We all got started on Benzos for a reason, what happens to that reason?

I was on here in 2015 after I got my first panic attack. It was bad. went to the ED and all that. I would have 20 plus panic attacks in a day. Dropped lots of weight, could barely take care of myself, let alone my two girls and keep my full time job. But my doc put me on Klonopin and lexapro and I got better and saved my job and kept my daughters blissfully happy. I was on for three months and titrated off in two months. I think I even came back and wrote a success story after a year or so. Well I had a horrible year and after losing a baby in pregnancy, all the panic came back. I am seeing a therapist and a really good psych. Again, the panic was just the same. Instant diarrhea, inability to eat food, increase heart beat, gloom and doom. And this would go on for days. SO she put me back on Klonopin and this time added gabapentin and changed my lexapro to Zoloft. This med regime has been for about a month. I told her that I was scared of the Klonopin withdraw, so she had me start to half my am klonopin. Well that lasted 4 days, and my anxiety came back strong so she had me go back up to my reg dose (1mg twice a day). She says she will let me sit with my new Zoloft for a month, and then we will titrate slower.

 

So my question is, do some of us just need this stuff? I have read how the benzos have ruined peoples lives, but can there be truly some of us that would have our lives ruined without it? I am still scared that I take it, and its probably what is causing some of my anxiety now, which is why I am even on here writing this. What I need is for someone to tell me its going to be okay.

How did the first taper go?  My impression so far is that once you start having difficulty (perhaps inter-dose w/d or return of symptoms related to the reason you got on) while on the medication and stop, if you try again it will likely happen again and within less time.  There are some I think who say they have been able to stay on and use sparingly w/o issue.  When I got on clonazepam after 9 months off xanax, it only took a couple months for it to start causing problems.  I would like it to work for me since it's so helpful for anxiety but I don't think I can safely use it.  I have not tried to go back on xanax and that would be the only one I would try if I were to try again.

Hi ashimaly,

 

I am of the opinion that yes, some of us just need - if not benzos - some help in dealing with all of the stuff that life throws at us. That's just my opinion and it's largely based just on my own experience. When I first started on an SSRI (almost 20 years ago) I remember feeling like scales had fallen from my eyes/mind. I couldn't believe how bad I had felt for so much of the previous few years (I was in my 20s). I've been on benzos twice previously - once to help me after I tried to stop taking my SSRI (Celexa, then Lexapro when it came out), and once when I went through a really bad spell (involving my now ex-wife) - and both times I successfully tapered off of them gradually once my life situation normalized.

 

All of this is not to say that things like therapy, alternative medications, etc., can't be helpful, too. I see a therapist regularly who is immensely helpful. And for some people, those other things may be enough. But - again, in my opinion - if you've had good results in the past with a combination of an SSRI and Klonopin, I would use that combination again. When your stress level is lower, you can titrate down if you wish (and it sounds like you have a supportive doc, which is great).

 

I hope this helps!

 

- Fiskadoro

I would not advise the use of benzos to anyone, for any reason.

Why not? If you tried alterbatives and this is the only thing that can help you, than you should. If that can bribg more quality in your life, then for sure. I met some people who have never been on medication therapy, and I must admit that I feel envy a little bit, because they don't need withdrawal like me today. But still, in my case this was my option and my choice.

Don't feel bad about it.

That reason was resolved with day surgery!

 

Now I'm sick AF from a medication (and I use that term loosely) that I never needed for a diagnosis/condition I never had........

 

FML and Eff those malignant incompetant sub human parasitic bottom feeders.

The reason still works as a supervisor where I used to work, and the reason had managed to nearly destroy several other people working for her. I got out, but I didn't get out early enough to save my career and life the way I knew it, unfortunately.

My reason was surgery. Two days post op I started having panic attacks. No one knows why....

So my question is, do some of us just need this stuff? I have read how the benzos have ruined peoples lives, but can there be truly some of us that would have our lives ruined without it? I am still scared that I take it, and its probably what is causing some of my anxiety now, which is why I am even on here writing this. What I need is for someone to tell me its going to be okay.

First of all, it's going to be okay.

Second, remember while your concerns about the medication make complete sense, your anxiety may amplify those concerns so that the medication becomes an end-of-the-world situation. That will color how you feel when you read about people's experiences.

 

I was once in your position, and was reassured that I could stay on the medication as long as I needed. When I developed a tolerance, I was the one who decided to taper instead of increasing the dose. That gave me a sense of autonomy and self-determination.

 

Things to consider asking your doctor:

-Is there a difference in my ability to stop this medication if I start discontinuing now versus in a month? Or two months? Or a year?

-Can we talk about how I will know it's the right time to discontinue? Can we make a list of criteria?

 

Do some of us "just need this stuff?" You'll see a lot of differing opinions out there, but I'd say that you need it until you feel like you can do without. It has everything to do with how you feel. Psychotropic medications are such a freaking mystery anyways that you can't really say that they are one thing or another. Making decisions has a lot to do with your own observations (and sometimes the observations of the folks who see you every day.)

 

For instance, I don't see myself without the support of SSRI's for a long time. This is because I notice that when I take SSRI's, my ability to handle life's trials and work on my issues in therapy is so much better. I feel more comfortable, safe, and capable of dealing with difficult shit. That's my perspective--that SSRI's are supportive and bring me back to zero so that I can deal with the shit that brought me to negative ten. I'm able to USE all the gifts I was born with--resourcefulness, creativity, and intelligence--to build a life. When I'm depressed or dysphoric or anxious, all those gifts are either under lock and key, or rationed out in paltry quantities. Maybe someday I'll be secure enough in my health that I can stop taking psychotropic medications, but for now, I need them.

 

I just cannot see how this would ever be good for anyone .  I have a very long history with Benzo's though . They were first given to me when my gall bladder burst and Iwas having extreme post op pain . My Dr rx'ed this for all kinds of pain . I left the state and the dr's where I live now where completely freaked over this , refused to help and I had to find other sources to even be able to taper .

Was in the ER last night finally , disappointed in myself , and the hospital /dr's/nurses who  would not believe me and thought by my now skeletal appearance that I needed meth then possibly cocaine , when they finally found a vein , they found I was telling the truth .  Given a vistaril  when I was strongly told to go home and take your Klonopin and refused .

 

I don't think anyone needs benzos long-term. sure, they have their place in acute psychiatric treatment, and they've helped lower fixation rates in clinical settings. but I'd never advise to use them long-term, or even given daily for more than a week.

there are other meds, and I think it's important that someone who initially got benzos because of a crisis is switched to a different med asap.

I started taking benzos for severe anxiety/panic attacks and insomnia. the rest is history, I guess.

the anxiety/panic attacks and insomnia have come back, but I'm now on other meds, so I can deal with that better. I've also been in therapy for a while, which I think is really important.

it's difficult and hard and sometimes I really just want to quit and go back to my old dose, but what keeps me from doing that is that I never want to go to such a severe taper and withdrawal again. Luckily I also have the help of the nursing staff and doctors here, and they've helped me a lot.