New member - daily headaches for 3 years

[[ra...]]

New member info:

Internal carotid artery dissected due to physical trauma. This stressful event led to anxiety and later was diagnosed w/ tick-borne infections which likely contributed to anxiety. I was put on Lorazepam/Ativan 1mg per day.  Started with brain fog and then daily daily migraines which I've struggled with for 3 years. I had thought it was due to infections and possibly other undetected issues.

 

I expressed concerns over addictive nature of benzos but was told by dr it's only an issue if I start taking more. Started on 1mg and did that for 2 yrs for sleep. Whenever I didn't take it, I'd sleep horribly.  I eventually cut back to 0.5mg at night 9 mos ago.  Have taken daily until 1 week ago.

 

Pre withdrawl symptoms:

Nearly daily strange quality headache/migraine

Intense head fatigue late day

Brain fog

Agitation - electric/vibrating body sensations

Tinnitus, sensitivity to light

Cognitive, memory issues

Early waking (3-4am)

periodic tremors

anxiety

irregular heart beats

shortness of breath

and many less troublesome symptoms as well.

 

Overall, it feels like a hypersensitive nervous system that intensifies to migraine. I'll be curious to see how many other members experience this.

 

Now off the drug for 1 week and all symptoms for have intensified.  Having learned more recently a good bit of my symptoms may be due to daily withdrawl due to the short half life of lorazepam. I suspect this may be a significant contributor to my health problems.  It's a terrible drug that seems to be often misused. I've spent a fortune on dr visits and lab tests trying to figure this out.  Had no idea this very small pill at small dose could wreck my life.

 

[[sh...]]

Hi radiohead!

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

Were you having those side effects pre benzos? If not, could be the benzos are turning on you, as they did me after three years.

 

Hopefully others will chime in. Sorry for the short message, I'm meeting others for dinner.

 

Let us know if you need any help. Glad you found us 

[[an...]]

Radiohead, yes, electrical/vibrating body sensations. EXACTLY how i describe it!! It rages through my body. It's creepy isn't it? I But some people feel pain with it, which must be worse.

[[Da...]]

I am so sorry for your story. Do you have/had Lyme Disease? I did, and so did a family member of mine. Had to take antibiotics for about 6 months until I tested negative.  I had it before benzos and my symptoms were the same as yours. Is your tick-borne illness gone?

[[Ch...]]

Wow, your list of withdrawal symptoms matches mine (brought on when I quit too abruptly, have settled down now that I reinstated and am tapering again) perfectly !  Most everyone here can relate to them as well.  Not familiar with lorazepam/Ativan doses but in general sounds like you may have stopped too abruptly. 

 

I hope someone with more knowledge about Ativan than I have jumps in, but others have written about having a two week time frame to get back on the dose you were on before you quit and taper again only more slowly if you're experiencing severe w/d.  After two weeks it doesn't help to go back on.  Possibility that your side effects will last longer and be more intense if you don't reinstate and taper slower.

 

Somebody else??  I don't feel qualified to give advice here...

 

Challis

[[ra...]]

Sorry to be so slow on the uptake here. Thank you all for the kind replies. Didn't realize how to see replies until now though have found much comfort in reading posts how we all share symptoms and that with time, all heal.

 

I had tested positive for bartonella and weak positive for Lyme (borrelia burgdorferi) which was later confirmed to be borrelia hermsii instead.

 

I took 6 mos antibiotics (Ciprofloxacin) for the bartonella. Continued to struggle -- all the while taking lorazepam and now, in hindsight, experiencing tolerance withdrawl. Eventually did 42 consecutive days IV Ceftriaxone for the borrelia hermsii.  Have tested negative for those 2 bugs...still doing periodic re-tests as they can hide out and re-awaken.

 

Anyway was still struggling with daily headaches and many other symptoms and finally learned of danger of benzos. I'm now 4.5 mos benzo free but tremors, crushing fatigue, fear, mild depression are much reduced. But still having near daily, agitation headache, cog fog, sleep troubles, hot/clammy at night, full body agitation, some anxiety, ringing ears, visual probs, sensitivity to supplements/meds/foods, fatigue, low stamina, etc etc

 

Was feeling improvement from being benzo free but seemed to be slipping backwards for the last month. Each day I debate whether symptoms are benzo withdrawl or could be a babesia infection that's been in the background - I have many symptoms consistent with babesia and with any tick infection, co-infections are more common that not - and tests are imperfect. I'd expect to be doing better after this long off benzos but see that many take more than a year to recover.

 

For me the headache is worst. Seems my CNS just ramps up quickly with the day and builds to an agitation headache - very disorienting, disabling. Many stimuli (noise, light, activity, foods) trigger my CNS to go into overdrive and cause cog fog, headache, restless/electrical agitation. Perhaps the headache is the more extreme form of this agitation. The short windows of easing symptoms are such an incredible relief.

 

Anyway, thank you all for being here, for reading and am wishing you well in your recovery.

 

 

[[an...]]

I don't know; is headache a symptom of benzo withdrawal? I don't read about it much!