Why does benzo tapering cause breathing difficulties for many of us?

I've had problems with breathing difficulties throughout my taper and was just wondering if anyone knows the science behind why benzo tapering causes breathing difficulties for many of us.  Is it b/c it messes up gaba receptors that regulate breathing?  Even though I've been dosing twice a day for a while now, the breathing difficulties have suddenly gotten worse.  About 2 to 3 hours before my evening dose, I feel severe breathlessness which only gets worse if I try to walk or move around.  I'm soooooo done with this crap.......I just wish it would be done with me....ugh !! :sick:

I don't know the answer but will keep reading.

Same here, just going up the stairs make me feel out of breath.

It seemed to be worse on Ativan than on Valium for me at first. But now it's starting up again...

 

Benzos cause autonomic dysfunction, if you google it along with benzo buddies you'll find tons of posts on it. It currently affects me, alcohol withdrawal did the same thing to me too.

Hi Time,

 

What is autonomic dysfunction?....and is there anyway to make it stop?

Hi Time,

 

What is autonomic dysfunction?....and is there anyway to make it stop?

 

Here's some info that explains it better than I could - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysautonomia

 

If you have a blood pressure/heart rate monitor you can do some tests on yourself. Take your blood pressure/heart rate laying down (you must be laying down for at least 15 minutes and try and be still before you test),  then take it standing. If your heart rate jumps more than 30bpm from laying to standing you have something called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia this is very very very common for anyone on benzos, I suffer from it and sooooooo many others on here do.

 

This will cause breathlessness, dizzyness, heart palps among other things because your blood starts to pool in your legs, your brain realizes this and signals to your heart to start pumping blood back up towards your brain. Sometimes people faint from this depending on the degree of how bad it is for them.

 

If you do have postural orthostatic tachycardia there are other medications you can go on beta blockers etc... most are going to make you feel like crap almost like a benzo would -fatigued, depressed... etc. You also usually have to taper off those.

 

You can try and do what I'm doing, which is the no medicine route up your salt intake a lot, drink a lot more water, make sure you're getting potassium, do what exercise you can, even if it's just laying down and doing leg lifts etc. Walk around more even though it's hard, deep breathing exercises, etc.

 

It know how bad it sucks to feel like that, it was one of the reasons I got put on benzos because I realized I was constantly holding my breath, I always felt out of breath.... the benzos helped in the beginning and now they don't and it's only 2 months later.

 

It will stop once your brain heals.

 

Wow! Thanks for the explanation I had this when I was in tolerance only I never knew what it was. My Dr wanted me to see a cardiologist but I never went. To give you all some hope, I'm 5 months out and don't have it anymore. I feel for all of you, its very scary. Hang in there!

Wow! Thanks for the explanation I had this when I was in tolerance only I never knew what it was. My Dr wanted me to see a cardiologist but I never went. To give you all some hope, I'm 5 months out and don't have it anymore. I feel for all of you, its very scary. Hang in there!

 

That's good to know, I catch myself holding my breath all the time now usually when sitting or standing. It is what caused me from sleeping during alcohol withdrawal too because I would end up holding my breath as I was drifting into sleep...so very very annoying and scary!

it's also good to point out if you are going to talk about postural orthostatic tachycardia, bradycardia, hypotension, hypertension, that it is pretty normal in most human beings ...... does not really cause the breathing problems most of us have..... especially since we are resting and still have the problem. postural orthostatic is going from laying down to standing up and only lasts a few seconds til the body regulates ..... a lot of physics involved but is mostly nonsense , especially on wiki

 

many things cause breathlessness during benzo tapering , from acid reflux causing it, to panic/anxiety, also the diaphragm is a muscle which is effected by the lack of gaba , as well as the lungs themselves.

 

my blood pressure is perfectly fine while laying down and suffering from breathlessness. pretty sure i narrowed it down to acid reflux though.

 

 

 

 

to sum it up. most docs will just DX anxiety/panic because truthfully there are about 24 physiological roots that could cause this symptom and the tests and time are too much to get a specific answer ....

 

 

it's also good to point out if you are going to talk about postural orthostatic tachycardia, bradycardia, hypotension, hypertension, that it is pretty normal in most human beings ...... does not really cause the breathing problems most of us have..... especially since we are resting and still have the problem. postural orthostatic is going from laying down to standing up and only lasts a few seconds til the body regulates ..... a lot of physics involved but is mostly nonsense , especially on wiki

 

many things cause breathlessness during benzo tapering , from acid reflux causing it, to panic/anxiety, also the diaphragm is a muscle which is effected by the lack of gaba , as well as the lungs themselves.

 

my blood pressure is perfectly fine while laying down and suffering from breathlessness. pretty sure i narrowed it down to acid reflux though.

 

 

 

 

to sum it up. most docs will just DX anxiety/panic because truthfully there are about 24 physiological roots that could cause this symptom and the tests and time are too much to get a specific answer ....

 

My blood pressure is normal when laying down, sitting, and standing but my heart rate increases by 30+bpm upon standing and moving around makes it even worse. Because of this it does cause breathlessness because my heart is working overtime, it's the same as if you were running.  I also have a pretty high heart rate laying down and I've noticed that when it is higher it causes me to hold my breath/feel out of breath etc.

 

What you are describing is just exactly that, that the benzos are affecting the autonomic system

 

"The Ashton Manual" by Heather Ashton, 2002

 

BENZODIAZEPINE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS:

 

INDIVIDUAL SYMPTOMS, THEIR CAUSES AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM

 

 

Heart and lungs. “Palpitations, pounding heart, rapid pulse, flushing, sweating, and breathlessness are usual accompaniments of panic attacks, but may occur without panics. They do not signify heart or lung disease but are simply the expression of an overactive autonomic nervous system. Slow deep breathing and relaxation, as described under panic attacks, can do much to control these symptoms. Do not worry about them: they would be accepted as normal if you were running for a bus, and will do no more harm than if you really were!”

 

 

Here are some links that might interest you guys:

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=9620.0

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=78173.0

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=79760.0

 

Breathing difficulties are a problem I experience as well that usually calm when I practice diaphragm breathing.  It's important to try not to hyperventilate or chest-breathe, which only enhances the physiological symptoms of shallow breathing and anxiety further.  Another theory I've come up with is that the scalene muscles can get taxed heavily from shallow breathing and become shortened from the tension of withdrawal, especially the anterior group located right behind the sternocleidomastoid muscles on both sides of the neck.  Very gentile massage of these muscles may provide some relief, but be careful to avoid messing around with the carotid arteries if you try this route.  The scalenes serve as respiratory enhancers not designed to carry the load of normal breathing.  It's akin to trying to support the weight of a bowling ball with a wet paper towel.

 

There are so many ways benzos mess up the system.  Hang in there.  This is a symptom that is manageable maybe more than others.

Very good explanations as to the physiological reasons why this happens. Just thought I d share a story that happened to me before I realized benzos were my issue. Most people know I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia by now....misdiagnosed as it seems. But there was one time when I forgot my meds (xanax and tramadol) and I was out of the house. I figured I d be ok until I got home. By the time I was driving home I thought I was having a heart attack and couldn't breathe. I made it home somehow, sheer willpower, crawled to my br and took my meds, thinking that was the issue. I layed in a fetal position for an hr till they took effect. Now remember, I thought I had fibromyalgia, so I thought my fibro had exacerbated bc I didn't take my meds. Now I understand I went into hardcore wd bc it had been almost 24 hrs since my last xanax. It's scary!!! I thought I was dying. I get the syx. I often wonder if a person just waits it out how long it would take for this syx to subside on its own??? When I begin my taper again I don't want to be taking rescue doses to combat this so just wondering if this syx does resolve and how long it takes to resolve.

That's why you got to go realllll slow. So you can catch it and adjust. By either rescue dose or hold.

If there is one thing I know for sure: faster is backwards in benzo land.

I am reviving this very old post. I am going through the breathing issues again right now. I had a nightmare this morning and woke up and had trouble breathing. I immediately took my dose and it is alnost gone.

 

This symptom was worse on Clonazepam, but I still have it off and on with Diazepam. Its a very urgent feeling and each time I think I might die! I also have a tight pain on my right side with it.

 

Anybody else on here in 2018 with breathing issues?

I have breathing issues also.  Just walking to the mailbox or my car and I can’t breathe.  Also when it's getting closer to dose time again I cannot breathe .  All I can do is stop, sit and take deep diaphragm breaths and out my nose

I have breathing issues also.  Just walking to the mailbox or my car and I can’t breathe.  Also when it's getting closer to dose time again I cannot breathe .  All I can do is stop, sit and take deep diaphragm breaths and out my nose

 

I wish I could breathe deeply! Though sometimes if I sit down and breathe from my belly  it seems to help. I hope it goes away! I noticed it gets worse when I get a cold or the flu, or that time of the month

I keep worrying it's my heart.