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Did anyone who's now off benzos find that they were the cause of a health issue?


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I'm very curious about this.

 

There's a lot of talk here about withdrawal symptoms but not much about the negative side effects of the benzos themselves. Although I'm aware these side effects are the reasons many of us choose to taper off.

 

For instance, I know my fatigue got far worse when I started taking benzos daily.

 

For those who have come off benzos, did you find any long term health issues you thought might have been unrelated (e.g. fatigue, agoraphobia, anything?) were actually caused by taking the benzo?

 

Would love to hear some stories like this  :-*

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This is something I have been wondering for a long time.  I am convinced my muscle issues could be related to the long term use of clonazapam, not the result of withdrawal. A lot of my symptoms started before I ever even started to taper. I am at a constant holding pattern at my current dose not knowing where to go from here.
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My regular chronic migraines disappeared as soon as I started tapering klonopin.  (Ironic, considering one doctor wanted to raise my klonopin dose to help with migraines.  I do still get some severe "migraines" that are due to severe muscle spasms from benzo withdrawal, but the typical chronic migraines are virtually gone).  My depression also lifted as soon as I started tapering.  I am having some digestive issues during withdrawal, but some of the other issues and food intolerances I had while on klonopin is no longer an issue.  I also have fewer nightmares and vivid dreams.

 

I had no idea these issues were all due to klonopin, which I was on for insomnia for over 11 years.

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My regular chronic migraines disappeared as soon as I started tapering klonopin.  (Ironic, considering one doctor wanted to raise my klonopin dose to help with migraines.  I do still get some severe "migraines" that are due to severe muscle spasms from benzo withdrawal, but the typical chronic migraines are virtually gone).  My depression also lifted as soon as I started tapering.  I am having some digestive issues during withdrawal, but some of the other issues and food intolerances I had while on klonopin is no longer an issue.  I also have fewer nightmares and vivid dreams.

 

I had no idea these issues were all due to klonopin, which I was on for insomnia for over 11 years.

My regular chronic migraines disappeared as soon as I started tapering klonopin.  (Ironic, considering one doctor wanted to raise my klonopin dose to help with migraines.  I do still get some severe "migraines" that are due to severe muscle spasms from benzo withdrawal, but the typical chronic migraines are virtually gone).  My depression also lifted as soon as I started tapering.  I am having some digestive issues during withdrawal, but some of the other issues and food intolerances I had while on klonopin is no longer an issue.  I also have fewer nightmares and vivid dreams.

 

I had no idea these issues were all due to klonopin, which I was on for insomnia for over 11 years.

 

Are you still having these symptoms: Current symptoms are major muscle issues; severe muscle spasms, trouble walking, and involuntary movements

 

Did you have them throughout your taper?

 

When if ever did they stop?

 

Was your taper pretty fast?

 

Sounds like you’ve had many benefits since tapering. Do they balance out the withdrawal symptoms?

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I think my kidney issues were a cause of benzos. I've been prescribed high doses of bp pills because I have/had such bad benzo anxiety. I feel it easing up, but it was so bad that my bp went WAY up. The pills didn't even help for that type of anxiety. Unless it's a pheochromocytoma, I think it has been an offshoot issue.
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My regular chronic migraines disappeared as soon as I started tapering klonopin.  (Ironic, considering one doctor wanted to raise my klonopin dose to help with migraines.  I do still get some severe "migraines" that are due to severe muscle spasms from benzo withdrawal, but the typical chronic migraines are virtually gone).  My depression also lifted as soon as I started tapering.  I am having some digestive issues during withdrawal, but some of the other issues and food intolerances I had while on klonopin is no longer an issue.  I also have fewer nightmares and vivid dreams.

 

I had no idea these issues were all due to klonopin, which I was on for insomnia for over 11 years.

My regular chronic migraines disappeared as soon as I started tapering klonopin.  (Ironic, considering one doctor wanted to raise my klonopin dose to help with migraines.  I do still get some severe "migraines" that are due to severe muscle spasms from benzo withdrawal, but the typical chronic migraines are virtually gone).  My depression also lifted as soon as I started tapering.  I am having some digestive issues during withdrawal, but some of the other issues and food intolerances I had while on klonopin is no longer an issue.  I also have fewer nightmares and vivid dreams.

 

I had no idea these issues were all due to klonopin, which I was on for insomnia for over 11 years.

 

Are you still having these symptoms: Current symptoms are major muscle issues; severe muscle spasms, trouble walking, and involuntary movements

 

Did you have them throughout your taper?

 

When if ever did they stop?

 

Was your taper pretty fast?

 

Sounds like you’ve had many benefits since tapering. Do they balance out the withdrawal symptoms?

 

Scaredie; you said in another thread you were diagnosed with ms and that there were definite markers that they look for? Did those markers ever show up for you?

 

If not; Do you truly believe you have ms?

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While I was still completely off Klonopin from c/t, I became regular and didn’t have the pain in my legs and body like I did prior.  I’d been diagnosed with IBS-C, Fibromyalgia and CFS.  Since reinstating, I have a return of these issues.  So, I now believe these are directly related to benzos.  I didn’t have any of it before starting on them back in ‘94.  I never considered Klonopin to be the culprit.  I’m sure there are ,ore health issues it’s caused but I was only off for 35 days and in such a DR/DP, terror state I can’t remember them all.  But there were more I realized at the time.  Can’t reeeeeeemember now  :idiot:
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While I was still completely off Klonopin from c/t, I became regular and didn’t have the pain in my legs and body like I did prior.  I’d been diagnosed with IBS-C, Fibromyalgia and CFS.  Since reinstating, I have a return of these issues.  So, I now believe these are directly related to benzos.  I didn’t have any of it before starting on them back in ‘94.  I never considered Klonopin to be the culprit.  I’m sure there are ,ore health issues it’s caused but I was only off for 35 days and in such a DR/DP, terror state I can’t remember them all.  But there were more I realized at the time.  Can’t reeeeeeemember now  :idiot:

 

That's very interesting. So you saw relief from CFS and other symptoms during the time you were off klonopin? What made you reinstate?

 

Very glad to hear this - this should give you a lot of hope of at least a partial recovery down the line  :)

 

I strongly believe that benzos and abrupt withdrawal caused my fatigue issues. I have a diagnosis of CFS but the only origin was psych drugs and abrupt withdrawal.

 

I believe that this might contribute to CFS symptoms in a few ways. Firstly, benzos significantly suppress a lot of neuro-hormones like cortisol, which (among other things) is associated with and responsible for adaptive changes to the environment. For example, I noticed that my temperature regulation while on 5-10mg valium was awful. Slightly too hot or cold would make me feel sick. This largely resolved as my doses got lower. Likewise, I experienced my first profound "crashes" after first starting valium. I would be walking and suddenly hit a wall and not be able to go any further. Like all energy had just ran out.

 

What gave me a possibly unique insight into this is that I was having extensive endocrine investigations during my initial valium taper. I saw how baseline cortisol levels, cortisol response and loads of ways in which I was unable to adapt to environmental changes all improved as I reduced my dosage. In fact, valium suppressed my cortisol and response so much that they suspected Addison's disease and I even began treatment for this. Guess what happened as I tapered ? They told me they must have made a mistake. Valium directly caused endocrine suppression and Addison's symptoms.

 

I still have extreme fatigue, but am hoping that the trend of improvement continues as I get to 0 and beyond.

 

Second, I believe usage and withdrawal of psych drugs including benzos can lead to a state very similar to PTSD. Chronic overactivation of the limbic system - being stuck in fight or flight. This being experienced as tired yet wired, hypersensitivity, energy crashes, etc. I believe that just like viral, chemical or other causes of CFS, psych drugs can create a neurological injury and a pattern of overactivation that will perpetuate itself until some kind of intervention.

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As we have seen, they gave me cancer for a time. It is gone and has like no chance of coming back according to a fairly intelligent oncologist.
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As we have seen, they gave me cancer for a time. It is gone and has like no chance of coming back according to a fairly intelligent oncologist.

 

:(

 

I'm glad you are better now.

 

Can you post any of your research on this?

 

 

I just did some reading and found this:

 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ijc.30443

 

"Benzodiazepine use was significantly associated with an increased risk of cancer (odds ratio [OR] or relative risk [RR] 1.19; 95% confidence interval 1.16–1.21) in a random‐effects meta‐analysis of all studies. Subgroup meta‐analyses by various factors such as study design, type of case‐control study, study region, and methodological quality of study showed consistent findings"

 

"Also, a significant dose‐response relationship was observed between the use of benzodiazepine and the risk of cancer (p for trend <0.01). "

 

It does seem that overall, benzo usage - increasing dosage and duration - are associated with increased risk of cancer. Although of course this is very hard to prove in each individual case.

 

I'm curious about the precise biochemical mechanisms. I wonder if anyone has insight into this?

 

I also imagine that these effects are in part produced by stress while on the benzos. And that lastly, underlying factors (like stress, again) can increase the chance of both benzo usage and cancer. It seems complicated to untangle.

 

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Hi MrEggplant,

 

You asked why I reinstated...  being c/t’d off Klonopin after taking it for 23 years was absolute 24/7 terror.  I did my best to grind through it but at 35 days, made the decision to start up again and do a taper.  I’m still minimally functional but I was unable to function at all and the severity of withdrawals were too much for me to handle.  I had it all, except seizures. 

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While I was still completely off Klonopin from c/t, I became regular and didn’t have the pain in my legs and body like I did prior.  I’d been diagnosed with IBS-C, Fibromyalgia and CFS.  Since reinstating, I have a return of these issues.  So, I now believe these are directly related to benzos.  I didn’t have any of it before starting on them back in ‘94.  I never considered Klonopin to be the culprit.  I’m sure there are ,ore health issues it’s caused but I was only off for 35 days and in such a DR/DP, terror state I can’t remember them all.  But there were more I realized at the time.  Can’t reeeeeeemember now  :idiot:

 

I also have benzo &/ or Cipro induced CFS & POTS.

 

The extreme fatigue first appeared as interdose withdrawal from zopiclone which also caused significant memory loss & occasional strange behaviour, (thankfully no sleep driving).

 

The CFS kicked in with a vengeance after CT withdrawal & unfortunately still persists in waves.

 

I had never missed a day of work or exercise before benzos & am 100% sure that i only developed CFS from benzos & the systemic havoc that they cause.

 

That's very interesting. So you saw relief from CFS and other symptoms during the time you were off klonopin? What made you reinstate?

 

Very glad to hear this - this should give you a lot of hope of at least a partial recovery down the line  :)

 

I strongly believe that benzos and abrupt withdrawal caused my fatigue issues. I have a diagnosis of CFS but the only origin was psych drugs and abrupt withdrawal.

 

I believe that this might contribute to CFS symptoms in a few ways. Firstly, benzos significantly suppress a lot of neuro-hormones like cortisol, which (among other things) is associated with and responsible for adaptive changes to the environment. For example, I noticed that my temperature regulation while on 5-10mg valium was awful. Slightly too hot or cold would make me feel sick. This largely resolved as my doses got lower. Likewise, I experienced my first profound "crashes" after first starting valium. I would be walking and suddenly hit a wall and not be able to go any further. Like all energy had just ran out.

 

What gave me a possibly unique insight into this is that I was having extensive endocrine investigations during my initial valium taper. I saw how baseline cortisol levels, cortisol response and loads of ways in which I was unable to adapt to environmental changes all improved as I reduced my dosage. In fact, valium suppressed my cortisol and response so much that they suspected Addison's disease and I even began treatment for this. Guess what happened as I tapered ? They told me they must have made a mistake. Valium directly caused endocrine suppression and Addison's symptoms.

 

I still have extreme fatigue, but am hoping that the trend of improvement continues as I get to 0 and beyond.

 

Second, I believe usage and withdrawal of psych drugs including benzos can lead to a state very similar to PTSD. Chronic overactivation of the limbic system - being stuck in fight or flight. This being experienced as tired yet wired, hypersensitivity, energy crashes, etc. I believe that just like viral, chemical or other causes of CFS, psych drugs can create a neurological injury and a pattern of overactivation that will perpetuate itself until some kind of intervention.

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Benzos In The News

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=191564.0

 

Please read the whole thread and actually have some idea of what you are saying before you comment further about what you know about benzos and cancer and their carcinogenicity…

 

I don't have time to educate.

 

Hi azalea,  what was said in this thread that you disagreed with?

 

 

Do you have a post somewhere with an overview summary or notes of your research into benzos and carcinogenicity?

 

Would really appreciate this and it would help many, as you seem to have spent a lot of time reading and seeking to understand

 

 

It is understandably quite tricky to wade through large studies and digest all of the information, evaluate for any bias, balance, context and application to non-animal models, etc - especially for benzo withdrawal frazzled brains or those untrained in biochem

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Benzos In The News

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=191564.0

 

Please read the whole thread and actually have some idea of what you are saying before you comment further about what you know about benzos and cancer and their carcinogenicity…

 

I don't have time to educate.

 

Hi azalea,  what was said in this thread that you disagreed with?

 

 

Do you have a post somewhere with an overview summary or notes of your research into benzos and carcinogenicity?

 

Would really appreciate this and it would help many, as you seem to have spent a lot of time reading and seeking to understand

 

 

It is understandably quite tricky to wade through large studies and digest all of the information, evaluate for any bias, balance, context and application to non-animal models, etc - especially for benzo withdrawal frazzled brains or those untrained in biochem

 

I'm not offended or upset with anybody on here right now… not even one. I'm tired of all this… I'm tired just like all of you are and my patience has almost run out with explanations.

 

Significant Cellular Changes in Rat's Vital Organs After Only 4 Weeks on Benzo

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=191564.msg2602545#msg2602545

 

I'm sorry, but you guys are going to have to read through this yourselves. I made it very clear and I understand not being able to do this or not wanting to but I now have a life to live.

 

I may keep working on this one thread, but I am no longer going to direct people over to this or risk my life with this sh*t.

 

I have a life to live… I have a life to live… I have a life to live.

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Looking through some of the articles they sited now.

 

Pancytopenia associated with clonazepam

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2915945/?report=reader

 

Genotoxicity and carcinogenicity studies of benzodiazepines

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043661807001582?via%3Dihub

 

Suppressive effects of alprazolam on the immune response of mice.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/2071299/

 

Assessment of single-dose benzodiazepines on insulin secretion, insulin sensitivity and glucose effectiveness in healthy volunteers: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized cross-over trial

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC387833/?report=reader

 

Stress, neuropsychiatric disorders and immunological effects exerted by benzodiazepines.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/9653667/

 

Identification of a 17-kDa protein associated with the peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor in vascular and other smooth muscle types.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/1650838/

 

Effects of different doses and schedules of diazepam treatment on lymphocyte parameters in rats.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/20846531/

 

Cytogenetic activity of newly synthesized 1,5-benzodiazepines in normal human lymphocyte cultures.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/20373848/

 

Effects of alprazolam on T-cell immunosuppressive response to surgical stress in mice.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/1649692/

 

Enigma of the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/10581326/

 

Genetic toxicology of four commonly used benzodiazepines: a review.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/8692185/

 

Diazepam leads to enhanced severity of orthopoxvirus infection and immune suppression.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/20659521/

 

Immunomodulating effects of tofizopam (Grandaxin) and diazepam in vitro.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1781640/

 

Calcium channel blockers, apoptosis and cancer: is there a biologic relationship?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/10588195/

 

Effects of midazolam on equine innate immune response: a flow cytometric study.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12969632/

 

Effects of diazepam on Mycobacterium bovis-induced infection in hamsters.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/10464392/

 

Alprazolam intercalates into DNA.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/19108581/

 

Prenatal diazepam induced persisting depression of cellular immune responses.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/2538699/

 

Impaired host resistance to Trichinella spiralis as a consequence of prenatal treatment of rats with diazepam.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/7801325/

 

The effect of chronic diazepam administration on lipid peroxidation and Ca2+ -ATPase activity in rat liver.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18277470/

 

Benzodiazepine receptor agonists modulate thymocyte apoptosis through reduction of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/10202853/

 

 

Steroidogenic acute regulatory protein and peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor associate at the mitochondrial membrane.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/11145616/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The list goes on...

 

Great list azalea,

 

So you think they do know?

 

:laugh:

 

Nah

 

Must I go on… ?

 

I will for one more second or two- one of the most recent abstracts was a data mining/data compilation of 796 of these studies and they say now, hands down that benzodiazepines are carcinogenic.

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Thanks azalea32 for all the information you researched and provided to us.  I am thrilled? Hmm for lack of a better word, to look through the volume of studies to increase my understanding of this horrible scourge that has befallen us.  It is a prickly mine field of data that cannot easily be put into understandable forms.

 

Sweet pea

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I am not sure if my response will be of interest or not but here it goes anyway.

 

Benzos have blighted my entire adult life, destroyed it in many ways.

 

Prescribed in 1975, for myoclonic epilepsy, there were no patient information sheets or internet access  I was told nothing about the drug.  I was a student, passed my exams, and it was the summer holidays.  I was depressed, however.

 

After starting on Nitrazepam I became hyperactive, the opposite of what one would expect from a sleeping pill, and totally the opposite of my normal behaviour.  Within two months I had lost 25% of my body weight, returned to a state of pre-puberty and tried to take my own life.  I had never been suicidal before this though I was depressed.

 

I then started seeing psychiatrists and not one seemed to realise I had had a paradoxical reaction to Ntirazepam and of course I had never heard of such a thing.

 

I then started on antidepressants and took them for the next 35 years or so along with the Nitrazepam.  There were many more suicide attempts, hospital admissions, aggression etc, again totally the opposite of how I am.  It seemed the drugs had changed my personality in many ways.  I had no desire to live.

 

For the rest of my adult life I believed I needed Nitrazepam for the myoclonic jerks and I was terrified of stopping antidepressants in case I returned to a suicidal state.  I had nearly died due to an overdose.  I learned to cope with this dreadful "depression" which I now know were the adverse effects of Nitrazepam, exhaustion every day, feeling alone and lonely - drug side effects, the list is very long.

 

At age 63, I am now off all psychiatric drugs.  I now know there i nothing wrong with my mental health and probably hasn't been for at least 3 decades, perhaps I would never have needed a psychiatrist if I had not started on Nitrazepam, perhaps I would have worked through the reasons for my teen-age depression.  I certainly would not have lost the rest of my adult life to this drugs.

 

I am now disabled and housebound due to the catastrophic effects of withdrawal on my brain and body, confirmed by two consultants, a neurologist and a psychiatrist (addiction specialist).

 

I have no other health issues whatsoever apart from the damage done by the benzos.  The original diagnosis was no doubt a factor in all this but I believe that my life would have been very different without Nitrazepam.

 

I had little trouble tapering off Venlafaxine, taken for many years, possibly because I never really needed antidepressants in the first place!! I tried many of them and most I could not tolerate.

 

I have had no mental symptoms of note since coming off all these drugs, it is all physical and cognitive.

 

I truly never imagined ever in nearly 40 years that nitrazepam was the underlying cause of most of my health issues, and they were terrible, every single day, they were terrible and I thought it was "depression". 

 

And I have had no myoclonic jerks since tapering off Nitrazepam, the whole reason I took the drug in the first place. 

 

I hope by telling people my story they may perhaps avoid the life I have had or can help other people to avoid it.

 

Best wishes

 

Fiona  :smitten:

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I am not sure if my response will be of interest or not but here it goes anyway.

 

Benzos have blighted my entire adult life, destroyed it in many ways.

 

 

Dear Fiona, your contribution is very much appreciated. And I am very saddened to hear of your suffering.

 

It is quite horrifying how one can enter a funnel where side effects are interpreted as a more fundamental problem, leading to years and decades of misdiagnosis and mistreatment.

 

 

And the origin of all of this for us is very benign too - we usually just wanted some small relief from suffering. We were trying to be kind to ourselves.

 

 

As someone young (20s), it also makes me sad how people in older generations - or even just those who simply trust their doctors - had so little access to information. I had the possibility to do some intense googling during my 2nd withdrawal and piece together what might be happening to me. The power of the internet.

 

 

Even now of course, information is very limited, there's little long term research, doctors are likely to interpret withdrawal as relapse of mental health issues and generally invalidate the suffering of psych drug withdrawal. But at least one can find peer communities like this to work out what is going on and find ways to reduce suffering. But 10...20...30...years ago? And longer, many like yourself, probably had no understanding beyond conversations with a fairly naive doctor. And by the time they came to some comprehension of the effects, such a strong physiological dependence is formed through decades of usage that there's no route out but through brutal withdrawals. And all for that original reason of wanting to suffer just a little less. It's grotesque.

 

 

Wishing you health and happiness. I hope that 2018 is a year of healing and recovery to the life you want to live, Fiona

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Thank you so much for such a lovely response.  I am very touched by your understanding.  I spend most of my time campaigning in the UK where antidepressants is now the much bigger problem as well as opioids of course and it makes me so sad to see that things have changed very little despite all the information and internet access etc. 

 

I can see you have suffered a  great deal yourself and I do hope you can successfully complete your taper and recover sufficiently to have a good quality of life. 

 

Fiona  :smitten: 

 

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As we have seen, they gave me cancer for a time. It is gone and has like no chance of coming back according to a fairly intelligent oncologist.

 

I seriously doubt that benzos caused a malignancy. Just calling it out because a post like this could spread hypochondria to vulnerable peoiple.

 

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