Why don’t anxiety meds work for me?

I am so sorry . Did you go on the benzo website? They can help you. You might have to start over again and start a long taper. I wish I could help you more.

I am with you in spirit always going through a very similar situation. You're not alone. Try to eat and drink what you can. Breath, bathe, walk or do whatever you can getting by moment by moment. Protracted withdrawal is after a long, slow taper is complete and bad symptoms keep arising. I don't know but some people explain to their psychiatrist or doctor the situation of medication dependence after following as prescribed and perhaps it's entirely between you and the doctor who might prescribe to get stablized on a regular daily dose.

@ellerchim
Yes, I did go on the website. God, I don’t even have anyone who could prescribe the Ativan to start all over. Doesn’t it involve hundreds of pills? Did your doctor prescribe all the pills you needed at one time or in monthly doses? I am so upset. I have been experiencing periods during the day where I fly into rages. What else can it be besides the syndrome. I told my husband about the tapering protocol. He is not encouraging me to do it as I am not 100% sure that is my diagnosis. He is afraid for me to reinstate the Ativan.
Claudia

@rick98
Rick, the problem is I never went through a slow taper. I was a patient at the Detox center for a 7 day program. The medical personnel there claimed this was all it would take to detox me from 6 months of using Ativan or Xanax. While there, I never had a moment where I felt any different to when I was home. I saw alcoholics transform from hiding away in their rooms, only leaving to rush to the bathroom, and in a matter of days, they were eating their meals and watching tv in the common room and conversing with other patients. I kept waiting for something to happen to me. When I left after 7 days, I felt just the same as before I got there. Almost as soon as I was discharged, I had to start using the Ativan again. I don’t know what to do or whom to contact. I am stuck between a rock and a hard spot. This is getting to be too much for me and my husband who is bearing the brunt of my outbursts.
Claudia

You need to spend more time on the benzo site and ask if anybody is writing out programs for people. The man that wrote out mine retired. Yes rage unfortunately is part of these symptoms. I had a very nice primary care Doctor Who understood what I was going through and I told him I needed these pills to taper off so he would refill my prescription for 60 pills every month to be taken twice a day. I was tapering every single day twice a day very slow.. He refilled my prescription, but he didn’t write out the plan for tapering. At least he understood and he saw what horrible shape I was in when I first went to him. A bag of bones I was. There is a very well known -psychiatrist in Utah who treats people the correct way and will
Prescribed pills for you as long as you need them. I believe you can either go there or he takes phone appt.Let me find his name. Dr. Josef@taperclinic He runs the worlds largest psychiatric center for tapering off of benzos and antidepressants. Please get a hold of him somehow.. if you want to know more about him Go on YouTube, he has all kinds of info on there. I hope you can connect with him. I hope you can connect with him somehow if anybody can help he can help he’s got a very good reputation.

@ellerchim
I’ve seen Dr. Josef’s videos on utube. I had a terrible afternoon and erupted in rage. My husband, once again, had to physically restrain me. I tried to explain that I am not doing it, but it’s the result of the withdrawal syndrome. Once you go through a long taper, can you still get these horrible side effects or do they disappear? I saw a taper on line and will try to find it again but I will email Dr. Josef.
Claudia

Please try to get a hold of Dr. Josef, if anyone can help, he can do it he knows about protracted withdrawals about people that have gone cold turkey.
Yes, I have noticed more things going on. When I first got off several months ago, I felt really really good but I’ve been very very tired lately not sleeping good and yes I have rages. I have learned to control myself, but I do get mad for no reason at all. It’s all part of the healing process, unfortunately. Another herbal medicine that I got on Amazon is called. Calms Forte it is a herbal sleep aid . Two pills you chew before you go to sleep. I really slept good the other night when I got these. another thing you might try..

@ellerchim
Hi, in essence what you’re saying is whether you get cold turkeyed by some sham treatment at a detox center where the doctor in charge should have known better, or if you do a long taper, you can still wind up with horrible side effects.
Claudia

No, that is not what I’m saying. The side effects are generally very, very mild,when you do a long, slow taper. Cold Turkey, rehab shocks your body so it doesn’t have time to heal. What I have is extremely mild and usually goes away less than a year.. you need to call that doctor in Utah. He can explain this so much better.. try to get some sleep tonight, please. Drink a couple of cups of the nighty night.

Hang in there Dorothy, we are all with you, sending you positive thoughts ❤️