3.5 years off 4 different Benzos - Life is Great!

I was a short-term user of 4 different Benzos over a six month period.  I was on 2-3mg of Klonopin, 30mg of Temazepam along with 15mg Remeron and other Rx garbage before I jumped CT at my PCP's advice.  I had a pretty intense WD experience with somewhere around 15-20 symptoms including Severe Insomnia, SI, depression, anxiety, claustrophobia, burning skin, etc.  that I thought I would never heal from.  I made 4 different trips to 4 different ERs and they all wanted to put me on more drugs and told me I had at least one mental illness, blah, blah, blah...it was never linked to Benzo WD. It got so bad that my PCP would no longer see me and forced me to see a psychiatrist that wanted to poly drug me.  Luckily I never took the haldol she prescribed along with an AD and Gabapentin.

 

Thankfully I found a Benzo-wise counseling center that had a psychiatrist on staff that had 20 years of experience working with addition and withdrawal.  And BBs was a big help too!  I only took Benzos for Sleep.  I started feeling better around month 10 and felt "normal" somewhere between month 15 and 18.  I was lucky.  It could have lasted a lot longer!  My life is better now than it was before Benzos.  I go on vacations, work full-time, eat whatever I want (within reason) and live the way I did before Benzos.  I have been 100% symptom free for about 20 months now!  Sleep is good, life is good.  It was always the Benzos, but the medical community where I live was convinced it was another mental illness or condition. 

 

Time is the healer.  Hang in there.  You'll get your life back one day.  I did...you will too! 

Great to hear this!  Thanks so much for coming back to offer hope

Were u on those benzos daily?

Thank you for this message.  Being 'in' the symptoms, as you describe them, which is where I am now - it sometimes feels relentless, as if I am permanently damaged and will never live a 'normal' life again.  Thank you for your message of hope and encouragement.  It is good to hear messages like this.  It's great that you were able to find your way away from the detrimental advise (ignorance) that would only have made things worse, and that you eventually found a healthy pathway.  It must have been hell at the time.  So glad things are good for you now. 

Thank you for sharing these positive words! It is so good to hear for those still tapering and those of us just off!  ❤

Were u on those benzos daily?

 

Yes, I took them nightly for sleep for the entire period I was on them.

Congrats!! Sounds like a success story to me!

Challis 

Congratulations! It is a success story to me and is wonderful to see.

...I made 4 different trips to 4 different ERs and they all wanted to put me on more drugs and told me I had at least one mental illness, blah, blah, blah...it was never linked to Benzo WD. It got so bad that my PCP would no longer see me and forced me to see a psychiatrist that wanted to poly drug me.  Luckily I never took the haldol she prescribed along with an AD and Gabapentin...

 

I think what you posted above is the crossroads we all need to be aware of when dealing with the medical world.  With strength and awareness we can choose to follow our hearts and honor or feelings and our bodies and make the choice to live a medication free life.  This requires education, perseverance, and persistence and is probably one of the biggest challenges we will ever face.

 

Congrats on your recovery!

 

Cheers,

      RR

Hi RR,

 

Thank you!  I agree.  At some point medical doctors backed by "medical science" and arrogance (to some degree) think that they know more about what is going on in our body than we do.  It is a dangerous place to put your care in the hands of uninformed, uneducated medical professionals in a moment of weakness or despair. Especially in an ER where they could use drugs on you, against your will, if they believe you are endangering yourself or others.

 

Wishing you complete healing, recovery and a medication free life!

Thanks for posting the positive. What symptoms lingered on to the 22 month mark?

Hi Bluepm.

 

The symptoms that lingered after I wrote my success story were pretty mild and didn't affect my daily life.  I would get brief periods of anxiety or an intrusive thought or two and even some very brief muscle pain/spasms,  and an off night of sleep here and there, etc.  The only thing I really had left by month 22 was some poor nights of sleep. All of those symptoms have been completely gone now for over 1.5 years.

Yes, if I could go back and re-write my success story, I would say the 24 month mark is where I would have considered myself completely healed/recovered!

Yes, if I could go back and re-write my success story, I would say the 24 month mark is where I would have considered myself completely healed/recovered!

 

 

It’s seems 24 months is we’re ppl have huge improvements?

Yes, I have witnessed that 18 - 24 months is the "sweet" spot in terms of time for a lot of people to start feeling better.  Some are earlier and some later, but that seems to be the time frame for many? 

Thank you so much for your post!  Live your life, know your body.  Where did you find a benzo wise addiction meds counselor?

 

 

B

Thank you so much for your post!  Live your life, know your body.  Where did you find a benzo wise addiction meds counselor?

B

 

In Madison, WI (USA)