Benzo Withdrawal: Why I Ignored Medical Advice and Listened to the Internet

While I was very angry that I wasted years of my life chasing a phantom illness, I also felt a sense of relief.  I could get out of this nightmare. There was now, finally, hope for escape —— I could rid myself of the medication and move on with my life, maybe with fully-restored health.

 

Not so fast.

Sounds too familiar. Thanks so much for writing such an accurate article. It sounds as if it came right out of the Twilight Zone episode. It's just that it it isn't fiction by any means......

http://benzoinfo.com/2018/11/13/benzo-withdrawal-why-i-ignored-medical-advice-and-listened-to-the-internet/

Thanks for posting, can equally apply to antidepressants so very useful, have shared on Twitter.

Excellent, thank you!

I so agree with this article. During My two times on K even though short term I went through hell on it and getting off. The so called medical experts were totally clueless . In the end I ended up helping Myself from advice on the internet including Benzo buddies and a couple fellow member friends . 

Im so sick and tired of turning on the TV or radio and all I hear about is the opiod issue. I am now 65 but when I was 17 My then doctor prescribed an opiod for pain from an injury. I got addicted and getting off that was a cake walk compared to getting off of K even at a so called low dose which is total BS.

So if You are going through the benzo hell or for that matter any other of these drugs do search the internet and read every article You find then make up Your own decisions. My cousin and I both admitted Ourselves in a mental hospital " at different times " so We could get help. I barely got out that place with My life . I was actually dying from anorexia and lack of sleep. My cousin went through a very similar situation however could not handle the guinea pig routine and hung himself .

Also IMO I believe that benzo's can change the physiology of the human brain in some people depending on various factors . I am convinced that this has happened to Me . It changed My sleep pattern which has never reversed so now i live on 4hours of shitty light sleep every night. Bottom line read that article and make up Your own mind.

Great article.  Very sad and terrifying that for the most part there is more knowledge and experience on this message board than there is in the medical field.  When I hear about doctors and psychiatrists and supposed treatment facilities that have put people on horrible short tapers or colt turkeyed them, it saddens and scares me.

I am extremely lucky in that I have a Psychdoc who is open minded enough to work with me and the information I provided from the Ashton Manual and this message board.  Nonetheless, he insists that no one else he's worked with have has as much trouble tapering benzos as I have.  He believes that a lot of this is due to my mental outlook and beliefs which contribute to fear and anxiety.  I think he has a point there, but I also thinks he underestimates the issues and problems coming off benzos.

I am terrified of telling my other doctors about my situation because I fear they would not understand and expect me to taper off at some unrealistically short time.

Very good article. I had similar experiences with ignorant mental health providers when I expressed concern about addiction. I also received harmful advice that to avoid addiction, I could alternate between taking ativan and xanax. (I was already in tolerance and having interdose withdrawals). Doing this was probably one more thing that messed me up for a long time.

Thanks for the important work that you do!