Withdrawal symptoms back after almost 3 years!

[[st...]]

I was on 1 mg of Ativan daily for 12 years before withdrawing almost 3 years ago. I had to cut down by 1/100 of a pill using a weigh scale in order to do this and was quite proud to be off of it for good. I did develop tinnitus as a result but no other prominent withdrawal symptoms. Last October I developed heart palpitations that lasted a few months, and I did  not connect them to the withdrawal, but now I am experiencing horrible surges of adrenaline every time I try to go to sleep. As I fall asleep, they hit, and it is impossible to sleep. Sometimes the feeling of having drank 10 cups of strong coffee continues throughout the day as well, and I don't drink coffee. Has anyone else experienced this, and is it common to have these symptoms years later? Is it PAWS? (post acute withdrawal syndrome) I am beyond stressed, and exhausted. At 70 years old this is very difficult to deal with. HELP.

[[Re...]]

Hello @[st...], Welcome to BenzoBuddies,

I am glad you joined the Forum! 

Congratulations for being able to get off Ativan after such a long time! It is one of the most difficult things many of us ever have to endure. 

The symptoms you are experiencing are common in benzodiazepine withdrawal, and could be present after extended periods. I am myself suffering from these after a decade alprazolam prescription and over rapid taper.

The good news is that all of these symptoms will dissipate given a bit more time. Very gradually the symptoms ease up, and eventually all of us can return to normal health. 

We have a section of the Forum for people who are a bit more ahead in their journey, you might find this link helpful. 

Let us know how we can support you, 

Take care, 

RR

 

[[Re...]]

Hello @[st...], I am getting back to you as I saw the title of your thread a bit late. I apologize. 

We don't necessarily have to do anything special for these symptoms to reappear or to appear at all, it might be the nature of the withdrawal. There have been reports of "delayed symptoms" waiting for months, in my case these were tinnitus, burning skin, pins and needles. Some say it is because of the clearance of the medication from the CNS - I certainly don't know. 

Having said that, there are some known risk factors - life stressors, emotional events, infections, surgical procedures. Type of medications or supplements that may affect cognition, mood or sleep, some antibiotics (especially, but not only fluoroquinolones), antidepressants, certain vitamins, weather changes (though these don't seem to last) etc. 

So, as you can see, there is certainly no one good answer...

[[fa...]]

have you tried any new med or supp?

[[fa...]]

You can also reach tolerance to an ssri. Www.survivingantidepressants.org 

[[In...]]

 

2 hours ago, [[s...] said:

I was on 1 mg of Ativan daily for 12 years before withdrawing almost 3 years ago. I had to cut down by 1/100 of a pill using a weigh scale in order to do this and was quite proud to be off of it for good. I did develop tinnitus as a result but no other prominent withdrawal symptoms. Last October I developed heart palpitations that lasted a few months, and I did  not connect them to the withdrawal, but now I am experiencing horrible surges of adrenaline every time I try to go to sleep. As I fall asleep, they hit, and it is impossible to sleep. Sometimes the feeling of having drank 10 cups of strong coffee continues throughout the day as well, and I don't drink coffee. Has anyone else experienced this, and is it common to have these symptoms years later? Is it PAWS? (post acute withdrawal syndrome) I am beyond stressed, and exhausted. At 70 years old this is very difficult to deal with. HELP.

 

When I had to taper off Belsomra and went through periods of severe stress, I had the same symptoms: adrenaline surges every time I went to sleep. I would wake up an hour or two with my heart pounding, needing to get up and walk around until my body got rid of the adrenaline. Someone on BB said that taking 1 to 2 grams of vitamin C would help eliminate those surges (something to do with cortisol; I can't remember). I tried it and it worked almost immediately. YMMV. 

 

[[st...]]

Thank you so much for all of the replies, I am so grateful. But I am still curious about why this is happening after this much time has gone by. The adrenaline surges after this long? Would stress have set them off? I am also now getting an extremely dry mouth when I go to sleep, all night long. It feels like I have never had saliva in my mouth! It wakes me up all night too, I cannot sleep when that happens either. Drinking doesn't make it go away, sometimes eating does. But add that to the surges and sleep is not happening. Strangely enough, when I lay down during the day none of this happens, ever. Why would that be? 

[[Li...]]

Hello @[st...].  @[fa...] asked an important question … in the three years since you successfully discontinued Ativan, have you started or stopped taking any other medications, especially psychotropic ones?  How about supplements?

[[PE...]]

This is just a theory but i believe it's not really wd it's the memory off it gets trigged by something.

When it started was there something happening that day that could have trigger it?

Take care.

 

Oh sorry i thought you been healed an it come back now I see you been the same these years. 

Edited September 8 by [PE...]

[[st...]]

I haven't started or stopped any new meds or supplements. I take no  meds ever, as I react to most of them. Except Ativan, go figure. I take the same vitamins and supplements now that I did before this hit me. And yes Peppe, I was healed and it came back. As I said I started getting palpitations last October which ended after a few months, and then this horrible adrenaline surge as I fall asleep hit me in the end of June. But I had gone through some fairly bad stress this spring. 

[[De...]]

Since wd mimic symptoms of anxiety And can be easily mixed up with it i guess What you feel now is anxiety after stresful situation you had. 

[[PE...]]

1 hour ago, [[D...] said:

Since wd mimic symptoms of anxiety And can be easily mixed up with it i guess What you feel now is anxiety after stresful situation you had. 

That was what i was into.. like a flashback.

[[De...]]

9 hours ago, [[P...] said:

That was what i was into.. like a flashback.

Yes exactly. And than panic start because wd is really bad place. You don’t want to be there again. 

[[Re...]]

I am really sorry for this experience @[st...], I know how frustrating it is to feel healed once but later be reminded we are still going through this. I have had the same experience: many of my symptoms disappeared for months only to return again. As I mentioned, there isn't necessarily anything you did. Very simply put : it is a very unpredictable, non- linear process. But, please remember that these symptoms will very gradually disappear, you will return to normal health again.

 If you are are going to revise your supplements you are taking, you should definitely discuss with your physician first, as we can not offer you proper advice on these. We can not tell which ones are necessary for you. 

 

 

 

[[Id...]]

On 07/09/2024 at 19:29, [[R...] said:

some antibiotics (especially, but not only fluoroquinolones),

Hi, do we have more understanding of what those antibiotics are?

[[Re...]]

@[Id...] Fluoroquinolones are known for causing issues in withdrawal, please see the website of the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition. Sporadically, members do report temporary flare ups after other ones, you might use the "Search bar" to learn more. These temporary flare ups ease as the course of the medication ends. 

There are certain situations where these medications are an absolute necessity. You should always work in close cooperation with your provider to discuss alternative therapy options and your concerns.