No progression :(

[[ed...]]

Hello , I'm now 8 months off valium wich I used for almost 1 year at a decent dose of 10-20mg per day.

First 3 months where insane , after that it gets a better. Now I can function pretty well. (go to stores , shopping , ...) But I still cant drink alchohol or smoke. I'm 21 years old and all my friends go party 2 times a week. It really frustrates me that I cant go. All my summer got wasted.

 

Now after 8 months I'm getting depressed. Its like I dont heal any more and I have to have this fucked up feeling for the rest of my life. I already tried ginko biloba but it didnt do much for me. Now I fitness and eat very healthy and use vitamine c , multi vit , fish oils , zink and magnesium before bed. Drink 2 liters pure water a day. I really do everything perfect but I dont heal anymore.

 

I tried to go to a party 3 weeks ago , drunk 3 beers and really went insane. I dont react to the alcohol like a normal guy. It makes me dizzy and extremely anxiety and weird in the head. I just want to be the same person I used to be. I'm just not the same anymore.

I hope I'm fully recovered by next summer.

 

Does any of you had a plateau in the healing proces ? It feels like there is no proces for the last 3-4 mounths . 

it makes me so lonely. normally I see all my friends at a party in the weekend. Now I dont work and I only see like 3-5 different friends a week. pft. And try to get a girl with this fucked up feeling.. it is just not possible.

[[Be...]]

a common standard seems to be the one year mark for healing, for a lot that Ive read about on here, and most say it happened right at the end of that year...thats not too long for you to go yet, and missing one year or so of drinking is nothing....

by the way, you know that booze works on those same brain receptors as the benzos, probably why you're doing better in all the other areas but that one.... yet...

be patient, you dont have much farther to go...

you can catch up next year Im pretty sure

[[Te...]]

Hang in there. You may not recognize changes, but they are happening. I'm at six months and I can look back and see a lot of change has happened. Most of it seemed to have happened the first four months. Since then, it's been kind of up and down, but I can look back to four months and see that there HAS been change.

 

It's frustrating, but change comes slowly. I, too, had problems with alcohol hindering my recovery, so I'm not drinking more than one beer, and only on occasion. I was downing 2-3 shots of bourbon 5-6 times a day and felt really numb. Once the bourbon was gone, I felt myself begin to feel better -- and it's only gotten better and better without the alcohol.

 

I look forward to late January, when I can say I'm eight months off. I'm just being patient and hope to be much better by May 26, when I hit the one-year mark. That really seems to be the point where a lot of people seem to be healed -- starting at 10 months and going up to 12-13 months. So, hang in there. You're getting close.

 

 

[[La...]]

Testing the waters with 3 beers seems like asking for big trouble. At some point post-jump, I will test those same waters, probably with only half a beer/glass of wine, judge the outcome then proceed accordingly based on my reaction. Right now, 3 would send me to a very very dark place.

[[...]]

I hate to say it, but you should probably lay off the drinking for at least another year or two. Benzos really change the nervous system. You may not be able to tolerate alcohol normally every again. I'm 23 years old, I know it sucks to be unable to party but unfortunately this is the reality. This withdrawal process is going to take some years off of your 20s. At least you have friends. I've spent 99% of my time alone for a year now. Such is the nature of this beast. I had thought the 20s was the worst time to go through this, but being old and having w/d would actually be much worse. At least while we're young we have little to no responsibilities, and we probably heal faster.

 

Drinking during or after benzos can make your recovery worse. It takes the brain two years to recover from this at least. Even if doesn't seem apparent, it's happening on a microscopic level.

[[La...]]

"It takes the brain two years to recover from this at least."

 

While this may apply to you are a select # of other individuals, I think such a generalization about benzo recovery for most, is both unfounded and unwarranted.

 

[[fr...]]

You can still go to a party, just don't drink or smoke. Those things are bad for you no matter how you look at it. If you feel you must have something in your hand have a non-alcoholic beer or a pop if you can tolerate it. Don't let your friends make you feel like a freak. Also, no one is counting how much you drink. You can nurse the same can of beer all night if you want to. Just a few sips now and then.

 

It's the social contact that matters right? Would you exclude someone if they couldn't drink for medical reasons or just chose not to? If someone asks just tell them that you are taking a med that doesn't mix with alcohol or whatever you want to. It's YOUR body and YOUR business.