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Short-term benzo and floxed, healed at 24 months


[gg...]

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I cant believe that I almost didn't come back here to write my success story. Like many others I just wanted to move on from this.

I wanted a substantial amount of time to go by healed before I posted, because I didnt want to have to come back and retract my success story.

 

I have been out of PAWS since February 10th so i am over 6 months healed.

I was in withdrawal and PAWS for 2 years. The worst 24 months of my life by far.

 

My story is similar to LOTS of folks, so I knew I had to come back and write this

It started with being Floxed by a flouroquinaline antibiotic in the Summer of 2016. It led to panic attacks that I eventually went to my PC about. She immediately suggested Celexa and Klonopin (to help 'get on' Celexa) which I did not tolerate. In her attempt to get Celexa to work out I ended up on Klonopin for 6 weeks every day, and my symptoms got worse.

My PC insisted it was safe to take klonopin this long and wanted me to try other AD's

 

That's when I found this site after Googling (finally) Benzo withdrawal and I knew I was in trouble.

 

I wanted to taper although it had only been 6 weeks and my PC and the pharmacist assured me I could just stop.

I ended up doing a rapid taper of 3 weeks from 1.5 mg down to 0.

At that point my symptoms flew off the handle; insomnia,nightmares,DP/DR,Fear,Depression with crying and SI,tinnitus,extreme weight loss,head pressure ect....sound familiar?. I couldn't walk to the end of my block while in acute.

 

I lost my management position, and had to take several LOA's from work. Just humiliating trying to work crying in the bathroom and my car.

My wife and family were so upset that I wouldnt 'snap out of it' although they did get educated to PAWS and were there for me

 

I saw so many doctors and specialists and had so many different tests that came back normal although I felt like I was going to die. I was diagnosed with sudden onset GAD. I said NO WAY! I was sure it was the Klonopin and they all said not possible.

 

I knew I was in PAWS and on my own, so I really tried to do everything I could to stay alive;

 

-working part time was so hard but did help me

-Low glutamate diet was very helpful

-low stress was a must

-nature and exercise. Lots of both

-human contact, especially someone else in PAWS

-Baylissa and Jen's sites and sessions

-Meditation and mindfulness, luckily I was not a stranger to this

-therapy and CBT very helpful

 

I am healed. I have not had a single moment in PAWS for over 6 months, and to be cliche I will say that I am happier than I was before, more grateful, and I actually think the syndrome made me stronger.

 

My good mood and good nature are back daily, my stress threshold is normal.

 

I can eat anything now and I have most likely had MSG without any effect.  :)

 

It is now like a dream and oddly seems like just a weird blip in my otherwise great life. weirdest thing ever.

 

I wanted to give back to those who are still suffering. Know that healing is absolutely possible. read my posts and if it sounds like your story, take heart in the fact that I made it and feel great every day now after being sure I could not go on another day.

 

I will be checking this post and my inbox for a little while to give any support or answer any questions.

 

Thanks for being here BB.  ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks for the story, as it’s so important to help the ones who helped us as we battle the Benzo beast! I’m sure you’ve been great hope for your buddies who’ve supported you through your lowest in WD. I can’t wait to write my story and pull people across the finish line too!
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Congratulations, ggbtd!!  I am so, so happy for you!!  I went back and read all of your posts this evening.  I had a horrible day--- terrible anxiety, depression, and crippling dp/dr, and needed something to lift me up.  Reading your posts of suffering day after day, month after month, in exactly the way I have been suffering, followed by your happy success story was so affirming and uplifting.  You healed!!  I will heal!! Enjoy your wonderful life; I know you have great appreciation for it after so many months in hell.  Thank you for coming back!

Flibberty

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SO great to hear you are healed and doing so well! HUGE congrats to you!! I am doing much better as well, though still having residual insomnia/sensitivity to stress. The tail end of my recovery seems to last forever. Hope to join you in the fully healed camp one day.
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Oh wow!

 

Thanks Tee, you were such a positive friend back when I was in the thick of it.

 

I truly think positivity like you share on this site is one of the main roads out of this.

 

I know you'll be back to your former sleep pattern or better soon!

 

You're the best!  :):thumbsup:

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[4c...]

Hi gg!

First of all, congratulations for your return to normalcy!

we have both similar stories. I was also floxed two years ago and like you they took me to another hell, that was the benzo world.

As you can see in my profile I was also prescribed some other psych drugs for short time ,low doses but it was the clonazepan that actually helped to get my sleep back but to a big cost.

You probably went thru the same doubts that i also been thru. I was prescribe cipro and a muscle relaxant that had a small dose of benzo. two weeks later my life went upside down. I was not longer myself. Extreme insomnia and anxiety. intrusive thoughts suicide idealization etc. etc. immediately after talking to a psychiatric and she blaming my underline anxiety the cause of my problems I started the long way of getting rid of all medication that although was for a short time and low doses made me suffer so badly. Unlike you I was able to keep my job but not exempt of suffering and long cry spells.

I'm still no out of the woods. I had to reinstate do to a supplement that I took that send me to hell again but I'm tapering again and hopefully get rid of this poison.

I still don't know if it was the benzo or the Cipro or both that placed me in this hell. Most doctors are misinformed about the aftermath of taking this two drugs.

Hope you continue improving even more. Any comments will be appreciated.

Miguel

 

 

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Thank you for writing this. I have been dealing with a number of similar symptoms for a long time now, nearly 17 months. Crying spells, depression, DR/DP, and many of the others you described.  I can relate to needing to go to your car to cry during work. I feel like crying every day at work but I've been able to maintain a job throughout this. Anyway, thank you for providing some hope as I near two years off.
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Congratulations 🎉🎊🎈🍾

Now go and live life as it should be lived. No chemicals running around the brain 🧠.

I’m getting close to complete healing myself and hope to write my SS before long as well.

The SS stories are PROOF that we heal from this and I’m now a believer.

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It's so great to see you getting better Badben, I know how rough it has been and I related to all of your posts when I was in the syndrome.

 

One thing that is interesting is that when I was suffering in PAWS one of the symptoms is not being sure that this is really still withdrawal or something else. I questioned my health and sanity regularly and often could not accept that short-term use of a benzo could do this to me.

 

Now that I am outside looking back, I am 100% sure that what I went through was PAWS!

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Thank you for returning to share your good health and well being. Congratulations! It's an awful trek and you did it finding deep strength and happiness on the way...so happy for you!

 

I am always saddened when I read that doctors denounce the relationship between benzodiazepines and withdrawal syndrome. Mine did too and finding your way through this mess on our own is terribly difficult. Thank goodness for on line resources and support.

 

Wishing you the very best and again, thank you for your encouraging words.

 

Carita

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Can I ask how you know you were floxed?? I'm torn.. I had a tooth abscess last year, they also gave me cipro. I also had a major life event happen so my anxiety was so high. I got on klonopin for 2.5 months and tapered off.. I'm 7 months off now but I get horrible waves of fear, not being ok ever again.. I just feel mentally ill... now I'm not sure what the cause is...
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  • 4 months later...

Hello

Tha ks for writing success story. Can you please elaborate more on head pressure,what does it feels like and how kind did it lasted. Head pressure is my last remaining symptoms

 

Thanks

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Reading success stories makes me cry every time. The only thing that gives me a shred of hope in this dark world we are stuck in. Thank you for posting.
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Thank you for your story of hope. I had a huge bad reaction to an antibiotic about 15 months ago that totally derailed my recovery. Absolutely horrid. Can I ask, did you have bad waves all the way up to the end? What did your healing look like? Did it just all go away one day? Thank you again. Go enjoy that life of yours!
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  • 1 month later...

similar story but without the floxed issue, did you stay on an AD at the end? just wondering  bc on tapering the K, and on celexa unfortunately

 

thxs for sharing :smitten:

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[15...]
No two time lines or people are the same.  We all heal differently.  It's in the Ashton Manual.  You can't compare two people, Medical histories, medications life circumstances and history.  Try to not compare yourself to anyone else.  You are healing.
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  • 4 weeks later...

I cant believe that I almost didn't come back here to write my success story. Like many others I just wanted to move on from this.

I wanted a substantial amount of time to go by healed before I posted, because I didnt want to have to come back and retract my success story.

 

I have been out of PAWS since February 10th so i am over 6 months healed.

I was in withdrawal and PAWS for 2 years. The worst 24 months of my life by far.

 

My story is similar to LOTS of folks, so I knew I had to come back and write this

It started with being Floxed by a flouroquinaline antibiotic in the Summer of 2016. It led to panic attacks that I eventually went to my PC about. She immediately suggested Celexa and Klonopin (to help 'get on' Celexa) which I did not tolerate. In her attempt to get Celexa to work out I ended up on Klonopin for 6 weeks every day, and my symptoms got worse.

My PC insisted it was safe to take klonopin this long and wanted me to try other AD's

 

That's when I found this site after Googling (finally) Benzo withdrawal and I knew I was in trouble.

 

I wanted to taper although it had only been 6 weeks and my PC and the pharmacist assured me I could just stop.

I ended up doing a rapid taper of 3 weeks from 1.5 mg down to 0.

At that point my symptoms flew off the handle; insomnia,nightmares,DP/DR,Fear,Depression with crying and SI,tinnitus,extreme weight loss,head pressure ect....sound familiar?. I couldn't walk to the end of my block while in acute.

 

I lost my management position, and had to take several LOA's from work. Just humiliating trying to work crying in the bathroom and my car.

My wife and family were so upset that I wouldnt 'snap out of it' although they did get educated to PAWS and were there for me

 

I saw so many doctors and specialists and had so many different tests that came back normal although I felt like I was going to die. I was diagnosed with sudden onset GAD. I said NO WAY! I was sure it was the Klonopin and they all said not possible.

 

I knew I was in PAWS and on my own, so I really tried to do everything I could to stay alive;

 

-working part time was so hard but did help me

-Low glutamate diet was very helpful

-low stress was a must

-nature and exercise. Lots of both

-human contact, especially someone else in PAWS

-Baylissa and Jen's sites and sessions

-Meditation and mindfulness, luckily I was not a stranger to this

-therapy and CBT very helpful

 

I am healed. I have not had a single moment in PAWS for over 6 months, and to be cliche I will say that I am happier than I was before, more grateful, and I actually think the syndrome made me stronger.

 

My good mood and good nature are back daily, my stress threshold is normal.

 

I can eat anything now and I have most likely had MSG without any effect.  :)

 

It is now like a dream and oddly seems like just a weird blip in my otherwise great life. weirdest thing ever.

 

I wanted to give back to those who are still suffering. Know that healing is absolutely possible. read my posts and if it sounds like your story, take heart in the fact that I made it and feel great every day now after being sure I could not go on another day.

 

I will be checking this post and my inbox for a little while to give any support or answer any questions.

 

Thanks for being here BB.  ;)

 

Thank you for sharing.

I'm in hell and have had some close calls to ending my suffering. It just seems like I'll never heal.

I need stories like yours even though I still doubt my own healing m

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  • 3 years later...

Hello everyone

 

I wanted to come back to this forum to support anyone any way I can.

 

You can read my story, in short; Short term Klonopin user but had multiple issues, so I went into a 18 months terrible withdrawal and stabilized the first time at about 24 months.

 

Unfortunately after a year stability, a loss of job and my wife and home made me tumble back into a 6 month relapse. It has been over for 2 solid years with no signs of returning so I still say I am HEALED!

 

I had ALL of the symptoms and ended up in the ER and Psych ward like we all do.

 

I believe in Benzo withdrawal. I think it effected some celebrities and others I know in my life and I want to focus on being a conduit for those at the darkest moments to know this is survivable.

 

Inbox me and I will get back to you

 

Stay Strong!!!!!!

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Congrats on making it through

 

I have very bizarre mental symptoms like visual flashback (non ptsd) could be just me shopping and brain will conjure own images n thoughts... I'm very scared. Do u know of anyone with these symptoms?

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