 8 hours of actual in flight time. It ended up being 11 hours on the way back due to arriving at an airport further away. Before going, every time my husband would ask if I was excited, I would cringe on the inside because I was so scared of the idea of going on a plane. I kept worrying about how would my head feel because I still had tingling before leaving. I was afraid of feeling too claustrophobic and freaking out on the plane.

These days everyone has a smartphone and some people are too quick to record someone going through a tough time in public and then uploading to social media. My first plane was my worst nightmare because it had only one seat on one side and two seats on the other. Thank God that we were seated together because we hit turbulence and I started crying at first. I was so worried that maybe I had made a mistake and the first flight wasn't even that long. After about an hour, I started to calm down, the turbulence had cleared and I was sitting in the aisle seat. When I was standing up to walk down the plane, it was extremely narrow and not a fun feeling at all.

However; I am really grateful that I made myself do this trip. As many of you know, Europe has banned many ingredients that is allowed in the USA. It was wonderful not having to check labels constantly and usually I have to take medicine for IBS but over there, I didn't need it at all. The last three days of my trip, the head tingling had stopped. Sadly, after I came back to the states, I ate McDonalds since we had 4+ hour layover and pretty much fast food was the only option at the time. I've only had fast food once in the last three years and I felt like crap after eating it. I try to buy organic as much as possible but it's not exactly always affordable, depending on what you're buying. 

My advice to anyone that is struggling to get off Clonazepam is that you will get through it. The first 6 months were hard for me with the first 4 being the hardest with so many symptoms. I regret taking Benzos as prescribed by a doctor but I honestly wouldn't have taught myself how to eat more clean options and I wouldn't have stopped eating fast food if I hadn't been looking for ways to help taper off the medicine to begin with. Something good has come out of it for me. While I'm not 100% healed yet, this trip gave me a boost of confidence that I am finally making it all the way through.

 

Thank you for reading.

[[Rh...]]

So happy to read this and for you to know that healing is happening and that you can do hard things without meds!

I hope your actual vacation was enjoyable and you can enjoy more to come!  ♥️

[[He...]]

Thank you! Yes, the actual vacation I took one night a tea for sleep. We went to the pharmacy and picked up some Valerian Root exact and I ended up only taking that for two nights. The other 6 nights, I was able to sleep without anything ingested. 

I did listen to some sermons at night because there was no fan in the hotel room and it was super quiet. I haven't gone back to needing tea or anything of that nature to sleep. It's been such a blessing.

[[Pa...]]

Hi @[He...], congratulations on your accomplishment, a trip can be super stressful but you did it!  Thank you for writing your story, so many people need these to get them through this, I know I did. 

[[tr...]]

I did my first plane ride last year (3 years post wd). I did fairly well and managed the family vacation with a few "bumps". This past spring did another plane trip with just my husband and was probably better bc it was just the 2 of us. Had a nice leisurely time. I will say that I don't love the feeling of takeoff or landing as My head need a min to regulate after - but it does pass. I can't imagine being in a plane long enough to get to europe at this point so I commend you!

[[La...]]

@[He...] wow congratulations! I can’t wait to travel again without the anxiety and worry. I traveled to about 10 countries before this situation and now I can’t even handle the thought of even making it to the airport! I’m not even the same person! It’s kind of unbelievable. Just can’t wait to make it to where you are again! Congratulations again!

[[Co...]]

Oh, well done, @[tr...]! 

[[Ja...]]

Congratulations Healingfrombenzo.  You are fantastic, venturing an eight hour plane journey and 11 hour return journey.  How long are you off benzos?

 I am 1 year exactly post taper.  I would love to visit my granddaughter, in her last year at college in London, but at the moment I am afraid to venture with all thetightening in my head and left ear.  It is only a one hour flight for me.

 

[[Ja...]]

Just noticed the heading again, you are off it 11 months.  How long were you on it? 

[[He...]]

@[Pa...]Thank you! I'm the same way, for many months I've been visiting to read success stories to give myself hope ❤️

[[He...]]

@[tr...] I'm not a fan of take off or landing either. It's a strange sensation in my head. I honestly thought I was nuts after I booked the flight because it would have been easier to fly locally. However; I've been back for more than a week and I haven't gone back to needing sleepy tea to sleep. I'm determined to stick to sleeping normal.

[[He...]]

@[Ja...]I was on the medicine for 3 1/2 years which includes 4 months of tapering.

[[He...]]

@[La...] You'll get there. I was nervous every time I saw a jet in the sky. We'd drive by the airport and my whole body would get tense but I kept telling myself that this fear isn't real and I can't let it control me. 

This medicine turned me into a different person too that became afraid to live. I started worrying after I finished the taper that I'd never be on top of things again but my old self is returning. Just takes time.

[[Sw...]]

4 hours ago, [[H...] said:

@[La...] You'll get there. I was nervous every time I saw a jet in the sky. We'd drive by the airport and my whole body would get tense but I kept telling myself that this fear isn't real and I can't let it control me. 

This medicine turned me into a different person too that became afraid to live. I started worrying after I finished the taper that I'd never be on top of things again but my old self is returning. Just takes time.

@[He...]thanks for the inspiration I need it I am 2.5 months off c and in the thick of the wd’s. Just curious when your symptoms started to let up and became more manageable? Thx @[Sw...]

[[He...]]

@[Sw...] The first 4 months off- I had the horrible rattlesnake feeling. I didn't know what it was referred to at the time, so I searched for it as: earthquake shaking from benzo withdrawal and saw that a lot of people had this. I had weird bruises for a while. I couldn't stop moving my legs and my insomnia was awful. I was so scared at one point that I wasn't going to survive the night at first. I slowly thank God every time I made it through a day and then when I made it through each night. It was truly one of the hardest experiences in my life. This lasted for the first 4 months.

I honestly didn't feel better until around 8 months off. Slowly symptoms have been dropping off. I have a bit of anxiety when I go out for a drive but I'm working on that. But don't think that because I didn't feel better until my 8th month that you'll be the same, you could heal faster.  

[[Sw...]]

Yeah, I’m having those rattles and shakes as well. They seem to have really picked up since I got off some teeth chatter as well. They are diminishing a little bit each day I’m sure you had the nausea and head pressure as well. Seems to be everybody gets those. Yeah, I’m sure hoping I don’t have to go eight months or at least my symptoms become more manageable well before then as I told you, I’m currently about 2 1/2 months off I didn’t take clonazepam for very long, maybe two months but the bad thing thing is it took me six months to tape her off So you know, dependency set the longer you on them it was definitely the worst mistake of my life. Nothing even comes close and I’m 55 years old. Thanks for your info. really encourages me and I pray that you will continue to get more healing. God is the answer in all this there is no other. I am currently trying hydrogen therapy inflammation and oxidative stress getting off the drug causes. It’s very targeted for that. I’m hoping it’ll help me get there sooner than later. As far as healing goes. I did try ozone therapy, but it was stressing my system too much due to the mechanics of the therapy. 

[[He...]]

@[Sw...] Yes, the awful head pressure that feels like your skull is in a vice. I thankfully don't have that anymore. I think with your less than a year, you will see more improvement than I had. Have you tried soaking in baking soda? I know it seems very simple but I did this during the tapering to pull the toxins from the drug out of me.

I was never raised to know who God even was but my husband ended up introducing me years ago. This journey has without a doubt brought me much closer to God and his word. There is a positive in going through this nightmare. I know you may not feel that way right now and I completely understand because I didn't feel that way before. I hope hydrogen therapy does prove to be successful.

[[Sw...]]

So your rattles and shakes did they just go away one day or did they just slowly fade off? I’m interested because that seems to be the one symptom. I’m having right now. It won’t let go causing me a lot of grief. no I haven’t tried the baking soda soak. I might give that a try. Thanks for the tip. God bless you.

Edited September 12 by [Sw...]

[[He...]]

@[Sw...]They have slowly faded away. I still get from time to time what I refer to as a small earthquake but it doesn't last nearly as long as it used to. It's been this way for me with pretty much every symptom I had. I once didn't sleep at all, then I was able to sleep 2 hours, then it increased to 4 hours. One day I feel asleep on the coach and I was really happy because it was a big relief that my body was clearly healing. At one point, I was terrified thinking what if I never return to my normal self. I noticed the same as you, that mostly everyone has the shakes/rattles issue once they have tapered off the medicine. Thank you, God bless you as well.