Benzo Withdrawal

[adriftatsea]

Was just curious if anyone has gone through benzo withdrawal and what kind of symptoms they have experienced?

My hubby has been sick off and on for the past 5 months and we're wondering if it could be related to benzo withdrawal (has had a battery of tests - poked, scoped, scanned, etc. and all coming back normal). But he was prescribed klonopin back in august and since has just been switched basically from one benzo to another. Over the past 5 months he has experienced brain fog, more forgetful than normal, a lot of GI problems (nausea, abdominal pain, both constipation and diarrhea at times), neuropathy type symptoms (tingling/pain in his legs), tinnitus worse than normal, feeling flu-y, and just a general feeling like crap.

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

Benzos are addictive. You sure he's not addicted?

 

[adriftatsea]

That is what we're trying to figure out. He's not actively seeking medication if that is what you're asking. They've been prescribed, but obviously doctors don't explain what could happen to you by taking medications they prescribe. We initially thought his symptoms were from another medication he took, but now we're questioning that. Neither of us are bigpharma fans.

Thats why I'm asking what others experiences/symptoms have been.

 

[risingsun]

Was just curious if anyone has gone through benzo withdrawal and what kind of symptoms they have experienced?

I went through valium withdrawal. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. I couldn't eat and if I did, it didn't digest well. I lost a massive amount of weight within a matter of two weeks and barely slept. I had incredible chest pains. It was one of the circumstances that led to a hospitalization for a clincial episode. Then, my doctor prescribed more valium than I was even taking in the hospital......so much for getting off of it.

It is very dangerous to do this on your own which is what I attempted to do. I thought I was going slowly, really slowly but I had been on it a long time. Now I am still on the valium but hoping that maybe I will have assistance or some sort of hospitalization to get off of it since some hospitals do that for people.

I am sorry your husband has been suffering. Is he still weaning off of them? What is his intake altogether? Is he on more than one benzo right now? You may want to consult with a doctor regarding this. It is different than abusing drugs in the sense that doctors are the ones who put us on this in the first place. I never took more than my prescription. Just wanted to be valium free. But at the same time, it did save my life when it was originally prescribed because I think I would have had a complete nervous collapse. But, doctors should be monitoring and assisting patients who, after being prescribed this, are not aware of the potentially threatening effects of physical addiction and withdrawal.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Go to [DLMURL]http://www.benzobuddies.org[/DLMURL]

That website helped me through the worst of my withdrawals. I've withdrawn more times than I care to admit, sadly enough. But, I still have a prescription for emergencies. Some do OK on benzos, others have horrible side effects. I'm especially concerned that he's been switched to a number of different ones in such a short period of time.

I can't say for sure that all of those symptoms are related to benzos, but I know that a number of them definitely are. Of course no one can say that's definitely the cause, so I advise you to check out that website.

It also has advice on withdrawing. If he's experiencing this many symptoms while on the meds, I advise you to do a prolonged withdrawal as the withdrawal effects can be pure hell. Depending on his dose, it may take him many months to get off of them. That is, this is one drug you want to withdraw from at home, as detox centers will rip you off them so fast that your head will spin and you will feel like crap.....there are a number of these horror stories on the site as well.

 

[adriftatsea]

Ack sounds like a nightmare rising sun! I feel your pain if what my hubby is going through is from the meds prescribed to him. And yea I think the klonopin saved him back in August because he was having more frequent and larger blow ups and in rage, but you'd think they could have prescribed just a day or 2 to get him calmed down and had him come back in to reevaluate or like you said discuss the risks of staying on the medication even for the length of what they prescribed.

And thanks for the website recommendation Solara. Yea we're just at a loss if this is what has been causing his medical issues for the past several months or if there's several problems going on. But we've been to neurologists and GI specialists. Lab work comes back normal, CT/MRIs come back normal, normal ultrasounds. They can't find any sound medical explanation for his symptoms. When we saw the GI doc recently, he mentioned he didn't like the cocktail of medications my husband was on (neurontin, xanax, and had recently started effexor), but said his symptoms could just be IBS and I realize IBS and PTSD can go hand in hand due to the stress and symptoms can start out of the blue, but it just doesn't seem to be fitting.

He is going to a new pyschiatrist next week to discuss the possibility of withdrawal symptoms. And he's actually on a low dose (1mg xanax at night to help him sleep). But he was on 1mg klonopin for a month and then switched to ativan and then prescribed the xanax. When we discussed our concerns with his PCP, she told us he was on too low of a dose to cause any type of withdrawal symptoms and just recommended cutting it in half for a week and reducing it one more time for a week, but really blew off our concerns. But although he may be on a low dose, he is very sensitive to medications, he's been on them for months now and everybody's body is different.

 

[risingsun]

But although he may be on a low dose, he is very sensitive to medications, he's been on them for months now and everybody's body is different.

Low dose or not the body does get used to it. And everyone's body is different. I had a psychiatrist tell me to get off an anti-depressant that I had been on for years and switch it overnight to another anti-depressant and I had severe withdrawal as well as a reaction to the new medication and the doctor said that , that wasn't possible? Was he in my body? I think not.

And for the doc to say to you folks to cut it in half so quickly is quite concerning. I agree. All of the cocktail combinations is concerning as well. Gosh, its like they are trying this and that, like a guinea pig. His body could possibly be reacting to all the switches. I am not sure as I am not a doctor though.

I am also not sure as Solara has pointed out whether or not all of these symptoms are withdrawal or not but to check this out with reputable doctors (internal medical docs as well as psychiatrists) is a must. Keep us updated. Best of Luck to you. I hope that he will stabilize soon my friend.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I'm not surprised that your PCP dismissed your concerns. Most doctors in the USA don't know about the dangers of benzodiazepine use. The truth is that small doses can indeed cause withdrawal symptoms. My Klonopin dose was 1mg and it was HORRENDOUS coming off of it.

And some of us are more med sensitive than others. Doctors go by the law of averages. That is, they assume everyone is the "average" patient who will respond in the "typical" way, so when you're an outlier to what is expected, you oftentimes get dismissed. Sadly, it happens more often than you'd like to think as doctors fail to treat the individual and go by what is typical instead. As a side note, I'm so incredibly med sensitive that I take 1/5 of the smallest pill size of one of my meds and it is more than enough....while others take doses that are up to 40 times higher.

 

[risingsun]

I'm not surprised that your PCP dismissed your concerns. Most doctors in the USA don't know about the dangers of benzodiazepine use.

I couldn't agree more and couldn't have said that better. I had one PcP tell me to just get off the 20 mg of valium, taper if i wanted, and I would be fine......even the pharmacist was like that could cause seizures without supervision!

 

[adriftatsea]

Thanks to you both! Yea we've learned to reduce things in half at first and go from there with him. I've never thought about it that way Solara, but you are quite right! It's so hard to find good help or let alone someone to even listen, because nobody knows your body better than you. It's sad how much of a patient advocate you have to be for yourself no matter the situation.

 

[risingsun]

nobody knows your body better than you.

You Got That Right! Keep your heads up, you and your husband. Keep advocating for his health and keep the faith that this will be resolved.

It's sad how much of a patient advocate you have to be for yourself no matter the situation.

I know. It is quite sad. I hear stories all the time and it can be quite discouraging with the medical profession. But Keep up this Investigative work and be pushy and persistent. Best to you Both. Rising

 

[user27357]

iI came off Benzos very slowly from a very small dose and it was still awful. I had been on them for years without an increase in dosage but when I thought they were doing nothing and wanted off, I found out they were keeping me from a very nasty withdrawal.

Aches, fogginess, sleeping for days and then insomnia, weirdest thing was the coming unstuck in time like Billy Pilgrim (Kurt Vonnegut character from slaughterhouse 5) I was sometimes unaware that days had passed since an event that seemed like I had just experienced, I would call people I talked to weekly 3 days ina row thinking a week had surely passed, I would wonder why i had so much in my checking account only to find that I had missed a bunch of monthly payments.

I think it was because some days were so uncomfortable they seemed to be drug out and unending, other days were worse and I just unplugged and floated through without any sense of passing time at all.

I t was weird.

After 2 years off the Klonopin, I am back on them and Xanax now. It's a beneficial drug, don't let it out of control and be aware that someday it will be hard to clean em out.