Do we know of any succesfully healed buddies who are healed longterm?

I wonder about the really long term consequences of this. Do people actually FULLY, 100% recover? How long does it take for people to actually get to that point, if at all?

 

We read success stories of people 1,5-3 years off, but they are almost never fully healed. They are "functional" again. Being able to work part-time, maybe even full-time in some cases.

However, I have yet to read one where the person says "I am back to where I was before benzos. I am 100% healed. Absolutely no symptoms whatsoever. I can lift heavy weights and train in the gym, I can go to work full-time, I can go to family gatherings, I can drive on the highway alone, I can stay at home alone for as long as circumstances require me to stay alone, etc. etc."

 

You know? I'm looking for evidence that 100% healing actually happens. I also wonder if people who say they're healed at let's say 5 years off don't actually experience withdrawal symptoms again later down the road, but they never bother to tell us because A) they just don't want to and/or B) they don't want to discourage people.

 

So, are there any longterm survivors of this cr*p who can confirm anything?

 

Yes, people fully recover. I think the day you are 100% recovered you suddenly stop caring about Benzobuddies. That means we often don't hear from those who have recovered. They move on. Ashton did a study on this subject. 48% was fully recovered and 22% was living their life as normal but had some symptoms.

https://www.benzo.org.uk/ashbzoc.htm

Im starting to believe that it is a brain damage, 3.5 years of and I still have those misrbile symptoms. Nothing seems to work. I still have anxiety depression insomnia nerve pain fatigue lost hearing in my right ear blurry vision fear lack of self esteem, anger and rage,  i eat clean i do meditation and yoga and nothing seems to work, what else should I do to at least feel functional again, i have no job no friends I cannot figure out small stuff i have constant thinking and looping thoughts, what you call all of this ?

 

Its clear that the way out was a macro tapering no CT which i done, i hope this ends soon im really tiered of surviving 

I hope others post.  I could not do this if I thought people did not heal.  I’m struggling with “it may last a year” or two! 

 

SaraSue 

Same here, SaraSue.

 

Let's put ourselves in the percentage who heal 100%. 

 

"Lies, damned lies, and statistics." 

 

!

I wonder about the really long term consequences of this. Do people actually FULLY, 100% recover? How long does it take for people to actually get to that point, if at all?

 

We read success stories of people 1,5-3 years off, but they are almost never fully healed. They are "functional" again. Being able to work part-time, maybe even full-time in some cases.

However, I have yet to read one where the person says "I am back to where I was before benzos. I am 100% healed. Absolutely no symptoms whatsoever. I can lift heavy weights and train in the gym, I can go to work full-time, I can go to family gatherings, I can drive on the highway alone, I can stay at home alone for as long as circumstances require me to stay alone, etc. etc."

 

You know? I'm looking for evidence that 100% healing actually happens. I also wonder if people who say they're healed at let's say 5 years off don't actually experience withdrawal symptoms again later down the road, but they never bother to tell us because A) they just don't want to and/or B) they don't want to discourage people.

 

So, are there any longterm survivors of this cr*p who can confirm anything?

Hi are you off all meds? Did not you see any improvemeents? How long have you take benzo? Want to tell that you are early in withdrawal.

Issey,

 

Wonderful news!  So happy for you!!  Kinda jealous too ... (sorry).  Did you write a success story?

 

SaraSue 

I am 22 months off and slowly losing hope about ever healing. After feeling quite a bit better a few weeks ago I’m back yet again in another wave. I cant see what I’ve done to provoke it, I eat healthily, don’t drink, try to do all the right things etc, but I keep coming back to square one. I think I’m going to be like those people in the protracted group that are still suffering at 5+ years off  :'(

This fellow's success story might encourage you. I watch it everyday to give me hope.

 

Hi! I have many friends who have recovered completely! We get together twice a week. Drink tea and communicate! One friend seventy years old, he's three and a half years does not drink and he is doing great after fifty years of use. Recovery is simply inevitable! Hugs!

Hi! I want to ask he had drunk alchocole or had taken pills.

Hi

I think its so encouraging the majority are healed.

But I would just throw in the mix this question.

Having been on Benzo since the age of 17-and other junk too I wonder what sort of person I would be if I had never become hooked?

Just a thought

Dickie

and alcohol and pills

and alcohol and pills

Are they happy, calm and can laugh? I think that i totally lost these  emotions. Thank you.

Issey,

 

Wonderful news!  So happy for you!!  Kinda jealous too ... (sorry).  Did you write a success story?

 

SaraSue 

 

Thank you, I never thought I would get better and then I just did. Thank you.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=220985.msg2839555#msg2839555

I'm ~18 months off so I wonder... yes I have seen improvement. The bad phases/waves get less horrible each time they hit... sort of. It's hard to quantify it. But I'm far from being fully functional and independent.

 

Terrible monophobia plagues me. Debilitating heart/circulation issues, meaning fast/intense heart rate. I can't drive a car alone. Can't do a lot of things alone. Anxiety/panic and fast heart rate kicks in after a while and there I go.

 

I just wonder if I will ever be able to lift weights in the gym again. Like, not just do a tiny bit of dumbbell curls, but deadlift, benchpress, squat. Big compound moves that stress the entire body. I hope I can. I want to, badly. I want to be able to be alone again without fear gripping me. I want to be able to somewhat "trust" my own body again. Know that my heart won't just flip out because of a tiny bit of stress. I want to feel as though I can know that my heartrate will go down reliably after going up when running or whatever. Stuff like that.

 

It's just sometimes it can get very demoralizing. The injustice of it all. If I had known I'd suffer that much for that long, I would've never ever taken a single milligram of diazepam in the first place.

I'm ~18 months off so I wonder... yes I have seen improvement. The bad phases/waves get less horrible each time they hit... sort of. It's hard to quantify it. But I'm far from being fully functional and independent.

 

Terrible monophobia plagues me. Debilitating heart/circulation issues, meaning fast/intense heart rate. I can't drive a car alone. Can't do a lot of things alone. Anxiety/panic and fast heart rate kicks in after a while and there I go.

 

I just wonder if I will ever be able to lift weights in the gym again. Like, not just do a tiny bit of dumbbell curls, but deadlift, benchpress, squat. Big compound moves that stress the entire body. I hope I can. I want to, badly. I want to be able to be alone again without fear gripping me. I want to be able to somewhat "trust" my own body again. Know that my heart won't just flip out because of a tiny bit of stress. I want to feel as though I can know that my heartrate will go down reliably after going up when running or whatever. Stuff like that.

 

It's just sometimes it can get very demoralizing. The injustice of it all. If I had known I'd suffer that much for that long, I would've never ever taken a single milligram of diazepam in the first place.

What is your benzo history? How long were you on them and at what dose etc.

I consider myself 99% healed. I still have moments where I have an old symptom pop up but for a short time. I'm about 4 1\2 years out. It has taken far longer than I expected and far more painfull! You do have to be patient and draw encouragement from those who have and are going through this. I couldn't have done it without it! You hit milestones, plateaus and some setbacks.

 

In the last few weeks I have been feeling more like how I remembered life before the Benzo road. What a difference that has made! I have had other health issues was hard to identify because of all the symtoms. I am happy to say that I am getting a handle on those now. I had an impacted tooth which I had to have a root canal done. I also had some high blood pressure issues that is now under control. Now I can actually enjoy going out for dinner or visiting friends and family.

 

Because of the way I am feeling I am confident that in time, all symptoms will eventually disappear. Because this experience is traumatic on so many levels it would be unrealistic to think that we will forget this experience totally.

 

I have seen some posts where people have claimed to be healed after a few weeks off. I take that with a grain of salt. It's possible that some are more resilient and heal a lot quicker. I think that most that have become dependant on the drugs will have a far longer recovery time. My advice to others is to not give up!

Congratulations, Camre!

 

I love to hear healed stories.  I’m happy for you.

 

SaraSue 

I question this too. Mostly due to learning about (& experiencing for myself) setbacks and other reactions when symptoms are dying down or long after withdrawal is over for others. The worst part is these reactions and setbacks can be extremely intense and long lasting & caused by almost anything so how do we avoid everything in life?  I do believe we heal and get better...but do we STAY healed - long term like OP asks?  What happens if we need to take a medicine or come in contact with something that can affect the nervous system?? This fear is with me every day and I don’t know how to get passed it. I think I have major ptsd after what 1 antibiotic pill did to me half way through my recovery. That was 8 months ago. How is that even possible? Can we never take medicine or drink ever again? I can’t risk this happening all over again, but what happens when I really need an antibiotic in the future? I’ve researched them all and they all affect the cns and have reports of akathisia. How can big Pharma let this happen.

 

It scares me to death. I’ve read too many setback stories and too many people getting akathisia again from something else, more than once,  after they heal from wd. Are these fears valid or is it my wd brain looking for something to fear?  Are the people who get akathisia more screwed than others who have a moderate withdrawal? I read a lady healed from withdrawal and 15 years later got akathisia all over again from taking antihistamines... like wtf!!! Another healed & fine for 6 years then got it again from a steroid shot! If or when I heal I don’t ever want to go through this again- is there a way to protect ourselves or do we really go back to 100% and how we were before this nightmare... before we were sensitive to everything that touches the cns??

Why are you worrying about something that you don’t know is going to happen? Most all people heal, if you keep thinking like that it can only hurt you.. Think you can heal to 100% and you will !!

Thank you, Issey!

 

I believe I’m going to heal, soon!

 

SaraSue 

I know it’s hard but you have to believe it will happen ( healing ) . If all you do is worry why you won’t what do you think will happen? There is only one attitude to have for success.. Healing will happen..

I get what you're saying, issey, and I agree wholeheartedly that attitude is a big factor in how you perceive withdrawal and healing, and it also can even lessen the impact of symptoms a bit, however we can't just shoot every question down with "Just be positive and you'll heal!". I'm not saying that's what you're saying, I'm sure you meant it in a more nuanced way, but still I wanted to ask and see if others have the same doubts at times.

 

"Most everybody heals". Yes, that much I gathered. At least people say so. However, how much do they heal? Like I said in the original post, do people heal 100%, permanently? Meaning after let's say 10-20 years, they're still fine? Can they go to the gym, lifting heavy weights, exerting themselves? Doing cardio workouts? I wish we knew that for certain.

 

Anyway. All we can do is hold on anyway, try to be courageous. It's hard when your heart it beating out of your chest, DP/DR kicks in and you're terribly anxious and panicky. Rationality goes out the window fast when you feel like your heart is freaking out.

 

 

I wish there was a discord server for us. Where we could all get together and chat. That would be kinda nice, I think.