Vitamin D Treatment/Cure Perhaps?

One thing that we all have realized by now is that some people are able

to get off benzos like Xanax and Klonopin etc without almost any withdrawals. They might have withdrawals for a week or two

after which they are just fine. A lot of us who have protracted withdrawals for months and years go through great agony and

emotional pain.

 

Well I have been trying to find out why it is that some people-which is a great percentage- recover in days and others like us

are left with long-term misery. The answer to this question might very well hold the cure or some form of treatment to long term benzo suffering.

 

It is apparent, that regardless of race, or dosage, protracted withdrawal can occur. I have read many postings on here stating that they were on benzos like Ativan or Valium for a very short period. Sometimes for only a few weeks. Yet, they have withdrawals for months. Some have used benzo's for years and are able to be symptom free two or so weeks after having completed their detox or taper.

 

At the last detox that I went to here in Houston, TX, I met a middle aged lady or a co-patient if you will, who had done Xanax for 7 years and was able to get weaned off usign Phenobarbital-a barbituate and cross tolerant drug- for two weeks and had only one sympton which she stated was tingling in her legs. Her dosage was 5, 6, 7 bars or 2mg pills. That is a lot and that is like my situation except I only did it for about 10 or so months, yet it has taken nearly 5 months for the anxiety to almost completely dissapate... allthough I still have some at night and it can get very annoying.

 

So again, the question is why everyone has such a different experience on benzo's ?

I disagree that it is genetics, simply because there is too much difference in the recovery period to be attributed to genes. If that was the case the pattern would be more predictable in such ways as race/age etc. But that is not the case. We are very much alike, even if we are different. Withdrawal is not an actuall illness but if we use normal diseases as any guide, we realize that diseases such as AIDS, chicken pox etc all have similar progression rates in most people. One example is that 90% of Caucasians-which means people with a certain bone structure, not color ex: Middle East, South Asia, Europe, Central Asia etc- do not possess natural immunity against the HIV virus that causes AIDS. 10 % of Caucasians are immune to HIV-1 or posess the required gene from both parents that makes them entirely immune to this deadly virus.

 

So in most cases, the scale is tilted in favor of individuals getting infected with certain diseases and viruses and not being immune in most cases. Yet in the case of benzo use, there is no clear cut one way direction and pattern that is attributable to benzo users. It is a mix of protracted withdrawals and also users who came off without almost any longterm discomfort.

 

It might be worth researching and analyzing certain lifestyle aspects and other phenomena as related to benzo users. People with certain underlying psychological conditions such as depression, bi polarity and such tend to exhibit long term withdrawal symptoms due to dealing with not just having to stop using an addictive drug but also other present conditions which are still there after the benzo use.

 

It is obvious that things in our mind and body have been altered due to our substance abuse. But I doub't that the brain could be so altered by just a month of benzo use, as has been reported in many cases. A more plausible explanation seems to be certain psychological factors and other social and health issues.

 

If one has OCD, which I do to a certain degree, I think it can make one very obsessed about their symptoms. That is how I was. Allthough my OCD is much more under control than it was when I was younger, it has gotten the better of me at times. I am positive that had I not had OCD, my recovery would have been more pleasant in many ways. I would be able to focus on what is ahead in my life, not my constantly annoying and painful symptoms.

 

To change our mind back to the pre-addiction state, It might be helpful to try certain supplements and medications.

I have to mention that Vitamin D has helped me tremendously. There has been proven research conducted showing Vitamin D receptors missing in mice can lead to increased agitation and anxiety.  That makes sense to me since a lot of benzo users have reported normal levels of all vitamins and minerals other than Vitamind D in their post detox blood work.

I conducted research to find out why this was the case and if it possibly applied to me.

 

I was surprised to learn that the liver played a very important part in the producing Vitamin D in the human body. Alcohol and benzo's are processed through the liver and excessive use can lead to liver damage and failure. The liver does heal itself, though.

The liver is so toxified that it is unable carry on with its regular functions thus leading to Vitamin D deficiency.

 

I have been taking Vitamin D for about 3 weeks and I have to say I definetely do feel 'different'. I have upped my dosage to about 3000 units in liquid soft gel form. Also, 15 minutes in direct sunlight can produce about 10,000 units of this important vitamin.

 

Benzo's alter our mind's ability to handle normal functioning, thus leading to constant or intermittent anxiety and other symptoms.

If we can restore the ability of the brains receptors to fucntion correctly, than perhaps we could cure most of the symptoms, especially anxiety.

 

Flumazenil is another treatment that has shown great promise in treating receptor damange/alteration. It is recommended that it be used a few weeks after detox. That ensures the patient won't have a severe reaction since flumazenil is a benzo receptor antagonist.

 

Patients who have received repeated doses over the course of months have reported a substantial decrease of symptoms. The effect of flumazenil is achieved within minutes in most patients.

 

It is not practical yet though because enough large scale research has not been conducted in relation to treatment of benzo withdrawal symptoms and also for the fact it is administered intraveneously. It is recommended that it be used only as a last resort since it does carry a chance of complicating the patients condition.

 

All the above suggests there maybe other natural ways to help promote brain receptors healing. That is where we should focus our efforts in trying to find a treatment. We cannot continually wait for a magic cure which may not come in the near future.

 

I also take two 25 mg Benadryl pills together with my Vitamin D soft gels. Last night I felt great within minutes of taking both things. And I am positive it was not a placebo effect since I take other supplements sometimes and they don't have the immediate effect of relaxing me. I have noticed when I take these two together, it increases the positive affect I have.

 

Benadryl is an anti-histamine which helps with mild to moderate anxiety. Anti-histamines are widely proven to help benzo patients deal with anxiety. Visceral is another medication in the same class of drugs.

 

It might be worth a try for some people out there. Also, I would recommend getting blood work done to find out if any significant

deficiencies  might exist and to address them immediately. Good things might just come out of it!

 

I would be happy to hear what other's think about the things I have stated in this post.

 

 

Just be careful with the amount of Vit D you take, boyinhtown.  Just doing a quick "moderator's" search about Vit. D turned up that there are 2 different forms of vit D manufactured and they are metabolized differently.  And then there are the concerns about possible Vit D toxicity and interactions with other medications.  You seem to be doing a lot of research so maybe you already know how to avoid the risks but others reading your topic "Vit D/Cure?" may very well just add the supplement without knowing the difficulty they can be causing themselves.

Hello boyinhtown, I imagine that you will get quite a few responses.  You have provided a lot of information and posed some interesting musings. 

 

I believe that Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, meaning that it can be stored in the body and therefore has more of a potential for overdose than water-soluble vitamins, such as Vit C, which are more readily excreted.  So the caution about how much to take is a wise one.

 

You welcomed opinions, and I am never short on those, so here goes:

 

I am glad that you are interested and concerned enough to do research to educate yourself.  And motivated enough to craft a lengthy post for others to read. 

 

I hope you know that your opinions are simply that, opinions.  Unless and until your theories are tested on large groups and can withstand the test of time, the information that you provided should be taken only as opinions. 

 

In my opinion, people who are ill are vulnerable to suggestion.  After all, we all want to feel better, the sooner the better.  So please be responsible about what suggestions you make. 

 

If something works for you, of course you should continue to use it/do it with caution.  I personally think that the idea of taking something to solve a long-term problem is short-term thinking.  And short-term thinking is what got many of us here in the first place.  Our doctors did not think of the long-term consequences to prescribing pills to solve our problems.  Our doctors did not advise us to try alternatives, such as biofeedback, exercise, dietary changes, meditation, giving it time, etc. etc. before we take the pills. 

 

And yet many of us still continue to think in the short-term.  Life, in my opinion, can be seen as a "long-term" problem.  Things will always come up as we go through life. And the faster we all learn to accept the things that come up, the sooner we will be able to make better long-term decisions about how we choose to deal with life successfully.  And the idea of that gives me much more hope than taking a pill, even a vitamin, ever did. 

Thanks for the replies..

 

Well to answer some of your concerns, let me start by addressing the question of Vitamin D toxicity. It is nearly impossible to do so, especially with the amount I am taking which is 3000 units. As I mentioned above, a person will produce about 10,000 units of Vitamin D in just 15 minutes of direct sunglight. Many people get way more than that every day and they are not having any overdose issues. Vitamin D is harder to overdoes than water is.

 

We all want to be well and preferably not have to take any pills for anything, not just benzo related withdrawal. I believe though that if something can help us through the withdrawal phase while giving our brain an opportunity to heal at the same time, than there is no harm in taking any pill, especially a Vitamin. I have never heard of anyone having a seizure or other harmful  symptoms due to normal supplement use.

 

A lot of the people on this site are still taking precription strength drugs to help them cope. Those are more dangerous than any Vitamin or Benadryl.

 

There is no harm in trying this for yourself. Unless your allergic to Benadryl in which case don't take it, ofcourse.

:clap: :clap:

 

Yeah for you boyinh,

 

I thank you for the tip and totally agree with you :yippee:

 

I'm going to get some V D asap, oh and some sun this w/e and do take antihistamine when the crawling skin is real bad, it helps immensely, I also take magnesium at bed time and it helps with sleep

Great Skooter!

 

Plz let me know how it goes... hope it helps...!

Hey boyinh,

 

Darn if I could find this thread again, I'm kinda dense ya know

 

Anyways, just wanted to update you a bit with the Vit D and the sun. Well darn if I did get a lot of sun last Saturday it was our first real warm day so far this May Anyhoo I sat in the sun and did a lot of spiritual meditation off and on for about 4 hrs. and I had my first window ever in almost 10 months!!! So just thought I'd let you know that one. I haven't gotten out yet to get the Vit D yet as I haven't been able to drive since this wonderful journey began last summer But I'm going to be working on that soon also because hubby went and bought a new G8 in March and I've been dying to drive it, but just to sick. But now with it supposed to be warm again starting tomorrow, and am also taking morph for the real bad w/d, so can go out now, I'll be getting more sun, and going to start driving again and go get that Vit D this w/e also.

 

Thanks again for those tips. At least I'm starting to have more hope and will be able to get out now instead of being stuck in the house all summer from w/d s/x's. You're very lucky to have learned all of these lessons so early in life kid, as you've now got your whole life in front of you to enjoy and live to the fullest drug free, congratulations 

I would hesitate to say anything is a "cure"  because each one reacts differently to anything that is put into their body...whether it be food, drug or supplement.

 

I tend to agree that vit D will help, though.  I dare to say that if everyone would have their vit D tested that has been on or is still on benzos they will find that it is too low and that supplementation will help.  Whether it be sunlight (best way) or a safe supplement. 

 

Benzos mess with so many body systems.  That is why everyone has different symptoms...wherever they are weakest to begin with will be their worst symptoms. 

 

Thanks for all the info and sharing.  As already stated, it is wise to be careful with wording as we are all looking for that "cure" and it really doesn't exist....except time...that is the cure

Hi Cal,

 

I do agree with all you said. And I in noway was speaking of this as a cure in anyways, I WISH!!

 

I'm only trying to find ways where I MYSELF can cope, and function  more than what I have been doing up to now. Which if I find even a little thing that helps me do that, I am only more than thankful for the littlest things that help ME at this point. I've been so debilitated for way to long and the suffering alone has been enough to almost send me over the edge many times.

 

So that's where I stand on these little hints that may help. And I am another one that can't even do many foods let alone supps, except the odd one. So as I said, if something helps me to function again, this alone gets me excited and hopeful for Me

You are right... Vitamin D is not a CURE as I will state now from my experience on it for a month.. It DOES help me though.

Whether its placebo or something else.. it tends to immediately calm me down.

 

But more than likely if it has been months since your detox and you've returned to your normal diet than It is unlikely that

some sort of mineral or vitamin deficiency is causing anxiety. You would have to be completely malnourished for something like

that to occur perhaps.

 

I just took codeine cough syrup Cheratussin and I swear to everyone my anxiety is GONE!! I took one teaspoon after another member

reported a similar experience with Hydrocodone syrup.. he has a thread started under BUSPAR/Hydrocodone

 

Well I have to say I haven't felt like this in along time... I am calm.. and it has been over a day now.. so I am hopign I stay this way.

Read that post for info on how I think it helped!!

 

Good Luck Skooter!!!

regarding your opiate recommendations.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=13269.msg188983#msg188983

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=13462.msg189001#msg189001

Hi Boyintown, and all,

 

Please read this post: http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=13269.msg189032#msg189032.

Hi,

Are you still on the benzo forum, I am also intrigued by why some people have tiny problems gettting off and why I have HUGE INSOMNIA. So I also ended up on the trail of vitamin D. I am curious about what other interesting things you have found out?