Anyone working while tapering

Hi everyone,

I'm milk titrating .5mg of k and as of today have dropped 31ml out of 150ml and symptoms are for the most part minimal but I am having to get a job and was wondering if anyone has worked during tapering or even started a new job while tapering and if so had did things go?  I just want to prepare myself.

 

Hugs and thanks for all the support.

Kristin

There are some people who replied on a similar thread last year:

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=14347.0

 

I didn't have to work while tapering but many do.  Hopefully you will hear from some of the other current buddies about how they managed it.

Hi kmarie1994. I'm working, but it's very tough. The cognitive fog is extremely trying at times, but I'm in a technical role in IT, so that's to be expected. My attention span and memory are very dodgy. My boss knows all about what I'm going through and he's been great, but it will only last for so much longer before I'll have to consider taking leave ... I'm hoping for healing over the next few months, so I can keep going; otherwise I'll be taking all of my leave at half pay and take a year off; with a bit of luck, I'll fit the 18 month profile and this won't be necessary  I've just told all my colleagues I have CFS and they seem to have bought the story ...

Thanks beeper for the link it helped alot.  I don't feel so alone in what i'm going thru I know starting a new job will be a HUGE effort but I have faith God will help me thru.  Hopefully Illinois will get the unemployment extention put back in place after the money makers get back from their spring vacations.  Hugs to all and quick healing.

 

hugs

Kristin

I have been working as an OR nurse throughout my taper and even before it.  I had to leave one day because I quit taking my klonopin didn't know I was addicted to the stuff and was having full blown rebound anxiety I thought I was going to die.  Once I figured out that it was withdrawal symptoms from Klonopin.  I got back on the stuff and started a reasonable taper.  It has been tough at times.  It isn't so bad when I'm feeling anxious. I just keep busy.  It is when the depression hits me that I have a harder time.  Still I am glad that I have a job that distracts me.  When I was on 1mg a day I felt in a fog at times and found myself not remember if I had done something or not so there was a lot of double-checking but now that I'm done to about .5mg the fog has lifted.  I think you can work and taper I just think you need to go slow and recognize that some days are going to be harder than others.  I  think that some jobs would be easier than others as well, the less stress the better I would imagine.  Janitorial  work or something outdoors would be ideal.

I work in a very busy emergency room --- I am supporting

myself and have to work, so there is no choice.  I agree with

the last entry by the OR nurse -- some days will be OK, some will

be rough.  It sounds corny, but you just have to "go with the flow".

I try to be extra kind to myself, and keep myself moving, busy, so

the long work shift will pass.  I don't have an easy job, and it's a

very catty-dysfunctional crowd that I work with.  If I find myself

getting tweaked or sucked into some drama while at work, I just

go into the bathroom, turn out the lights....and just breathe.  I

remind myself how very difficult it is to go thru this tapering process

while working.....but then I am thankful/grateful that I have a good

paying job, crazy as it is.  Obviously taking care of yourself with

food, exercise, trying to not fuel the fire when you do get yourself

worked up by something -- all these are good.  If there is anyway

you can work less than full-time (I work 2-3 days weekly) that is best.

If you do have to work full-time, pace yourself....don't try to be the

fastest or the best at everything. Just hang in there and get the job

done. Sometimes working can be a positive distraction from the taper.

It is easy to get too self-involved and anxious about all the stuff we

have to deal with/go thru.  In any case, best of luck to you. You are

definately not the only one out there who has to work and is doing OK

while working.

I have to say that if anyone is working during this, WOW, you must be one tough cookie.  Congratulations.  Sometimes I can't even stand a sound or the noise of a bird, let alone being somewhere where I'd have to put up with a lot of stimulus.  I do work at home, but I do very little now, if at all, because I can't seem to concentrate or I can't stand the noise from my headphones I have to put on.

Dear Hanging in there, Your cut was huge going from .75mg to .125mg that would have made me jump out of my skin.  I hope that as you now have started titration you will slow it down a bit.  This isn't a race.  I'm amazed you could function at all with that amount of a cut. Wow!

Yeah, I wasn't the brightest crayon in the box when I did that, but I think I was only taking .5 day most times before I cut.  I honestly can't remember, if that says anything about what Klonopin did to me.  I am keeping it slow to allow my body to catch up.  When I first did the step down, I remember having some really good periods when I could think clearly in the afternoon.  Now, I think it's catching up with me.  I even tried one day while on the 1/4 pill to not take anything, but the next day I just couldn't do it.  I felt my head feeling like I was getting ready to go completely brain dead.  Scared the heck out of me then.  Now, I'm getting use to the symptoms.  They're pretty predictable as to when they come.  Today I put two eggs in water on the stove and forgot about them and they burned.  Stinky.  I put two more on the stove and kept saying to myself "don't forget about the eggs."

Yeah, I wasn't the brightest crayon in the box when I did that, but I think I was only taking .5 day most times before I cut.  I honestly can't remember, if that says anything about what Klonopin did to me.  I am keeping it slow to allow my body to catch up.   When I first did the step down, I remember having some really good periods when I could think clearly in the afternoon.  Now, I think it's catching up with me.  I even tried one day while on the 1/4 pill to not take anything, but the next day I just couldn't do it.  I felt my head feeling like I was getting ready to go completely brain dead.  Scared the heck out of me then.  Now, I'm getting use to the symptoms.  They're pretty predictable as to when they come.  Today I put two eggs in water on the stove and forgot about them and they burned.  Stinky.  I put two more on the stove and kept saying to myself "don't forget about the eggs."

 

 

Cognitive dysfunction Really Hurts..

I Don't Know What To Do Sometimes

I did and am going through some serious withdrawal symptoms right now.   I didn't want my last post to sound like I started feeling better after I cut.  Since I was off the Atenolol, I had rapid heartbeats and high pulse rate.  The chills were horrible and I still have wobbly legs through most days and find it hard to function.  Driving is probably not real safe right now, but I do what I can when I can.  I'm just waiting for the next six months to pass by.  I figure by then I'll be a little bit better than I am now, or at least hope to be.  The brain-dead feeling is beginning to be real scary.  I can't remember or think straight, almost like I have Alzheimers or something.  Oh, well.  My day is coming and so is yours.  

 

 

Hey kmarie1944,

 

    I worked a full time job throughout my entire taper (4.5 month dry cut taper of 1.0m og klono), and of course, post taper and am still working.

 

    It was a very difficult time, but I had no other choice but to work.  Most days I was operating out of shear stubborness, and of course, by God's grace.  I am a paralegal, and I have to be accurate and on point.  I basically just took my time and checked and double checked projects before finalizing them.  My mp3 player was always glued to my ears during that time, and I deliberately took on additional assignments at work just to keep myself distracted from the withdrawal symptoms.  Oftentimes I went into the ladies room and prayed and cried.  About every hour I would get up from my desk, walk outside, walk the halls, just to take my mind off of the anxiety, jitteriness, and zombie-like feeling.  Most of the time I was so sleep deprived, plagued by tinnitus, fatigued and suffering flu-like symptoms, that I can only give credit to God for getting me through that ordeal.  On those days when I felt truly devastated, I would take off and try to recover at home, but found that being at home was worse than being at work; working was a better distraction for me than waddling in misery at home with symptoms.  

 

    At 8 months benzo free, I am enjoying a multitude of windows, and working while continuing to heal from benzos is a good place now.  It seems as if it was such a long time ago. Although I made it through that dreaded time, I would recommmend to anyone who can afford to take a leave of absence while tapering and shortly afterwards to do so.  I wanted so badly to be at home going through the ordeal of recovering from benzos, but it just didn't fall to my lot.  

 

    I wish you much success on your job.  Stay the course.

 

   

   

   

Thanks to all who replied it helps me know what others have gone thru so I can get thru my taper.  Sometimes I just want to lay down and sleep til all this goes away but I know it's not an option. I know stress makes things worse and believe me that is all I have in my life right now.  I pray every night for all of us.  On a positive note tapering is WAY better then the c/t I went thru a year ago. 

 

Hugs to all

Kristin

I have not worked in years and hope to when this hell is over. I never thought I would say I cannot wait to go back to work but that is so true. First I was popping oxycodone for fun, then I did a c/t off that- not good. Then was in the hospital and put on my first benzo... now off benzos.. Work has not been there for me but I hope this benzo nonsense will be the end of it and I can be calm and the fog can go and simply work. God Bless, Bob

Hey kmarie1944,

 

    I worked a full time job throughout my entire taper (4.5 month dry cut taper of 1.0m og klono), and of course, post taper and am still working.

 

    It was a very difficult time, but I had no other choice but to work.  Most days I was operating out of shear stubborness, and of course, by God's grace.  I am a paralegal, and I have to be accurate and on point.  I basically just took my time and checked and double checked projects before finalizing them.  My mp3 player was always glued to my ears during that time, and I deliberately took on additional assignments at work just to keep myself distracted from the withdrawal symptoms.  Oftentimes I went into the ladies room and prayed and cried.  About every hour I would get up from my desk, walk outside, walk the halls, just to take my mind off of the anxiety, jitteriness, and zombie-like feeling.  Most of the time I was so sleep deprived, plagued by tinnitus, fatigued and suffering flu-like symptoms, that I can only give credit to God for getting me through that ordeal.  On those days when I felt truly devastated, I would take off and try to recover at home, but found that being at home was worse than being at work; working was a better distraction for me than waddling in misery at home with symptoms.  

 

    At 8 months benzo free, I am enjoying a multitude of windows, and working while continuing to heal from benzos is a good place now.  It seems as if it was such a long time ago. Although I made it through that dreaded time, I would recommmend to anyone who can afford to take a leave of absence while tapering and shortly afterwards to do so.  I wanted so badly to be at home going through the ordeal of recovering from benzos, but it just didn't fall to my lot.  

 

    I wish you much success on your job.  Stay the course.

 

   

   

   

 

Retire, your work experience was much like mine.  I would go into the bathroom stall just to have a moment to myself, away from the noise of the office and the prying eyes of my coworkers.  There was no escape from the symptoms, but it was good to move.  I would go outside too, even when it was so cold so I could keep moving.  Sometimes the walls of the cube would feel like a prison, so I'd go outside, try to breathe.  Of course the elephant sitting on my chest made it difficult, but I had to try.

 

Kristen, you can do this because you have to.  It's horrible and it's hard but I was grateful I had a job to go to, something which made me leave my house.  The distraction if offered was helpful, but I couldn't wait for each day to be over so I could go home.  But as you know, the prison that benzo withdrawal has us in can't be escaped, it goes with us wherever we go.

 

You're going to do just fine, your positive outlook comes through loud and clear, I have faith.

kmaire1944

 

I've worked the entire time, initially it was pure hell.  I was always afraid of having a meltdown at work.  I would have given anything to quit, but can't afford it.  Like Retire I spent a lot of time in the bathroom crying or praying.  For years I worked 4 - 10 hour days so I could be off every Friday, can't do that now.  An 8 hour day is all I can take, it's getting better ..helps pass the time.  I agree with Pam, I needed a reason the leave the house otherwise I wouldn't.

 

You can do it 

 

Hi kmaire~

 

I too am working full time and would agree with what everyone has said so far. There were (and will probably be more) days I couldn't wait to get home before I left the house, but at the same time I can't say I'd feel better if I stayed home everyday. I'm a single mom now and I have no choice - so there's A LOT of motivation right there. Plus, work gets me up and out, and helps my confidence. I think I called in sick only one day since I started tapering mid-february, probably because I'm so stubborn. Looking back I should have taken more days off and cut myself some slack. But honestly, I was afraid that it would sink me if I did.  Some days I hid in my office and did the bare minimum, no doubt. I also cried in the bathroom as well. But I know other women who cry in the bathroom and they aren't doing a benzo w/d  We all have our issues in life to deal with is how I look at it.

 

So bottom line is that it may be doable for you, or even help...you will know when you try.