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MY BENZO NIGHTMARE

Posted , 10 users are following.

anne28866
anne28866

Hi there,

?I have been taking these "Devil drugs" for 22 years now, being a victim of involuntary addiction due to repeated prescriptions.

?I am now getting help and guidance for a very gentle reduction programme, so far, so good but I feel I need to communicate with others who are going through or have succeeded in coming off these dreadful tablets.

?This is my second attempt at weaning myself off these benzos and although this time I have the support of an addiction specialist and my GP I still find myself very anxious about the process.

?Is there anyone else who can give me some pointers as to how to cope?

 

0 likes, 33 replies

33 Replies

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  • carol09801
    carol09801 anne28866

    Posted

    Slow down. I agree with the other poster. Also most of the time a GP is not an addiction specialist. IMHO, that’s who you need to find to help you through this last part of the journey. You can do it with the right help.
  • dhmc
    dhmc anne28866

    Posted

    Which benzo?
    • anne28866
      anne28866 dhmc

      Posted

      Hi there,

      I am on diazepam at present.........any useful advice would be welcome

  • Guest
    Guest anne28866

    Posted

    I was on Diazepam 15mgs daily for 3 months. To come off them easier, I took vitamin b complex & PPMP ( potassium & magnesium) every time I felt anxious I chewed a Ppmp, up to 6 a day, but no more.

    • anne28866
      anne28866 Guest

      Posted

      Thanks for that, will definitely give it a try. so glad you managed to free yourself of these drugs. Do you mind me asking how long the whole process took?
    • carol09801
      carol09801 anne28866

      Posted

      Yes, I'd like to know how long the process took you too brenda2155. I have been on Diazepam for three months since it was the substitution benzo my very good addiction specialist gave me to get me off 2.5 years of Lorazepam (which it successfully did since I had weaned myself down to .75 mg a day of Lorazepam by the time the Diazepam substitution started). He started me with 9 mg a day of Diazepam on 1/19/18 and by 3/4/18 I was off the Lorazepam. Now it's a case of weaning off the Diazepam. As of today, I am at 7.5 mg of Diazepam a day. I meet with my doc, a psycho-pharmacologist regularly and I see him again this Friday, April 6th.

    • Guest
      Guest carol09801

      Posted

      I was put on 15mgs a day in October. Started reducing in November. Finished in February. I went down by 3mgs a fortnight.

      5 5 5

      5 2 5

      5 2 2

      2 2 2

      2 2

      2

      Hurray !!! 👍

  • Guest
    Guest anne28866

    Posted

    November -February xx

    • anne28866
      anne28866 Guest

      Posted

      WOW well done. Your reduction seems faster than I have been recommended 2mg per day per month.

      ​Having been on this drug for so long I wondered if it is going to take me longer to wean myself off. I have been on it for 22 years.....scary.

    • Guest
      Guest anne28866

      Posted

      Yeah, years ago I had been on a tablet for 14 yrs, it was 2 yrs to come off. Stick with it, you will get there 👍

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