two months off - having terrible muscle & joint pain

hi,

 

I'm two month off klonopin. Was on it for 10 years, tapered over the last year. I can report that my mental clarity and sleep are improving but I am having a very difficult time coping with muscle spasms and joint paint.

 

More specifically, the muscle on the right side of my back seize up and I am not able to walk. Similar problems with muscles in my hip (TFL muscles I believe.) The pain and disability are insane actually. Also, my finger joints hurt with the right index finger swelling up and I'm unable to move the joint past 45 degrees. It is red and angry.

 

Can anybody effing relate? Is this benzos? Will it ever get better? If anything my physical sx are now worse than ever which is depressing.

 

M

 

 

maintain,

so sorry to hear about your struggle.

I'm with you in terms of the joint pain. Many report this as a w/d symptom unfortunately. Also, the muscle pain is commonly discussed here as well as in Ashton's work

I've had some degree of success with hot baths/showers, a heated blanket and occasional pain killers. A TENS unit might also help, and hopefully the thought that you're not alone in this.

Hang in there and try to think positively as hard as it may seem now - this too shall pass!

 

Amy

yeah i have experienced that some also.

thanks, I really appreciate the support.

 

It's almost seems unbelievable that this is benzo-related, I mean the $hitstorm of symptoms is truly mind boggling because it keeps shifting around. The swelling in my fingers is science-fiction like, it's like piling on badness after having vertigo and nausea for a year which nearly killed me.

 

My doc wants me to try various other meds to combat the arthritis. I am not so into that idea... Am taking celebrex but am not sure it is helping my benzo sx.

 

Has anybody else had luck with celebrex and joint swelling?

 

 

if the problem in your joints is inflammation (and judging by the way you're describing it - red, swollen, stiff- it sure sounds like it) then celebrex should help as it's an anti-inflammatory med.

there are pros and cons with the use of celebrex though. My dr recommended it to me - a while back and for a different issue - only when regular otc advil or aleve or ibuprofen didn't work, and yes it does work, just make sure you take it with food in order to protect your stomach (sounds like your stomach is sensitive already). I had a prescription for nexium to take along with celebrex. The other thing with celebrex - I read that it shouldn't be prescribed or taken long term - I only took it for about 2 weeks.

i agree with you, benzos can mess up our bodies in more ways than we can imagine

 

Amy

Yep I have had all this. You are not alone.

I have two Tens machines which I stick on my neck and shoulders.

My right hip has been a major problem for 9 months now. Have not found anything that helps this exercise to not still in one position for too long. Never had joint pain before so I know it is all wd.

SD

 

yes, shooting pains in knees and ankles. muscle pain in my neck and lower back constantly. Pretty certain its withdrawal related.

yea the muslce and joint pain is a terrible symptom, hang in there and hopefully it will get better.  And yes keeping as active as possible does help loosen you up a bit.

Hi maintain

 

Pain in Joints and Muscles  are very common withdrawal symptom, It started to ease off for me from month 4.

It will get better and eventually go. This is from the Ashton Manual:

 

 

Muscle symptoms. Benzodiazepines are efficient muscle relaxants and are used clinically for spastic conditions ranging from spinal cord disease or injury to the excruciating muscle spasms of tetanus or rabies. It is therefore not surprising that their discontinuation after long-term use is associated with a rebound increase in muscle tension. This rebound accounts for many of the symptoms observed in benzodiazepine withdrawal. Muscle stiffness affecting the limbs, back, neck and jaw are commonly reported, and the constant muscle tension probably accounts for the muscle pains which have a similar distribution. Headaches are usually of the "tension headache" type, due to contraction of muscles at the back of the neck, scalp and forehead - often described as a "tight band around the head". Pain in the jaw and teeth is probably due to involuntary jaw clenching, which often occurs unconsciously during sleep.

I have joint pain too. Also, shooting nerve like pains. It got much less frequent and severe when I switched to titration but you are already off so that doesn't matter much.

thanks for the support...

 

I injured my back before starting wd, so this is making it worse for sure. It is seriously unbelievable how crippled I am. Have a close friend with MS and she says "I guess this is what I have to look forward to in 10 years..."

 

What I've noticed is that my muscles don't fire in the right sequence or are stuck in spasm so it's like my body is working against itself. I think this makes sense given I was effectively on muscle relaxers for 10 years - right?

 

It just feels so permanent. I don't know how to control my body, its like ataxia-light I suppose.

 

Thank's BBs. I hope I have made a difference for some of you in my posts...

 

M

Hang in there maintain

 

 

Thanks Sundowner.

 

Hanging...

Hey maintain. This was the most troubling symptom for me in my post wd recovery. I thought I was going to be stuck with achy joints and muscles forever. Well. I was wrong. It has completely left and I have forgotten all about it. Strange how that happened. I am fully healed from everything else too and living a normal life feeling great. It goes away gradually. For me, it was something I noticed month by month going away until I forgot about it really. Its a week by week and month by month process. I think it was around month 4 or 5 that it went away. Good luck

I've got this muscle and joint pain it's BAD today at three months off. It seems to be all through my body and everything aches. I have also had low back pain for two years which just won't give up and gets worse on exercise. I have assumed it's all withdrawal related and will eventually fade. I also have flu like symptoms alongside the pain so I'm hot and clammy.....ugh, hate it! 

Thankx for the replies...

 

Today I was abe to walk more easily but the back froze up. Crap man. At least my cognition is better than during the taper. I think I see why people say "You really don't start healing until off benzos..." because it does feel different on this side of 10 years of klon use. Hard to pinpoint, but different.

 

The horrible thing about tapering is you fight all the way down. Each drop has a flare of sx but then you know you have 20 more to go. I think if a person can survive benzo wd they can survive almost anything else. It certainly teaches patience.

 

Do any of you take  NSAIDS for pain? I've been using celebrex on and off but it seems to make the tinnitus worse. It does help though.

 

M

Im taking asprin for pain and it works very well. It also seems to help with the other withdrawal effects too but I have no idea why this is.

I’m about 2 months out and experiencing strange aches and pains as well.  My shoulders ache and my feet.  Never had foot pain before…weird.  Pretty sure its withdrawal related cause I never had these pains before. And even rib pain, actual pain on my rib bone.

Interesting...

 

I may try aspirin. There was a guy here who swore by aspirin for all sorts of sx, so you are the second person to mention this. My best guess on pain is that there is real inflammation caused by dysregulation of the immune system. My right index finger has what appears to be rheumatoid arthritis. The doc wants to treat with methotrexate or lefuflunomide if the celebrex doesn't kick it down a notch.

 

Never had any of this before the benzo snafu. This is a friggin nightmare. OK, radical acceptance...

 

M