This is much harder than I imagined

Hi All, I'm looking for encouragement on this road to recovery. I was on Klonopin for about one year at .5mg daily and had tapered to .25mg over the last three months. I then did an eight day Rapid Detox using a 24/7 infusion device with Flumazenil. The clinic gave me Gabapentin which has it's own horrific withdrawal symptoms. Now I am about nine weeks out from the detox and my days are still extremely difficult. I would like to find people in similar recovery situations who can cheer me on, this is much harder than I imagined. I'm a 67 year old retired man who wants to still enjoy living...When does it start to get better ??

Hello AveryOne, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

 

I'm sorry to hear you're suffering and I agree with you, this is the most difficult thing I've ever been through.  You mention Gabapentin, have you or are you tapering from it, if you are, I'd suggest waiting until you've recovered from the Klonopin.

 

It can take a long time for our brain to repair the damage done by the benzo's so the best thing we've found is to try to distract from the symptoms, and keep stress as low are you can and try to keep a positive attitude,

 

You'll find many people in similar situations although not many have tried the rapid detox using Flumazenil but we do have quite a few members who have documented their experience here.

 

I'll provide some links for resources and pertinent boards on the forum for you to explore but please make yourself at home and ask questions if you have them.

 

Pamster

 

Colorado Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidelines

 

The Ashton Manual

 

Post-withdrawal Recovery Support

 

Cold Turkey, Detox & Rapid Withdrawal