Benzos are ruining lives in Europe too

Hi everyone!

I joined Benzo Buddies on behalf of my 25 yr old son, Dominic, who CT’d off Benzos (Alprazolam) and other recreational drugs nearly two years ago. He’d been taking Benzos for over a year and even snorting it in the end. 

After a horrendous week of CT with acute psychosis he was back to his old, pre-drug self again.

This only lasted two weeks.

He then withdrew completely from society and was incapable of doing anything for himself. No-one had a clue what was wrong with him. We had diagnoses ranging from depression to schizophrenia to just plain lazy.Months went by with no sign of improvement.

It wasn't until we discovered the Ashton Manual that we realised his symptoms were probably BIND.

We feel very helpless and alone with this because there is NO-ONE here in AUSTRIA, who seems to know anything about post-acute withdrawal from Benzos.

Reading ‘The Waiting Room’ put us onto your amazing forum. It is sooo good to know there are others out there, going through the same.

Would be interested to hear from any European members.

 

Hello Unconditional Love Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

 

We're very glad you’ found us.  You are very welcome here and thank you for joining in support of your son. Yes these drugs ruin lives all over the world but we do get better.  Dominic has learned the hard way (ouch I do feel for him) that a cold turkey is not a recommended way to come off benzodiazepines, slow taper is the way to go.  Stopping abruptly brings  on severe symptoms..  Withdrawal symptoms are temporary and do go eventually but can take a long while to settle down.  Let Dominic know that he will recover with some time.  You will find plenty of information here, and lots of support,  please post questions for members to respond.

 

I  am glad you found the Ashton Manual, I found it very reassuring. It helps in understanding the effect benzo’s have on our body.  It provides withdrawal information and includes a list of common temporary symptoms 

 

I will leave a couple of links to resources:

 

The Ashton Manual

 

Post-withdrawal is Recovery Support

 

Cold Turkey, Detox& Rapid Withdrawal

 

What’s happening inside your brain

 

Four Phases of Withdrawal-Where Are You?

 

Members can respond with the best information if they know your sons medication history.  Go to the top of the page and select PROFILE then choose forum profile then insert drug history into the text box and remember to click change profile

 

Welcome aboard

Magrita

Hi I'm Coco, also 25 yo and in Europe. No one understands here either. I ended up on clonazepam through a therapy center recommending it as a safe sleeping aid (I still cannot believe it! And that therapy was crazy expensive and ruined my life more than what I went in for). Went to ask the GP with my dad in October what it was and whether it was safe. She just prescribed it without info. Took for 12 days and then lowered by 40%. In hell since then and still not even halfway yet.

Has he seen improvements the past two years?

Coco.. hi

So you took benzos for only 12 days and you're struggling? I'm just making sure I'm reading it correctly. Wow if so!! I took diazepam for 4 weeks and CT on 1st Jan, still suffering but not as bad.

Yes, I'm extremely unlucky. My story is insane. I had minor ear pressure difference after diving abroad and the ENT put me on prednisone for two weeks!! For minor ear pressure difference. He said it was safe to go to the mountains (it wasn't because I felt I lost a tiny bitnof hearing in my left ear). My GP at home made me take it longer for the flight. I was apparently at quite high dosage 40 mg for three weeks. Then she tapered me with methylprednisolone in 1 week time. I was already vomiting and not sleeping and quite impulsive before that taper and then I got very loud tinnitus. I went to an ENT and he said I was fine and my tinnitus wasn't real tinnitus and that I was just psychologically stressed. I went to two other doctors and a neuroscientist. None explained me cortizone, they all just said stress. But cortizone is stress!! They said I should get therapy so I went to a therapist and he said I should take sleeping meds but I told him I was uncomfortable with that. So I went crying to my GP that I didn't feel like myself and she probably realized cortisone but she kept quiet and just made stupid comments. She had first said drink alcohol and painkillers for sleep (bad advice but wish I hqd just stuck to that) and then I said "this therapist is pushing me on sleeping meds but I just don't understand why I'm not sleeping" (it was not just the sound of the tinnitus, insomnia is apperently very common in cortizone withdrawal, I was also very hyper 24/7 and obsessive/impulsive but no one noticed). She prescribed me halcion and said "not to get stuck on it". The pharmacist called me I was too young to take it and that the dosage was never seen before that she prescribed so I obviously didn't dare to take it. I went to another therapy center, specialized in tinnitus under a prominent professor in audiology for CBT, and I told the audiologist the story and she recommended rivotril! I was not really looking into it as I gave up and was like "I'll sleep when I'll sleep" but then some brain scan said my brain was anxious and depressed (no surprise there also common withdrawal from cortisone but I didn't really feel depressed just down) but my dad freaked out and wanted to go back to the GP to discuss it. I was still angry at her but I gave in in going to ask for information. We were in her practice and my dad expressed his concerns and we had some ideas for treatment (one of them that therapy center) and I had told her I didn't dare to take the halcion as it was habit forming. And then she got a bit upset so I was waiting for her reply. And then my dad asked "this therapy center recommends rivotril, what is it? Is it safe?" and she lost it and said "if you want rivotril, you get rivotril" and she gave it without any info at the same time that I was saying I didn't want to take anything affecting my CNS. Then the other pharmacist didn't say anything. The psychiatrist giving me sick leave encouraged taking it a long time and that it was safe and the audiologist also said in another meeting they recommend taking it for some weeks. So I was stupid and I did because I had 3/4 sources. I felt in a thick fog though and it knocked me out immediately so it was very stupid not to realize it definitely wasn't safe. I felt the electricity in my head go off day 5 but didn't realize and then some minor symptoms started. After 12 days the GP suddenly told my dad I should lower and cut me by 40%. I almost died. It's been hell since. All I wanted was CBT and meditation and relaxation exercises which the two therapy centers supposedly offered. I don't believe in therapy anymore. It was expensive and I was willing to work on myself taking time off and going for meditation and so on for something that was med induced already actually, and I ended up on an even worse drug against my specific request. Somewhere in there an ENT also prescribed me zolpidem after me saying I didn't want anything habit forming like halcion and she said "I'll give you something similar" so also knew not to take that one. But really didn't expect benzos or z drugs after refusing similar ones. So very disrespected by the medical system. I'm very sensitive to all hormonal stuff / meds and my GP knew. It's awful. She should have said it wasn't for sleep and it was from the same group and that the therapy center didn't seem a good option. But she didn't. And now I'm extremely damaged at 25 for no reason (like so many of us the reason was not worth being prescribed this) after less than 2 weeks. I wish I had realized what cortisone was but there was a huge language barrier with the initial doctor. I would have asked for other options and delayed my flights and not gone to the mountains. All doctors failed me, not just one (If I had gotten to 0 like the doctor told me to after those 12 days I wouldn't be alive right now.) Obviously my dad very much regrets freaking out and even asking the doctor. It was a very rational question asked at a very wrong time to a wrong person and it destroyed his daughter. Should have acted on the weird gut feeling that something wasn't adding up. I was on the verge of figuring out the cortisone was still the issue although I had stopped taking it more than 6 weeks before. So very sad timing. I was bedridden for three months. Now I'm able to eat and shower and go on small walks but suffering I am.

So I think already being damaged from cortisone withdrawals made this also a lot worse! So sad. Because those symptoms I was managing and it was difficult and being around me must have been difficult because I was so hyper all the time but it seemed faster and more linear progress possobilities. Because now from this huge extra shock I have damage that seems more than just withdrawal so it seems it will take a lot longer to settle again.

 

You are lucky, Birdypie! Hope it keeps improving fast. (I guess clonazepam might also be worse than some others in how it affects the receptors.)

So sorry to hear your story. Yet another case of being let down by the medical profession.

Dominic is getting ever so slightly better. He spent the whole of last year confined to he house with hardly any contact. Now he can face the odd outing and agrees to see doctors.

Although recovery is painfully slow, it does gradually get better. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Good luck and hope you get your life back.

I highly recommend The Waiting Room by Jennifer Swantkowsk, who had a similar journey to yourself.

Good to see his improvements. Thank you. I am indeed just waiting. Sorry for hijacking your thread btw. It must be hard as the parents. My parents are suffering immensely because of this and the trust they put in our GP to respect my wishes.