At least 5 years on Benzos followed by at least 1 year off Benzos Support Group

Thanks GreenCup,

I too have told others not to drink alcohol unless they are sure about what they are doing.

I am surprised I even tried it.

I do not plan to do it very often.  The sleep isn't very good but at least I can fall asleep on a bad night.  Even so, I think a 1/2 of a muscle relaxer and 1/2 unisom is safer for emergency sleep needs.

Hey, about your shoulder pain.  Are you getting enough vitamin D (via sunlight or supplements)?

Bob

That's good to hear Bob, I just couldn't not say something, but I know you are an adult and can make your own educated decisions. 

I have been getting vitamin d; I've been spending some time outside this summer.  I actually, last night, I took a quarter of a flexeril(muscle relaxer), and honestly, it helped me so much.  In general, I try so hard not to take any unnecessary medication, but damn, I was in so much pain.  My sleep was great, and my pain went away. I was able to go to the store today and in general, I feel so much better.  I know they have a risk of being addictive and hate to think I'm even risking that, but the as anyone who has gone through bwd, you know at some point, you hit your pain threshold and need to just do something.

What kind of muscle relaxer are you taking?  I think my muscles being tense and unable to relax, causes me so much grief.  I feel so much better after a massage. 

My pill bottle says Cyclobenzapr 10mg Tab

But I get good results (for sleep) by taking only 1/4 to 1/2 of a pill about 45 minutes before bed. 

Shoot! I kept this group in mind before I hit the year off which was the 15th of this month. Took me a while to hunt ya'll down, and then it appears the thread went quiet.

Maybe some of the one year off olds will come back around. If not, thumbs up to the others that made it a year and more without the benzos. That's quite an accomplishment!

Hi Lilyann!  How are you doing?  I'm having a bunch of stomach issues this week.  I wish I could figure out what is causing them.  I don't think it is food as I'm eating pretty clean and this same food that sometimes bothers me, doesn't bother me on different days.  I did drive to the store yesterday, 1/2 hour there and 1/2 hour back, so that might be it.  Driving has often messed me up for a few days.  I have this nagging feeling that my stomach issues could be solves if I could just relax better. 

Other than that, and a pain in my neck, I'm actually doing pretty well. 

Hi GreenCup,

Glad you are doing well even with some issues which I'm guessing are related to the benzo use and w/d. Those benzos leave a few calling cards behind it seems, and they do seem to hit randomly. I hope you will continue to heal.

Did you deal with anxiety prior to benzos?

Insomnia is the worst of my current s/e. Last month (at 11 months off), that seemed to get worse but then reversed with a single very nice night of sleep a week or so back (eight hours total and only up once for a quick bathroom trip). Normally I have trouble falling asleep and then wake up every half hour to an hour with sometimes a stretch of three hours of so of sleep toward daylight. The patchy sleep is not very restful, but it's a lot better than almost none during active taper.

Another strange thing (which may have nothing to do with getting off benzos) is that I am responding in a major way to insects. I stepped in a fire ant hill this week, and my toes were all swollen and red with major pain and itching. Then, I went outside today after rain this week, and the mosquitoes jumped all over me. I got in the house and was itching like crazy. Not just normal itching but jump out of my skin if I could itching. Got some ice out of the freezer and held hands full of that to the worst spots. Lathered up with some anti itch stuff. Doing better now.

Then, now guys may not care much about this, but I found another hoard of leggings I apparently collected while in acute. I have 30 or 40 pairs of leggings, and I don't wear them. Don't recall why or where I bought them. So, I lost some memory over this, although I do fine now. There's just a gap from "those days." I just laugh when I find more leggings. This last stash was in, of all places, my picnic basket - five pairs. And, I have never been a hoarder at any time in the past or now present.

Getting off Xanax has made my life much better. There are still challenges, and I'm glad to be here to celebrate being off a year and being able to talk about the things that still are puzzling, troubling, or sometimes funny. Nice to reach the point where I can join the group and hope the ones here do keep chatting. I am interested in your stories, ideas, and tips for this journey at this point.

Hi GreenCup,

 

Glad you are doing well even with some issues which I'm guessing are related to the benzo use and w/d. Those benzos leave a few calling cards behind it seems, and they do seem to hit randomly. I hope you will continue to heal.

 

Did you deal with anxiety prior to benzos?

 

Insomnia is the worst of my current s/e. Last month (at 11 months off), that seemed to get worse but then reversed with a single very nice night of sleep a week or so back (eight hours total and only up once for a quick bathroom trip). Normally I have trouble falling asleep and then wake up every half hour to an hour with sometimes a stretch of three hours of so of sleep toward daylight. The patchy sleep is not very restful, but it's a lot better than almost none during active taper.

 

Another strange thing (which may have nothing to do with getting off benzos) is that I am responding in a major way to insects. I stepped in a fire ant hill this week, and my toes were all swollen and red with major pain and itching. Then, I went outside today after rain this week, and the mosquitoes jumped all over me. I got in the house and was itching like crazy. Not just normal itching but jump out of my skin if I could itching. Got some ice out of the freezer and held hands full of that to the worst spots. Lathered up with some anti itch stuff. Doing better now.

 

Then, now guys may not care much about this, but I found another hoard of leggings I apparently collected while in acute. I have 30 or 40 pairs of leggings, and I don't wear them. Don't recall why or where I bought them. So, I lost some memory over this, although I do fine now. There's just a gap from "those days." I just laugh when I find more leggings. This last stash was in, of all places, my picnic basket - five pairs. And, I have never been a hoarder at any time in the past or now present.

 

Getting off Xanax has made my life much better. There are still challenges, and I'm glad to be here to celebrate being off a year and being able to talk about the things that still are puzzling, troubling, or sometimes funny. Nice to reach the point where I can join the group and hope the ones here do keep chatting. I am interested in your stories, ideas, and tips for this journey at this point.

Just to share symptoms for those of us off benzos for over a year.

I have been off benzos for 2 years.

My only real remaining trouble is Anxiety Induced Insomnia.

But there is hope.  Each month I get better and better.

I had anxiety before taking benzos so it is probably something I never learned to deal with because the benzos fixed the problem for 13 years.

But now I am learning to deal with anxiety without benzos and I am getting better at it.

Alright, so I just had two days filled with slightly stressful, not usual things, and my anxiety/stress levels just got to be SO MUCH.  I've been trying so hard to use all my coping techniques and when life is predictable, that works for me just fine, but UGH.  I can't seem to handle unusual or just not normal things.  One thing was a cleaning at the dentist.  And it was my first since the pandemic started.  I honestly feel okay about how it went and everything but I slept so lightly the night before and actually both nights slept very lightly and I think my breathing was very shallow as well. 

It's not as bad as it has been in the past.  I think I appeared completely normal to others. 

In other news, I have started doing the Wim Hof method.  It seems to have recently become popular or at least I only just heard of it a few weeks ago.  This guy has a breathing method and also does cold exposure, to boost the immune system.  I figure it is worth a try.  There are some testimonials saying it helped people with anxiety and depression.  The last thing I tried that was sort of like this, was advertised as a "cure to anxiety" and what it was actually, was being mindful and meditation and doing breathing.  And honestly, that worked for me a lot, and still does, except, I keep feeling like a lot of this is physical, and controlling my thoughts and breathing is not enough.  So, we'll see what Wim Hof has to offer.  Honestly, even without benzo withdrawal, I might try this guys method anyways, as it is so interesting. 

Thank you for sharing the Wim Hof reference.

I am always looking for ways to control anxiety.

Like you, I found being mindful and meditation and doing breathing but more tools are always welcome.