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3 weeks recovery! 99.999% healed, GOODBYE XANAX!


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Hey all!!! So I have been starting threads under other topics about insomnia which was my last symptom and is now gone. Some really amazing members encouraged me to post here. I wasn’t going to so soon but I also ask myself..why not? If I can give anyone some hope and encouragement to get rid of benzos, to let SOMEONE know.. you can do this, everyone is different, this is not a life sentence.. I would share my story 1000 times over again. I’ll apologize in advance for the horrible grammar and typos as I am writing this on my phone. I’m also going to copy anc paste a HUGE chunk of w/d symptoms I posted under another thread after being asked about my 3 week withdrawal. Here it goes! So 30 year old female, started taking Xanax at 27 years old. I started taking it for relief on debilitating anxiety. My whole life I have always been outgoing, energetic, a people person, I loved life. Around 26.. anxiety just dumped itself on me. I couldn’t leave my house, talk to people, I destroyed relationships, I became a sad closed of person.. I stil to this day don’t know why. My family doctor didn’t hesitate to give me Xanax and quite honestly did NOT warn me about the dependency effect and what would happen if I ever wanted off of them. Started at a pretty high dose. .5 3x. ( yep, that much) pretty much started at 1-2mg/24 hr .. I felt SO good, as you can imagine I just started wNting more. Doctor never hesitated to just up my dose. I took them all first thing in morning, never throughout day. Got up to 5-6 Mg a day for a good two years, never more. Finally around my birthday 8-10-18, I started questioning WHY I was still on them.. w/out dr advice I decided to just NOT take them. WORST mistake of my life. I made it half a day before I thought I was going to die and took a handful of Xanax to stabilize. It was at that moment I KNEW I WANTED OFF. Talked to my doctor-fast forward to detox 8-28. I was ready. Very fast detox under medical supervision. 4 days on Valium tapered to nothing. INSERT COPY ANF PASTE FROM INSOMINA THREAD SO YOU CAN GET A GOOD IDEA OF WD SYMPTOMS . As far as symptoms.. you name it, I had it. During the 4 day detox my body felt like it was going to explode, my head was on fire, vomiting, tremors, I couldn’t walk, eat, sit up, couldn’t remember something from 5 minutes prior. I cried uncontrollably to the point where I told myself I wanted to die. It was that bad and that scary. After 4 days the immense fire sensation went away and I could at least stand up. The tremors stopped and blood pressure stabilized so I was cleared to go home. Then it just got worse. I almost wish I could go back to the “fire” stage. I couldn’t turn lights on, my headaches were unbearable, my chest felt like I was on the verge of a heart attack, muscle jolts, no appetite ( forced myself to eat something 3 x daily), my neck and jaw were so tense it hurt to talk, breathe, eat, drink. I’d rather a mouth full of assessed teeth than feel that. I couldn’t walk straight, going up my stairs wasn’t an option, dizzy 24/7., I couldn’t even shower. I took baths but my body was so weak I couldn’t lift my arms to wash. My fiancé had to bathe/shower me. I couldn’t life a cup of tea. The anxiety was HORRENDOUS. I didn’t leave my house. Didn’t talk to anyone on the phone, I felt like I couldn’t. i couldn’t see more than 5 ft in front of me. I know that is a lot to just dump out there, but every one of those symptoms I had EVERY DAY for 3 weeks straight. I contemplated going to the ER every 10 mins, I was afraid I was going to die. Then I woke up one morning, after a 2 or 3 hour rest and it was just gone. I almost didn’t believe it: for the first day I just kind of sat there, expecting everything to resurface but it didn’t. I had some minor anxiety that went away and insomnia which I believe I have recovered from with the CBD oil. I look back on some things I forced myself to do and I question if that helped me recover? As I stated, I literally forced myself to eat 3 times daily. Oatmeal, soup broths, crackers.. very light foods on the stomach. I drank about 10-12 bottles of water a day. My fiancé helped me eat and drink tea every day. I drank chamomile and ksva multiple times a day. Also I would stand up and walk in place, as many times as I could a day. I couldn’t walk that far without the room closing in on me so I would stand up on jello legs, shut my eyes to force off the dizziness and just move my legs, try to lift my arms, “excercise”. Also took vitamins every day. My combo was Magnesium, B-6 complex, calcium and L Theanine. I took them together every morning.  I know it may sound silly, but I also talked to myself every day. Kept telling myself Mind over body, I can do this, I have so much to look forward to in life, etc.  END OF COPY AND PASTE. You guys, I’m sorry if anything next is repetitive but here it is Oct 6th and I am ME! I am happy, calm, laughing, loving, LIVING. Back to work, enjoying every spare minute of my day w family and friends. After the 3 weeks, NOTHING has come back. No waves, nothing. It’s gone. Insomnia was really the only thing I was left w after 3 weeks and 4 days ago I started taking CBD oil and I sleep so damn good. I feel so blessed to have recovered so quickly. I don’t know how, I ask myself “why me?” After knowing how mNy people struggle for so many months and even years. Those are questions I can’t answer, but I am living proof it is possible. Your life is waiting for you.Prayers and SO much love to all of you. If anyone has any questions or comments, PLEASE I encourage you to speak and ask freely. I hope I have helped someone, even if it’s just in the smallest of ways.
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Wow!! That is a blessing that you healed so fast and like you said there is no rhyme or reason why some suffer longer than others. I am happy that you did not suffer long and you are a living testimony to encourage others. Keep going and be grateful every for every moment of happiness. Be Blessed and bless others along the way.

 

PG

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Wow that's quite a story ! Well done , and lucky you for sure . I wish soemone could figure out the whys of all this , I just keep thinking , if some people can recover so quickly ,there's  got to be a reason for it.....if only I could be found. .

 

Good luck and never  benzo again.

 

Miyu 

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Wow that's quite a story ! Well done , and lucky you for sure . I wish soemone could figure out the whys of all this , I just keep thinking , if some people can recover so quickly ,there's  got to be a reason for it.....if only I could be found. .

 

Good luck and never  benzo again.

 

Miyu

 

I definitely agree! The few days before my detox I read SO many stories and I was scared to death. I honestly do not recall one personal success story of a speedy recovery. The ones that were halfway okay were from people who had only taken a small amount of Xanax for a very short time.. here I am at a 3 year 5-6 mg a day.. just told myself I was screwed. I went through with detox anyway though, and I thank god I made the decision to do it. Just grateful it worked out the way it did 😇

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Congrats on total healing. I keep reading about people getting better very rapidly and have a hard time believing it after suffering symptoms for 6.5 months. It seems a lot of people have gotten better very quickly while other suffer for years. This just doesn't make any sense to me.
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Ty very much, I actually have difficulties believing it myself. I’m so sorry you have been dealing with it for so long :( I hope you can heal soon.
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Hi Mlissa

 

I'm very happy to hear your story. Very happy that you have healed.

 

I am the same age as you and took xanax from the same age as you. While I was reading your story I freaked out as we were the same until I reached the part you went c/t. I also got so excited that I found someone this similar to my experience. Thank you again for posting your story  🙏

 

I tapered slowly and I'm 6 weeks off. I'm still not fully recovered. Still fragile. I just discovered I am at the phase which I have found a pattern to my symptoms. Tiredness, stress, too much sugar, multivitamins and sleep deprivation can flare up my symptoms and be a setback or through me into a huge wave.

 

I once had a beautiful window lasting 10 days continously but ended soon. Now it's just whenever I have the triggers which some of them can not be avoided as it's life and the stress or work will be there anyway. I'm still doubting this fact that I am in this stage but trying to pay close attention to it. 

 

I don't mean to spoil your happiness but I always have this question when I'm in a window that how can I know if this is it I have healed or just in a short term window.

 

Even when I am in the window I keep getting worried if the past symptoms will come back or if the wave will be coming back soon tomorrow or within the next hours.

 

I first went on B50 and Iron supplements but stopped them to see if I feel better and I don't know if it was them coming off made everything mild or jumping off xanax made my symptoms weaker. So if would really love to try your vitamins and see if my brain heals too. I'm exhausted. Suffered a lot before taper, during taper and after jumping off xanax.  Well done to you for being so brave. ❤

 

I really pray from the bottom of my heart that you are out of this horrific xanax journey forever and I hope you enjoy the future you are excited about because I know how u feel I'm also in your age and have so much to look forward too. I'm jusy stuck in this xanax hurricane and wishing to be freed one day to enjoy my life.

 

 

Take care. Hugs

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Ty so very much! I pray everything goes away for you, if you don’t mind me saying.. it seems like you are off to an amazing start!  I often think of everything resurfacing. A lot, actually. I push it all away though, I’m a big believer of mind over body so I coach myself to stay positive, optimistic and to NOT think of the bad things. It’s hard though. Each day I continue to feel great. I come to this site every day to continue reading others stories. Knowing I am never alone also makes me feel really great. I’ve had a lot of people ask if I did anything special during the 3 weeks, and I don’t feel I did.. I don’t know. As I mentioned in the start of the topic.. I really did the basic compared to others.. eat well, drink well ( lots of water), vitamins first thing in morning, lots of tea, and I literally would stand up 15-20 times a day and do whatever little excercise I could. If it helps I can give a bit of background on any other vices.. so before Xanax I actually never took any prescription ( minus temp ones for dentist, colds, etc..), I have always been really sensitive to meds so I never wanted to take anything. Don’t smoke pot, hate alcohol. I do smoke cigarettes ( yuck, I know) and I was a heavy coffee drinker. During my w/d I stopped smoking and didn’t really drink any coffee until after I started feeling better but even when I picked coffee back up.. it gave me a weird, jittery feeling so I drink maybe half a cup really watered down in the morning. Tried to not drink any at all and after w/d it gave me horrible headaches. Cut out any sugary drinks, processed foods, etc..  I still take vitamins every morning ( the same ones) and I go for a LONG walk every night.  Also, I haven’t mentioned it yet on any thread but I have a 6 year old son. During W/D I told him mommy was sick, it broke my heart to not be able to do the things I do w him on a daily basis. He is also a huge factor in my continued success. He keeps my heart and soul happy, and anytime I had a bad thought.. he made it all go away from a simple hug or kiss. I feel like having a good support system or loved ones around you is amazing for recovery. I’m sorry if none of that helps, I really wish I had the magic potion to make everyone’s pain go away. I’ll just continue to pray for everyone, and pray that this is not just a window for me. I feel pretty positive that I’m out of it, fingers crossed ❤️😇
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Yes. I did a 4 day detox on Valium. I don’t remember the mg, but it was a 3-2-2-1 taper for 4 days, released the 5th morning on nothing. They also gave me colonidine once in awhile. Think I only took it twice, I guess you can’t take that if your BP is off. Other than that, the basic stuff to help with headaches, upset stomach ( excedrin, Pepto Bismol) and 1mg of Melatonin a night for “sleep”. They also sent me home with hydroxicine which I took once at home and never took again. Those things are awful, made the WD a billion times worse in my situation.
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Hi  :hug: I hope you don't mind but I split your success story into paragraphs as myself and a lot of other buddies aren't able to read it clearly with our symptoms :o:) Thanks for taking the time to write it it is seriously appreciated  :hug: Thank you

 

 

Love Nova xxx  :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:

 

 

Hey all!!! So I have been starting threads under other topics about insomnia which was my last symptom and is now gone. Some really amazing members encouraged me to post here. I wasn’t going to so soon but I also ask myself..why not? If I can give anyone some hope and encouragement to get rid of benzos, to let SOMEONE know.. you can do this, everyone is different, this is not a life sentence.. I would share my story 1000 times over again. I’ll apologize in advance for the horrible grammar and typos as I am writing this on my phone. I’m also going to copy anc paste a HUGE chunk of w/d symptoms I posted under another thread after being asked about my 3 week withdrawal. Here it goes! So 30 year old female, started taking Xanax at 27 years old. I started taking it for relief on debilitating anxiety. My whole life I have always been outgoing, energetic, a people person, I loved life.

 

 

 

Around 26.. anxiety just dumped itself on me. I couldn’t leave my house, talk to people, I destroyed relationships, I became a sad closed of person.. I stil to this day don’t know why. My family doctor didn’t hesitate to give me Xanax and quite honestly did NOT warn me about the dependency effect and what would happen if I ever wanted off of them. Started at a pretty high dose. .5 3x. ( yep, that much) pretty much started at 1-2mg/24 hr .. I felt SO good, as you can imagine I just started wNting more. Doctor never hesitated to just up my dose. I took them all first thing in morning, never throughout day. Got up to 5-6 Mg a day for a good two years, never more. Finally around my birthday 8-10-18, I started questioning WHY I was still on them.. w/out dr advice I decided to just NOT take them.

 

 

WORST mistake of my life. I made it half a day before I thought I was going to die and took a handful of Xanax to stabilize. It was at that moment I KNEW I WANTED OFF. Talked to my doctor-fast forward to detox 8-28. I was ready. Very fast detox under medical supervision. 4 days on Valium tapered to nothing. INSERT COPY ANF PASTE FROM INSOMINA THREAD SO YOU CAN GET A GOOD IDEA OF WD SYMPTOMS . As far as symptoms.. you name it, I had it. During the 4 day detox my body felt like it was going to explode, my head was on fire, vomiting, tremors, I couldn’t walk, eat, sit up, couldn’t remember something from 5 minutes prior. I cried uncontrollably to the point where I told myself I wanted to die. It was that bad and that scary.

 

 

After 4 days the immense fire sensation went away and I could at least stand up. The tremors stopped and blood pressure stabilized so I was cleared to go home. Then it just got worse. I almost wish I could go back to the “fire” stage. I couldn’t turn lights on, my headaches were unbearable, my chest felt like I was on the verge of a heart attack, muscle jolts, no appetite ( forced myself to eat something 3 x daily), my neck and jaw were so tense it hurt to talk, breathe, eat, drink. I’d rather a mouth full of assessed teeth than feel that. I couldn’t walk straight, going up my stairs wasn’t an option, dizzy 24/7., I couldn’t even shower. I took baths but my body was so weak I couldn’t lift my arms to wash. My fiancé had to bathe/shower me. I couldn’t life a cup of tea. The anxiety was HORRENDOUS. I didn’t leave my house. Didn’t talk to anyone on the phone, I felt like I couldn’t. i couldn’t see more than 5 ft in front of me. I know that is a lot to just dump out there, but every one of those symptoms I had EVERY DAY for 3 weeks straight.

 

 

I contemplated going to the ER every 10 mins, I was afraid I was going to die. Then I woke up one morning, after a 2 or 3 hour rest and it was just gone. I almost didn’t believe it: for the first day I just kind of sat there, expecting everything to resurface but it didn’t. I had some minor anxiety that went away and insomnia which I believe I have recovered from with the CBD oil. I look back on some things I forced myself to do and I question if that helped me recover? As I stated, I literally forced myself to eat 3 times daily. Oatmeal, soup broths, crackers.. very light foods on the stomach. I drank about 10-12 bottles of water a day. My fiancé helped me eat and drink tea every day. I drank chamomile and ksva multiple times a day. Also I would stand up and walk in place, as many times as I could a day. I couldn’t walk that far without the room closing in on me so I would stand up on jello legs, shut my eyes to force off the dizziness and just move my legs, try to lift my arms, “excercise”. Also took vitamins every day. My combo was Magnesium, B-6 complex, calcium and L Theanine.

 

 

 

I took them together every morning.  I know it may sound silly, but I also talked to myself every day. Kept telling myself Mind over body, I can do this, I have so much to look forward to in life, etc.  END OF COPY AND PASTE. You guys, I’m sorry if anything next is repetitive but here it is Oct 6th and I am ME! I am happy, calm, laughing, loving, LIVING. Back to work, enjoying every spare minute of my day w family and friends. After the 3 weeks, NOTHING has come back. No waves, nothing. It’s gone. Insomnia was really the only thing I was left w after 3 weeks and 4 days ago I started taking CBD oil and I sleep so damn good. I feel so blessed to have recovered so quickly. I don’t know how, I ask myself “why me?” After knowing how mNy people struggle for so many months and even years. Those are questions I can’t answer, but I am living proof it is possible. Your life is waiting for you.Prayers and SO much love to all of you. If anyone has any questions or comments, PLEASE I encourage you to speak and ask freely. I hope I have helped someone, even if it’s just in the smallest of ways.

 

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Haha, I don’t mind at all!! I’m writing this in tiny print on my phone! Lol, paragraph away! Thanks a ton ❤️

Thanks Mlissav 8)  ❤️

 

 

Love Nova xxx  :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:

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Congrats!! Did they put you on any meds in detox?

Your story gives me hope and not despair in reading some of the other horror stories and LONG TERM struggles and W/D affects. Yes I truly believe everybody's bodies and brains are different when it comes to Meds, vitamins, supplements, foods,etc. that may, or may not help or act the same. My tapering schedule started last week off Xanax (3 times a day as needed @ 1MG for Anxiety per my GP.) That was switched to Clonepine 3 times a day after tolerance to Xanax built up.

Continued on both as job became more stressful (or so I thought.)

That was a year ago after also being diagnosed with Microscopic  Colitis. Missed a lot of time from work from that condition. Fast forward to June 2018 and my Mother passed suddenly from Cancer.

Needless to say I was ingesting Benzos round the clock to mask the pain, grief and anxiety. Was laid off job in August 2018 to add to the drama. I'm 56 yrs young, so job opportunities aren't a dime a dozen in my field of work. Meet with my NEW GP to discuss Benzo taper and the Ashton Manual method. He agreed with Valium taper and wrote me a script. My body is a mess, my mind is a fog, my life is going down the toilet quickly. Everyday is Groundhog Day. Sleep late, watch TV and repeat... I'm praying the Valium taper regimen will help to start me on the path to recovery and finally Benzo free! It's hard to get motivated to do anything  when you have no job and your head is on another planet.

Thank You for sharing your success as hard as I'm sure it was, it gives me hope that "maybe" I'll be the fortunate few that suffer minimum W/D and need to think positive Everyday!

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Riley, I wish with all of my soul and heart for the best of luck to you. I’m so happy you felt some hope reading my journey ❤️ Although short, it was not easy but yesterday marked 6 weeks off and I feel fantastic. The pain of w/d is so worth the outcome. I will look forward to checking in on your progress! Also, I really want to say I am so sorry for the loss of your mother. I can definitely relate to that. I lost my father on January 24th, 2018 to alcohol addiction. It destroyed him inside and out. It still takes a toll on me, I don’t think that will ever go away so my heart goes out to you. Prayers and lots of hugs ❤️
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Can hardly wait to write my story. Crossovet to valium successful. No more xanax! Tapering from 40 mg valium nice and slow. Currently at 22.5 mg daily. Some anxiety and depression  but there is healing. It will happen. We are all walking the path together . Loved your story.
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UPDATE: I am officially at 9 weeks ❤️ Every Tuesday marks a new week for me. Feeling better than ever. Nothing has come back, just really feeling like a new person. Hope everyone is doing well 😘
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  • 2 weeks later...

UPDATE: I am officially at 9 weeks ❤️ Every Tuesday marks a new week for me. Feeling better than ever. Nothing has come back, just really feeling like a new person. Hope everyone is doing well 😘

 

So how are you going into mid November? I honestly believe did I'd  take the 3 weeks of hell, rather than having this taper drag on for months, or even years. My finances and family couldn't possibly handle it! Im so exhausted everyday and have no motivation to do anything. My body aches and I've developed Agrophopia and SAD with the weather and daylight savings time change. So sensitive to cold it makes it unbearable to go outside and walk when it drops below 50 degrees.

Please keep us updated, unless you feel just getting away from BB posts, as I wouldn't blame you of rehashing bad times now that you've healing and are still healing...

Thank you and best of luck in life!

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I don’t mind at all! I actually check into the site and other posts almost daily except for when I’m overloaded with work! Thank you so much for asking, I am really doing amazing. I still have had nothing resurface, not even slight waves. I am active, working, just really trying to do everything I can OFF of Xanax so my brain can adapt to the smallest of things again. It’s been a little over 2 months now off of Xanax, and it seems like centuries ago. When I was withdrawing, I thought I was going to be stuck in that realm of suffering forever but a part of me is really grateful I went through it. I feel like I’m a stronger person mentally and physically. Something that can only come from a struggle like that. As far as your taper journey, I say do what’s best for YOU! I know dealing with the agony of withdrawal is almost unbearable but the AFTER effects it has she you are finally free from it all are just so amazing. If you feel ready, have you thought about speeding up the process under medical supervision? I know when I was in detox and stuck at home withdrawing, my doctor covered me for paid FMLA through my job so it wasn’t so hard financially.
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  • 2 weeks later...
Hey guys!!! Just checking in. Next Tuesday will be 3 months Xanax free! Just want to thank everyone who has reached out to me and taken the time to read my story. I pray you are all doing well, and feeling better.. even if it’s only a little bit. It’s something, and a step towards the right place! Happy Thanksgiving all. Love and prayers to you!
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