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advice needed after taking low dose of benzo's


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I was presribed xanax a few years ago when i began to experience panic attacks. I used it very sparingly and it was only a .25 dose for which most often I split in half.  One bottle could last a year.

 

recently I began to develop gastric distress which continued and I began to become increasingly worried that it was something serious.  It turned out to be Celliacs Disease which affects your nervous system as well as your gastro instestinal system etc.

Up until my diagnosis I used up half a 30 day supply and then another 30 day supply of .25. So my dosage was very small but I found myself in a terrible cycle of feeling awful by the next morning. In April of 2010 I woke up one morning and I was very dizzy and unsteady on my feet. It never went away. I finally stopped taking it completely but thought I was going to die or was losing my mind.

 

My doctor gave me .25 of klonopin instead and I never took it. After going to the emergency room thinking I needed to be committed to a psychiatric ward. They told me that even in small doses you can become dependent over a period of months.  I finally stopped taking them completely and felt much better and the dizziness and disorientation and leg weakness went away. I took 5 doses of the klonopin and it all came back.

I haven't taken a dose since Monday but I feel horrible. like if I can just take a dose I will feel better but I know what is on the other side of that. could I have become like this from such small doses of this medication????

 

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Hello quincy, Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

I'm so sorry to hear of your health difficulties, it's seems especially cruel to have benzo withdrawal symptoms dumped on top of them.  This class of drugs is so powerful, as you've found out!  The symptoms of Celliacs Disease sound just like benzo withdrawal symptoms, wow!  When I was in tolerance to my dose of Klonopin, I felt those exact same things. 

 

Just for clarification, you stopped taking the Xanax completely, and only took 5 doses of Klonopin a week or so ago?  I just wanted to get it straight in case I've not understood the time frame.  If this is the case, then it sounds to me as you're still experiencing withdrawal symptoms from the the Xanax, even though you were feeling somewhat better by the time you took the Klonopin.  It takes a long time for our bodies to heal from these drugs, usually many months so what you're feeling is normal.

 

Pam

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Thank you for your response Pam.  Let me see if I can recall all of this correctly.  I was off the xanax for several weeks and began to feel better and the off balance symptoms went away.  Then had a meltdown and went to a psychiatrist who put me on .25 of Klonopin. I have taken about 5 doses of this over the last 2 weeks, the last dose being this past Monday at noon. By the next morning my horrible dizzineness and leg weakness returned.

 

not sure if this is neurological symptoms from the celiacs or benzo withdrawal.  I was only on low doses of xanax as well, so don't understand all of this really.  The nurse pract. who prescribed the xanax gave me a 30 day supply and said to take them twice daily. Then when I called her and told her what I was experiencing she said I should not have taken it for more than a week... I am so confused by all of this.

 

thanks for your feedback.  is there an antidote to all of this?

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Hi quincy,

 

You've been given some confusing messages by your health care providers, I'm sorry.  In my opinion though, there are no low doses of benzodiazepenes, they're a very powerful class of drugs and Xanax is one of the strongest there is.  It's also got the shortest half life, which means that it's quite likely that your body would start to withdraw from it before it's time for your next dose.

 

So many people have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, MS, Lupus and a host of other ailments before they finally figured out that their bodies had become dependent to the drug and they were experiencing withdrawal symptoms without even knowing they were dependent.  The symptoms vary so wildly, waxing and waning so it makes people think they're bipolar which sends them to the psychiatrists only to be diagnosed incorrectly there too.  I'm not suggesting that this has happened to you, that you don't have Celiacs Disease, but wouldn't it be great if this were benzo withdrawal and when you heal from that, you'd feel better?

 

Have you read the Ashton Manual?  It's full of useful information about benzo withdrawal symptoms and offers great taper advice.  The antidote for the symptoms that accompany withdrawal is time away from the drug.  Here's a link to the manual if you'd care to check it out.  http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/

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thank you for the link to the Ashton Manual. Several times I gasped because it described what I have been experiencing, particularly the part about "jelly legs" and difficulty swallowing food.  I truly have thought that I was experiencing early symptoms of MS, though I have not had muscle contractions.

 

It would be great if my celiacs is actually benzo withdrawal, though the biopsy showed the classic lymphocytes and damage to the villi and crypts.

I am repeating myself, but I am amazed that my GABA receptors were so undermined by an initial sporadic use and then an 8 week regular use in a .25 dose. I am angry that the health care community takes this drug so lightly when it has caused so much damage to my mental and physical health. I literally began to believe that my future was over and that I was not going to survive, though I never had any ideas of ending my life, it felt like I was going to die somehow. 

I am not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but I did alot of research and came across a drug interation warning for taking Omeprazole (prilosec) and benzo's.  I was taking the prilosec for the reflux but this drug blocks several liver enzymes that metabolize benzo's from the body.  My Pharmacist did this research at my urging and said that the xanax could have been building up in my system because of the prilosec. Perhaps this could explain why I could take half of .25 and fall asleep soon after.

 

anyway, thank you for the information. It has helped tremendously.

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I'm gratified you were able to find some useful information in the manual, I feel it's important to be able to read and relate what we're feeling to something concrete, it's almost a validation. 

 

I wasn't aware that it was a biopsy that was used to diagnose your disease, that would seem a pretty concrete determination.  However, if we can get you feeling better from the benzo withdrawals, perhaps you'll be better able to live with your condition.  I'm sorry, I know nothing about it, I do hope it's something which can be treated.

 

I've never heard of Prilosec and benzo's, but we do have an Other Prescribed Medication board where many things are discussed, perhaps you could do a forum search to see what others might have said.  If you don't see it anywhere, it might be a good idea to start a thread there, to tell what you've learned.  It's a great way to let others know what you know to better educate everyone.

 

I hope you'll stick around to let us help you work this out, emotional support during this time is key to our recovery, even Professor Ashton makes this point.

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thank you. yes I will find my research links and post what I have learned.

 

I appreciate the invitation to stick around for support. I have felt so lost and the fear of what could

be causing these horrible symptoms just fueled the feeling of helplessness.  only one doctor out of

all that I consulted with told me I was going through benzo withdrawal. all the others said not possible on such small doses over long period of time.  actually the psychiatrist at the emergency room said that I was forming a dependency on xanax even in small doses and told me to go on ativan or klonopin...

 

celiacs is the intolerance to gluten which is contained in wheat, barley, rye etc. the body forms an autoimmune response and attacks the lining of the small intestine as well as the nervous system. If I am indeed going through benzo withdrawal symptoms I could be getting a double whammy in fact... argh..

 

 

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Hi Quincy! Welcome :)  Sorry you have to be here, but glad you've found a great place for support.

 

I have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) which I've had since I was a child, as well as being lactose (dairy) intolerant and sensitive to eggs, so I understand to an extent the gluten intolerance (celiacs disease).

 

The Benzo's withdrawls have made my IBS and lactose and egg sensitivities MORE sensitive and more unbearable at times.

Celiacs is the intolerance to gluten which is contained in wheat, barley, rye etc. the body forms an autoimmune response and attacks the lining of the small intestine as well as the nervous system. If I am indeed going through benzo withdrawal symptoms I could be getting a double whammy in fact... argh..

 

That's exactly what I feel, too.  The benzo's make us so sensitive to everything... light, touch, sound, taste, smell, anxiety... Then, if there is anything we are experiencing physically, it seems to magnify it tenfold. 

 

Also, like Pamster stated, our symptoms vary so wildly, waxing and waning... sometimes from day to day, and even within the same day.  It's a very crazy and emotional ride.  One I never want to ride again in my life, but one that I have to ride out now that I'm on it.

 

Bide your time, Quincy... the ride will end.  Gain strength knowing you have lots of friends here to help you through this. :)

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thank you. I went cold turkey and I have paid a price. I recently started on a small dose of Prozac and unbelievably it has helped me tremendously. I was on Celexa a few years ago and that was horrible. I know that ssri's are controversial to some on here, but I read on the Ashton report, that sometimes this is needed. I was diagnosed with a medical condition that itself presents depression and anxiety due to loss of function of the upper gut.  for some reason after I take the Prozac, my balance issues subside and my IBS has diminished considerably. I wonder if I was so seratonin deficient that the ssri has brought me some relief here...  it has all been such a bizzare experience I am preaching to the choir here...

 

anway, I went to the doc who insists I did not go through or am not going through xanax withdrawal.  what else could explain the extreme de realization and thoughts of impending doom, obessing over every physical malady etc...  for some reason people on very small doses are dismissed by the medical community as if we don't qualify for any validation of this struggle....

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It's good to see you again, and I'm very happy the Prozac has been helpful.  I was on an A/D while in withdrawals, and found it very helpful.  I'm sorry your Dr is dismissive, but that seems to be par for the course.  It's frustrating to not be acknowledged, but thank goodness we've found each other.  It was 5 months before I found BenzoBuddies, I had no idea what was happening to me. 

 

You know it just occurred to me that even if your Dr acknowledged your condition, he would be helpless to treat it.  There are no drugs, no magic pills or treatment for what ails us, the only cure is time, and that's free of charge. 

 

Thank you for the post you made about Prilosec, that kind of information is important for the next person who is suffering and doesn't know why.

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