Benzo withdrawal

Only takes a couple of weeks to become “dependent “ on benzos, and if you stop or cut back you will get withdrawals. FDA issued a Black Box warning about how you should SLOWLY stop
with any of these. I took lorazepam for several weeks after my husband died and then stopped. Did not understand why I felt so awful until I got on a benzo site in FB. My doctor never told me how addictive these are in a short time frame. And never helped me. In fact most Doctors are either ignorant about the reality of how serious this is or refuse to help because it is time consuming to wean off of this.
After 4 months ( lost 30 lbs ) trying to get refills on my original prescription because you cannot stop cold turkey. Being ostracized and put down by the medical so called professionals. I finally found a site on FB where there are so many like us who are refused help. Did receive a taper which I have been doing for a couple of months, but it will take me several more until I am finally off of this poison. Just two weeks into this taper I slowly put back on some weight and started to feel good again. But still have numbness in my feet and other issues which are suppose to resolve themselves when I am completely off. I was on 1 mg of lorazepam and down to .25 twice at night. I do a water taper and have had very little withdrawals. I am 72 years old and never thought I would be doing this at my age. There is help out there, but not by the ones that prescribe it. They want to get you off too fast or they tell you you’re crazy because they don’t want to deal with it. Good luck and check out Benzo sites.

@ellerchim First, condolences re: your husband. That's a tough loss.

I was on clonazepam for over 20 (clueless) years. I was ultimately able to find a nurse practitioner who was willing to prescribe for as long as I needed in order to get off of this relaxing poison. Having that support made all the difference and allowed me to pace myself. Speaking for myself, there was a big psychological component - but I was successful. Hang in there.

I am so sorry about your husband. I am 66 n this is crazy as well. Today no anxiety just muscle tension like my gut is in a knot. Never heard of water taper. I will ck it out. Yes Dr's are clueless. I hear it is much harder when u r older as we are. Hoping tommorrow will be better. Thx u for your feedback. Every dr said, "Oh, don't worry about it. Your not taking that much n it hasn't been that long!" Don't know why they are so ignorant on this medicine. I just had that gut instinct this was going to happen!

Exercise was key for me in order to reduce the overwhelming anxiety which kicked off the prescription in the first place.

You are very lucky to find any medical professional to support you . I went thru so many, even my pharmacist I have known for or thirty year accused me of Dr shopping! So rude and ignorant. Had to change Insurance and could only go thru one Dr and he has been a blessing as far as keeping me my prescriptions going. And going slow is so important in getting off this poison. Not what I want to be doing as I get older. I wasted so much time after my husband passed. Lost him and lost myself with this drug. Thank you for your reply. Hopefully you are off of this . Twenty years is a long time. Thank you again.

@ellerchim Yes, I felt lucky to find someone willing to help me without judgment. I had to gear up courage to ask b/c I was embarrassed and even ashamed to be addicted. I was shocked to learn HOW addictive benzos are and how little time it takes to get hooked. All of the prescribing MDs should lose their licenses, IMO. So much for "do no harm." That was so rude and unprofessional of your pharmacist to accuse you like that. I hope you took your business elsewhere.

I am off of clonezapam and you will get off of benzodiazepines, too. It's hard and it does take a long time, but I am living proof that it can be done. < 3

Everything you just said is so true. Never in my life have I been addicted to anything. My high was running and working out. This poison took that away from me for months. Not only was this embarrassing and humiliating trying to find someone to prescribe these for me or help because you can’t stop cold turkey and the way they treat you. I switched pharmacies immediately after that. The doctor that originally prescribed these for me after my husband passed I’ve been going to for 25 years never said a word about these being addictive. When I tried to get help from him because I was shaking pretty bad at that time and lost so much weight. He just shrugged his shoulders and put out his hand making it shake like this was some kind of joke. . They should lose her license and not be able to practice anymore when they do this to people. So happy for you that you are off. Looking so forward to that day.

@ellerchim, have you been able to continue running and working out? You've had a lot of hard things going on. If you haven't resumed, do you think you could?

I totally understand where you are coming from . Except it’s my husband battling cancer . I take benzos. I struggle everyday . I admire your courage . pray for good health for you .

Thank you, I know it’s hard to stop when you’re going through so much stress, whether it’s you or a loved one going through cancer it’s still very stressful either way..good wishes for you and family, stay strong and keep the faith, it offers you strength and hope amen