I have found a potential cure to your benzo withdrawal!! PLEASE READ!! *UPDATED*

[[Buddie]]

Hi all. First off, I'd like to say that I'm so very sorry for everyone here that is suffering immensely from benzo withdrawal. Everyone's case is a bit different from one another and to varying degrees, but almost nothing out there is as bad as what benzos do to our minds and bodies. I'm not going to go into complex detail of the absolute hellish nightmare I was in because it's irrelevant to the purpose of this post. Just know that I was right there with all of you if not more. All I will say is I suffered from weight loss, severe memory impairment, brain fog to the point I couldn't even make out a proper sentence, balance issues, fatigue, anhedonia, insomnia, breathing issues, heart problems, skin issues, shaky muscles all over my body, exercise resistance, akathisia, anxiety, depression, tinnitus, depersonalization/derealization, vision issues (blurry/double vision), getting flu symptoms often, and so many more. My last cold turkey was my 3rd cold turkey over the course of almost 3 years. I was simply ignorant to the fact of what benzos could possibly do to you. I thought I came down with a terrible sickness/disease at first and made horrible decisions. I finally caught on and did countless days of research to figure out how to fix the issue. When all hope seemed to be lost, I finally caught on and figured out what worked for me and a few others. I honestly can't believe I figured this method out, but I did.

Everybody's body and chemical makeup is different from one another, as is our age and already pre-existing issues. With that said, I do not claim that this will help everyone. Thankfully for me, I didn't have many issues prior to my benzo hell. I'm a 31 y/o male. I was a slender 6"2 @ 165 lbs that dropped down to 125 lbs in less than 2 months. Basically skin and bones. There's clue #1. When benzo hell hits you, your body is using literally all it's resources to heal. If you lack the resources to heal, it will take FOREVER to make it to a full recovery, if at all.

Yes, benzos hit your gaba system hard, and unfortunately, glutamate storms happen due to this. Your neurons essentially pop from the excess glutamate due to the little to no gaba to control/regulate it. This is why it is extremely important to taper, but the extremely long tapers is also a devil in itself since benzos are poison to your mind. The longer you are on them, the longer your brain is exposed to such toxins. You should find a median. To anyone out there that has cold turkey'd and is scared after reading that, don't be. Neurogenesis is real and it happened to me. For me, after 2 - 3 months, gaba wasn't the issue anymore, and this is where people so focused on gaba get it wrong. Inability to heal your gaba receptors is NOT the problem. Healing your central nervous system and HPA axis, primarily your Hypothalamus is. This is why so many women lose their periods. Why so many of us have waves and windows. Acne and dandruff run rampant. Hair loss, etc.. Our hormones are so dysregulated it's disgusting.

Enough with backstories and facts. Here's what you should do if you'd like to try this method...

#1: The first and most important thing is to EAT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!! Eat as if you're a bodybuilder training for their next show. Diet is important, but not as important as how much you eat. Eat butt loads of calories, carbs and protein. I personally chose to eat Burger King a lot since it seemed to be the healthiest fast food I could find at a cheap price since eating a ton of food gets expensive. I made sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes and deli meat all the time. I drank those super food drinks from the brand Naked for the obvious nutritional benefits. I personally drank the green machine and strawberry banana. I ate the Jimmy Dean breakfast bowls for easy access in the morning or a late night meal. Get snacks and junk food such as cookies, cereal, bags of chips, pretty much anything that will increase your caloric intake. Just keep in mind that DIET IS IMPORTANT! Do NOT just eat loads of junk food, just use it as a tool to help you keep eating and to increase your caloric intake! You need your nutrition! I got almond milk to chase with almost every meal since it's quite healthy for you and I'm personally lactose intolerant. I used the meal replacement protein shakes often as well. The brand is MRE if I remember correctly. Not just protein in it, but lots of other nutrients and carbs that the body needs in order to heal. EAT, EAT, EAT!!! This is literally what trumps all. The absolute most important thing to do. Everything else simply helps to improve the recovery process. Eating massive amounts of food is KEY. I can't express that enough. Eat until if feels like your belly is going to pop. It get's very tedious and annoying, you'll be doing the #2s 2 - 4 times a day, you'll get so sick of eating, but just remember that it's the path to full recovery and FAST. You need to train your stomach, GI tract and mind, therefore, filling up your belly to the popping point is essential. The more you do this, the more accustomed your stomach and mind will be to eating this way. Your stomach will expand so you can eat more and more and the speed at which your GI tract processes will increase drastically. Just remember to drink your water as well!

#2: Get your sleep in and try to keep your stress levels at a minimum! I know this is very hard because so many of us deal with debilitating insomnia and stress, but after you eat like a freak, your body will eventually get tired and need it's rest. You may even get only a couple to a few hours of sleep at first, but after you keep eating as I've mentioned above, it will improve immensely and that alone will help you with your stress management. Do anything and everything you can to keep your stress at bay during these rough times.

#3: STAY AWAY FROM ALL TYPES OF OTHER DRUGS! Almost all drugs out there affect your HPA axis, even coffee. Smoking weed is terrible for your HPA axis as well, so stay away from that even if you're trying to sleep. Definitely stay away from opioids. I don't really have to go in detail about that one. I took it all the time because I felt so terrible, but I just knew in the back of my head that it was affecting my healing, so I stopped that. Opioids also affect your appetite and slow down your whole GI system, so it's crucial to stay away from those.

#4: Keep your circadian rhythm in check as much as possible. It's important to get your daily dose of sunlight in, especially during the recovery process to help you sleep properly. If you don't want to deal with UV rays, go on Amazon and buy one of those bright light therapy devices while you lounge around doing whatever you're doing. Amazing device even outside of benzo recovery.

#5: Cut out ALL aerobic exercise. Walking everyday is fine, but do not jog, run or go biking. It is vital that you keep your aerobic exercise at a minimum. It puts stress on your whole body and mind, and especially your hypothalamus. Most importantly, you do not want to burn those calories that you're eating! Your body needs those to heal your mind and CNS! If you want to exercise, do strength training, but keep that at a minimum as well. Strength training is actually beneficial to a certain degree during this process.

I personally took a lot of supplements everyday to support the nutrients absorbed during recovery, but I wouldn't say it's neccessary. I'm sure it does help, though.

Please, trust me on this.. It takes a few days before you start noticing that you're not going backwards anymore, but after about a few weeks to a month, that's when you start to notice a drastic shift in the speed of your recovery, at least I did. This may not happen for everyone as stated above, everyone's body is different and some people may notice it takes longer than it did for me or maybe not at all depending on your symptoms and root cause of the issue. I personally dealt with some scary heart pounding and inability to catch my breath after every big meal accompanied by lots of anxiety and sweating, but it subsided after about 20 - 30 mins. It was all a part of my recovery process and even though it felt scary, it was my body doing everything it could to heal as fast as possible. If this happens to you, just remember it's all a part of your healing and just endure. It's very uncomfortable, but it will pass. After a massive meal, I'd be hungry again after 2 - 3 hrs and so repeat. I'd even wake up after 4 - 5 hours because my body was so hungry, but I never felt more alive. Listen to your body. If you're tired and need to sleep, go flop on your bed and snooze away! I was also waking up drenched in sweat like my whole body pissed itself. That's how hard my body started to work to recover. I went from terrible symptoms to "holy shit, what's happening, I haven't felt this good in years" in 1 month, and by month 2 I was 100% cured and felt better than I ever have. I gained 20+ lbs in less than a month. I've never had an ounce of body fat on me my entire life. Do NOT be scared of gaining weight, it is essential! Stop worrying about your figure and simply remember that you're doing this to recover from this absolute hell!

If I can make a full recovery after 3 hard cold turkeys with the last one being from 150mgs of Temazepam a day and 30 mgs of Valium at the same time, then so can you! If you use this method to heal from benzo hell and found success with it, please remember to come onto this forum and link this post so we can keep this post alive and help the others suffering find a way to live again.

Here are a few links to some Youtube videos that back up my advice regarding hypothalamus dysregulation: (This is in no way a promotion or an attempt to sell any type of products)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHIIktmcirQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75fPfACJMH0&t=99s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKL7lSZqcxg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN7YPRyNcjg

A couple of these videos are about Hypothalamic Amenorrhea, but simply put it relates to Hypothalamus Dysfunction in general and goes into detail on how they fixed their issue.

Here is a link to the connection of HPA dysfunction and benzodiazepine withdrawal:

"Impaired hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system is related to severity of benzodiazepine withdrawal in patients with depression" https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15219633/

Best of luck to all,
[...]

[[Buddie]]

Interesting post, but I think everyone is different.

I eat a lot and I'm a big tall athletic energetic guy. 6"2 like you. I'm an athlete, I run everyday. If I stop doing that I feel like shit. Aerobic exercise is the key to my recovery.

Everybody should do what works for themselves.

This worked for you. Maybe for others too, and for some others it won't work. If I start doing this, I will not only become a fat pig, because I already struggle with too much weight sometimes, I will akso destroy myself.

What I'm saying is: Everybody is different, there is no specific cure that works for everyone. Still a good idea to share your thoughts.

As I said in my post, everyone's body is different. Also, you say that you're an athletic and energetic guy. Was this before your benzo withdrawal or during? Mind if I ask you of your symptoms? If you have energy, it sounds like you're kind of already out of the weeds with the worst of what benzos can bring unto someone. Have you even tried eating a ton and cutting out aerobic exercise during your recovery? I'm a bit puzzled with what and how you've said all of that. Seems more like a fear since you think you know what will happen due to this happening pre-benzo withdrawal. I'm just trying to wrap my head around your statements is all. Also, I'm not saying aerobics are bad for anyone. Very beneficial outside of benzo withdrawal, but it's important for your body to have the calories it needs in order to heal. That's where aerobics counteract the healing. People like me and so many others dropped immensely in weight. Very similar to how women with hypothalamic amenorrhea for years were cured by cutting out aerobics and eating at least 3000 - 4000 calories a day.

I've already helped 3 others with severe benzo withdrawal close to mine and came out with a full recovery after only 2 - 3 months. They were kind of like my guinea pigs before I made this post to be sure of what I was saying.

Nevertheless, I hope you heal well and fast in whichever way that may be!

[[Buddie]]

If I can make a full recovery after 3 hard cold turkeys with the last one being from 150mgs of Temazepam a day and 30 mgs of Valium at the same time, then so can you!

I think if you get to know more taperers you'll find that that's not how benzo recovery works; IME we each are in complex and diverse circumstances, both internally and externally.

I suspect that it's comforting to have confident beliefs about how the world and our bodies work; doctors, authors, and religions, all make big profits selling such comforting, simplistic ideas. I suggest being careful though; in my experience life has a habit of showing us, time and again, that we're living in systems beyond our wildest imaginations.

I am happy for your recovery! I hope you continue to enjoy good health.

[[Buddie]]

If I can make a full recovery after 3 hard cold turkeys with the last one being from 150mgs of Temazepam a day and 30 mgs of Valium at the same time, then so can you!

I think if you get to know more taperers you'll find that that's not how benzo recovery works; IME we each are in complex and diverse circumstances, both internally and externally.

I suspect that it's comforting to have confident beliefs about how the world and our bodies work; doctors, authors, and religions, all make big profits selling such comforting, simplistic ideas. I suggest being careful though; in my experience life has a habit of showing us, time and again, that we're living in systems beyond our wildest imaginations.

I am happy for your recovery! I hope you continue to enjoy good health.

I'm a bit confused on what you mean on "that's not how benzo recovery works". If you mean in the sense of going cold turkey, then I agree with you there. That's why I said it's important to do a taper. Could you elaborate?

[[Buddie]]

Interesting post, but I think everyone is different.

I eat a lot and I'm a big tall athletic energetic guy. 6"2 like you. I'm an athlete, I run everyday. If I stop doing that I feel like shit. Aerobic exercise is the key to my recovery.

Everybody should do what works for themselves.

This worked for you. Maybe for others too, and for some others it won't work. If I start doing this, I will not only become a fat pig, because I already struggle with too much weight sometimes, I will akso destroy myself.

What I'm saying is: Everybody is different, there is no specific cure that works for everyone. Still a good idea to share your thoughts.

As I said in my post, everyone's body is different. Also, you say that you're an athletic and energetic guy. Was this before your benzo withdrawal or during? Mind if I ask you of your symptoms? If you have energy, it sounds like you're kind of already out of the weeds with the worst of what benzos can bring unto someone. Have you even tried eating a ton and cutting out aerobic exercise during your recovery? I'm a bit puzzled with what and how you've said all of that. Seems more like a fear since you think you know what will happen due to this happening pre-benzo withdrawal. I'm just trying to wrap my head around your statements is all. Also, I'm not saying aerobics are bad for anyone. Very beneficial outside of benzo withdrawal, but it's important for your body to have the calories it needs in order to heal. That's where aerobics counteract the healing. People like me and so many others dropped immensely in weight. Very similar to how women with hypothalamic amenorrhea for years were cured by cutting out aerobics and eating at least 3000 - 4000 calories a day.

I've already helped 3 others with severe benzo withdrawal close to mine and came out with a full recovery after only 2 - 3 months. They were kind of like my guinea pigs before I made this post to be sure of what I was saying.

Nevertheless, I hope you heal well and fast in whichever way that may be!

Since I'm in the mess I trained several times a day. Running produces chemicals that calm you down and heal you. This is what I've always learned, and I always worked even before I knew about that. It was the only thing that worked for me. During this whole period I've always was energetic. When I switched from Lorazepam to Diazepam I became a little less energetic. Now at the end of my taper I'm not as energetic as was on the high dosages, and I think because that's because everything is getting harder.

Anyway, to me, running is key. No exercise means hell to me. I'm going to continue doing that, sports always felt good.

We know too little about the brain. Every doctor claims they do. They don't. The brain is too complex too understand in 2021, and I doubt we will ever know how it works. Everybody is also very different.

I agree with everything you said. Running produces neurotransmitters and endorphins to be released which can also contribute to healing. Maybe it's the fact that you are doing a proper taper and didn't go cold turkey that you aren't experiencing such a terrible deficit. I hear the closer you get to the bottom of the taper, the harder it gets which seems to be with your case. Maybe aerobics plus eating a sufficient amount of food during a taper is beneficial. So maybe I should correct my post to cutting out aerobics during a cold turkey. We'll see what others have to say, but thank you for the info!

[[Buddie]]

It seems the more I read, the more I believe this post is more directed towards the folks that went cold turkey or a rapid taper instead of a proper taper cycle. Though, there's a lot of beneficial information I've posted for everyone. I wouldn't know because I never tapered.

[[Buddie]]

If I can make a full recovery after 3 hard cold turkeys with the last one being from 150mgs of Temazepam a day and 30 mgs of Valium at the same time, then so can you!

I think if you get to know more taperers you'll find that that's not how benzo recovery works; IME we each are in complex and diverse circumstances, both internally and externally.

I suspect that it's comforting to have confident beliefs about how the world and our bodies work; doctors, authors, and religions, all make big profits selling such comforting, simplistic ideas. I suggest being careful though; in my experience life has a habit of showing us, time and again, that we're living in systems beyond our wildest imaginations.

I am happy for your recovery! I hope you continue to enjoy good health.

I'm a bit confused on what you mean on "that's not how benzo recovery works". If you mean in the sense of going cold turkey, then I agree with you there. That's why I said it's important to do a taper. Could you elaborate?

I was responding directly to your statement quoted in my post. If you can do something, or did something, or experienced something, IME that is not evidence that someone else can or will be able to do the same thing. Factual claims without evidence are against the ethos and guidelines of the BB community, especially with regards to medical advice.

I understand you're new here and perhaps you haven't had a chance to get to know the broader community. I think you'll find that what is written is very little of what a buddy is actually going through in life, and what we go through during recovery is likely very unique to ourselves and our circumstances. I think we all appreciate and celebrate the sameness of our recovery, but IME the details reveal great differences between each individual and their recovery goals and practices.

As a wise buddy once told me, the forum is all about understanding and respecting "difference". I hope this helps clarify my message. 

[[Buddie]]

[...], what you've produced is a cartload of  prescriptive writing. "Do this, avoid that . . ." blah blah blah. This is precisely the kid of writing and behavior we're enjoined NOT to engage in on here. We can offer up our own experiences and label them as such, but not prescribe them for others. Do you see the difference? I might be interested in learning what you did that benefitted you, but I don't appreciate being told what to do. You do not have the magic bullet, the secret of life, the revealed truth about benzo withdrawal. What you did work(ed) for you. Period. and you may be excited about it. But stop shoving this down people's throats. It's not only against forum rules here, it's arrogant beyond belief. The title of your post is at best giggle-worthy and at worst insulting.

I'm gad you found things that worked for you. You should have labeled your post as such. Really.

 

[...]

[[Buddie]]

[...], what you've produced is a cartload of  prescriptive writing. "Do this, avoid that . . ." blah blah blah. This is precisely the kid of writing and behavior we're enjoined NOT to engage in on here. We can offer up our own experiences and label them as such, but not prescribe them for others. Do you see the difference? I might be interested in learning what you did that benefitted you, but I don't appreciate being told what to do. You do not have the magic bullet, the secret of life, the revealed truth about benzo withdrawal. What you did work(ed) for you. Period. and you may be excited about it. But stop shoving this down people's throats. It's not only against forum rules here, it's arrogant beyond belief. The title of your post is at best giggle-worthy and at worst insulting.

I'm gad you found things that worked for you. You should have labeled your post as such. Really.

 

[...]

Could I have worded things better? Yes. Am I excited that I finally got out of hell and found a way to do so? Sure am. Did some of that get in the way of what I had to say? Obviously. I also typed all of that in a matter of 20 minutes and didn't go back to fine tune it for people like you. But look at you.. You're one to talk. I don't really care if you want to nitpick. " but I don't appreciate being told what to do". Grow up. I'm trying to help people. The hard truth is that benzos are not some magic horror pill. You do not need to go out and conjure a secret potion specific to everyone's case. I'm simply saying how a lot of other people can use said resources to help the body heal from benzodiazepines. If you don't want to take from this post to your own benefit, then so be it. Move on. Pretty crazy how you're actually offended on a post attempting to help others on an issue that we all here are suffering from to varying degrees.

I have noticed an unfortunate trend here that a lot of people are very sour and easily offended in ways I can't comprehend. You're here for help or to give help, if not, get out. Almost everything you said in your post is flat rude and childish.

[[Buddie]]

If I can make a full recovery after 3 hard cold turkeys with the last one being from 150mgs of Temazepam a day and 30 mgs of Valium at the same time, then so can you!

I think if you get to know more taperers you'll find that that's not how benzo recovery works; IME we each are in complex and diverse circumstances, both internally and externally.

I suspect that it's comforting to have confident beliefs about how the world and our bodies work; doctors, authors, and religions, all make big profits selling such comforting, simplistic ideas. I suggest being careful though; in my experience life has a habit of showing us, time and again, that we're living in systems beyond our wildest imaginations.

I am happy for your recovery! I hope you continue to enjoy good health.

I'm a bit confused on what you mean on "that's not how benzo recovery works". If you mean in the sense of going cold turkey, then I agree with you there. That's why I said it's important to do a taper. Could you elaborate?

I was responding directly to your statement quoted in my post. If you can do something, or did something, or experienced something, IME that is not evidence that someone else can or will be able to do the same thing. Factual claims without evidence are against the ethos and guidelines of the BB community, especially with regards to medical advice.

I understand you're new here and perhaps you haven't had a chance to get to know the broader community. I think you'll find that what is written is very little of what a buddy is actually going through in life, and what we go through during recovery is likely very unique to ourselves and our circumstances. I think we all appreciate and celebrate the sameness of our recovery, but IME the details reveal great differences between each individual and their recovery goals and practices.

As a wise buddy once told me, the forum is all about understanding and respecting "difference". I hope this helps clarify my message. 

Your response had no correlation to what you quoted whatsoever, which is why I asked if you could elaborate. "Factual claims without evidence are against the ethos and guidelines of the BB community, especially with regards to medical advice." The only facts I stated in my post is from known research on what benzos can do to someone. Maybe you skimmed too much or forgot that I said "Everybody's body and chemical makeup is different from one another, as is our age and already pre-existing issues." which entails that this may not work for everyone, but it worked for me and 3 others who went cold turkey from years of heavy benzo use.I'm only here to try and help others get out of the hell. If you want to be that technical, then nothing in this world will work for everyone. We live in an unimaginably complex plain of existence.

I am not new here as I have been a silent observer for about 2 years and just recently in the past few months have created an account. "I think you'll find that what is written is very little of what a buddy is actually going through in life, and what we go through during recovery is likely very unique to ourselves and our circumstances." You got some guts to try and verse me on benzo withdrawal as it's been my life for over 3 years and that I've lost literally everything I worked so hard to achieve in life. Yes, there are so many unique symptoms from benzo withdrawal, but there are also a ton that most of us have in common.