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31 months, still alive and kicking, in the Pacific Northwest now.


[Ju...]

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I hadn't signed on benzo buddies in a long long time, ever since my last horrible wave. I think that was around 24 months or so, right around the time I was playing around with different cannabinoids. Some of them helped, some of them not so much.

 

Now I'm in the northwest, I made a 3000 mile move so that I could start life over in a new area, and try to heal myself quicker. It was hellish getting here on a flight, I brought a family member along with me, and I had to get everything new from scratch, because it was too expensive to move it cross country.

 

I didn't want to keep living in the South, where it gets miserable in the Summers and there's no freedom. I decided the Northwest fits me better, so I made a permanent move. Everything has been going pretty good, lots of hiking and outdoor scenery. I'm pretty sure the salty air and the evergreen trees are healing me a lot quicker.

 

I got my medical marijuana card again, and I have tried a few different kinds of strains recommended by the doctors, but I seem to be doing better without it. I've tried lots of different scenarios, different strains, different diets, different sleep and wake up times, etc... but I am still convinced completely natural with nothing other than food is the way to go during this process.

 

One thing I should add, right at about 30 months through this process is when I moved, and my sleep got completely thrown off. It made me nocturnal for about 2 months straight, where I would wake up at about 5 PM, and wouldn't go back to sleep until about 6 a.m., and I even tried to force myself to stay up for 40 hours straight to fix my sleep cycle, and nothing would work. The benzo withdrawal and the move and the high amount of stress from the flight, threw me into a 2-month wave.

 

And then I ended up getting Coronavirus, it was the new Omicron variant. I had the Johnson & Johnson shot, but it didn't do its job. So now it's been about 2 months since I moved here, and I still have symptoms from coronavirus like loss of smell and taste. It made my benzo withdrawal really bad for a couple months, but now I'm starting to get slightly back to normal.

 

Aside from that, much of the agoraphobia is gone, I've got a really nice place to live near the Waterfront, and I've been eating really good food and cooking it all from scratch, getting it all from the Farmers Market. If you're wondering where a lot of your symptoms are coming from, and you think it's all benzo withdrawal, maybe you need to reassess and eat a better diet as well. I know it helps me, so maybe it will help you as well.

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Hi there Justin

So glad to here of your progress.  I m 31 months off too.  Holding on is all we can do. Thanks for the update.

 

U

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For sure, it's a waiting game, a really long waiting game. What are your main symptoms now at 31 months? My main symptoms are horrible sleep, head pressure and tension, and burning legs and feet. I still get lots of rage from time to time, and go on ranting sprees. I just wish I could sleep for about 10 hours straight and wake up rested, but that isn't happening recently.
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Being close to water is healing, everything nature is good so congratulations on making the move. Thanks for sharing and keep healing!
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Justin

 

Because we are both 31 months I get your struggle.  I will send you a pm and we can chat there.  Keep going!  We got this.  I feel 95 percent in the evenings but my mornings are 50 percent.

 

U

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For sure, all we can do is keep healing. I agree, the saltwater definitely has healing properties, and so do the trees and oxygen.

 

I was doing pretty good from about eight months until about 11 months, and then I got thrown back into a busy City with no water and not a whole lot of trees. Everything went downhill dramatically after that. I know it wasn't all related, but I know some of it was.

 

And then the opposite happens when I moved here, I was having really bad waves, and then I started going out and looking at the volcanoes and evergreen trees and the islands, and things improved dramatically. Is it all related? Of course not, but a lot of it is.

 

I'm finding the most important thing is diet and exercise, people have been stressing that all along before we even took pills, but I guess I never really paid much attention when I was younger. But now I'm getting older, and I've been through everything myself at this point, so now I have to make changes for myself in order to improve.

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I am 36 months in a few days. I live in the south and not sure why you say there is no freedom. I have always been free to do my thing. I love the south, we do have some hot summers but the winters are usually mild. I am free to expect my 1st and 2nd Amendments will not be infringed. We dont get the heavy rains like the NW, I read where the NW has the highest level of suicides. So not sure why someone with a benzo past, and most likely a level of depression would want to live there. But you do have that freedom. Anyway, good luck on your journey and hope you live a long life in Washington state...
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Congratulations on your move, Justintime! That's a big deal. Sometimes getting a change in scenery is just what is needed. I love the Pacific Northwest and love the open attitudes about things in the PNW, and the natural scenery is just beautiful! Water is very healing and it abounds where you are. I have visited Seattle three times recently and I love so much about it...though it is very expensive and crime is worrisome, but it is like that in most cities anyway. Hopefully you will get settled, make friends, find your equilibrium....and definitely enjoy yourself and your new adventure. Sending you best wishes for health, continued healing and good luck with everything!
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Thanks so much Tatertot, yes I love Seattle, it's a really scenic city to live in. I lived in the south about 75% of my life, and there's just no freedom there, it's all "law and order" mentality. High income taxes, too many gun regulations and permits (not that I care, as I'm not a gun owner), hot and humid summers, no legal marijuana, freezing temperatures in the winter, torrential downpours in the summers (60 inches of rain per year, versus the 35 inches in Seattle), etc...I couldn't bare it anymore..Not to mention, the conservative politics and close mindedness of the politicians was too much for me at this point of my life (although that's all personal preference like religion, which also hardly exists in Seattle).

 

I prefer to be somewhere that anything and anyone is open and accepted, no matter their views on things. When I lived in the south, people would judge gays, blacks, democrats, etc. It never really made much sense, and it was disrespectful to society in general, so I moved to where the outlook on life was much more positive. Plus, I prefer living in an area where people don't dismiss science, especially after benzo injuries. I needed an outside the box doctor who sees everyone's viewpoint, rather than only a southern "authoritarian" and "my view is the only view" outlook on science.

 

Here in Seattle, the climate is mild, scenery is great, laws are loose, state income tax is non-existant, healthcare is good, civil rights are protected, food is better with vocanic soil, high rent prices are more than worth the money and completely justified, the convenience is all here within a stone's throw, and my mental health has definitely improved.

 

Someone mentioned crime, but the crime here is less violent than what I experienced in Florida and North Carolina. Colorado, not so much,as I saw some pretty bad things over there in the Rockies.

 

But my favorite is the lack of insects. No roaches or "palmetto bugs" as the south calls them. No mosquitoes or gnats swarming me on walks, and no poisonous snakes and such either. I've seen a couple garden spiders in the garden and a couple rabbits outside, but that's it so far.

 

I originally considered Portland, but too much crime right now. California was another consideration, but prices seemed too dramatic and in my opinion, overpriced for something similar. So I went to Seattle instead. It's all personal preference at the end of the day. I don't get all year perfect weather like California, but I get more rugged outdoors with volcanoes, and better quality of life with less crime and lower prices, and no wildfire seasons.

 

At the end of the day, everyone has their own preferences, but I love Washington state so far, many things to do and good food to eat straight from the farm all year long, not to mention the best hops and marijuana in the world.

 

I was able to move anywhere in the United States, and I just couldn't think of anywhere more convenient, so I made the move.

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