Need advice

I am new this and need some solid advice. Never had any health issues prior to getting very I'll in dec. 2019 , was given ativan .5mg for 2 weeks, I then quit. Still having problems with illness and anxiety, I was prescribed 7 days of clonazepam. .5mg. I quit again c.t. for next 6 weeks had anxiety and terrible insomnia, all new to me. Tried every natural product, to no avail. Went to dr. Gave me 25mg of queinapin to sleep. That's when things got much worse, only one night on this and got myoclonic jerks and twitches, that have not gone away, it's been a month, back to dr. And put on lexapro and clonazepam. 5mg , wasnt depressed and had bad reaction to lexapro , was on lexapro for 4 days and clonazepam for 7 days. Not doing well , went to hospital for 9 days. Was put on gabapentin and zopiclone, zopiclone only worked for 2 or 3 days out of 12 days I used it, gabapentin didnt do anything for sleep or anxiety, actually made worse. So now for the last week have been on .5mg clonazepam again. So in the last 3 months a total of 5 or 6 weeks of benzos plus 12 days of zopiclone and gabapentin and one night of queinapin. My question is, should I taper? Or c.t. ? Any supplements i should take? I can't make anymore mistakes  . Even doctor said we are running out of options. Thanks

Hi Overthinker,

 

My goodness, what a mess, you've had so many drugs thrown at you in such a short time!  I don't think the Ativan, Zopiclone or Clonazepam have done you any favors, so I'd get off and stay off of them.  Adding in antidepressants come with their own set of problems, it looks like you've stopped taking the Lexepro? 

 

I've seen others who take Gabapentin, but it needs to be tapered too, just so you're aware.

 

Since you've been on some combination of benzo's for 5 or 6 weeks, it might be prudent to taper the Clonazepam at this time, I'd like to see a rapid taper, we don't want you tapering longer than you took it.  What do you think?

 

Pamster

Hi overthinker

 

Lots of meds and different doses etc.  I think your brain is saying wth?!  What exactly are you taking now? 

 

You haven’t been on any one med for too long.  That’s good news.  Taper off the benzo first.  Is that clonazepam?  It really shouldn’t take too long, but you have to stick with it.  Adding other meds won’t really help.  Try to get your thinking around being med free.  Try to get in front of your recovery, to lead it.  It will not be symptom free, so you’ll have to accept the weird uncomfortable feelings. 

 

Make a plan and write it down.  Then realize it might vary by dose and date.  Try not to updose.  It doesn’t help overall. 

 

Maybe don’t even add supplements just yet, until you level out. 

 

Please keep us posted! 

What “They” said.. ^^

 

I suspect your path will be wholistic health, kinda at a grass roots level..

 

I feel for you, sorry this has happened...

Strength and healing to you..

 

Hi Overthinker

 

You are on different meds to me but almost the same duration and same poly mess. I tapered rapidly, it was tough, the worst experience of my life. But I’m off and it’s been 3 months and I’m doing better. The first 2 months were hell, see my symptoms. But most have stopped and the remaining are getting better. You have to get off. When off, your body will start healing. I’m so sorry this happened to you as well. But you aren’t alone, and know it’s the meds that are making you sick. Hold on, know it will end, you can do this!!!

Thanks everyone, made me cry a bit, thought I was alone. Seems like no dr in alberta, Canada understands this. Not their fault, just the way it is. This coronavirus is giving me some extra anxiety, as a bad virus put me in this situation. Have runny nose today, so as my mind works, iam thinking the worst. Anyway I started the taper 2 days ago , just filing off maybe 10 percent, have a scale coming but who knows when it will get here in our new world. Maybe a month. Until then it will be hit and miss. Maybe another 10 percent in a week or so , 8 weeks total to taper off, hopefully that's not to quick? Thanks, you people give me hope in this dark time.

I was polydrugged and in the same situation. I did not know which med caused which side effect, and the combination caused new trouble ... after a while doctors just gave up on me. I tapered one med after the other. Sadly I had not found bb yet and I did not know the Ashton protocol, so my tapers were way too fast. It was a bumpy ride, but today I am fine and I do not suffer from ONE problem any more for which I once was given meds.

There is a life without meds and its worth it. You are not alone, not at all.

Inform yourself about the ashton protocol, maybe visit also the support website survivingantidepressants in order to find out which med to taper first - and then go slowly and find your way out. This is just my advice out of my personal experience, of course. But I just wanted to show you that you are not alone and solutions are out there

Hey Overthinker,

Quick question.. -were you on meds eg antibiotics or say steroids for the original illness..??

It may be a bit “after the fact”, but I guess a deeper history wont hurt when your ready..

-Prior medication sensitivity/history, alcohol, digestive issues..?? -Things that might stand out to you as not quite right or normal, kinda stuff..

 

Drs can be hard, but some of us have found open minded ones that want to support and learn over time.. It can actually become quite a deep relationship after a while..  One that is confident and not threatened by what they dont know or understand is a good start.. -needle in a hay stack perhaps..!!??

 

I dont expect you to read my history, but I also came from a pretty messed up position.. It has been a long road, but It sure can be done.. -and im certainly not over tough or strong...

Its probably all pretty overwhelming atm, but the pieces will fall into place as you go..

 

Well wishes..

 

For the virus , I was over medicated for sure, that started the problems. I was on antibiotics, antiviral, prednisone, 3 different inhalers and nasonex. 5 days after starting them ended up in the e.r. was taken off all meds . As I was not only sick but now having anxiety, he put me on ativan. 3 months of hell now. Usually I do my do diligence and read side effects and interactions. But was to sick and just listened. Same with ativan and clonazepam, wasnt sleeping anxiety plus still sick. Always only take herbs, should have just done that but brain wasnt right , cognitive function was at a all time low. I know better and got caught up in this perfect storm of events and bad advice.

You cant blame yourself though, -When we get seriously sick, or injured in my case, we are at the mercy of standard medical care and sometimes the alternate options are just not viable..

We get left to pick up the pieces and work out how to put it all back together...

First things first, then kinda step your way through it, often like a drunken sailor, I must admit..

 

You will get there..

Here is the link to the Ashton manual

https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha00.htm

You will have to learn to listen to your body to know when to taper down further.. I had to learn so much and not be afraid of the pain. Sometimes even when you are in pain you must keep tapering (the best advise someone gave me). But always make sure to take the calculated risk. That’s why at the end we here call it a “jump”. You just go ahead and jump and handle what comes. But you do this only when you are at a really low dose and know you can handle whatever that will come. Being off is so worth it, even in the pain, it’s better than being on the meds. Know you have everything you need within yourself to get through this. It was not your fault for trusting the Drs, that’s what they are there for. When you recover from this, you will be a stronger person and will know you can handle anything life throws at you. You will change because of this experience, but only you will decide who you become once healed.We are all warriors here and I wish you the best of luck and one day you will be off all meds that are poisoning you, and post a success story. In solidarity, keep going.

 

 

For the virus , I was over medicated for sure, that started the problems. I was on antibiotics, antiviral, prednisone, 3 different inhalers and nasonex. 5 days after starting them ended up in the e.r. was taken off all meds . As I was not only sick but now having anxiety, he put me on ativan. 3 months of hell now. Usually I do my do diligence and read side effects and interactions. But was to sick and just listened. Same with ativan and clonazepam, wasnt sleeping anxiety plus still sick. Always only take herbs, should have just done that but brain wasnt right , cognitive function was at a all time low. I know better and got caught up in this perfect storm of events and bad advice.

 

The antibiotics probably didn't help given that many of them have vary degrees of GABA-antagonism as a pharmacological property. Not that you should stop taking them or anything. Which one were you on?

 

The best thing you can do is follow the Ashton manual to start. Taper one drug at a time at a rate of 5 or 10% every two weeks and if things improve you can speed up if there is no discomfort. I think Trying2BeHopeful provided a link to the manual, which is probably the best resource out there. It is long but well worth the read. I think you'll find plenty of support here too.

Hi pamster, I have no scale yet. April 19th arrival. In the mean time how do I possibly get the right dosage, tried filing the pill but it's very inconsistent? Or do I just wait for the scale. I cut about 10 percent 5 days ago. Was going well,2 nights ago slept 8 hours for first time in months. Then last night zero. Was sleeping well on clonazepam, nothing different, is this how it goes? On about .42 to .45 mg. Now .

I was afraid of that, Amazon is overwhelmed.  I actually have no taper experience so I can't give you the best advice for getting accurate doses, lets see if some others can stop in to give you their tricks, and in the meantime I'll ask around, okay?  I don't want to see you wait to taper until you get your scale, the goal is to taper in less time than you were on the drug, right?

 

I'm sorry you didn't sleep last night, it's pretty typical, insomnia is one of our worst symptoms.  Acceptance of this and realizing it won't kill you is important.  The more we fight it, the less sleep we get. 

Other than dry and liquid titration I've seen members use a file to make little shavings and crumbs of their pills then eyeball their doses, it's a ridiculous way to go about this but desperate times all for desperate measures.