I know cold turkey isn't advisable but....

Hello all. I've been tapering extremely slowly since January from Klonopin. Today I cut to .3203mg total dose (split into 3 daily doses). I also have some severe GI stuff going on prior to Benzo use (I believe I have LPR/Airway reflux) that causes nausea and shortness of breath after eating. I have to eat a very strict diet and cannot eat very much because it gets worse if I overinflate my tummy. I've been very sick since September 2018, which is when I started Ativan because I had no diagnosis and the shortness of breath thing was disturbing and that's all I was given. I am WAY down in Benzo dose with my Klonopin compared to what I was on with my Ativan. I take Remeron to help with appetite, sleep, and nausea. I can't stop losing weight and I still have poor appetite, even with Remeron. I've now lost 52lbs and am very sickly from my GI issues AND my Benzo nausea. I dry heave a lot (but less since starting Remeron). Even with my extremely slow taper, my nausea is terrible. I'm getting more GI testing done and I might need a Nissen Fundoplication. Dry heaving can undo this surgery and cause failure..... this means I probably can't have the surgery while tapering and dry heaving. I cannot afford to lose more weight. At current speed I won't be off Klonopin until next March. If I go faster nausea gets out of control and I can't work.  I'm trying to keep my job during taper, which is soooo hard. I'm just getting sicker and sicker. California will pay only 12 months disability. I took 3 months already at the end of 2018. I feel like I'm dying and I'm wasting away. I feel so stuck but can't continue with this nausea like this until next March. By then I will weigh nothing and be dead. I've had some crappy symptoms when trying to taper too fast, such as dizziness, awful hyperacusis, heavy head and limbs, headaches, insomnia (prior to Remeron), etc. I have 3 kids and feel that my weight loss is becoming unsafe. I'm praying for GI docs to help, but I might have to be off meds prior to surgery. Part of me wants to cold turkey off my current dose soon in hopes my nausea/dry heaving will stop. I hate that I'm the main income earner. I hate that I can only take off a few months off of needed. I hate myself for ever touching these meds. I wish I was just dead most of the time because my taper is awful and my GI problems for 9 months are unbearable. I just want to live without nausea and eat normally again. I'm in such a mess. Did anybody here have bad nausea in taper and feel better after Cold turkey/30 days out? I'm trying to survive right now. I have 3 children depending on me.😢

Really, nobody? Bump. Really struggling here my friends.

Hi Fighterk,

 

I don't feel that I'm qualified to give advice, but I do care.

 

You sound like a great person who has a lot on her plate - a job, kids, main support.

 

My thoughts are that you need to try what feels right for you. If one plan does not work, you can try another way. I did c/t for two weeks and then went back to .5 to stabilize. Now I am tapering with DLMT but fairly rapidly. So, it's possible to quit and then reinstate if needed and still make progress. Is something feeling like the right thing for you? Can you try that and see?

 

I've lost 25 lbs - so not as much as you. Also, I was carrying some extra. I didn't have nausea issues - just no appetite. That has improved with the DLMT, but I don't know as far as nausea.

 

I hope things get better for you and soon. You'll be in my thoughts, and I'll be pulling for you.

 

 

So sorry your dealing with this. Weight loss was a huge symptom I delt with as well. Along with GI issues and many many other horrible things.

 

What you need to remember is that as bad as it is while your tapering....things can get a hell of a lot worse with a CT. I'm not down playing your taper at all. Or the pain and suffering your going through. But trust me...all hell can break loose real quick after you CT. Please keep that in back of your mind. I wouldn't tell you this if it wasn't true.

 

Not sure if this is a option...but perhaps you can get some family to help you take care of your kids during your taper and recovery. I'm sure that's putting alot of stress on yourself and your withdrawl symptoms.

 

I want you to know that you will make it through this. You have 3 beautiful reasons to live in your children. They need their mom...and your gonna be healthy and symptom free when this is over. You have what it takes!!!  Let your kids empower you to the finish line!!

 

Keep pushing forward....

I have LPR. Symtoms for 7 straight years since my diagnosis. This is going to be 6th time successful time coming off benzos during my 15 year use. So I feel your pain. Dealing with both is imo torture but it's made me quite strong also tbh, and a bit cold but it is what it is.

 

Lpr is brutal eh. The shortness of breath is the worst for me too. By far the biggest drain on me. I've followed the diet for years but dont anymore because I've never been more then 90 percent symptom free. The meds the give ppis made the air symptoms worse and I believe benzos have contributed greatly to my LES and UES malfunctioning. I cant wait to see the lpr is off benzos for good.

I have LPR. Symtoms for 7 straight years since my diagnosis. This is going to be 6th time successful time coming off benzos during my 15 year use. So I feel your pain. Dealing with both is imo torture but it's made me quite strong also tbh, and a bit cold but it is what it is.

 

Lpr is brutal eh. The shortness of breath is the worst for me too. By far the biggest drain on me. I've followed the diet for years but dont anymore because I've never been more then 90 percent symptom free. The meds the give ppis made the air symptoms worse and I believe benzos have contributed greatly to my LES and UES malfunctioning. I cant wait to see the lpr is off benzos for good.

 

I feel your pain Chris. My symptoms are there ALL the time!!! I've been eating low acid for 9 months, PPI's made me sicker for the 2 months I took them, and I've been doing the Dr Kaufman (2week healing phase induction diet-so strict) for 6 weeks with only 5% improvemt! 😢I'm hoping for surgery or something. I can't live like this. I hate that I started Benzos, but here I am 9 months later and 52 lbs down (I look like a skeleton) trying to get off these Benzos I started in the beginning because nobody knew what I had and blamed it on anxiety!! Ughhh, what a mess I'm in! I'm waiting on more testing at University level next week. I pray it confirms LPR and my doc and I can talk about surgical Oman. Mine is not controlled with diet. I also have small hiatal hernia and I'm pretty sure until that's fixed that I'll remain with symptoms.

I have LPR. Symtoms for 7 straight years since my diagnosis. This is going to be 6th time successful time coming off benzos during my 15 year use. So I feel your pain. Dealing with both is imo torture but it's made me quite strong also tbh, and a bit cold but it is what it is.

 

Lpr is brutal eh. The shortness of breath is the worst for me too. By far the biggest drain on me. I've followed the diet for years but dont anymore because I've never been more then 90 percent symptom free. The meds the give ppis made the air symptoms worse and I believe benzos have contributed greatly to my LES and UES malfunctioning. I cant wait to see the lpr is off benzos for good.

 

I feel your pain Chris. My symptoms are there ALL the time!!! I've been eating low acid for 9 months, PPI's made me sicker for the 2 months I took them, and I've been doing the Dr Kaufman (2week healing phase induction diet-so strict) for 6 weeks with only 5% improvemt! 😢I'm hoping for surgery or something. I can't live like this. I hate that I started Benzos, but here I am 9 months later and 52 lbs down (I look like a skeleton) trying to get off these Benzos I started in the beginning because nobody knew what I had and blamed it on anxiety!! Ughhh, what a mess I'm in! I'm waiting on more testing at University level next week. I pray it confirms LPR and my doc and I can talk about surgical Oman. Mine is not controlled with diet. I also have small hiatal hernia and I'm pretty sure until that's fixed that I'll remain with symptoms.

 

I hear you all to well, after 7 straight years like this I think I've accepted my fate but still have days when feel like life cant be lived like this. I tried all the diets such as the Kauffman low acid as well. No effect for me either..

 

I to have a small hernia. I'd really do your research about the nissen and other surgeries for lpr. Apparently they work well for standard gerd that just affects the esophagus and has a good success rate. For LPR I read and was told by multiple docs the wrap they do is still not good enough to prevent the tiny amounts of acid and Pepsin etc that just destroy the larnxy and other part of the throat because as you know unlike the esophagus it's designed to take zero acid at all. I've read and researched others experiences and a solid amount have actually gone through surgery and their LPR has gotten worse. Or a bit better then worse and they say they regret it. I understand your desperation this lpr is imo harder to deal with then benzo w/d. The reason I'm coming off benzos again despite how horrifying it is only because I want to see if the benzos are causing my lpr to a degree.

 

I wear close to 24/7 around my neck something called the reflux band that pushes my UES closed to prevent stuff coming to my throat. I reccomend it even though its uncomfortable as hell. It's like a knee brace for your throat. Its help more then anything and I eat a bit more normally cuz of it.

 

Best of luck