Endless withdrawal from benzos and pregabalin

Posted by chaos @chaos, Jun 3, 2022

Hi,
I’m at my wit’s end. I have been withdrawing for so so long that euthanasia is looking good to me. Since last November I have withdrawn from clonazepam and closely followed by pregabalin. Actually still struggling with the later drug. I am not sleeping, full of anxiety, fear and wanting to off myself. It feels like every week I reduce the drug, I lose hope that things will get better. I don’t have anyone in the medical system that understands withdrawal from these drugs.
It would be good to connect with people that have gone through this process and have improved their lives.
Also, I’m not sure if there is a discussion already in place for this topic.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Addiction & Recovery Support Group.

Finally, I feel much better. No nausea today and the stiff muscle in my neck is softening. I don't miss the way I have felt for decades. I have energy today. I went to the store and bought myself flowers!

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Please do not harm yourself.Trust in Jesus Christ.He has seen me through much mental hralth suffering. I had hospitals that misdiagnosed me for many years finally I got a doctor that put me on the right medication and I have been on it for almost 30 years but I had about 4 years where I really suffered and and was taking all kinds of different medications that didn't help me maybe you need to take something different that will help you going back it's not always the answer it might not be safe for you to do that God can see you through he has brought me through many hardships surgeries hard times loss of loved ones and he can see you through this but you need to trust in him turn from your sins and trust in Jesus Christ Alone is your salvation he died on the cross for you he rose from the dead he's a living savior call out to him he'll hear you and he'll help you when all the doctors are unable to Jesus Christ is a great physician he's Unlimited in his ability to help you God bless you I'm praying for you

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There are some good support groups with many members on fb. Doesn't seem many ppl want to talk about it on the Mayo page. God bless you 🙏

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@frouke

I’m so sorry to hear about your struggle to stop these highly addictive drugs. It’s very difficult to get away from them especially when you’re in your seventies as I am. I too have an addiction to the same drugs and I know the withdrawal is profound. It’s very important that you go slow in reducing your dose, anything else will be too stressful for you. I think you’re right, at our age why not just leave us alone, it’s not as though you’re abusing them. I was wondering why my doctor started putting more pressure on me during a pandemic and also after getting cancer and then it hit me, I think with all the publicity about opioid addiction and knowing that benzodiazepine taken with opioids is a lethal dose. I even feel that I’ve become an inconvenience to him. I now must try and find a doctor who understands these drugs and all my other needs, wow that’s a tall order but who knows, my mother always said where there’s life, there’s hope, don’t worry too much because it’s not your fault.

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I think at this point I am stopping my taper. Just too sick and too much all over body pain, feel so achy and terrible muscle spasms. I want to enjoy the rest of my life. My psychiatrist agrees. He isn’t the doc who put me on Valium.

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Try to ease up on yourself, you are not at fault here. I think we’re all victims of the medical system, we trust them and believe they are helping us only to learn one day we’ve developed an addiction. To add further insult to this injury we have doctors who prescribed them not willing to take part of the responsibility.

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@kathy5645

I think at this point I am stopping my taper. Just too sick and too much all over body pain, feel so achy and terrible muscle spasms. I want to enjoy the rest of my life. My psychiatrist agrees. He isn’t the doc who put me on Valium.

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Please make sure your physchiatrist has a plan in place for you should he retire or die if you decide to continue taking your benzo. It’s becoming extremely difficult to find doctors willing to prescribe Benzos nowadays since the DEA got involved.

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I have withdrawn from pregabalin and agree with you that it was nightmarish. The fear panic etc. Also, I have noted in numerous instances the physicians have zero data on withdrawal from this or many other medicines. I was able to make a full recovery and have been off this med for 6 years. It is in all my charts now as “allergic.” I tapered off of another gaba med, neurontin (pregabalins baby cousin?) over a year and each step was like you describe too. You can do it!

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I'm currently titrating off of Benzos (on my own--no doctors: they're the ones who got me hooked on them in the first place without telling me the whole story about Klonopin/Xanax).
Now that I'm back in the U.S. after living abroad for the past 16 years, no doctor, at least all the ones I've seen in the past three years will prescribe tranquilizers, especially the VA who started me on them. I'm trying to find a scientific method to work my way out of taking this garbage. On top of that, I'm a disabled Vietnam vet who was diagnosed with chemically-induced Parkinson's Disease: either from exposure to Agent Orange or toxic drinking water when stationed in Camp LeJeune back in the 60s. I need help getting off Benzos so I can face my demons head-on and become the person I was meant to be. I've adjusted physically to Parkinson's, but my cognitive abilities have diminished greatly, and unless I'm able to take charge of my life, there's no much point in living. Neither the VA nor the doctors I've seen through Medicare do nothing except to keep adding medications to the already excessive amount of drugs that are little more than band aid remedies that only mask my symptoms rather than work with me help me off the cocktail of crap that is keeping me stable but shielding me from connecting with others/being social without being judgmental of myself and others. And to make matters worse, I lost most of my Social Security when I returned to the states. The government took 10% of my Soc. Sec. for every year I lived abroad because I didn't pay into Medicare Part B which was completely useless outside of the US. So now, I'm living off $600/month plus the extra VA disability I got while serving in the Marines (got drafted, didn't join). It's impossible to pay for the necessites on such a meager allowance. I'm not yet homeless, but soon may be -- the VA has housing for disabled veterans, but I've been on a waiting list for three years, and it doesn't appear that there will be space available for me for many years to come; open to any suggestions, please.

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God bless you can I ask why you are stopping the use of the clonazepam I've been taking that for about 30 years for anxiety which was misdiagnosed as depression for four years I don't have any problems with it.

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@horowitz71

I'm currently titrating off of Benzos (on my own--no doctors: they're the ones who got me hooked on them in the first place without telling me the whole story about Klonopin/Xanax).
Now that I'm back in the U.S. after living abroad for the past 16 years, no doctor, at least all the ones I've seen in the past three years will prescribe tranquilizers, especially the VA who started me on them. I'm trying to find a scientific method to work my way out of taking this garbage. On top of that, I'm a disabled Vietnam vet who was diagnosed with chemically-induced Parkinson's Disease: either from exposure to Agent Orange or toxic drinking water when stationed in Camp LeJeune back in the 60s. I need help getting off Benzos so I can face my demons head-on and become the person I was meant to be. I've adjusted physically to Parkinson's, but my cognitive abilities have diminished greatly, and unless I'm able to take charge of my life, there's no much point in living. Neither the VA nor the doctors I've seen through Medicare do nothing except to keep adding medications to the already excessive amount of drugs that are little more than band aid remedies that only mask my symptoms rather than work with me help me off the cocktail of crap that is keeping me stable but shielding me from connecting with others/being social without being judgmental of myself and others. And to make matters worse, I lost most of my Social Security when I returned to the states. The government took 10% of my Soc. Sec. for every year I lived abroad because I didn't pay into Medicare Part B which was completely useless outside of the US. So now, I'm living off $600/month plus the extra VA disability I got while serving in the Marines (got drafted, didn't join). It's impossible to pay for the necessites on such a meager allowance. I'm not yet homeless, but soon may be -- the VA has housing for disabled veterans, but I've been on a waiting list for three years, and it doesn't appear that there will be space available for me for many years to come; open to any suggestions, please.

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I would just like to say and defense of doctors that help save my life by giving me Ativan and then Klonopin I was useless and I was a burden to my wife she took care of me like a child I couldn't drive anymore I couldn't concentrate to watch TV or a movie with her or do much of anything with her I was kind of a zombie I would rock back and forth in the passenger seat of the car I will after not being able to drive anymore I gave up my driver's license after the doctor put me on ativan and then Klonopin I was able to go take a medical examination and get my driver's license back I was able to watch TV and concentrate and read and start going back to church and I wasn't afraid all the time I didn't have panic attacks like I did before they were kind of non-stop before that my doctors had been treating me for depression for 4 years they started out giving me shock treatments at the beginning during the first year of my mental health problems so the Klonopin has been a blessing to me I used to take three 1 mg tablets a day now I take one in the morning and one at night and my doctor said that's just fine that take the least amount that you're able to that you're comfortable with that you function well with and he said that was just fine and I've been doing that for years now for a couple years at least probably more than that God bless you I'll be praying for you the Lord Jesus Christ can do anything and he has with me

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