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General appearance on benzos


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Hello :)

 

This question might be a bit "cosmetic", but it still something I am wondering about, when it comes to general appearance ,on benzos, Seroquel etc ( mainly benzos ).

 

I have a beautiful girlfriend, and am very happy with her, just so that part is said. :) But I have noticed that in the years I have used benzos, it is like I am more invisible to the opposite sex. I used to get more attention from women, and many compliments about my eyes and smile. These have sort of disappeared the years I have used benzos. I know of course that age is a factor, but many people think I am 10 years younger then I am, despite my heavy lifestyle before. It is still something I never understand.

 

Before, I had like almost an intense look with almost black eyes. This was kind of my thing. :) Now, my eyes are baggy and heavy, and I am wondering if this has something to do with benzos. I looked at a photo that was only a few years old, and my dosage was at that time much lower, and my eyes much "bigger" and clearer. They looked both more shining and "alive", and those heavy bags under and over my eyes were much better. This has seriously been an issue for me, because I am tired of always looking "tired". Have any of you experienced the same?

 

Hair: My hair has become more thin, which also of course is because of aging, but it is not thin like hairloss-ish, but the dark color is lighter, and it seems much drier and damaged then before. This is despite the fact that I eat very healthy, don`t smoke or drink alcohol. But it looks like it needs like a cure or something. Is this because of benzos?

 

And then, the big question I know almost ( who are on benzos and for example Seroquel ) everybody who is using these medications are wondering about: Have you noticed that people are acting different towards you, compared to before? I am not talking about people being high or doped on benzos, but people who uses it every day, and find no "high" but sadness. Have you ever felt like you are being seen as a completely different person then the person who you think people see? That your jokes aren`t as funny as you thought, hehe, or that they somehow notice that there is something about you?

 

I remember one time, to take an example. I was single, and in a bar, and at this time I was on a low dose of Valium, and had a few beers ( don`t do that ). I saw this blonde woman in the bar, and approached her for a talk. We actually had a good conversation, and she was very honest. She wasn`t not interested, but she told me straight out that I "looked like I might be a little addicted to something", and concluded that it was my backpack that gave me that look. That made me think very much after that. She did not turn me down, but she was brutally honest.

 

So that makes me wonder how people see me now, hehe :)

 

Another funny example is that when I was in a hospital ( we have to have a little humor, it is important ), mostly due to alcohol, but also a high dose of Valium daily, I was under the impression that I was completely normal when I came there. I had stopped drinking 10 days prior, and was relatively well-trained, but I was there for months, tapering 5 mg diazepam every third day, and during the process, people started commenting on how shocked they were when they saw my change. I didn`t really understand what they meant.

 

At the end of my stay, the "veteran" of the house explained it to me: "When you came here, you had absolutely no movements in your face. You spoke like a robot, and damn, you spoke so much during the gatherings/meetings ( AA ), changing subjects all the time, and people sometimes had to stop you from talking. And now I had started joking, smiling etc. It was so weird for me to hear all this.

 

I was like: "WHAT?!"

 

I honestly thought I was very silent when I came there, but then he started laughing, and said that it was what they called "benzo-talk".

 

So, let us all be the blonde in the bar, against ourselves, this time. :) Please reply if you have answers to my questions in the beginning, and it would also be very interesting to know if you got some wakeup-calls. Or maybe I gave you one now. :) It would be interesting to read other peoples experiences.

 

Enjoy your weekend.  :thumbsup:

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[ca...]

HopeLeslie, I think it's really great that you are thinking about these things and decided to post.  There is nothing wrong (everything right) with reflecting on all of the ways that Benzo has affected you.  Thanks for sharing.

 

In my opinion and experience, I think that Benzos do affect your hair loss/thinning.  However, I do not think that Benzo's impacted my physical attractiveness at all during the 15 years that I was on Benzos.  I can look back at me 10 years ago and I think that I looked completely full of life and very beautiful skin, eyes, etc. The difference in those areas for me has simply been age. For the past three years I've amped up my attention to my skin and hair because it's important to me.

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HopeLeslie, I think it's really great that you are thinking about these things and decided to post.  There is nothing wrong (everything right) with reflecting on all of the ways that Benzo has affected you.  Thanks for sharing.

 

In my opinion and experience, I think that Benzos do affect your hair loss/thinning.  However, I do not think that Benzo's impacted my physical attractiveness at all during the 15 years that I was on Benzos.  I can look back at me 10 years ago and I think that I looked completely full of life and very beautiful skin, eyes, etc. The difference in those areas for me has simply been age. For the past three years I've amped up my attention to my skin and hair because it's important to me.

 

Hello, RogderThat, and thank you for replying. :) And congratulations with 16 days off the shit. I can`t wait to join you. :)

 

Aging is absolutely nothing we can do anything about, unfortunately, but I am glad to hear that you were unaffected during the time you were on benzos. But I am still convinced that you look much healthier now. Were you on high doses?

 

I know that benzo`s are not like meth, but they seem to do that little thing that we don`t realize, but others do, but at the same time they don`t know excatly what it is. :) You know what I mean?

 

Keep going without benzos! :) How do you feel now?

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[ca...]

HopeLeslie, I think it's really great that you are thinking about these things and decided to post.  There is nothing wrong (everything right) with reflecting on all of the ways that Benzo has affected you.  Thanks for sharing.

 

In my opinion and experience, I think that Benzos do affect your hair loss/thinning.  However, I do not think that Benzo's impacted my physical attractiveness at all during the 15 years that I was on Benzos.  I can look back at me 10 years ago and I think that I looked completely full of life and very beautiful skin, eyes, etc. The difference in those areas for me has simply been age. For the past three years I've amped up my attention to my skin and hair because it's important to me.

 

Hello, RogderThat, and thank you for replying. :) And congratulations with 16 days off the shit. I can`t wait to join you. :)

 

Aging is absolutely nothing we can do anything about, unfortunately, but I am glad to hear that you were unaffected during the time you were on benzos. But I am still convinced that you look much healthier now. Were you on high doses?

 

I know that benzo`s are not like meth, but they seem to do that little thing that we don`t realize, but others do, but at the same time they don`t know excatly what it is. :) You know what I mean?

 

Keep going without benzos! :) How do you feel now?

 

Hope, you will get off Benzo's too! Your day is coming and we will all heal from this nightmare. 

 

I was on 2MG on Clonazepam which is less than you but still considered a high dose.  I'm guessing that the really high doses 4-8MG/day would do more to your body?

 

I feel pretty good so far and my symptoms are about the same as my last few weeks of tapering.  Towards the end of my taper I started getting these windows where I felt like myself again.  So exciting to feel yourself coming back! I still have waves but they haven't been horrible.  I think it's because I took my time tapering but who knows. 

 

 

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RogderThat: Those windows are so wonderful and motivational. Just keep it going. 2 mg is more then enough to be in the benzo-jail. That`s the weird part. When we are adjusted, it basically feels the same, no matter what dosage. And what feeling is that really? A big nothing. Nothing to miss.

 

 

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Hey, just be glad people used to compliment you and age gracefully with the person you're with now.  :P

 

Some of us go through life never receiving any compliments on our appearance, which "oddly enough" results in us never having a partner to speak of.  :(

 

On a more relevant note. The main difference I've noticed with benzo use and withdrawal is my eyes. They get blood shot pretty easily, likely due to a rise in blood pressure during withdrawal anxiety. As a long term acne sufferer, I also experienced some purging (inflammation behind the skin all surfacing at once) shortly after completing my previous benzo taper. Benzo's seemed to keep my acne at bay, likely due to reduced inflammation from lower stress and anxiety levels. When going through withdrawal, the rebound anxiety kicks in and the inflammation runs rampant.

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Hey, just be glad people used to compliment you and age gracefully with the person you're with now.  :P

 

Some of us go through life never receiving any compliments on our appearance, which "oddly enough" results in us never having a partner to speak of.  :(

 

On a more relevant note. The main difference I've noticed with benzo use and withdrawal is my eyes. They get blood shot pretty easily, likely due to a rise in blood pressure during withdrawal anxiety. As a long term acne sufferer, I also experienced some purging (inflammation behind the skin all surfacing at once) shortly after completing my previous benzo taper. Benzo's seemed to keep my acne at bay, likely due to reduced inflammation from lower stress and anxiety levels. When going through withdrawal, the rebound anxiety kicks in and the inflammation runs rampant.

 

Hello, Fraz1990, and thank you for replying :)

 

I think there`s a chance I formulated myself a bit misleading in the starting post, as I am just an average-looking guy. My main point was that the that I have noticed difference in people in general, both physically and mentally. The connection. And I think that benzo`s are the reason. They somehow send out a signal to people that I am locked, in a way. Hard to explain. I was just wondering if people experienced the same, as I sometimes miss people I have lost contact with. I am having a wonderful relationship, but I am still working on accepting all the time that passed, that seems like a wormhole.

 

 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
I was relatively attractive while on benzos. Had astonishingly beautiful girlfriends. Now that I am 20 months off, i am starting to recover my physical appearance, as I was looking like a Ebola survivor lol
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  • 1 month later...

Here's a thread we did about this years ago    http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=126962.0

 

my appearance is effed up But...on a day when my symptoms aren't so severe I look better, I'm Female a have lost over 50% of my hair  its common in withdrawal and even while on bloody Benzos pre withdrawal too . >:(

 

 

 

                                        Nova  :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:

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