Just sharing my current experiences.

Hello buddies!

 

I am not a regular poster but I do frequent these boards quite often to find some comfort. I thought I'd post here on how I am doing today and what I have been experiencing.

 

My last benzo (Ativan) was on August 16th, 2019.

 

As you can see in my signature, I have struggled in the past with alcohol and I continue to struggle with it, even since coming to the realization sometime in January that alcohol was making my wd symptoms worse. In January I stopped drinking for about a month and a half and then started having a couple of glasses of wine once per week. I was feeling great when I was alcohol-free but that alcoholic in me convinced me that wine on the weekends was ok. I stopped drinking again on June 14th and it appears that I am in a pretty bad wave.

 

I am currently feeling intense head pressure and light-headedness, some days I am so tired that I can't even get out of bed, other days my energy level is fine. Recently, I started feeling pins and needle in my feet which is really scary. I was experiencing air hunger pretty much daily but then I stopped drinking coffee and when I stopped the coffee, the air hunger stopped so yay. Sometimes I can hear my heartbeat in my ears which is something that started when I jumped. I am still experiencing muscle twitches (this was REALLY bad for the first 5 months of withdrawal) but I have seen improvements and it does seem like it happens a lot less often.

 

I feel that I am finally ready to stop drinking. This is something that is really hard for me but I can't keep living like this if alcohol is prolonging my withdrawal symptoms. I know that stopping coffee was a good decision and I'm going to start tweaking my diet a bit. In January I did the Whole 30 which worked out really well for me and I felt great on it but I don't recommend it for the long term because it is easy to eat too much meat. I am hovering towards a more vegetarian/paleo diet that includes beans and gluten-free grains such as brown rice.

 

Any who, I just wanted to post an update. I know it helps me whenever I see someone post what symptoms they are experiencing. It is just nice to know I'm not alone and going completely nuts.

 

So in straight-forward terms:

Benzo-free 10 Months with on and off alcohol consumption

Current withdrawal symptoms (scale 1-10, 1 being not so bad and 10 being bad):

- Memory loss/brain fog: 6

- Muscle twitching: 2

- Broken sleep: 3

- Tingling/numbness in feet: 9

- Head pressure: 7

- Sensitivity to light: 5

- Air hunger: was a 10 but is now a 0 since stopping coffee on June 27th, 2020

- Dizziness when getting up: 4

- Heatbeat in ears: 4

- Tiredness: 6

- Anxiety: 5

 

<3

 

 

I'm glad to hear you felt better when you stopped drinking, that's pretty much what we hear around here, that alcohol exacerbates symptoms and slows recovery.  I've been grateful that my Klonopin use happened well after my freedom from alcohol because I'm not sure I would have had to strength to quit while recovering from Klonopin.

 

I wish you much success and continued healing.

It sounds like you know what the problem is and what the solution to that problem is. What’s stopping you?

I had problem with alcohol too, but no longer drink.  I tried a couple of times during withdrawal, and post,  and it really set me back.  Last episode produced a really bizarre response.  Nothing like I had ever experienced with alcohol before. 

 

I really do think you will do better if you give it a miss for a while.  Frankly, I'm happy to never drink again. 

 

Wishing you all of the very best.  This is a really difficult thing to do.  And you are doing it. 

 

Dee x