← Return to Trintellix (vortioxetine) for Major Depression or possibly Anxiety.

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@horowitz71

Hi Dave, I came across your post from researching vortioxetine.

I'm sorry to hear about what happened with the benzos.

I hope you feel better soon.

Has it improved at all?

Can you ask to see another neurol at Palo Alto Hospital (or maybe the one outside VA that you saw before) and tell them what happened when you were abruptly withdrawn / how its affected you ?

I'm not sure the most ideal approach at this stage, given its been some months without them, but something could possibly be done e.g. reinstatement with the option of an extremely gradual taper (if that's what you want).

There is a whole forum dedicated only to benzo tapering (not sure if I'm allowed to link but it's called benzobuddies) which could assist with logistics if that was to be done.

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Replies to "@horowitz71 Hi Dave, I came across your post from researching vortioxetine. I'm sorry to hear about..."

@mike8 Thank you for your concern, Mike. Although it's been months, I continue having difficulty going about daily life without benzos: severe childhood trauma, serving in the Marines, the ups and downs of being bipolar, and my nervous systems auto-respons to external stimuli, which sends inaccurate messages to my body--was finally diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) after getting bounced around from neurologist to mental health practitioner; back and forth, with neither wishing to take responsibility for what is now seen as being quite common in trauma victims. I only leave the house when necessary--fear of anxiety attacks or the much worse panic attacks. At home, I do breathing exercises, listen to relaxing music, hum, stretch, take brief walks in the industrial are where I live, and do taiji, trying to practice taiji daily--not easy due to dizziness and balance issues (falling a lotwhen stressed)--worsens my Parkinson's and FND. I have to force myself to do even simple activities, and except for cooking and cleaning the house, feel useless. Rather than dealing with anxiety, I practice mindfulness, which, at least when not among crowds, makes life without benzos tolerable; Still, I'd feel much safer if I had 0.25mg clonazepam when I need it (especially for insomnia and panic attacks, but there aren't nearby doctors who will prescribe benzos, regardless of my history), so tapering completely off isn't an option. Being abruptly greatly worsened my symptoms. Taken as needed, benzos can are useful. I'd love to be out among people, in nature, or playing sports. Now, I'm growing old and becoming ever more reclusive. I will try to connect with "benzobuddies" and see if they have suggestions, but generally, what I'm learning is that the tapering period can be long, ranging from 6 months to a year/year and a half, or even longer.