feels crazy to be writing a success story 3+ years

[[Buddie]]

Can u explain what it was like around sounds and lights and in public?

about 6 months off light sensitivity and sound sensitivity got increasingly worse for the next year or so. it was pure hell. i couldn’t be in a car at night. i’ve had to put sunglasses on and tuck my head in between my knees until i got home because i couldn’t handle the lights. i remember when it first hit me, me and my friends were playing mario kart on rainbow road and each lap felt like 20 minutes because i was trying to hold in the anxiety internally. i was so dizzy and felt like i was going to convulse. there would be nights ~2 years off that i would try to watch a few minutes of tv and then go into a full blown panic attack and have to calm myself because i couldn’t handle the sounds or lights. it did get better even before the lexapro. over time I was able to handle more lights more sounds more smells but it definitely was not 100%. i was in the thick of it around 1.5 years off xanax but over months it got better, and slowly i was able to go back out and do things though i was not 99% until i started the lexapro

[[Buddie]]

thank you to everyone who is posting such kind things. it truly feels like ptsd coming back and reliving the nightmare that was benzo withdrawl but knowing i could help even one person makes it worth it.

[[Buddie]]

Congratulations on your recovery!!  Live your life to the fullest!!  Enjoy!!!

You give me great hope that I will someday recover too and be normal again.  May I ask how long it took for you to regain your sleep and what helped?  Anxiety and insomnia are my lingering issues.

[[Buddie]]

Congratulations on your recovery!!  Live your life to the fullest!!  Enjoy!!!

You give me great hope that I will someday recover too and be normal again.  May I ask how long it took for you to regain your sleep and what helped?  Anxiety and insomnia are my lingering issues.

i’m not sure if you’ve heard of cbd but i started taking cbd gummy bears meant for night time to aid with sleep, and they knocked me out when nothing else would lol and to this day i do still take 1 per night to help with my sleep. if you’d like to know the product just message me and i can link you. other than that i really would just try my best to wear myself out by walking around the house when i could and at night i’d just lay in bed until i finally fell asleep. some nights i would only sleep for an hour or two but over time it got better. wishing you the best 

[[Buddie]]

Few last questions..what did the head pressure feel ljke and when did it go away? With lexapro?

[[Buddie]]

I loved your success story! Congratulations and wishing all good health and lots of laughs and happiness.
Can I ask you about food sensitivities and headpain?
I’m 3.5 years out benzo and almost 2 years out remeron. Still very very sick with head scalp pain and basically still spending most of my time on couch crying with pain and anxiety
Can’t eat any high histamine or high glutamates food.
How was this for you.?
When is your head symptoms get better? Did u able to take Tylenol or Advil or any supplements?
[...]

[[Buddie]]

Happy for you lexapro worked wonder!

I would say this is a treatment success rather than healing success story. Not everyone can have the same results from using another meds for bwd unfitunately. But as long it works, it is great!

[[Buddie]]

Happy for you lexapro worked wonder!

I would say this is a treatment success rather than healing success story. Not everyone can have the same results from using another meds for bwd unfitunately. But as long it works, it is great!

i’m sorry that you felt the need to comment on my success story the way you did. i suppose we can agree to disagree on what the term healing means to each of us. I spent 3 years with no medication slowly getting better and becoming somewhat functional. the time i’ve been on lexapro i’ve still had to work through many side effects to get to the point i am at today. so this is my success story, not what you want to define it to be. it took a lot of struggle to get here and i’m someone who made it with help or not.

not everyone may have the same results, were all different human beings but this is my story and how i healed.   

[[Buddie]]

Few last questions..what did the head pressure feel ljke and when did it go away? With lexapro?

the head pressure was the first and last symptom to go away. one of the most intense ones as well. I could barely walk sometimes because of the intense pressure. it was always in different areas of my brain ranging from headband pressure to intense pressure on the lower back parts of my brain. i used to get terrifying brain zaps as well.

I do not and will not suggest anybody to go on antidepressants or whatever medication. do in depth research and choose what is right for you. the head pressure was mostly gone before lexapro but still lingered around that time of month or on days where i felt unwell

[[Buddie]]

I loved your success story! Congratulations and wishing all good health and lots of laughs and happiness.
Can I ask you about food sensitivities and headpain?
I’m 3.5 years out benzo and almost 2 years out remeron. Still very very sick with head scalp pain and basically still spending most of my time on couch crying with pain and anxiety
Can’t eat any high histamine or high glutamates food.
How was this for you.?
When is your head symptoms get better? Did u able to take Tylenol or Advil or any supplements?
[...]

I can’t describe a specific point the head symptoms went away, just over time i focused less on them and over time i realized most of it was gone. my food sensitivities kept my diet very strict. I couldn’t eat processed foods, they would make me extremely ill. no chocolate sugar or caffeine or id go into full blown panic attacks. at some point i was drinking strictly hand made smoothies and eating mostly whole foods and uncooked vegetables.

my food sensitivities got better over time. i couldn’t take a sip of coffee to being able to drink small coffee drinks and eating foods out etc. i do believe the lexapro eliminated the last of the sensitivity’s because for the most part i can eat whatever now. though i do still react to terrible foods such as kfc, mcdonald’s etc and too much caffeine (like 3 espresso drinks) sends my brain into over stimulation mode even to this day so i basically only drink 1 drink or none at all