Benzodiazepine Withdrawal

Mental health
1

Hi,

In all my research I haven’t come across any simple fix.  

History:

1.  I was given Xanax 6 years ago as-needed.  3 refills

2.  Well there were runs I didn’t need it, needed a little and needed a course!

3.  As time went on during those long weeks of using it, when off I got more anxiety

 when I decided to come off, my doctor to simply told me to stop. That put me into a hospital. He did not blame the Xanax, but me being overworked.  

 I told him of the coincidence with Xanax, and he told me that was not the case.   I tried to reason, but he said that I was over complicating it. 

 so I read the Ashton manual, and weaned myself off incorrectly twice last year of 2017. I then force my doctors hand and he gave me two weeks of Valium which helped. 

 I am five months off, and I have so much tension, irritability, headaches, tinnitus, loopiness dizziness. And my most horrible one is massive insomnia .

i have tried EVERYTHING... SSRI, SSNRI, Tryciclics, Gabapentin.

i have tried CBD oil, Supplements galore ... 

maybe im doing something wrong?  I can’t sleep.  I’m in pain.  I’m afraid to go out places, not agoraphobia ( although I did have that a few times ) it’s the tension and it escalates... my Amygdala fires off quickly to Flight.

2

Or maybe this is all from your anxiety???

3

It really doesn’t sound right that they are not decreasing your doses over a period of time. Doctors have always advised me to take anxiety medications down slowly as they can have some nasty side effects. I would go and see a different doctor. I’m no medical professional but surely others on this forum would say this doesn’t sound right? You need to address this and find the best course of action to get you back on track. You’ll be ok, you’ve just got to find out what works best for you. Maybe see a psychiatrist aswell? I will be doing the same for my extreme anxiety.

4

I’ve just looked online and it says it should take at least 8 weeks to taper off the use of Xanax. Your symptoms also seem to correlate with the symptoms of withdrawal. Again, I’m not a medical professional, just trying to point you in the right direction.

5

Thanks,

8 weeks is the “out of your system” completely.. for Xanax and Ativan it’s shorter, but the annoying part is all studies are simply “observational” and at best “guesswork”.

its odd how everyone reacts differently.  My Theory now is “mind makeup” or “brain makeup”.  Some are just Cognitively better at compartmentalization of Trauma, where others recluse.  

Whats hard knowing things and losing ALL emotions - Nothing “Feels” right... and OCD “What If” takes over.

6

Just ensure that with any future medications, you discuss with your doctor the period over which you decrease your dose. No matter how different we react to medication, nobody should just stop it altogether. Also, my apologies, being from the UK and not having heard of Xanax, I didn’t realise it was a tranquilliser rather than an antidepressant. Do you take an antidepressant? I take it for my anxiety disorder and maybe what you need is a longer term treatment of medication rather than short bursts of tranquillisers. Once you get to grips with your medication and it helps to regulate your mood, hopefully you will have a better quality of sleep. Keep posting as I’d like to know how you’re getting on 🙂

7

Alprazaloam (Xanax) ...

im not on anything... they tried 9 types on me and all sent me to the ER.  I have a weird metabolism... test resulted that I don’t break things down normally.  😓😠

had such a drop in Dopamine today.. got so low and worried... felt lost internally.

8

Sorry to hear that Jasper. Don’t despair, there are other ways you can learn to cope with your anxiety other than through medication. Some people choose not to use meds at all and look for more natural ways to heal themselves. I’d say a healthy diet, regular exercise, practicing mindfulness and meditation combined with therapy can also help. I have my best nights sleep If I’ve done some physical activity during the day, even if it’s a walk. Sticking headphones on with your favourite tunes can block out the outside noises that may cause your anxiety to intensify. You could also try seeing a chiropractor who can help alleviate tension in your neck and shoulders that can contribute to headaches. Basically keep fighting it, inch by inch if you have to. I’d also be interested to know what reaction you were having to this medication that kept putting you in the hospital? Was it because your body could not metabolise it or some kind of allergic reaction? Keep posting and I’ll keep doing what I can to help 🙂 I’m sure some of my recommendations feel impossible right now but trying anything at this stage is worth a go. I’ve had extreme anxiety periods in my life but you do get through it and out the other side.

9

Hi Jasper, 

Was you taking a benzo every day? What dosage or Xanax and Valium did you get? Also if you read the Ashton manual you would know that an anti depressant will still work for everything other than the anxiety. The best one I have heard of that helps benzo withdrawal is mirtazapine - but that comes with its own withdrawals..... not disputing what you feel is very real but it is more than likely the fact that you are trying all these meds.

10

You say you were given these 6 years ago but don't mention the dose or the length of time you were taking them. Generally it takes quite some time for any adaptation in the brain to take place and it also sounds as if you had at least some periods without the drugs. Sudden withdrawal after a prolonged period of use is usually associated with increased anxiety, the more serious effects are usually rare. You also describe going through a withdrawal period, even if it wasn't done exactly it should still have helped.

You are clearly experiencing a lot of anxiety but you talk about it in very biological ways and are attributing it all to drug withdrawal and simply looking for other drugs to replace the benzo. Maybe it would be more useful to try alternative approaches like learning a relaxation technique, which really should have been part of your withdrawal or even trying CBT. The evidence does suggest that CBT is the best option though it can be challenging.

Getting some form of support even from friends and relatives,(by specifically asking) just to try and reduce stressors for a while, taking some time out and generally being nice to yourself while making the changes can really help.

11

Hi Jasper according to how long you were on Xanax you are going through withdrawal symptoms. Benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms can go on for months and healing is nonlinear so it can be very frustrating.The only thing that works is time.Read prof Ashton's Manuel and she explains what you are suffering and what may help. Sadly very little can be done to ease any of the symptoms. Be careful of supplements as some of them can make withdrawal symptoms worse. Give it time and it will pass.

12

Yeaaaa... I figured so... Benzo Brain = Brain Damage

now I got less anxiety and more depression... I’m getting feelings I don’t have love anymore.  And that scares to a massive headache and my tinnitus gets louder.

supplements and other things make it worse

13

I was .25 as needed for about the first 2 years... I’d say 1 or 2 a week.  No biggie.

then it went up to 3 a week

the end 2 years it was .25 twice a day for 3 days on 3 off..

then by the end it was .5 daily for 3 months straight and then I finally got Valium 2mg twice a day ... for 2 weeks cutting down by 1mg...

so it doesnt seem to be a lot

i think his is just depression and worry going on... idk