Is this "normal"?

Gah! This is so discouraging! A week or two ago I felt great! Now I feel awful. I haven't changed my dose but I've gotten worse. Is this just how it works? I wake up feeling really awful! Then I seem to improve through the day, then get worse again in the evening. I get really bad muscle pain/tightness all down my spine, to the point I really can't function. I took Advil for it last night--but is that a bad drug to take? I also get this "buzzy" headache, ringing ears, and nausea. I keep feeling like I'm coming down with something but with the symptoms I think it's w/d.

 

I wonder if hormones are part of the problem. I'm overdue--my cycle had been so crazy the last couple of years. This past fall/winter I pretty much skipped my period for four months. Then in Jan. & Feb. it went back to normal. Now it's "missing" again. I get the feeling that if I would just have a period, I would feel much better.

 

I'm due for another cut but I'm scared to do it. Will I feel better or worse? I guess no one can know that for sure. That's what it is about this that sucks so much! Not knowing what to expect.

What you are going through pretty much sounds like w/d to me. It is true enough that benzos can wreak havoc with hormones, but hormones can also wreak havoc on their own. If it were me I would have a little blood work done specifically addressing the hormone issue - I would get my levels checked just to find out what is going on. During my taper I thought that a lot of what was happening to me was hormonal, but the tests showed that it was not. This knowledge in itself really helped me deal with the w/d symptoms as I now had a firm answer for what was happening to me.

I did go to my gynecologist but he didn't help much.  He basically said "you're not ovulating regularly" but didn't really seem to care much as to why. I had my FSH and LH levels checked twice, a few weeks apart. I was told the first test said I was perimenopausal, but the next said I was fine. I should probably call and get a clarification.

 

There is another doctor I've had recommended to me that might be better for figuring out hormones. I might give him/her a try.

 

It's just so frustrating 'cuz it's so hard to know what is causing what.