to the recovered; new phobias/agoraphobia, anxiety issues that came from WD

I developed new phobias and obsessions and other anxiety situations when doing this wd, although i wasn't using benzos for that, but for derealization.  In all of my other attempted wds, i never had anything of the sort, like agoraphobia etc. I had agoraphobia and panic attacks in college before being treated with paxil.  but this is something that has gone away, only returning this taper.  I'm only 3 days out of my taper/ct, and already noticed 1 huge fear, fear of swallowing food, and a huge obsessive/compulsive behavior that i had during tapering has seemed to calm down or go away already.

 

is this something that disipated for you over time?  Or was this a new and continuous issue that you had to work on?

 

Regards,

 

Brian

I developed new phobias and obsessions and other anxiety situations when doing this wd, although i wasn't using benzos for that, but for derealization.  In all of my other attempted wds, i never had anything of the sort, like agoraphobia etc. I had agoraphobia and panic attacks in college before being treated with paxil.  but this is something that has gone away, only returning this taper.  I'm only 3 days out of my taper/ct, and already noticed 1 huge fear, fear of swallowing food, and a huge obsessive/compulsive behavior that i had during tapering has seemed to calm down or go away already.

 

is this something that disipated for you over time?  Or was this a new and continuous issue that you had to work on?

 

Regards,

 

Brian

 

Hi Brian,

 

Your fear of swallowing food definitely sounds like a withdrawal symptom. During withdrawal some people find that their throats feel constricted thus making swallowing difficult. From what I gather it is caused by anxiety. Professor Ashton mentions problems with swallowing food in her manual:

 

Digestive problems. Some people have no problems at all with their digestive systems during or after withdrawal, and may even notice that they are enjoying their food more. Others, perhaps more prone constitutionally, may complain of a range of symptoms associated with "irritable bowel syndrome" (IBS). These can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, abdominal pain, flatulence, gaseous distension and heartburn. Quite a few have found these symptoms so uncomfortable that they have undergone hospital gastrointestinal investigations, but usually no abnormality is found. The symptoms may be partly due to overactivity in the autonomic nervous system, which controls the motility and secretions of the gut and is very reactive to stress, including the stress of benzodiazepine withdrawal. In addition, there are benzodiazepine receptors in the gut. It is not clear what the functions of these receptors are or how they are affected by benzodiazepines or benzodiazepine withdrawal, but alterations in these receptors may play some part in increasing gut irritability.

 

Considerable loss of weight (8-10lb or more) sometimes occurs in withdrawal. This may be due to a rebound effect on appetite, since benzodiazepines have been shown to increase appetite in animals. On the other hand, some people gain weight in withdrawal. In any case, weight changes are not severe enough to worry about and normal weight is soon regained after withdrawal. A few people have difficulty in swallowing food - the throat seems to tighten up especially if eating in company. This is usually a sign of anxiety and is well-known in anxiety states. Practising relaxation, eating alone, taking small well chewed mouthfuls with sips of liquid and not hurrying make things easier and the symptom settles as anxiety levels decline.

 

I'm sure others will be by to give additional advice on your situation. Hope you feel better soon. Hang in there!

 

PPJ 

I'm sure it will pass in time, I've felt like my throat was tight and I couldn't swallow very well.  It was brief tho.  Its a symptom just like others, and it will pass.  Just enjoy the fact that you're benzo free!