Anxiety And Benzo Withdrawal : Pain vs Suffering (Podcast Episode 223)
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- Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
- This week I'm joined by therapist and author Jennifer Swantowski as she shares her ongoing experience with benzodiazepine withdrawal and anxiety. Jennifer is the author of "The Waiting Room" a most excellent book that anyone dealing with this challenge will find useful and inspiring.
For full show notes on this episode:
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Check out Jennifer's book, "The Waiting Room" on Amazon:
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Thank you so much for addressing this issue of prescribed benzos that end up in BIND. It’s been 7 years for me. Finished tapering K in 2019, now working on V (which was a crossover from X). Yes, I was prescribed 2 benzos at once. K was for sleep, then several years later I started having terrible anxiety during the day, so the psychiatrist gave me X for “breakthrough anxiety”, which I now know was Tolerance Withdrawal! I’m only posting this so others who might think they’re just having anxiety, it could tolerance wd from a benzo.
Docs know the harm they causeing
I understand I was an still are on Clonazapam, but started getting worse anxiety, more like chemical fear, like your brain is in brain lock, I didn’t think a Benzo could do that, I never got an another one, tried an anti depressant as I thought maybe I was getting depressed too, but it was the Clonazapam making me depressed. I got off the antidepressant quick, only on it for less than three months , I’m now tapering the Clonazapam, but I’m having a horrible time, I can’t even watch v, or listen to music, this med took my soul, I know that’s impossible, but that is what it feels like.
@@kerrijodierbergerI am stuck on the Clonopin roller coaster and have changed antidepressants so many times thinking if the depression would lift I would be strong enough to weather the tough journey of getting off the clonopon, not even considering that the depression comes from the benzo 😮😢 I feel like my life is a waste at this point in life. I am 65 and not able to work etc. I am pretty fearful but these podcasts (I just discovered today) will be helpful ❤
@@karenr411
Your life is definitely not a waste. Believe in Jesus Christ. I will see you on the clouds some day Karen. God bless you. ❤
I can't thank you enough for giving benzo harmed patients a platform. Over 20% of benzodiazepine users develop agoraphobia, myself included. I wish I knew this before my doctor put me on this drug. Your channel and books has helped me tremendously while healing from Benzodiazepine-Induced Neurological Dysfunction (BIND.)
When I finished my taper I thought the agoraphobia would go away like people on the benzo forums told me for years ("If you didn't have it before benzos, time will heal it and it will go away on it's own.") I can tell you 2 years out, this isn't true for me.
20:36 I also waited for years and I had to start pushing myself this year to relearn how to do basic, everyday things after being bedridden for so long. This is how I found Drew's channel and his book.
28:30 I reached a point where I had to leave forums and support groups after I finished my taper because of this exact reason. It's hard to get better when you're surrounded by people who are constantly saying they will never heal and they're stuck in victim-mode mindset.
I would love to see more content on this subject because I've found those of us who have been iatrogenically harmed do have a bigger mountain to climb when it comes to recovery but there are things we can do if we're willing to try.
I take benzos here n there at. .5 mg of lorazepam.. can something like this happen to me ?? I take one or two a month.
@@jaydelorenz2352 my advice would be to stop depending on them altogether. I don’t think one or two a month will end up hurting you to this degree but in my experience one or two a month ends up being 4 or 5 a month and eventually every day. That was just my experience. I was initially given them because I was having trouble sleeping. I only took them here and there and a 30 day script would last me months. Then I had some stressors come into my life and my sleep was affected by that so I started taking them more often. At the advice of my Dr, I started taking them every night. I started at .5 mg and ended up at 1mg. My Dr encouraged me to take up to 2 mg’s a day. I thank God I didn’t go up on the dosage like he recommended.
Thank you for sharing your experience Viola. That's sound advice.
@@jaydelorenz2352 All I can tell you is, research shows long term benzodiazepine use does effect the hippocampus and causes cognitive impairments. I think this is why I was doing ERP for so long but wasn't able to make any progress until I got off the benzodiazepines.
I can't tell you how disappointed I am as a long time member of The Anxious Truth Facebook group and as someone who has bought all of Drew's books and audiotapes to know that my comment has been hidden on this video and my voice has been purposely silenced. This is not okay in any way, shape or form.
Wonderful talk.
If it helps anyone, I was on Xanax for 16 years.. obviously lost my mind, I stopped cold turkey by ignorance...lost my mind again for about two years. My experience: I went to a Vipassana 10 day meditation retreat and literally had panic attacks while trying to learn to meditate, I believe that in that process I finally found the antidote for an anxious mind. Please give yourself a gift and give it a try. It changed my life. Any kind of meditation practice will help. Stay strong and know that there is light at the end of your process.
thanks for this man, going through it right now...used to be an avid meditator but as of late have been so isolated in my mind that I have been neglecting my inner voice :(
@@jorgecuza9848" if you going thru hell, keep going " Find the way brother, keep looking
Great interview Drew. So many of us struggle thru the benzo taper and withdrawal and protractive symptoms. Thank you for exposing
to her.
Rehab worked for me. Tapering was insane. These people are a joke. They want to keep people on this poison for years tapering? No way! I'm 15 months clean after 14 yrs. dependence. I never have to worry about this drug again!
Thanks for this one Drew! I’ve been discontinuing klonopin for a couple years now and the road has been rough but people like you have made it doable in my mind.
I just starting tapering after 30 years I'm 70 so my doctor wanted to cut my clonazapam in half .I reached out to mental health there's no help for one except he told me to talk to my pharmacists and i did.He told me to go slow .which I am.I keep a chart of each day and I started in October 2023 I'm down to a half in the .and 3/4 at pm .I'm having withdrawel now .
Thank you Jennifer and Drew!!
You both have helped me so much in my discontinuation journey!!
Love the part about support groups!
Yes they saved my life but need to be careful to not get sucked into the abyss of dark!!
Yes! Long suffering is not something we have practiced!!
Thank you again!!
Thanks for exposing me to this information. The timing is right.
You're very welcome.
This is so big hope for me at the current moment, that I’m keeping my logic of overcoming all this crap I also have like the Lady. I’m so glad I heared that and also read a book! In my country ppl are mainly just medicated, but the results are the same.
I’m glad we have you Drew ❤️❤️❤️
You can’t imagine how all the stuff you do saves lifes! 🙏🏻
On clonazepam .5 twice a day for 30 days. Will I have to taper?
@@judyskipper411 I guess so…
Can brain lock be a symptom from benzo and tapering? Like you don't understand a simple thing and become overwhelmed of any normal things and can't understand that people can do normal things and live their lives.
Hi, im having this Brain blockmyself. Have you gotten better? Are you still tappering? Thank you im just looking for answers. Want to make sure im not loosing my mind.
@@junior4984 Hi, sorry you have brain lock too. I'm having it still.
Have tapered from total amount of diazepam 60 mg (klonopin crossover) to 14 mg of diazepam in over six months.
Now it is getting slower and have about six months to taper to zero.
I feel like losing my mind.
Can't anymore go even for walk or to store because of brain not understanding and feeling like I'm in different reality from people and enviroment and bad agoraphobia and depersonalization and derealisation and disconnected from world. Never had those before trauma and prescired big amount of benzo and no warnings.
Was living a healthy active social life and was confident and grateful to God for many things.
Now I'm isolated at home and can't be even with my partner. Just when he brings me food.
All the best to you.
@@lauriina85 THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO RESPOND, MEANS A WHOLE LOT. YOU HAVE TAPPERED ALOT AND THAT IS GREAT. I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE FEELING CUZ I AM HAVING THESE SIDE EFFECTS ASWELL. MY PARTNER IS A COUPLE MORE NIGHT OF MY INSOMNIA NIGHT, TO GO SLEEPING ON THE COUCH. PLEASE HANG IN THERE, YOU WILL DEFINETLY GET THROUGH THIS, AND I AM SURE I WILL ASELL. BLESS YOU AND YOUR HOME. ALL THE BEST TO YOU ASWELL, THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN..
@@junior4984 I pray for you and I. Thank you for saying I have done a big work at tapering.
It is good to know someone relates these feelings.
May God save us.
Yes.
Is it normal to have severe physical pain and suffering from Lorazepam withdrawal
yes yes and yes
Yes awful wish I
I hadn't taken them
Yes. I have severe spine and back of brain pain. Neuropathy
Thanks❤
I have Been Stuck on Xanax for quite sometime. They lowered my Dossage... But if I don't take it At least 1 MG a Day... I'm a mess.. Can't think Str8 ... complete confusion Etc Etc...
That was my life for 20 years on benzos before learning benzodiazepine cause physiological dependency and I was in what's known as benzo tolerance withdrawal which is when you're no longer getting any effect from the drug but have to take it because without it I would go into withdrawal.
Act as if!!! So valuable!!
It's a pretty HUGE concept in my opinion.
You really didn’t spend much time on benzo withdrawal!
I did much better the first year. Almost a year and half and I don’t sleep, confidence is so low . When will this hell end
🆙☝️You can always order from him, he's legit & reliable,he's got em magic shrooms, other psychedelics and many more.
What drug? How long on it? And what dose?
I was prescribed Clonazepam for anxiety back in August. I ended up taking .25mg daily for 10 days and completely stopped. I didn’t think I had taken it long enough for it to do anything to me but I had pretty bad physical symptoms after getting off, lasted 2 1/2 months. Would Cold Turkey after 10 days do anything to me? Physical symptoms went away but now mental is here. I’d say for about a month I had depression. Now I’m getting the burning sensations throughout my whole body again. This whole process has been almost 4 months.
Terrible and thank you for replying!! Hope you’re doing good now and I’m hanging In there! Sometimes it’s bad/strong and sometimes it’s not at all.
I am off 20 months and I feel I back in withdrawals the burning anxiety
🆙☝️You can always order from him, he's legit & reliable,he's got em magic shrooms, other psychedelics and many more.
That long? Omg. I am in my way also. But I can't get over it.
Yes but I am doing somewhat better now thankfully. Wishing the best for you!
You need to taper taper taper that's what you HAVE to do to lessen everything. The only way
Antibiotic awry? That sounds real familiar this week.
I bet it was a Fluoroquinolone, like Cipro.
I tapered off using Klonopin (wouldn't ket me use diazapam) two years ago. Did fine until about a month ago, when all the old withdrawal sypmtoms returned. Is this common? Now using Klonipin again for tapering. They still won't let me use diazapam, but I can go on a longer taper this time. Hoping that works. I had used flourazapam since 1987. Thanx for all you folks do!
Is it possible that what returned was the original problem that you were put on benzos for? We don’t hear a lot about that .
@@christyb.2272 I originally was prescribed dalmane for sleep issues. In 2019, it was taken off the market for testing, and that's when I had the original problems, which basically runs the gamut of WD symptoms. I did have the sleep issue, but also all the old symptoms returned; cramps, sweating, anxiety. I'm now back on the clonazapam, and don't know if I'll ever be able to be free of it. In Oregon, there aren't many options for me, and even less since I'm on the coast..
Have you had any alcohol or other calming meds or drugs?
@@johan9388 Since I wrote, I have had no success with tapering, and am now on Klonopin 1mg for maintanance. I'm searching for someone who will understand the tapering using diazapam, but so far anybody I find is too far away. I do drink some alcohol, which I realize is not good, but it does help. Thanx for your reply.
@@oldretiredguy7041 yeah I relapsed after 2.5 months after my taper. I wasn't on them that long and the taper went well so I didn't have much trouble. But since I only relapsed for a short amount of time the doc decided this time a quick taper would be better to not stay on them too long. So tapered over 6 days from 10mg to 0. It seemed to go well the first week but now on 3 weeks and the waves seem to get worse somehow. Symptoms change too so it's hard to tell of it is getting better or worse since every wave the symptoms are different. But I'll get there.
It's really important you taper correctly and take your time! Especially after a long time. So you're right that finding someone that knows about tapering valium is the best bet. Do you know about the Ashton manual?
Been taking them for nearly twenty years.Currently on a large dose.Barely touches the sides.Can I still do exposure techniques while I am on these.?Slowly reducing again.Loved this interview.Thank you so much.Wish you all the best. x
You bet you can do exposures while taking the meds. If the exposure is challenge for you, then it counts. You're not "cheating" or anything like that.
@@TheAnxiousTruth Thank you.
The pain ..omg the pain i get on my neck when i do a cut that is more than .5mg diaz... is SO INTENSE ...just unbearable and been over a week now. So tough to get off these f*cking drugs
How long were you on xanax
?
What dose?
Thankyou