Resulting symptoms of sudden stoppage of 50 years of diazepam usage?

@rgtaylor I suspected this was the case: doctors pressured and red flagged for prescriptions that were common 30, 50 years ago. Basically MD's addicted you and then when protecting themselves by stopping the Rx's, exposed you to potentially life-threatening effects.

This is not your fault obviously. It may feel stigmatizing but I do believe a rehab or addiction specialist could help you.

I know that when people get off alcohol, they are prescribed benzos short term. When they get off heroin, they go on methadone. Prozac helps with withdrawal from other SSRI's. On this forum we are not expert enough- or most of us aren't- to make specific suggestions but believe there is help.

You have been wronged. This is happening to others, for sure. I am also wondering if there is a group or forum for this situation. You need and deserve relief!

Thank you for your suggestions and kindness.

I am sorry that they did that to you. I also have gone through the same as you except I was on 3mg a day of clonazepam for 30 years. I also was and still am on a fentanyl patch for severe pain from neck surgery that failed. I never had a problem with my prescription until they started lumping us together with drug addicts. I was taken off suddenly also and was visiting my granddaughter and my great grandson in Kansas. The withdrawal started quickly and was awful. Somehow in the middle of the night I am on a feeding tube and pump fed into my small intestine. I remember taking off my tube from the pump and going to take my medication. The next thing I remember is my granddaughter waking me up because we were going to a festival and she looked at me and said grandma what happened to you. I was like what are you talking about. She said you have a black eye. I said no I don't, I was still on my feeding pump and thought she was kidding. Then my great grandson comes in he was only 2. He started crying and saying grandma is hurt. I got concerned and tried to pull myself up and I got excruciating pain in my left arm. Somehow when I was up I must have fallen and hurt myself yet got myself back to bed and hooked myself back on my feeding pump and had no idea what happened. I still don't know. I ended up with 2 broken bones in my left arm and a shattered elbow and big black eye and a large lump on my head and bruises around my neck! I ended up in icu. A week later I had to fly home with my arm still broken. I went from the airport to the hospital and they had to do a 4 hour surgery on my arm and elbow and had to put a plate in to hold everything together. I was immediately put back on clonazepam. I felt so much better back on the clonazepam. Then my doctor retired and I was put through the same hell. I have bad PTSD from year's of abuse. I am also chronically ill. I was having horrible panic attacks and like you my head was all messed up I kept forgetting thing's and my vision got blurred and I was very dizzy. I finally had a psychiatrist that put me back on clonazepam but only 1.5 mg a day. I did better on it and eventually I was back to feeding like myself again. Then after 2 year's my insurance forced my psychiatrist out because they don't want anyone with my insurance company to prescribe benzodiazepams at all. Turns out my Medicare plan was the one's making them stop. I am disabled and have been for 12 years. I am still not old enough to be on Medicare but I am due to being totally disabled. I don't understand why if something works and has for 30 plus years that suddenly its a problem? My quality of life should mean more than anything. But when they got tough on drugs they lumped us all together and doctors are afraid to prescribe it for fear of getting into trouble. It's not right. Personally I do alot better on the clonazepam than without it. I hope you can get someone to listen and do what's right for your quality of life. Let me know if you find someone to help you because I also now need someone to treat me as a person not a statistic. Good luck to you. I know it sucks. Hang in there 🙏

This is unbelievable!!! I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I have been on benzodiazepines for 15 years. I know I would be in the same position if I was abruptly taken off them. It sounds like to me that this is a necessary medication for you. I would talk to my neurologist about this and see if you can at least get 5 mg restarted.

Do you have a doctor now? If so tell him you’d like to try propanolol. It's a beta blocker that can really help with anxiety. It’s helped me immensely. Other than to reinstate, probably wouldn’t work, there’s really not much you can do except ride it out. Doctors need to start being held accountable for doing this to their patients.

We are finding out the hard way that many, maybe most, doctors don't know how to taper their patients off of these types of drugs. Dr. Josef who operates a tapering clinic to have very helpful videos, this is one of them https://youtu.be/QiyaPfzeACs?feature=shared Maybe you can find a clinic near you that can help.

We are finding out the hard way that many, maybe most, doctors don't know how to taper their patients off of these types of drugs. Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring operates tapering clinics and he has some very helpful videos, this is one of them https://youtu.be/lLzeUFUXrfQ?feature=shared Maybe you can find a clinic near you that can help.

Is Gastonia any where new Raleigh-Durham - The Research Triangle. I would strongly suggest that you seek expert care at one of those facilities. I would have also hired an attorney (Do no Harm - it's in their Oath) For a physician to discontinue those particular medications without the assistance of a psychiatrist/pharmacist and attempt a taper is unconscionable when there is medical information both professional and in lay terms how dangerous it can be to not be conscientious in dose reduction. I really get very concerned and upset when I hear things like this have happened. I am so sorry that you had and are having to go through this!

Yes, a general practitioner or psychiatrist is probably your best bet.
There are so many new drugs out there that they can find something for you.
I take both an anti anxiety & an anti depressant & have for 20+ years & our
family doctor said he would find something new if either began to give
me problems. Keep looking for a physician that meets YOUR NEEDS!