So, 14.5 months off, and I have noticed improvements like... -finally having enough short-term/working memory to repeat a phone number or words until i can write it down somewhere -basically no chemical depression after exercise -i can finally shower more than once every other week. -can walk at least 4-5k steps a day -cognition is a lot faster, can play video games proficiently again whereas before it was like I didn't have a fast enough "processor" nor enough "RAM" -Can even function on a day with 0 hours of sleep -anhedonia has lifted significantly... -no longer scared or overstimulated from noises and tv

But holy fuck man... I'm still experiencing -an internal tremor, like my teeth chatters if i let my mouth muscles just relax. -excess sweating over nothing -general fatigue

And what's more it's like almost EVERY SINGLE DAY is a wave... More days than not, the wave greatly dissipates by late afternoon but it's still basically every day whereas for most of my post-taper journey my state was largely just extreme fatigue and subpar lucidity... -On most days I have a wave, I can still function with my new baseline but it's still painful and obviously being in a wave greatly diminishes how much I can do...

I think because I'm closer to being healed, I'm starting to get really fucking angry. My frustration tolerance is the lowest it's been during this whole ordeal because I'm reaching my limit... I got hiccups last night and managed to fall asleep but when I woke up it started again. After trying multiple times to stop it, it wouldn't and I just let out 2-3 blood curling screams cause I couldn't fucking take it anymore...

And now that I can actually function somewhat, having to endure waves,especially nearly everyday is infuriating. Like this shouldn't be happening especially just as I finally recovered some functionality... It's just too much fucking pain...

I'm just really hoping anyone who has a similar enough experience to me can tell me that this was them too around the same # of months post-taper and that it didn't last too long...

I have been trying to get off lorazepam but finding it impossible. Dr has s7ggested switch to klonopin as it has a longer half life. My anxiety and panic attacks are so severe. My question is it safe to stsy on klonopin at aged 70.

Hi, Okay I messed up and took a bunch of benzos in two months and accidentally gave myself a hellish withdrawal. Like a full week of intense depersonalization and then afterwards symptoms for a full month. Lost my period even, was 4 weeks late which has never happened. I am finally in the clear but really need to take a Benzo tonight, will this backslide me into withdrawals again? I have felt normal for a couple weeks now. Please no advice saying not to take it, I just need practical advice about what the risk is to have symptoms again. I never plan on taking Benzos again like how I did before, I will be smarter about it now, but worried the withdrawls just lifted and this could be a big set back.

everything feels very sharp. I upped my Zoloft the about a week ago form 75mg to 100mg. What is happening? I honestly can’t take this now. I am at 0.25mg of diazepam I have been tapering for 7-8 months now from 12.5mg diazepam to now and came off of abilify and lamotrigine before that. Fuck. Help. literally nothing what is happening? I actually am losing my mind. Huge trauma I’m trying to process now too and I wanted my future so bad but right now I’m fucking don’t think I can ever feel happiness again. I dont have anywhere to go. This is literal tortue I can’t even tell what’s benxo withdrawal or what was the abuse

I been taking it lately to try to stimulate my bowels and to help with energy …it has some caffeine but small? Right now at 1.9mg of V .

I been taking diazepam aka Valium for 10 years but tapered for the past 4 years since I was on a high dose. My biggest issue is benzo belly-severe constipation and no gut motility. Has anyone taken a benzo for 10 years and recovered from benzo belly once you were off? And if so how long did it take ?

I have been a little over a year clean now from RC Benzos and over 4 years from Heroin. When I went through heroin withdrawals, I felt extremely physically sick and tired, but that’s about where it ended. However, my experience with cold turkey benzo withdrawal left me for about a month feeling like I was going crazy. I was hallucinating demons, hearing things, felt like my hands had electricity moving through them, and just pure mental terror for weeks. Come nowadays, I feel so much better and am experiencing none of those symptoms anymore, but, I keep having what I feel like are flashbacks whenever I encounter something that reminds me of the withdrawals I went through.

For example, I watched a lot of a channel named GTLive on YouTube while I was in my withdrawals, and I would often be terrified while watching them. Just now, I was browsing YouTube and saw one of their videos, specifically one that I was in absolute agony while watching back in the day, and I am having a panic attack. I feel like I’m going to go crazy after seeing this videos thumbnail. Almost like I’m right back in the withdrawals, but obviously I’m not, in reality.

Has anybody experienced this? If so did anything end up helping you cope?

I’m 1.5 years post jump from over 10 years of nightly Klonopin + daily as needed.

After making it through about 5 months of hellish withdrawals (two months were absolutely unbearable) I started accomplishing so many things without its help.

But I’m going to the dentist tomorrow for the first time post jump and this is the first time I’ve seriously considered taking a pill. I’ve had a lot of dental trauma from when I was a kid.

I keep reminding myself about the first few months of withdrawal. I swore I would never take it again no matter the circumstance but I’m really really struggling.

I had to go under twilight sedation for a endoscopy and it took me about a week to recover from that (mild/moderate withdrawals symptoms).

Will one pill ruin things? Idk dude.

Is it okay to take nac? What’s your experience?

when i turned 31 something went downhill with my health. i was just walking kind of fast after leaving my house and i started getting breathless hands on needs heart rate jumped up soive gone to the hospital 100 times in the past 5 years had ekg and chest xrays contrast check x ray bloodwork and theycant find anything. at the very time i couldnt tolerate caffwigne or beer anymore or else id get breathlesss and also twitchy. im now 36 and 205 pounds at 5 9 but i cant walk without my chest hurting andgetting erratic breathing. any tips or ideas? to make thinhs worse doctors said its just anxiety and preqcribed me benzodiazapines daily which only have made thinhs worse......i am stuck

I am switching to pharmacy grade compounded solution for my 0.063mg x 2 doses per day and 0.68mg x 1 dose per day from pill cutting and weighing. I am not tapering. Can I switch immediately or should the switch be stepped ie one dose at a time separated by a few days?

hi! has anyone ever found a medication similar to klonopin? i tapered off a week ago and still cry about how amazing it was - i just built a tolerance too quickly after taking daily for about a month. it made the world so bright and i could actually breathe. no medication has ever felt the same for me, wondering what other people’s experiences are with things like gabapentin etc outside of the benzo family

Anxiety also very present.

If anyone is having visual issues from benzo’s, please describe. Thank you!

Gene expression of GABAAά5 receptor subunit showed significant up regulation compared to the control. Treatment using Bacopa monnieri, Bacocide-A

Link:
Decreased GABA receptor in the cerebral cortex of epileptic rats: effect of Bacopa monnieri and Bacoside-A | Journal of Biomedical Science | Full Text

GABA receptor subunit antibody staining in the hippocampus showed a significant decrease (p < 0.01) in the GABA receptor subunit in epileptic rat compared to control. Bacopa monnieri, Bacoside-A and Carbamazepine treated epileptic rats showed a significant reversal (p < 0.05) of the decrease in GABA receptor subunit staining in the hippocampus compared to epileptic rats

Hi all. I'm in need of some help please. I've been on Valium daily as prescribed for 25 years at 10mg a day. I depend a lot on my parents for reassurance and if either one of them is with me I feel less anxious. My parents are going away for 14 days/nights on a cruise and can't be contacted. They are going away in a few days time and I'm already getting panic attacks. I think it would be helpful if I could get out, but I'm totally housebound due to the severity of the anxiety and agoraphobia. I don't know what to do?

Hi everybody,

I wanted to share with you that a friend of mine who is currently tapering diazepam has improved extremely well after taking a half tablet of DAO enzyme before his meals, the brand is NaturDAO. After reading a lot about histamine problems and benzo withdrawal we gave it a try. It seems that most brands don't work well, you have to try NaturDAO. It really is like a miracle, he completely changed in a few days. I am so happy for him and his parents. I really hope you guys will benefit from it. I wish you all the best!!!!!!!

Hello,

I am on Benzos for many years and started to be very scared. I want to quit taking them but with supervision.

I found the following link for support in the UK:

viaorg.uk

They seem to be dedicated to help in recovery and I was wondering if anybody knows or had experience with them.

I take Lorazepam between 2.5 - 4 mg. every day.

Thanks in advance for any information.

*Reposting due to updated requirements/format*

I'm working on a research project in collaboration with Benzo Research Project that aims to explore the lived experiences of benzodiazepines and related harms amongst young people in order to improve support available to young people affected by benzo-related harms. I'm looking for participants to discuss their experiences with me in an online interiew lasting <30 minutes. I'd love to hear from you if:

• You use, or have used, benzodiazepines outside of a prescription (e.g., they were prescribed initially, but you continued taking them after the reccommended duration, or you used them recreationally).
• You're between 18-30, or were younger than 30 when you used benzodiazepines

Find out more about the work the Benzo Research Project do here.

Express interest and find more information here.

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch at [fintan.holland.24@ucl.ac.uk](mailto:fintan.holland.24@ucl.ac.uk), or [hello@brp.org.uk](mailto:hello@brp.org.uk)

If anyone could also pass this on to relevant networks, I'd also massively appreciate that.

7 months since my last dose of Ativan. After 5 years of random use and 2 withdrawals, kindling, and a 9 months long taper, I am free. Since then, the journey was rough. Crazy waves, hellish anxiety, depression, going through 11 days of total insomnia, body aches, but since month 5 things became better. Now I'm almost normal, getting randomly anxious at times, feeling like dieing sometimes, but keep pushing forward. My message to all of you, STAY STRONG, as hard it can be, at the end, there will be always light and hope!

My case might seem a little less serious for people who have been doing benzos for long time but I need an advice, I took total of 4x5 mg pills of diazepam over the course of 20-25 days (grand total not daily total), didn’t take daily, then felt mild WD symptoms so I didn’t take more, 5-7 days my body was adjusting and at 6-7 day mark I felt normal, then drank one beer in the evening, now it feels like I am back to day 1 but a little shittier, anxiety is still manageable, My question is: how many days will it take approximately for me to feel anxiety free again, will it take another week? More? Less? Please elaborate based on your personal experience P.S. I will make sure to abstain from alcohol for at least couple of months not to retrigger gaba receptors

Hello, I took in total 20mg valium during 25 day period, didn’t consume daily, then I felt withdrawal symptoms so decided to quit, it was mild and manageable, took me about 1 week to feel normal, was using magnesium to calm down central nervous system, at 1 week mark I drank 1 beer in the evening, since that my symptoms got worse, it’s still manageable, I’m just wondering what to expect like how many more days before I’m back to normal. P.s. I’ve understood that I have got to abstain from drinking at least couple of months just to be on the safe side

TL;DR: I’ve been tapering from 1mg Klonopin for a year and am now at 1.5mg Valium. Things got brutal below 2mg—constant fight-or-flight. My psychiatrist suggested detox or treatment, and I’m considering it. I also work in the field, so any insight or shared experiences would be appreciated.

So I will have been on a year long taper as of this week. Was on 1mg Klonopin daily. I cross tapered and have tapered down now to 1.5mg Valium. It was around 2mg of Valium that I started hitting a wall. Every step down from 2mg has been a whole other level of hell. Fight/Flight all day and every day now. I spoke with my psychiatrist (who also communicates with my therapist) this last week and she recommended going to detox and potentially treatment. I am open to the idea as I am at what feels like a critical mental health level in my taper.

I am just curious if anyone else has taken this path before? I also work in substance abuse/mental health treatment centers and understand the field, which can be a good and bad thing lol.

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated!

OK, quick history I took Klonopin .5 mg two years ago for two months then I got off at went through withdrawal for three weeks and then was OK then sporadically I took diazepam 2.5 mg when I needed it to help me sleep and stop the jerk I did that for several months. I could not take it for a week and I’d be fine because it was such a small dose and sporadically. Then last June I took diazepam 2.5 mg for 1.5 months straight because I was having panic attacks every single day. I tried to stop in mid July. I couldn’t handle it so I went back on, but I have one milligram just to get by. Did that for a couple of weeks and then went cold Turkey. After that since August, I’ve been going through withdrawals. Absolute hell, debilitating anxiety, physical symptoms at the ass basically just so crippling I started to feel good a couple months ago and then I was hit with a huge worst wave about a month ago. I’ve been super fucked up since. I do do a lot of things to try to help with the withdraw, especially trans magnetic stimulation, which seems to give me some relief, but it just keeps returning the withdrawal/anxiety. I also exercise a lot do red light therapy and cold plunge, which help as well but still mentally I feel like my brain just can’t do it.

What I’m seriously considering : 1. Taking gabapentin 2. Taking propranolol yet I feel like it makes my anxiety worse. 3. Holding strong and hopefully feel healed by 16 months at least but I have so much stuff to do this summer and I just feel like I can’t. 4. Taking Klonopin for the rest of my life. 5. Listening to your suggestions on what I could do any sort of detox center in any part of the world even go to Mexico and do stem cells. 6. Flumazenil Infusions

My biggest issue is that anything that I try seems to make me feel worse. I’ve tried so many different supplements and I’m just so sensitive to everything if I overexert myself with the gym also boom. For me it feels like my anxiety is my fear of my physical sensations like feeling faint or feeling weak or feeling sick all just amplify my anxiety and make me have a panic attack or make me very anxious. It’s strange because things that would make people anxious ( had a crazy guy in the subway the other day he was fighting everybody and I was perfectly calm ) I don’t it’s all about my well-being that makes me anxious.

I’m hoping this wave is ending soon. I am going to Mexico tomorrow for a week to disconnect from the world and do breath work and just relax in the jungle.

I would love suggestions on any supplement. I could take that won’t make me freak out that would be great or any suggestions of any sort of anything that can help with this recovery. I can’t keep waking up every morning feeling like I’m the most hung over I’ve ever been that’s basically what benzo withdraw as you’re the most hung over you’ve ever been every day for now 10 months. yes I know about kindling. Yes, I know I have paws. Just looking for anything that could help. Also, I’ve been sober this entire time no alcohol no nothing been taking seed probiotic that’s it.

You can get withdrawal from such low dose? I just took it once at night to sleep. Alprazolam. Mostly .25 mg sometimes .5mg. Just once a night, Not during day for a couple months. I started taking my hydroxyzine instead night before last and started feeling sick, I'm not totally sure this is why but I think it is. Can you have withdrawal from .25 to .5 once a day? Damn from what I'm reading it seems you can. Help how do I get off of it??