big thanks to BB - it has been 9+ years (and healed)

[[lo...]]

I dont recall many of my benzo w/d details, but I do remember that my last dose was around Nov 2016 or so. over 8y!. i am 100% healed by now, and have been for at least 4 of those. BB has been a true blessing in those dark moments, many here go through. it all passes. 

my life has been so much better then even before this benzo stuff got me. i got fit, been working out for years, lost a lot of weight and getting a lot of compliments how good I look (in my mid 40's). I am completely drug free as well (if you don't count HRT). not sure if anyone remembers me anymore, I suspect a lot of people healed and moved on. Lot of life changes happened, got a new job 4y ago, moved to sunny and hot AZ/USA and been spending a lot of time optimizing my sleep/diet/exercise regimen. according to my fitness tracker I achieve 8h+ sleep each day, with 90-97% sleep score each night, solid deep/rem sleep cycles, which is great when you think that I initially took benzos for nearly total insomnia. i will list things here which made a huge difference in my life, and I would recommend looking into some of those. those are NOT benzo w/d aids, as this will run its own course for the most, but simply energy and mood boosting items

a) diet: there is a million of opinions on diets, what I have the most success with is a red meat heavy diet (no keto) with a lot of fruit plus some dairy. I do avoid all processed foods, especially things containing vegetable oils as those do make me feel pretty lousy. I typically eat around 180g of protein a day (6.4 guy), 200g net carbs (all from fruit like grapes, bananas, maple syrup, honey) and 100g of fat (butter, beef). my digestive system improved big time. blood markers are good. my fasting glucose is around 75ng/dl and my fasting insulin is below 5! if you are curious about your metabolic health, ask your doc to get a fasting insulin blood test. according to many docs anything above 5 is problematic (despite US labcorp range going from 2.6–24.9 μIU/mL)

b) TRT: i was always low in Testosterone, and since started working with a TRT clinic things have been phenomenal in this regard. very high libido, good energy, great gym recovery, I gained good muscle mass in the last 2y as well, and my body fat decreased from 30% to 20% (not due to TRT, but TRT helped me get the energy to stick to exercise/diet)

c) optimizing my circadian rhythm: very important, avoiding artificial light as much as possible, lots of full body mid-day sun exposure('tanning'), no blue light at night etc. i believe this was the key in fixing my sleep

d) exercise: resistance training 4x week with added cardio 15-30min. weather permitting cardio separately, with road biking 1h 6x week. this with diet completely fixed my blood pressure issues and got me of BP meds. 

 

I encourage everyone to look beyond your benzo withdrawal. not only will you come out of this, your life can be better then before (with some effort and good attitude)

good luck all

 

[[Co...]]

Hi @[lo...]

Thank you taking the time to detail what worked for you.

re: testosterone levels - A year ago or so, I was consuming about 300ml soy milk a day (with my cereal) and occasional tofu too. It turns out that the soy was sending my testosterone levels to fairly levels (about the 25% percentile for my age). Not massively low, but enough to make me feel lethargic and unwell. I did some reading around and found that soy products can sometimes cause this. I stopped consuming soy milk (which was a shame), and my testosterone levels bounced back to normal quite quickly and I felt much better.

It seems that these effects from soy are hit or miss. And the soy source makes a difference too (soy milk not being equal to tofu). But it is worth knowing that even 'healthy' products can sometimes have negative effects.

Anyway, it is good to hear that have bounced back and that you are now feeling so well.

[[Pa...]]

Thank you @[lo...], its so fun seeing old timers back here again, thank you for sharing what your life is like now.  And thank you for giving hope to those still suffering. 

[[Rh...]]

Congrats!  It’s so good to hear of people healing even after some time has passed.

My diet is much like yours, but I tend to fall off the “wheel” sometimes, but I do try and get back on as quickly as possible.  Can I ask, what does a day of eating look like to you?  I often feel I’m not eating enough…I am a 44 year old female and weight 140 lbs., so I know our portions won’t be close.  Lol. But I was just interested to hear what your meals look like. I did do carnivore for a bit and even went Lion (which I couldn’t do), but I found a balance with meats, fruit and some whole dairy to also be my sweet spot… oh and eggs!  I love eggs!

Anywho, I’m so happy you’re living and thriving and all the WD crap is behind you!  Congrats!

[[lo...]]

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

Congrats!  It’s so good to hear of people healing even after some time has passed.

My diet is much like yours, but I tend to fall off the “wheel” sometimes, but I do try and get back on as quickly as possible.  Can I ask, what does a day of eating look like to you?  I often feel I’m not eating enough…I am a 44 year old female and weight 140 lbs., so I know our portions won’t be close.  Lol. But I was just interested to hear what your meals look like. I did do carnivore for a bit and even went Lion (which I couldn’t do), but I found a balance with meats, fruit and some whole dairy to also be my sweet spot… oh and eggs!  I love eggs!

Anywho, I’m so happy you’re living and thriving and all the WD crap is behind you!  Congrats!

I did carnivore too, but found it not sustainable. also tanked my thyroid badly. did not see benefit tbh (beyond weight loss/appetite control). typical day is: 7am (before gym) chobani triple zero yogurt+collagen, coffee with half/half(18% fat us cream), maple syrup. after gym some days 3 egg omelet/cheese/bacon+banana or some grapes. some days i skip it. lunch: 2 fresh made beef patties (300g total)+some fruit or a steak, like new york strip or ribeye. dinner: ground beef in some way, like marinara sauce or fish/cali rice. very rarely chicken. some days i also add a protein smoothie, coconut water, whey protein, honey, frozen berries

this is generally it, i snack on fruit randomly throughout the day. i don't really do 'cheat' days as I don't feel the need to. this has worked great for me. i got lots of energy for workouts. 

[[Rh...]]

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

I did carnivore too, but found it not sustainable. also tanked my thyroid badly. did not see benefit tbh (beyond weight loss/appetite control). typical day is: 7am (before gym) chobani triple zero yogurt+collagen, coffee with half/half(18% fat us cream), maple syrup. after gym some days 3 egg omelet/cheese/bacon+banana or some grapes. some days i skip it. lunch: 2 fresh made beef patties (300g total)+some fruit or a steak, like new york strip or ribeye. dinner: ground beef in some way, like marinara sauce or fish/cali rice. very rarely chicken. some days i also add a protein smoothie, coconut water, whey protein, honey, frozen berries

this is generally it, i snack on fruit randomly throughout the day. i don't really do 'cheat' days as I don't feel the need to. this has worked great for me. i got lots of energy for workouts. 

Thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly!  That is about what I eat too.  I usually do green tea with a touch of honey and cream, then three eggs and sausage or bacon (although I’m having some histamine issues since coming off so I haven’t been doing the bacon or sausage), then I make a berry smoothie, but I think adding a protein powder might be needed as the eggs alone aren’t cutting it.  Then I snack on fruit and usually have a Icelandic Provisions Extra Creamy Skyr yogurt in the afternoon, then dinner I always do a lot of protein like rib eye, hamburger, New Yorks, salmon, and I do eat a lot of chicken too.  Unfortunately I skip lunch a lot of the time and I think it’s a disadvantage as I’m not eating enough, but my hunger cues are wonky since coming off.   I think adding hamburger patties might be something for me to look into as they are super easy, cheap and full of protein.

Good for you for not cheating!  That is my biggest downfall lately!  I need to just stick to it.

Anyways, I’m so happy you’re over this whole mess and living life again!