Success Story Update: 100 percent healed!!!! after 3 years 3 months benzo-free

Hi All,

 

I NEVER thought I'd see the day, but here I AM!!! I don't spend time in the forum anymore I'm happy to say...like so many others I'm out enjoying life. (I know...seems like a fantasy, but you will too!) My benzo journey is so far from my mind that I couldn't even remember how long it had been since I was benzo-free. Can you imagine?

 

You can go read my earlier success story if you're interested in all the gory details (and they were very gory). It took me over 3 years to successfully taper 10 mgs or so Valium (can't even remember how much I was on now. I'd have to go look at my signature). I'd failed so many times before that it wasn't until I did an extraordinarily slow liquid taper that I finally, finally made it.

 

Even though I went slow, it didn't speed up my healing. It just kept things even...not spiraling out of control. I was about 80 percent well throughout the whole taper and happy to have it after all I'd been through. Post-taper, I had weird waves from time to time. Minor tinitus, internal trembling occasionally...especially when I tried to take fish oil or vitamin D. A few sips of alcohol gave me a three day headache. But the real kicker was the out-of-the-blue episodes of extreme weakness (I'm talking needing a wheelchair for no good reason in an airport), even during the past 3 years post-benzo.

 

Pre-taper these bizarre episodes (not anxiety-related) happened every few days. But the time between them continued to lengthen as I healed. I was so frustrated because exercise was out of the question for soooooo long. But it's been 18 months now since one of those and I just walked 5 to 8 miles daily on a trip to Spain! 

 

One of the things that sent me backwards though in my healing was experimenting with a pot candy for sleep last March. I woke in the middle of the night with severe internal trembling, got up to use the bathroom, had a full fledged anxiety attack and then my BP went suddenly so low to where I started to pass out. I fell ON MY FRONT TEETH with all my weight on my mom's hope chest. I've had an ongoing teeth saga since then with pain and three root canals...I've kept my teeth though and I hope they're not sensitive SOME day.

 

I was super annoyed because I've never been a pot person...but I've been dying to resume a daily glass of wine or cocktail with my husband since forever.

 

I'm happy to say that I can finally drink again! I just kept trying a few sips until I had no adverse effects. I'm a cheap date because I definitely feel one drink so I stop at that. But the moral of the story is that I definitely have ZERO benzo symptoms. It just took a hell of a long time!

 

I wish I could say I was in perfect health but menopause has hit and I seem to suddenly have lots of joint pain issues which is not ideal. But these are new and not benzo related. And you know what? When I want to complain, I think about all I've been through and tap into my enormous GRATITUDE that I'm finally well. And it works!

 

So don't despair! I PROMISE you will get here too. It's just a long slow roll. Be patient and loving with yourself on the healing journey

 

Bubbles

 

 

I love this story thank you for sharing. What was your daily micro rate that helped you get back to 80% and get your life back the rest of the way down?

Bubbles, SO happy for you - huge congratulations!!! Thanks for the update.

 

Raising my (imaginary...sigh) glass of bubbly to your many future travels and adventures with your husband! 

 

 

Thanks RubyLove! I promise you'll get here. Hang tough!

I love this story thank you for sharing. What was your daily micro rate that helped you get back to 80% and get your life back the rest of the way down?

 

Honestly, I'm sorry to say that all the details beyond what is in my signature are pretty fuzzy for me these days, if you can believe it. What I *do* remember though was that because I had dry cut to the extent I had serious vision problems and was non-functional that when I finally found someone smart to help me design my taper, she encouraged me to updose significantly at the start...from 6 to 10 mgs Valium I think. I soooooo didn't want to do that, but I did what she said and then stuck there for at least two weeks to get stable. Starting a taper from a stable pace and then adjusting my cuts based on how I felt gave me a sense of control so things never spiraled worse. That's what I'd recommend on a micro taper. If you updose at the start, be patient and give yourself 2 solid weeks to adjust before you mess with any further changes. So key with the long half life of Klonopin and Valium.

I love this story thank you for sharing. What was your daily micro rate that helped you get back to 80% and get your life back the rest of the way down?

 

Honestly, I'm sorry to say that all the details beyond what is in my signature are pretty fuzzy for me these days, if you can believe it. What I *do* remember though was that because I had dry cut to the extent I had serious vision problems and was non-functional that when I finally found someone smart to help me design my taper, she encouraged me to updose significantly at the start...from 6 to 10 mgs Valium I think. I soooooo didn't want to do that, but I did what she said and then stuck there for at least two weeks to get stable. Starting a taper from a stable pace and then adjusting my cuts based on how I felt gave me a sense of control so things never spiraled worse. That's what I'd recommend on a micro taper. If you updose at the start, be patient and give yourself 2 solid weeks to adjust before you mess with any further changes. So key with the long half life of Klonopin and Valium.

my last dose of valium from tapering was .05 mg aftercrossing over from lorazepam of .05mg im jumpimg off was skipping up to 4 days per doctor in between doses the last 4 months  every 28 days im wondering is this considered drycutting or microtapering  i cut the pils with razor blade is .05mg of diazapam low enough to jump off

Hi Bubbles,

I would love to read your earlier SS but I cant find it! Did it have a name???

east

what month did anxiety stop

 

great job with your success.

 

 

 

Another 100% success