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Benzo free - flumazenil works!


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On the 9th of January I stopped taking benzo and started the flumazenil treatment as per the pioneering work of Doctor George O’Neil / Fresh Start Foundation, Australia.

I was the first pilot carried out in the Nederlands under the care of Addiction Doctor Erik Paling (Novadic Kentron) and Addiction Professor Core de Jong (Nispa). The treatment entailed subcutaneous infusion of Flumazenil for 9 days. Additionally I was give an antiepileptic (Depakina) and a anti depressive (Mirtazapine).

From the 9th of January I have stopped taking diazepam. I was on benzo’s for 2 years, my highest dosses was 2 tablets of 2 milligram loremetazapam = 40 diazepam. By the time I entered treatment I had managed to go down to 17 diazepam. I choose to do the treatment even though it was experimental because I realized that I was unable to reduce the diazepam on my own. I had to many withdrawal symptoms. I signed an indemnity form in which I took full responsibility of my choice.

The first days were the most challenging ones. My sister had specially take off work to support me during the first two days. I initially had stopped at 5 days, but as I realized that my brain was over stressed I went on for another 4 days. By that time when I stopped the infusion I managed to function reasonably well. Initially I was hipper sensitive to impulses sound, light… but as the days went on I could manage more and more. I now started going to the gym doing simple work outs. The only medication I am still taking is ½ a tablet of 17 milligram mirtazapina.

How does flumazenil work, it is not yet clear. The thinking is that is somehow repairs the gaba receptors so that they work properly. How much time must flumazenil must be administered to achieve this is still an unanswered question

All in all I had 4 panic attacks, one just after stopping after 5 days of treatment, one when restarting the extra 4 days and one during the first week at home, and the last one now that I am sick with flu and my sinus hurt so I don’t sleep well. These are the times when I felt my heart flutter. For the rest I am doing well, better and better every time. It nearly feels unreal that I had so much stress. I am able to do more, handle more and start thinking about the my future.

 

I am grateful that this opportunity appeared, that I had the courage to do it. But it wasn’t just me, you benzo buddies helped me. I wanted to thank the Benzo Buddies team and all its member for without all the information I got from the site I would have believed that I was mentally ill. All the symptoms we discussed, all the postings kept me focussed and gave me courage to take the plunge. Thank you.

The advice that I can give you is flumazenil works, Professor de Jong will be undertaking a formal study but that takes time before it gets published. For those that don’t want to wait you could follow this treatment in Australia at the Fresh Start Foundation. For those that can’t afford such a trip I would advise them to contact a professor of addiction nearby and convince him/her to do a pilot. Perhaps make a benzo buddies flumazenil group and work together at organizing the treatment in the USA. Coming to the Netherlands is not an option because its public health care and you need to be a Dutch citizen. When looking on internet I have seen some detox centres in the USA that work with flumazenil, I don’t know what their protocol is. So I will give you some important points that you need to keep in mind:

subcutaneous infusion is better than intravenous, it is just as affective and your body fat doesn’t get bruised as easy as veins.

George O’neil uses a small pomp that you carry around your neck and you are allowed to go home after two days. That is you are only hospitalized for two days. This allows you freedom of movement and helps you keep your sanity.

The longer you stay on flumazenil the smaller the drop in well being when you stop. Therefore a place where you can decide for how long you want to have flumazenil and gives you the option to restart your treatment when you don’t feel well is the best.

Ideally you stop all medication before you stop the flumazenil. Stopping medication gives you stress and you want to be done with all the pills while you are on flumazenil.

Having a Buddy to be with you while you detox and support you the days, weeks and after is importatn. Somebody that understands, care, loves you and has time for you.

Last but not least please note that this is an experimental treatment, it has not been officially verified through quantifiable studies. Thus you are navigating uncharted territory, therefore you will be fully responsible for your choices and the consequences that arise from it. I wish you wisdom and courage regarding the decision you take.

 

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elizabeth - I am so thrilled that this treatment worked for you!

 

I wonder if there is a place in the US that offers this,  and if it would work for those who have been off for a couple of years and still experiencing symptoms.

 

Please keep us posted on how your are feeling.  I know that I didnt have a single sx until about 6 weeks out of detox.  Then everything hit.  It would be nice to know if it's effects are long term.

 

If this treatment gives total and complete recovery from benzos it would be such a blessing to so many people.  I've known about it but have never seen anyone post that they tried it.  We need to hear from those who have.

 

Please keep in touch and let us know how you are progressing.

Smiles,

Believe

 

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I am very happy for you that you have gotten through the first few weeks so well and I hope you continue to feel better and better.  However, this is a very dangerous method and I hope others are not encouraged to try this in place of a proper taper.  This is basically a very abrupt cold turkey with some additional drugs added to prevent seizures.  There are indeed a few clinics in the US who already use this method, and I have heard of anecdotal stories of deaths caused by it.  In fact, when I was doing my own research on the subject a couple of years ago, I was told by one of these facilities that they no longer use this treatment for benzo withdrawal because it was too dangerous and was not effective at relieving symptoms in the long term.  They felt like it was still helpful for people withdrawing from opiates, cocaine, and speed, mainly because it reduced "cravings." 

 

The consensus seems to be that for people still taking benzos, this is an extraordinarily dangerous treament to undertake.  I have read several accounts of people with protracted withdrawal taking flumazenil IV's.  Some said it helped for a few days and then symptoms returned as normal.  Some said they felt worse than before after a few days had passed.  Some said it did nothing but make them dizzy.  There is a small study published online about the use of flumazenil in protracted withdrawal cases, which said that it did relieve symptoms in a lot of patients.  However, all of the patients had a return of symptoms within a few days to a few weeks. 

 

I hate to be a naysayer because it would be truly amazing if something came along to eliminate the scourge of benzo withdrawal.  I was one of the people who got very excited about the prospect of a shortcut to recovery early on in this process and even had some arguments of my own defending flumazenil as a possible miracle cure.  However, this treatment is definitely not new and it seems to be somewhere between ineffective and dangerous for most people who try it. 

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There are 2 places in the US that will use this method for wd.  One is in Dallas, Texas where I live called The Urshel Addiction Recovery Group.  The second place I do not remember the name but it is in Kentucky.  I personally have a friend who is a BB buddie here who did this and was made very ill by it.  He is now, 6 years later, back on Benzos going through another rough taper which as many of us know, gets harder the more you taper for most people.

 

Before I had to leave my job as an administrator in a large hospital in Dallas, we treated several patients with Flumazenil that came in and had overdosed on benzos in combination with other drugs.  My basic understanding of Flumazenil is that it clears the GABA receptors of the benzo not that it repairs receptor damage.  Even the group in Kentucky said that they could say this treatment would take people off benzos but could not promise no proctacted wd sxs. 

 

I am very happy that it worked for you.  It is not experimental in the US, its already out there.  The Urshel clinic in Dallas will use it for benzos but they mainly use it for alcoholics.

 

I would not recommend to anyone.  Sorry.  Just my limited experience and my friend who was destroyed by it.

 

GG

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:yippee: :yippee: :yippee: :yippee:

 

 

Thats incredible! I am so happy for you :thumbsup:

Hearing about flumazenil is very interesting... can there finally be a specific treatment for us benzo suffers rather than just having to bite the bullet and wait? This is exciting!

 

-Malice

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Studies on the subject matter

 

Intravenous flumazenil versus oxazepam tapering in the treatment of benzodiazepine withdrawal: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.

Gerra G, Zaimovic A, Giusti F, Moi G, Brewer C.

SourceAddiction Research Center, Ser. T., AUSL, Via Spalato 2, 43100 Parma, Italy. gerra@polaris.it

 

Abstract

Flumazenil (FLU), a benzodiazepine (BZD) partial agonist with a weak intrinsic activity, was previously found unable to precipitate withdrawal in tolerant subjects submitted to long-lasting BZD treatment. The potential use of FLU to treat BZD withdrawal symptoms has also been evaluated tentatively in clinical studies. In the present experiment, FLU (treatment A) was compared with oxazepam tapering (treatment B) and placebo (treatment C) in the control of BZD withdrawal symptoms in three groups of BZD dependent patients. Group A patients (20) received FLU 1 mg twice a day for 8 days, and oxazepam 30 mg in two divided doses (15 mg + 15 mg) during the first night, oxazepam 15 mg during the second night and oxazepam 7.5 mg during the third night. FLU was injected i.v. in saline for 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon, in association with placebo tablets. Group B patients (20) were treated by tapering of oxazepam dosage (from 120 mg) and with saline solution (as placebo) instead of FLU for 8 days. Group C patients (10) received saline instead of FLU and placebo tablets instead of oxazepam for 8 days. FLU immediately reversed BZD effects on balance task and significantly reduced withdrawal symptoms in comparison with oxazepam and placebo on both self-reported and observer-rated withdrawal scales. The partial agonist also reduced craving scores during the detoxification procedure. In addition, during oxazepam tapering, group B patients experienced paradoxical symptoms that were not apparent in FLU patients. Patients treated with FLU showed a significantly lower relapse rates on days 15, 23 and 30 after the detoxification week. Our data provide further evidence of FLUs ability to counteract BZD effects, control BZD withdrawal and normalize BZD receptor function. The effectiveness of FLU may reflect its capacity to upregulate BZD receptors and to reverse the uncoupling between the recognition sites of BZD and GABA, on the GABA(A) macromolecular complex, that has been reported in tolerant subjects.

 

 

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Agonist substitution for high-dose benzodiazepine-dependent patients: let us not forget the importance of flumazenil

FABIO LUGOBONI, MARCO FACCINI, GIANLUCA QUAGLIO, REBECCA CASARI, ANNA ALBIERO, BENEDETTA PAJUSCOArticle first published online: 14 FEB 2011

 

DOI: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03327.x

 

© 2011 The Authors, Addiction © 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction

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Addiction

Volume 106, Issue 4, page 853, April 2011

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LUGOBONI, F., FACCINI, M., QUAGLIO, G., CASARI, R., ALBIERO, A. and PAJUSCO, B. (2011), Agonist substitution for high-dose benzodiazepine-dependent patients: let us not forget the importance of flumazenil. Addiction, 106: 853. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03327.x

 

Author Information

Addiction Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Verona University Hospital, Verona, Italy. E-mail: fabio.lugoboni@ospedaleuniverona.it

Publication History

Issue published online: 3 MAR 2011

Article first published online: 14 FEB 2011

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Share|AbstractArticleReferencesCited ByGet PDF (70K)Keywords:Benzodiazepine;dependence;detoxification;flumazenil;infusion;substitutionWe read with great attention the paper by Liebrenz et al. about the potential use of an agonist substitution with long-half-life benzodiazepines (BZD) in cases of high-dose BZD dependence [1]. We would like to contribute to this debate, because in our hospital in-patient unit, BZD represent the main reason for people seeking detoxification. We fully agree about the difference between the liability of BZD having a fast- versus slower-onset of action. Lormetazepam, lorazepam and alprazolam (available world-wide, except for lormetazepam which is not approved for sale in the United States and Canada) represent 81% of the BZD abused by our patients, while clonazepam, clobazam and ketazolam (three drugs eligible as possible substitutes) represent fewer than 1% of the recovered cases.

 

Liebrenz et al. did not discuss the slow infusion of flumazenil (FLU-I) [2–5] as one of the fastest and most effective treatments for BZD high abuse [4,5]. In our 8-year experience with FLU-I we have treated 294 severe BZD-dependent patients (median daily BZD dose was 14-fold greater than the maximum recommended dose). Patients usually immediately stop using the abused BZD and move rapidly to low doses of clonazepam in 3 days and then no BZD on day 4. FLU-I (1–2 mg/24 h) starts on day 1 and lasts up to discharge at days 8–10. For patients eligible for an agonist substitution, the most suitable dose (usually about 1–2 mg of clonazepam) can be reached rapidly and stopped after patient discharge.

 

Although we have not submitted our results to peer review, we are able to state that no patients have dropped out of treatment during hospitalization and preliminary data suggests promising results, although these will need to be confirmed through peer-reviewed research publications.

 

One of the more critical aspects of Liebrenz et al. agonist substitution method resides, in our opinion, in the starting phase, when it is difficult to keep patients in treatment by proposing substitution with a slow-onset BZD (subjects are normally taking very high doses of BZD, mainly of the fast-onset action type, and many of the patients are also polydrug users).

 

The receptor resensibilization obtained with 4–6 days of FLU-I allows patients to experience a good therapeutic effect with very small doses of low-power BZD, without significant withdrawal symptoms. Nevertheless, we should clarify that for the majority of patients being treated with FLU-I, the real aim is total abstinence from BZD.

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1Liebrenz M., Boesch L., Stohler R., Caflisch C. Agonist substitution—a treatment for high-dose benzodiazepine-dependent patients? Addiction 2010; 105: 1870–4. Direct Link:AbstractFull Article (HTML)PDF(116K)References2Gerra G., Giucasto G., Zaimovic A., Fertonani G., Chittolini B., Avanzini P. et al. Intravenous flumazenil following prolonged exposure to lormetazepam in humans: lack of precipitated withdrawal. Int Clin Psychopharmacol 1996; 11: 81–8. PubMed,CAS,Web of Science® Times Cited: 63Gerra G., Zaimovich A., Giusti F., Moi G., Brewer C. Intravenous flumazenil versus oxazepam tapering in the treatment of benzodiazepine withdrawal: a randomized, placebo-controlled study. Addict Biol 2002; 7: 385–95. Direct Link:AbstractPDF(170K)References4Quaglio G., Lugoboni F., Fornasiero A., Lechi A., Gerra G., Mezzelani P. Dependence on zolpidem: two case reports of detoxification with flumazenil infusion. Int Clin Psychopharmacol 2005; 20: 285–7. CrossRef,PubMed,Web of Science® Times Cited: 35Hood S., O'Neil G., Hulse G. The role of flumazenil in the treatment of benzodiazepine dependence: physiological and psychological profiles. J Psychopharmacol 2009; 23: 401–9. CrossRef,PubMed,CAS,Web of Science® Times Cited: 1

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The role of flumazenil in the treatment of benzodiazepine dependence: physiological and psychological profiles.

Hood S, O'Neil G, Hulse G.

SourceSchool of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. sean.hood@uwa.edu.au

 

Abstract

Two-related studies are presented here, detailing our early experience with benzodiazepine-dependent patients treated with a four-day flumazenil infusion using a novel delivery technique. Patients with long-term benzodiazepine dependence who attended the Australian Medical Procedures Research Foundation (AMPRF, Perth, Australia) for treatment were recruited for these studies. Self-reported psychological and physical symptoms, as well as objective vital signs data were collected at intervals before, during and 2 weeks postinfusion. Study A is a case series with cardiovascular measures; study B is an open trial that tracks the psychological profiles of 13 subjects. Withdrawal symptoms were tracked, however, the nature and severity of these symptoms differed between patients. No major complications or discomfort prompting study dropout was observed. Significant benzodiazepine abstinence occurred with this flumazenil infusion method despite high levels of initial dependence, comorbid substance use and comorbid psychiatric illness. Low-dose flumazenil infusion appears to be a safe and effective treatment resulting in withdrawal symptoms of lesser severity than any other cessation method currently available. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

 

 

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There are three major shortfalls of these studies.  First, they compare flumazenil to an extremely over rapid withdrawal schedule, not a slow taper.  I would expect a two week taper to be extremely difficult, so it is no surprise that flumazenil worked better .  Second, they don't follow up on protracted symptoms, which usually set in weeks or months after cessation.  Third, these studies do not claim that the flumazenil treated patients did not have withdrawal symptoms, only that they were more successful in remaining off the benzos.

 

It's very interesting and I am glad someone is doing research on the subject.  However, benzo withdrawal is a very long term process that involves repair and regeneration of many tiny neurons that were damaged by the drug use.  It would seem like a stretch to believe that an antagonist could just undo all this damage in a few days and that it could even repair all the endocrine changes that cause many of the symptoms. 

 

Please keep us posted on your condition. 

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Dear Ryan,

If you don't want to find a solution to your problem, be my guest! Nobody is forcing you to heal but don't destroy it for others.

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Dear Ryan,

If you don't want to find a solution to your problem, be my guest! Nobody is forcing you to heal but don't destroy it for others.

 

OK, elizabeth.  I have suffered through 2 1/2 years of sometimes excruciating withdrawal symptoms and I am finally starting to feel better so please don't insult me by implying that I don't want to heal.  I am happy you are feeling good, but your single experience does not make this a safe option.  Go back and read my posts from two years ago.  I bragged on these very forums about how I was healed, then the protracted withdrawal set in and I have been sick ever since.  I also had arguments with the forum admins because I came on here touting what a miracle cure flumazenil might be.  I thought I had beaten the system.  But then I talked to a guy whose wife had committed suicide after trying flumazenil and being made much sicker.  I spoke to a doctotr at a clinic in Los Angeles who said they used to do this treatment and stopped using it for benzo patients because it was dangerous and generally resulted in very severe protracted side effects after a few weeks had passed.  I talked to another rep at the Coleman Institute who said that they used this treatment to get addicts off benzos quickly but that it did not prevent longer term withdrawal symptoms.  And I  I read multiple accounts from members on this board and other forums who said they had tried this route and all had either been made worse or experienced some relief without lasting effects (and had all spent money they didn't have to try this treatment).

 

I am not trying to crap on your success story and if this works for you, I think it is WONDERFUL.  However, I think it is fair to make the point that this is not a new miracle treatment.  It has been around for quite a while but has never become widely used because it doesn't work for most people and because it can be a very dangerous way to come off the drugs (which is why they have to substitute with other drugs to keep you from seizing).  And people going through painful withdrawals, especially those early on who are living with the fear of many months or years of illness, are very susceptible to believing in false promises.  It would be a shame for someone to abandon their taper and potentially go into financial difficulties to try a cold turkey method based on a single anecdotal success story and a couple of small studies without long term follow-ups.  That's the only point I am trying to make. 

 

Regarding "finding a solution to my problem," I have been way more proactive than most.  It took me a long time to accept what has happened to me and I thought that surely there were quick solutions out there.  I have tried just about every treatment there is - from expensive amino acid therapies to accupuncture to brain wave frequency balancing to neurofeedback to supplementation and beyond - and found that nothing has made a bit of difference (or has made me worse).  Time and clean living have been the only things that have helped and I have full faith that I am on my way to a complete recovery. 

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Gefeliciteerd Elizabeth. En dank u well for sharing.

 

Yeah, this would be a great study to pursue in the U.S. If one had been available, I would've investigated. Fortunately I'm all well now.

 

Great story!

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Dear Ryan,

If you don't want to find a solution to your problem, be my guest! Nobody is forcing you to heal but don't destroy it for others.

 

Elizabeth,

 

It's important to let all sides and opinions be expressed. Just because others may not agree doesn't mean they don't want to find a solution to their problem. It simply means that they want to address all aspects of this subject...which I think it the responsible thing to do regarding any medical treatment. Having an opinion that is different from yours isn't a personal shot at you, it's simply prudent to have a discussion from both ends of this topic.

 

 

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"Benefits from flumazenil generally started to be felt within a few minutes of drug administration and built up to a peak effect over a few hours (Table 2). Maximum relief usually lasted for the rest of the day with further partial relief for a few days. For most patients the benefit gradually faded but a few patients gave accounts of some symptoms returning more suddenly or forcefully the next day."

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Dear Ryan,

If you don't want to find a solution to your problem, be my guest! Nobody is forcing you to heal but don't destroy it for others.

 

Elizabeth,

 

It's important to let all sides and opinions be expressed. Just because others may not agree doesn't mean they don't want to find a solution to their problem. It simply means that they want to address all aspects of this subject...which I think it the responsible thing to do regarding any medical treatment. Having an opinion that is different from yours isn't a personal shot at you, it's simply prudent to have a discussion from both ends of this topic.

Hope,

 

That was very nicely worded and not how I would have liked to respond AT all lol.

 

WWWI

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Hey Elizabeth. Congrats on feeling better. I come to this section of the site alot for all the inspiration that it brings. I'm glad you have this nightmare behind you now. I think different treatments, therapies, pills, yoga, cooking, ect work for different people. So I'm not doubting you. I mean some people can quit taking 4 mgs of Klonopin cold turkey and not have any w/d's. Why? Because everyone is different. I don't think people should come to your success story and doubt what your saying. Because they truly don't know. They just speak out of concern due to the fact your promoting something they may not work for others. As long as it worked for you that's all that matters.

 

Case in point. I remember I drank a GIANT margarita when I got out of detox at the airport. I needed something to calm myself down before I got on the plane. I didn't know that was a  big NO NO during benzo w/d. I didn't find this site till after I got home and I got sicker. Anyways that Giant margarita made me feel a whole hell of alot better. Well, at least for an hour it did. Then a hell broke loose. What I didn't do is come online and tell people to pretend like it was Cinco de Mayo and drink their way threw withdrawl. LOL

 

As long as your feeling good and functioning. Rock on. It just not wise to steer anyone one way or another when it comes to their health. I dont agree with the all the taper advise that is given out online either. Taper advise is medical advise IMO. Ive seen people suffer extreme w/d's from that as well. Ive seen other people quite cold turkey and heal quicker than people that taper. Yet they say don't do that. No one really knows. The advise you have about flumazenil is no different than the taper advise people get online. There both medical advise IMO. Which is suppose to be prohibited I thought? I guess some is OK and some isn't. LOL People have gotten extremely sick using both methods. Some have not. I hope this is over for you and you live a great happy life. Thanks for the story.

 

Rock

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hi all, I just wanted to put my thoughts here about flumazenil. I have not tried it but probably would have a couple of years ago if I thought it would have helped. Personally now I'm afraid to try anything. It may be flumazenil is a fluoride based compound and that is why it works. ( if for only a short time) I'm not a chemist but the FLU in flumazenil tells me to beware. Fluoride compounds are the base of most antidepressants and some antiphsycotic drugs. It is used as a "binder" because it attaches to the gaba receptors. Prozac is 90% fluoride compounds. Fluoroquinolones are fluoride based antibiotics.  Nearly 30,000 people developed crippling s/x from cipro after the anthrax attacks in 2001. I've read about many people here having problems after taking fluoroquinolones. Sodium fluoride is in rat poison. If it is buffered or not it is still rat poison.  In the research I've done fibromyalgia, fluoride poisoning and benzodiazepine w/d all have identical s/x.

Elizabeth we all love you and pray for your complete recovery. Please don't take this the wrong way but beware of doctors that provide a quick fix to these insidious drugs they hand out for profit.  I'm not saying it won't work for you because everyone is different, BUT beware and research everything you can find. rstud  http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/fibromyalgia.html

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Hey Elizabeth. Congrats on feeling better. I come to this section of the site alot for all the inspiration that it brings. I'm glad you have this nightmare behind you now. I think different treatments, therapies, pills, yoga, cooking, ect work for different people. So I'm not doubting you. I mean some people can quit taking 4 mgs of Klonopin cold turkey and not have any w/d's. Why? Because everyone is different. I don't think people should come to your success story and doubt what your saying. Because they truly don't know. They just speak out of concern due to the fact your promoting something they may not work for others. As long as it worked for you that's all that matters.

 

Case in point. I remember I drank a GIANT margarita when I got out of detox at the airport. I needed something to calm myself down before I got on the plane. I didn't know that was a  big NO NO during benzo w/d. I didn't find this site till after I got home and I got sicker. Anyways that Giant margarita made me feel a whole hell of alot better. Well, at least for an hour it did. Then a hell broke loose. What I didn't do is come online and tell people to pretend like it was Cinco de Mayo and drink their way threw withdrawl. LOL

 

As long as your feeling good and functioning. Rock on. It just not wise to steer anyone one way or another when it comes to their health. I dont agree with the all the taper advise that is given out online either. Taper advise is medical advise IMO. Ive seen people suffer extreme w/d's from that as well. Ive seen other people quite cold turkey and heal quicker than people that taper. Yet they say don't do that. No one really knows. The advise you have about flumazenil is no different than the taper advise people get online. There both medical advise IMO. Which is suppose to be prohibited I thought? I guess some is OK and some isn't. LOL People have gotten extremely sick using both methods. Some have not. I hope this is over for you and you live a great happy life. Thanks for the story.

 

Rock

 

I think the advice on slow tapering comes from decades of research and experience amongst doctors who have treated many thousands of patients.  On average, people who slowly taper do much better than people who cold turkey or do rapid withdrawals.  Flumazenil has been used for over 20 years too and has not caught on because it has not been effective for most people.  I don't think pointing out these facts constitutes irresponsible medical advice.  God knows I wish I had listened to the people who told me to do a slow taper.  I may not have lost the last 2 1/2 years of my life.

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Ok, I'm new and I don't know you Elizabeth but I still wish you all the best and I hope this is your answer.  However, there are people out there and actively on this forum that may follow your recommendations and have horrific consequences.  I think you mean the best but too many have been hurt by this treatment.  It is not the answer....we all want to be better and we hate the fact that we don't know how long that will take.  It sux.  I have been through this war for over a decade and would gladly take any offer for all of the pain to end but this is not the answer.  We still have to wait for a "cure" to our situation which may never come since we, as a population, do not represent enough INCOME for the pharmaceutical companies. 

 

NEW PEOPLE, PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE YOU INVEST YOUR TIME AND MONEY IN ANY "CURE" LOOK OUT FOR YOURSELVES....REMEMBER, IF SOMETHING SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS.

 

LOVE,

 

NEWRAIN

 

Edit: changed font size and color

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I think the points have been made here on both sides of this topic. Lets let Elizabeth have her celebratory thread back. If you wish to continue discussing flumazenil you can start another thread in the "Chewing the Fat" section.

 

The last part of the first post should be highlighted here..

 

Last but not least please note that this is an experimental treatment, it has not been officially verified through quantifiable studies. Thus you are navigating uncharted territory, therefore you will be fully responsible for your choices and the consequences that arise from it. I wish you wisdom and courage regarding the decision you take.

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