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Healed After 3 Months


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My opinion

I used benzo years before and stopped easily

In 2016 my wd is bad why?

Just because i drink no alcohol !

Previous wd i drank 2 beers per day

Now nothing and i suffer a lot

If not better at 6 months off i ll drink

Again 2 beers per day

Or commit suicide... not possible to live

This way

My doc told me better beers than coffin...

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I have wondered about that aswell...a few months ago i was feeling terrible after a cut. I got really drunk one night and ended up stabilised the next day. It happened another time as well. However, the last time i did it i felt worse...i think.
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Hey everybody.  Just checking in.  8 months since my jump and I'm still 100%.

 

Firstly, I'm really sorry to the people who have messaged me on here who didn't get a reply.  I don't get personal message notifications and believe it or not, things do get so much better you don't think to stop by here very often!  Seems not long ago that I was reading this site all day every day hoping for positive stories to give me hope.

 

I agree about avoiding alcohol. Whilst I didn't cut it out altogether I can now see with the benefit of hindsight that my worst waves coincided with the few occasions I drank a lot.  Having said that, I personally didn't notice problems from having just one beer...everybody will be different though I guess.

 

Wishing everybody on here all the strength and love that they need to keep pushing on. There is always hope and it is totally worth the horrors to feel as good as I do now.  You will get there in the end!

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

One year complete and all of the horribleness is just a distant and vague memory.

 

Good luck on your journeys, you will get there  :thumbsup:

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My Background

 

I started self medicating with Diazepam and Nitrazepam in 2008.  With the benefit of hindsight I can now see that this was a difficult time for me with the end of a long term relationship.  I somehow found myself on autopilot with everbody complimenting me on how well I got on with my life.  Little did anybody realise, I was taking tablets to numb my feelings.

 

I started off taking the tablets very irregularly and sometimes took them daily for a few weeks before not taking any for a few months.  Once again, with the benefit of hindsight I can see that I went back to the benzos if and when I experienced withdrawal symptoms which were mild for a long time.  So mild that I didn't realise it was withdrawal.

 

My benzo use continued sporadically until I got into the routine of taking 5mg a day at first in about 2013 leading to 10mg a day by 2015.

 

Why did I decide to stop taking benzos?

 

I gradually became more informed and realised the social anxiety and depression that I regularly had was a result of my benzo use.  I remembered how much energy and enthusiasm I had before I started taking benzos and wanted to be like that again.

 

Failed Cold Turkeys

 

I attempted to cold turkey twice.  I managed about 45 days the first time and only about 20 days the second time.  I started off feeling fine but by the end my anxiety and panic was too much to bare.  I had no idea I could feel like that.  Eventually, after a period of stabilising back on 10mg of Diazepam I decided to start a taper.

 

My Taper

 

After reading BB for hours or even days I decided to taper steadily but rather than set a timetable out in advance, I decided to try to listen to my body.  After a couple of cuts I learned that days 9 to 12 of a cut were usually the most difficult.  I decided to wait until I had gone through the bad days of a cut and felt better for two to three days.  This meant that most of my cuts were every 14 days or so.  I was lucky enough to discover that I could tolerate fairly big cuts and I soon built the confidence to know that the pain would pass given enough time. My cut log looks like this:

 

10mg > 7.5mg > 5mg > 3.75mg > 2.5mg > 1.25mg > 0.625mg > 0.5mg > JUMP

 

I dry cut at first and liquid tapered (using Gin!) from 1.25mg.

 

My Jump

 

Once again, hindsight is very useful here because sometimes you don't realise how you are feeling until after it has passed.  One thing I can say for sure is that while my jump was difficult, my experiences of cold turkey and my taper prepared me because my jump was a breeze compared to those.

 

I was in a daze for month 1 although I managed to function well.  I even went skiing for a few weeks.  I had regular periods of anxiety but they were somehow different to the taper, a little more superficial and controllable.

 

Month 2 and 3 were an amazing continous improvement.  I had barely two or three days of bad anxiety and the rest of the time symptoms were very mild.  Speaking now on day 90, I can say it has been probably 6 weeks since I last experienced anything that was particularly unpleasant to deal with.

 

My syptoms.

 

I tried not to dwell on what I was feeling and to look to the future but this was easier said than done.  Anxiety was by far the most difficult thing I had to deal with.  At times during my taper I just couldn't escape it.  It got intense enough at one point for me to shatter a tooth as a result of how tightly my jaws were clenched.

 

If you had asked me a few weeks ago whether I had suffered any physical symptoms I would have said no but now that I am feeling a lot better I now recognise that I had a lot of painful tension in my back and neck, tinitus, a bit of joint pain and the occasional period of blurred vision.

 

Stuff I did to help.

 

I didn't avoid caffeine or alcohol but I made sure that I didn't overdo it.  Given how bad my emotional state was at times I just didn't want to self medicate with alcohol.  I tried to avoid reading too many stories on BB.  This place is fantastic but it can also be very daunting listening to other people's struggles when you are seeking reassurance for your own situation.

 

I tried to keep a routine going.  I got up at 6am every day to exercise and then go to work.  I have no idea how I managed to keep it together at work and I barely did but I promise you that your paranoia and feelings seem a lot worse to you than they do to other people.  As far as I know, my colleagues thought I was tired and grumpy rather than toughing out introspective hell at times.

 

Things I wish I had done differently.

 

My wife has no idea I took benzos and I never told her that I was going through withdrawal.  I wanted to but I just couldn't.  This was partly because I know that while she would have supported me through anything I know that she really would never have been able to understand what was going on.  This would have probably made it harder for me to deal with things.  Keeping some semblance of a routine with my wife really helped me get things together and put on a brave face.  Sure, the way I was feeling had an effect on our relationship and I regret keeping such a secret but I'm lucky that things worked out the way they did.

 

How I feel now.

 

Wow, just wow.  I'm full of energy again.  I'm able and interested to have conversastions again.  I sleep well every night.  I laugh properly.  I laughed until I had tears streaming down my face recently.  I smile.  I feel a lot more affection for those I love. I'm performing better at work.  The world seems brighter and more positive.  My depressions has lifted and seems a long way away.

 

Lessons learned.

 

I had to resign myself to not knowing what was going to happen when I started to taper.  I had no idea.  I had to build my confidence as I went to realise that a taper allows you to break this process down into chunks that you find manageable  (or as manageable as possible!).  There were times where I nearly cracked.  I remember at one point having a 5mg tablet in my mouth just before I jumped. I was that close to undoing my work.  I had a realisation that I could push through and spat it out in the bin.

 

Everybody is different and will have their own path to walking away from the chemical hell that we imposed on ourselves. For me, developing the willpower to keep trudging on one step at a time with the increasing belief that things would get better was the key to winning.

 

Respect.

 

I cannot put into words how much respect and love I have for all of you here on BenzoBuddies  who are saying no more to the situation they find themselves in.  This was the toughest thing I have ever done but I succeeded.  I literally cannot say how much pride I have to know that I was offered support and kinship by people on here, some of whom in far more difficult situations than my own.

 

TLDR? I took benzos for years and successfuly tapered in 4 months. From the start of the taper to me feeling healed took 7 months.  Thank you everybody for the support and sharing your own experiences.  Without BB, I couldn't have done it.

 

I am SO happy to read about this experience, and so happy you feel so wonderful now!

 

I totally know what you mean by not reading too many stories on here to psych yourself out from what you are experiencing, I am only 24 and I was on klonopin for about two and a half years and it is a relief now to know that the horrible issues I was experiencing the last six months were most likely tolerance issues. My biggest question is how long did it take your energy to come back? One of my two worst symptoms is fatigue and lack of appetite(but no real weight loss lol)

 

Any advice or words of encouragement are greatly appreciated

 

Congratulations again

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  • 2 years later...

Well, what a nice feeling to be back here to say hello and offer some words of support if I can!

 

3 years and 8 months since I last took a Benzo.  Since I last posted here in 2016,  my recovery has been completed. Imagine this, I sometimes go months without even thinking about Benzos and even completely forgot that Benzobuddies even exists!  If somebody had told me that back in 2016, I would not have believed them.

 

Quitting benzos was the hardest thing I ever did but what surprised me most was that I was totally capable of it.  We're all tougher that we realise. Its all about finding the best way to do it FOR YOU and if you slip up, not giving yourself a hard time and just try again with lessons learned under your belt. Even a failed attempt is still progress.  Every experience strengthens your armoury for the next attempt.

 

Any regrets?  Well, I wish I hadn't taken Benzos in the first place of course.  Apart from that, I am a little embarrassed about claiming to be healed after 3 months in this thread title.  Things got easier from 3 months for me, but make no mistake...complete healing took longer. That said, every day I was healing was better than than the days I was still taking benzos.  Every single one.

 

I plan to pop bye here every now and again if only to try to offer some hope to people when they are having their down days.  I never actually told my family what I was going through, I hid it from them to this day.  For this reason, the support I received on this forum was EVERYTHING to me.  The love here is humbling and I will always be grateful to every single person sharing their experiences here.  Remember that you are not alone in your battle.  Even if its only people on the internet who you can confide in.

 

Much love xx

 

 

 

 

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My Background

 

I started self medicating with Diazepam and Nitrazepam in 2008.  With the benefit of hindsight I can now see that this was a difficult time for me with the end of a long term relationship.  I somehow found myself on autopilot with everbody complimenting me on how well I got on with my life.  Little did anybody realise, I was taking tablets to numb my feelings.

 

I started off taking the tablets very irregularly and sometimes took them daily for a few weeks before not taking any for a few months.  Once again, with the benefit of hindsight I can see that I went back to the benzos if and when I experienced withdrawal symptoms which were mild for a long time.  So mild that I didn't realise it was withdrawal.

 

My benzo use continued sporadically until I got into the routine of taking 5mg a day at first in about 2013 leading to 10mg a day by 2015.

 

Why did I decide to stop taking benzos?

 

I gradually became more informed and realised the social anxiety and depression that I regularly had was a result of my benzo use.  I remembered how much energy and enthusiasm I had before I started taking benzos and wanted to be like that again.

 

Failed Cold Turkeys

 

I attempted to cold turkey twice.  I managed about 45 days the first time and only about 20 days the second time.  I started off feeling fine but by the end my anxiety and panic was too much to bare.  I had no idea I could feel like that.  Eventually, after a period of stabilising back on 10mg of Diazepam I decided to start a taper.

 

My Taper

 

After reading BB for hours or even days I decided to taper steadily but rather than set a timetable out in advance, I decided to try to listen to my body.  After a couple of cuts I learned that days 9 to 12 of a cut were usually the most difficult.  I decided to wait until I had gone through the bad days of a cut and felt better for two to three days.  This meant that most of my cuts were every 14 days or so.  I was lucky enough to discover that I could tolerate fairly big cuts and I soon built the confidence to know that the pain would pass given enough time. My cut log looks like this:

 

10mg > 7.5mg > 5mg > 3.75mg > 2.5mg > 1.25mg > 0.625mg > 0.5mg > JUMP

 

I dry cut at first and liquid tapered (using Gin!) from 1.25mg.

 

My Jump

 

Once again, hindsight is very useful here because sometimes you don't realise how you are feeling until after it has passed.  One thing I can say for sure is that while my jump was difficult, my experiences of cold turkey and my taper prepared me because my jump was a breeze compared to those.

 

I was in a daze for month 1 although I managed to function well.  I even went skiing for a few weeks.  I had regular periods of anxiety but they were somehow different to the taper, a little more superficial and controllable.

 

Month 2 and 3 were an amazing continous improvement.  I had barely two or three days of bad anxiety and the rest of the time symptoms were very mild.  Speaking now on day 90, I can say it has been probably 6 weeks since I last experienced anything that was particularly unpleasant to deal with.

 

My syptoms.

 

I tried not to dwell on what I was feeling and to look to the future but this was easier said than done.  Anxiety was by far the most difficult thing I had to deal with.  At times during my taper I just couldn't escape it.  It got intense enough at one point for me to shatter a tooth as a result of how tightly my jaws were clenched.

 

If you had asked me a few weeks ago whether I had suffered any physical symptoms I would have said no but now that I am feeling a lot better I now recognise that I had a lot of painful tension in my back and neck, tinitus, a bit of joint pain and the occasional period of blurred vision.

 

Stuff I did to help.

 

I didn't avoid caffeine or alcohol but I made sure that I didn't overdo it.  Given how bad my emotional state was at times I just didn't want to self medicate with alcohol.  I tried to avoid reading too many stories on BB.  This place is fantastic but it can also be very daunting listening to other people's struggles when you are seeking reassurance for your own situation.

 

I tried to keep a routine going.  I got up at 6am every day to exercise and then go to work.  I have no idea how I managed to keep it together at work and I barely did but I promise you that your paranoia and feelings seem a lot worse to you than they do to other people.  As far as I know, my colleagues thought I was tired and grumpy rather than toughing out introspective hell at times.

 

Things I wish I had done differently.

 

My wife has no idea I took benzos and I never told her that I was going through withdrawal.  I wanted to but I just couldn't.  This was partly because I know that while she would have supported me through anything I know that she really would never have been able to understand what was going on.  This would have probably made it harder for me to deal with things.  Keeping some semblance of a routine with my wife really helped me get things together and put on a brave face.  Sure, the way I was feeling had an effect on our relationship and I regret keeping such a secret but I'm lucky that things worked out the way they did.

 

How I feel now.

 

Wow, just wow.  I'm full of energy again.  I'm able and interested to have conversastions again.  I sleep well every night.  I laugh properly.  I laughed until I had tears streaming down my face recently.  I smile.  I feel a lot more affection for those I love. I'm performing better at work.  The world seems brighter and more positive.  My depressions has lifted and seems a long way away.

 

Lessons learned.

 

I had to resign myself to not knowing what was going to happen when I started to taper.  I had no idea.  I had to build my confidence as I went to realise that a taper allows you to break this process down into chunks that you find manageable  (or as manageable as possible!).  There were times where I nearly cracked.  I remember at one point having a 5mg tablet in my mouth just before I jumped. I was that close to undoing my work.  I had a realisation that I could push through and spat it out in the bin.

 

Everybody is different and will have their own path to walking away from the chemical hell that we imposed on ourselves. For me, developing the willpower to keep trudging on one step at a time with the increasing belief that things would get better was the key to winning.

 

Respect.

 

I cannot put into words how much respect and love I have for all of you here on BenzoBuddies  who are saying no more to the situation they find themselves in.  This was the toughest thing I have ever done but I succeeded.  I literally cannot say how much pride I have to know that I was offered support and kinship by people on here, some of whom in far more difficult situations than my own.

 

TLDR? I took benzos for years and successfuly tapered in 4 months. From the start of the taper to me feeling healed took 7 months.  Thank you everybody for the support and sharing your own experiences.  Without BB, I couldn't have done it.

 

Thank you for your encouraging post unlike the one I just read that almost devastated me.  I appreciate you!!  And I agree with you... not a good place to come when your in the thick of withdrawal symptoms.  😡  But thanks to you... I'm not signing out in tears.  :thumbsup::smitten:

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