Diltiazem 120mg ER

Hello,

 

I am currently 8 months off a 12 year benzo use (Klonopin, Xanax, and mostly Ativan) and 13 months off of the SSRI Lexapro.

 

Throughout my withdrawal one of my biggest symptoms that always remained present was/is constant heart palpitations and cardiac related symptoms. I mean, I've been through just about every symptom imaginable and still do, but the heart stuff has always been the most unbearable to me.

 

As such, stupid me. Looking for relief, my cardiologist put me on 12.5mg Metoprolol Succinate ER beta blocker (the absolute lowest possible dose) for 2.5 months. It did not agree with my benzo withdrawal brain, hypersensitivity to the side effects and withdrawal, etc. The withdrawal of Metoprolol is relentless, I can only think of it similar to acute benzo withdrawal.

 

So now stuck in this withdrawal from Metoprolol, I needed a medication to keep my blood pressure and heart rate in a reasonable range because of the severe beta blocker withdrawal I was having.

 

My cardiologist suggested Diltiazem 120mg ER, a calcium channel blocker. Heart medication... I thought OK, this doesn't effect the brain in any sort of way just blocks calcium. I never even thought of considering the name suffix ending in "zem" being tied to a benzo derivative.

 

I have only taken it once so far and it did not help with a lot of the metoprolol withdrawal other then it did potentially help keep my blood pressure under 160/100 and it didn't really help with the heart rate and palpitations either. Until about 12 hours later, I was finally able to feel my palpitations stopping and my heart rate dropping to 80's, instead of consistently being at 100-130s the past few weeks ( like never stopping ). As this happened at around 12 hours in, I also seemed to notice a more relaxing effect in my head/brain too. So I don't know if this was tied to finally having some relief of symptoms, or if this pill was effecting my brain.

 

So today I woke up and did more research, which I should have done previously but once again I trusted my doctor. Turns out this calcium channel blocker has something called "benzothiazepine" as part of its chemical make up. I immediately was like... ****...

 

Does anyone know the difference between benzothiazepine and benzodiazepines? Did I just ruin my recovery yet again? I fear it will set me back to worsening benzo withdrawal, but it is the weekend and I cannot contact my cardiologist to try something else until Monday. Since it's a heart medication, I feel it necessary to continue taking it to counter the metoprolol withdrawal symptoms from spiking my vitals too high, so I may have to continue taking it until Monday.

 

I am scared. :'(

 

 

I'd like to know about this too as I'm sure my cardiologist will want me to take it, let us know what the outcome is.

Don't worry, diltiazem has nothing to do with benzodiazepines.

Ahhhh. Its been a long two weeks or so. Mostly a blur. I can't recommend using this drug (diltiazem) or metoprolol succinate er. Now this is just solely based on my experience, but they both have pretty clearly made my symptoms worse, and brought on a wide range of new symptoms I never had previously.

 

Preface I guess by saying I'm basically one of them people who get every rare side effect of a drug if I take it since being in withdrawal. My CNS just can't handle anything apparently. I really don't know.

 

So the metoprolol over a 2.5 month period made my symptoms worse and worse, and there was intense inter-dose withdrawing occurring already leading up to me stopping it. One my last day of the pill, I ended up taken my ambulance into the ER because we thought I was having a stroke. It started with my right hand going numb/weak while holding my phone. I thought that was odd, but about 10 minutes later. It hit the right side of my body. Right side chest, arm, lung, it felt like it was then crawling up right side of neck, all the way up into my right side of my head until I was numb, and I was having dystonic lurching motions and loss of muscle control, numbness, and these explainable 5 second sudden urges of extreme emotional sadness, crying, and moaning. I ended up having this reaction for the next day and was suppose to start my Diltiazem, I did. The next day instead of having dystonic reaction, I started having a transformation of symptoms into more of a dyskinesia reaction. All in my face, mouth, and I couldn't talk normal, my face would go numb for hours, but it would change sides based on the posture I had. It felt like my brain was not getting enough oxygen. My GI would go fully numb and feel like it just completely stopped. I couldn't maintain electrolyte balance. Nobody could tell me what was going on. They did not see sign of a stroke in MRI of brain, and then basically refused to treat me beyond that because they ruled out a stroke. Called me an addict even though I been sober for 12 years from alcohol, mentally ill, etc (The typical AMAZING treatment we get, you know...) I took it one more day, and the same symptoms continued. Worsening states of confusion (everything was slowed down and almost euphoric, like I knew it was my time to pass, and it was ok. I felt like I was in kindergarten), dyskinesia, extreme problems breathing/rapid breathing, dehydrated, chest pains, lung pain, stomach pain, my blood felt like it was on fire, extreme body chills, no fever though. These episodes would last for hours, and usually liquids and pedialyte drink would snap me out of them eventually. I don't know what they were, shock? Idk, I basically couldn't goto the doctor anymore during these, because they have already dismissed me 4 times for the previous symptoms. I stopped diltiazem the next day, and the symptoms continued for about 4-5 days. I Think some of the symptoms are started to go away now... I can't be for sure, but the dyskinesia has lessened, I havn't have the dystonia, I still have massive GI problems, worse then prior to the drugs, I havn't had a state of confusion in 2 days.

 

Mainly what I am feeling now yet are dehydration, electrolyte balance problems, GI problems, hard to eat, everything is passing very slowly or stuck, extreme chills, lung pain, stomach pain, chest pain, pretty much everything from my waist up to my neck feels like its fighting itself. I don't know whats going on or if I'm going to heal from this, It feels like so much damage has been done already.

 

I can't obviously say this is directly linked to the medications I took metoprolol and diltiazem, but after reading on them, they do have rare occurrences(not that a doctor would agree), of causing dystonia/dyksinesia, parkinsons like symptoms. All I can do is provide my personal experience with the meds, and it was not good.

 

My thoughts on the entire process are that 3 months ago, I took an antibiotic for a possible tooth infection and the same time I started taking Metoprolol succinate ER. All the good gut bacteria I had built up over my 13 months of recovery was abolished by the antibiotic and ruined my gut/brain communication, and the continued use of meteprolol lowing my already low dopamine levels. The Metoprolol was only worsening my adrenal response because by repressing the noadrenaline/epipherine it would rebound twice as hard mid dose, by the time I realized my body had grown use to it and coming off the medication was the most difficult, even at a small dose, it felt like all the adrenaline it had been trying to block for 2.5 months had to come surging out. Eventually my body become so stressed that it led to a mini stroke, TIA, or because of my lowering of dopamine levels it presented in symptoms of parkinsons like dystonia/dyskinesia. and combine that with being unable to eat solids during, that my body just kept having a chain reaction, of one thing after the next, over and over until I was not functional. I can't prove any of this obviously, Its just how it felt from my experience of it, but anytime I try to explain how my body feels to a doctor, I'm immediately "crazy". I'm the type of person who needs explanations, and doctors never give an explanation or own up to anything. They refuse to investigate things. Then you get condemned for trying to be proactive for your CONCERNING symptoms. Of course I want to be healthy and know whats going on, that shouldn't make someone crazy. It's just so ignorant.

 

I am so exhausted. Defeated. Sad. Pained. Everything... But I am off the beta blocker and calcium channel blocker now. I guess that is a win. Maybe, I can start improving again. Time will tell.

 

Not giving advice at all, just my experience the last 3 months, do not stop medications or take them without you and your doctor discussing of course.

 

 

The Metoprolol was only worsening my adrenal response because by repressing the noadrenaline/epipherine it would rebound twice as hard mid dose, by the time I realized my body had grown use to it and coming off the medication was the most difficult, even at a small dose, it felt like all the adrenaline it had been trying to block for 2.5 months had to come surging out.

 

That's the big problem with beta blockers, IMO. I'm on a high dose of Labetalol, and it is as you described. You can't suppress something without having it appear down the line, actually much worse. All this is speculation on my part, but since I've had to take beta blockers  ever since this whole debacle, it rings true with me. The same with other bp pills. Some cause anxiety, which is no good in the benzo mess. I wish I'd known all this before. I used to feel that the more pills, the better my bp would be. That's a wrong assumption. It's just worse all the way around. Trying to taper from these pills can be a nightmare, too. My advice is to take as little as you possibly can.