Jump to content

Good article on Benzo withdrawal issues and why


[Ch...]

Recommended Posts

Yes, thank you! Does anyone know why vitamin D is a no-no? I think it acts a bit differently than the other vitamins. However, for those of us who can't get enough vitamin D from the sun, a supplement is necessary.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lapis, I don't know why this would be an issue.  I'm currently on 4,000 IU and tested - my levels are optimal.  My husband is going to ChangePAIN here in Vancouver, they have a protocol for muscle relaxation that goes along with the treatments (trigger point injections) they are giving him and Vitamin D is definitely on the list and they recommend 5,000 IU along with other supplements that I've posted on BBs.  I'm going to try them for my longest running symptom in withdrawal - muscle pain and spasms.  If I could get rid of this pain, I'd consider myself very nearly healed.

 

I've posted a wonderful article on Vitamin D from Dr. Grominak before, it is really more like a hormone than a vitamin in her estimation and critical for sleep:

 

http://drgominak.com/vitamin-d-hormone.html

 

Dr. Leigh is a clinical counsellor, not a medical doctor.  I know she has a lot of experience, having healed herself after many years but I wouldn't consider her an expert on supplementation.  That being said, I remember this article.  She used to have a website but I think she has moved on to other pursuits and perhaps is still not quite healed.

 

:smitten:

 

Ali

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much for the response, SS. I think I'll keep up the vitamin D since it's essential for me right now. I do think we always have to make our own judgements about these things based on the best info we have available to us at the time. I did a lot of reading on it awhile back and made the decision to take 2000 IU per day. I've consulted some professionals as well, and this amount seems to be fine for me. I'm just curious why it would be on the list of things to avoid.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I learned long ago ... one size does not fit all ... healing needs time ... and we can consider all that we do and all that we consume along the way ...

 

The diversity of experience is just that ... diversity ... the human need "to help" is ever present ... and "to help" requires thoughtful responsibility ... and a very wise choice of language ...

 

When making my choices I need to remember that "causation" is miles and miles beyond "association" ... "association" is easy, everything is connected ... "causation" is always personal, individual ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2.  Time is the only thing that heals.

 

I somewhat disagree with this one. Good support, friends and connections speed up healing. The stronger your support network, the quicker you'll heal. If you have a caring family/friends around you and are on a moderate dose, you may be more likely to heal more quickly than someone who is alone or feels alone and is on a lower dose.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do hope that one day, there will be some definitive info on factors affecting healing from benzo withdrawal, but I'm sure that it helps greatly to have good support.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Dr. Leigh is a clinical counsellor, not a medical doctor.  I know she has a lot of experience, having healed herself after many years but I wouldn't consider her an expert on supplementation. That being said, I remember this article.  She used to have a website but I think she has moved on to other pursuits and perhaps is still not quite healed.

 

I learned long ago ... one size does not fit all ... healing needs time ... and we can consider all that we do and all that we consume along the way ...

 

The diversity of experience is just that ... diversity ... the human need "to help" is ever present ... and "to help" requires thoughtful responsibility ... and a very wise choice of language ...

 

When making my choices I need to remember that "causation" is miles and miles beyond "association" ... "association" is easy, everything is connected ... "causation" is always personal, individual ...

 

2.  Time is the only thing that heals.

 

I somewhat disagree with this one. Good support, friends and connections speed up healing. The stronger your support network, the quicker you'll heal. If you have a caring family/friends around you and are on a moderate dose, you may be more likely to heal more quickly than someone who is alone or feels alone and is on a lower dose.

 

Agree with all of the above.  IMO,  this really isn't a very thoughtful and/or responsible article.  If using the word "facts" all over the place, including in the title, at the *very least* there should be some citations thrown in there.

 

Avoid garbanzo beans, honey, salmon, and all those vitamins?  Why?  Because perhaps they "work on GABA receptors"?  I may be too much of a critical (skeptical) thinker but I believe that way too much emphasis is being placed on GABA anyway.  What of all the other (60?) neurotransmitters which have thus far been identified, and what of those yet or never to be identified?  And that's just for starters.  I'm no biologist or scientist so I speak only as a layman.  But the human body is so complicated and complex and the "fact" is we simply know so very, very little about it. 

 

I'm of the camp who says we should stop trying to pretend we know things we do not know.  In other words, articles like this hold very little water with me. 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm of the camp who says we should stop trying to pretend we know things we do not know. 

 

I totally agree. We are all trying to make sense of this but it seems like there are a lot of fairly wild conclusions being drawn about this from every different angle and I wonder how much this is responsible for some folks distress.

 

What I see is an illness that presents its symptoms in a chaotic, non-linear fashion and the lack of information leads us (myself included) to attempt to fill in the blanks. There may be some truth to some things but it seems like there isn't much of a consensus about anything and that leads me to believe that it's probably pretty easy to get caught up in a bunch of hype.

 

The GABA thing is a prime example. So many examples of people lamenting about how this and that should be avoided because it affects GABA when there is no proof whatsoever that anything but a benzo truly prevents healing. Of course that doesn't mean that other things can't affect healing, but preaching something as the gospel when the only thing that supports it is weak circumstantial evidence isn't going to help anyone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, FG.  I remembered something I'd bookmarked way back when, but all way over my head.  But I'll drop it off here as an example, anyway.

 

http://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/content/51/4/629.full

 

Enigma of the Peripheral Benzodiazepine Receptor - December/1999

 

I. Introduction

 

BZs also bind to other receptors, located mainly in peripheral tissues and glial cells in the brain (Fig.1), called peripheral BZ receptors ... In rats, PBRs differ from CBRs in their drug specificity: for example, the BZ clonazepam binds to CBRs with high affinity, whereas the BZ Ro 5-4864 (4′-chlorodiazepam) as well as the non-BZ ligand PK 11195 (an isoquinoline carboxamide derivative) bind to CBRs with negligible affinity. The reverse is true with regard to PBRs ... Imidazopyridines such as alpidem bind with high affinity to both CBRs and PBRs ... FGIN-1 (2-aryl-3-indoleacetamide) binds with high affinity to PBRs but not to CBRs ... The focus of the current review is the PBR.

 

:o :o :o

 

And this, the final paragraph:

 

Much has been learned in the decade since the 18-kDa PBR subunit mRNA was cloned and still much must be learned from and about the genes encoding PBR subunits. This will involve many levels of study. It may be that once we understand why evolution so carefully preserves the sequence of the 18-kDa PBR subunit gene, we will be able to uncover new biochemical pathways that will link the various putative PBR functions now being discussed. Only the future can tell.

 

Like I say waaayyy over my head  :idiot: but I see lots and lots of "may", "appear" and "perhaps" words in the article.  Maybe the microbiologists here or others with a science background will want to sink their teeth into it.  Could make for a good Chewing the Fat discussion, but might also just open up a whole other can of worms.  >:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...