My experience and tips on how to beat benzo withdrawal!!!

Hi all,

I am writing this post  with the soul purpose to help and give tips on how to overcome and get through benzodiazepine withdrawal, also a brief note on my experience through the process, I am a 25 year old male from Australia, in good health:

 

It has taken me three attempts:

 

1st attempt: Cold turkey from 15mg/day for approx. 2.5 years usage, went 11 days before relapsing.

 

2nd attempt: Tapered from 20mg/day for approx 2.8 years usage, tapered over 8 weeks to 0mg and got to 30 days before relapsing.

 

3rd attempt: Tapered from 30mg/day for approx. 3.2 years usage, tapered over 16 weeks to 0mg and currently 113 days free from all benzodiazepines and cross tolerant drugs, except alcohol. I stuck to the planned taper and didn’t up my dose or pause at all.

 

Final Taper:

WEEK 1: 30mg/day for the first 4 days then 50mg/day the final 3 days of the week prior to rehab, took extra because I knew I would cop alcohol withdrawals, bad idea, the drop from 50mg to 20mg was horrendously painful.

WEEK 2: 10mg AM and PM (20mg total/day)

WEEK 3: 10mg AM and 7.5mg PM (17.5mg total/day)

WEEK 4: 7.5mg AM and PM (15mg total/day)

WEEK 5: 6.25mg AM and PM (12.5mg total/day)

WEEK 6: 5mg AM and PM (10mg total/day)

WEEK 7: 5mg AM and 2.5mg PM (7.5mg total/day)

WEEK 8: 2.5mg AM and PM (5mg total)

WEEK 9: 10mg/day AM and PM (4mg total)

WEEK 10: 10mg/day AM and PM (3mg total)

WEEK 11: 1mg AM and PM (2mg total)

WEEK 12: 1mg day AM (1mg total, only took for 3 days so ended taper 4 days early)

WEEK 13: 0mg (Omg/day)

 

In this stage I was also drinking alcohol heavily (not in the third taper until approx. 30 days post taper) and in the first 2 tapers I was abusing methamphetamine, A-Typical Anti-Psychotics (Quitiapine, Olanzapine, for sleep, low doses) opiates and smoking cannabis. I was also popping Alpazolam, Etizolam, Clonazapam and various other benzos at points.  Most of these substances made for an unnecessarily worse withdrawal experience.

 

Quitting benzodiazepines has been the hardest, gruelling, most twisted experience of my life but if you hold in there you too will get through it and come out of a very strong person. I seriously considered suicide at some points and you may too, but hold in there and those feeling will pass.

It took me three attempts, I hit rock bottom, lost everything within the space of a month and I also ended up in rehab, benzodiazepines being the only drug I couldn’t kick out of the ones I was taking.

 

Rehab was a horrible place for withdrawal, unqualified and uneducated staff in drug detoxification, having to go to N/A and A/A meetings every night which I didn’t want to, also dealing with a lot of unfavourable characters in there, was not a fun time to say the least. The only good part was exercising.

The third attempt I had a “do or die” attitude towards and I beat them and feel tremendously strong for doing so. I am actually happy I suffered so hard from withdrawals because it means to me that there is a 0% chance of relapsing because it was that horrific.

 

I am still getting minor withdrawals; this could be due to occasional binge drinking though (1 to 3 times max a week, getting better with it now though).

I would say that the worst part of my withdrawals went through to approximately 60 days after the end of my taper and for another 30 days was about 75% as intense but it is getting better now.

I still have minor insomnia, mild depression, anxiety, brain fog and a bit of muscular pain and other strange bodily sensations but nothing worry as they come in inconsistent waves, all pointing to Diazapam withdrawal.

 

The worst withdrawal symptoms were: Delirium tremens, severe fever (only on one occasion, 14 days after end of taper), suicidal thoughts, hallucinations, depression, panic attacks, constant anxiety, muscular pain, insomnia.

 

I had many more symptoms but would be here for days listing them, there were so many of them.

I found the irritation and the thought that I had permanent brain damage the worst though.

 

I won’t go any more into how bad withdrawal was, but you have to take the positives from it if you had a withdrawal as severe as mine was, such as:

1. Any other problems in life will be no where near as bad as withdrawal in comparison.

 

2. You are a much stronger person now and if you made it through this, you can make it through anything.

 

3. Your body and mind has been in complete disarray and you have managed to get through it, just say you were stuck in desert or something and starving, dehydrated, etc you have now been in a similar state and functioned so you could do that again now!

 

Some things that really help through withdrawal are:

 

1. Think of any withdrawal symptom as a “wave” of electricity from a “power station” as such, yes the symptom(s) will be there in full swing but there is not enough “electricity” to power the symptom(s) for ever and they WILL subside no matter what, it may be 10 minutes it may be 10 days, but they will DEFINETELY pass no matter what.

 

2. Come up with phrases such as “this too will pass” and “no dark without light” etc to assure yourself that there is light at the end of the tunnel and these symptom(s) will pass.

 

3. Get healthy! When I was going through taper/withdrawal it gave me the chance to focus a lot more on my health. I already ate quite well but was in quite bad shape from substance/alcohol abuse. Going through withdrawal is a great time to focus on your health, since I was unfit from withdrawal to be able to work, I decided that if I focus on my health, then hey, at least at the end of the day going through withdrawal won’t be a huge chunk of my life loss, I would have gained something great at the end!

 

Whilst I was in rehab we attended the local gym/swimming pool in the morning every day  and where I finally stared lifting weights which I’ve always wanted to do but didn’t exactly have the confidence to do before, especially in anxious the state I was in prior.

This has really kept me on the straight and narrow now, going to the gym 6 out of 7 days a week, lifting weights mostly and also running, etc.

 

I am now in great shape and most of this was achieved during withdrawal so I have utilized that time to gain something great for myself instead of just lying around sleeping and withering away all day.

I cannot stress how thoroughly important exercise is to get through withdrawal, the first two times I thought “yeah, I’ll just sleep through this all to make it pass quicker” I was wrong.

I felt like I was just wasting away and no life running through my body again, which is what you are after just lying in bed and eating junk food all day.

 

If you feel too anxious to leave the house, be in a public place, etc as your levels of anxiety will be increased then try to walk around the block or to a less populated park or somewhere, put your headphones in and listen to some music that you like.

If you can’t leave the house then get a skipping rope or something, watch some yoga videos and do some exercises, all of this will help your well being and also reduce muscular pain as you are moving around.

I cannot stress how physically and mentally better exercising will make your withdrawal and at the end you will of gained better health and be in better shape also improving your confidence!

 

I found that a high protein, low carbohydrate diet worked well for me through withdrawal but this is how I eat normally regardless. Make sure to eat lots of vegetables and limit processed foods as your body is going through enough already and doesn't need to process extra rubbish.

All of this diet/exercise, whether it was placebo or not helped significantly as when you go for a jog or drink a healthy fresh juice you concentrate on that positive energy and nutrients replenishing your system rather than tainting it with drugs and other foods filled with toxins, your body and mind is going through enough already so give it a break and treat it well!

 

Be sure to indulge in some treats though, ice cream can do wonders.

 

4. Drugs/Supplements: I will list any psychoactive substance, supplement, etc I ingested whilst in taper/withdrawal and list there cons/pros, I am a very susceptible person to placebo so some of these may just be just that, a placebo effect.

 

Alcohol: This should be COMPLETELY avoided during acute withdrawal as alcohol is a GABA-a antagonist therefore it is cross-tolerant with benzodiazepines.

Drinking booze during benzo withdrawal is like rubbing sandpaper on a wound and expecting it to heal. I have an alcohol problem, I don’t drink every day, but sometimes I have trouble stopping and alcohol has made each of my withdrawal attempts absolute hell. I found that alcohol temporarily made my symptoms go away, but when it wore off I would be in a much, much, much worse state than I was prior to the first drink, at points when the alcohol wore off I would literally be lying in bed kicking, screaming and violently shaking wanting to die, literally.

 

After being addicted to benzos you run a much higher risk of becoming dependant on alcohol and you don’t want to swap one demon for another, Iv’e been through alcohol withdrawal too and it too is hell, similar to benzo withdrawal. When your brain has stabilized a bit better then try having a single drink if you must, wait till the alcohol wears off and see how you feel, if you can have a few more drinks and wait till the alcohol wears off then that may be fine too. I have noticed at some points in withdrawal that Iv’e been able to go out and drink 14 or so beers, then wake up with a “normal” hangover and be fine, other times Iv’e had 6 beers, woken up and been in hell again. I think that alcohol at different points of withdrawal has a much more horrendous effect when it wears off and these times aren’t necessary when you can “feel” the withdrawal more or less, just random times.

 

So in summary, stay away from alcohol and give your GABA receptors a rest and heal.

 

Cannabis: Early in withdrawal cannabis raised my anxiety levels and delirium, later on in small doses it really helped relax my brain and boost creativity. There are many different strains of cannabis and THC acts with a very varying array of effects on the human mind  so be very careful.

 

A-Typical Anti-Psychotics: I tried Seroquel (Quitiapine) and Olanzapine (Zyprexa) during withdrawal in an attempt to sleep and curve withdrawal hallucinations/psychosis. Sure, it helped zonked me out, but instead of helping hallucinations the anti-psychotics just made me feel more disoriented and this class of drugs usually has a huge array of side effects which you don’t wont, I’d strongly suggest to avoid anti-psychotics at all costs unless you are prescribed them for another previous condition.

 

Anti-Histamines: I used Doxlamine Succinate and Promazathine to get to sleep during my insomnia episodes during withdrawal. Promazathine made my skin crawl for some reason and the Doxlamine Succinate has a much more sedating effect so this was quite good during an insomnia episode and didn’t carry too much of a psychoactive effect other than sedation, I dosed between 25-75mg for sleep. Anti-Histamines can induce a delirium effect if taken in moderate to high dosages so be very careful with these, overall I would recommend these only for insomnia if you really need to sleep and are having trouble, start with a low dose as always to test the waters.

 

Beta-Blockers: I used Propranolol HCL for part of my withdrawal to ease the physical symptoms of anxiety, I found it did absolutely nothing for the mental withdrawal symptoms but it did help a bit with sweating, pins and needles, etc. I used dosages between 10mg-30mg.

 

Methamphetamine: Avoid this at all costs, comedown was hell and anxiety through the roof. Bad idea.

 

Caffeine: Try to avoid, one cup of coffee prior to exercise in the morning was OK, but elevated anxiety levels quite significantly and made me very shaky.

 

Valerian root: Tried this approx. 60 days post taper, at first made me anxious then very sleepy and relaxed, completely lost its effect the second time I tried it so gave it a miss, Valerian also acts on GABA so avoid, it may help you after acute withdrawal though.

 

Taurine:  I found Taurine to have a very sedating effect at around 1000mg-3500mg. Taurine also helps the body with reaching homeostasis so I think it is a good supplement from my experience only, I am not very knowledgeable about this compound so consult a professional first.

 

Multi Vitamins: Probably a placebo effect, but I found a multi-vitamin a day to help quite well, can’t hurt and in found a multi complex B-vitamin to help the best.

 

Opiates: I tried Oxy-Codeine, Codeine and Tramadol, helped with pain management from muscle pain and headaches but elevated anxiety when they wore off and I felt uncomfortable from being high and stuck on the couch from them, bit of trouble with breathing, probably just anxiety though. Opiates are not to be messed with so I’d avoid these at all costs:

 

NSAIDS: A dose of an anti-inflammatory such as Meloxicam (Mobic) helped quite well with muscular pain in a dose of 10mg-15mg a day. No noticeable negative effect from these.

 

Paracetamol: No negative reactions, mildly reduced headaches but pretty useless in my opinion.

 

5. Distractions: A great way to not concentrate on how much your brain is raping you:

 

Movies: Best to watch happy comedy movies or nature documentaries, try to avoid horror movies and negative films, I found through withdrawals I would get obsessive, repetitive thought patterns and watching anything negative or disturbing would tend to circulate in my head more than anything positive.

 

Music: Listen to whatever you like to listen too, each to his/her own with music, music is a great way to get your mind off of things and can divert negative thought patterns.

 

Books: Reading is always good to get the imagination going.

 

Cleaning/Grooming: During withdrawal I was quite frantic and always looking for something too, a great idea is to always keep your room clean and keep it as your safe haven, I felt that that there was a much more positive energy around me when I kept everything around me clean and in order rather than disarray, treat your surroundings with care and they will treat you with care back.

 

Have lots of bath showers, shave, keep clean, etc. This made me feel fresher and also kept me distracted from withdrawals; if you feel dirty the withdrawal symptoms will feel worse in my opinion. At some points I was having 3-8 baths/showers a day, also helped with muscle pains and is relaxing too. Try some Radox muscle soak or Epsom salts to reduce muscular pain if needed.

 

Exercise: As previously mentioned, this  and eating well are your BEST friends during withdrawal and I believe I in no way would of made it through without these two things, better than any supplement/drug to get you through the trenches and to the sunshine on the other side.

 

Sex: I unfortunately had no girlfriend at the time and was too mentally unwell to go out and meet any girls in the state I was in but this would also be a great distraction.

 

Art: Drawing/painting was a great distraction, I actually came up with some pretty cool work during the twisted state my mind was in.

 

Socialising/Friends/Family: Always good to have a support system going on and talking to other people is one of the best distractions, catch up with friends/family and do some easy activities, cook some dinner, take the dog for a walk, watch a movie, play some pool, etc.

 

6. Attitude/Taper: Try to think from a scientifically point of view when going through withdrawal, you WILL get better and the withdrawals are a sign that your brain IS healing and all of your receptors ARE working still.

 

Don’t fight the withdrawals or they will eat you up and destroy you, it didn’t help me and just led to relapsing the first two attempts.

Just let them pass, I got to a point where I was hallucinating so badly that I saw demonic looking shadows everywhere and I just sat there and ignored it, earlier I had a mild hallucination of a flicker in the distance and I freaked out and had a full blown panic attack which I could of avoided.

So research into the neurological/scientifical side of benzo withdrawal and learn that you are HEALING and the withdrawals are a sign of that.

Trust me you will feel a lot more at ease when you come to understand what is going on, learn all of the symptoms, you won’t find all of the symptoms on the Internet easily and they will come and go whenever they please at different intensities, it is a completely non-linear withdrawal process and it best to understand and not freak out, I would only seek medical attention if you have delirium tremens, seizures or psychosis.

 

Having a hard time is inevitable during benzo withdrawal and calling an ambulance will most probably state in re-instatement of benzos. Consult a qualified psychiatrist, not a normal run of the mill General Practitioner as they may taper you too quick and are generally very unknowledgeable in drug detoxification.

 

Be completely honest about your usage to the Psychiatrist, keep in contact with them and come up with a taper plan and stick to it. It is OK to pause on a dose until you adjust, but never go backwards or “cheat” by taking a higher dose when things are hard.

I found taking my dosages split into 2, AM and PM worked better than when I was taking just a single dose to taper. So do your research and find a proper, qualified psychiatrist, not a typical doctor, stick to your taper, go forwards, pause if needed but never go backwards.

 

Each time you go through a withdrawal of a Gaberenic drug, I.e. barbiturates, benzodiazepines, alcohol the next withdrawal will be more severe, I tapered longer in my third and final attempt and it was 10 times worse than the ones where I tapered in a much more rapid manner. Also take note that previous usage/abuse of Gaberenic drugs (cross tolerant substances) will intensify your withdrawal, my binge drinking over the years and multiple quitting attempts made the withdrawal much worse in my opinion. So if you drink, try your hardest to cut it out whilst tapering and going through withdrawal as you will only lower your chances of beating withdrawal, I have been a quite heavy drinker (binge drinker, not daily) for years and I abstained completely from alcohol for 78 days and would of no way made it through if I didn’t do this, was hard but well worth it.

 

 

SUMMARY: Drugs are bad m’kay and peace and good luck, you can do it, just believe in yourself! : )

 

I'm also more than happy for any one to message me if are having a rough time through withdrawal and need any advice/someone to talk to and I hope I can give something back and give help to who ever needs it! : )

Wow thats a lot of great info but it scares me.  I am about to enter some sort of a rehab facility probably long term to get me off the benzos as I am not able to do it at home. I just went through a horrific alcohol detox so it does really worry me that this is going to be the fight of my life. I feel like I will be safer in a environment with people there to keep me alive though.

Reece, since your from Australia did you like to drink goon?

Wow thats a lot of great info but it scares me.  I am about to enter some sort of a rehab facility probably long term to get me off the benzos as I am not able to do it at home. I just went through a horrific alcohol detox so it does really worry me that this is going to be the fight of my life. I feel like I will be safer in a environment with people there to keep me alive though.

 

Wishing you well when you enter the rehab facility.

 

Will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

 

Please keep in touch here at BB.

 

Great post Reece!  I needed to read this today as I'm two weeks post jump and my fingers and hands were not responding well to my thoughts of moving them properly today. Scary but I didn't panic and it passed in a few hours. This journey is unbelievable.

Wow thats a lot of great info but it scares me.  I am about to enter some sort of a rehab facility probably long term to get me off the benzos as I am not able to do it at home. I just went through a horrific alcohol detox so it does really worry me that this is going to be the fight of my life. I feel like I will be safer in a environment with people there to keep me alive though.

 

Wishing you well when you enter the rehab facility.

 

Will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

 

Please keep in touch here at BB.

 

 

Oh thats an old post. I did go to rehab got cold turkeyed almost lost my mind ended up in the hospital and had to reinstate.  Most painful and horrific experience of my life.

Reece, since your from Australia did you like to drink goon?

 

My god, that just made my evening!  I prefer crying while laughing my a$$ off to just crying!

Thanks so much for the excellent info, especially the info regarding alcohol.  I am only recently learning about how evil alcohol can be.  You have been through so much and being only 25 makes it that much more disturbing.  Take care and thanks for sharing.

Reece

Great words of wisdom! I thought exercise was a lot of help in my healing process. IMO, rehab facilities are bad places for most people getting off benzos.

BART