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Canadian Eh? Pre and post withdrawal support


[Ki...]

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I viewed a recent study regarding Benzo Buddies which showed Canadians represent 9% of the members here. I thought it would be nice to have a place for fellow Canadians to go to support each other through withdrawal and recovery. Maybe advice on benzowise doctors, benzo's in Canadian news or support group awareness? Or we could just complain about our really cold winters  :laugh:

 

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Canadians 🍁

 

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Hi Kiddo.

 

Just checking in after not being on here for a while.

 

-25 degrees.celcius today here...not including wind chill.  But the sun is shining in my  window.

 

My doc previously practised in the US.  I wonder how many others he has quickly prescribed ativan to? 

 

Cheers.

 

Domestic Advisor

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[75...]
Go Canada!!! I live in the national capital, so if anyone needs a benzo-wise doc in Ottawa, feel free to PM me! My psych ja very knowledgeable.
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Hi DA - nice to see you!! How are you feeling these days? You've always been an inspiration to me. My favorite post of yours was when you went to Canada's Wonderland and ride a coaster with your son. That was the day I knew you were almost healed  :smitten:

 

Orion - I had no idea you were Canadian!!! Awesome. Nice to have you here  ;D

 

I've seen quite a few articles written up about benzo's but all the publications were U.S. - does anyone have any links with Canadian publications?

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Canadian news article from The Globe and Mail:

 

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/despite-risks-sedatives-called-benzos-widely-used/article13482915/?service=mobile

 

Data compiled from Health Canada’s public database of adverse drug reactions suggest that four of the most commonly prescribed benzodiazepines – lorazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam and diazepam – have been implicated in nearly 200 deaths in the past decade.

 

This is likely a conservative number, as experts estimate that only 3 to 5 per cent of adverse reactions are reported.

 

“People are on these things all over the country,” says Dr. James Silvius, a University of Calgary professor who specializes in care of the elderly.

 

“We need to have conversations with prescribers about these drugs and how they’re used. But the biggest conversation we need to have is actually with the public, to get perceptions changed that these are safe drugs to take.”

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Canadian Women's Health Article:

 

http://www.cwhn.ca/en/node/39526

 

If you or someone you know is possibly addicted to sleeping pills or tranquilizers, contact: 1-888-818-9172 for more information.

 

*I'm going to call this number today and see what kind of information is provided. I'll keep you posted.

 

 

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Hi Kiddo:

 

I am doing pretty good.  When I do have a sxs, I shake my head.  The brain zaps especially.  Today I woke up really early and nauseous..

Another one of my old sxs.  Crazy! 

 

My sister in law started going through anxiety issues this fall and ended up in emerg. Doc wanted to put her on ativan.  Fortunately she saw what I went through and said no.  I am thankful by being vocal and educating others with what we went through, just maybe others won't have to suffer.

 

I was reading your blog today.  Glad you could take a trip south.  Every step out of the house is climbing upwards and out of this misery. May 2015 be a wonderful year for you!

 

Domestic Advisor

 

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This article is fascinating, and not in good way. In 2013 Health Canada investigated 151 medications that were implicated in adverse drug reactions and the safety review was never published.

 

http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news/canada/2014/04/12/star_obtains_list_of_redflagged_drugs.html

 

 

Amongst some of the drugs listed:

 

Benzodiazepines

Seroquel

Cymbalta

Fluoroquinolones

 

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Hey Kiddo,

great idea, it will be interesting to find out how many benzo victimms are canadian.

 

Oh Canada!

 

I will read your posted articles later and add some myself as I come across them.

 

You are an inspiration Kiddo, not that I haven't told you that before,

 

devotionally yours,

Beth

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[75...]

So what are we all gonna do for Canadians once this is over? :0 We aren't all gonna just heal and only provide support for those already on benzos, are we? I'm thinking of dusting off my PR diploma and kicking B. P.'s ass!!

 

....And I will be a total bitch princess while doing it.  :smitten:

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I'm in Orion. I'd like to at least do a documentary or something. The way the ice bucket challenge brought ALS to the forefront makes me think social media is a great way to start.
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[75...]

I'm thinking of talking to my psychiatrist who understands and doing some type of educational seminar. I don't think benzos should be banned, as once upon a time ago they saved my life. But, I do think they should be used only in acute situations. Like flying, or after someone's first panic attack.

 

But, the word needs to get out of the big pharma sales reps are not doing their job properly.

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Hello Kiddo and fellow Canadians.

 

I am just finished a hellish seven day wave.  Today I woke with only minor nausea.  Not too bad. :smitten:

 

Went to a local broomball tournament for a quick visit on the weekend and ended up winning a raffle draw.  Two tickets to a play!!!  I am excited! 

 

Off to Blue Mountain tomorrow for a school ski trip with my younger two who are 13 and 15.  So glad my wave hit last week and not this one.  Should be a fun day for all on the slopes.  I do enjoy the four seasons but the past couple of years have found winter a bit of a drag.

 

Cheers and blessings to each of you!

 

Domestic Advisor

 

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I'm glad your on the mend DA. I'm sorry to hear you had another wave. Do you mind me asking what symptoms you experience in a wave?

 

Blue mountain sounds fun. I hate winter, but we go to blue mountain a lot in the to go tree too trekking. I'm looking forward to getting into that again.

 

:smitten:

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Hi Kiddo:

 

Good to hear from you.  Tree top trekking sounds cool.  I want to go to Collingwood this summer and try ziplining.  We are only two hours west, so it is not too far for a day trip. 

 

Last weekend I awoke around three am with my heart pounding like crazy and nausea that reminded me of morning sickness.  Then I felt panicky. This was every day last week.  Exact same symptoms I had near the laat month before I jumped from ativan.  Also zaps like my brain and body was short circuiting and the top of my head felt like fire was coming out of it.  Not to touch...just inside my head.  Also I was so tired that I had no energy and wanted to sleep all day.  So different than the adrenalin rushes of a year ago at this time. Felt pretty jumpy and depressed also.  So crazy!!!  Before ativan I was the happy go lucky one in the crowd all the time. Now my windows are getting longer..but those waves hit hard.  Then I wonder what else is wrong in my body.  I am thankful for this place to vent and share...then I feel normal.

 

Cheers!!

 

Domestic Advisor 8)

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  • 3 weeks later...

I noticed that this thread hasn't been active for a coupla weeks or so, but hope that it continues. Count me in as one more Canuck who is a benzo battler; most previous posters seem to be a lot further along in their journeys...inspiring to me at this point.

 

It seems (from what I've been able to find), that aside from this BB, Britain and maybe Australia have the most developed national/regional program protocols for dealing with the veritable tsunami of people struggling with benzos.

 

I'm an hour or so away from Toronto, and managed to get in to CAMH (the old Queen St. facility, now an evolving/aspiring world class mental health 'campus') for an assessment last fall. The med student who took my info was great, and I was impressed by the addictions specialist doc I saw.

 

I would love to go back on a regular basis, but winter and transportation challenges have put that plan on hold for now; I do hope to return in the spring. In the meantime, I'm lucky enough to have a GP that is cooperative re: Ashton. But I sure envy those folks in Britain able to access med staff and groups who are totally benzo savvy.

 

In all my i'net searches, I've yet to come across any sort of benzo support group or whatever??, anywhere in Ontario-let alone more remote parts of the country. I guess a person is just fortunate if they can find any sort of at least semi-informed help.

 

It would be great if we could keep this thread going, and share any assistance/info/experiences we've had. If I was 'further along,' and had more chutzpah right now, I'd go around carrying a huge sign with "Beware Benzos!!!" emblazoned on it.

 

Over the past couple of decades at least one person has attempted to have legislation re: dispensing of benzos changed in Parliament, but nothing has really changed. Even when one of Harper's MP's in Sask. committed suicide last year, everyone chose to focus on the fact that he suffered from depression...when the poor guy was also on benzos-that fact was just glossed over as irrelevant.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if enough grass roots support for benzo reform met with enough political/medical will to actually effect some real change? How many of us are out here with minimal help, trying to feel our way through the huge challenge of getting off benzos?

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Hi Bab,

 

Thanks for reviving the thread and welcome to the club no one wants to be in. I agree with everything you stated in your post. Yes, it would be nice if there was a "meeting of the minds" of medical/political powers....but unfortunately doctors are well intentioned but misinformed and politicians have "bigger fish to fry". Not that I plan on giving up. I don't want to remain silent about these drugs. Once the worst is over and I have the stamina to see something through I'd like to try and make an impact. I don't know how yet, but it's definitely a goal.

 

I'm an hour North of Toronto.....what direction are you in?

 

Nice to meet you  :smitten:

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Hi Kiddo (et al., eh). Thanks very much for the welcome to this thread, and also to the sooo not fun benzo club we are such extremely INvoluntary members of, grrr. And yeah, all the political/medical lack of will and info when it comes to benzo awareness sure is frustrating; it's hard to believe the first studies to link benzos with addiction came out around the early 80's (or so?!), and look where we are today  :crazy:.

 

If it was general knowledge that smoking wasn't such a great thing by the late 50's/early 60's, it seems it took around 20-30 years to really see a dramatic shift in laws and attitudes; the idea of driving drunk has gone through a similar metamorphosis over the past few decades. So why are people still getting hooked on benzos in such numbers? Why aren't there HUGE [literal] warning signs all over the place?

 

Benzos look like such harmless little pills-maybe they should each be the size of a pizza, to emphasize the power of the lil' suckers?!  Somehow, there's GOT to be some way to power through the self-interest/inertia/ignorance and get a "Beware Benzos" sort of campaign with some real traction.

 

Maybe we should um, invent, a benzo-meth connection, or benzo-heroin or ??? Or chain ourselves to the Parliament buildings, or have sit-ins in provincial and federal offices of health ministers? Seriously, I think obnoxious noise may be the only way to go; we've just been too polite, and easy to disregard.

 

I'm not eager to have family/friends etc. see me on the news or whatever (ewwww!), but if that's what it takes, I may be up for that some day; I've worked in journalism, so at least I have a bit of insider knowledge. For now, all my energy is going into working my way off this insidious stuff, but it's looking like such a long term project that maybe I won't wait to take at least some modest steps towards benzo awareness.

 

Don't want to be all talk and no action, but I think it'd be great to at least kick around even fantasy! ideas re: the above. What's that Margaret Mead quote..."Never underestimate the power of a small number of people to effect positive change" or something like that?! I really hope we can keep this Canuck Connection going; I know I'm a total newbie here, and I know we all have our journeys to navigate and times we just have to take care of ourselves.

 

But at any given time, there must be a number of us who can keep fanning the flames of benzo awareness/reduction etc. I guess that's my rant quotient for now...oh and btw Kiddo, I'm about an hour and change west of TO. Here's wishing strength and [at least eventual] serenity to us all.

 

                                                                      Bab  :thumbsup:

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Since it looks like our Canuck thread has been a bit quiet for a few days, just thought I'd stop by and say 'hi'-and I hope everyone's taking it one day a time, doing as best we each can (both weather wise, and in our benzo journeys). I'm not the hugest fan of heat and humidity, but with all the snow in S. Ont. lately, it makes a person reconsider hibernation as an option; I've spent some really coooold years in N. Ont., and out on the howling prairies, too, so I'm not merely a 'southern [Canada] softie.

 

Everything just seems so much more difficult with the cold and snow, especially if something like flossing your teeth feels like climbing Mt. Everest. Right now getting started for the day for me is akin to getting an unplugged car engine to fire up after a -20 night, as in ick/bleah. Once I manage to extricate myself from a warm bed, I find it's best to simply try not to think at all, until I can manage not to feel like total shite.

 

It's all very well to do the 'cognitive behaviour therapy' positive self talk and all-just not for a while. Put one foot in front of the other/dress/feed animals/eat etc., until grim inertia can be overcome and I feel at least quasi-human. Right now my main sxs are a sort of back neuralgia(?) i.e. hyper dorsal ganglia or something, and sweats throughout the day and night.

 

On the bright side, one can save on heating bills (even the cats give me resentful looks re: the lower temperature as opposed to previous years), and it's a snap to cool off simply by opening a window. The fact that for the past few months my sweats have been enveloping me at regular 3ish hour intervals is a tad exhausting; on the other hand, it takes away the bother of checking one's watch or phone to a large extent. Wow, how lucky can ya get?!

 

 

 

 

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Hi Bablatrice,

 

You aren't kidding.....brrrrr!!!! I also lived in northern Ontario for a long time, and tell you the truth I don't remember it being as cold as the last couple winters here in southern Ontario. Maybe it's because I was younger and didn't mind....who knows. All I know now is that I avoid going outside now at all costs. I need to live somewhere that the air doesn't hurt my face when I take out the garbage  :D

 

Where are all the fellow Canucks?!?!?

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Hey there Kiddo (and any other more cautious/shy Canucks)...Glad to hear I'm not the only one who somehow finds S. Ont. colder now than my memories of N. Ont.  8)!

 

Looking at your taper history, I take heart from the progress you've made; hope things are going decently right now. I can't even let myself look that far ahead; what with the snail/turtle pace I seem to be restricted to (by my pesky CNS or whatever) 'Freedom Benzo' seems positively futuristic i.e. circa driverless cars.

 

Along with benzos being severely restricted as a drug of last resort some day(?), perhaps there will also be a much easier way to get off the darn things. If that happens just after I [hopefully/better] get benzo free, that would be crazy ::) making-but a great thing in general, of course.

 

Well, let's hope that some more Chatty Canucks chime in on this thread, so it doesn't turn into a dialogue; I'm sure not planning to make it my semi-personal little log, either, but I'm not gonna stop bugging others to at least say "Hey/Hiya, eh!" Stay warm!

 

                                                                          Bab  :thumbsup:

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Just wanted to wish us all a [belated] Valentine's Day-a reminder to accept and like OURSELVES being an important issue for benzo folk! Also, hope those in Ontario and other provinces that have a Family Day holiday this Monday have a good day; you don't need a job or a family to be able to participate, so don't sweat the details  :thumbsup:
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Another 'reply to myself'...starting to feel like a megalomaniac  ::) ?! Anyhow, just wanted to say 'Hi' to Kiddo/Orion/D. Advisor ET AL.; hope you are all doing okay. Any other Canucks out there who aren't into total hibernation, silent lurking, or just need an invitation to post?? Again, not my thread-hardly!-but I'm stubborn.

 

Surely there are others up here who may find the idea of strength in numbers appealing, or want to just check in, even if you're not into/up to posting a whole lot of info? Someone say SOMEthing, before winter finally peters out, and we all get too busy making up for our loss of vitamin D 8)!

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I'm here!!! Looks like it's just the two of us  :D

 

All I can say at this point is I'M SO OVER WINTER!!!!! Ugh.

 

It's finally not -40 degrees BUT we are getting another big snow dump so getting outside for fresh air is still a nuisance.

 

Bleh.

 

 

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