What happens to you all when you start exercising?

Just curious about what others experiences are with exercise. I really want to start jogging again but the last time I tried (a few weeks ago) I was hit with a huge wave of my favorite symptoms...radiating electricity and terror. This could have been complete coincidence...I’m not quite sure. I was thinking of giving it another go but I’d be lying if i said I wasn’t petrified.

 

How do all of you respond with exercise and if you get worse, what kind of symptoms do you notice??

I have responded really well to exercise.  It's been miraculous for me with what it's doing.  My sleep, my schedule, the depression are all so much better.  I hit a wall every now and then and it isn't pretty but resolves within a day or two usually but I go right back to exercising.

Exercise used to trigger waves. I got to a point where I could tolerate it again tho. Even ran a couple 5ks.

Come to think of it. Exercise actually became away for me to cope with waves after a while. It really is excellent for your brain when you get to a place where you can tolerate it. Start slow.

Thanks for your feedback. I can’t wait for the day to start exercising  again. I was doing a little better...in somewhat of a window. Here comes the wave though. I have been lying here drifting off to sleep and I’m continuously being jolted awake with surges of energy causing my heart to pound. This usually Persists for hours and hours. I’m really over this 

Thanks for your feedback. I can’t wait for the day to start exercising  again. I was doing a little better...in somewhat of a window. Here comes the wave though. I have been lying here drifting off to sleep and I’m continuously being jolted awake with surges of energy causing my heart to pound. This usually Persists for hours and hours. I’m really over this 

 

I'm having the same issue right now. Hadn't had that in months and months but got setback due to an antibiotic. It's awful.

I’m sorry to hear that. Hopefully this wave will be short lived for be both of us!!

 

I’ve seen quite a few people on here mention antibiotics or random medications set them back into a wave. It definitely makes me nervous if I ever get sick or have an infection etc in the future. The worst wave i ever had was after i took nortyptyline for migraine when I was six months off. Either way, many  of those people have success stories and have made it out the other side. We will too! One day at a time...

I’m sorry to hear that. Hopefully this wave will be short lived for be both of us!!

 

I’ve seen quite a few people on here mention antibiotics or random medications set them back into a wave. It definitely makes me nervous if I ever get sick or have an infection etc in the future. The worst wave i ever had was after i took nortyptyline for migraine when I was six months off. Either way, many  of those people have success stories and have made it out the other side. We will too! One day at a time...

 

Agreed! Good vibes to you!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to say that overall, I've found exercise to be helpful for me.

 

Before taking benzos and hitting tolerance, I was always very, very active. Running, cycling, strength training. My entire life/body changed when I hit tolerance.

 

But during tapering, I realized that I needed to start exercising again.

 

I started by taking walks and going for 'jogs' of maybe 2 miles. Compared to my normal self, it felt weird to 'only' run 2 miles. But, I felt better. Sometimes during a run, I'd get hit by this fast wave where I was out of breath (no, NOT from running  ), panic, etc. But, I always felt good after exercising. Even after a slow job, I told myself I just did something good, and it was helping my body more than just lying around succumbing to panic.

 

I think the hardest part is just putting on my running shoes and walking outside. It's so much easier to just sit around or lie in bed, because of the overwhelming anxiety of withdrawal.

 

It's a big win to go outside and exercise. I'm sure there's the endorphine factor, better oxygen, etc., but it's a mental win as well... something to be happy about!!

I was exercise intolerant I couldn’t do any form of excessive. I can walk now, but that’s about it for me. I get sever body aches, fatigue, dizzy, really bad disorientation when I do anything beyond elliptical or walking. Even the elliptical for me is iffy. It took me 11 months to even use an elliptical.

Hi, I'm 7 weeks out and I can't do anything more than walking and yoga right now.  I tried going to the gym.  Used the treadmill and lifted weights, but it was too much and exacerbated my symptoms.  I plan to start walking daily as I think this will really help with recovery.

I’ve come to accept that exercise exacerbates my symptoms for the time being. It increases the electrical, adrenaline and internal restlessness. I think I may just have to stick with walking for a little while like some or you had mentioned.

 

Hoping things will take a turn soon.

A few years ago I started "cycling for sleep".  I was on 1mg Clonazepam a day topped up with other short acting  benzos or z-drugs. I cycled a lot and it changed my life. It got me to think of my health more and more and finally educate myself on anxiety and benzos and to taper again. I continued to cycle all the way through the taper and since and I am not as fit as I was at my peak by the end of my taper but cycling and jogging was cardinal to my journey. I work full time and cycle two to three hundred kms a month and jog tens of kms a month.

 

With respect to those who cannot exercise on this forum, the exercise and events I took part in because of it, changed my life. The last six months has seen me half my exercise regime because I am simply exhausted. In this state if I do a big ride then it knocks me and I take days to recover as opposed to hours previously. Yes, stay below the threshold of what takes you backwards but exercise as much as you can, life is amazing!

I was weightlifting 4-5 days a week before all this,

at 18 months post now, im just now able to get away with some mild exercise, pushups, a couple sets, jogging like half a mile.

for a long time ANY exercise would annihilate me, itd put my flight or flight response into overdrive and just bring on awful waves.

i had windows here and there throughout all of this where i could get away with a little, but most of the time it just floored me.

im sorta coming around to being able to do some things.

18 months off and i think im morphing into another phase of this withdrawal, im not really better....but maybe in some ways i am, but its changing. its kinda more erratic all the insanity

Hello All,

 

When I was younger I exercised a lot. This is no longer the case because of the benzos.

 

I find that I can no longer perform the standard types of exercises such as weightlifting and calisthenics or jogging. They are just too difficult.

 

Sometimes the limiting factor is my body and sometimes it is my brain.

 

I now swing Indian Clubs and maces (Gada) to a drum beat for exercise.

 

This type of exercise is gentle and it engages the brain as well as the body.

 

These links are a good place to start for information about this:

 

 

https://www.indianclubsacademy.com/

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/taraswolkowinski

 

Paul is a great guy and he can answer all of your questions about this.

 

 

 

You can purchase clubs through Revolution Clubs at: https://www.revolutionclubs.net/

 

Christian Darce at Revolution Clubs is also a great guy and he can answer any questions you have about the clubs.

 

 

Steel maces can be found, among other places, at Onnit https://www.onnit.com/onnit-steel-mace/.

 

 

Let me know if you actually try this; I have found it to be of great benefit.

 

Take care.

Good job you don’t also have hyperacusis and terror of sounds...

 

I saw physio today to try to find things to help extremely tight/weak back and fucked psoas but just doing the few reps of things with him left me so exhausted I could hardly hold myself upright in taxi on the way back. I was walking and doing an hour of Pilates a day a year ago for first time in decades because as I first tapered down I suddenly had energy and strength again and then it all went to shit.

 

And now my eating is a big mess because never feel full and constant carb cravings.

 

This is just fucking shit. I am so desperate about it all today.

I've found that exercise has helped me a lot, but I know that not everyone has had that experience. In fact, the more active I stay in general, the better I feel. My worst days tend to be those in which I had no distraction at all. When I was in acute withdrawal, I had no ability to do much at all. Sometimes I have to really talk myself into taking that walk, but I usually don't regret it.

Indian Clubs from Revolution Clubs

 

Even looking at those and the thought of the noise of them terrifiesxmy brain and makes me cry.

They don't make any noise!

The clack if you knock them together. I have become terrified of anything that makes those sort of noises.

Hello All,

 

When I was younger I exercised a lot. This is no longer the case because of the benzos.

 

I find that I can no longer perform the standard types of exercises such as weightlifting and calisthenics or jogging. They are just too difficult.

 

Sometimes the limiting factor is my body and sometimes it is my brain.

 

I now swing Indian Clubs and maces (Gada) to a drum beat for exercise.

 

This type of exercise is gentle and it engages the brain as well as the body.

 

These links are a good place to start for information about this:

 

 

https://www.indianclubsacademy.com/

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/taraswolkowinski

 

Paul is a great guy and he can answer all of your questions about this.

 

 

 

You can purchase clubs through Revolution Clubs at: https://www.revolutionclubs.net/

 

Christian Darce at Revolution Clubs is also a great guy and he can answer any questions you have about the clubs.

 

 

Steel maces can be found, among other places, at Onnit https://www.onnit.com/onnit-steel-mace/.

 

 

Let me know if you actually try this; I have found it to be of great benefit.

 

Take care.

 

Really interesting! Thanks for sharing, brotherinstrength!

The clack if you knock them together. I have become terrified of anything that makes those sort of noises.

 

 

I am so sorry. They are not meant to be struck together.

 

Take care.

Hello All,

 

When I was younger I exercised a lot. This is no longer the case because of the benzos.

 

I find that I can no longer perform the standard types of exercises such as weightlifting and calisthenics or jogging. They are just too difficult.

 

Sometimes the limiting factor is my body and sometimes it is my brain.

 

I now swing Indian Clubs and maces (Gada) to a drum beat for exercise.

 

This type of exercise is gentle and it engages the brain as well as the body.

 

These links are a good place to start for information about this:

 

 

https://www.indianclubsacademy.com/

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/taraswolkowinski

 

Paul is a great guy and he can answer all of your questions about this.

 

 

 

You can purchase clubs through Revolution Clubs at: https://www.revolutionclubs.net/

 

Christian Darce at Revolution Clubs is also a great guy and he can answer any questions you have about the clubs.

 

 

Steel maces can be found, among other places, at Onnit https://www.onnit.com/onnit-steel-mace/.

 

 

Let me know if you actually try this; I have found it to be of great benefit.

 

Take care.

 

Really interesting! Thanks for sharing, brotherinstrength!

 

 

No problem. Maybe others will find this type of exercise of benefit.