Rehab facilities don't get it!

I was in a rehab for 30 days.  I am not a drug addict.  I was physically dependent on benzos.  After I left, my withdrawal got worse.  The other clients there were fine within a few days to a week.  I kept getting worse.  I went to their meetings and kept saying I'm still in detox and was scoffed at, basically.  No one understood and the worst of it was the sober staff that kept insisting that I was an addict.

 

The whole situation really upset it.  We need benzo w/d clinics here in the states.  I am a licensed therapist and I would LOVE to work in a benzo w/d clinic.  Why doesn't anyone get this?  Why don't doctors recognize how difficult these withdrawals are and how long they last?  Because the medical community doesn't recognize it, our friends/family don't recognize it.  We are already suffering but then to make us feel like we're making this up is just adding salt to the wound. 

 

Anyone else have rehab experiences you'd like to share?  Also, anyone have any ideas about a benzo withdrawal clinic I'm all ears!

 

Leslie

HA!  You read my mind.  I too would love to start a clinic and have been in contact with a guy in the UK who is working with the government to provide a facility to help people detox and return back to normal.  Perhaps we can connect with him and do the same in the US.

 

Ziggy

I had a nightmare happen to me too at a detox center...I wrote about it here:

 

http://bipolarblast.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/so-what-is-up-with-gianna/

 

it's kinda a crazy ramble because I was pretty messed up when I wrote it...but they are all like this...have no clue about serious withdrawal

 

horrible nightmare...

 

I have a friend who runs a clinic and I think it's a good one...I've been invited to go stay as an observer and participant...I am not expected to do anything I don't want to do...when I go...which will be when I'm better because I can't travel now I will let folks know if it's as good as I think it is.

 

 

ziggy and gianna,

 

i'm sorry you went through a similar rehab experience.  i have a feeling there are many with similar stories.  too bad we weren't at the same rehab!  the director of the AA at my rehab did not like me at all because i refused to state that i was an addict. 

 

ziggy, please keep in touch.  if you're serious about a clinic!  i am ready to work as a therapist in a legitimate benzo w/d clinic to help support clients through this...not forcing them to admit to being a drug addict, treating them with respect and basically helping them through an ashton taper plan. 

 

leslie

So glad to find this thread...Pamster told me about it.

 

Rehab facilities don't have a clue about benzo w/d's.  I spent 25 days there and didn't feel one bit better the day I walked out than I did the day I walked in.

 

They told me I am an alcoholic and an addict.  I am not either.  I was dependent on benzos and was trying to withdraw and that's when this whole mess blew up.

 

We need someone like Heather Ashton here in the U.S. to start a benzo withdrawal clinic!

 

Tish

I think someone like Leslie would be just fine! 

 

Plenty of us have what it would take to put together a good program...the tragedy is it is very expensive to run such a program and most people wouldn't be able to afford it...

 

it's a long haul and there is no short cut...I think perhaps that is why they're all really bad...a good one would be outside of the realm of most people's pocket books...

 

sometimes reality and the shortcomings of capitalism dictate.

 

 

why did ashton's clinic shut down ?

I am not kidding.  I will run the whole darn clinic if I have to and would be absolutely willing to make it non-profit. 

 

I'd like to find a psychiatrist that would help with the Ashton taper. 

 

There is such a need for this...I'm just amazed that a country like the US does not have a quality benzo w/d clinic. 

 

If it were up to me, I'd run it as an IOP (intensive outpatient) while people are tapering.  They could come to receive therapy and psychiatric tapering schedules.  I'd have group therapy so those going through benzo w/d and tapering could talk face-to-face with one another.  Family therapy would be beneficial to help those who are supporting people in benzo w/d. 

 

If anyone reading this has any ideas or contacts, please PM me.

 

Leslie

I am starting to think that benzo's are our dirtiest secret - if a doctor stepped up to the plate on this like ashton did he or she would be a hero to millions... Dr. Drew IMO is a blood sucker...he may do good work and that's good but it's all for show, I maybe wrong about it but I still think he exploits people but if the end justifies the means then whatever, just forget what I said, I can change my mind about it if I want to...I am american

 

After all those celebs died starting with heath you would think it would be a outcry, I know in my heart that Michael Jackson died because one day long ago someone gave him a benzo and he never educated himself about it and could never get off of them, it may not have been the cause of his death but it really was if you look at the big picture.

 

all those stars death spooked me into wanting to get off this pill, I was never having any problems that I know of with it but I said it's enough I want off.

what about a clinic that teaches you how to get off the pills and then sends you home to do it ? then you can come back

 

summer benzo camp

 

plus a interactive website like this one... just dreaming, I am very good at that.

sundazed...LOL...benzo summer camp.

 

I was thinking more along the lines of offering therapeutic support/reassurance.  It would've helped me a lot if I had a therapist who had been through this and could convince me that it was all going to be alright.  I felt so alone. 

 

It would be nice to have a support group, similar to this forum, except in real life.  People to talk with in person. 

 

One of the worst aspects of w/d for me was feeling that there was something so terribly wrong in my brain but having doctor after doctor tell me I was "over" the withdrawal phase (when I was in week 4 and 5).  They clearly do not know about this stuff.

 

My parents would hear the doctors say this and then not take my suffering seriously.  It really upset me.  I just knew there was something really wrong but current tests do not reveal it.

 

I used to think it would've been better if I had broken both my legs, had them in casts and was in a wheelchair.  It would be a visible illness and people wouldn't expect after two weeks or so for me to just get up and walk on my own. 

 

When I am fully healed, I am going to do something about this.  This is needless suffering on so many people and it MUST STOP!

benzo summer camp could be fun, we could eat almonds around the camp fire there would be pictures of heather ashton on the walls  plus we can all bring our graduated cylinders and beakers, pill cutting classes, bake ginger snap cookies... fun !

It would be nice to have a support group, similar to this forum, except in real life.  People to talk with in person.

I go to a real life benzo support group near my hometown and it has been great to be able to phone in or go visit when I'm having a rough day, as well as go to the weekly group meetings to talk to others going through this hell and even have people return who are now through the nightmare.  Both counsellors are benzo survivors and totally understand everything about withdrawal.  They even work with a few GPs to give them tapering advice for their patients.  Neither of the counsellors are medically trained - they are supervised but their knowledge comes from experience, something which most doctors do not have.

 

Trouble is we are a very small group funded mostly through our local hospital board which has had a budget blow out.  They are making huge budget cuts all over the place and of course in their wisdom many small support groups such as the benzo one must go or merge with other drug agencies.  As with most medical authorities around the world, they just do not seem to get the difference between withdrawal from benzos and withdrawal from the so-called street drugs.  It really is like banging your head against a brick wall trying to get the message through to the medical world.

 

It's sad for those who are still struggling with benzos to know that there will no longer be face to face support here where I live - I fear for those who are on benzos now and when they seek help to get off, there will be no support.

 

Even Heather Ashton's clinic, which she started many years ago, closed when she was forced to retire because she had reached a certain age.  She campaigned against benzos for all those years, yet even she wasn't able to totally get the message through.  I figure if someone with her knowledge and background can't convinced the medical masses, then what chance have I.  But I do all I can to spread the word about the dangers of benzos and have made no secret of my illness - despite the fact that a lot of people look at you in that odd way - we all know that look, the kind that listens but really does not believe you.

LB are you in Oz ? there is a clinic in Australia that I remember hearing about.

I would love to be involved in something like that.  In fact I've thought about it many times during this experience.   I would love to help others with this. I've even thought maybe that is why this happened to me. I have managed clinics in the past so have experience with that part.

 

I can't believe there aren't clinics that know what they are doing.   I think it's because it takes too long to detox.   Other drugs and alcohol are shorter duration.  I think the outpatient/day clinic is a great idea

PS

Sun are you SURE you aren't a comedian

[LB are you in Oz ? there is a clinic in Australia that I remember hearing about./quote]

No, New Zealand.

 

Don't forget the relaxation classes at benzo summer camp.  Can just picture us all lying on our mats breathing heavily.

I agree with the IOP...a clinic that would help those with their taper, side-effects etc.

Someplace people like us could have gone when we started this whole unbearable process....and have the support that we did not, until we found our benzobuddies.

 

It is really needed here in America.  To my knowledge, there is none like it here.

 

And ideally, it could be run on donations...people give what they are able to give. 

 

Guess we are all really dreaming, but so were the Wright Brothers!

 

Percussion

PS

Sun are you SURE you aren't a comedian

 

I am very sure

 

I will open a clinic when I hit the lottery because it's gonna take a lot of money

 

I agree with the IOP...a clinic that would help those with their taper, side-effects etc.

Someplace people like us could have gone when we started this whole unbearable process....and have the support that we did not, until we found our benzobuddies.

 

It is really needed here in America.  To my knowledge, there is none like it here.

 

And ideally, it could be run on donations...people give what they are able to give. 

 

Guess we are all really dreaming, but so were the Wright Brothers!

 

Percussion

 

I've thought about the same thing.  It would be great to be able to convince somebody like the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation about the truth of benzo/AD/psych-drug withdrawal, and have them fund a clinic for helping people get off them.  I'm sure a lot of experienced people would be willing to work for a living wage or even volunteer to work there.  It would probably have a short-term in-patient facility, with long-term out-patient counseling and treatment.

 

I honestly don't believe that detox works for benzo/AD/psych-drug withdrawal, so the in-patient part would be more of a "get the critically suffering people stabilized on the meds they have", and the outpatient would be the "slow and supportive taper and post-taper assistance" part.

 

I have not read a single case of people successfully "detoxing" from benzos in a detox center.  They either come out completely addicted to other drugs, or in an extremely fragile and damaged state that's probably worse off than when they went in.

 

Detox centers and hospitals scare the crap out of me when it comes to the treatment protocols used.  I'm glad I never went to detox although I seriously considered it at one point.  The ER was bad help/advice all around the many times I went there during my initial ativan withdrawal (which I supposedly was not experiencing!).

 

 

Hopeful....I think everyone on this forum would be willing to volunteer...I know I would...and we would know what we are talking about!!

 

It's really something to think about....Bill and Melinda Gates...great idea!!

 

Perc

So many of us are thinking the same...something needs to be done.

 

I just went through 2 months of being told i'm crazy and making up sx and all kinds of nutty diagnosis because the docs are in denial about benzos.

 

I finally found a benzo doc that is not a psychiatrist, is available via page any time and is no horribly expensive.....I finally have some hope that i can stabalize and get off this poison.

 

I was in the hospital in may and they dropped my dose of k by .25 and put me into a tail spin and then they gave me one day dose of where i started from and said "Okay, you're not in withdrawal anymore"...The only thing their little "test" decrease did for me was give me a bad case of diarrhea!  I was accused of debilitating myself on purpose!  The psychiatrists are absolutely nuts IMO.  I will never go to another psychiatrist.

 

When i get through this nighmare, i'm gonna work on advocacy and find a way to help people in benzo hell.  I've done a lot of advocacy work in the past and i know that i can do it for benzos and i can be a real pain in the rear and make people listen!

 

thanks for listening to my rant

 

truck

This is truly a need and I, too, don't see why there isn't such a place (or a number of them) in the US already.  Basic economic theory would predict that since there's a market somebody would step in and provide what was needed.  I think both the outpatient idea and trying to secure funding from somebody big are good suggestions.  I have no useful training (although I was once an EMT on an active rural service) but I'd be willing to invest in such a place if someone was able to get it together.  I think a non-profit would be nice, too, as that would mean more people and those without many resources could be served.

 

I've often thought that if I hit the lottery (and I actually know somebody who did: 4.5 million US) I'd start some kind of non-profit.  I like to support my own community so I'd likely start something that provides basic services like housing, heat, basic medical care, that sort of thing.  However, since there doesn't seem to be a benzo clinic on the model we all desire I'll promise some of my lottery money to help make that happen.  In the meantime, I can only say I'd put up a (very) modest sum if one actually got off the ground.

 

Great thread and good thoughts.

 

John

 

hey truck and john,

 

i agree.  and john, my sentiments exactly, simple supply and demand...there is a huge need for people like us...a nonprofit to help people that are physically dependent (not drug addicts) get off this stuff safely and as comfortably as possible. 

 

part of me wants to heal and then just forget about the word "benzo" for the rest of my life, but i know there is a need and i know others like us are suffering and need help. 

 

on a side note, i was driving down the highway today and saw a sign for gas stations at the next exit.  there was one for circle K, y'know the red circle witht a K in the middle.  the first thing i thought was KLONOPIN.  and then i LOLd.  this stuff is insidious!

Thanks for the laugh, L123 - you know, though, that now every time I see one of those signs I'm gonna think the same thing; like a bad tune you can't get out of your head.  It is funny, though, and I needed a laugh today badly.  Thanks and I hope your day is a good one.

 

John