BENZO WITHDRAWALS - looking for natural remedies
Posted , 24 users are following.
I'm so glad I found this site. I am currently at the end stages of coming off of Lorazepam. I was prescribed this for sleep and anxiety 3 years ago. I literally had to bring my psychiatrist a copy of the Ashton Method (he had never heard of it
-- He prescribed diazepam for me to use the way that it is listed. I have (fast tracked) it a bit, due to the diazepam making me so tired and unable to work. I've been off of the Lorazepam now about 3 weeks and I am down to just 1 ml of liquid diazepam 3 x a day. I want to just stop everything, but I've been having lots of tightness in my chest and those good old feelings of all over anxiety. I"m NOT going back on anything. I just wanted some advice from individuals that may have used the Ashton Method or are using natural remedies for their anxiety. I'm sure I've done this too fast, but am so tired of these drugs in my system. I'm looking for all and anything that can help with these wicked withdrawal symptoms that is natural. Thanks for all and any help. I'm hanging in there, but this is so hard. Thanks, sue
2 likes, 41 replies
lisalisa67 sue63604
Posted
debbie06596 sue63604
Posted
Lolasmom debbie06596
Posted
Just wondered how your legs are now.
I finished trazodone the end of October and klonopin in December. having such withdrawal.
My legs feel weak, shaky and jitterery among many many other issues.
I think this is anxiety ( the reason I was on this crap), but want to believe it is still withdrawals.
Terrible going through this, and no one in may family undertands
rose12440 Lolasmom
Posted
Go to wikipedia site called benzodiazepine withddrawal syndrome. It is real. That site lists things that can be sabotaging your weaning off of those drugs including decaf coffee because of the small amount of caffeine in it. It says to wean off by 10% of remaining drug every 2 to 4 weeks, preferably 4 weeks. Your doctor does not know this, as Big Pharma gives him his information. Lot of information there. Good luck but you are probably in protracted benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome which can last months or even years. My husband has been in that past 14 months and I just now figured it out. Good luck.
Lolasmom rose12440
Posted
The awful thing about having takes trazozdone and klonopin was that I was abruptly taken off biso (beta blocker) to have an ablation done. Not knowing then what I know now, I was going through withdrawals and thought it was anxiety. This the reason for traz and the Klon (benzo)
So I really put yself in a mess. I have been off traz for just about 6 months and the klon for 4 months.and my experience has not been kind to me. Talk about waves and windows.
raees31934 sue63604
Posted
Hi my name's raees
I've been.on Vatican for about 16 months I've tried homeopathic,herbal treatment ayuverdic treatment and a whole list.nothing's helped.recently I started cannibas oil for about a week it definitely helps reduce anxiety but the issue I'm having is that I've stopped th Latvian.I have this feeling of being unbalanced as if I can.fall and a funny feeling in the head as if my brain is exhausted .This started before I began with cannibas,has anyone ever experienced this is it part of withdrawal or is it more to it.It's a feeling where you feel as if your brain is about to shut down!!!
pacifist raees31934
Posted
raees31934,
the feeling you are describing, being unbalanced and "funny feeling in my head", is likely due to withdrawal from an antidepressant. Your post was not clear as to the medications you are on; I assume the first one (Vatican) is supposed to be Valium. Valium will not have the side effect of the odd, dizzy feeling. I know what you're talking about from experience, it's almost as if you turn your head the wrong way and you're going to fall over, and then you keep your head straight and you're alright, and you forget you had it, and then as soon as you shift your vision...Boom! there it is again. and you have to take a few steps cuz it feels like your eyes are literally shifting through your head in a different direction. It's very hard to describe, since it's not technically vertigo. I don't know the name of the symptom, but that's the closest thing I can relate it to.
On that note, I can take various guesses as to what drug you mean by "Latvian", but I'm willing to place a wager that it is an antidepressant but could possibly be a mood stabilizer; I'm guessing the former, maybe an SNRI, but more likely an SSRI at a higher dosage, possibly Celexa, Lexapro, Luvox, Zoloft (the list goes on). But to answer your question; those are symptoms of withdrawal from antidepressants. Please tell me you did not stop all your medication at once. Whenever you were put on the medication that is causing this (NOT THE BENZO), your doctor had you start off on a low dose, telling you it would take about three weeks to determine if the medication would be effective or not. At that point in time they may increase your dose or keep you on the same. Depending on the dosage you were on, I'm guessing it wasn't at the lowest dosage form, you will have to titrate yourself down in the same manner you were put on the medicine. Take your time going from the full dose down to nothing...it may possibly take a few months or so...depending on the dosage you were taking....and even at the end of your titration, you may want to consider taking half a pill of the lowest dose every other day for a week and then every couple days and then twice a week....at that point you may be able to come off with little to none side effects whatsoever.
Keep in mind that the withdrawal you're describing has to do with your Serotonin levels. Serotonin effects just about everything in your body; mood, sleep, hunger, you name it, it probably plays a role in it. I hope you have not been on anti depressants for decades, as it may effect the capability of your body to go back to regulating Serotonin properly on its own. For some people who have been on SSRI's or SNRI's, etc, for such a long time, it can permanently cause your receptors to be dependent on the medication to some degree...even with properly weaning yourself off. More than likely this is not the case, but you would not have the symptoms you are describing now, more of an overall lighter depression feeling, lethargy, etc. Hopefully that is not the case for you.
Hope this helps you out. I know the feeling all too well.
whisperautumn sue63604
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pacifist whisperautumn
Posted
I think you meant to ask how to get past the withdrawal of Diazepam quickly. If you want to withdrawal from anything quickly, as your question states, take large amounts of anything your body can become dependent on and then just stop taking it cold turkey. DO NOT DO THAT. Unfortunately, there is no way to quickly get past the withdrawal symptoms from Benzos. As I'm sure you've read, people on this thread have expressed how, even months later, they will be having panic attacks and such.
If you have to be on a medication that interacts with the valium (diazepam) so horribly, and it must be immediate, I would talk with your doctor about this and get their professional opinion. Do not hold back any truths in terms of how much you were taking, what your newest medicine is for, why they are contraindicated together, etc.
One hopeful thing you do have going for you is that Valium is a mid-acting benzodiazepine, which means it metabolizes through your system ~6-8 hrs or so. Klonopin is a long acting benzo, lasting up to 11hrs, and Xanax is a prime example of a short or fast acting benzo at about 4-6 hrs. You always hear about people overdosing on Xanax, but it's not the fact that they have taking so much that the drug itself kills them...It is actually the withdrawal symptoms that kill them, because the drug hits so hard initially, it also comes off very quickly, starving your body of the proper neurotransmitters and causing seizures and such. Basically what I'm trying to say is that even though you will have to titrate off of your medicine, at least it is a mid-acting one, where it will take less time for you to get past the most severe withdrawal symptoms. Klonopin, and other long acting benzos, will take the most time to get past the withdrawal symptoms.
Do not go cold turkey on the valium/diazepam.
If your doctor told you to do this because they were putting you on a medication that is contraindicated to it, they are not looking out for your best interest. If they do not have the full information, that is a different story. If it is such a case were you need to get off of it as soon as possible and you need to take the other medication no matter what...I might suggest looking into a detox facility through a hospital, where they will be able to monitor you at all times while they get you through the hardest of the withdrawal symptoms.
Talk to your doctor about the issue. If you should not be prescribed both medicines at the same time, your doctor should be able to help you out with what needs to happen. For them to do this, they must have ALL the information in order for them to make an informed decision. If you're going through withdrawal and they told you to just stop taking it, I would bring that up to them. They may have considered the dose you're on to be too mild for you to go through sever withdrawal symptoms. If they beat around the bush on that....I would find another doctor, as they probably don't have your best interest in mind....
That being said, I do not know your situation, or why you would have to take meds so immediately that would interfere so severely with your other medications. they may have a legit reason as to why they are having you go cold turkey. I do not know. Without more information it is impossible to say.
End of the line: There is no fast way to get past the withdrawal symptoms of benzos. Cold Turkey is the worst way to go off of a benzo. And talk to your doctor(s) immediately, making sure they know everything going on; do not hold back any information, as it could make everything worse. They're supposed to be there to help you, not put you through pain.
That's the best advice I can give anyone in your position, giving the information presented.
Hang in there. I'm sure the withdrawal is just a part of the battle your body is going through at this point.
rose12440 sue63604
Posted
My husband weaned himself off of xanax over 14 months ago taking 6 months to do it under his doctors supervision but he even took longer than his doctor said to take. He was taking only 0.25 mg once a day rarely twice a day. He is having worse withdrawal symptoms now than he had initially(he had been on xanax for daily headaches for 23 years). His doctor says that it cannot be withdrawal symptoms so again the round robin run for yet MORE specialists which means driving as much as 5 hours to see these people and still getting NO answers. Well, just found a site by accident on Wikipedia called benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome. Very informative site. MY husband is in Protracted Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome which goes on for months or YEARS! There is a list of things people try to use to over come the symptoms, none of which work or they later involve weaning off of them. Antipsychotics and antidepressants are not useful or recommended. Other benzodiazepines just prolong the problem. Some people try a little alcohol but this also just replaces the benzodiazepine and prolongs the withdrawal. So does coffee because of the caffeine, even DECAF COFFEE as it still has some caffeine. Best bet, just water, get some fresh lemons and use a tablespoon or less (or lemon juice already in a container) just to give boring water a little flavor but not so much that it needs sugar. The lemon juice is good for inflammation besides making water easier to drink. Show your doctor that web site. He has been indoctrinated by Big Pharma so he honestly believes that you can wean off by half dose every 2 weeks. Not so. This site recommends decreasing dose by 10% of REMAINING dose every 2 to 4 weeks, but prefers 4 weeks. This can take a very long time but this will go a long way in preventing the Protracted Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome. Good luck. Just remember, Big Pharma wants you hooked. In Great Britain in 1993 a group of patients started a class action law suit against the maker of xanax, since the government there pays the lawyers who represent poor and middle class people it didn't take long for the well bribed politicians to change the law for what lawyers would be covered for and the lawsuit was shut down. Over the next 3 years millions more prescriptions for xanax were written in Great Britain. This is a world wide problem. So hope you get the help that you need but remember, Big Pharma views you as a cash cow.