Diphenidol for dizziness?

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum and asking for my son who suffers from health anxiety and gets triggered by any search online.

 

The thing is, we're thinking he might be having benzo wd. He was prescribed Clonazepam for a few months when he was 18, then again at 21 (tapered very slowly, even slower than the dr directed).  He also took sertraline around 13 yo (I think) and then from age 18 to 21 (up to 150 mg daily). He also very slowly tapered that off over a year ago, took his last dose in April.

There were no clear physical side effects from the taper, however he had very strong mood swings in July. In October he went to the ER with palpitations and was prescribed clotiazepam.

 

I'm thinking this triggered something because he began to suffer from fatigue and dizzy spells and an increase in health anxiety. He only took 2,5 mg as needed (once every other day mostly) but over 2 months, which amounts to 22 pills of 5 mg. His last dose was around 10 December, he didn't do a taper because he never realized this was necessary, no one told him.

Anyway some days later the dizziness increased and has him mostly bedridden. Last week he began to feel a bit better (although he had some palpitations) but this week the dizziness is back again. Other symptoms are mood swings, headaches that come and go away suddenly, light and sound sensitivity, seeing different hues with each eye, sensitivity to touch.

 

An otoneurologist suggested he might have ventribular migraine and prescribed diphenidol (for the dizziness) so he might do some tests. Our concern is diphenidol can cause anxiety, vertigo, hallucinations and whatnot, so not really a safe idea at this moment. Meanwhile, the dizziness is really extremely uncomfortable, luckily my son is on summer vacation atm (we're in the southern hemisphere) so he could just wait it out but he's tempted to take anything to get rid of it.

 

My questions are:

1. Does this sound like benzo wd? The dr sort of dismissed that possibility

2. Any experience with diphenidol or any medication for dizziness?

Thanks for any insights!

 

 

The problem with benzodiazepine withdrawal dependence, tolerance, withdrawal and recovery is it mimics many other conditions, diseases and illnesses so we’re constantly getting diagnosed and medicated for them when its usually the drug and it goes away when we recover.  Then the problem becomes we’re now on a plethora of other medications with their own set of side effects and most require a taper. 

 

I hate to see your son go on another medication which may cause his already sensitized central nervous system problems.  The biggest contributors to increased symptoms severity in my opinion are stress, other medications, supplements and alcohol. 

 

However, if you and he are convinced this is what your son has then I don’t want to stand in the way of him getting relief but it makes me nervous.

Thank you so much for your reply, I hadn't seen it before!

 

You're right, throwing other medications into the mix will only confuse things and add more problems, atm I'm very wary of trying out new things. The day after the visit to the dr my son developed m. jerks and this served as a confirmation that he is Indeed having wd. It's very frustrating that the dr just brushed away my concern that this had something to do with the benzos, and it didn't help with my son's health anxiety.

I think he's feeling slightly less bad than some weeks ago but it's so slow and the windows are so brief that it's hard to remain calm at times.

 

I've been reading a lot about the topic trying to educate myself and my family, it seems everyone around me is on some benzo or antidepressant, shaking my head at the irresponsibility of the medical community, wishing I hadn't been so trusting.

 

 

I’m relieved you’re educating yourself and providing that knowledge to your son, its so important to have support when we’re going through this because our cognitive functions are compromised and it’s difficult to grasp what’s truly happening to us and why.

 

The progress we make is so slow and almost imperceptible so it’s important to document our symptoms and their severity.  This is sometimes the only way to see our progress because the drug lies to us and tells us we’re not improving and will never recover.  Many members have contributed to this thread.  Benzo lies that have been busted

Just to second what Pam says- I am not anti drugs at all, but if he can manage the symptoms without resorting to other meds, that is obviously better. I have used cinnarizine 30mg, which is used for travel sickness, in attempt to control the dizziness I get from cold turkey high dose benzo withdrawal, but although some people have said it helps them, personally I am not convinced that the benefits were much better than placebo effect. I find that, for dizziness, daily practising of relaxation techniques and lying down horizontal whenever possible help, plus ensuring I wear the right corrective lenses! I have hypersensitive ears for certain frequencies too, which also can effect dizziness and balance, so I use industrial ear defenders whenever possible, which provides me with instant relief from dizziness. Mind you, I am old, so I don't give a damn what I look like, if you are younger, you might feel a bit self-conscious going around with ear defenders on your ears! But they definitely improve my dizziness. Very best of luck with it, and hope your son overcomes the symptoms soon.