This Is Life With Lisa Ling - The Benzos Crisis - On YouTube

Not sure if this is going to get pulled or not:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SmLVmRJuWI

Thanks!

Thank you!!

I can sure relate to the suffering of the guy who commited suicide and also those ladies in the middle of the show at around 3:00 who were shaking so badly and the one lady said that she couldn't function.  That's me in alot of ways.

Thanks mate..

 

Many thanks!

Many thanks!

hi wildflower long toime no speak 

 

there's another linkl to the show on vimeo with over a thousand views (maybe more now i haven't checked)

 

what did you think of the show?

Thank you!! 

Many thanks!

hi wildflower long toime no speak 

 

there's another linkl to the show on vimeo with over a thousand views (maybe more now i haven't checked)

 

what did you think of the show?

 

Hey, nomore, girl! I hope you're hanging in there. 

 

I haven't been able to watch yet, as things have been wavy here and I've been steering clear of triggers.... Hoping to watch soon, though. What's your take?

Many thanks!

hi wildflower long toime no speak 

 

there's another linkl to the show on vimeo with over a thousand views (maybe more now i haven't checked)

 

what did you think of the show?

 

Post the link! Help people out! 

Many thanks!

hi wildflower long toime no speak 

 

there's another linkl to the show on vimeo with over a thousand views (maybe more now i haven't checked)

 

what did you think of the show?

 

Post the link! Help people out! 

 

Thank-you Thinkstopthink! I took your link & sent it to my detox doc, my chiropractor who helped me & another patient find Ashton & also find our detox doc, my therapist, my social worker, & the addictions counselor who has an office in my building. I sent it to nine friends in different states. The response has been sympathetic & appreciative. The professionals are grateful because now they know the score about how this is going to be showing up in their clientele more & more...what symptoms they might expect, what questions to ask, the dismal forecasts on prescribing benzos to more & more of the population for any & all kinds of things, etc. The personal friends can now understand to some degree what I have been going through. They had had skepticism, confusion, & judgment before. Some of them thought I was exaggerating about the epidemic & my own symptoms & kept asking me the same questions repeatedly. They wanted to know why I didn't quit the pills cold turkey, & why didn't I feel better the further along in my withdrawal that I got. This Youtube pretty much answers their questions. Some of them thought I was making stuff up & just lying. Besides also now, all these people can warn others about it when the topic comes up & they will be understanding now, if they meet others with this problem. The professionals told me they were going to forward the Youtube to their cohorts in the human behavior & addiction specialties. I think Ling did us a wonderful service & I am very grateful to her! The Youtube helped my world immensely! Thanks for the link! I wouldn't know how to get the Youtube link myself.

Well, you can't do better than this! What a great response! I think people are afraid if they send it around they will get rejected again, but this post shows that's not necessarily true.

 

Send it to everyone. And send the BIC videos if they show any interest or you think three youtube videos won't overwhelm them. This is great!

 

Its hard to calculate how much human wreckage one show can help avoid; and then a few dozen/hundred/thousand people sharing that information multiples it. I am not an optimistic person. But I believe that if you can save one person from this misery than you have done something of inestimable value. What is more valuable than the saving of a human's soul?

 

Wonderful post, Annett

Thank-you very much Quietquiet! I really appreciate your kind compliments about my post! I kind of thought this would be the average thing to do when I sent the link around to people I felt were the appropriate ones in my life. I kind of thought alot of people would do it. Perhaps they have, perhaps not. The professionals I sent it to, I had already spoken to them about my condition because it is their job to help me. I already have a personal-type relationship with some of them, so it wasn't like I sent the link to strangers. I was glad to make professional helpers aware of the situation so they could also spread the word, & understand this phenomenon which was new to them. I really don't think the news or the medical establishment is giving it the attention it deserves in the United States. I feel it deserves the same attention as the opioid crisis eventually received. I have thoughts & feelings about what is going on but it's best I keep them to myself on the Forum   I am not a big fan of the American medical system to say the least. It is true that the professionals were shocked by this Youtube & had no idea things were so out of hand. They know it will help them deal with future clients who present with benzo issues, & indeed, they may have some clients now with these problems that they didn't understand until they saw the Youtube. It only helps them in their own profession, so that's why they are grateful. As to the friends, well, it helped me like I said, in stopping alot of criticism & repeated questions & insinuations about what was going on with me. Once they see the Ling Youtube, they gain a whole different perspective on the problem. It sort of falls in line more with the medical establishment abuses perpetrated by the opioid crisis which most Americans now know about. They can say; Oh no, here's another epidemic caused by our "system." Well, that's my take & my experience anyway. Like I said it did me a world of good & I would encourage anyone to go ahead & send these Lisa Ling links around. Thanks again Quietquiet!

Many thanks!

hi wildflower long toime no speak 

 

there's another linkl to the show on vimeo with over a thousand views (maybe more now i haven't checked)

 

what did you think of the show?

 

Hey, nomore, girl! I hope you're hanging in there. 

 

I haven't been able to watch yet, as things have been wavy here and I've been steering clear of triggers.... Hoping to watch soon, though. What's your take?

 

hey! sorry i missed your response! yup, hangin in there, doing pretty good, right now things are calm. just starting the DLMT on clonaepam , well, restarting it after halloween, cause had to move a couple doses around to get them 8 hours apart, but no bad sxs right now  just letting everything stay calm til nov and then i'll resume tapering that one.  i am so happy to see your "deer" lil face popping up again on threads i follow!

 

totally get staying away from triggers, makes absolute sense. i watched the show when it was first leaked out, and rewatched it whenit aired on CNN and i really was impressed with the good job Lisa Ling did and the people in the video who shared their stories and the points were made about needing to taper off very slowly, showing the liquid titration briefly and that we have to do this on our own because dr's aren't educated on how to do it yet..

 

there's lots of things i could criticize, but for 45 minutes of time to squash our benzo problem and all the details and tings in the isues surrounding it, i tink it was well done. we need a follow-up episode to cover the long term effects and just how people are getting their tapers done and the effects on careers, family n friends and disability. allthe drugs shown briefly on rx bottles of one poor guy who suicided i was able to read and "omg i've been on all those meds!" moment hapenned. sad. got emotional watching it. but i wish everyone who knows me could watch it to get a general idea of what's going on and what i've lost and what to expect in the future, and HOW THEY CAN HELP by supporting me emotionally thru it.

I cannot speak to the veracity of this but, if true, it saddens my heart:

 

"On October 6, CNN’s This is Life with Lisa Ling provided, for the first time ever on TV, an accurate portrayal of the effects of the benzodiazepine prescription problem.  The entire 60-minute program was dedicated to this problem, and Alliance adviser Dr. Anna Lembke was featured as the medical expert.  You can watch the entire show here.  If you watch it, please note the three short clips early in the program showing patients on prescription BZDs experiencing degrees of akathisia (restlessness and jerky muscular movements).  What the show doesn’t mention is that, in the year from filming to airing the show, 2 of the 3 severe benzodiazepine withdrawal sufferers featured in these clips committed suicide."

 

https://benzoreform.org/

I cannot speak to the veracity of this but, if true, it saddens my heart:

 

"On October 6, CNN’s This is Life with Lisa Ling provided, for the first time ever on TV, an accurate portrayal of the effects of the benzodiazepine prescription problem.  The entire 60-minute program was dedicated to this problem, and Alliance adviser Dr. Anna Lembke was featured as the medical expert.  You can watch the entire show here.  If you watch it, please note the three short clips early in the program showing patients on prescription BZDs experiencing degrees of akathisia (restlessness and jerky muscular movements).  What the show doesn’t mention is that, in the year from filming to airing the show, 2 of the 3 severe benzodiazepine withdrawal sufferers featured in these clips committed suicide."

 

https://benzoreform.org/

 

It is incredibly sad, and yes it is true.

I didn't realize that those 2 committed suicide.  They were really suffering.  I did see those women jerking and suffering. 

Edit: To tone my initial comment down a bit. Akathisia might be the worst thing to happen to you during the worst withdrawal you can imagine. It's hard to say, since its all so bad.

Which 2 ladies in the show committed the suicide?  The one lady who said she couldn't function?  How did they do it?

For newer members who might read this thread:

 

If you happen to get akathisia during your withdrawal, please, please don't ever believe that you won't recover. Yes, it feels horrific and like you can't possibly improve. Many (or most) members never come down with this symptom, but those who do or have will know what I mean.

 

I had akathisia on the meds, then for the entire year of my taper, and for about 13 or 14 months afterwards. I was probably one of the worst, as far as akathisia goes - I was suicidal many times, and I never thought I'd survive it. I won't go into detail here, as I don't want to cause more upset. But, after about 14 months off, the akathisia started fading away. Now, at 17 months, it's basically gone.

 

I am still in recovery and dealing with other symptoms, but I no longer have akathisia. It might well take you a lot quicker (or somewhat longer) than it did for me, but akathisia will resolve. The day will come when you start experiencing moments of peace in your body, and those times will grow. No matter how badly you are suffering right now, you will get much, much better. Hang in there. Others have come through akathisia, and so will you. You can and you will outlast it.

 

nomore - '"deer" lil face' made me smile! (The littles and I have a thing about deer.) Good to hear you're doing OK. When you write about the losses piling up, I can really relate. I'm still working through the grief and the anger (it cycles in and out), but it's slowly getting better....  I'm determined to be free of it, in time. Wishing peace to you and to everyone here.

 

Wildflower

For newer members who might read this thread:

 

If you happen to get akathisia during your withdrawal, please, please don't ever believe that you won't recover. Yes, it feels horrific and like you can't possibly improve. Many (or most) members never come down with this symptom, but those who do or have will know what I mean.

 

I had akathisia on the meds, then for the entire year of my taper, and for about 13 or 14 months afterwards. I was probably one of the worst, as far as akathisia goes - I was suicidal many times, and I never thought I'd survive it. I won't go into detail here, as I don't want to cause more upset. But, after about 14 months off, the akathisia started fading away. Now, at 17 months, it's basically gone.

I am still in recovery and dealing with other symptoms, but I no longer have akathisia. It might well take you a lot quicker (or somewhat longer) than it did for me, but akathisia will resolve. The day will come when you start experiencing moments of peace in your body, and those times will grow. No matter how badly you are suffering right now, you will get much, much better. Hang in there. Others have come through akathisia, and so will you. You can and you will outlast it.

 

nomore - '"deer" lil face' made me smile! (The littles and I have a thing about deer.) And yay!! So glad you're doing OK. I hear you on the emotional-support bit. When you write about the losses piling up, I can really relate. I'm still working through the grief and the anger (it cycles in and out), but it's slowly getting better....  Wishing peace to you and to everyone here.

Wildflower

 

what a great inspiration this will be to so many who've had akathisia and just wanted it to end so had SI or SA (myself included here) that it does get better and it DOES finally goes away. your story will help those who can't see the way out. maybe your littles will like this, it makes me think of Bambi in the disney story, just a little deer who suffered a terrible loss early on but made many friends on his way out who helped him not to feel so alone...and then he grew strong and was able to lead others out of the forest to safety.  it's like your story, now you're stronger with the help of friends along the way and now YOU can help show others the way out.

 

ps i had littles too. don't talk much about them since they reintegrated back into the whole, but it's nice to know there's others the same way. be fun to get out the paints and dressup clothes with all of us. thank you for being so brave!

nomore, thank you so much for your beautiful words to me, and I love what you wrote about the Bambi story.... I don't quite know how to thank you. I'll cherish your post - you are a treasure. I hope you know that.

 

I'm truly sorry for your losses, friend. I know no words can cover it.... Sending warmth and love.

For anyone else struggling with akathisia:

 

Fantastic success story: http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=172113.0

 

Mark had terrible akathisia and many other symptoms. He fought his way through and is thriving today. 

 

(I highly recommend all his back posts - loads of good info & inspiration.)

Thanks for posting.

 

Great to see the benzo crisis starting to get some main stream media attention and air time.