From near fatal CT to detox that worked!

After being prescribed a 20 day .25mg a day Xanax prescription I became dependent. My doctor wouldn’t prescribe the drug anymore and I became ill. Didn’t even know what was happening to me. Doctors told me I was just stressed and wanted to prescribe Zoloft. I didn’t want to take Zoloft and was able to get .5mg Xanax from a friend. Took a pill when I started feeling anxious and physically ill for 3 month not knowing I was going thru interdose withdrawal When I didn’t take a pill for a day or two.. After 3 ER visits for numerous symptoms And being told I was fine by then doctors. I finally figured out after reading about Xanax on the internet that I was addicted. Tried to stop CT and nearly killed myself. I found a doctor in phoenix AZ who does a benzo detox using a low dose continuous sub cutaneous injection of Flumazenil. Took 9 days of being hooked up to this machine I carried around in small pack pack and I was benzo free. This doctor saved my life. I would not have survived had it not been for him. I have some minor PAWS but I am feeling 1000 times better and back working and living a normal life.

Good for you.

 

I did the same thing in 2016,  but in Richomnd, VA at the Coleman Institute.  Not sure if where you went was part of the Coleman Institute?

 

It didn't work for me, or if it did it took 6 months for me to notice anything.

 

Low dose flumazenil seems to work for some but not most.  I'm glad it has helped you get off of Xanax and reduce your symptoms.  That's what Dr. Coleman promised me too.

I am glad this worked for you, too. So ow you are totally off benzos? How do feel now?

My only concern about doing this is that you depended on another drug to get off ONE drug. What I discovered in my long journey off benzos was that I could NO LONGER assume a drug would help me. I realized that for way too long I had depended on drugs to make me "feel better." I had always depended on drugs for this, so learning that this was not a healthy way to think was shocking to me.

I went from taking maybe 15 meds a day to 3. ALL of them are for essential hypertension.

east

It worked great for me. Flumazenil is a benzo antagonist and actually detaches the benzos form your gaba receptors. I was only on benzos for 4 months and at a pretty low dose so maybe that’s why it worked for me. You mention that it’s another drug. Well when you taper off Benzos your still putting the drug you’re trying to get off of back in your system. The doctor that treated me used to taper people and said it only works about 20% of the time. I wanted that drug our of my system and it didn’t make sense to me to keep putting it in my system to get it out of my systems.

It wasn’t the Coleman institute but it was the same treatment. And all the treatment does is get you thru the acute withdrawal symptoms. And that’s what I needed. The early withdrawals were literally killing me. I was on the flumazenil drip for nine days until the drug was physically out of my system.  It’s not guaranteed to stop PAWS. But mine have been bumps

So far. The doc who treated was great and very knowledgeable. He saved my life

I had an IV inserted into my "belly fat" and wore the pump around for 7 days.  I went back every day to get checked on and had the flumazenil bag replaced every other day.  When I was discharged,  Dr. Coleman wrote a script for Flumazenil cream that I rubbed into my skin.  He said it was almost the same amount of flumazenil as getting the IV?  I had a few refills, but never used them.  At that time, I was looking for an "instant" cure like taking a pain killer for pain. 

 

I am really glad it helped you get off of Benzos and like you said Flumazenil is the drug they give you if you accidentally overdosed on Benzos, so it's not like taking Gabapentin or Zyprexa or something else to block symptoms.  I did a CT, that is not recommended, but it worked for me and if I had to do it over again, I would still CT but get the Flumazenil at the same time even though it was expensive and my insurance wouldn't cover the treatment.  I did my Flumazenil treatment about 6 weeks after jumping CT and that is why I don't think it was very effective?

Glad this worked for both of you, but it isnt something nost peoople can afford to do, and is a bit too risky for most to do. The way I see it is that getting off benzos is also a wasy of learning to stop depending on drugs to feel better. This is what got us into trouble to begin with. Things were quite right, so we reached for yet another pil.. I made a decision to NOT depend on pills. And now, the only pills I take are for hypertension which I have had since 1975.

Zeke43

 

so glad this worked for you.  I would like to find a doctor that specializes in this treatment.

 

What is Flumazenil?

It worked great for me. Flumazenil is a benzo antagonist and actually detaches the benzos form your gaba receptors. I was only on benzos for 4 months and at a pretty low dose so maybe that’s why it worked for me. You mention that it’s another drug. Well when you taper off Benzos your still putting the drug you’re trying to get off of back in your system. The doctor that treated me used to taper people and said it only works about 20% of the time. I wanted that drug our of my system and it didn’t make sense to me to keep putting it in my system to get it out of my systems.

 

Hi, hope you’re well. How long were you off Benzo’s when you had the flux stuff? I’m ten months off & wondering if it would help me. Thanks so much

My only concern about doing this is that you depended on another drug to get off ONE drug.

 

You make it sound like that's not a good thing. The drug depended on to get off the other is only meant to be a temporary measure.

 

Clonidine and Immodium helped me get off long-term use of narcotics for chronic intractable pain. I had two radio-frequency nerve ablations that fixed my pain issues so after nearly 20 years, I know longer needed opiates, which was the goal by my physiatrist for me. I tuned down the option of using methadone or suboxone, I tapered and used the two mentioned drugs plus Ativan as needed for random panic attacks (which would happen every few days). I went through PAWS with restless legs and the odd panic attack, which lasted a year. Only needed the Ativan for around 7 or 8 months, only used 60 pills in that time, so I never became dependent and simply stopped taking them when I no longer had panic attacks.. It took a year for the restless legs to finally stop. Magnesium Oil and Immodium helped with that. I won't go into details as to how Immodium helps with opiate withdrawal, because it is very controversial, but it worked for me. I used it responsibly. I now only use it for it's intended purpose, when needed, for diarhea.

 

I went through legal and regulatory hoops to get Netazepide from the UK to free me off Proton Pump Inhibitor Dependency. Took 8 months to get this Investigational New Drug shipped to me in the US, but 44 days later I was Proton Pump Inhibitor free. Netazepide had zero side effects, is slated for Phase 3 trials in 2021 (through COVID might change that), and has Orphan Drug status in the US and European Union. The FDA ultimately approved my 44 day dosage. Rebound Acid Hypersecretion from stopping long-term Proton Pump Inhibitor use is ungodly. The reason I was prescribed the drug, no longer applied, and I developed dangerous, life-threatening, Hypomagnesemia. The small research company in the UK agreed to help me by providig the medication, I am forever gratefull to them.

 

I'd jump at a chance to use Flumazenil, if the evidence is strong for its effectiveness, and my insurance covered it. I doubt it would be covered though. I've been reading studies that Lyrica shows promising results with the acute phase of benzo withdrawal. But I'm undecided until I read more studies. Again, it's use would be temporary, only to help with the wihdrawal process.