What is happening in your brain?

[[Be...]]

Parker,

 

 

Wondering if you or anyone else  has any experience/knowledge regarding med. marijuana's effect on GABA receptors during withdrawal?

 

It helps a lot with the WD symptoms of nausea, anxiety and muscle/joint pain, but I don't want to make the GABA receptors worse and prolong or worsen the agony and the eventual outcome.

 

I know it does work on some of the GABA receptors but don't know the effects.  Prob. can't be good for the entire taper outcome as it likely further downregulates the receptors, but it is a savior when the waves hit really hard.  Any thoughts???

 

 

[[Go...]]

Parker

 

I am immensely grateful for your willingness to share.  I agree that we are all different and we just don't know what will happen.  I think that is the most difficult thing.  If we could predict it might help negotiate the choppy waters.  But that is not the case and an impaired amagdela allows the fear to ratchet up.

 

I am hoping for the best and trying to also be realistic so there is no disappointment or fear that I will never heal.  None of us knows how long it will take.

You took a year and I have another friend who was fine in a couple of months.  So who knows what will happen.

 

Again, thank you so much.  Tomorrow is another day and another tiny cut.

 

Bless you,

 

Golden

[[pa...]]

Parker,

 

 

Wondering if you or anyone else  has any experience/knowledge regarding med. marijuana's effect on GABA receptors during withdrawal?

 

It helps a lot with the WD symptoms of nausea, anxiety and muscle/joint pain, but I don't want to make the GABA receptors worse and prolong or worsen the agony and the eventual outcome.

 

I know it does work on some of the GABA receptors but don't know the effects.  Prob. can't be good for the entire taper outcome as it likely further downregulates the receptors, but it is a savior when the waves hit really hard.  Any thoughts???

 

 

Hi Benzotired,

 

I have no feedback here.  I have no experience or knowledge with which to base any opinion.  However, I think that at least 1 buddy I know of wound up in awful anxiety from smoking marijuana prior to benzos - and that is what sent him to the hospital where he was first given benzos - And 2 other buddies that were in withdrawal and healing had awful experiences with marijuana.  That is the extent of what I have been exposed to in terms of that topic.

 

:)Parker

[[pr...]]

benzotired,

 

i smoked a little marijuana one night thinking it would help and it was a really bad experience for me.

i did smoke it quite a bit during tolerance w/d and it did help--but i was still on a pretty good amount of benzo's.

i really thought it might help with some of my sxs now but when i smoked some after this c/t it made me feel so blaaa and i can't explain it? just not good!  just wrong. like my receptor's felt burnt and dry. it was very strange and i haven't smoked any since and i probably won't since i think it does act on the same Gaba receptor's and i do think it is cross tolerant as i remember a buddie named Perseverance did say--so i would think it could prolong the receptor's up/regulation.

 

pretty

[[Ji...]]

Its really odd because Ive never smoked weed/pot in my life, (I don't smoke and cant even bear the thought of it) But this withdrawal has been SO bad I did have thoughts of asking someone to make me a 'special chocolate cake' so I could relax.

 

the problem is I knew I wouldnt relax because I know that these drugs make people really paranoid (ive seen it happen to a close friend of mine)

 

With our brains so hyper-sensitized to everything I think taking illicit drugs would be the worst possible option, maybe even worse than going back on the Benzos.

[[Sk...]]

No POT!  It gives panic attacks!

[[fl...]]

This could not have been said any better. My goodness - this is an incredibly outstanding post for recovery. You are God sent to me....I thank you for your generous personality in helping me/us go on and get better. Wow, if I were rich you would be too. You are so valuable to our society I would work with you to spread the word. We could help millions of people. If only my doctor had said what you said I would not have had as much fear. Doctors are too selfish to spend the time and they automatically think we would not understand. We are much smarter than they could ever imagine and we have lots of logic and good common sense and we ARE willing to learn rather than have disgusting medication pushed on us.

[[pr...]]

i personally have only met Doctor's who feel mostly stupid and insuperior if i go in to their office knowing things that they don't.

i really think that is what it could be in regards to a benzo withdrawal. unless you have an idiot Doctor where he only allows you less than 5 minutes because he needs to attend to far too many patients so he can actually get paid something by Insurance. i have yet to meet  "Buddha in the waiting room" doctor. he is the author that wrote "Budda in the wating room" and he had so much care & compassion for his patients. i am not putting down Doctor's in general by any means00just the ones i've met

[[Co...]]

Thank you, thank you. So whenever I have withdrawals I'll know my brain is healing!

I am almost benzo free :-).

I hate being on remeron, I tried to stop it before the benzo and b/c of the withdrawals I went back on. So I'm back on it...

How long we're you on remeron after you stopped the benzo? What dosage were you on And how did you taper off it?

Was it hard and did you have any withdrawals from remeron?

How did you sleep once you stopped?

[[ih...]]

Posting this not to freak out those who still have sleep issues but to add to the understanding of how much things will likely improve once better sleep returns, which it will.

 

"A run of poor sleep can have a dramatic effect on the internal workings of the human body, say UK researchers.

 

The activity of hundreds of genes was altered when people's sleep was cut to less than six hours a day for a week.

 

Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers said the results helped explain how poor sleep damaged health.

 

Heart disease, diabetes, obesity and poor brain function have all been linked to substandard sleep.

 

What missing hours in bed actually does to alter health, however, is unknown.

 

So researchers at the University of Surrey analysed the blood of 26 people after they had had plenty of sleep, up to 10 hours each night for a week, and compared the results with samples after a week of fewer than six hours a night.

 

More than 700 genes were altered by the shift. Each contains the instructions for building a protein, so those that became more active produced more proteins - changing the chemistry of the body.

 

Clearly sleep is critical to rebuilding the body and maintaining a functional state, all kinds of damage appear to occur - hinting at what may lead to ill health”

 

Prof Colin Smith

University of Surrey

 

Meanwhile the natural body clock was disturbed - some genes naturally wax and wane in activity through the day, but this effect was dulled by sleep deprivation.

 

Prof Colin Smith, from the University of Surrey, told the BBC: "There was quite a dramatic change in activity in many different kinds of genes."

 

Immunity

Areas such as the immune system and how the body responds to damage and stress were affected.

 

Prof Smith added: "Clearly sleep is critical to rebuilding the body and maintaining a functional state, all kinds of damage appear to occur - hinting at what may lead to ill health.

 

"If we can't actually replenish and replace new cells, then that's going to lead to degenerative diseases."

 

He said many people may be even more sleep deprived in their daily lives than those in the study - suggesting these changes may be common.

 

Dr Akhilesh Reddy, a specialist in the body clock at the University of Cambridge, said the study was "interesting".

 

He said the key findings were the effects on inflammation and the immune system as it was possible to see a link between those effects and health problems such as diabetes.

 

The findings also tie into research attempting to do away with sleep, such as by finding a drug that could eliminate the effects of sleep deprivation.

 

Dr Reddy said: "We don't know what the switch is that causes all these changes, but theoretically if you could switch it on or off, you might be able to get away without sleep.

 

"But my feeling is that sleep is fundamentally important to regenerating all cells."

[[Sk...]]

I like to think my brain is healing.  That would be nice if that were going on in my brain. 

 

And While I am asleep,.. I want a Britney Spears concert to go on in my brain. 

 

-SZ-

[[pa...]]

Thank you, thank you. So whenever I have withdrawals I'll know my brain is healing!

I am almost benzo free :-).

I hate being on remeron, I tried to stop it before the benzo and b/c of the withdrawals I went back on. So I'm back on it...

How long we're you on remeron after you stopped the benzo? What dosage were you on And how did you taper off it?

Was it hard and did you have any withdrawals from remeron?

How did you sleep once you stopped?

 

Hi Coral,

 

I didn't get on the 15mg Remeron until a week after I was off benzos.  It helped me tremendously to eat and sleep all through early withdrawal.  I slept a good 10 hours a night for months and dreamt and dreamt. I needed all that.  I believe it was key to my starting to heal.

 

About 3-4 months in I tapered it to 11mg.  About a month later, to 7.5, and then in another month to 3.75. I kept trying to taper it for months after that, but the benzo withdrawal was too severe for me to handle tapering it. 

Finally - at 11 months off, I had some liquid remeron made up at a compounding pharmacy - 1mg per 1ml. That way I could use a tiny syringe and measure out fractions of a milligram and taper the rest slowly. So I dropped the remaining Remeron at that point - and by a year or so I was done with it.

 

Buddies ahead of me told me not to worry about it, and there really wasn't a choice.  I was awful without something to help me through. So I just used the Remeron as intelligently  as I could.

 

Hopefully this helps.

:)Parker

[[Go...]]

Parker

 

Does healing happen when we sleep?  Can you say what happens as we sleep?

 

Thanks

 

Golden

[[pa...]]

Parker

 

Does healing happen when we sleep?  Can you say what happens as we sleep?

 

Thanks

 

Golden

 

Hi Golden,

 

I don't think I or anyone else truly knows how healing happens.  It's just my intuitive guess that rest and sleep are restorative and promote healing. That seems to be true with recovery from just about everything else in life.

The brain needs sleep to make neurotransmitters and hormones and to recover at the end of a NORMAL day - much less healing from benzos.  And sleep stages themselves are tied to physical wellness  - deep sleep, REM,etc.  So it's just my guess that yes - the better we sleep, the better we are healing. But that doesn't mean that sleep problems mean you're NOT healing. 

Truly - healing just happens as the clock ticks.  Stare at your watch for 60 seconds.  In that time, you are 60 seconds more healed than you were.  

As time goes on, the body stutters into better sleep.  You need sleep to heal, but you have to heal in order to sleep!  So it seems like a conundrum - how can you heal if you can't sleep?  But you NEED to heal in order to sleep!

 

From what other buddies have written, many sleep poorly for a while after the jump - but eventually the body corrects for that.  And the longer time goes on, even if you were only sleeping a few hours, you can sleep longer and longer.

 

In my case, I was VERY severe. VERY. Potentially this is because I was on klonopin AND Ambien.  I took Remeron and cheated the system because I had NO sleep architecture left at all. I didn't sleep at all the first week off benzos.  I was considering reinstating. So Remeron was a welcome relief.  But plenty of people make it through recovery that aren't as bad - and they dont' need any other medication. I simply did.  And I am glad it existed, because benzos are toxic to the brain -and I do not feel "bad" for using another medication to make it intelligently through the worst.  It was a strategy and it worked for me.

 

:)Parker

 

 

[[Co...]]

Thank you Parker!! 

Yes it does help.. so it was 11 months before you were able to stop the remeron..

I am on a small dose right now, at 1/4 to 1/3 of 15mg dose... my p doc said to take it up to 1/2 of 15mg, but I am scared to b/c I want to be able to come off it..

Before I tried to stop the remeron..... When I first got on remeron, almost everytime, we cut my valium we would increase my remeron by 1/8.. so the most I ever took at a time was 1/2 15 mg remeron and I did feel good.. I just hated the weight gain!!!

I am 4' 11 and b/c I had dropped so much weight before I got on it (from the valium w/d) I was 95 pounds and my heaviest on the remeron was 110.. but now I am at 107.  (my normal weight should be 103)..

Plus, I didn't like the tired feelings, can't drink caffeine, no alcohol (not that I was ever drinking much anyway, 1 a month maybe), at time couldn't get up to go to the gym earlier in the morning like I had for 15+ years.. and so on.... I used to do crossfit, etc..

I am back in the gym but not as much as I once was.. I'm getting there!! Last week I went 5 days, yeah! 

I can go but only if it's later in the day, etc.

 

Anyways, Did you gain weight from remeron? If so how much?

 

Now that you are off both the benzo and remeron.. do you take anything? natural stuff?

How long have you been off all meds now?

 

Thank you again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Blessing to you!!!!!!!!!

[[Ji...]]

I am seriously considering going on remeron. is it not an anti-depressant tho? In the past I have reacted so badly to them. Like totally stopped sleeping, headaches etc. Does remeron work differently to these.

 

My psychiatrist has informed me this morning that if things do not improve that he is considering putting me onto lyrica? Im going to do a search in a minute to see what the hell this beast is. I bet its not good.

 

one pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small.....

[[Co...]]

Remeron is an anti-depressant, but is different than all the others..

Do some research about it... it has helped a lot of people get off benzos.. it helps with the w/drawls, etc...

It helps you sleep.. just know with each new med there come some side effects..

 

Have you tried natural remedies for anxiety?

When  you are off "all" meds you can try what I am going to.. the nutritionist I met with gave me this info..

(50mg) 5HTP during the day (which is an amino acid that increase serotonin in the brain)

(500mg) Trypophan at night to help you sleep (this is a slow release that turns into 5HTP)

 

Go online an read about anxiety and amino acids.. some great info comes up!!!!!!! Like this post from someone:

 

http://www.mdjunction.com/forums/anxiety-disorders-discussions/general-support/1053048-amino-acids-magnesium-can-possibly-cure-anxiety

 

http://www.vaxa.com/aminoacids-anxiety.cfm

 

Let Me know what you think!!  C

 

 

 

[Guest [to...]]

Thank you Parker!! 

Yes it does help.. so it was 11 months before you were able to stop the remeron..

I am on a small dose right now, at 1/4 to 1/3 of 15mg dose... my p doc said to take it up to 1/2 of 15mg, but I am scared to b/c I want to be able to come off it..

Before I tried to stop the remeron..... When I first got on remeron, almost everytime, we cut my valium we would increase my remeron by 1/8.. so the most I ever took at a time was 1/2 15 mg remeron and I did feel good.. I just hated the weight gain!!!

I am 4' 11 and b/c I had dropped so much weight before I got on it (from the valium w/d) I was 95 pounds and my heaviest on the remeron was 110.. but now I am at 107.  (my normal weight should be 103)..

Plus, I didn't like the tired feelings, can't drink caffeine, no alcohol (not that I was ever drinking much anyway, 1 a month maybe), at time couldn't get up to go to the gym earlier in the morning like I had for 15+ years.. and so on.... I used to do crossfit, etc..

I am back in the gym but not as much as I once was.. I'm getting there!! Last week I went 5 days, yeah! 

I can go but only if it's later in the day, etc.

 

Anyways, Did you gain weight from remeron? If so how much?

 

Now that you are off both the benzo and remeron.. do you take anything? natural stuff?

How long have you been off all meds now?

 

Thank you again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Blessing to you!!!!!!!!!

Hi Parker and Coralashely,

 

I didnt take remeron however, have a similar question.  I am just over 4 months off benzos and amongst all the other hideous systems have lost an enormous amount of muscle tissue and my hair has not grown in this time it is straw like. I cant seem to digest animal protein. I my body panics a the slightest normal body function!!!

I have tried everything to have some quality of life.

 

How are you feeling these days ? 

 

Peace love and healing

towardsthesun

 

 

[[Co...]]

Hi, not sure of the question..

If you have lost hair, you have to eat protein.. get yourself a good isolate protein powder! It will also provide you with wonderful amino acids (from the protein)/

How long have you been off a benzo?

Are you taking any meds right now?

 

Blessing!

[[dm...]]

Hi Parker,

 

Whenever I read anything you've written, I am filled with hope. And your last post regarding sleep is especially pertinent to me.

 

You indicated that you were on klonopin & ambien...well, in my case, I AM on klonopin & Halcion, and in the very early stages of my taper. I hit tolerance in November last year and have been WD symptomatic ever since.

 

I know I've a long tough road ahead of me, but your posts continue to keep me well informed and hopeful.

 

Just off the cuff, concerning Halcion, the Ashton Manual indicates in chapter two:

 

In my experience, the only exception to the general rule of slow reduction is triazolam (Halcion). This benzodiazepine is eliminated so quickly (half-life 2 hours) that you are practically withdrawn each day, after a dose the night before. For this reason, triazolam can be stopped abruptly without substitution of a long-acting benzodiazepine. If withdrawal symptoms occur, you could take a short course of diazepam starting at about 10mg, decreasing the dosage as shown on Schedule 2.

 

I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on this...I read this as meaning it is permissible to perhaps taper halcion at a faster rate than the klonopin, or even CT it. But I have such little experience in this regard. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Thanks, and God bless you.

 

David

klon1.3125

halcion.4375

[Guest [to...]]

Hi, not sure of the question..

If you have lost hair, you have to eat protein.. get yourself a good isolate protein powder! It will also provide you with wonderful amino acids (from the protein)/

How long have you been off a benzo?

Are you taking any meds right now?

 

Blessing!

 

Hi Coralashley,

 

My cognitive ability is not good today. 

I have been off benzo just over 4 months and am still up and down like a yoyo.

I dont take any meds. 

I am hoping I will be able to digest the protein I suffer from severe gastro intestinal problems

 

peace and strength

[[Co...]]

Oh I understand now :-)

I have a great natural remedy for upset tummys.. seltzer water.. you have to get the brand name though.. I drink perrier.. I get the lime flavor and it is awesome..

I am sorry to hear you are having a rough time!  I've been there done that and I have the T-shirt. 

I would talk to a nutritionist about the natural products I mentioned in my post before this one.. the 5 htp and the tryptophan..

They should also help!

 

I highly suggest you start taking Omega 3s and Vitamin E (this helps the omegas absorb)  Our brains are over 80% fat and it needs fat to be able to function correctly and repair itself!

Here is where I buy mine from.. my nutritionist says they are the best..

 

http://www.trbhealth.com/shoppingcart.asp

(there are sooooooo many wonderful products on there!!)  I put the ones I buy in a cart for you to view.

I take 2 omega 3s in the morning with 1 vitamin e.. but it's said you can take 3 omega's in the morning and 2 in the afternoon.

 

You should also take at least 400mg of Magnesium, because it will help to relax your nerves!!

 

What are you eating most days? 

Have you had your blood work done in a while? 

How many hours of sleep are you getting each night?

 

Keep hanging in there, you will see the light!!  Your brain is healing!

 

[[Di...]]

Wow, I'm glad I read this.  It is so interesting, and also quite helpful.

[[Co...]]

Also everyone should check out this website

http://www.theroadback.org/

It's been very helpful for me.

Also all the way on the very bottom of the home page you can choose any medication that you're on for how to get off of it and what the withdrawals are.

 

[Guest [to...]]

I bought the book and took all the supplements.  It is a very expensive way to go. My Dr and I tried to follow that while I was tapering.  I did not see any improvement so we went back to the Ashton Manual and eventually I went into detox.  I would not advise anyone do what I have.  Now I am free I can not tolerate any supplements.  Having said that I could not and did not take supplements before benzos.

 

peace and healing

 

towardsthesun