Want to help people that don't think Benzos are a problem, but dont know how....

Hello All.

An IED,(roadside bomb),left me with one leg in 2005 and very fortunate to be alive.

In such... I now volunteer with the VA as a counselor.

Each Sunday afternoon, 30-40 PTSD diagnosed soldiers are driven out to a horse farm to spend time in nature, around the horses, 3 VA psychologists, and me.

Mind you, these soldiers have all been through the familiar gauntlet of anti-psychotic meds, ADs, CBT, etc.,and are still suffering, as was I.

Alot of them have now become dependant to alarming dosages of benzos, and reject any thought that they will not be on them for life, as they are convinced, as was I, that the benzos have been a blessing.

 

Thank you for your service to this country !!!!!! When I was reading your post I thought about when my brother got back after his tour in bagdad. He did not lose any body parts, but it took about a year for him to relax and get back to some type on normalcy. So I can see doctors loading up vets on benzos to let the drugs numb then out. Problem is of coarse if the soldiers never learn to deal with things and make friends with the memory (term used be Lt. Col Dave Grossman) we just medicate and are almost encouraging PTSD. I would think your would want to deal with the emotional stuff and and let them know that while on the benzos they will never really be able to get back to normal. I have never been in the armed forces and only know what I have seen. God bless.

I go through the same thing with telling people. I too thought it was a blessing. It was the devil in disguse. 

 

If all you can do is let them know your story and the end result of benzo use, you have done your part. 

Thank you for your service and sacrifice! I agree with eyewonder.  Sharing your story and letting them see how much better you are doing post benzos will be very helpful.  It will probably take time, but just sharing with them and letting them know you are there for them is a great way to start. Again, I am most grateful to you and the other brave men and women for your service!!

Funny thing is that I had never heard of these drugs, with the exception of valium, until I started on klonopin.  I didn't know anything about them or addiction.  I realized how available these drugs are and how easily they are prescribed just recently.  The first thing to open my eyes was Benzo Buddies.  I am so amazed by how many members there are here who are going through this nightmare.  We are probably just a fraction of the total number worldwide.  The second thing to open my eyes was when I called the "on-call" doctor when the acute phase started.  Based on a 5 mins. phone conversation, I got a prescription for Ativan.  The third thing was when I told a friend about it, she said "don't call the doctor, just call me.  I keep Ativan in my purse". 

 

I was talking to my mom about this just yesterday.  How doctors just so easily prescribe and how we so blindly trust and take medicines.  I too would like to do something but don't know what or how.  I'm angry at both the doctor and myself.  I would like to do something productive with that anger and help someone along the way.  To prevent atleast one person from going down this path would be a good thing.

Yes, Lee, I can totally relate to your comment about how we blindly trust these doctors and accept the meds that they give us.  I only wish I

had known about Klonopin before I went on it.  I proably still would have taken it, because I definitely needed it at the time, but I sure would have weaned myself off it completely long before this and when I wasn't in such a compromised state in my brain due to having been on Neurontin for a year, and then trying to get off of that.  This has been a nightmare.  I wish you luck in your new job and I agree - being with others and being distracted does help sometimes.  It is not helping me at all right not, but it did at one time and I am hoping to get back there

again soon.  May your window be long and beautiful!

Sorry Kyjim - I didn't mean to butt into your thread - I wanted to respond to something Lee had said in a different post but somehow my reply got posted here.  Yes, do tell your story - probably very few will believe you.  I wouldn't have believed you either when I needed the Klonopin and it made a difference for me.  But if I had read Benzo Buddies then it would certainly have scared me into getting off of it quickly.  Maybe you should tell them about this website.  Good luck to you and bless you for all you've done for our country and are doing for our returning vets now.

Thank you!

As the previous posters suggested, just let them know your story and those of others you know. But tell them in a method that's leisurly.. don't preach to them as some will be turned off by that, especially if they think that the benzos are helping. Perhaps you can give them some literature as well that you can suggest they read in their free time. Ultimately though, as grown men, it'll be their decision. I've got a similar situation w/ my old man who takes xanax daily. He sees it as his miracle drug. Won't listen to a word I say about it and refuses to believe that what I'm going through is benzo related. Won't bother reading anything I send him. He is very hardheaded like that and I'm sure some of the soldiers that drive to the clinic are that way too. But let 'em know regardless. Hopefully some will hear you out. Thank you for your service~

Hey Jim,

Thank you for your service to our country.It's a great thing you are doing by helping them. I agree with missy as far as leading by example by showing them whp you are and how much better you are doing. That is the only way I myself can usually trust someone that is trying to give me advice. You can only do so much. Some of them will have to go down the benzo road until they want to change it. I do admire what you are doing with your experience both with helping others here and with helping your fellow soldiers.