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For what reason were you prescribed a benzo?


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Hey guys,

Just want a synopsis of why you were prescribed your benzo, and what your pDocs instructions are (no doctor bashing!)

I was prescribed 5mg Valium for my panic disorder and muscle spasms.

Original instructions: Take HALF to ONE tablet three times a day when required.

Present instructions: Take HALF a tablet every SIX hours when required.

Dave.  8)

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I had just finished chemotherapy and my anxiety was through the roof. I didn't realize it at the time but my thyroid hormone dose was also suddenly way to high, since I had lost a lot of weight from cancer. I begged my doctor for the prescriptions. 0.5 mg alprazolam twice a day; 10 mg zolpidem at night.
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Approximately around the third year of taking Ambien for insomnia, I had a sudden reaction to it. At the time I did not make the connection that the painful symptom I was experiencing was, in fact, due to Ambien.

 

Within about a weeks time of absolute physical torture, I checked myself into a VA Inpatient facility. Soon after I arrived to the facility I was given Ativan.

 

At the time of my discharge, I left with a new prescription that I knew nothing about. But what I did know is it helped me to sleep better and "miraculously" helped to subdue that horrible symptom. It was a short lived reprieve though. :sick:

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[b1...]
I was waiting for spinal surgery (6 weeks) and had pressure on the sciatic nerve from a growth in my spine.  Dr told me to take 2.5mg at night to help with excruciating pain. She said it wouldn't be addictive at low dose /short term.
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Spasm and upper back, neck rigidity after spinal surgery to decompress very severe crushed sciatic nerve and remove piece of disc from spinal canal after years of complete agony.

 

It never got rid of it but made it bearable to lie on sofa with legs up on cushions and potter in garden on a good day.

 

Now all muscles rigid and in utter hell. No position is bearable, sciatica back.

 

Think it also helped ME/CFS symptoms.

 

Was also on Zopiclone for 23 years after got ill in 1996 and everytime tried to sleep woke up gasping for air. Was classed as part of ME/CFS.

 

 

 

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I had anxiety from taking Aleve for a couple of years. I tried getting off it, but I had itching, insomnia, and a galloping heart beat. My bp went to 260/110, and none of the doctors knew why. I have only learned this year that I'm extremely allergic to sulfa and sulfonamides. If I'd known this, maybe my anxiety would have gone away. But I was told by a medical person, during my first visit after the hospitalization, that I had "resistant hypertension," and I believed her. So I asked for something for anxiety.
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Hmm... okay so from what I have read, a lot of people here have sciatic nerve trouble, others have back problems, others have insomnia and anxiety attacks. It seems a common trend that different types of spinal trouble equal sciatica, RLS, insomnia, panic and anxiety attacks.

I have scoliosis, so maybe that's where my muscle spasms originated from.

Dave.

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Crowman, my issue for taking Ambien was for insomnia. I have read where others have linked insomnia with anxiety. And although my life has not been stress free, I never thought of myself as being overly anxious. But I do wonder now if, in fact, my insomnia pre-drug use was, in part, caused by undue anxiety. :-\ I do know now it was a BIG mistake to use drugs...albeit legal...for insomnia. If only I knew then what I know now.

 

I have struggled with chronic back pain most of my adult life....today I'm an aged adult ;D. But I never took a med to sleep due to my pain. It was always because I just could not sleep...would wake up and could not go back to sleep. It was such a struggle and still is to this day.

 

And it's only been since this benzo/Z-drug mess that my back issue(s) has gone to a whole new level of pain. Benzos affect so many regions of our bodies that diagnosing what's what(when, where, how, and why) becomes a guessing game.

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Scoliosis can cause that.

 

There are specific exercises you can do for scoliosis if you are able to.

Hey Ajusta,

I'm on the ball with that. I do some back training at the gym when I can go, and do Farmer's Walks which correct your posture.

Another good exercise is to get a piece of dowel (a long piece of rounded wood) and place it against your back. Stretch forward, backward and to the sides with the dowel.

 

Resistance bands are another really good thing to use.

Dave.  8)

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Crowman, my issue for taking Ambien was for insomnia. I have read where others have linked insomnia with anxiety. And although my life has not been stress free, I never thought of myself as being overly anxious. But I do wonder now if, in fact, my insomnia pre-drug use was, in part, caused by undue anxiety. :-\ I do know now it was a BIG mistake to use drugs...albeit legal...for insomnia. If only I knew then what I know now.

 

I have struggled with chronic back pain most of my adult life....today I'm an aged adult ;D. But I never took a med to sleep due to my pain. It was always because I just could not sleep...would wake up and could not go back to sleep. It was such a struggle and still is to this day.

 

And it's only been since this benzo/Z-drug mess that my back issue(s) has gone to a whole new level of pain. Benzos affect so many regions of our bodies that diagnosing what's what(when, where, how, and why) becomes a guessing game.

Hi BlueRose,

Benzos do all sorts of damage because the benzo chemicals hit so many GABA-A receptors, and down-regulates them. There are trillions of them. It's no wonder we suffer a terrific lot of pain in this process, and the reason we do is because the brain is continuously trying to correct itself. The brain counteracts GABA-A down-regulation by upregulating trillions of glutamate receptors. It's okay to take a benzo for one time, because the brain then reverts back to normal operation. However with continual benzo reinforcement, tolerance and dependence quickly form as the brain makes semi-permanent adjustments to the continuous presence of the benzo, and can even form new neuronal pathways. When you take the benzo away, even by the smallest amount, the brain goes bonkers from the excess glutamate present.  :crazy:

 

From the responses I've seen so far to my original post, a few people suffer from pre-benzo insomnia. I believe a lot of what we experience, be it anxiety, depression, sciatic pain, nerve pain or insomnia is actually coming from an injury or malformation of our spines. Cerebrospinal fluid controls virtually every aspect of our bodies, and it's named that for a reason. I'm in no way dismissing the damage benzos do - they quite rightly exacerbate the problem a thousand-fold and are extremely toxic for the body. But before we decided to take a benzo, we had a problem in the first place. I firmly believe our spine is the reason we suffer from elevated anxiety, depression, sciatic pain, nerve pain, and even insomnia.

 

It's a funny thing - both my parents have spinal trouble and so do I, and we are worry-warts, yet my sister has no spinal trouble and she is as cool as a cucumber, and works a high-pressure job.

Dave.  8)

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I was prescribed a benzo to counter anxiety symptoms brought on by anti-depressants, mood stabilizers and a stimulant.

 

I was on Lexapro, Trazodone, and Wellbutrin which caused me to be extremely tired and sluggish and I slept 12 hours a day, at least.

So then the doctor prescribed me Adderall to stimulate me to be less sluggish.

And then he put me on mood stabilizers because the drug cocktail was making me depressed.

And the combination of all the drugs gave me anxiety (no duh) and so then he prescribed me clonazepam.

And we all know what a benzo does.

 

I was so over-drugged that I didn't know what was going on and to much of a zombie to Google what the hell was going on.

 

Finally, my brain/body had enough and I knew I had I make changes! I started weaning off the AD's and mood stabilizers in 2014-2016 and then the benzo in 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I was prescribed a benzo to counter anxiety symptoms brought on by anti-depressants, mood stabilizers and a stimulant.

 

I was on Lexapro, Trazodone, and Wellbutrin which caused me to be extremely tired and sluggish and I slept 12 hours a day, at least.

So then the doctor prescribed me Adderall to stimulate me to be less sluggish.

And then he put me on mood stabilizers because the drug cocktail was making me depressed.

And the combination of all the drugs gave me anxiety (no duh) and so then he prescribed me clonazepam.

And we all know what a benzo does.

 

I was so over-drugged that I didn't know what was going on and to much of a zombie to Google what the hell was going on.

 

Finally, my brain/body had enough and I knew I had I make changes! I started weaning off the AD's and mood stabilizers in 2014-2016 and then the benzo in 2017.

Hi TaterTot91,

How are you feeling now?

Dave.

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Hi BlueRose,

Benzos do all sorts of damage because the benzo chemicals hit so many GABA-A receptors, and down-regulates them. There are trillions of them. It's no wonder we suffer a terrific lot of pain in this process, and the reason we do is because the brain is continuously trying to correct itself. The brain counteracts GABA-A down-regulation by upregulating trillions of glutamate receptors. It's okay to take a benzo for one time, because the brain then reverts back to normal operation. However with continual benzo reinforcement, tolerance and dependence quickly form as the brain makes semi-permanent adjustments to the continuous presence of the benzo, and can even form new neuronal pathways. When you take the benzo away, even by the smallest amount, the brain goes bonkers from the excess glutamate present.  :crazy:

 

From the responses I've seen so far to my original post, a few people suffer from pre-benzo insomnia. I believe a lot of what we experience, be it anxiety, depression, sciatic pain, nerve pain or insomnia is actually coming from an injury or malformation of our spines. Cerebrospinal fluid controls virtually every aspect of our bodies, and it's named that for a reason. I'm in no way dismissing the damage benzos do - they quite rightly exacerbate the problem a thousand-fold and are extremely toxic for the body. But before we decided to take a benzo, we had a problem in the first place. I firmly believe our spine is the reason we suffer from elevated anxiety, depression, sciatic pain, nerve pain, and even insomnia.

 

It's a funny thing - both my parents have spinal trouble and so do I, and we are worry-warts, yet my sister has no spinal trouble and she is as cool as a cucumber, and works a high-pressure job.

Dave.  8)

 

Thank you Dave for an in-depth explanation of a complex subject. You have been doing a lot of homework, I see. Your theory sounds very likely as I do have back issues(can't remember when I didn't).

 

Our bodies are fine-tuned. Anything out of tune will cause a ripple reaction throughout our system. And our spines are a significant part of our bodies. Wish there was a medicinal concoction to take me back to pre-benzo days.

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Hi BlueRose,

Benzos do all sorts of damage because the benzo chemicals hit so many GABA-A receptors, and down-regulates them. There are trillions of them. It's no wonder we suffer a terrific lot of pain in this process, and the reason we do is because the brain is continuously trying to correct itself. The brain counteracts GABA-A down-regulation by upregulating trillions of glutamate receptors. It's okay to take a benzo for one time, because the brain then reverts back to normal operation. However with continual benzo reinforcement, tolerance and dependence quickly form as the brain makes semi-permanent adjustments to the continuous presence of the benzo, and can even form new neuronal pathways. When you take the benzo away, even by the smallest amount, the brain goes bonkers from the excess glutamate present.  :crazy:

 

From the responses I've seen so far to my original post, a few people suffer from pre-benzo insomnia. I believe a lot of what we experience, be it anxiety, depression, sciatic pain, nerve pain or insomnia is actually coming from an injury or malformation of our spines. Cerebrospinal fluid controls virtually every aspect of our bodies, and it's named that for a reason. I'm in no way dismissing the damage benzos do - they quite rightly exacerbate the problem a thousand-fold and are extremely toxic for the body. But before we decided to take a benzo, we had a problem in the first place. I firmly believe our spine is the reason we suffer from elevated anxiety, depression, sciatic pain, nerve pain, and even insomnia.

 

It's a funny thing - both my parents have spinal trouble and so do I, and we are worry-warts, yet my sister has no spinal trouble and she is as cool as a cucumber, and works a high-pressure job.

Dave.  8)

 

Thank you Dave for an in-depth explanation of a complex subject. You have been doing a lot of homework, I see. Your theory sounds very likely as I do have back issues(can't remember when I didn't).

 

Our bodies are fine-tuned. Anything out of tune will cause a ripple reaction throughout our system. And our spines are a significant part of our bodies. Wish there was a medicinal concoction to take me back to pre-benzo days.

Yes, it would be nice to travel back in time and undo our past mistakes. Unfortunately, we have to soldier through this benzo crap.

Dave.

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I was prescribed a benzo to counter anxiety symptoms brought on by anti-depressants, mood stabilizers and a stimulant.

 

I was on Lexapro, Trazodone, and Wellbutrin which caused me to be extremely tired and sluggish and I slept 12 hours a day, at least.

So then the doctor prescribed me Adderall to stimulate me to be less sluggish.

And then he put me on mood stabilizers because the drug cocktail was making me depressed.

And the combination of all the drugs gave me anxiety (no duh) and so then he prescribed me clonazepam.

And we all know what a benzo does.

 

I was so over-drugged that I didn't know what was going on and to much of a zombie to Google what the hell was going on.

 

Finally, my brain/body had enough and I knew I had I make changes! I started weaning off the AD's and mood stabilizers in 2014-2016 and then the benzo in 2017.

Hi TaterTot91,

How are you feeling now?

Dave.

 

Thanks Dave,

 

I have had a hell of a time, for sure.

I had many of the physical symptoms but at over two years those have mostly gone away.

My worst symptoms have been the mental anguish (mostly gone) and cognitive impairment (pretty severe).

 

As the months ticked off after "jumping off" clonazepam, symptoms of dementia crept over my brain. I could practically FEEL the neurons stop communicating with one another and I was overcome with the densest head cloud. I had was trouble calling up words to communicate. I could only speak in short bursts and with small words.

 

I couldn't write, couldn't recall language, couldn't understand what was being spoken, couldn't read. Very little processing ability.

 

Now, I am better than that but still struggling. I still feel mentally impaired.

I am listening to an audiobook and enjoying it very much. But I am not sure that I retain much information.

 

Also, I still have a lot of fatigue. I have headaches and head pressure every day.

I sleep about 4-5 hours at night. Not great, but I'll take it after no sleep at all for over a year.

I also can't tolerate vitamins or herbs at all, either. I can't drink alcohol but that's big deal.

 

As of a few weeks ago, I have a new symptom: tremendous ear pressure using against my left ear drum.

It is very uncomfortable and it feels like I am wearing an astronaut helmet.

Factor this in with cognitive impairment, and I feel isolated and in my own blunted world.

I went to a doctor to check my ears and they said it was probably allergies (but allergy meds do not help.)

I have searched the BB sight for ear problems and it seems to be related to benzos.

 

Other than that, I'm doing okay! I can eat, I can exercise some, I can travel a bit.

I don't work and do not know what I could do with this mental impairment.

Thankfully & gratefully, I do not have to worry about that right now.

Much love and healing wishes to you and every one here.

 

:smitten:

 

 

 

 

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