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Waves of dizziness


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I've had these strange waves of dizziness the last couple of days. It just comes over me and last less than 5 seconds but it freaks me out. I have the feeling like I'm going to fall down and as soon as I brace myself, the feeling is gone. I'm going to the Dr tomorrow this and my BP issues. IS this a common Benzo w/d thing?
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Ive suffered dizziness at various intensities throughout w/d and it appears this is remarkedly common sx wise.  I also had a period of intense vertigo lasting 3-4 days where every time I moved the whole world spun and felt like would keel over and at that time could only sit still and not move.  This was followed by a slight spinning sensation and dizziness generally.  That was about 8 mths ago and only now gettin breaks from this.  Since then, Ive found out lorazepam I was on is prescribed for vertigo so doc thinks Im getting the rebound extreme now removed.  Get the doc to check it out, but it more than likely is w/d Im afraid.

Spring :D

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Hi powerfit,  

 

I checked out the Ashton Manual and came up with this:

 

PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS

     Headache

     Pain/stiffness - (limbs, back, neck, teeth, jaw)

     Tingling, numbness, altered sensation - (limbs, face, trunk)

     Weakness ("jelly-legs")

     Fatigue, influenza-like symptoms

     Muscle twitches, jerks, tics, "electric shocks"

     Tremor

     Dizziness, light-headedness, poor balance

     Blurred/double vision, sore or dry eyes

     Tinnitus

     Hypersensitivity - (light, sound, touch, taste, smell)

     Gastrointestinal symptoms - (nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea,

     constipation, pain, distension, difficulty swallowing)

     Appetite/weight change

     Dry mouth, metallic taste, unusual smell

     Flushing/sweating/palpitations

     Overbreathing

     Urinary difficulties/menstrual difficulties

     Skin rashes, itching

     Fits (rare

 

But I can tell you from first hand experience that this is normal.  A lot of people have them, in fact if you do a forum search you'll find pages talking about it.  

 

Are you okay, it seems like this is the first thread you've made for yourself.  I've seen you offering support to others and wondered if we were going to get to know you.

 

Pam :smitten:

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I've had these strange waves of dizziness the last couple of days. It just comes over me and last less than 5 seconds but it freaks me out. I have the feeling like I'm going to fall down and as soon as I brace myself, the feeling is gone. I'm going to the Dr tomorrow this and my BP issues. IS this a common Benzo w/d thing?

 

It is always good to have the BP checked when experiencing headaches or dizziness to be safe.  :thumbsup:

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Hi Powerfit:

 

You are smart to get checked out.  Your boys need their mom.  I can report my own experience which is that shortly after I finished my much-too-fast Klon taper, I started feeling very dizzy as if I was constantly about to lose my balance.  This continued for several months.  It still recurrs but neither as constantly nor as strongly as it was.  In my case, it was benzos.

 

ntw

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Thanks for the info Pam. I'm doing pretty well although I have been under a bit of stress with this cut. I had to go the the ER the other day due to the jelly legs/numbness thing. My Dr wanted to make sure I didn't have a blood clot. While I was there they monitored my BP. It was kind of all over the place. It was 132/104 when I got in, then 124/80 when I was resting and waiting for my scan. It went back up to 138/99 when some bells in the ER started going off. I've been checking it lately and sometimes its high and other times normal. I've read on the forum that is a side effect of the withdrawal but I do want to check it out due to the melds I'm on for colitis. Those can affect the kidneys and I want to make sure they are OK and not causing my BP to go haywire. Getting off the melds is a scary feeling for me. I was put on due to the death of 3 relatives in 18 months, one which caused flashbacks from childhood abuse to develop. I've basically been numbing myself and as I wean off I feel more emotion...sometimes more than I want or am ready for. My therapist is awesome however, so I'm just trying to plow through it and feel the pain.
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Thanks for the info Pam. I'm doing pretty well although I have been under a bit of stress with this cut. I had to go the the ER the other day due to the jelly legs/numbness thing. My Dr wanted to make sure I didn't have a blood clot. While I was there they monitored my BP. It was kind of all over the place. It was 132/104 when I got in, then 124/80 when I was resting and waiting for my scan. It went back up to 138/99 when some bells in the ER started going off. I've been checking it lately and sometimes its high and other times normal. I've read on the forum that is a side effect of the withdrawal but I do want to check it out due to the melds I'm on for colitis. Those can affect the kidneys and I want to make sure they are OK and not causing my BP to go haywire. Getting off the melds is a scary feeling for me. I was put on due to the death of 3 relatives in 18 months, one which caused flashbacks from childhood abuse to develop. I've basically been numbing myself and as I wean off I feel more emotion...sometimes more than I want or am ready for. My therapist is awesome however, so I'm just trying to plow through it and feel the pain.

 

My apologies Powerfit, I'd forgotton we'd talked about your trip to the ER and your erratic blood pressure.  I hope you'll forgive my insensitivity and my loss of memory.  Blame it on the benzo's or old age?

 

I can tell you're frightened, I was too but you have a lot more issues you're working through.  I'm so glad you've got a good therapist, that's a blessing.  Keep posting, we'll do all we can to talk you through this.  We have lots of experience between all of us, lots of help for you.  :smitten:

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Hi Powerfit:

 

The emotions that come back as you go off benzos can be absolutely incredible.  Emotional pain was much more intense for me than any I ever felt before.  Stuff that should have been minor registered off the charts pain.  Curously, stuff that should have been dreadful often wasn't.  So learning that the person who was going to place a cat with us had taken our money and would not provide a cat was way more traumatic than a quarrel with my beloved Hub. 

 

I know from your post that you have had some awful experiences and I assume that the pain normally associated with those is being doubled and tripled by the weird emotional magnification of benzos.  I can't do anything about the basic pain but I can assure you that for me the bizzare multiplication and division of benzos eventually faded leaving mildly disgusted that I hadn't checked into the cat swindler and properly concerned when my Hub was unhappy.

 

ntw

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Well I went to the Dr today. My BP was 148/90 and she decided to put me on 25mg of Atenolol. She said that my BP issues could be benzo related but she needed to treat it due to the dizzy spells, etc. She said I could start with 1/2 the dose until I knew how it would affect me. She also suggested I raise my Lexapro to the full 10mg....I was NOT happy about that. I've gained 15lbs on the stuff already which I know doesn't help my BP. After that visit I went to my Psych Doc and she agreed about the Lexapro and that it was OK to make another cut to the benzo with the added meds. I think the whole BP thing sent me over the edge a bit. I had a MAJOR panic attack (first one in almost 8 months) on the highway while driving home. I'm so thankful my husband was with me. I had to pull over and just breathe/cry until it passed. I just hate that my 2 boys had to see it. They were scared. I used to make it to another room before having one so they wouldn't see it.
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I'm so glad you got it checked again, that's pretty high.  I had to go on Clonodine right after my CT, so I know high blood pressure is possible.  I'm glad you've got a team of Dr's you're working with and it sounds like you trust them.  Try not to worry about the weight right now, there's plenty of time to lose it when you're healed. 

 

I had a panic attack in front of my girlfriend, I know we don't want people to see this, especially our kids.  Trust me when I say that you're doing the right thing by getting off of this drug.  When you're healed you're going to be present in your children's lives.  You won't be flatlining and you'll feel the joy of them every day.  Sorry for the rant, but I feel strongly that we miss too much when we're all drugged up. 

 

Hang on, you can do this...one step, one day, one minute at a time.  :smitten:

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I do trust these Dr's. I had to go through a few before I found good ones. I didn't get much sleep last night so I'm a bit tired today. I'm trying not to freak myself out about the BP thing and just deal with what I can. It's difficult for me though. I think I'm going to hold off on my next cut until the full effect of my new Lexapro dose kicks in. I don't want to do a lot of adding/taking away of meds during this time. I think I need to stable out a bit.
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It's good that you feel confidence in you docs.  It makes so much difference when you have a physician you can trust to pay attention to your situation.  Holding while you adjust to a new med makes sense.  That way you won't confuse new benzo withdrawal symptoms with new med side effects. 

 

ntw

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I placed a call to my Dr after reading some info online about the Atenolol. I have a pretty low resting heart rate (47-54) and on my stress tests it said sinus bradycardia. The info I read said that people with this should not take the drug. Now I'm ALL confused!!! I'm waiting for a call back. I want to cry right now. I just want to have my life back...prior to being full of drugs.
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Remember the old days when we didn't read the warnings about the drugs we're told to take?  Well, at least I didn't read them.  I thought I was bullet proof, that those warnings didn't apply to me.  Well, I learned the hard way. 

 

I hope you get an answer soon, we know how scary all of these side effects can be.  :(

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My Dr called and told me to throw away the Atenolol. She is switching me to NORVASC (5mg). She said this shouldn't affect my heart rate. I wish I would've waited before taking my 1/2 dose today. I'm going to drink a ton of water to try and get it out of my system.
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You have to be your own health care advocate, this has never been more true.  My goodness what would have happened if you hadn't read this information?
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If I hadn't read this I probably would've taken a full 25mg pill and fainted due to a low heart rate! This is upsetting because obviously I already have an anxiety issue and general fear of meds and this lil experience didn't help. I have learned that I will NEVER see a stand-in Dr. again. I'll wait until I can get an appointment with my regular Dr. I'm just thankful that I have insurance and the Atenolol I'm throwing away didn't cost very much. I know that's not the case for many people.
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