Off the Roller Coster

[[Ka...]]

I have been off Benzos for 1.5 years now, and symptom free for most of that time. A psychiatrist who specialized in addiction helped with a withdrawal method. It was quite different than the Ashton method and worked much better for me than the slow torture of tapering bit by bit. I will try to get website links from him to post on this board to back up the research that supports the method he guided me through.

 

In any case, it took me about four months to withdraw after trying many many other times.

 

My story briefly: I had been prescribed Valium for anxiety and took it for eight years "as needed." It made me more and more nervous, and more and more convinced that I had a serious anxiety problem. I often obsessed about whether to take a pill or not, which just made the whole thing harder.

 

I wondered if I had become an addict, despite the low quantity of pills I was taking. Doctors assured me I wasn't and kept telling me to take it. When I told my primary doctor I got "high" from the Valium she switched me to Klonopin, which I thought might be less addictive. And when I told her how much I worried when to take the pills, she said just take it every day then (!) Yikes.  I did this for a year, spent months withdrawing in torture without help, using only my will. Then my next personal crisis, I got back on the pills, telling myself it would be for a few days, then a few weeks. Back on for a year.

 

Meanwhile I had developed serious migraines, most every day. Which increased the anxiety, sleeplessness.

 

I finally found a doctor who understood how hard it was to withdraw from Klonopin. He put me on a great plan and I was off in four months, with only a couple more months of symptoms.

 

I continue on my healing journey which now includes daily Vipassana meditation and prayer fun when I can remember to have it! I am seldom anxious and am grateful that I sleep well most nights, and have a decent life as I continue to heal from my chronic migraines. (I have a website that details some of my healing journey.)

 

I am so glad to have Benzo Buddies because this is a wonderful resource, and I only wish I had been dropping by here when I was suffering so.

 

I would like to offer my support for anyone going through this in any way I can.

 

 

[[Mt...]]

Thank you so much for dropping by and sharing your success story. I read these over and over again. I'm always excited when a new success story comes in! May you continue to move from blessing to blessing in your renewed health and sense of well being.

 

MtnHigh

(Carlos)

[Guest [Si...]]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

Congrats!!!

[[jj...]]

Congrats to you!!  Do you have a post somewhere of how you tapered.  Again, I wish you all the best in your new life!!

[[Sc...]]

WONDERFUL news...and a great post - thank you!

 

Congratulations, and ALL the best to you!

 

Take care,

Schatje

[[ca...]]

Congrats!! Thank you so much for sharing your success with us.  :yippee:

[[te...]]

Very glad for you--please let us know more details about how you tapered.  Thanks.

[[sk...]]

I have been off Benzos for 1.5 years now, and symptom free for most of that time. A psychiatrist who specialized in addiction helped with a withdrawal method. It was quite different than the Ashton method and worked much better for me than the slow torture of tapering bit by bit. I will try to get website links from him to post on this board to back up the research that supports the method he guided me through.

 

In any case, it took me about four months to withdraw after trying many many other times.

 

My story briefly: I had been prescribed Valium for anxiety and took it for eight years "as needed." It made me more and more nervous, and more and more convinced that I had a serious anxiety problem. I often obsessed about whether to take a pill or not, which just made the whole thing harder.

 

I wondered if I had become an addict, despite the low quantity of pills I was taking. Doctors assured me I wasn't and kept telling me to take it. When I told my primary doctor I got "high" from the Valium she switched me to Klonopin, which I thought might be less addictive. And when I told her how much I worried when to take the pills, she said just take it every day then (!) Yikes.  I did this for a year, spent months withdrawing in torture without help, using only my will. Then my next personal crisis, I got back on the pills, telling myself it would be for a few days, then a few weeks. Back on for a year.

 

Meanwhile I had developed serious migraines, most every day. Which increased the anxiety, sleeplessness.

 

I finally found a doctor who understood how hard it was to withdraw from Klonopin. He put me on a great plan and I was off in four months, with only a couple more months of symptoms.

 

I continue on my healing journey which now includes daily Vipassana meditation and prayer fun when I can remember to have it! I am seldom anxious and am grateful that I sleep well most nights, and have a decent life as I continue to heal from my chronic migraines. (I have a website that details some of my healing journey.)

 

I am so glad to have Benzo Buddies because this is a wonderful resource, and I only wish I had been dropping by here when I was suffering so.

 

I would like to offer my support for anyone going through this in any way I can.

 

 

Hi would you mind emailing me or something the way you tappered. It sounds very good as you were a long time on benzo and had a better w/d. My email is open if you click on my name.

Thanks, and congradualtions.

Love,

S

[[ko...]]

Congratulations and thank you for posting a success story!  These are so important to those of us still in the throes of this madness!

 

And, yes, please share your taper method.  I'm interested in anything that makes this easier, as we all are.

 

Best to you and your new life!

 

~ Koff

[[ca...]]

Congrats on being free!

 

As many else have asked, please post your taper method. It seems to have worked well!

[Guest [Pf...]]

Congrats!!!

 

Can you please share the name of this doctor or a weblink etc.  I am already off, but still moderately symptomatic.  I am curious as to what advice he might have, as he seems to have some insight that may be different than what Ashton knows.

 

Ashton seems to have done some thorough work that has been helpful.  But there are some things that she says that suffer from the same problem that advice from other doctors does.  To the extent that she or they do not actually have data based upon patient experience, they generalize based upon their gut.  So many doctors who know very little think it is OK to stop quickly from a small amount and that withdrawal can't last very long.

 

Ashton knows more than them.  But, for example, she says that drinking an occassional glass or wine or two during or after tapering is OK if one doesn't do it too frequently or overdo it.  Logically that sounds benigh -- an occassional glass of wine usually causes most non-benzo people little trouble.  But I don't sense that she has really analyzed how most people react to doing this. 

 

So too, she seems to be very optimistic about the course for people who taper slowly.  But I am not sure that she has data to back that up.

 

 

[[de...]]

[[in...]]

I have been off Benzos for 1.5 years now, and symptom free for most of that time. A psychiatrist who specialized in addiction helped with a withdrawal method. It was quite different than the Ashton method and worked much better for me than the slow torture of tapering bit by bit. I will try to get website links from him to post on this board to back up the research that supports the method he guided me through.

 

In any case, it took me about four months to withdraw after trying many many other times.

 

My story briefly: I had been prescribed Valium for anxiety and took it for eight years "as needed." It made me more and more nervous, and more and more convinced that I had a serious anxiety problem. I often obsessed about whether to take a pill or not, which just made the whole thing harder.

 

 

Hi Katherine, 

I too went on a quick caper as you can see below.  Can you tell me about yours.  I am looking for a sucsessfull story from someone who did a quick taper like mine to draw some inspiration from.

 

Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

I wondered if I had become an addict, despite the low quantity of pills I was taking. Doctors assured me I wasn't and kept telling me to take it. When I told my primary doctor I got "high" from the Valium she switched me to Klonopin, which I thought might be less addictive. And when I told her how much I worried when to take the pills, she said just take it every day then (!) Yikes.  I did this for a year, spent months withdrawing in torture without help, using only my will. Then my next personal crisis, I got back on the pills, telling myself it would be for a few days, then a few weeks. Back on for a year.

 

Meanwhile I had developed serious migraines, most every day. Which increased the anxiety, sleeplessness.

 

I finally found a doctor who understood how hard it was to withdraw from Klonopin. He put me on a great plan and I was off in four months, with only a couple more months of symptoms.

 

I continue on my healing journey which now includes daily Vipassana meditation and prayer fun when I can remember to have it! I am seldom anxious and am grateful that I sleep well most nights, and have a decent life as I continue to heal from my chronic migraines. (I have a website that details some of my healing journey.)

 

I am so glad to have Benzo Buddies because this is a wonderful resource, and I only wish I had been dropping by here when I was suffering so.

 

I would like to offer my support for anyone going through this in any way I can.