NAD+. Hope, for the hopeless. I'm free.

[[Buddie]]

Big, deep inhale. And exhale.
I'm free.

Dear friends and fellow sufferers.
I was once a very lost soul. Lost in the dark, with dark and evil thoughts.
I went through something so foul, so menacing, so depressing, I'm amazed I'm still alive.
Personally, it took me a long time to work up the courage to come back on these boards.
To me, it gives me PTSD, as I was in dire straits, death's door for over 2 years at the age of 30.
But to tackle PTSD, one must face the same fears if they can to make progress.
So here I am.

I'm alive. I'm thriving. I'm in college again. I drive again. I go to the gym. My life is pretty much back.
I just got out of surgery for my gallbladder. I'm on day 3 post op. I had zero benzos. My surgeon, nursing team, and anesthesia Dr. were incredible. They totally understood my previous benzo usage, and accommodated with perfection.
My heart rate never went above 80 bpm. My blood pressure never went above 150/85 at my worst pain.
I knew that if I got through my surgery, I was officially over withdrawals. I'm glad I got it out, it was an emergency. I wasn't full of stones, but it was spewing out so much bile at random times and heavily scarred so it had to go. So far, all is ok. I take a quarter of one 5 hydrocodone pill a day, which is nothing.

I have crazy extensive medical knowledge, 4 years of pharmacology, advanced paramedic, in school for Dr. of Occupational Therapy, and I couldn't figure out the benzo situation.
I couldn't taper once I got to 7.5 mg valium. I got stuck and suffered everyday.
Suicide, which is so hard to talk about, seemed like my only option, and I had one failed attempt.
But I didn't die. And I'm so glad, because life is great again. Even post op in pain.
Because I have what may people don't, a new lease on life.
I told everyone around me, I've been through hell. Benzo withdrawal is way worse.
Now, pregnant ladies told me gallbladder pain and removal was the worst they ever experienced. And it was terrible.
But benzo withdrawal was way worse.
It was really nice to be treated so nice in my own hospital room, as opposed to a psych ward which was one of the worst experiences I've ever dealt with. What felt even better was post op questions. Do you feel depressed? Nope! Do you want to hurt yourself or anyone? Nope! They said I was one of the most chipper patients they had. All due to the hell I went through.

I could go on and on about my experience with withdrawals. I did and do so much to help myself.
The hard part for me is telling you all how I got free, because many of you likely can't afford it.
I go lucky, real lucky, and had help. But it was investment that paid off fully.
I got free from a great NAD+ center here where I live in San Diego for 15 full days for $20,000,
the longest a patient had ever stayed there. My roommate was there for xanax, I was there for valium.
I'm now officially 5 months clean and free. It's been over though since just about month 3.
NAD+ works wonders and I fully support it. It has so many uses just besides the anti aging benefits.
I know I wouldn't have made it without it as I was dying. I had labs done at the center first thing from a great Nurse Partitioner who is now my GP, I love this woman. Those labs I hold in a folder next to my bed. They showed my body was shutting down. I could't detox from the valium and it was building up to lethal levels inside of me. The long half life just kept stacking up and it slowed down almost every important process in my body such as thyroid, eye sight, metabolism, kidney function, liver function, testosterone, cholesterol, CRP or inflammation markers, heart issues, gallbladder, and many more. I was in fact, dying. I had to tell my family that I was dying at age 30, it was horrific. But I did feel validated. I knew that what was going on, a human being should not be going through. I had fought medical professionals for 2 years, saying I felt like I was dying, only to be told I was making it up, regardless of my medical background. But the professionals at the NAD+ treatment center fully understood and dealt with my type of issues everyday of every week. I was one of the worst cases of course, because of the inability to clear drugs effectively. On my gallbladder surgery the surgical team had to pay special attention to how much drugs I got because of the drug clearance issue. But like great professionals, everything was calculated down to .01.

I leaned heavily on God, my wife, my best friends, my family, and kept the future in my front pocket. I made so many goals, starting small then progressing to bigger and bigger to show I was still capable of making progress. Supplements were key, water and hydration was key, sleep was key, low sugar and carbs was key, my sunlight depression lamp is key, plant and lean protein diet is key, meditation and prayer is key, and my puppies are key. I have so much to say honestly. But I'll stop it for now as I need to [...] for my post op. I will log on every so often then next couple of days to a week to help or ask any questions you all need. I understand all of this vey well, and understand neural chemistry quite well now.

I love you all. Don't give up. Life is capable of being good again, even better because you will appreciate it so much more than before. There are so many people that care, I care, you just got to find the right team. God bless. -Fishy, Jameson

[[Buddie]]

So glad for you fishyfish! 

[[Buddie]]

Congratulations! Exactly what supplements did you take?

[[Buddie]]

Congratulations on your story of recovery and freedom from benzos.

I've read a lot about NAD+ and wish I had the $20K to do the program because I would pay for it in a second.
I am a journalist and writer and wish I could do the NAD+ treatment and write an article about it so more people knew about it and at the same time I could shed a big light on the benzo withdrawal syndrome as it is a very secret world that exists in the shadows - thank God for Benzo Buddies because if many people didn't find this site, so many would suffer and be lost. I know tons of people in NYC and LA and beyond who pop benzos and sleeping pills and have for years and have no idea about the damage they do or withdrawals.

Your story really is great - thanks for sharing it.

[[Buddie]]

Amazing story. I wish a centre like this existed where I live.

I believe that some of us can't be on these, drugs, taper or no taper, our bodies can't handle it. NAD is a [...]. I believe that we need to explore other avenues for healing, like NAD. Thanks for sharing.

[[Buddie]]

Hi fishyfish,
Congratulations! And best wishes on your continued recovery post-op. Can I ask, please, how long were you on benzos in total, which one(s) and at what strength? What were some of your symptoms? Did you have any dizziness/disequilibrium (i.e. like being on a boat)?

I'll look up NAD, as I'm not familiar with it at all.

Congrats once again, and I wish you all the best!

[[Buddie]]

What is nad plus? Also, your wd was more extreme due to your gallbladder?

[[Buddie]]

[...]-

I take a lot of supplements. I'm not being prescriptive, this was just me and my research combined with medical advice.
A good methyl multi for mthfr, fish oil, iodine, selenium, zinc, pumpkin seed oil, turmeric + cur cumin + bioprene, kefir, whey protein, low dose naltrexone, mood boost probiotic, digestive enzymes, vitamin d3 with k2, broccoli sprouts pills, vitamin c mega dosed, colloidal silver, Pro Boost, vitamin a, vitamin e, creatine, glucosamine and msm, quercetin, zma, colostrum, dim+, tribulus, and many more. I start everyday with celery juice, then kefir, then lemon water with cayenne pepper, all timed appropriately. It helped out my immune system and blood pressure really fast. This is only what I do, not suggesting anything. Except getting tested to see, and definitely d3/k2.


[...] 2-

I was on benzos for just about 2 years total. Ativan first, then switched to valium and tapered until 7.5mg and got slammed literally. Stayed on 7.5mg for over a year. My symptoms were extreme depression, massive weight gain, crying spells, vomitting blood, losing eye sight, sleeping 18+ hours, sweating a lot, manic episodes from anger (not bipolar), inability to talk about anything else,
blood pressure spikes, stopped driving, and yes the awful floaty boaty feeling that didn't leave until month 3 post detox. I didn't pee clean until end of month 2 post detox to give you an idea on the half life build up.

Per all 3 of my Dr's. and the medical text they showed me, valium especially but all benzos cover serotonin and dopamine receptors as well as gaba, so it induces depression. Meaning it is the drug that causes a lot of the depression, it is not selective only for gaba. Actually, klonopin has mild serotonin/anti depressant properties as well, so it is capable of causing even more depression upon withdrawal. In my heart I knew it was the meds. Always trust your instincts. But don't wait to get help, anti depressants do work for lots of people, just do your homework and see if they are worth it to you. My Dr's. are great, because I researched to find the best. If I started medication they gave me baby doses and slowly built me up and checked in frequently. A little bit of Zoloft for a month brought me out of suicide when I was trying to taper. Remeron helped me sleep and keep me calm, I'm on one 15mg pill and tapering down with success so far. A half of 25mg Atenolol before bed stopped any heart stuff or thought of panic. Not all drugs are bad, but all drugs should be taken with extreme caution and education. Always ask, always research.

[[Buddie]]

Thanks for filling in the gaps, fishyfish! I'm glad it's working for you.

[[Buddie]]

Hey [...]!

You helped me so much before. Always thought about you.
I don't think it was worse due to my gallbladder, it didn't really surface until about 2 months ago. Benzo withdrawal likely messed it up though. Because I was throwing up so much for 2 years, I think my gallbladder just went ka-putt.

NAD+ is really complicated. And I mean REALLY complicated. If you know science or biology at all, you know it's part of the Kreb's cycle and important for production of ATP, but it's much more than that. I would suggest immersing yourself in research like I did. Basically, your mitochondria, the basis of your energy and so much more, is fueled by NAD+. It lessens as life goes on, and alcohol and many drugs can lessen it drastically. On benzo withdrawal, your human body is like a dying car battery, car batteries have cells inside them just like us. Your battery is physically depressed and is operating at minimal capacity due to an external force i.e benzos. NAD+ comes in and jumps starts the battery and removes the external force (benzos) giving new life. Very simplified way of trying to describe it.