healed around 24-26 months

hey all. i think it is time to write one. I have no had any bad waves for couple months now, and overall feel pretty good. not perfect, but I enjoy life.

 

the taper

starting point 1mg clonazepam. dry cutting via an mg scale, for a period of ~6-8 months. below 0.25mg switched to pharmacy made liquid RX. jumped at 0.07MG.

the taper was relatively easy.

 

supporting drugs

towards the end of taper gabapentin 3x600mg. seroquel 25-50mg for insomnia.

C/T seroquel later on when sleep improved with no issues. tapered gabapentin around month 18. taper was hard but predictable and w/d did not last very long (1-2months).

overall those 2 drugs were extremely helpful.

 

the jump

acute set in 5 days in. hell for 1 week. then, while still bad things got manageable.

 

improvements

lots of ups and downs. hard to pinpoint. there were major improvements at month 4, 7, 12, 18. but got some really bad waves all till year 2.

had waves out of nowhere for no reason for pretty much 2 years. month 18 was a noticeable improvement.

 

supplements and things that helped

passion flower, st johns wort, lemon balm, other herbs, magnesium, ....too many to list. had no issues with any supplements.

the ketogenic diet makes a huge difference. allowed me to loose excessive weight.

most of the supplements really did show effect past 18 months. for the first year, I don't think there has been anything which helped a lot, other then the ketogenic diet.

 

things I avoided

antibiotics, AD's, and all pharma pills, except seroquel and gabapentin as described above. also no alcohol ever since.

this is controversial, but I found that MMS (chlorine dioxide), and colloidal silver can 100% substitute antibiotics, and are much more effective and safe.

 

how do I feel now?

overall happy, energized. traveling a lot. still some stress periods, but I think it is normal life.

I think I am a bit more sensitive then I was before benzos. I learned a lot about health, and feel like I am on a better path then before benzos.

Congrats on your healing!  I'm on month 22 now and still have constant fear and can't drive wherever I want.  At what point did that end for you?  Did it happen all at once or gradually?  Thank you for sharing your story as its a big inspiration and gives me hope.

Congrats, man. I know we've talked a few times on the board. Can you describe your progression of symptoms over time and what dropped off when?

Congrats on your healing! Im right there with you.

Congratulations on your healing I am so happy for you! I am 24 months off on the 26th of this month, I have fear/mental doom gloom thoughts left, if that left I'd consider myself healed too. Hoping I can get to healed soon too. Enjoy your newfound healing and happiness 

hey all. i think it is time to write one. I have no had any bad waves for couple months now, and overall feel pretty good. not perfect, but I enjoy life.

 

the taper

starting point 1mg clonazepam. dry cutting via an mg scale, for a period of ~6-8 months. below 0.25mg switched to pharmacy made liquid RX. jumped at 0.07MG.

the taper was relatively easy.

 

supporting drugs

towards the end of taper gabapentin 3x600mg. seroquel 25-50mg for insomnia.

C/T seroquel later on when sleep improved with no issues. tapered gabapentin around month 18. taper was hard but predictable and w/d did not last very long (1-2months).

overall those 2 drugs were extremely helpful.

 

the jump

acute set in 5 days in. hell for 1 week. then, while still bad things got manageable.

 

improvements

lots of ups and downs. hard to pinpoint. there were major improvements at month 4, 7, 12, 18. but got some really bad waves all till year 2.

had waves out of nowhere for no reason for pretty much 2 years. month 18 was a noticeable improvement.

 

supplements and things that helped

passion flower, st johns wort, lemon balm, other herbs, magnesium, ....too many to list. had no issues with any supplements.

the ketogenic diet makes a huge difference. allowed me to loose excessive weight.

most of the supplements really did show effect past 18 months. for the first year, I don't think there has been anything which helped a lot, other then the ketogenic diet.

 

things I avoided

antibiotics, AD's, and all pharma pills, except seroquel and gabapentin as described above. also no alcohol ever since.

this is controversial, but I found that MMS (chlorine dioxide), and colloidal silver can 100% substitute antibiotics, and are much more effective and safe.

 

how do I feel now?

overall happy, energized. traveling a lot. still some stress periods, but I think it is normal life.

I think I am a bit more sensitive then I was before benzos. I learned a lot about health, and feel like I am on a better path then before benzos.

 

 

Nice!

 

Loc,

 

Congratulations.  Success Stories keep me going.  Wishing you a healthy and happy life.

 

SaraSue 

Thank you! You helped me! Thank God that healing is possible! Good luck to you my friend☺

This is so reassuring! Thanks for posting this. I wish you all the best. I hope you can enjoy your life from now on.

 

Could you keep us somewhat up to date how you feel?

 

So when you say you live your life - what can you do that you couldn't do during withdrawal? Could you go to the gym? Go to work or school/university? Drive a car? Drive a car alone? Drive a car alone far away from home? Drive a car alone far away from home on a highway? Lol sorry I'm half-joking, but those are things I can't do at the moment. I just passed the 18 month mark.

 

This is such great news, LocutusOfBorg! Enjoy your new-found wellness, you deserve every ounce of it!

 

And thank you for sharing. At 23 months off in just a few days, I've yet to see any true sign of healing in spite of being totally med free... some of us are slow healers and it sucks  :'(

 

Warm healing hugs to everyone!

Julz

Good news LOB... thks for all of your help. Wishing you well and a good life moving forward.

I never had constant fear, although I had a lot of fear driven periods. leaving the house, traveling, driving actually helped me most of the time (unless I was in a bad wave). sometimes pushing yourself was actually helpful to me.

 

Congrats on your healing!  I'm on month 22 now and still have constant fear and can't drive wherever I want.  At what point did that end for you?  Did it happen all at once or gradually?  Thank you for sharing your story as its a big inspiration and gives me hope.

my main symptom, outside of waves, which usually lasted a few days max, was a hanging feeling of doom and gloom.

some days out of nowhere I woke up and it was gone, then it was back. by month 24 or so, this feeling became rapidly less and less. I still sometimes have a mini version of it, but a quick distraction, like go outside, play with dog - and it goes quick.

 

Congrats, man. I know we've talked a few times on the board. Can you describe your progression of symptoms over time and what dropped off when?

yes, this doom and gloom is typical for benzo w/d when you are longer out. it slowly fades away, and there comes a point where you need to push yourself a bit to 'kick it'.

 

Congratulations on your healing I am so happy for you! I am 24 months off on the 26th of this month, I have fear/mental doom gloom thoughts left, if that left I'd consider myself healed too. Hoping I can get to healed soon too. Enjoy your newfound healing and happiness 

I did most things during withdrawal - except pushing at the gym.

I just feel more happy and content - for example, in the mornings once I start work I listen to my fav. music and enjoy it. something I could not do for a long time (except in days I had some windows). now I can do it everyday.

 

This is so reassuring! Thanks for posting this. I wish you all the best. I hope you can enjoy your life from now on.

 

Could you keep us somewhat up to date how you feel?

 

So when you say you live your life - what can you do that you couldn't do during withdrawal? Could you go to the gym? Go to work or school/university? Drive a car? Drive a car alone? Drive a car alone far away from home? Drive a car alone far away from home on a highway? Lol sorry I'm half-joking, but those are things I can't do at the moment. I just passed the 18 month mark.

Thank you for replying.  Continued success and I will come back and read your success story when I start losing hope, it really helps reading these stories. 

Congrats to you! Thanks for writing a success story!

Congratulations, LOB! Good to see someone healed at a little over two years off. I'm about to hit 27 months off. I still have frequent flareups of zapping/sizzling sounds in my ears, I'd consider myself pretty much healed if not for that.

Congratulations !

 

It's always good to know that healing is happen, whatever the duration and the stage of the withdrawal.

 

Thanks a lot for sharing, and really, enjoy your life !

my main symptom, outside of waves, which usually lasted a few days max, was a hanging feeling of doom and gloom.

some days out of nowhere I woke up and it was gone, then it was back. by month 24 or so, this feeling became rapidly less and less. I still sometimes have a mini version of it, but a quick distraction, like go outside, play with dog - and it goes quick.

 

Congrats, man. I know we've talked a few times on the board. Can you describe your progression of symptoms over time and what dropped off when?

 

Gives me hope. I will be 22 months out at the end of June. Still depression, brain fog, lightheaded/dizzy. Nausea has crept in the last month - not sure if related or not. Never had that before. This far out, you start to questions if it is something else and if I should see a neurologist. But, I doubt it is. I hope 24 months will be a breakthrough for me as it will be end of summer and this is REALLY tough to deal with in the dark cold winter. Summer and sunshine makes it easier for sure.

hey locutusofborg

 

Its so good to hear this news from a familiar BB. Congrats bud, well done for getting through this, hat off to you. As someone from my 'generation' of BB's so-to-speak, its gives me such hope to see you succeed so thank-you for taking the time to post this. Im at month 26 and Im healed alot but not there yet. Still having terrible waves from time to time.

 

Anywhoo Wish you all the best with your re entry into life and the world. Remember we are always here if you have a setback and stumble, we will be hear to catch you and help you back on your way.

 

Job well done bud!  :thumbsup:

4+ year update:

i know this is long time ago, and I have not been posting on BB much anymore.  I am definitely over the benzo stuff.

that does not mean that my life is 100% stress and anxiety free. I still get mentally exhausted at times and so on. but i think it mostly mimics my pre benzo state.

there is no more waves, and things improved since writing this story 2 years ago even more. I think many people wait for a magic. moment when benzo w/d ends. like 'uff it is finally over'.

this moment does not really come. you symptoms will leave very slowly with time, but it is important to re-focus your time and energy on the future. your brain 'mental state' has been rewired through the benzo hell, and you need to 'unwire' it. one way to do it have new life goals. your life will NOT be the same as pre benzo. time passed one way or the other.

there might be also other health issues.  I did make a very significant discovery 2 months ago with help of another long time buddy, which is low Testosterone. my levels were pretty low. I had all the symptoms. i think this issue developed slowly over the years with no relation to benzos.

I am 42 now, and started TRT (testosterone replacement therapy). this is when things really took off. I feel 75% better. sleep is good. energy is good. anxiety MUCH lower.

weight is going down. this helps me to focus on life overall, and less on the miserable state this world is in.

my starting levels were at roughly 220 total T /ng/dl and 7 ng/dl FREE T.

I would recommend for every male 30+ to check your T levels.

anyways....I wish you all the bext, and onto your next adventure