3 1/2 years and doing well

[[Fl...]]

Thanks again for providing us protracted folks with some much needed hope.

 

I just hit 33 months today and have been having more good days and more windows lately but I still get hit pretty hard when the waves come around. It seems like a fair number of protracted folks see big improvements around the 3 year mark and beyond and I am hoping I won't be the exception.

 

 

[[Mt...]]

This is the success story Ive anticipated the most! 26 months out here and almost there but have hit some big bumps a lot the road lately just when I thought I had moved to a new level of health. Your story gives me encouragement. Thank you.

 

mtnhigh

[[ve...]]

Hi Leslie,

 

So happy to see your final success story.  I am not on forum much, although I posted a bit over this past weekend and was lucky to see your success story.  We went through some similar struggles back in the day .  I know you had a longer "protracted" period of difficult times though.  I suppose since you were still struggling past 18 months and beyond 2 years, yours can be called a story of protracted withdrawal and recovery.  I think the end of my taper was around the time you finished that detox, maybe early 2010, anyway, so happy that things have turned around for you.  I recall that there was a period in that second year off that we both had experienced some blues and I believe you referred to it as anhedonia.  I had contemplated a mild a/d around that time but decided against.  No doubt those first couple of years were very challenging and unfortunately persisted into year three for you.  I also did a c/t for a few weeks but ended up reinstating and then tapering as you know.  It does tick me off a bit when I still read on forum about some doctors who still think that a two week detox is a proper solution to curtail taking a benzodiazepine.  Detox may very well work well with alcohol, heroin, opiates.... but two weeks seems like poor medical advice for most who would want to safely come off a benzodiazepine, regardless of which one.  Oh well, at least this site can at least let some know that there other options and that rapid tapers can be similar to c/t in some regards for some.  It's hard to believe that they don't teach in medical school that it takes months to properly and safely taper even the so called "shorter acting" benzos, not weeks. I was fortunate to meet an otoneurologist who "gets it".  He tapers all his patients off even as "low a dose" as 2mg valium over several months to avoid adverse side effects to the ear such as tinnitus and vertigo.  I guess I was fortunate to find a benzo wise doctor who understands how powerful these medications can be and luckily have not had a return of vertigo or tinnitus.  Anyway, so glad to see you are feeling well now and recovered.

 

All my best to you friend ,

 

Vertigo

[[mc...]]

Wow you had one tough ride, I am sorry about your friend . Your story gives me hope as I am in a bad place like you were.

[[Ho...]]

What an amazing story! I am amazed at your perseverance and tenacity to endure so long. Congratulations on your success!.

 

I am in my 7th month and still in acute with severe brain fog, Dr, fear, anxiety, head and body pressure, ect. I was wondering if you would share what symptoms kept you homebound for so long, was it mostly the depression? Mine is deep and dark.

[[el...]]

Great news L! I don't visit BB as much as I once did, but I come by occasionally to see how some of my friends are doing. One by one, I see their success stories. It's been a long haul I know.

 

I remember “talking” with you in the spring of 2012 I believe when you were in a mental wave. (I believe you were having a tornado watch or something at the time.)

 

So glad you are finally well. I am working with several others in benzo w/d now. Another healed one and I have discussed setting up a non-profit. She hopes to visit in November and discuss it (and other things) more. Also have a person in the healing house that I have mentioned before.

 

So far, God has been opening doors and asking me if I am willing to walk through them. It's a real hoot to walk through each one and find another one inside to walk through.

 

This news makes my day! Congratulations!

 

eli1111

[[...]]

Thank you so much for this story. I am two years four months off Feeling pretty discouraged. I remember you from chatting early on. Thank you for calling us Warriors. I am still shocked by this experience. I am so so happy for you.  It is truly well-deserved happiness. We will never have to go to this again thank you God.

[[...]]

Congratulations!

What an inspirational success story. Detox facilities are certainly not appropriate places for benzo people.

Bart

[[Up...]]

Congrats at finally being healing! Your story give us all here who are suffering HOPE! I also have hope now that I can recover from my CT detox too. I am exactly one year off and still suffering and waiting in limbo for something to get better. I'm so glad that you healed at 3 and a half years off! I know that I"m still early in my healing too as I was CT, and I may be heading towards protracted but your story sounds like mine. But I'm still on the drugs like AD's and AP's. I"m not going to taper until I'm completely healed from the Klonopin. I took it for over 14 years at 1mg.

 

I too am mostly bedridden in the afternoons, most days I can get out and do things but I'm still living in limbo. I have intense anxiety and depression too, it's not left me since tolerance w/d.

 

I'm so glad and happy for your recorvy! Please continue to keep us posted about your journey!

 

Much Love,

Upanova

[[su...]]

Hi L123,

 

Thank for sharing your success with all of us. I am so proud of you and I am so very happy for you. Thank you for your inspiration.

 

Love you,

Summer

[Guest [ma...]]

Hello L123

 

Thanks for this fantastic post about your story and your healing. Really appreciate it. 

[[Co...]]

Hi...what an amazing success story...I am so happy that you are doing so well and back to work...congratulations...I also lost someone here to suicide, it's devastating...and I did not know if I would ever be capable of supporting someone that sick again... reading about your experience has helped me...thankyou Colleen

[[we...]]

Great success story, thanks for sharing this, it means a lot.  I'm so happy that you are in a position to help others in a professional way who may be suffering from the same afflictions.  Together, we can make a difference. 

 

thank you.

[[ma...]]

Many, many, thanks L123 for your wonderful post,

& for taking the time to come back & give encouragement.

It helps so much.

I am over 2 yrs off,  still struggling, but having more "normal" days lately.

Your words really helped me today as I'm back in a down wave, despairing of full recovery.

Thank you again, & congratulations on your sucess!

margaretisabel

[[...]]

Thank you to all who replied.  I really appreciate your positivity.  I'm hardly ever logged on here anymore but just popped in to let everyone know that I got my disability decision letter today and I was granted full disability for the years I was sick in benzo wd.  It was so validating.

 

So if any of you are thinking of filing, I would encourage you to do so.

 

Thanks again for the kind posts.  I'm 46 months out now (can't believe it) almost 4 years and doing GREAT!  I keep feeling better and better with time.  And I distinctly remember from month 24-30 thinking it was permanent and I would never ever laugh again or be normal.  I wasn't even sure I believed the other success stories...that's how stuck I felt.  I didn't think anyone truly recovered from this.

 

I still say prayers for all the new people on here whose names I don't recognize.  And for all the countless others that are going through interdose wd or wd and have no idea why they're sick.  It was a dark period of my life but it's over, thank God.

 

And you all will heal, too.  That's the trajectory so just hold on. 

[[Ga...]]

Thank you to all who replied.  I really appreciate your positivity.  I'm hardly ever logged on here anymore but just popped in to let everyone know that I got my disability decision letter today and I was granted full disability for the years I was sick in benzo wd.  It was so validating.

 

So if any of you are thinking of filing, I would encourage you to do so.

 

Thanks again for the kind posts.  I'm 46 months out now (can't believe it) almost 4 years and doing GREAT!  I keep feeling better and better with time.  And I distinctly remember from month 24-30 thinking it was permanent and I would never ever laugh again or be normal.  I wasn't even sure I believed the other success stories...that's how stuck I felt.  I didn't think anyone truly recovered from this.

 

 

I still say prayers for all the new people on here whose names I don't recognize.  And for all the countless others that are going through interdose wd or wd and have no idea why they're sick.  It was a dark period of my life but it's over, thank God.

 

 

And you all will heal, too.  That's the trajectory so just hold on.

 

 

thank you, you give me hope.

thx for coming back and telling us

[[cl...]]

Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to come back and post your success.

[[He...]]

Thank you. I needed to hear this today. 

[[Er...]]

Beautiful.

[[St...]]

Thank you L123 for coming back and telling your story.  Success stories are so important to those that are still going through this. 

 

I'm so happy for you and how well you are feeling.

 

I am almost 2 1/2 years out of my c/t.  I do have good days - windows but then get put back into waves.  My waves aren't as harsh now but they are still more than I want to be having.

 

Reading through your posts I do see how sick and frightened you were.  I see where you became afraid of eating everything - I so understand that, been there myself.  Our bodies do need nutrients to heal for sure.  I eat as clean now as I can - no processed foods anymore. Lots of fish and vegetables - closer to Paleo diet.  Some days it is just hard to eat - wave days.

 

To see where you were and where you are now is absolutely very encouraging.  I pray I get there also.

 

Enjoy your life, and may your healing continue and your tinnitus heal fully.

Sally 

[[1a...]]

our stories are somewhat similar but thankfully for me much shorter lived... i was diagonosed with peripherial neuropathy by a neurologist.... ( burning skin sensation ) because it tends to be worse at night he told me the worst thing is loosing sleep  and prescribed me restoril ( temazapan ) 15 mgs but told me i could take 30mgs no problem.. i did that for about a month.. and than began experiencing the wd symptoms you described... terrible anxiety in combination with horrible dp/dr that made me feel like i was on a bad lsd trip....i was basically unfunctional... but i had to work.... i told my neurologist i wanted off and his tapering advise was to go to 15 mgs once a day for 5 days and then 15 mgs every other day for 2 weeks then quit.... needless to say this made things worse.... i went to by regular doc... he prescribed me klonopin .50 to 100 mgs... i decided to only go w/ .50 i wanted out of the situation as soon as possible..... thank god i was able to be " functional" at his dose... but just barely.... i stayed on the .50 for two months and then i started to get worse again... i realized i was in tolerance wd, and that became my big turning point... i knew i had to either increase my dose until i stabilized, or just start tapering.... i wanted off as soon as possibleso i began my taper...  looking back i consider myself " lucky" that i was only on benzos for 3 months before beginning my taper.... but the wd's were still horrible and horrifying....  i did a very slow taper from the.50 k    3 months.....  first 2 months post taper weren't too bad... but months 3/4/5 were horrible..after 6 months things improved greatly... i've had some haves that appeared at around 14, 24, and 30 months but they were not as intense or long lasting........

[[mr...]]

You've brought me SO much hope today -- GOD BLESS YOU   Thank you for coming back around with your four year update -- this is awesome news indeed

 

Take care, and congrats on living LIFE again!

 

Mrs.

[[Fr...]]

I love your story - it gives me great hope.  Thank you for writing it and posting it here.

 

May God bless you.

[[He...]]

Thank you so very much for posting your story.  I am 25 months out from a rapid klonopin taper that was carried out mostly at a holistic detox center in Arizona.  Bad bad decision on my part, but, like you, I was so desperate and didn't know the whole benzo story at the time.

 

I am still suffering a lot of mental symptoms--fear especially.

 

Your story gives me a bit of hope.

 

Xoxo

Karen

[[Wi...]]

You are such an amazing, strong person to have made it through that. Thank you so much for sharing.