Jump to content

How can I help?


[...]

Recommended Posts

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum, I came here because after a long time of uncertainties I think my son is going through benzo wd. He was prescribed Clonazepam in 2018 and again in 2020, which he stopped using after a relatively fast taper led by the dr.

 

Simultaneously he was taking sertraline (from 2018 to beginning of 2022), up to 150 mg daily after starting with 50 mg. The dr just kept increasing the dose whenever he had any symptoms (gi troubles, náusea, mood swings). He stopped the sertraline after a very slow taper, slower than the dr indicated because we had read about the dangers of doing it too fast.

 

Anyway, in July this year he was going through very intense mood swings, anxiety, palpitations, suicidal thoughts and ended in the ER in October for the palpitations where they prescribed clotiazepam 5 mg daily. He didn't take the full dose, only 2,5 mg (which I see now was a mistake) and only as needed. He took a total of 22 pills throughout October and November, the last one (2.5 mg) must've been around 10 December (so 44 doses of 2.5 mg).

 

He had bouts of dizziness as soon as he began taking the clotiazepam only we thought it was some virus because they never tell you about these side effects. It has been about a month after his last dose and he's been having ongoing dizziness which lifted a bit last week but came back with a vengeance this week. Also very strong mood swings, crying spells, some hair loss and something like electrical shocks since yesterday.

 

It has been a confort to find this forum and finally understand what is going on with him, some months ago I came to wonder if he was going mad. But my concern is if these symptoms can get worse and what to do?

I think at this point he's already going through a c/t and not sure if it's worth it to go back to any benzo, as he's had such bad symptoms on them.

Should he just ride it out and how can I help him?

I've been trying to learn as much about this so I can at least comfort him when he's having health anxiety, I gave him a weighted blanket which seems to help with sleep but I don't know how else I can help.

For those of you with this experience, how would you have wanted your loved ones to help you?

Is there something I can do?

Any insights are greatly appreciated

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m working on helping my wife taper as well. All the side effects you mention my wife is going through as well. She’s tapered from 0.5mg/day to 0.25mg/day in 7 weeks. If you can coach him into being patient I would highly recommend you do that. My wife hates having this stuff in her and has pushed to get off asap. If you are overwhelmed with the tapering process and can afford someone to coach you son through the process I recommend you do. Find a psychologist who understands this stuff and understands the challenges with Benzo withdrawals.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you so much for your reply and I'm sorry you're going through the same. I'm finding it very scary, especially the jerking which I'd never seen before. My son gets freaked out by palpitations, which had disappeared for a while and took him by surprise when they came back.

I understand your wife wanting to get off them asap and I don't understand why they even prescribe benzos so freely. Feeling very guilty for not questioning this earlier but then all around me I see people taking antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication like it's part of a normal diet.

Sending you and your wife strength, hopefully we'll get through this as peacefully as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Bmom,

 

So sorry for this difficulty he's having. How old is your son?

It looks like it's been a month already since his last dose so you might be better off riding it out at this point, rather than reinstating, especially b/c he wasn't even taking it every day. But 2.5mg Clonazepam is actually a lot of drug. By Professor Ashton's math, it's equivalent to appx. 50 mg of diazepam. So it's no wonder he's feeling so bad.

 

Do you see any improvement at all since Dec 10?

 

open road

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Openroad,

Thanks for your advice, I was also thinking it's better not to reinstate but I'm so insecure in this situation it's good to have someone else confirm that.

He is 22, always been into a healthy lifestyle, no drinking or smoking so it's quite unexpected to realize he's in wd from something we never knew could be so harmful.

It's hard to say if there's any improvement now that the jerking started a few days ago, it's very uncomfortable and scary (especially for me), but looking back I think he was feeling worse in December when he wouldn't leave his bed, now he gets out now and then to walk around a bit.

He looks very sick and pale though.

The thing that has improved is that he seems more stable emotionally, which is very positive. Last year he had extreme mood swings and episodes of what I suppose could be described as hysteria, together with anxiety and depression and just completely losing the ability to think rationally. He would've panicked with symptoms like these, now he seems to accept them more.

Of course it helps that now he can at least understand what is wrong with him, this forum has really been a Godsent, I can just imagine all the stress from consulting one specialist after another, all the exams they'd ask for. It would've been completely useless, I know.

Anyway, thanks again, it helps to know someone is listening.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a very hard decision about whether to reinstate or not. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I actually did reinstate about two weeks after accidentally ct-ing. I was in horrible shape. For me, it helped me stabilize and then I spent the following year tapering off a very low dose of medication. Generally, it's suggested that if you reinstate, you do so sooner rather than later and on the lowest amount of drug possible.

 

But it sounds like you and your son are leaning toward trying to ride this out. I hope his more severe symptoms abate soon. This is a terrible place we find ourselves in. Thankfully he's young and has many years ahead of him. He will heal.

 

Sending lots of care to you,

open road

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...