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Do Our Brains Recognize Different Benzo Chemicals?


[Se...]

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I’m so close to my taper ending.  I’m on .13mg of clonazepam but have suffered the entire taper with extreme nausea, dizziness, paresthesia, hissing tinnitus, weight loss, carb intolerance, wild glucose swings, food sensitivities, early morning wake up and ridiculous insomnia.  I can barely function at this point. Holding does not help and I’m positive tolerance is a huge factor here.  I equally dose 4 times a day.  Four divided doses of .13mg is small, 0.0325mg each dose. Clonazepam has never been “long acting” to me and I get no relief after dosing.

 

I tapered off alprazolam almost 7 months ago and wasn’t as sick as I am with tapering clonazepam. Thanks to an incompetent psychiatrist, that’s how I ended up on two benzos.  Tapering off 4mg of alprazolam was no picnic but maybe being on 1mg/day of clonazepam softened the blow? I don’t know.  It was really hard but not like this.  Not even close.

 

I’ve tried every prescription nausea med, OTC remedies, teas, etc., with no relief.  Some of the side effects of the drugs only amplify the suffering.  Yesterday I thought I would give promethazine another try.  I took three doses which included one near bedtime.  I was hoping it would alleviate the 3 a.m. jolt of nausea that religiously wakes me up.  It didn’t do anything. 

 

I persisted, took a dose at 3:15 a.m. and another dose  at 9:30 a.m. Zero relief so I’m done with that. Symptoms of more dizziness and a nasty headache is about all it’s done. 

 

I have generic Librax, chlordiazepoxide/clidinium. I took this vey sparingly over the years for nausea/IBS symptoms long before either taper began. It always settled nausea and my intestines. It’s a combination drug which includes 5mg chlordiazepoxide, which is a benzo, and an anti spasmodic, clidinium bromide.  Other anti spasmodics have never helped. I have bottles of them.

 

I’m thinking of taking one a day to help quell the relentless nausea.

 

Some people crossover to generic Librium, chlordiazepoxide, since it’s long acting (usually at a dose of 25mg).  Librax has 5mg of chlordiazepoxide.  I never took it as directed.  Maybe two capsules a day for a few days then I would stop because my symptoms resolved.  The usual dose is 1 to 2 capsules every 6 to 8 hours and at bedtime.  That’s a lot of medication!  I would never take that dose! The most I ever took for IBS was 1 or 2 caps/day for a few days to a week and then stop with no issues.

 

Anyway, if it offered some relief to the nausea, would it hurt to take 1 capsule a day to take the edge off nauseA while I continue to taper?  I’ve debated this for awhile and haven’t taken any of it due to it being a benzo. I’m so close to the end I don’t want to mess it up.  At the same time, I don’t know if I can make it without something to help the intolerable symptoms I have. Up dosing clonazepam is not an option.  It won’t help.  Even at full dose, it never helped anything. 

 

Will my brain recognize it as just another benzo?  Are we sensitized to all benzos during taper/withdrawal?

 

The psych nurse isn’t going to prescribe any benzos. I’ve been seeing her for about 2 months.  I’m using clonazepam from another prescriber and will have enough to finish my taper.

 

Any comments or insights would be really helpful.  I’m desperate for relief.

 

Thanks.

 

SeptGirl

💜

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Update: 

 

No one left a comment and I got so desperate, I took the capsule.

 

It didn’t help.  I do believe I got so sick yesterday because I took 5 doses of promethazine for nausea; 3 tabs one day, 2 tabs the next day.  While it’s prescribed for nausea, it just isn’t the med for me. Previously I had never taken it more than once a day.  I guess my CNS is just fried from tapering and withdrawal.

 

I’m still as nauseated and dizzy.  The vicious headache from promethazine has lessened this morning. Sleep was sparse last night. 

 

I’ll plod along. 

 

I’m almost free.

 

SG

💜

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Septgirl.

Sorry you're feeling bad. Have you tried ginger root capsules for nausea? I've heard others that had your symptoms & were helped by Medical marijuana.

I'm unfortunately on both klonopin & xanax. Long road ahead for me. Just a tiny reduction of klonopin so far.

If you feel up to it, could you briefly describe how you dlmt your xanax? Like is it sold as a liquid? Did you make your own? Did you dry cut at first.

Congrats on all of your progress. You're almost there! I hope your feeling better soon.

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Septgirl.

Sorry you're feeling bad. Have you tried ginger root capsules for nausea? I've heard others that had your symptoms & were helped by Medical marijuana.

I'm unfortunately on both klonopin & xanax. Long road ahead for me. Just a tiny reduction of klonopin so far.

If you feel up to it, could you briefly describe how you dlmt your xanax? Like is it sold as a liquid? Did you make your own? Did you dry cut at first.

Congrats on all of your progress. You're almost there! I hope your feeling better soon.

 

Hi Scaredie...

 

Thanks for your comment.  I’ve tried ginger caps, ginger tea, ginger drops (candy) and every other form of ginger you can think of.  It just doesn’t work for me.  I also tried medical marijuana.  THC got me too anxious and paranoid.  It was great when I was much younger but not so much now that I’m older and in withdrawal.

 

 

When I began my alprazolam taper, I was on 4mg/day. I did dry cut alprazolam until I got to 1mg/day and I started DLMT.  I made my own batches.

 

You should check out the titration boards for methods and/taper plan that may meet your needs and goals.  To be honest, I’m a total idiot when it comes to syringes and measurements. I know I’m doing it correctly but I just can’t put it down in writing.

 

I will say I learned the hard way to taper one benzo at a time. I was on both alprazolam and clonazepam at the sane time. I was on alprazolam the longest...at one dosage or another for probably close to 15 years.  When the doc upped my dose to 4mg and I still felt like hell, that’s when I decided I had to get off the poison.  An incompetent psychiatrist started me on clonazepam in a poorly managed “crossover“.  That’s how I ended up on both. If not for that, I’d be off benzos by now but unfortunately, that’s the way it is. 

 

As far as I know, alprazolam is available in liquid form.  Clonazepam is not.  I followed a formula found on the titration boards.  You can ask all of your questions there and many knowledgeable people will respond. 

 

If you haven’t already, create a “signature” or “forum profile’ which lists dates and dosages of the meds you’re on and/or tapering off.

 

Best of luck to you.  It’s not easy but in the end, we will get better and heal our brains.

 

SG

💜

 

 

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Highly recommend avoiding THC during a taper. It will make things worse. THC is a stimulant. When combined with CBD it can be a relaxant but only if it works for your personal brain chemistry that way. THC is a risky thing in general and I wouldn't do any experimenting with it now. CBD works wonders though. You can buy that online in liquid form.
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Ks1994...

 

I’ve tried CBD with and without the tiny bit of THC in it.  I didn’t get relief from nausea.  I think it made the nausea worse.  I have two bottles of CBD isolate that has zero THC.  Maybe I’ll revisit it now that my dose is lower.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

SG

 

 

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Septgirl.

Sorry you're feeling bad. Have you tried ginger root capsules for nausea? I've heard others that had your symptoms & were helped by Medical marijuana.

I'm unfortunately on both klonopin & xanax. Long road ahead for me. Just a tiny reduction of klonopin so far.

If you feel up to it, could you briefly describe how you dlmt your xanax? Like is it sold as a liquid? Did you make your own? Did you dry cut at first.

Congrats on all of your progress. You're almost there! I hope your feeling better soon.

 

Hi Scaredie...

 

Thanks for your comment.  I’ve tried ginger caps, ginger tea, ginger drops (candy) and every other form of ginger you can think of.  It just doesn’t work for me.  I also tried medical marijuana.  THC got me too anxious and paranoid.  It was great when I was much younger but not so much now that I’m older and in withdrawal.

 

 

When I began my alprazolam taper, I was on 4mg/day. I did dry cut alprazolam until I got to 1mg/day and I started DLMT.  I made my own batches.

 

You should check out the titration boards for methods and/taper plan that may meet your needs and goals.  To be honest, I’m a total idiot when it comes to syringes and measurements. I know I’m doing it correctly but I just can’t put it down in writing.

 

I will say I learned the hard way to taper one benzo at a time. I was on both alprazolam and clonazepam at the sane time. I was on alprazolam the longest...at one dosage or another for probably close to 15 years.  When the doc upped my dose to 4mg and I still felt like hell, that’s when I decided I had to get off the poison.  An incompetent psychiatrist started me on clonazepam in a poorly managed “crossover“.  That’s how I ended up on both. If not for that, I’d be off benzos by now but unfortunately, that’s the way it is. 

 

As far as I know, alprazolam is available in liquid form.  Clonazepam is not.  I followed a formula found on the titration boards.  You can ask all of your questions there and many knowledgeable people will respond. 

 

If you haven’t already, create a “signature” or “forum profile’ which lists dates and dosages of the meds you’re on and/or tapering off.

 

Best of luck to you.  It’s not easy but in the end, we will get better and heal our brains.

 

SG

💜

SG,

Thanks so much for your kind reply.

 

This is not medical advice, but I Just thought of a scripted med for nausea that maybe you Havnt tried..scolpamine. It's a patch that goes behind the ear & I think lasts 3 days. Then there's zofran, too.

 

Yes, I need to update my signature, will ASAP. Under the weather.

 

Sorry you're suffering, but that's awesome how close you are to being off. An inspiration.

 

I'm on 1.75 k & 1X @ bed & .25X as needed during day, up to 1X. Holding k taper. Was tending to other medical issues & benzo taper went on hold.

 

Did you ever take your Xanax & klonopin at the same time like I am at bed? Ever any strange interactions? DP/DR, visual disturbances?

 

I'll leave you be & didn't mean to barge into your thread. I've been looking for others on both or have been on both these meds.

 

Hope you get the help you're seeking.

Wishing you the best

SC

 

 

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@[Sc...]

 

You’re not bothering me at all.

 

To be honest, I don’t recall whether or not I took clonazepam and alprazolam together.  I don’t think so because I was dosing alprazolam 4 times a day and clonazepam 2 times a day.  Once I was off alprazolam, I started to dose clonazepam 3 times a day then moved it to 4 times a day.

 

You’re right about Transderm-Scop.  I never have tried that for this horrific nausea but I believe it was given to me after throat surgery a few years ago.  I think I had a bad reaction to it and I kept it on for less than a day.  Right now I’m extremely sensitive to meds...even Tylenol upsets my stomach.  Zofran doesn’t help at all and gives me a severe headache and constipation (sorry TMI).

 

I’ve been having visual and audio disturbances since the alprazolam taper.  Light and noise sensitively are huge issues.  Fluorescent lights are the worst!  I have balance issues and extreme dizziness too.  I always had some degree of dizziness but it’s at its worst now.  More than likely because I’m lower in dosage?  I’m not sure. 

 

Sometimes I feel like my face and tongue go numb, I have paresthesia (skin burning usually just on my arms but sometimes it’s scattered all over the front of me).  That’s annoying but I manage that symptom the best.  Tinnitus (severe hissing in my ears) is much worse now too.  I’ve always had that too but not to this degree.  From what I’ve read on here, none of my symptoms are unique and are very common during withdrawal/tapering.  Of course not everyone get some or all of them.  Lucky me...I have it all.  By far the worst symptom is nausea.  It really is debilitating.  I’ve lost more than 50 pounds as it’s so difficult to eat feeling so poorly every day.  Insomnia is a problem too because nausea wakes me up every morning between 3 and 4 o’clock and I can’t fall back to sleep.  It’s maddening.

 

You may not have any symptoms. Some people don’t.  To me, alprazolam was easier to taper than clonazepam.  Maybe because I was still on clonazepam and it softened the withdrawal symptoms?  Could be that.  I’ve never once found clonazepam to be “longer acting” than alprazolam.  That’s just my experience.

 

I hope you’re feeling better soon and you can get back to your taper. I wish I moved along sooner than I did. About 15 years on alprazolam and 1.5 years on clonazepam.  I never dreamed in a million years I would be this sick for so long.

 

I’m really hoping it’s over soon so I can celebrate my new life benzo free.

 

Take care.

 

SG

💜

 

 

 

 

 

 

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@[...]

 

Gosh you have/ are going through it. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you. Hope your done & all better soon. So sorry to hear of your suffering.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain your experience so clearly & detailed. Very helpful. Also, the encouragement to taper.

 

 

Sending good vibes your way

 

Thanks again

Scaredie XX

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I’m so close to my taper ending.  I’m on .13mg of clonazepam but have suffered the entire taper with extreme nausea, dizziness, paresthesia, hissing tinnitus, weight loss, carb intolerance, wild glucose swings, food sensitivities, early morning wake up and ridiculous insomnia.  I can barely function at this point.

💜

 

It looks like you've tapered very fast and that's why you've suffered so much.

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@[Se...]

If & or when your up to it, do you mind sharing what your visual disturbances are like? Is it just the bright lights?

Any distortions? Like things not looking quite right?

Be well

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@[Sc...]

 

My visual disturbances kind of look fuzzy with static.  The light sensitivity makes it worse.  I’ve always been light sensitive probably because my eyes are very light green/gray color. I wear sunglasses when it’s cloudy.

 

Sometimes it looks like darkness envelops whatever I’m looking at.  It’s hard to explain.  It’s not an ocular migraine that has fluorescent, geometric streaks.  That’s happened before my taper.

 

Hope this helps....and you’re no bother!

 

SG

💜

 

 

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