No benzos in my house for the first time in 20 years!!! Life is good

I finished my taper  from 20 year daily temazepam use on February 3. I had a lot of pills left and kept them in my house for the past 2 weeks " just in case ". Just in case has not happened by the grace of God. This weekend, I discarded all remaining benzos. It is the first time in 20 years that there has not been a benzo in my house!! My husband of 10 years has never seen me without benzos until now. Life is great!!! Not to say that I had no symptoms during my taper, but the process was so worth the outcome. Life is great benzo free!!!!! Missy

Nice!  Congratulations!!! 

Congratulations!  I kept some benzos around for a few months after quitting, but never took any even though at times I wanted to.  I realized that the xanax would give me a few hours of relief, but then I'd be terribly depressed and angry with myself for giving in.  So, I never did.  Then, at three months off, I got rid of all the pills and never looked back.  It was a great and liberating feeling.

 

Wonderful!! Thanks for sharing!

Congratulations!!!

Congrats Missy! Well done!!

Congratulations! Best success with you post-benzo life

 

This type of post is one of my favorites here on BB!

It's evidence of a stability that comes from knowing that you're "there" - and really wonderful to hear!

 

Congratulations!

Congratulations! I did the same thing with my Ativan, plushed them all in the toilet along with my Remeron. Keeping them around is not a good idea as you can get tempted to take rescue doses when it gets tough. Like Megan said, it is very liberating feeling to get rid of the poison pills.

 

Wishing you the best with your recovery!

 

Blessings!

Pi

 

 

Aaawwh- thanks everyone for the kind words. I am so grateful to be in this place and I just want to encourage everyone that life is great on the other side of benzos. I love the benzo free celebration board because I feel that we all need to hear the positive ( we've all lived through the negative). Keep living benzo free!!!

Congrats missy! Just curious how bad was your taper using the microgram scale? We’re you ok after you jumped?

Hi Shinexx. Like many, I did not get any advice from my doctor regarding tapering. It was my decision to come off the benzo ( I did not know about BB or the Ashton manual). So I cut my dose in half day 1 - huge mistake. I ended up in the ER. That's when I researched more and found BB and advice on a proper taper. I held for about a month at the half dose (15 mg) and then started the micro gram taper. Once I tapered correctly, it went pretty well. I still have some tinnitus, but my sleep is great, I love to exercise, my anxiety is almost non existent. I did experience a little dizziness each time I tapered, but it resolved. Post Jump, the tinnitus is the only thing hanging on ( and waiting for my hair to grow back - at least it's stopped falling out). Best wishes to you and everyone in the fight. Missy 

Missy do you think the dizziness is normal with the cuts? I get terrible waves of idizziness which like you said seem to fade away and come back. It’s my most frustrating symptom. I’ve tapered down from 30 miligrams of valium I am currently on 3 miligrams. I’m doing a liquid micro taper. It’s been 15 months of tapering so far.

Shinexx, dizziness  is very common with dose reductions. The cerebellum in the brain is densely packed with GABA receptors. The cerebellum is responsible for balance so it is very sensitive to drops in GABA from benzo tapers. I found Vestibular  ocular reflex (VOR) exercises and balance exercises like single leg stance progressed to eyes closed to be extremely helpful. I also practiced "tree pose" yoga position. You can Google VOR exercises. The basics ones involve you holding a pen or pencil at arms length and moving your head side to side and then up-and-down while keeping a fixed Gaze  on the pencil. Like everything else affected by benzo's, the cerebellum has to heal and I have found these exercises helpful in assisting with the healing process.  Congratulations on the progress that you have made so far. Keep fighting the good fight. It is so worth it. missy

Thanks so much for sharing. Good luck to you as you continue your journey!