Do people recover completely from Benzos given time, or is the damage permanent

I am having one of those doubting days that I won't survive this, I am sure many feel it, but for those who are in the know, just a little reassurance would help.  Is it possible to get fully better, and the real you come back. I am so afraid I am too old to ever live life as I knew it just a few months ago.

 

All I seem to read is the damage benzos do, and how hard they are to taper off or withdraw from. leading to relapse.

 

 

I just need  bit of positive at Christmas time.

 

 

Anyone ? 

Would like to know to. It's one thing to read about it on ashton manual and another to hear it from someone.

Yes, you will recover completely.

You are a success story Builder. but I wonder if a lot depends on why you took the drug in the first place. As I was given it for anxiety, and withdrawal magnifies it, how will I ever succeed? Any tips?

You are a success story Builder. but I wonder if a lot depends on why you took the drug in the first place. As I was given it for anxiety, and withdrawal magnifies it, how will I ever succeed? Any tips?

 

Yes, I took it for (severe!) anxiety.

 

Has your anxiety been resolved?  Are you "cured"? 

 

Benzos only address symptoms, they don't relieve the underlying disorder in any way.  I of course no nothing of you personal situation, but it seems pretty apparent to me that many folks who are having great difficulties discontinuing benzos probably still need some kind of med therapy.

 

JMHO

Yes I still have the severe anxiety, that sadly the Valium did not touch, except the first week, then it made it me ill.

I have to get off it as it's making me worse, so I will have to work on it somehow. Meds don't work. I think there might have been a chance if the V had not been added into the mix.

How did you overcome you severe anxiety? You have been so successful

 

I know you have taken Mirtazapine, but having tried it twice for a week each time and it giving me a severe reaction, that is off the table for me.

 

 

 

 

I can assure you , you will heal completely. 

When I was in terror fear severe anxiety I thought I was permanently damaged .

But no , all those  terrifying symptoms left . I was not able to hear and anjoy a beautiful loud  song  , I was terrified by the words of the songs , catching only the negatives words that  put me in terror .

Today I did a car ride and enjoyied all the songs in radio , even sung some of those . 

Today one of my friend had a heart attack and passed away , I faced this  as normal people do . If it had happened 1 month ago I would have been terrified . 

I am left with some very small waves of symptoms ( a noise in head like tinnitus and some palpilations )  i am hopefull those will pass as all the other sypmtoms have.

I never thought I will see this day . I did a cold turkey unknowingly from 5 mg of valium for only one week , a benzo in a medical procedure put me in deep withdrawal) and was in a ordeal for 8 months 

PLEASE , do it slowly , tapper , and STRONGLY  BELIEVE  YOU WILL HEAL !!! These are powerful drugs but those do not damage the brain . Those only change the balances of gaba neurotransmitter . .

Fight for your sanity and life !!! Please avoid other psycoactive drugs . The brain needs to find homeostasis and only time can help . Ask for help from your love ones , you can't do it alone . Those can take care of daily tasks .

I give you  warm hugs and wish you healing !!!

 

 

 

Oh thank you Elaalbania for those encouraging words. We all need positives. I am so  sorry you had to go through a terrible 8 months after a week of 5mg use, but pleased to here of your success. It really is good to know we can and do recover.

 

Yes I still have the severe anxiety, that sadly the Valium did not touch, except the first week, then it made it me ill.

I have to get off it as it's making me worse, so I will have to work on it somehow. Meds don't work. I think there might have been a chance if the V had not been added into the mix.

How did you overcome you severe anxiety? You have been so successful

 

I know you have taken Mirtazapine, but having tried it twice for a week each time and it giving me a severe reaction, that is off the table for me.

 

You will definitely recover from the diazepam, but of course that really has no bearing on your original anxiety condition. 

 

I didn't "overcome" my GAD, it apparently just resolved.  There was not apparent cause to begin with, so its reasonable to expect it may just spontaneously resolve.  One of the problems with taking a psych med to relieve and emotiional/mental disorder is that as long as the med is working, your really don't know if you're still "sick".  Its possible I could have stopped my mirtazipine much sooner, but I was afraid to rock the boat.  But I reached a point where i just sensed that something seemed to have changed, so I decided to stop it.

 

Like you, diazepam was initially very effective, but I became tolerant (in the real sense of the word, meaning it just lost its effectiveness) after about 2 weeks.  And the next trial was zoloft.  And that was an absolute, immediate disaster.  We tried a few other things, got to mirtazipine, and fortunately, it was successful.

I’m right there with you chin. 

Thank you builder for offering hope even for those of us with anxiety before.

 

Yes thank you builder. It gives a great deal of hope to those who are struggling for whatever reason, doubting we will ever heal.. Time seems to underscore your  success.  Not just healing  from the damage of Valium, but also time to heal from the reason you were given medication..The diagnosis I was given was  GAD, severe anxiety.

Now I feel I am in with a chance. Thank you. We all need a good dose of hope 

 

Offandon. I hope you are feeling a little brighter today.

Some days seem impossible, I know, but there are success stories and we can be one of them too, given a little hope.

I am sure there are many success stories , but we don't always here of those, It can really help if we do. 

 

Offandon. I hope you are feeling a little brighter today.

Some days seem impossible, I know, but there are success stories and we can be one of them too, given a little hope.

I am sure there are many success stories , but we don't always here of those, It can really help if we do.

 

Thank you chinchuk. Today is a bit better. I have no doubt you will heal. It’s been a short time you’ve been on them if I’m reading correctly. Hang in there. 

Can anyone speak to cognitive delay and if that gets better? My memory and cognition just isn't the same anymore. It hasn't been since I started my taper and seems to get worse the lower in dose I get. I never took klonopin for anxiety, only for sleep. Although now I get anxious as one of my symptoms. I can manage the anxiety over time I'm sure but I want my old brain back. How am I me if I don't think as quickly. I call a waiter over and can't remember why I did. I don't want to hang out with friends anymore. Does this improve?

Builder - did take the Mirt during your taper or after? Thanks!

I think brain plasticity plays a major role in healing, so if you're in your 20s or early 30's you'll heal much more quickly compared to older folks, and you're also pretty safe from having seizures.