1. < Depression & Anxiety

Protracted Benzo withdrawal

Posted by aarniek @aarniek, Oct 30, 2016

Taken of 8mg of Ativan daily in 3 weeks and suffering terribly nearly 4 years now! Unable to walk ,have insane muscle tightness,no memory,tinnius is unbearable,unable to picture things in my mind ! After 45 months it's worse than ever and 2 neurologists have tried only medications which all made me even worse!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Depression & Anxiety Support Group.

aarniek | @aarniek | Jun 28, 2017
In reply to @seeker619 "I had been a hermit for about 4 years, and being unable to picture things in..." + (show)
@seeker619

I had been a hermit for about 4 years, and being unable to picture things in my mind I attribute to the same anxiety that left me unable to leave the house. Although I was really only a hermit for four years a good part of 25 years I had extreme difficulty leaving the house. Often I had to get high on booze, or benzo's to just get me out of the door to shop for groceries. This in turn manifested itself in severe addiction which took years for me to over come.

THERE IS HOPE. I RECENTLY HAD KETAMINE TRANSFUSIONS AND MY DEPRESSION AND MY ANXIETY ARE NEARLY GONE. This is a relatively new approach which has not been FDA approved although a doctor can do it off-label. It would take millions of dollars in testing to get it FDA approved and the makers of Ketamine would not find it financially feasible to spend the money for the testing since the drug has been out around fifty years now and it costs very little and therefore the profit would be too small to pay for the testing.

Look online under ketamine and depression and ketamine and anxiety and I have not seen one bad review. I had it two weeks ago and after having suicidal idealization every day for almost twenty years I have had only one day since the treatment where it occurred. My sleep which was usually limited to four hours a night has bumped up to six or seven hours a night and my anxiety is on tenth of what it was.

I strongly advice you to look into this. It has worked wonders for me.

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I nave been off since 2-2013 and have worsened each year,now can barely move as when I try to stand my back,leg and shoulder muscles contract so hard I am forced to sit back down !Mind is messed up,lost cognitive abilities and all mid and long term memory ,wondering if I will survive? I will look into what you did but everything I have tried made me worse!

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brit | @brit | Jun 29, 2017

I have never heard of that drug. Tell me more. I have depression and anxiety on a daily basis and it is really getting to me. I go back to my doctor in about 3 weeks so would love to hear from you so I can explain it to him. Right now I am on Diasapam. It does help some but overall I still have the same problems.
Please let me know what you think. I will be checking my mails and waiting on your reply.
God Bless Patti

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aarniek | @aarniek | Aug 12, 2017
In reply to @aarniek "Anyone found anything that helped this brutal condition so you could have any sort of life..." + (show)
@aarniek

Anyone found anything that helped this brutal condition so you could have any sort of life again? I am on 8 different Benzo withdrawal sites including benzo buddies and found zero help!

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My neurologist said the tight muscles cause them to get stronger and it's why my tightness keeps getting worse!

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aarniek | @aarniek | Aug 12, 2017
In reply to @kanaazpereira "Welcome to Connect, @aarniek. Sorry to hear of all that you are going through, but please..." + (show)
@kanaazpereira

Welcome to Connect, @aarniek. Sorry to hear of all that you are going through, but please don't despair because you have found a great place to get support and information.
@sallycanuck, @lesbatts, @lauriedr, @66693777, @wolfer1975, @seeker619, could you provide your insight into benzodiazepines, and weaning off the drug?

aarniek, I would also recommend that you check out the following discussion threads where tapering off benzodiazepines has been discussed by many other members
http://mayocl.in/2dT2tMG
Feel free to ask other members questions, and also explain a little more about yourself. The exchange of information may help others as well.

@aarniek, could you tell us why your doctor prescribed Ativan?

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Originally I was given 30 tablets in a hospital due to a throat infection,and he than give me them( my neurologist) for 9 years.

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iwillbok | @iwillbok | Oct 12, 2017

I was prescribed benzos for 30 years, began a slow 2 year withdrawal on my own, and have now been completely off of them for 4 years. I still experience extreme groin and other joint pain and at times my brain gets foggy and shuts off if something happens that makes me anxious. That being said I know I am healing, but at a very slow pace, which has effected my life tremendously. I am a professional and am only able to work several days a week, but am so angry toward the medical community for letting this continue to happen. C

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1 reply
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Oct 13, 2017
In reply to @iwillbok "I was prescribed benzos for 30 years, began a slow 2 year withdrawal on my own,..." + (show)
@iwillbok

I was prescribed benzos for 30 years, began a slow 2 year withdrawal on my own, and have now been completely off of them for 4 years. I still experience extreme groin and other joint pain and at times my brain gets foggy and shuts off if something happens that makes me anxious. That being said I know I am healing, but at a very slow pace, which has effected my life tremendously. I am a professional and am only able to work several days a week, but am so angry toward the medical community for letting this continue to happen. C

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HI @iwillbok, welcome to Connect. Tapering off such strong drugs is a long process. You mention that you began the taper on your own over 2 years and that you've been off them for 4 years now. Is your current doctor supportive of your choice? If you don't mind my asking, what were you taking the medication for and how are you managing that condition now?

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lg1963 | @lg1963 | Jan 11, 2018

I have been on benzos for nearly 30 years for panic, anxiety, and a horrible cardiophobia that I have. I have now become totally tolerant to the benzo valium. I was on xanax for 10 years, klonopin for 10 years, and now valium for the last 10 years and now nothing works for me anymore. I have been through 3 very nasty benzowithdrawals in my life. I am using the Ashton protocol to slowly wean from valium, but I feel like hell each day. I have constant pressure and muscle tightness in my chest and stomach and heart palps that feel like angina to me. It feels like my heart is pulsating, altho I get the skipped beats and fluttering too. When I started having panic attacks at age 25, I read books on heart disease and was convinced this was what I had and then started having all the SXs I read about. Please do not laugh. I see my doctors regularly and they all still say panic and anxiety. Now, I am 30 years older and not 25 anymore so I think I might have heart disease now with all these weird bizarre SX's. I don't know what to do or think anymore. The benzo withdrawal is beyond horrible, even with a slow controlled taper. The chest pressure and muscle tightness is awful and I have it 24/7. The only time I do not feel it or think about it is when I am asleep and to add insult to injury, my sleep is horrible also. I started eating a really healthy whole foods plant based diet in 2013 just in case but I still do not feel any relief. I have been eating healthy like this since 2013, so 4.5 years now. If anyone can relate to what I just posted, please respond back. I would love to talk to anyone.

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Moderator
Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | Jan 11, 2018

Hello, @lg1963, and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You will note I've merged your post to this existing discussion of withdrawal from benzodiazepines (benzos) so that you can meet some other members who've shared experiences related to this very challenging process. I'm hoping they'll be able to offer some insight and answer any questions you may have.

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2 replies
marianc | @marianc | Jan 11, 2018
In reply to @lisalucier "Hello, @lg1963, and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You will note I've merged your post to..." + (show)
@lisalucier

Hello, @lg1963, and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You will note I've merged your post to this existing discussion of withdrawal from benzodiazepines (benzos) so that you can meet some other members who've shared experiences related to this very challenging process. I'm hoping they'll be able to offer some insight and answer any questions you may have.

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I don't know what you're referring to.

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Mentor
Jim, Volunteer Mentor | @jimhd | Jan 13, 2018
In reply to @lisalucier "Hello, @lg1963, and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You will note I've merged your post to..." + (show)
@lisalucier

Hello, @lg1963, and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You will note I've merged your post to this existing discussion of withdrawal from benzodiazepines (benzos) so that you can meet some other members who've shared experiences related to this very challenging process. I'm hoping they'll be able to offer some insight and answer any questions you may have.

Jump to this post

Welcome to Connect, @marianc

Can you tell me what you question is about? Did you join the discussion because you take a benzodiazepine?

Jim

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