encooutagement/support

[[se...]]

hello all... i just wanted to see if anybody could offer any advice or tips to help me get through this... i dont have much support as very few people understand what im going through. I am 14 days off ativan and things have been a little rough... im pretty sure this is my second time withdrawaling from ativan as i didnt know what "withdrawaling" was when i quit the first time back in aug of 2011.. I made the mistake of starting back on ativan in early december not realizing that i was well on my way to recovery from the first c/t of ativan. I am just trying to stay positive during all this and wanting some friends  that actually understand what this is like to go thruough this. My main symptoms right now are pretty bad anxiety, i do have really scary thoughts sometimes, funny feelings in my head, depression, and just feel really weird alot of the time. I know this will eventually pass but hopefully I can be of some help to somebody and get some support and encouragement at the same time. thanks in advance for any tips or support! 

 

" For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, sayeth the Lord;" Jeremiah 30:17.

 

 

[[Fl...]]

Hi Sena,

 

Time is about the only thing that will help.

 

How much Ativan were you on?  Did you have to CT and was it done under a doctors supervision?

 

You say it has been a little rough.  It's probably a lot rough. I'm sorry.

 

Your choices are

to tough it out

Reinstate and slow taper off Ativan

Reinstate and cross over to Valium, then slow taper.

 

None are easy, but with the last choice, you will at least be relatively functional and the anxiety might not be as intense.

 

Do you know how to create a signature line (tapering or CT history at the bottom of the message)?  Go to profile>forum profile and you'll see where to type your signature.

Take care

Flip

 

[[se...]]

Thank you for your reply Flip.  I did cold turkey under a doctors supervision... as a matter of fact they showed me my labs and I did not even show to have benzos in my system. I thought this was strange but i have never taken more than 1mg a day of ativan since i started again in early december... i was only taking .5mg at the time i c/t. The dr. pretty much laughed at me and told me there was no way i could be withdrwawling because i was taking such a small dose. I know this not the case bc I know how i feel. I dont have the ability to reinstate (no pills). I have to just try and tough it out i guess. Iam taking clonidine for BP and they gave me vistiril and remeron 15mg. The remeron definitely helps me sleep and i think that is important.

[[...]]

I am furious that doctors are SO ignorant nowadays. Withdrawal is not about getting your body free /clean from the benzo. Withdrawal is about your brain relearning how to work normally without the benzo. The brain makes some adaptations due to the use if the med that need to be undone so that the brain can calm itself naturally without external help. The brain knows how to do that but it takes time..a lot of time for many people.

 

The idea of a slow tapering is to slowly get your brain used to working without the med. CT is too much of a change for the brain to handle smoothly and therefore those who CT can have more severe/dusturbing withdrawal symptoms even seizures or psychosis or akathisia.

[[jo...]]

Hi sena44

 

Sorry to hear that you don't have much support.

What country are you in?

If you are in the UK, like me, there is a support organisation that specialize in benzos, and it's run by staff who have gone through, or are going through the process of withdrawal. Please advise and I will give you the details.

 

Nobody but someone who has gone through benzo withdrawal will understand what you are going through.

 

Check this with a mod first, but I think there is a window of reinstatement which lasts 14 days, in which you can go back on benzos and do a taper.

As you have passed that line, it may not work if you go back on and do a taper.

 

It sounds as if you were not on them long, which is good.

 

Don't worry, lots of people go back onto benzos without realising.

 

You will find plenty of friends here.

 

Avoid alcohol at all costs, avoid caffeine and sugar, foods with artificial additives in and all processed foods.

 

It is very common for doctors to be unaware and deny withdrawal symptoms in patients. I have heard of people being ridiculed by thier doctors, like you seem to have been slightly.

 

I hope you can find lots of support on here.

 

 

[[se...]]

thank you guys for the replies... I guess one thing that i have going for me is that i wasnt on them for very long and did not take them the way the dr. prescribed them. He had them prescribed for 3mg a day. I never took more than 1mg of ativan a day... as a matter of fact i was only taking .5mg a day for the 3 weeks before i had to c/t. does anybody know why my blood/lab did not even show positive for benzos??? also how do you know if you have completely withdrawn from them??? im confused on that one...

[[se...]]

btw journey I live in the US.

[[Fl...]]

Sena,

So if the Valium / Ativan ratio is 1/10, you CTed off 5 mg Valium equivalent.  That's not huge in the big scheme of things, but to give it some perspective, it has taken me several months to drop from 5 mg to just over 2 mg.

 

There is no black and white on when you're out of withdrawal as you say.  It's not linear.  Symptoms wax and wane.  What are the worst of yur symptoms right now?

 

Flip

[[se...]]

Flip,

 

my main symptom as of now is anxiety... it literally feels like i am dying and sometimes it is there all day long. i also have some depression and just a general ill feeling,  no energy and dont feel like doing much. i dont even know a doc that would give me valium... i really hate to go back on since i have been off for 2weeks already.