Daily pattern to sfx?

[[ma...]]

Hi everybody,

 

I have been noticing lately that my sfx (nausea, tinnitus, surreaity, freak-out) start in the AM and tend to burn out by the evening. Is this a common pattern?

 

Lately I have only made it through the days by hoping the sfx will drop by nightfall. Then of course I have the insomnia monster to deal with.

 

Any insight, experiences, etc. appreciated. Best to all here and our courageous insane fight...

 

M

[Guest [ma...]]

Hi maintain 

 

I'm currently on 3mg of Valium and going to 2.5mg on Friday so close to the dose you are on.

 

About 2 weeks ago, my pattern of side effects were similar to yours. Or should I say I noticed a definite pattern in my symptoms because I was keeping a journal.

 

The psychological symptoms would begin in the morning and initially last for about 8 hours.

 

Then I would have specific physical symptoms (chills, sweating, agitation, rapid heart rate) in the evening between 6pm to 10pm.

 

I force myself to stay up until midnight and I wake many times during the night. 2 weeks ago I would wake because I felt like I was being electrocuted and it would take a long time to get back to sleep only to have that happen again every hour or so. Now I wake repeatedly but only feel startled not the shocked thing.

 

The good news is that in 3 weeks time the severity, & frequency of all the side effects have decreased from unbearable to tolerable. More importantly the length of time they last has decreased as well.

 

I think its safe to say that there is nothing predictable about the W/D symptoms and that because we are each unique so is our Benzo experience. I think there are patterns but maybe not the same for everyone.

 

One other interesting thing that I noticed was my symptoms were worse before the sun rose in the morning and as it became dark at night. I attributed this to the fact that my sight was restricted because it was dark and I was more aware of my body and the uncomfortable feelings.

 

Not sure if this helps.......just sharing my experience. Sending good energy your way. mandala

[[ma...]]

Hi Mandala,

 

Wow, we are very close in dose. I have not stabilized since crossing from klon to val so I don't know when my next dose reduction will be, but I wish you a comfortable one.

 

Interesting about the daily patterns in people and of course they must differ. I was thinking that my GABA system has the most to "quench" during the daytime where there is more sensory input and my brain is most awake. So being compromised, it does a poor job.

 

Have you stabilized on valium at the present dose?

 

M

[Guest [ma...]]

Hi maintain, 

 

Thats an interesting perspective you have about your GABA system and all the sensory input during the day. I had not looked at it that way.

 

Due to the fact that I got off Klonopin so fast in Oct and then was still on Seroquel until Mid Jan of this year, I think the Seroquel masked a lot of the continued Klonopin W/D symptoms......but thats just a guess.

 

Also due to the fact that I had such a scary experience after taking Lithium In Dec, and then made the mistake of taking 0.5 Xanax on Dec 31st 2011 to counter act the terrifying effects of the Lithium, I dont know what the word stablized is supposed to mean or represent. I know that may sound strange.

 

Does stablized mean no withdrawal symptoms? If you have time could you explain that to me and then I can better answer your questions.

 

3 weeks ago I had a family member come to stay with me and she is leaving on Monday. The reaction i had or whatever it was that happened getting off all the drugs since Oct, and then going on more and then deciding to get off ALL drugs was worse than anything that I have ever experienced in my life and was unable to cope by myself until I could get some sense of normalcy back.

 

Soooooo I'm now on 3mg of Valium and have W/D symptoms daily and have not decided how taper from here. I have dropped quite quickly since Jan 27th and did this on purpose while I had someone with me.

 

Always open to hearing how things go with your taper and more than willing to chat back and forth and offer any support that I can. 

 

Sending good energy your way and I wish you a comfortable taper as well, mandala

[[Be...]]

Except on the worst days of my cuts, this is always the pattern for me. I don't know if it is work environment versus home, morning anxiety, cortisol, blood sugars, or what, but, yeah, that is my general pattern. I also have a pattern to daily symptoms related to dosage, where I can feel my body asking for K at certain times. It's enhanced during cuts and more subtle during stabilization time. I too have also had to push my way through a day based upon the promise that the evening would be better (which it generally has been). I'm currently sleeping okay. When I didn't, I took a unisom here or there to break the pattern of insomnia. If you decided to do the same, just be careful that you don't take too much (can really make you groggy the next day) and don't use it too often (tolerance).

[[re...]]

Yep, that's my pattern exactly, during my taper and still, during my recovery.

Tough mornings, easy evenings.

It's reliable enough that I use it to get through the mornings.

You'll feel better later, I remind myself.

And I always do.

[[ma...]]

Thanks everybody for adding to this discussion. It is fascinating and honestly, helps to get through those weird moments. Oddly enough, today I felt fine for most of the AM and am now getting tinnitus and dizziness, but no nausea. So like everything, it's not predictable... Hmm.

 

Mandala, I also have seroquel for sleep. I usually take 50 mg or less + melatonin. But when the insomnia really hits, I need to take 100 mg to sleep. Q: Was it difficult getting of seroquel? I hope it is not like getting off a benzo. I don't really want to be on any drug, but will if I have to in the end. Just not a benzo.

 

I totally understand the "stability" thing. This is all so quicksilvery, how do we really know what is going on for sure? But I can say that I had 8 good, stable years on klon + low dose zoloft. And I mean pretty darn good - creative, active, slept well, etc. My blog has more to say on when things started peeling apart at the seams. I remember trying lithium at one point thinking it would be a "natural" AD somehow but it didn't do anything one way or the other.

 

M