What is everyone’s most persistent symptom?

At more than 34 months off lots of symptoms have dropped off or become much weaker but the damn depression with its buddy we call apathy is so persistent. I never had any mental issues before bennies, I was given the poison by a uninformed or greedy doctor to treat what I described to him as having a little trouble falling asleep. When I hit tolerance and started showing symptoms of anxiety and depression etc he wasted no time prescribing a virtual cocktail of ADs and more benzos. So here I am still fighting the depression. It seems to be ever so slowly getting better but Waw, I never thought it would go on for so long.

Take care to everyone here and I hope relief is just around the corner for us all and one thing I truly believe is that there is no pill that can fix what pills have done to us.

I'm at 14.5 months off and still feeling depression and apathy pretty strongly. Really hard living like this for so long. I seriously wonder if this ever goes away. I have all sorts of anger for no reason on top of it and still bad facial pressure and some burning nerves in my legs.

My worst symptoms are depression, anxiety, agoraphobia and all kinds of skin issues.

I'm at 14.5 months off and still feeling depression and apathy pretty strongly. Really hard living like this for so long. I seriously wonder if this ever goes away. I have all sorts of anger for no reason on top of it and still bad facial pressure and some burning nerves in my legs.

I should add that my depression is not continuous, it occasionally lets up in the evening but it’s there more than it’s not. Yes Boom it does eventually fade away forever. The success stories will confirm that. I do personally know a guy locally here that went through benzo recovery after 9 years of use and up to 5mg. A day. It took the better part of 3 years but he is completely recovered now for 5 years.

Anxiety.

Anxiety.

Yes anxiety is a hallmark symptom of AD and benzo recovery. I had it continuously for a long time but now it comes and goes. I don’t know 🤷‍♂️ what mental symptom is worse, probably a 3 way tie between anxiety, depression and akathesia. Hope we all find relief soon.

Muscle Cramps, anxiety, and high blood pressure.

Muscle tension and pain, headaches.  Fatigue. 

Depression.        I think I was depressed when I was a teenager and then at different times in my life so this is familiar territory but I was not depressed for the five years I was on Xanax. I’m not sure I want to live like this with so much apathy, tears, suicide thoughts etc    screw this! this is not a life. I had such a better life on Xanax.  A friend said to me once drugs are for people who don’t know how to use the tools I think I prefer the drugs. I’m only four months off Xanax (stared on .5 mg and stayed at .5 mg for 5 years)  I can recognize the very few windows and evil waves but overall life is not quality.  every night is a struggle to sleep every single night is a struggle to sleep. I use cannabis and melatonin, it takes forever to fall asleep and I wake up hung over.  I used to enjoy recreational cannabis now I’m so sick of feeling stoned.    It’s the only way I can sleep.  Quality sleep is key.

I started therapy then quit because I can't discern if this is my life depression or the withdrawal.    To wait 3 years(what I read above) to heal!!  How can I discern between the withdrawal and my own depression?

 

 

Nerve pain, skin issues. Skin burns like a sun burn, hives hurts to wear clothes. Pressure to the skin like a belt or anything to tight creates a sore underneath

muscle and joint pain

I feel like my anxiety is really odd compared to most, but I might be wrong. I notice I seem to get stressed out and caught up on certain thoughts. They can be about absolutely nothing at all. But it's like I get this hyperawareness of what I'm thinking about and I get caught in this "I can't stop thinking about this particular thing" and my thoughts just loop henceforth. Sometimes I feel like I'd rather just stop thinking entirely, so I could get rid of this damn inner monologue that's constantly going. The over-awareness "OCD" anxiety sucks, along with the general fear of everything.

I feel like my anxiety is really odd compared to most, but I might be wrong. I notice I seem to get stressed out and caught up on certain thoughts. They can be about absolutely nothing at all. But it's like I get this hyperawareness of what I'm thinking about and I get caught in this "I can't stop thinking about this particular thing" and my thoughts just loop henceforth. Sometimes I feel like I'd rather just stop thinking entirely, so I could get rid of this damn inner monologue that's constantly going. The over-awareness "OCD" anxiety sucks, along with the general fear of everything.

 

This is me EXACTLY. it is always a specific thing I am consumed with. Currently I got my first cold sore of my life. Didn’t even know I have the virus but apparently withdrawals bring it out. So I spend every waking minute deathly afraid that I will get cold sores all over my mouth. I’m consumed with it. It’s brutal. I live in constant fear of everything. 

Sensory overload, agorophobia 13 m off

I feel like my anxiety is really odd compared to most, but I might be wrong. I notice I seem to get stressed out and caught up on certain thoughts. They can be about absolutely nothing at all. But it's like I get this hyperawareness of what I'm thinking about and I get caught in this "I can't stop thinking about this particular thing" and my thoughts just loop henceforth. Sometimes I feel like I'd rather just stop thinking entirely, so I could get rid of this damn inner monologue that's constantly going. The over-awareness "OCD" anxiety sucks, along with the general fear of everything.

 

This is exactly what I feel...plus consumed by guilt all over the day...

Definately anxiety . Dizziness . Scalp burning

Nausea , spaced out head, dizzy, anxiety, depression, fatigue 

Intrusive thoughts

I only have one symptom left that has been with me since I started experiencing tolerance withdrawal about 3 year’s ago, numbness. And even though it is almost completely gone, I still have a slight sense of it occasionally throughout the day. It seems to be only on the left side of my body beginning behind my left ear, traveling down my neck & into my shoulder & left arm to my pinky, down the left side of my chest into my armpit, down my flank, through my left hip & all the way down my left leg to the tip of my toes. I believe that it is only some mild sensory nerve related issues that run the length of the left branch of my vagus nerve. Especially considering this nerve consists of 80% sensory fibers. Last night while laying on my left side I noticed that I was getting the same feeling I would usually get before experiencing a heart palpitation but instead, I felt a widespread relaxation feeling throughout my entire body. I truly believe that this part is almost healed as this is basically the only thing I have left.

Internal tremors is my last symptom. It is coming and going nowadays when it starts in. Most days during the day I don't have it anymore but still having it at night time when I get tired. I turned a corner last month at 19 months out. I am no longer counting the days until recovery but am able to live my life finally. I would say I am at least 95% recovered.I hope everyone heals all the way very soon.

Around 8 months off.

DR/DP, disconnected, spaced out, head pressure, headaches, overall revved up feeling throughout the day, food sensitivities.

But other than that sleep is good, I can distract better and i’m pretty much fully functional.

Don’t have much depression or really bad intrusive thoughts like in the beginning, just a weird head sensation all day.

At almost 2 years off probably depression, fatigue and anxiety

Morning depression/anxiety, migraines, GI issues, intrusive thoughts still at late phase 3/early phase 4. Any kind of over stimulation is the main trigger.

~20 months off

 

Heart problems, as in: excitable heart. Any kind of physical activity will be quite draining, and it can spike my heart rate

 

Anxiety, in varying degrees throughout the day, from almost non-existent to medium intensity (thankfully no longer high intensity as before), sometimes punctuated by intense spurts of short-time panic. Panic attacks used to last quite a while, now they are over rather quickly, but they can still be very intense.

 

Food sensitivity, meaning I can't just eat a full meal and expect to feel good afterwards. I have to control my portion size, wait a while for part of it to be digested, then continue eating. This will hopefully clear up in the next 12 months.

Insomnia. I've slept 2-4 hours for over a year now. Closer to 4 lately, but sad that that is an improvement.