One of my old doctors lied to me, said it was non addictive, I could quit anytime, it didn't cause withdrawal or dependence, if I didn't need it I would just stop taking it and I wouldn't build up a tolerance. Now I find out that unlike heroine coming off a small dose of BZ has the potential to cause status epilepticus and abnormally high fevers as well as protracted withdrawal syndrome. I had a seizure and they told me it was rebound. Still fighting to get off of it after 10yrs. What interests me the most is how these meds are in the same family as alcohol but they claim you don't get any of the symptoms of a continuous alcohol user as well as all this mis information from doctors even though these meds have been around for 70yrs. If I remember right Xanax was made in the 1950's and was considered mama's little helper.
Trusting my doctor and what I learned in college about benzos was the worst thing I have ever done to myself. Benzos are hell and have made my life so much more difficult than it was before. These pills are no joke
Made my life way better tbh, you just weren't using it correctly. You're not suppose to take it everyday, only when you have a panic attack or a difficult day.
@@jrfy6757 who are you to tell her how hers were prescribed? My 19 yr old was put on Ativan after having a nervous breakdown. She was told to take 2mg every day. Exactly how the doctor prescribed it. Now, we are trying to taper her off and she is experiencing withdrawal symptoms despite only being on it for 5 weeks. I understand why they put her on it at the hospital, but we were told she would be taken off before she left, and she was not.
@@jrfy6757 I'm sure she was "using it correctly" by like so many of us using them exactly how our doctors prescribed them. A huge part of this problem is doctors still all these years later are prescribing them for daily long term use, or for use "as needed" which can mean anything.
This is a goofy video but absolutely accurate. I took benzos for a few years and after tapering down for a bit I stopped completely. I had acute withdrawal for about a week (manageable but not fun) and remained very over-stimulated/alert for months. Every door being shut, every child yelling outside, etc made me jump as if I was startled in a Halloween haunted house. When that faded around the 5 month mark I felt fine except for a persistent feeling of confusion and mental bluntness. My head always felt heavy and not "sharp". That lasts to this day and it's been a year. It's been 374 days without a benzo of any kind and I'm still not back to normal. I don't want them or crave them. I can sleep easily at night. Yet, I always feel foggy. I pray I return to my old self and recommended to all that you simply deal with your panic attacks rather than take any benzo. I wish I did.
This is similar to what happened to me. It took roughly7 months more or less. A bit like landing a plane...it must be done in a psychiatrically sound way.
Well I said Goodbye to my old self 9 years ago give or take , this is the time Ive been hooked on this drug , thing is benzo did save me from disaster, one Day I waked up and I wasnt hearing snything from my left ear , I dont know why but nerves got hold of me and I ended up with a panic attack even though my hearing loss was diagnosed to be an abcess that which spilled its content into the ear canal blocking out any incoming sounds and once the debris got removed my audition came back as pristine as ever, the panic continued though,so much so I wasnt able to sleep for 4 days , I was put on benzos by a Neuro in order to prevent from a very likely psychotic event , so theres that ; one thing is to say that old cliche I feel like like going nuts and another is to experience that feeling first hand , I reckon the doc thought it was time to pump the emergency brakes ,so god bless him besides once you go to the other side coming back is not garanteed, so Im knee deep on it I feel like the more time goes by the more I lose a part of my self
Benzos gave me epilepsy and I wasn’t prescribed a high dose. I even took 3 years to taper off of them and I still had close to 30 seizures total. Now it’s been 5 years since I stopped taking them and I still feel the withdrawal effects and risk having seizures if I don’t follow a strict routine. These drugs are only good for short term use. They say to just do whatever your doctor advises but that may be the biggest mistake you’ll ever make.
Have you ever heard of benzo withdrawal syndrome? If not go check it out because I have it it's when a person has been on a benzo for so many years like me since I was only 13 and at high doses and I have always taken mine correctly but I remember being taken off of mine several years ago and at a very fast time which is not 🚫 right at a rehab facility and anyhow I was still withdrawing after 3 long years and felt like a lunatic and was on several crazy meds that made me feel weird one made me look like I had leprosy or something anyhow I'm now 54 yrs old but was prescribed benzos again at first on a low dose and finally felt normal again. Some people just never stop withdrawing from them and I was only 13 wish my mom would have checked out the medicine before it was prescribed to me but she said she didn't think about it back then I know that I would have especially a psych med for my child! Everyone's brain chemistry is different.
I was on Benzo's for 15yrs,first it was zanax,then Klonopin, 3 mg a day. I've been off of them for 3 mths,cold turkey. Wish I'd never started taking them to begin with!! This is the hardest thing I've ever had to go through in my life! With God all things are possible,I just hold on to the faith,that God will help me through this.
@@BenzoBrains I had no choice,my Dr. cut me off when he found out I smoked weed. I live in a small town in TX,and the Dr. here just doesn't understand.I'm from up north in Pa.,where I used to have a Dr. who had no problem with weed smoking.I smoke one at night to relax,it helps me sleep.
Careful my friend going cold turkey. I made my mind up to do this do or die. Came off everything else at once, but not the Xanax. I tried three times and died once in ICU after a month of seizures and madness. The other two times I might have well just committed suicide for even a few doctor's said that is what I was doing. After that they were pretty much at a loss and gave me back the Xanax even though I still wanted to fight with what little was left in me. It was madness. Benzo Brains has saved my life for I know I am not weak or crazy as everyone made me believe. With my cross tolerance tapering has also failed but I try not to lose hope. I hope God blesses you with your miracle. Don't despair or fall into hopelessness, you're not crazy and never believe their lies that you're weak and just want to get high. Fight till the end and I pray you be delivered from the madness.
When I quit after a long taper, I became psychotic for 4 months. I was so gone, I didn't even realize that I was in withdrawal. Been off them 5 years. Doing fine now.
Sean The Baptist absolutely true. I’d withdrawl from heroin a hundred times before going through benzo withdrawal, but with all the bs the docs and DEA etc are throwing at us I get looked at like a criminal for having a freaking 4mg a day script and they lowered me to 1mg 2x a day at a new psych then back to 3mg and it don’t help I have tolerance so I withdrawl regularly and the docs don’t care. I’ve been up to 6mg a day which when you’ve been in it for 15 yrs like me it’s not a high dose at all
Totally agree, nothing is comparable or as debilitating. I also try to explain to Doctors and family why I just can't come off. Do to their ignorance, they have almost killed me. I know better now. I'm off every drug there is for once, kicked all of them together and it was indescribable, except the Xanax. I can't even function without my regular dose of 6mg a day. My family thinks I'm getting all high. Interesting enough, it only makes me feel "regular." Without it, people actually think I'm back on the drugs. What has been done to those of us is criminal. How many times I wanted to go back into A doctor's or psychiatrist's office and kill them! At least it would have been quick for them, unlike the torture and hospital stays I been through only for other doctor's to finally throw up their hands and put me back on them. Alcohol Withdrawl is comparable but their is light at the end of the tunnel, but what do they give you for Alcohol Withdrawl, fucking benzodiazepines, hmmm? Anyone it's been 24 years of hell and I now have Benzodiazepine Withdrawl Syndrome, my Gaba is shot and my central nervous system is severely compromised. Only thing that makes me function, Xanax. Everyone thinks I made up a diagnosis just to take more. They doubt my sanity, and many times so did I. How I'm still alive is by the Grace of God I suppose. Now though I know better, I was and am not crazy. Go with your instincts not their lies and abuse. We know what is happening after years and years of suffering, so trust your gut, and never get hopeless, that is a bad place to be. I accept my blame in this, but to them I only want to get high and am weak. I'd like to see them cold turkey heroin, let alone Benzoes. We would quickly discover who the weak ones really are! Knoledge is power, if we made it through that, everything else is a joke in this life. Those of you who think I'm full of shit with a bad comment, don't even comment because you have no idea about our time in hell. For those like me, hold on to hope and remember, you're not crazy!
@@stevevigil3260 What you are saying is very true. I have seen this first hand with my own family. I have i better understanding of these benzodiazepines then I used too. Bless you for speaking up. I wish I new more a long time ago.
@@mattcarpenter3243 I am hanging in there. What bothers me is something I never knew could happen. I got diognosed with BENZODIAZEPINE WITHDRAWL SYNDROME Plus I developed a cross tolerance to all benzoes on top of kindling. So like if I ever drink again, no Benzodiazepine will help me. I'm at 6mg a day and it allows me to simply function. This also would be nearly impossible to taper, I've been there before and ended up on a ventilater. Other than fatigue and inabiliy to Sleep, perhaps thats thhe problem but the lack of I think is to the Methadone. So I am ok. Hope you are too?
I used 10 pills in 2 weeks . And it fucking sucks . I have anxiety daily but I can manage it . And I can't sleep for shit. I wish I never took that first pill at the ER
It took me almost a whole year after Temazepam withdrawal until l my hands were steady enough to hold a cup without my hands shaking. Agreed everyone won't always suffer this upon withdrawal but oh boy its no fun if affected in this way.
@@matthewmiller1184 Agreesd. Perhaps short term use is okay and Thanks for your reply, I'm not an expert on the subject but took prescribed benzo's for 10 years straight. Can only relate to my own experience and say be careful. As the tolerance increases the dose must also increase too. I'd often take 10 times the stated dose recommended to achieve the same results as no dose at the start.
At 63, i will take my 1 mg a day until i die. After Lyrica destroyed my brain, 1 mg Xanax is the only thing keeping me from sliding into craziness. The benefit outweighs the risk.
Thats awefull. what are your side effects from Lyrica? Its pretty big addiction in Great Britan i hear, Shit im young,, but pass 60 im smoking meth. i dont give a shit after that.
Lyrica had never ever have get to the market,,they know that it destroy the Funktion off the brain,, you lost every year of high dose consum 3-5 IQ Points..
You are Soo right, but they don't like people like you who can take yours with no problem, sadly I can see our alprazolam being taken away 1st, following clonazepam, sad ... doctors hate giving us the benzos that work, 1st xanax 2nd Klonopin 3rd most effective Ativan...
This might be the best time to taper a benzo Before they yank you off them. Eventually your prescriber won't be there and it's very hard to find a prescriber. I understand about Lyrica. I came off of gabapentin and nearly died. You may not have a choice to come off in the future. Someone may make that choice for you. If you should decide to taper there are some good facebook groups. Very very slowly over years is the best way to go and most people don't tell their doctor because doctors know nothing about getting people off and just stop prescribing. I think it should be everyone's choice but sadly, doctors think that know what's best. They don't
@@matthewmiller1184 I abused xanax for 12 years , I went through 4 years of withdrawal hell but got clean.. I understand what your saying but you will live your entire life in the hands of a medication. Your life will be limited , if your prepared for that then again I understand. Just make sure you always have plenty, never run out . id love you to stop , try beat them , but it's your choice. , your life will not be the life it could be . I do understand why your making this decision , but I dont agree. Take care.
Thanks so much for your videos. Been on Xanax for 13 years. I put myself in rehab during 2014, first time I ever experienced detox/withdrawal.... Holy shit! This stuff isn't no joke. They cut me off cold turkey & I went into seizures. I got out of there after 7 days, came home & tried to get better. I had a full bottle in my dresser. Didn't touch it for 3 weeks. I really wanted to get rid of this demon but everyday I kept getting worse....& gave in. I'm so tired of going through this, your videos are really inspiring👍
I just setup my profile of Benzo Buddies and I wanted to thank you again. I think I have watched almost all your videos (sometimes 2 or 3 times). I have no words for my gratitude, only tears. :) I have cried more in the past couple weeks watching your videos than I have in years! To finally understand what's going on with my brain/body, to know I'm not alone, everything... Listening to you say what I was feeling was like a spiritual awakening. I would love to see an update on how you are feeling. THANKS!!!!!
John Muscato I'm so glad to hear my videos have helped you so much. That's the intent. I known I need to do an update. I've been remiss in doing that. Waiting for the right moment
Thank you, ive come off a benzo once before, went back on it, and now coming off again. I am working with a new dr and going to do a very slow taper off and goodbye to benxos forever!
My idiot doctor wanted to replace k with a antidepressan. His receptionist told me I wouldn't have a problem switching them. This incompetence needs to stop NOW!!!!!! When I told her I disagree,She said the doctor knew what he was doing. Luckily I had another doc that knew better.
Ou812 5150 Big Tex unfortunately many doctors think this, they're thinking that the treatment is for anxiety therefore antidepressants treat anxiety. They're not considering the pharmacology, the danger and impact of withdrawals. It's a dangerous miscalculation.
Benzo Brains you definitely hit they nail on the head. I'm so glad you are off and recovered from this poison. Thanks for helping us!!! It's a fight for our lives and I plan on winning.
@lee cee don't get off .. it's same as food .. if ur body can't make chemical needed for organs .then simply we just have to take it as medicine .60% on this world leaving with medicines .. many peoples die in accident so we have to happy that o God thanks at least we r alive and enjoy the world with this drug.
@Truus Hogendoorn yeah it's hard .i am experiencing it .i tried a lot to leave this drugs but failed .so to be in trouble than it's better to continue with routine Dose .. because I believe that if this drugs was not discovered than many panic ,peoples surely gone through different different medicines ,doctors,plus hospitals with results zero.so peoples those really need this drugs for brain Like supplements than this discovery of drugs are life saver . I am alive because of this drugs and to be alive in this world even to save our life if we need to take this drugs than it's not a crime .its just chemical balancing supplement .peoples don't take in mind with word "drug".
I believe that those who become addicted by being put on a drug which causes dependence, and when that turns on them, a lot of people go to the next thing. I witnessed this more than one time with those close to me. Basically drug turns on them due to fact they are in a withdrawal syndrome, then being misdiagnosed as bipolar, starting a spiral down leaving those poor souls crawling out of their skin believing they are crazy. Then these people are deemed “Addicts”.
I drank drano when I only had 1 benzo left. I called 911 right after. They gave me benzos in and out of the hospital. I was on 24 hr lockdown but they gave me benzos.. Also introduced me to seizure meds that work on the gaba receptors. I was able to break my dose in half right away, but I'm still on them. I'm just able to handle the lower dose. I asked my doctor if he would do the Ashton manual with me and he said yes. I got lucky. I hate to say this but me almost killing myself saved my life. Please don't ever try this!!! I got lucky! Well at least I think so, for now. Coming off benzos is like no feeling I could describe. It's the 9th circle of hell. You feel like you're coming out of your own skin, you're shaking and you feel like you're going to die. And you wish if you're going to die it would hurry up and get it over with because it's the worst feeling you could ever imagine.
thought kratom was a great replacement too... then went through opiate withdrawal from kratom at low low doses like 4g total a day.... careful with that route, took an epic amount of research on my part to find the truth on kratom
I recently found your channel (another video) and it's good to see you are still making videos. 15 yrs 30mg diazepam, 2 years of tapering and now at 4mg/day. It wasn't until recently I realized how bad I was. I have always been outgoing and enjoy meeting people. Once I reduced to 5g/day it has been 8 month's of chronic withdrawal symptom's. I thought my body just needed more time to adjust but it never got better and it was just 1 week ago after researching and some of your videos I reduced to 4mg/day. I never knew other people experienced not wanting to leave your home. My home has become my life. I am looking forward to the day I stop completely and wonder how long it will take to feel like myself again. You have helped me more than you know.
Would all of you people posting videos pursuant to this subject stop using the term "Withdraw" the symptoms have nothing to do whatsoever with the discontinuation of the drug or withdraw of the drug. The drug is out of your system within 72 hours. It is the damage or acquired brain damage that is the cause of all the symptoms, that is why it takes years to recover. Very similar to the damage incurred from a stroke. It was the pharmaceutical companies who promotes the term withdraw and abuse in order that it places the blame on the user rather than the drug. When ever they see or here someone use the term" withdraw" they celebrate that there cover up campaign is still working great after over 50 years. Thanks, God bless you all,
The best advice I can give is while you're withdrawing, -- eat a balanced diet, keep busy, be gentle with yourself, don't blame yourself, drink enough water, take vitamins, distract yourself from your benzo worries, rest if you need to, talk to friends & family, listen to music, listen to audio books, get mild exercise, be spiritual. Life is hell on benzos, but the withdrawal is worth doing because the hopelessness of being on them FOREVER is an unbearable thought. I'm grateful for any relief i get from ativan hell. Everyone reacts differently to benzos. I refuse to allow that little white pill to destroy my life.
C E W it activates the cannibinoid receptors in your brain that puts you in 'rest mode' aka your parasympathetic nervous system. It helps with treating physical pain, digestion, relaxing, etc. This is anecdotal but my uncle takes it for his ADHD, and regarding THC I use marijuana for my depression+anxiety and my partner used pure THC oil to cold turkey off heroin. I would really recommend CBD oil if you're looking for pain relief and don't like the 'high' feeling or need to be sober, but THC can help amplify the pain relieving parts of CBD, and imo helps people stay motivated/awake instead of ending up sleeping with a bag of Cheetos. The easy way to look at it is CBD is gets you mellow and THC gets you active.
I was put on Ativan in 2008 for mild insomnia and anxiety related to an environmental toxic environment. I've had a hell of a battle! I detoxed from the environmental poisons and had alot of healing from that but I came of Ativan in a NAD IV detox which ruined me. 1.5 years later I still suffer extrapyramidal symptoms which are "moderate" but still damned torturous and socially stigmatizing, along with full blown protracted withdrawal. I cling to Jesus everyday praying for miracles for us all! He's done it before, he can do it again! Say no to benzos, occultism, new age practices, this is a spiritual war affecting the material world and God is calling us to believe in His Son for wiping our slate clean!
I tell you that it is definitely worse than heroin and methadone withdrawal trust me I just went through them all and I'm not bragging please try to stay away from those benzos there the worst of all. 😓😓
Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac said the same. Benzos are way way way harder to get off of than any street drug.. Any drug.. Benzos are THE MOST DIFFICULT of any drug on earth... Go slowly, slowly off of them.... the insomnia can be profound ! Do not give up... Just ween very slowly. Find a doctor that knows that you MUST MUST ween slowly. Never ever give up.... let's all teach the doctors that they are at fault for prescribing these drugs... just as dangerous as barbituates !
@EbuGamer you are a rare exception. I'm on Benzo support groups and there are huge numbers of people still suffering years later after cold turkey or withdrawal
I only took it for three weeks, and it ruined me.. It's been a year, and 3 months, and I'm still having withdrawal symptoms, not as bad, but they are still there..
Great work. I already gave my doctor some of this info. They are just denying the serious sideeffects. Now I will show him this video, which is backing up my statements. Thanks :-D
Dr.s are trained in medical school so of course they learn about GABA receptor down regulation of the CNS, GI tract, brain, and muscles caused by benzos. Talk to your Dr. in the language of science. The language they are trained in.
@Tromsat why is the patient taking the benzo? The Dr. shoved it down their throat? Yes they're very addictive, and yes even if you've only been taking them for a week you could experience horrible w/d, but why is that a Dr.'s fault? They don't prescribe any meds randomly just because. It is the patient that is in denial, and the Dr. is the scapegoat.
@@Dee-mo3oj never ever give up trying it is 4 life stay strong you have to be the one that rules your life it does get easier meeting different people new circles of friends and become the decision maker and when you do and will is the best high you will ever get i promise if you fall get straight back up love and thoughts from people who have been there and will go back but won't give up trying to live a good descent LIFE love from IRELAND ✊☘🍀✌🖒💪💚💚💚💚✊
I was prescribed Clonazepam for anxiety and sleep. Didn't help me sleep so I stopped it. Then I thought about giving it another try to see if i needed to give it time to work but thanks to information out there that doctors won't tell us, I think I will dispose them.
I don't know your whole story, but I know that good windows happen out of the blue and for me they were a sign of better times to come. I also know that some people just start getting better out of the blue and many who were worse than me are now doing better than me. Our journeys all look different, but they all lead to the same place, a better place.
Just take it one day at a time. Towards the end of my taper I discovered that physical activity REALLY helps. I used to ride my bike and run. Looking back now some of my lowest days were when I didn't leave my room. You have to get out of the house.
Warren Raffensberger What an absolute horror. My heart breaks for prisoners who can’t get their benzos (whether legally prescribed or not)...that’s truly “cruel and unusual”.
I've been on Klonopin for seven years and it's still working really well for me. I've had CBT for many years along with different medications for my anxiety. Nothing worked. My doctor prescribed Klonopin and for some odd reason it took two weeks of taking it before it started working unusual and strange I know. My doctor warned me that it may be habbit forming and that their's a possibility of addiction and tolerance. I asked if everyone who took it develops a tolerance. He said no not everyone does. I asked him if everyone who takes it gets addicted. Again he said no. He told me that he just wanted me to be aware. I haven't built up a tolerance nor gotten addicted. I asked him why did it take two weeks to start working for me? He told me that everybody's body chemistry is different.
@@TartanArmy85 I've gone without Klonopin for a year and nothing, no cravings, no seizures, no inability to sleep, no criminal actions to get it. So that's how I know I'm not addicted to it.
(Myth #5 You can just replace benzos with other medications.) 3:53 A long time ago when I was dependent on Xanax my Dr. didn't try to taper me off. He said to just stop and i would be okay. I wasn't so they forced me to take Haldol injections monthly for 6 months. Then they gave me Zyprexa 1.25 mg nightly. I've taken the Zyprexa for over 25 years. Zyprexa is also called Thienobenzodiazepine or Olanzapine. Taking Xanax was the biggest mistake of my life.
Was given 1.5 to 2 mg Klonopin for 28 years, 6 months for anxiety and sleep, before I learned that they weren't supposed to be taken over four weeks (actually took Xanax the first six years then was switched to klonopin). I always took as directed and was told early on they were absolutely safe if I didn't abuse them, so I didnt. When I learned about the "four weeks" limit, I was very worried, spoke to my doc asking to stop! She only said "okay" and the word TAPER was never mentioned. I went into a hellish nightmare of panic, extreme heart pounding, hyperventilation, sweating, burning, itching, couldn't think or speak clearly, ears ringing and whooshing, couldn't swallow at times, very hot/cold, couldn't sit still, throwing up, diarrhea, muscle cramping and electric zaps like little pins and other stronger zaps, only slept about an hour at a time with horrible nightmares, waking up to major panic. Wouldn't leave my apartment, didn't want my children to see me like that, couldn't drive if I'd wanted to. Couldn't think. This went on for 5-6 months and then started to improve occasionally. Considered calling someone to take me to ER during the worst but was afraid if I did go there, they'd give me more benzos and I'd have to start over from scratch. Should have gone as they would have explained importance of tapering to me. Tried to contact my doctor by portal as I was too panicky to talk on phone and make sense. Finally got a message back telling me to call for an appt, not concerned at all though my portal message was pretty desperate. Anyway... That was 29 months ago. I'm a lot better but damaged, different. I'm very serious now, lost my fun side. I get angry very easily, not like me. I don't like people anymore. I'm hypersensitive to all my senses, had to buy everything new as I have to wear extremely soft fabrics and extremely loose clothes. My eyes are so light sensitive that I can be around anything flashing, night or fluorescent. I get migraines easily from all colognes, dogs, candles, lotions, detergents, etc. I startle super easily with sudden sounds. Can't tolerate car alarms, barking dogs, whistling, store intercoms etc. I've been diagnosed with migraines, fibromyalgia and small fiber neuropathy. They're checking me for autoimmune issues. Don't trust doctors or their drugs. I won't take the drugs, so guess the diagnoses don't matter anyway.
Just finished tapering. Jumped two days ago. Anyone thinking of touching these meds, trust me, if you like who you are at all, or you treasure your ability to live in one reality… stay the hell away from them period.
I went through bad withdrawals but my home medic massager pulled me through, when I felt funny or strange I would lay down and put my massager in the palm of my hand as the top of my hand laid all over my forehead and I would let the massager bounce a little and I would move it all around the top of my head and even my closed eyes and the loud noise would calm me down and now I'm clonazepam free, believe me I found it to be very relaxing and even helped me get some sleep.
You can do it. I weaned myself off of Klonopin over a period of 2 months. Reducing it a quarter tab every week. Scared the schlitz out of me, so I got off of them.
man i had a bunch of friends who got into these in 2012s and continued up until a bunch of friends started dying and having seizures when they didnt have a dose...i even did them for a short period and it was harder then my opiate addiction
Thank you for your videos. I thought I was safe after the 2nd month off.. It has been 5 months now and it's hitting me with wrath again like it did the first month... Thanks to you I know I'm not going insane or dying of some other thing... You're incredibly awesome!
I'm sorry for your suffering. Bzd can often cause post acute withdrawal syndrome after you're fully detoxed but it's ok to occasionally take something when/if it's an emergency without guilt of a relapse. There are exceptions.
YES! The Ashton Manual is a real blessing! So glad to see this posted up top! My idiot doctors had me taking .05 mg Klonopin 2 X day for TWELVE YEARS! At about 8 yrs I started to ask if I shouldn't be thinking about stopping them. He said, "Why?" Freaking crazy! No doctor wanted to deal with it. They kept saying to keep taking them and even to add another! Nuts! I decided to do it myself. That was a crazy two weeks! Not a good idea. Most doctors are clueless about benzo's and many other meds too! I had to go back on them after the two weeks but only about 1/4 the dose. Finally, thank God, I found a new dr. that knew about the Ashton Manual and we used the guide in the back to switch to valium and eventually to get off all together. That was about 7 years ago. It took about 2 more years for my brain to heal up and my anxiety to mellow out. What a ride. Wish I'd never been on them for so long but live and learn right. At least I can share what happened. Take care people. God bless you and I do thank God for my recovery!
@@gearyhinolan3517 I remember being told by a dr and a counselor or two that "no one ever died from lack of sleep." You'll eventually sleep peacefully again. It takes time. Allow your brain to heal. Ask God for help. Read His book. The way I see it is I read the Bible the devil will try to help me sleep and stop harassing my brain or I'll learn more of God's Word. Can't Lose!!
@@sangeetalambh6389 well, it's almost 5am and I've been trying to write Christmas cards all night. Of course having about 10+ things open on my computer doesn't help!! I'm just off to get some much needed sleep. How are you doing?
I still have crazy weird withdrawal symptoms every day. My life is a living hell. i was a binge drinker for years and smoked cigs like crazy too. I drank to help with the anxiety and panic attacks. I used to get pins and needles feeling all over my extremities all the time(still do, but not nearly as bad). Plus I would get crazy arm or chest pains, and dr's and emergency rooms would always chalk it up as gas. So for years after nights of binge drinking i would have even worse feelings and be down and feel like crap while at work, or even just laying around. I would have little muscle ticks or spasms , and all over , just sometimes in my eyelid, sometimes in a leg or arm, sometimes in side of my torso, basically just all over in strange spots. So for years i had known about benzos but never thought of trying them. Then one time i decided to see a shrink, again. I had seen ones in the past, because GP's had constantly said all my problems was from depression. So for years i felt like a test object for anti-depressants. I been prescribed pretty much all of them at some point. So i go see another one and he puts me on xanax. 1 .5mg a day, supposed be for nighttime cause of my insomnia, or lack of staying asleep. But i decide take it in morning after i have tied one on. It was amazing. I would be much more relaxed and no twitches and muscle spasms. So 4 years go by of this. By like year two i would notice on mornings i didn't take one, that i would get these weird facial feelings. After 4 years I started getting these strange involuntary breathing exhales. I decided I needed to quit and quit everything. I didn't really ween myself off as much as just went cold turkey for days at a time, until i would have to have one or a drink. I made it just over a year and a half without one(xanax that is). I went through jaw chattering involuntary, crazy facial feeling (that i still have to this day), tongue feeling weird on right side, and numerous more. In that time frame i only drank , maybe, 4 times, and only broke down and had some cigs while drinking on two of those occasions. Yet everyday my body and mind, my body more so, is saying take the benzo so these crazy feelings will go away. Yet i keep torturing myself saying my body will reset at some time. I've tried beta blockers, muscle relaxers, anti-depressants , neurotins and lyrica. I've went for numerous massages. I've tried physical therapy. I've tried acupuncture. I've tried vitamins and liquid magnesium . I've tried cold packs and heating pads and muscle creams. Yet none of this will make my right side keep from having this palsy feeling and clinching up under the skin(like my body is about to lock up on the right side), like deep, like below the muscle. Even started the CBD oil recently and still no relief. I gave in after the year and half without a benzo and took one in morning before work for like a week, about month or so ago. Then was like "No I got to keep going, my body will reset", I would tell myself. Well all i can say is i don't see any relief in sight. And benzos really are horrible to take. They obviously mess your whole central nervous system up, and way worse than beer and cigs could ever do. I know or have known people that do bars every day. All I did was one .5 a day. I couldn't imagine trying to come off that kind of withdrawal. Benzos suck!
Hello. Sorry to read of your experience, my heart goes out to you! What strikes me about your comment is that you have mainly right-sided complaints. I know you've already spent a lot of time and money on various healing modalities but the having symptoms that are all one sided points to the condition being very likely to respond to homeopathy. If you're in the right head space to try another approach then perhaps find an experienced homeopath in your area and have them treat you. This therapy works in a holistic way and not only takes the symptoms into consideration but the whole person. I do hope things are always improving for you. xx
I had a prescription and used it as directed. 20 years later it took months to quit taking it. Then it took around six years to recover from the damage it did. These are dangerous drugs. It should be illegal for doctors to prescribe them for any more than about a week.
Kindling omg I didn’t know of this. I’ve detoxed off benzos before and the first time was easy but this time I am struggling really bad like it’s harder and I couldn’t explain it until I watched this video so thanks.
Doctors and Drug dealers in my book are the same, except one is legal and supported by the government and the other is not. They do the same amount of damage as drug dealers. Difference is, people put their lives in the hands of these so called doctors. They took an oath. This makes them worse than drugs dealers actually. I hope Karma comes back to haunt them all for ruining so many lives including mine. I'm pretty much crippled thanks to them. Wish I would have stayed away.
I hit rock bottom in feeling hopeless with Ativan dependence after being on it only 2 months. Terrible symptoms. After only 2 weeks I started to have to take it, not to feel calm like you should, but only not to feel great anxiety from NOT taking it. Now, I'm going through withdrawal, down from 2 mg per day to 1 mg per day. Blood pressure very high most of the time, hot flashes. Today I fell asleep peacefully in a nap about 2 hours after taking my morning dose of .5. NOW, I have the crazy notion that I'll NEVER have any peace at all unless I'm under the maximum effect of an ativan dose (after about 2 hours from taking it). But, I have to have hope for the future. That someday I'll be free of this horrible anxiety brought on by being addicted to this tiny white pill and the hot flashes that I go through and terrible thoughts that my life will NEVER be like it was before ativan... Oh, by the way ativan made me so terribly thirsty that I messed up my body chemistry drinking too much water and went into hyponeutremia, which is dangerous low blood salts which can kill you. I found out that I'm supper sensitive to all meds. I'm a senior with a slow metabolism so these terrible drugs stay in my system SO LONG. I have hope that yoga will help me lower my blood pressure and anxiety. I spend much time trying not to be terrified. But, sometimes I see that things might get better. That there will be a life for me after ativan. I just have to hope i"ll survive it. (I'm having an enormous hot flash right now!!!) Emotions raging, --- terrified that my body is doing this. But, I have to keep trying. NEVER start taking a benzo. They can rob you of yourself!!!
My friend was put on ativan in her 70s and successfully withdrew. Recovery was long but she got better! I speak in my book specifically about feeling like I would never be able to sleep without a pill again. That's the benzo talking. Don't listen our bodies are miraculous. You will heal❤
im too old to quit, and they really do help me, but as some have stated, their doctors will quit prescribing them. im totally freaked out as my doctor retired and i see my new one in two weeks. i might end up dr shopping. i know at my age i wont survive withdrawls.
Thanks for your video and all of you posters. I am not alone. My Psych NP dumped me with no warning after she had been prescribing KPin for many years. Luckily, I had hardly ever taken the full dose per day so I managed to hoard a whole bunch of medicine. I started my titration in 11/18. Was too ambitious and tried to titrate too fast, what a bad idea! So I started to taper correctly in 1/19. I was at 3 mg per day, now I am at 1 7/8. I make very small cuts and wait for my body to tell me I'm ready to move on. I enlisted a GP to help with titration. I mostly need him for Trazodone and Vistaril scripts so that I can get to sleep. These two medications really help. If I can get my sleep that really helps. I also try to run at least half an hour a day. I feel that the GP is condescending to me. I keep and give him a titration schedule. It feels like he is pushing me to titrate faster. He says, "You are going to have to accept being uncomfortable." Why? I wonder if he could tolerate the level of discomfort that I felt when I attempted to taper too quickly. He also calls the visit, an "emotional" visit and tried to charge extra for the level of complexity. I kid you not. I told his medical assistant that the visit is med check. Before becoming a teacher, I worked in the medical mental health field for eight years after graduating from college. I worked in a clinic for two psychiatrists for three years. No visits were ever called, "emotional" visits. They were med checks and the patients had other diagnosises. I haven't kept up on the DSM lately, but there is probably a dx that corresponds to titrating benzodiazepine. He sneers and talks down to me. Fortunately, I have enough hoarded to finish my taper. When I get closer to the end, I have a doctor in mind to go see who is known for best practices in titration. From many sources, I have seen the last. .5 KPin is the hardest. I would like to convert to liquid Valium because it is easier to titrate in much smaller increments. This GP has never heard of Heather Ashton. He doesn't know best practices for titration. But for the time being, he is cheaper and very close to my house. I can't believe the dumb things he says to me. How did he get through medical school and manage to get and keep his doctor's license? Anyway, KPin saved my life. I suffered from terrible panic attacks and had two chronically sick family members that I had to take care of by myself. Well situation for both family members has resolved and I don't have to be involved. I also think the benefit of being on clonazepam is that my body has grown unaccustomed to panic attacks. I think the KPin might have healed this. The only challenge is to finish out the titration. I also wish the best of luck to everyone else on their journey and my congratulations to those who have finished it. Peace.
As someone who has had addiction problems for over 15 years.. I always find it kinda funny that due to avoiding the stigma of being called drug addict, we always try to separate addiction from just physical dependency, which can occur just as easily by doing drugs prescribed by your clueless doctor for way too long. While addiction has that mental craving towards the feeling we want to have with certain substance, if you are on benzos longer then a period of 2 or 3 weeks, or only in case of anxiety attack, the underlying issues are the same. Our bodies will adapt to the substance we are taking and in the case of abruptly stopping we will expirience withdrawal. It does not mater if we are a drug addict or just someone taking medication as prescribed. Also, just a friendly reminder, quiting benzos cold turkey is worse then doing the same with heroine. The "safer" drug here, depending on the dose, time period you were taking it and your own body ability to cope with sudden lack of the substance you made your body be suplied with regulary, benzos and alchocol can kill you or give you life long difficulties. Just as a rule of thumb, try to get educated on whatever you porposly put into your body for prolonged period of time. The idea that Jordan Peterson, after taking benzos for more then 2 years, which towards the end, he wouldn't be able to survive a single day without, was just dependent, but was not a drug addict, did a major disservice to societies understanding of what it means to be dependent on something.. Missed opportunity there to raise some awarness towards the dangers of prolongued benzo use. Getting off them, if you are one of the people who's body is sensitive towards them, may take months to years of slowly tapering.. While I recognize their life saving potential, when in an immediate crisis due to panic attacks, people, just be careful. Your primery doctor is not also a pharmacist.. He just cares of trying to fix your immidiete problem, but he also might be totaly clueless, even though he has the best intentions, that using them for months or years without brakes, makes your own gabba receptors completly dependent on them, and benzo withdrawal, from what I have seen is hell that just goes on and on, and heroine withdrawal in comparison is a walk in the park.. Same deal with alcohol.. The worst drug there is, yet so normalized in Western society. Quitting it cold turkey, after drinking for years every day, is also a good way to die horribly..
is 1.5 mgs of Klonopin, 0.5mg's , 3 times a day considered a large dose?, been on it 3.5 years , now it's time for it to go, been on it too long and it's reached tolerance, luckily, I don't updose to compensate for that,
Tony James I'm glad you haven't updosed. That will being you that much closer to the finish line. According to the Ashton Manual 1.5mg K is equivalent to 30mg valium. That is more than I ever took, but it's also not an uncommon dose, unfortunately. Please check out the links and resources I have provided below this video before attempting to withdraw. You will learn about your options so you can develop a safe and slow withdrawal schedule
yes, thank you for the kind advice, also my Doc is onboard with this also, not sure how well , or how long a taper should be (to her) , yes,I'm looking at the Ashton Manual now, looks doable, as long as I go in Strong, and taper slow, listening to the body etc . also I've got a great diet, no caffeine even, and no other meds,
RicanChula7 I was on the same dose. It took me a long time to come off that dose, but it's doable. I was also abruptly withdrawn and had a severe withdrawl because I have low sugar. So Good diet, light exercise helps. Magnesium and L-theanine helped me a bit and melatonin B vitamins too. Stay present and don't expect --your limitations will subside, very slowly It's a difficult situation to even discuss so much information. The only way out IS THRU
Tony James Anytime stay around you'll need support and loved ones and doctors do NOT understand. At all, in most cases. Also call it Central Nervous System damage when explaining it It is more compassionate Because it's exactly what happens
4mg xanax for 3yrs, quit cold turkey, 34 hours after last dose, 2 seizures ,broke my back, left me with a permanent tremor in my left hand. I am 6ft4 200lbs and I was 35 then ,it would kill me now. Don't play with benzos..
Im 52 and was cut c/t I had a seizure it knocked out my teeth. They put me in a detox center? I never abused drugs in my life. Took clonz as prescribed. in the detox center I was the oldest one in there, and they left me lay in my own piss. I left and a new doc put me right back on clonz. I have to work or I will end up homeless. I have no family or support, so I have no choice but to stay on, So if they stop prescribing clonz to me, it is my death sentence. I have been on clonz for 20+ yrs. that experience was so horrifying I was hallucinating n whole body cramped up I sware I could feel my body shutting down, I knew I was dying, intense fear I couldn't leave or drive, I even forgot how to take a shower? I am better staying on the clonz. at least I can remember how to take a shower, isn't that weird? I actually forgot how to do every day things, I forgot how to multiply, use to do without even thinking. I just can't lose my job, then I won't have health insurance Yeah I was speaking to this other woman who was cut off and she lost her job and apartment, she was on the streets going thru benzo wd. she hasn't been seen or heard from since.
I've been on k pins 3x daily since June of 2017 so almost a year. Probly 3 months ago I tried cold turkeying and lasted 2 weeks with symptoms just getting worse. As I was explaining this to my psychologist she did bring up the word kindling and I believe I understand your point of view better than hers. My symptoms of withdrawal anxiety always gets worse when I drink.(and ive drank on and off pretty heavily since 18 and I'm 25 now.)I first started my prescription for about 2 weeks and stopped for a week and started back up. At this point I think im just going to have to make the decision to stop drinking for life. But the sad part is I started effexor and cold turkeyed that(which gatewayed me to benzos because of the withdrawal/permanent anxiety that drug gave me. And now that I'm on benzos and through my alcohol use and benzo use I probly would have withdrawals for years. Don't really like the idea of being on benzos for life but I don't see a better option. Thanks for the video very informative.
John Dowle I understand. There are no guarantees that one person will have an awful withdrawal and one will not. I wouldn't want to pressure anyone into getting off meds, but unfortunately getting off needs to be considered because many people are being forced off their benzos by doctors who are getting heat for overprescribing. I would suggest having a plan in place, just in case.
I was on then for 7 years. I'm only 5 months off of them, because I had developed multiple new issues. I am working on overcoming this but I know it will be a drawn out process. I would not reccomend benzos to my worst enemy, it fixes one problem and adds on several other ones. Not trying to scare you but this is what happened to me.
So what is a person to do? Suffer terrible panic attacks all day everyday & other symptoms like disassociation etc .. Either way you look at it .. there is going to be emotional suffering .. whether it’s from the mental illness itself or going off the medication. For many who have an extreme level of genetic anxiety & depression there isn’t any other way. I’ve been told that I will be on them for the rest of my life. My quality of life has been amazing for the last 14 years of my life. I have no plan of ever coming off.
Simon Lavelle please look at the info in the drop down menu under this video to find help. Also, watch another video on this channel about this very problem here ua-cam.com/video/Zdrw9hzXtE0/v-deo.html
I dont think so. While uncomfortable, I got off of those pretty easy but I kept moving around. I work out alot so that helped but I did have to go to a detox facility.
I'm 49. Been heavily addicted to amphetamine for about 25 years. Rohypnol, xanax and valium came creeping up when I was about 25-30. Insane amounts. Long story short... Today I can take one 10 mg valium at night without any problems. But I got a diagnosis, severe add and adhd for about 15 years ago and I just grew away from the whole thing. Didn't like being a "vampire" at night on speed or a zombie on bens. It's a long road. But I'm not stupid enough to believe that I'll be safe forever. I'm still an addict... But it's been 6-7 years now and I feel fine with a valium at night now. I can run my bar and I like it like this. Im not even really concerned about it. Not lying to people and I can live again. But I'm dependent on the valium. Nothing to lie about. But is that so wrong? Here in Thailand everything is sold over the counter and they see it like "its your own responsibility". So it is possible to take it responsible. And I've talked to doctors here and they agree. If I don't take my valium then I'm not OK. Now I'm OK and it isn't a "mania"
There's nothing wrong with responsibly choosing to take a substance that you feel may help you. What's wrong is ignorance when it comes to the potential injury that substance can cause. If you are never injured by your medication then that's wonderful! If at some point it turns on you then it's good to be prepared with the information you need to help yourself. Unfortunately, just because something helps someone one day that doesn't mean it won't hurt them later on. That's just the nature of these drugs unfortunately (and I'm not talking about addiction but actual brain/body damage) If you're educated and decide it's worth the risk then that's your prerogative. No judgement here. Best of luck and congratulations on staying sober! Well done!
I've been taken 1mg of Ativan/Lorazepam 3 times a day for almost a year now, prescribed by a psychiatrist that told me they were safe to take like this. I was having a rough time before I started taking them, where I became physically sick for over a month, couldn't eat, sleep, stressed about it all. Ended up having to go to a outpatient treatment center and was prescribed these just to calm me down. I'm definitely better than what I was, learning coping skills, and my counselor and CBT has helped so much. I'm going to see a new psychiatrist and she said he might try to just get me off them completely in one go. This thought terrified me, and she said it won't happen cause she won't let it cause even she knows it can be bad to do that. I'm terrified to get off these, even though I hate taking them. I really do. I hear nothing but horror stories about them and I'm not sure how to taper when the time comes. I'm scared and stressed over this. Can anyone give advice? :'(
Psychotropic medications don't address the problem of a brain injury, which is structural damage. They can alleviate certain symptoms but also can exacerbate things in the long run. Deciding whether or not to risk taking a benzodiazepine daily for any reason is a personal choice. My responsibility is to inform people as much as possible about that choice so they can make an educated decision.
My withdrawal from Xanax was hell. Lasted months, was strange I didn’t know at first it was withdrawals because I didn’t know about the dark side of benzos, I knew about opiate withdrawals but Jesus they are nothing compared to benzo withdrawals!
Yes by going through withdrawals from benzos and sorry you won't have any anxiety after withdrawal......like you had ... I'm 6 months off and I'm way too strong... I'm having serious withdrawal but still I'm seriously strong
Coming up on 4 years on Xanax. I wish I’d never switched from Valium!! My doctor didn’t warn me at all!! I’m usually out of pills a week before my refill.. and my god do I suffer!! I’ve tried all kinds of natural supplements to help my anxiety... but nothing kills the panic like Xanax!! I have chronic pain too, so if I can get relief somewhere.. I’m going to grab it!! This video just makes me feel like I’ll never be free from this drug!! 😰
Post-acute withdrawal from valium and klonopil is AWFUL! The memory loss, anxiety, insomnia, brain fog, the inability to function!!! And that is what awaits you after you safely taper off. Horrible, dehabilitating post-acute withdrawal which can last up to 2 years!
Jocelyn, your Benzo Brains videos were my "aha" moment. After five years of poor health, I realized that the Xanax I was being prescribed was causing tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. I went to over twenty doctors and specialists in my quest for answers, and it was your videos (and Baylissa's) than finally made everything make sense. One question: You mentioned you were on Effexor and a benzo. Did you taper the Effexor first, the benzo first, or did you taper concurrently?
@@BenzoBrains I'm currently taking 1mg. Xanax , twice daily. I was taking 5mg Valium 3 times a day for a severe, generalized anxiety disorder. Before I ever started taking any of this stuff, from the moment my feet hit the floor until I would finally go to sleep, I would have EXTREME muscle tension in the right side of my body... when I say bad, I mean VERY BAD... so bad that I saw a N.U.C.C.A. doctor every 2 weeks because my spine would get pulled way out of alignment. To this day, I don't know what is causing it. I have a job but no insurance and medicaid doesn't want to pay anything for a CT scan. Just watching this made me afraid of taking my medication. I sometimes go a weekend without taking anything and I'm fine except I'm right back where I started... EXTREME anxiety. Addiction scares me since I was addicted to alcohol for 15 years. I was drinking up to a half gallon of whiskey a night (minimum). I drank so much that I passed the lining of my stomach during a bowel movement (before benzos). After I quit drinking, almost 1 year of pure hell passed by before my stomach could heal. Another year went by and lost jobs over how severe my anxiety was. Finally, I was put on benzos and could somewhat function and hold down a job. I'm terrified of addiction and as we speak, I have skipped my evening dose of Xanax. I don't know what to do... I need to find out what's causing the trouble in my neck since it's in pain all the time and it even showed on the x-ray that my neck gets pulled out of alignment. Fucking medicaid is worthless and I don't even know where to turn or what to do. 😔
@@BenzoBrains Is kind of a which came first, the chicken or the egg.... the musculoskeletal issues or the anxiety... I've gone through alcohol dt's COLD TURKEY!! If benzos are worse, I don't even want to imagine!
@@mayhem-method-5450 I thought I was dying a slow death. Wouldn't wish this on ANYBODY. 3 yrs after and I still feel lingering effects...thats where weed and CBD has saved my life.
@@BenzoBrainslove your video Situation needs your advice Family friend- 63 year old female been on SSRIs SNRIs for 10 years one and off . 12 years ago took benzos (binged) but somehow tapered of . Latest trauma had thr patient carelessly pescribed Ativan 1-1.5mg a day for 90 days . Also on mirtazapine . Switched to valium/ diazepam alas the Ashton manual taper method The withdrawals are DEADLY. The Akathisia and sense of inner helplessness being the worst. 21 days now no Ativan, switched to vacuum 5-10mg daily to taper. What period should we expect for the PAWS/BIND symptoms to reduce ? Elderly patients are at risk especially. Many thanks for any help . Love your content . You're more helpful then the 10000 other pharma machine Dr quacks.
I've been on 40mg for 20 years. Because of the negligence of my counseling and psychiatry doctors they left me on this medication for over 20 years. Thankfully enough my PCP has allowed me to go at my own pace, I am withdrawing myself. I have been using the Heather Ashton method. So far I'm down to 18 mg from 40. It isn't easy, but I'm doing it. If only more doctors would look into the Heather Ashton withdrawal from benzos more people would not have to suffer or die Because of the neglect of being left on these drugs for so long. Dr. McCauley is by far one of the most understanding, compassionate, and patient Dr I have come in contact with and thankfully enough he took over my medications and is working with me.
My mom is coming off decades of Valium use... COLD TURKEY! She is hallucinating and is mad at her whole family. She thinks we are doing things to her thru electronics, and poisoning her food etc Is this normal? I’ve never in my life seen her behave like this.. I feel like I’ve lost my mom forever.
Why cold Turkey? Can she not do a slow taper? Psychosis is a common side effect but it likely wouldn't be as bad if she weren't old turked. The healing time from cold turkeys vs tapers tends to take longer as they're much harder on the body. I'm sorry I know you feel you've lost her but it is possible to heal, even when you're older.
Benzo Brains Because she had a medical event where she became dehydrated and got confused taking too much benzo plus hydrovodone (prescribed by her doc) and she ended up in the ICU... The doc cut her off cold turkey. I’m really scared for her.. I’ve literally been on the phone with her today many times and she’s in some sort of psychosis because she’s accusing me of all kinds of things... Telling me to go to Walmart and buy her some Valium. 🤦♀️ She’s threatening to die..I’m afraid this is gonna end badly. But her doctor probably not wanting the liability just cut her off... I think largely because I was so angry with him when I found out in the ICU that he had my mom on Valium 10 mg 4 times a day and hydrocodone 4 times a day
@@acstone3048 ok so this is a tricky situation but if you can collect some research, create a taper plan for your mother based on my videos then take in a loved one with your for support to meet with the doctor perhaps you can calmly discuss a safer option for getting your mother slowly off benzodiazepines. You can go to benzoreform.org and even show this site to her doctor as it's a physician focused site, instructing doctors on benzodiazepine best practices. In the meantime in may be wise to seek out a physician who will be more willing to listen because he doesn't feel threatened by his own stupidity. Prescribing benzos and opiates together comes with a black box warning and is strongly advised against. He probably knows he could have killed your mother
I didn't have the choice to taper. I got put in jail an cold turkeyed after 9 years of klonopin. When I got out I asked my doctor to put me back on a low dose but the dick face wouldn't. I gotta see him tommorow cause it's part of probation. I'm not taking any meds he gives me. In my opinion it's all trash. You can deffently experience phycosis with withdrawal. No doubt it will get better.
Getting off heroin and methadone at the same time was a fucking cake walk compared to getting off benzos. How they’re still prescribed like candy is mind blowing to me
Does anyone know why benzos are classified as a psychiatric medication or any medication for that matter? I have searched every medical dictionary and there is no definition for mental illness, it will simply direct you to the term psychiatric which has a limited definition of having to do with the mind. The mind is limited to ones thoughts or ideology, no connection to biology or physiology. How can any drug or substance that is limited to effecting only the biological be consider a psychiatric medication. The only real mental disorders were always limited to phobias and none traditional or uncommon thought process or the way one feels about things. That is why all psychology in the past only used cognitive and or verbal counseling methods for therapy. The benzo drugs or poison simply destroys the G.A.B.A. A receptors ability to allow the gaba transmissions to bind to the receptor which of course cuts off over 30% of our systems required data to function properly leading to a state of extreme excitability. Can anyone help with this question? Thanks, Gene
Hi benzos are classified as psychiatric because when pfizer came out with Xanax, they also came out with a new psychiatric illness called anxiety. This seems to be the pattern of psyciatry's relationship to the pharmaceutical model. Come up with a drug, match that to a new addition to the latest edition of the DSM, prescribe a crap ton of drugs and make a crap ton of money. Welcome to modern psychiatry.
I have been on & off benzos since 2010. I had several years where I stopped and still had low level depression and anxiety but far less frequent panic attacks. I just got used to feeling depressed without medications. A few years ago after a move and being advised from my parents that I should seek professional advice for my depression and anxiety I met with a doctor. Previously I had been on about 3 medications and one of those was an SSRI or other anti depressant where they would bounce me from one to another without finding out that worked and so many negative side effects. I felt like a guinea pig so I said I would never go back on anti depressants from the crazy way it made me feel and the way it made me act when I was on them. I was highly suicidal on some of them, acting totally erratic and throwing things out of my window, some of them made me feel like my body was being electrocuted. I was also prescribed sleeping pills at the same time that gave me short but vivid hallucinations before I went to bed and didn't help me sleep very much at all. I woke up feeling more tired. So when I spoke with my doctor I shared this information and got back on just klonopin. I explained my past experiences and also the fact I've been in drug/alcohol recovery since 2012. I didn't want to go back on benzos because it felt like cheating but I also didn't want to have panic attacks and feel like not living was the way out. I was beyond the notion of wanting to hurt myself and was just in a place where I did not want to even exist (which is part of where my username came from). Anyways I got back on a low dose of klonopin and it immediately helped but along with it came a lot of euphoria and irrational thinking that I was blind to. I got the dosage lowered and explained this to my doctor and said I didn't want to ever raise the amount and want to use CBT, meetings, in conjunction with just klonopin to recover. I'm still on klonopin now and don't really want to be on it. I don't feel bad from it I just feel normal which I think is the intended use for klonopin. It's not to make you feel amazing and high its to make stop the stress. I've gone a few days without taking medications by my choice and I feel ok and have a certain level of sharpness and acuity in my thoughts and feelings with only the slightest amount of anxiety. I'm not sure if I'm at a crossroads but I would like to get to the place where I can just have klonopin for extreme cases as a safety net rather than a daily routine. It's very easy to just say the bottle says I can take up to this many a day as needed without checking in with yourself to see how you feel. I'm not saying anyone else should do what I'm doing but just sharing my experience. I definitely am the kind who is prone to overworrying about things and have gone through a long withdrawal that was about 14 months the first time and I had a dream that someday I would feel normal again like klonopin made me feel. Now that I feel normal and have a manageable level of anxiety its like I want to stop but I know that's not right. I think it's very easy to condemn klonopin and it's very abusable. I think people should look into alternative remedies and solutions before getting on medication. What seems like forever may just be a road bump in your life but not everyone is the same. I had dealt with suicidal anxiety and depression from 3rd grade stemming from early childhood traumas and being raised in an physically and abusive home which messed up my framing and perception of the world and people. I still have trust issues which I am working to overcome. Maybe in a few years I will be able to come back to this comment and see if I ever stopped taking the medication. I just want to say that it's easy to condemn a medication that at one point made you feel so good and also have this sort of hatred and jealousy for it after feeling like you were duped for ever having taken it. I felt like anyone who was still taking it after I stopped was a fool and projected my experience onto them. In retrospect I feel this was me projecting my feelings and experience combined with not truly wanting to stop when I did. For me taking or not taking klonopin is a quality of life question. Some days just knowing I have klonopin in my pocket is enough peace of mind that I won't take it. I want to work with my doctor to develop a plan to slowly reduce my intake and continue to work on getting to the core issues and remember to keep growing and learning and that feeling bad is a natural human feeling and understanding why and what is causing you to feel bad can help you heal and make decisions that can cause interpersonal growth and a radical sense of self acceptance for who you are, who you have been, and where you aim to be.
I also want to add that being able to share with others exactly how I am feeling, especially others who have similar experiences, is such a relief. I remember the first time I realized I was not alone and how so many others struggled in similar ways to me and knowing you are not 'alone' in that struggle was and is such a relief all on it's own.
@@exzisd shame and blame surrounding treatment is not helpful. Either you decide it's time to taper or not. However i would not recommend suddenly stopping. Klonopin has a longer half life and you may not feel the full effects of a cold turkey until your off for a week or so. I would recommend microtapering as demonstrated in my pi cutting and use water to taper your pill videos. Also, once you're off be careful about using as needed as this can cause kindling which can injure your brain more and more each time you do that. Best of luck
Meditation is a great help...I didn't even believe it but I tried and that can encrease your Gaba up to 20-30%. At least try deep breathing for five minute 2-3 times a day... Dont ever start benzo!!!
Please watch my tapering playlist to learn how and then if you have any questions after I'd be happy to answer ua-cam.com/play/PLiYfSj-zJmteBF9Zi99liC3H-PxzB2NkP.html
Awesome video, I was taking three pills of .25 a day of xanax to get high when I was only supposed to be taking one a day for anxiety. I stopped cold turkey and developed psychosis and called 911. Benzo withdrawal is no joke, it's very serious and disgusting.
I live in Scotland in the U.K and I have a severe Benzo dependency the docs say dont dtop taking them cause you might have a fit and die but they cant help me until I reduce my intake first. I think this sends the wrong message to people so the docs are basically telling you to just keep breaking the law until I can get myself down. It is help getting my dose down to a normal dose that I need and at least I wont have to put my life in danger in the process. I think it is better under the control of a doctor rather than a drug dealer as that is the only other option if someone genuinely shows a will to get away from something they should receive the help I know I got myself into the mess I am in but I take full responsibility for my stupidity. But I am trying really hard to get my life back I have reduced my methadone from 120 mls daily to 60 mls daily in the last year so I think I have shown how dedicated to getting my life back but the N.H.S wont help me with my Benzo dependency not very nice of them I can barely afford to eat as I have to buy my own meds and they might even end up fake and kill me but they dont seem to care
I have been slowly tapering off benzos for about 5 months and almost completely off the drug. I was taking about 1.5mg of Xanax in a 9 month period for my panic attacks and to help me go to sleep. I started to taper back bcuz my body was becoming so depedant on the drug that I wasn't able to function properly beccause I would begin to start getting withdrawal symptoms just 12 hours after taking the last dose. It would start off with a mild headache which would only intensify little by little and then I would begin to get extremely agitated and I would start to get high pitched sounds from normal noises and the lights would begin to like brighten up then go back normal and I would begin to feel confused and start getting like mixed emotions. I was told oh just taper off .25 mg every week and you should be ok, idk about anyone else but this didn't work for me. I tried doing this but like the symptoms were still there even after stopping and some people say its postwithdrawl symptoms but I just think it's because the brain wasn't able to get back to normal in a proper time so it still feels like it needs the drug. I just started to take it again because I was getting sleepless nights and just starting to get anxiety attacks over and over again. I came up with a plan of what I think better suits my body so instead of tapering off every week I took the normal dose and took .25 mg off and the first week I had strong symptoms then they got mild and like by the second week my body got used to that dosage and I spent 2 weeks on that dosage and then I went back another .25mg and I spent 2 weeks of some discomfort then my body got used to that dose and I stayed on it for another 2 weeks then went back another .25mg. I have been doing this and as of right now I would take what would medically be considered a .06mg of Xanax and I really only take this bcuz its enough to help me go to sleep and I don't experience any symptoms off of this so hopefully by the end of this month I'll be able to get off and not rely on these pills for anything. I hear they have a medical device called a Alpha-stim which helps like with anxiety, depression and insomnia so I want to see if I can buy it.
Exactly, most of those injured by them are taking them as prescribed. In fact, in my experience interacting with thousands of people online, many who abuse benzos at high doses have a comparitively easy withdrawal experience, physically speaking.
@JamesGlisson-f3o yes! I have seen people your age and older successfully taper and heal from long term benzo use. Healing is always happening and always possible 🥰 please be sure to check out my tapering playlist to avoid the kind of mistakes that could make this process more painful and debilitating than it has to be.
If you need help with tapering you can watch the videos on this play list or any of the other videos on my channel for information and comfort ua-cam.com/video/02VQSCqa6zE/v-deo.html
Binkle Babe The thing is, a lot of people taper off the drug with no problems but those stories aren't interesting so you're only ever going to find the bad stories online
Fay Kiname How do you know that to be fact? It seems quite the contrary. I believe those stories would be all over the support sights and other social media as well, giving people hope if it were that common. It’s not as severe for everyone, but after being in touch with so many personally world wide, few are going unscathed.
Hi, Jocelyn - great channel. I wonder if you have any knowledge of people getting various heart arrhythmias/palpitations when tapering. I've tapered from 1.5 to 1 mg xanax in a month. I realize now that is fast. I developed arrhythmias (not fully checked out yet) and, while I don't want to backtrack in my dosing, I also don't want this to continue or get worse or kill me. It helped to dose 24/7 vs just at night but it's only about 80% better and arrhythmias occur several to many times a day for a few minutes or an hour+. Anyway, I'm holding but wondering how long this might take to resolve. Thank you.
I have the same hung, if you look at the withdrawal from benzodiazepines you will seed that’s a symptom along with chemical fear, Im tapering now, but I had this while on the med, they did work for sometime, but I became tolerant.
Robert Long I have an entire channel dedicated to educating people on what to do, this particular video is designed more to spread awareness. You may be specifically interested in my tapering playlist. Go to my BenzoBrains main page and have a look around; I'm sure you'll find something helpful
Benzo Brains Jocelyn ! You were my first step in what to do. You I owe a life debt ... I tried cold turkey April 2017 thanks to my Dr of after 6 years use that I can just stop it. It was your video I found that gave details in what to do... BUT I didn’t listen clearly and made one dose into 3, not 5. I did it sort of right... but it worked for a short time and then stopped and all severe symptoms happened and seizure like Feelings , jolts ... agoraphobia... I tried again with water titration and doing 5% instead. I was ok until I got to 50% of each dose .., still 3 not 5 I Valium but only 2 weeks worth- pushing my dr. It worked sooo much better ... but still to fast. Here I am 6 months post - and full depression... Idk .. denial .. I think maybe my neck injuries did something... Head pressure, loud as hell tinnitus, occipital Neuralgia... Either way .. I thank you .. I send everyone to your videos! ❤️
took my xanax for 7 days .25mg. stopped cold turkey. 🥶 I'm on day 3 finally slept 3 hrs 😁 Thank GOD I caught myself. My withdrawal symptoms were derealization. depersonation day 1 and almost all day 2. Started to feel better after 52hrs. I finally feel like I'm in my brain lol I do get like a chemical anxiety feeling. but it's all part of the withdrawal phase. Just have faith and stop the drug. It's hard for some just don't do it cold turkey and have GOD with you at all times! Hang in there everyone! Day at a time.
I've taken it for 1 month what do I do now Diazepam 5mg daily for 1 month I don't feel addicted but panic made me search forums and stuff How do I get of them please help
If you don't believe you're very physically dependent you can try making a small cut and wait a week or two to see how you do. If you're good keep going in this way. If you find you're suffering, stop, consider going back up to your original dose and then develop a mico taper plan as explained in the videos on my tapering playlist.
@@BenzoBrains oh my God thank you for responding thank you so much I was struggling with depression anxiety and at social events So I started taking 5mg dose every day for 1 month And I was shocked when I found that this so called drug is worse than cocaine I don't think I'm dependant but it says to stop gradually not cold turkey I've experienced anger outbursts couple of times especially this morning I shouted at my grandma for trivial stuff I will try to cut dosage to half and even more next week It should work If It doesn't work I will try micro cutting as you suggested Once more thank you
@@NWOLFF9719 glad to hear you're aware of the subtle changes to your personality and are taking action. Cutting by half is a lot. You might want to try by 1/4 instead but it's totally up to you
Bentzos are still a damn good medications if you don't go over board with them and have a good reasons to use them, like panic disorder, severe anxiety and such. I just hate how this drug is demoniced by addicts, and doctors wouldn't want to script them even for those people who may benefit the most. Atleast, that's how it is here in Finland, i bet there are lot of countries with not nearly as dire regulations.
MrJerkkeri it seems you missed the entire point of this video. The concerns presented here are in regards to benzos that are taken as prescribed, not in going overboard or using them recreationally. I agree, they're very effective and they work immediately. They're like magic. That's why they're prescribed so frequently. But the magic comes at a cost, and for some that cost is far greater than for others.
Benzo Brains Like i said, regulations are probably not nearly as dire elsewhere so the problem is probably opposite where you are from. Im lucky enought to have those bentzos scripted by doctor. Anyway, this does't change the fact that this drug is good, but demoniced because of addicts. I've been using bentzos couple of years now because of severe panic disorder, and i must say, without these drugs things would be way worst, i probably would be in mental institution by now or killed myself. The way i see it, bentzos never bring me good feeling, they just neutralize my fears. Ofcourse it would be great to live a normal life without any medication, but that doest seem to be an option at the moment.
MrJerkkeri there are a lot of reasons for anxiety and while all may not be fixable, there are many options that are considered to be more effective and safer in the long run than benzos. If you have access to a good wholistic medical practitioner they can run more in depth bloodwork and screen your genetics to see what may be a contributing factor the the physical part of your anxiety. Of course, any form of mental illness is still highly correlated with life events/ environment and so while the benzos may be a useful intervention for you right now, I hope you are also finding ways to address the root causes of your anxiety. Anxiety is real, it can be debilitating and there's always a reason for it, usually both physical and emotional/spiritual. Just know that there are many people suffering from a benzodiazepine injury right now who wish all they had to deal with was their original anxiety, ptsd or whatever it was that originally motivated them to get a prescription for benzos.
Benzo Brains Im well aware of treatments, causes and symptons of anxiety and panic disorder. I've read some much about anxiety related texts that you wouldn't even believe. I know bentzos can cause really strong addiction. Thats one of the reasons i usually try and suffer the symptons of my anxiety before those fears come too much to handle without benzos. Just that thought that i have benzos with me can ease my mind. Ofcourse bentzos are not good in a long run when used often. I go to therapy almost every week, but have not yet realize what exactly is the cause of my anxiety, but im working on it. Im just relieved that they give me bentzos, this would be way too much to handle without drugs. I have a constant fear of a heart attack.
MrJerkkeri I understand the feeling. Again, addiction isn't the problem I'm addressing. It's brain injury. Most people on benzos aren't addicts. If not taken daily I do believe they are less likely to damage a person's central nervous system. However I have met people, myself included who were disabled after less than a week of daily use. I didn't know it was the medication. So I continued to medicate those symptoms with other drugs my Dr prescribed. My argument isn't that these drugs should be banned or vilified. I believe patients have a right to informed consent. How can we make appropriate health decisions when we're not aware of the signs and symptoms of a benzodiazepine related injury? How can our doctors advise us when they don't have access to the relevant information? If people are aware of the absolute hell that may result from regular benzo use and still feel it's worth it, then that's their choice and they have a right to that. But I was never given that choice. I spent more than a year bedridden as a result and even 3 years later now, I'm not fully functional. I take no drugs, I eat healthy and am finally able to exercise somewhat regularly, but I would give anything to have just gone back in time and never touched that initial prescription.
I was on klonopin for 9 years I had to go into a detox last year and they kept me for a month because of how severe my withdrawls were. Doctors are not explaining this to anyone. Even 1mg of klonopin was hard to drop. Even after that I have had symptoms a year later
@Soccer Lover it was very uncomfortable to do but well worth it. Especially the peace of mind of not having to depend on a pill to feel normal, having to make sure I had enough while traveling. I'd definetely tell anyone to detox, not only is it addictive but with age it's said it could lead to things like alzheimers.
@@khajababu1403 honestly best to talk to your doctor about that, although if you're only on it for a month and at a dose of 0.5mg I highly doubt addiction will set in. It seems like short term treatment and a low dose. The concern really starts when you've been on it for several months daily or years that's when dependency sets in.
@@NickRyanBayon TanQ.. But, I didn't understand the difference b/w addiction & dependece. Please explain it 🙏 one more thing can i go back to old myself?
@@khajababu1403 dependency is when you need a medication or substance to feel normal, it's what happens as a byproduct of your body adjusting to a substance. In this case benzos cause a tolerance to it and stops producing GABA a neurotransmitter in the brain. Then it depends on the drug in this case a benzo to release GABA into the brain. Addiction is different in that it may come on after dependency on a drug when they benefits of the drug are longer there, it's a series of behaviors that develop in a person in order to avoid withdrawals and issues that come from dependency. Some people can be dependent on a drug but not addicted, but all addiction is rooted in dependency. For example you may require and need a drug to function but you don't have to be addicted. In some cases though when dependency sets in most people take more of the substance, change to a stronger one, or begin engaging in addictive behavior to seek out more of the substance, this leads to addiction.
Wish I had never taken the first pill!
Lee Mullinax my feelings exactly
One of my old doctors lied to me, said it was non addictive, I could quit anytime, it didn't cause withdrawal or dependence, if I didn't need it I would just stop taking it and I wouldn't build up a tolerance. Now I find out that unlike heroine coming off a small dose of BZ has the potential to cause status epilepticus and abnormally high fevers as well as protracted withdrawal syndrome. I had a seizure and they told me it was rebound.
Still fighting to get off of it after 10yrs.
What interests me the most is how these meds are in the same family as alcohol but they claim you don't get any of the symptoms of a continuous alcohol user as well as all this mis information from doctors even though these meds have been around for 70yrs. If I remember right Xanax was made in the 1950's and was considered mama's little helper.
Lee Mullinax me too, but I’ve met the most amazing people on this horrible & terrifying journey!
Valium is actually Mommy’s little helper..
T103 Tyrant was..now it’s momma’s worst nightmare!
Trusting my doctor and what I learned in college about benzos was the worst thing I have ever done to myself. Benzos are hell and have made my life so much more difficult than it was before. These pills are no joke
How are you today?
Made my life way better tbh, you just weren't using it correctly. You're not suppose to take it everyday, only when you have a panic attack or a difficult day.
@@jrfy6757 who are you to tell her how hers were prescribed? My 19 yr old was put on Ativan after having a nervous breakdown. She was told to take 2mg every day. Exactly how the doctor prescribed it. Now, we are trying to taper her off and she is experiencing withdrawal symptoms despite only being on it for 5 weeks. I understand why they put her on it at the hospital, but we were told she would be taken off before she left, and she was not.
@@jrfy6757 I'm sure she was "using it correctly" by like so many of us using them exactly how our doctors prescribed them. A huge part of this problem is doctors still all these years later are prescribing them for daily long term use, or for use "as needed" which can mean anything.
@@gaynzz6841 Well you're wrong, I took them exactly as prescribed, and I absolutely needed them. They almost killed me.
This is a goofy video but absolutely accurate. I took benzos for a few years and after tapering down for a bit I stopped completely. I had acute withdrawal for about a week (manageable but not fun) and remained very over-stimulated/alert for months. Every door being shut, every child yelling outside, etc made me jump as if I was startled in a Halloween haunted house.
When that faded around the 5 month mark I felt fine except for a persistent feeling of confusion and mental bluntness. My head always felt heavy and not "sharp". That lasts to this day and it's been a year. It's been 374 days without a benzo of any kind and I'm still not back to normal. I don't want them or crave them. I can sleep easily at night. Yet, I always feel foggy.
I pray I return to my old self and recommended to all that you simply deal with your panic attacks rather than take any benzo. I wish I did.
I too had 1 week of acute hell and from then till now I am super sensitive to stress and I still have some symptoms. 9 months off from Cold Turkey
as long as you can sleep that's important. i wish i can sleep when i'm done with me taper. how long did you taper and what kind of benzo?
Hey man are you still hanging into the sobriety thing? do you feel any better?
This is similar to what happened to me. It took roughly7 months more or less. A bit like landing a plane...it must be done in a psychiatrically sound way.
Well I said Goodbye to my old self 9 years ago give or take , this is the time Ive been hooked on this drug , thing is benzo did save me from disaster, one Day I waked up and I wasnt hearing snything from my left ear , I dont know why but nerves got hold of me and I ended up with a panic attack even though my hearing loss was diagnosed to be an abcess that which spilled its content into the ear canal blocking out any incoming sounds and once the debris got removed my audition came back as pristine as ever, the panic continued though,so much so I wasnt able to sleep for 4 days , I was put on benzos by a Neuro in order to prevent from a very likely psychotic event , so theres that ; one thing is to say that old cliche I feel like like going nuts and another is to experience that feeling first
hand , I reckon the doc thought it was time to pump the emergency brakes ,so god bless him besides once you go to the other side coming back is not garanteed, so Im knee deep on it I feel like the more time goes by the more I lose a part of my self
Benzos gave me epilepsy and I wasn’t prescribed a high dose. I even took 3 years to taper off of them and I still had close to 30 seizures total. Now it’s been 5 years since I stopped taking them and I still feel the withdrawal effects and risk having seizures if I don’t follow a strict routine. These drugs are only good for short term use. They say to just do whatever your doctor advises but that may be the biggest mistake you’ll ever make.
Have you ever heard of benzo withdrawal syndrome? If not go check it out because I have it it's when a person has been on a benzo for so many years like me since I was only 13 and at high doses and I have always taken mine correctly but I remember being taken off of mine several years ago and at a very fast time which is not 🚫 right at a rehab facility and anyhow I was still withdrawing after 3 long years and felt like a lunatic and was on several crazy meds that made me feel weird one made me look like I had leprosy or something anyhow I'm now 54 yrs old but was prescribed benzos again at first on a low dose and finally felt normal again. Some people just never stop withdrawing from them and I was only 13 wish my mom would have checked out the medicine before it was prescribed to me but she said she didn't think about it back then I know that I would have especially a psych med for my child! Everyone's brain chemistry is different.
It really is... so true
.
@@MegaFitness73 That's for sure.
Amen.
You know it !
I was on Benzo's for 15yrs,first it was zanax,then Klonopin, 3 mg a day. I've been off of them for 3 mths,cold turkey. Wish I'd never started taking them to begin with!! This is the hardest thing I've ever had to go through in my life! With God all things are possible,I just hold on to the faith,that God will help me through this.
Why did you cold turkey?
@@BenzoBrains I had no choice,my Dr. cut me off when he found out I smoked weed. I live in a small town in TX,and the Dr. here just doesn't understand.I'm from up north in Pa.,where I used to have a Dr. who had no problem with weed smoking.I smoke one at night to relax,it helps me sleep.
Careful my friend going cold turkey. I made my mind up to do this do or die. Came off everything else at once, but not the Xanax. I tried three times and died once in ICU after a month of seizures and madness. The other two times I might have well just committed suicide for even a few doctor's said that is what I was doing. After that they were pretty much at a loss and gave me back the Xanax even though I still wanted to fight with what little was left in me. It was madness. Benzo Brains has saved my life for I know I am not weak or crazy as everyone made me believe. With my cross tolerance tapering has also failed but I try not to lose hope. I hope God blesses you with your miracle. Don't despair or fall into hopelessness, you're not crazy and never believe their lies that you're weak and just want to get high. Fight till the end and I pray you be delivered from the madness.
How are you doing now?
@@suzyspencer8496 you good bro?
Should be REQUIRED viewing by all medical students.
Absolutely! I wonder if it is by now? It better be.
When I quit after a long taper,
I became psychotic for 4 months. I was so gone, I didn't even realize that I was in withdrawal. Been off them 5 years. Doing fine now.
Did it take 5 years to get normal?
The only drug I truly regret touching. Worst withdrawal I've ever felt in my life, and doesn't hold a candle to heroin.
Sean The Baptist absolutely true. I’d withdrawl from heroin a hundred times before going through benzo withdrawal, but with all the bs the docs and DEA etc are throwing at us I get looked at like a criminal for having a freaking 4mg a day script and they lowered me to 1mg 2x a day at a new psych then back to 3mg and it don’t help I have tolerance so I withdrawl regularly and the docs don’t care. I’ve been up to 6mg a day which when you’ve been in it for 15 yrs like me it’s not a high dose at all
@@nathanberryownedbyme9386 how are you now?
Totally agree, nothing is comparable or as debilitating. I also try to explain to Doctors and family why I just can't come off. Do to their ignorance, they have almost killed me. I know better now. I'm off every drug there is for once, kicked all of them together and it was indescribable, except the Xanax. I can't even function without my regular dose of 6mg a day. My family thinks I'm getting all high. Interesting enough, it only makes me feel "regular." Without it, people actually think I'm back on the drugs. What has been done to those of us is criminal. How many times I wanted to go back into A doctor's or psychiatrist's office and kill them! At least it would have been quick for them, unlike the torture and hospital stays I been through only for other doctor's to finally throw up their hands and put me back on them. Alcohol Withdrawl is comparable but their is light at the end of the tunnel, but what do they give you for Alcohol Withdrawl, fucking benzodiazepines, hmmm? Anyone it's been 24 years of hell and I now have Benzodiazepine Withdrawl Syndrome, my Gaba is shot and my central nervous system is severely compromised. Only thing that makes me function, Xanax. Everyone thinks I made up a diagnosis just to take more. They doubt my sanity, and many times so did I. How I'm still alive is by the Grace of God I suppose. Now though I know better, I was and am not crazy. Go with your instincts not their lies and abuse. We know what is happening after years and years of suffering, so trust your gut, and never get hopeless, that is a bad place to be. I accept my blame in this, but to them I only want to get high and am weak. I'd like to see them cold turkey heroin, let alone Benzoes. We would quickly discover who the weak ones really are! Knoledge is power, if we made it through that, everything else is a joke in this life. Those of you who think I'm full of shit with a bad comment, don't even comment because you have no idea about our time in hell. For those like me, hold on to hope and remember, you're not crazy!
@@stevevigil3260
What you are saying is very true. I have seen this first hand with my own family.
I have i better understanding of these benzodiazepines then I used too. Bless you for speaking up. I wish I new more a long time ago.
@@mattcarpenter3243 I am hanging in there. What bothers me is something I never knew could happen. I got diognosed with BENZODIAZEPINE WITHDRAWL SYNDROME Plus I developed a cross tolerance to all benzoes on top of kindling. So like if I ever drink again, no Benzodiazepine will help me. I'm at 6mg a day and it allows me to simply function. This also would be nearly impossible to taper, I've been there before and ended up on a ventilater. Other than fatigue and inabiliy to Sleep, perhaps thats thhe problem but the lack of I think is to the Methadone. So I am ok. Hope you are too?
From the bottom of my heart thanks for the videos ! I am healing slowly . What a ride this journey has been .
Peter Muller you're welcome ❤
Peter. How are you now?
Benzo's used for anxiety treatment, when the effect wears off will leave the user far far more anxious than before.
That is true! I am miserable!
I used 10 pills in 2 weeks . And it fucking sucks . I have anxiety daily but I can manage it . And I can't sleep for shit. I wish I never took that first pill at the ER
It took me almost a whole year after Temazepam withdrawal until l my hands were steady enough to hold a cup without my hands shaking.
Agreed everyone won't always suffer this upon withdrawal but oh boy its no fun if affected in this way.
@@matthewmiller1184 Agreesd. Perhaps short term use is okay and Thanks for your reply, I'm not an expert on the subject but took prescribed benzo's for 10 years straight. Can only relate to my own experience and say be careful. As the tolerance increases the dose must also increase too.
I'd often take 10 times the stated dose recommended to achieve the same results as no dose at the start.
@@resaleking14 how are you now?
At 63, i will take my 1 mg a day until i die. After Lyrica destroyed my brain, 1 mg Xanax is the only thing keeping me from sliding into craziness. The benefit outweighs the risk.
Thats awefull. what are your side effects from Lyrica? Its pretty big addiction in Great Britan i hear, Shit im young,, but pass 60 im smoking meth. i dont give a shit after that.
Lyrica had never ever have get to the market,,they know that it destroy the Funktion off the brain,, you lost every year of high dose consum 3-5 IQ Points..
If you run out you are fucked
You are Soo right, but they don't like people like you who can take yours with no problem, sadly I can see our alprazolam being taken away 1st, following clonazepam, sad ... doctors hate giving us the benzos that work, 1st xanax 2nd Klonopin 3rd most effective Ativan...
This might be the best time to taper a benzo Before they yank you off them. Eventually your prescriber won't be there and it's very hard to find a prescriber. I understand about Lyrica. I came off of gabapentin and nearly died.
You may not have a choice to come off in the future. Someone may make that choice for you. If you should decide to taper there are some good facebook groups.
Very very slowly over years is the best way to go and most people don't tell their doctor because doctors know nothing about getting people off and just stop prescribing. I think it should be everyone's choice but sadly, doctors think that know what's best. They don't
I'm in the process of tapering down now. I've taken xanax for at least 18 years and I'm tired of them. I'm going to beat this demon.
Are you clean now?
@@ijustdontcareanymore1022 easier said than done
When i went thru withdrawal I used etizolam
How are you doing now?? Did you survive it?? I’ve only been on Xanax a year and really fucking suffering
@@matthewmiller1184 I abused xanax for 12 years , I went through 4 years of withdrawal hell but got clean..
I understand what your saying but you will live your entire life in the hands of a medication.
Your life will be limited , if your prepared for that then again I understand.
Just make sure you always have plenty, never run out .
id love you to stop , try beat them , but it's your choice. , your life will not be the life it could be .
I do understand why your making this decision , but I dont agree.
Take care.
Thanks so much for your videos. Been on Xanax for 13 years. I put myself in rehab during 2014, first time I ever experienced detox/withdrawal.... Holy shit! This stuff isn't no joke. They cut me off cold turkey & I went into seizures. I got out of there after 7 days, came home & tried to get better. I had a full bottle in my dresser. Didn't touch it for 3 weeks. I really wanted to get rid of this demon but everyday I kept getting worse....& gave in. I'm so tired of going through this, your videos are really inspiring👍
You can sue, their supposed to taper you off in the hospital.
Don't ever stop cold, Jesus your lucky ur alive.
@Rik Bohrn they always prescribe to much for too long.
shane dugas just give me the bottle and u wont have them to worry bout
@@Dee-mo3oj I have tons of valium ,all strengths ,white,yellow n blue... if u want you can have them.
I just setup my profile of Benzo Buddies and I wanted to thank you again. I think I have watched almost all your videos (sometimes 2 or 3 times). I have no words for my gratitude, only tears. :) I have cried more in the past couple weeks watching your videos than I have in years! To finally understand what's going on with my brain/body, to know I'm not alone, everything... Listening to you say what I was feeling was like a spiritual awakening. I would love to see an update on how you are feeling. THANKS!!!!!
John Muscato I'm so glad to hear my videos have helped you so much. That's the intent. I known I need to do an update. I've been remiss in doing that. Waiting for the right moment
@@BenzoBrainshow can I contact you? I don’t use social media but UA-cam.
Thank you, ive come off a benzo once before, went back on it, and now coming off again. I am working with a new dr and going to do a very slow taper off and goodbye to benxos forever!
My idiot doctor wanted to replace k with a antidepressan. His receptionist told me I wouldn't have a problem switching them. This incompetence needs to stop NOW!!!!!!
When I told her I disagree,She said the doctor knew what he was doing. Luckily I had another doc that knew better.
Ou812 5150 Big Tex unfortunately many doctors think this, they're thinking that the treatment is for anxiety therefore antidepressants treat anxiety. They're not considering the pharmacology, the danger and impact of withdrawals. It's a dangerous miscalculation.
Benzo Brains you definitely hit they nail on the head. I'm so glad you are off and recovered from this poison.
Thanks for helping us!!! It's a fight for our lives and I plan on winning.
@lee cee don't get off .. it's same as food .. if ur body can't make chemical needed for organs .then simply we just have to take it as medicine .60% on this world leaving with medicines .. many peoples die in accident so we have to happy that o God thanks at least we r alive and enjoy the world with this drug.
Any doctor that allows a receptionist to give pts advice is an idiot. It is too bad you were ever put on a bzd in the first place.
@Truus Hogendoorn yeah it's hard .i am experiencing it .i tried a lot to leave this drugs but failed .so to be in trouble than it's better to continue with routine Dose .. because I believe that if this drugs was not discovered than many panic ,peoples surely gone through different different medicines ,doctors,plus hospitals with results zero.so peoples those really need this drugs for brain Like supplements than this discovery of drugs are life saver . I am alive because of this drugs and
to be alive in this world even to save our life if we need to take this drugs than it's not a crime .its just chemical balancing supplement .peoples don't take in mind with word "drug".
I believe that those who become addicted by being put on a drug which causes dependence, and when that turns on them, a lot of people go to the next thing. I witnessed this more than one time with those close to me. Basically drug turns on them due to fact they are in a withdrawal syndrome, then being misdiagnosed as bipolar, starting a spiral down leaving those poor souls crawling out of their skin believing they are crazy. Then these people are deemed “Addicts”.
I would rather die than give up Benzo it saved my life I live a normal life because of these meds
There are a few people who need to be on a benzo just to feel normal.
My doctor cold turkeyed me after 5 years..I almost hung myself
Thank God for Kratom and magnesium
what strain helped you? if you dont mind me asking... I am looking for anything to help.
Doctors like that should be charged for attempted murder.
Kevkev762 kratom is all the same but the most effective for me has been maeng da. More precisely white maeng da.
I drank drano when I only had 1 benzo left. I called 911 right after. They gave me benzos in and out of the hospital. I was on 24 hr lockdown but they gave me benzos.. Also introduced me to seizure meds that work on the gaba receptors. I was able to break my dose in half right away, but I'm still on them. I'm just able to handle the lower dose. I asked my doctor if he would do the Ashton manual with me and he said yes. I got lucky. I hate to say this but me almost killing myself saved my life. Please don't ever try this!!! I got lucky! Well at least I think so, for now. Coming off benzos is like no feeling I could describe. It's the 9th circle of hell. You feel like you're coming out of your own skin, you're shaking and you feel like you're going to die. And you wish if you're going to die it would hurry up and get it over with because it's the worst feeling you could ever imagine.
thought kratom was a great replacement too... then went through opiate withdrawal from kratom at low low doses like 4g total a day.... careful with that route, took an epic amount of research on my part to find the truth on kratom
I recently found your channel (another video) and it's good to see you are still making videos. 15 yrs 30mg diazepam, 2 years of tapering and now at 4mg/day. It wasn't until recently I realized how bad I was. I have always been outgoing and enjoy meeting people. Once I reduced to 5g/day it has been 8 month's of chronic withdrawal symptom's. I thought my body just needed more time to adjust but it never got better and it was just 1 week ago after researching and some of your videos I reduced to 4mg/day. I never knew other people experienced not wanting to leave your home. My home has become my life. I am looking forward to the day I stop completely and wonder how long it will take to feel like myself again. You have helped me more than you know.
Would all of you people posting videos pursuant to this subject stop using the term "Withdraw" the symptoms have nothing to do whatsoever with the discontinuation of the drug or withdraw of the drug. The drug is out of your system within 72 hours. It is the damage or acquired brain damage that is the cause of all the symptoms, that is why it takes years to recover. Very similar to the damage incurred from a stroke. It was the pharmaceutical companies who promotes the term withdraw and abuse in order that it places the blame on the user rather than the drug. When ever they see or here someone use the term" withdraw" they celebrate that there cover up campaign is still working great after over 50 years. Thanks, God bless you all,
Valium has a half life of between 100-200hrs but I agree, I was fine after 6wks.
Makes sense, now I understand why I sweated profusely for 3 months even in the air conditioning. You're not a Dr, stop making dumb posts.
@@Beastgrows fine After 6 weeks? What were you on , how long and what dosage if I can ask
That's a very good point and important distinction to remember. Language is evermore being subtly twisted these days. Not so subtle once recognised.
The best advice I can give is while you're withdrawing, -- eat a balanced diet, keep busy, be gentle with yourself, don't blame yourself, drink enough water, take vitamins, distract yourself from your benzo worries, rest if you need to, talk to friends & family, listen to music, listen to audio books, get mild exercise, be spiritual. Life is hell on benzos, but the withdrawal is worth doing because the hopelessness of being on them FOREVER is an unbearable thought. I'm grateful for any relief i get from ativan hell. Everyone reacts differently to benzos. I refuse to allow that little white pill to destroy my life.
I am on 0.5 mg on klonopin for one month, can i cold turkey or going tapper, please ur help needed. 🙏
Great advice.
Avoid the benzos as much as possible
I’ve never taken Xanax in my life and never will for my anxiety, God bless you all going through these tough times
Your videos are so good... I’m 9.5 months off starting to hit some windows... thank you for all that you do
TFemm44 yay! So glad to hear you're getting Windows 😀
TFemm44
2 months of that poison
Holding strong
What does “hitting the windows “ mean? Thanks.
@@gunsandpoker7432 periods of time where you’re starting to feel ok again
CBD oil is what I used for my withdrawals, greatly helped! CBD oil totally amazes me
Eddie Ca. That's fantastic so glad it helped!
CBD and THC is a great help for me.
@@BenzoBrains I've heard so much about CBD oil. How and what does it do to help?
C E W it activates the cannibinoid receptors in your brain that puts you in 'rest mode' aka your parasympathetic nervous system. It helps with treating physical pain, digestion, relaxing, etc. This is anecdotal but my uncle takes it for his ADHD, and regarding THC I use marijuana for my depression+anxiety and my partner used pure THC oil to cold turkey off heroin. I would really recommend CBD oil if you're looking for pain relief and don't like the 'high' feeling or need to be sober, but THC can help amplify the pain relieving parts of CBD, and imo helps people stay motivated/awake instead of ending up sleeping with a bag of Cheetos. The easy way to look at it is CBD is gets you mellow and THC gets you active.
CBD made my taper worse. THC Is working wonders three months off.
I was put on Ativan in 2008 for mild insomnia and anxiety related to an environmental toxic environment. I've had a hell of a battle! I detoxed from the environmental poisons and had alot of healing from that but I came of Ativan in a NAD IV detox which ruined me. 1.5 years later I still suffer extrapyramidal symptoms which are "moderate" but still damned torturous and socially stigmatizing, along with full blown protracted withdrawal. I cling to Jesus everyday praying for miracles for us all! He's done it before, he can do it again! Say no to benzos, occultism, new age practices, this is a spiritual war affecting the material world and God is calling us to believe in His Son for wiping our slate clean!
How are you doing now?
I tell you that it is definitely worse than heroin and methadone withdrawal trust me I just went through them all and I'm not bragging please try to stay away from those benzos there the worst of all. 😓😓
Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac said the same. Benzos are way way way harder to get off of than any street drug.. Any drug.. Benzos are THE MOST DIFFICULT of any drug on earth... Go slowly,
slowly off of them.... the insomnia can be profound ! Do not give up... Just ween very slowly.
Find a doctor that knows that you MUST MUST ween slowly. Never ever give up.... let's all teach the doctors that they are at fault for prescribing these drugs... just as dangerous as barbituates !
tom Creed they are trying to kill me I am pretty sure🤦🏻♀️
@EbuGamer
Everyone one Is different..Just curious what Benzo you were taking and what dose? I have a feeling you never been on benzos.
@EbuGamer you are a rare exception. I'm on Benzo support groups and there are huge numbers of people still suffering years later after cold turkey or withdrawal
@EbuGamer never cold turkey don’t talk for yourself I quit cold turkey and had 2 seizures. Everyone needs to know themselves
I only took it for three weeks, and it ruined me.. It's been a year, and 3 months, and I'm still having withdrawal symptoms, not as bad, but they are still there..
I too, just 3 weeks destroyed me :( How are you now, I am 9 months off
Great work. I already gave my doctor some of this info. They are just denying the serious sideeffects. Now I will show him this video, which is backing up my statements. Thanks :-D
Thomas Roedgaard good for you, it's hard to try to educate those in the medical field without alienating them. I hope it's a productive conversation
It sure is hard! Very exhausting.
Dr.s are trained in medical school so of course they learn about GABA receptor down regulation of the CNS, GI tract, brain, and muscles caused by benzos. Talk to your Dr. in the language of science. The language they are trained in.
@@becausekittenspaint1946 I agree.
@Tromsat why is the patient taking the benzo? The Dr. shoved it down their throat? Yes they're very addictive, and yes even if you've only been taking them for a week you could experience horrible w/d, but why is that a Dr.'s fault?
They don't prescribe any meds randomly just because.
It is the patient that is in denial, and the Dr. is the scapegoat.
off 3yrs
relapsed today on benzo
Dee I’m sorry to hear that
@@Dee-mo3oj Aww no. Don't take it long term again!
iWillWakeYouUp im bout bounce back Tho shit b stressful tho 💯
@@Dee-mo3oj never ever give up trying it is 4 life stay strong you have to be the one that rules your life it does get easier meeting different people new circles of friends and become the decision maker and when you do and will is the best high you will ever get i promise if you fall get straight back up love and thoughts from people who have been there and will go back but won't give up trying to live a good descent LIFE love from IRELAND ✊☘🍀✌🖒💪💚💚💚💚✊
I was prescribed Clonazepam for anxiety and sleep. Didn't help me sleep so I stopped it. Then I thought about giving it another try to see if i needed to give it time to work but thanks to information out there that doctors won't tell us, I think I will dispose them.
I can't do this for years.. I just can't handle it
I don't know your whole story, but I know that good windows happen out of the blue and for me they were a sign of better times to come. I also know that some people just start getting better out of the blue and many who were worse than me are now doing better than me. Our journeys all look different, but they all lead to the same place, a better place.
Benzo Brains
Amen
Gabe Rodriguez I had no choice I did it going through the prison system 2 years of suffering
Just take it one day at a time. Towards the end of my taper I discovered that physical activity REALLY helps. I used to ride my bike and run. Looking back now some of my lowest days were when I didn't leave my room. You have to get out of the house.
Warren Raffensberger What an absolute horror. My heart breaks for prisoners who can’t get their benzos (whether legally prescribed or not)...that’s truly “cruel and unusual”.
I've been on Klonopin for seven years and it's still working really well for me. I've had CBT for many years along with different medications for my anxiety. Nothing worked. My doctor prescribed Klonopin and for some odd reason it took two weeks of taking it before it started working unusual and strange I know. My doctor warned me that it may be habbit forming and that their's a possibility of addiction and tolerance. I asked if everyone who took it develops a tolerance. He said no not everyone does. I asked him if everyone who takes it gets addicted. Again he said no. He told me that he just wanted me to be aware.
I haven't built up a tolerance nor gotten addicted. I asked him why did it take two weeks to start working for me? He told me that everybody's body chemistry is different.
Have you tried to stop? You will soon know if your dependent if you stop for a few days
@@TartanArmy85 I've gone without Klonopin for a year and nothing, no cravings, no seizures, no inability to sleep, no criminal actions to get it. So that's how I know I'm not addicted to it.
(Myth #5 You can just replace benzos with other medications.) 3:53 A long time ago when I was dependent on Xanax my Dr. didn't try to taper me off. He said to just stop and i would be okay. I wasn't so they forced me to take Haldol injections monthly for 6 months. Then they gave me Zyprexa 1.25 mg nightly. I've taken the Zyprexa for over 25 years. Zyprexa is also called Thienobenzodiazepine or Olanzapine.
Taking Xanax was the biggest mistake of my life.
Was given 1.5 to 2 mg Klonopin for 28 years, 6 months for anxiety and sleep, before I learned that they weren't supposed to be taken over four weeks (actually took Xanax the first six years then was switched to klonopin). I always took as directed and was told early on they were absolutely safe if I didn't abuse them, so I didnt. When I learned about the "four weeks" limit, I was very worried, spoke to my doc asking to stop! She only said "okay" and the word TAPER was never mentioned.
I went into a hellish nightmare of panic, extreme heart pounding, hyperventilation, sweating, burning, itching, couldn't think or speak clearly, ears ringing and whooshing, couldn't swallow at times, very hot/cold, couldn't sit still, throwing up, diarrhea, muscle cramping and electric zaps like little pins and other stronger zaps, only slept about an hour at a time with horrible nightmares, waking up to major panic. Wouldn't leave my apartment, didn't want my children to see me like that, couldn't drive if I'd wanted to. Couldn't think. This went on for 5-6 months and then started to improve occasionally. Considered calling someone to take me to ER during the worst but was afraid if I did go there, they'd give me more benzos and I'd have to start over from scratch. Should have gone as they would have explained importance of tapering to me. Tried to contact my doctor by portal as I was too panicky to talk on phone and make sense. Finally got a message back telling me to call for an appt, not concerned at all though my portal message was pretty desperate. Anyway...
That was 29 months ago. I'm a lot better but damaged, different. I'm very serious now, lost my fun side. I get angry very easily, not like me. I don't like people anymore. I'm hypersensitive to all my senses, had to buy everything new as I have to wear extremely soft fabrics and extremely loose clothes. My eyes are so light sensitive that I can be around anything flashing, night or fluorescent. I get migraines easily from all colognes, dogs, candles, lotions, detergents, etc. I startle super easily with sudden sounds. Can't tolerate car alarms, barking dogs, whistling, store intercoms etc.
I've been diagnosed with migraines, fibromyalgia and small fiber neuropathy. They're checking me for autoimmune issues.
Don't trust doctors or their drugs. I won't take the drugs, so guess the diagnoses don't matter anyway.
God bless you
Was addicted to Heroin for 19years got over tht nearly 3yrs but benzos still a problem. Easily more dangerous in my opinion
Just finished tapering. Jumped two days ago. Anyone thinking of touching these meds, trust me, if you like who you are at all, or you treasure your ability to live in one reality… stay the hell away from them period.
I went through bad withdrawals but my home medic massager pulled me through, when I felt funny or strange I would lay down and put my massager in the palm of my hand as the top of my hand laid all over my forehead and I would let the massager bounce a little and I would move it all around the top of my head and even my closed eyes and the loud noise would calm me down and now I'm clonazepam free, believe me I found it to be very relaxing and even helped me get some sleep.
You can do it. I weaned myself off of Klonopin over a period of 2 months. Reducing it a quarter tab every week. Scared the schlitz out of me, so I got off of them.
No withdrawals ?
I’ll never take a benzo after these videos 😲
dont drop acid during acute w/d .haha benzos SUCK .im wondering if my ears are ever gonna stop ringing+my brain will slow down/yeah w time .
Dont drink booze or use ciggs either. they are far worse.
man i had a bunch of friends who got into these in 2012s and continued up until a bunch of friends started dying and having seizures when they didnt have a dose...i even did them for a short period and it was harder then my opiate addiction
After 4 years, and cold turkey, still suffering.
how're you doing
This is scary as fuck, im 18 months off im much better but i still have anxiety. I never had anxiety before benzo use.
21 months off I’m still a mess hardcore shit seriously they ruin your nerves so you end up a shaking terrified panicking mess
Cold Turkey is silly.... no one should ever do that.
@@kenzor9138 hi Iv just seen this hence the late reply Iv hit the booze because it’s the only thing that helps me
Thank you for your videos. I thought I was safe after the 2nd month off.. It has been 5 months now and it's hitting me with wrath again like it did the first month... Thanks to you I know I'm not going insane or dying of some other thing... You're incredibly awesome!
I'm sorry for your suffering. Bzd can often cause post acute withdrawal syndrome after you're fully detoxed but it's ok to occasionally take something when/if it's an emergency without guilt of a relapse. There are exceptions.
YES! The Ashton Manual is a real blessing! So glad to see this posted up top! My idiot doctors had me taking .05 mg Klonopin 2 X day for TWELVE YEARS! At about 8 yrs I started to ask if I shouldn't be thinking about stopping them. He said, "Why?" Freaking crazy! No doctor wanted to deal with it. They kept saying to keep taking them and even to add another! Nuts! I decided to do it myself. That was a crazy two weeks! Not a good idea. Most doctors are clueless about benzo's and many other meds too! I had to go back on them after the two weeks but only about 1/4 the dose. Finally, thank God, I found a new dr. that knew about the Ashton Manual and we used the guide in the back to switch to valium and eventually to get off all together. That was about 7 years ago. It took about 2 more years for my brain to heal up and my anxiety to mellow out. What a ride. Wish I'd never been on them for so long but live and learn right. At least I can share what happened. Take care people. God bless you and I do thank God for my recovery!
It's so good to hear that you found an educated doctor and are better now! Thanks for sharing
how was your sleep? any withdrawal symptoms? my only concern is sleep. it very important for me
Ce Ce how r u now frd
@@gearyhinolan3517 I remember being told by a dr and a counselor or two that "no one ever died from lack of sleep." You'll eventually sleep peacefully again. It takes time. Allow your brain to heal. Ask God for help. Read His book. The way I see it is I read the Bible the devil will try to help me sleep and stop harassing my brain or I'll learn more of God's Word. Can't Lose!!
@@sangeetalambh6389 well, it's almost 5am and I've been trying to write Christmas cards all night. Of course having about 10+ things open on my computer doesn't help!! I'm just off to get some much needed sleep. How are you doing?
I still have crazy weird withdrawal symptoms every day. My life is a living hell. i was a binge drinker for years and smoked cigs like crazy too. I drank to help with the anxiety and panic attacks. I used to get pins and needles feeling all over my extremities all the time(still do, but not nearly as bad). Plus I would get crazy arm or chest pains, and dr's and emergency rooms would always chalk it up as gas.
So for years after nights of binge drinking i would have even worse feelings and be down and feel like crap while at work, or even just laying around. I would have little muscle ticks or spasms , and all over , just sometimes in my eyelid, sometimes in a leg or arm, sometimes in side of my torso, basically just all over in strange spots.
So for years i had known about benzos but never thought of trying them. Then one time i decided to see a shrink, again. I had seen ones in the past, because GP's had constantly said all my problems was from depression. So for years i felt like a test object for anti-depressants. I been prescribed pretty much all of them at some point.
So i go see another one and he puts me on xanax. 1 .5mg a day, supposed be for nighttime cause of my insomnia, or lack of staying asleep. But i decide take it in morning after i have tied one on. It was amazing. I would be much more relaxed and no twitches and muscle spasms.
So 4 years go by of this. By like year two i would notice on mornings i didn't take one, that i would get these weird facial feelings. After 4 years I started getting these strange involuntary breathing exhales. I decided I needed to quit and quit everything. I didn't really ween myself off as much as just went cold turkey for days at a time, until i would have to have one or a drink.
I made it just over a year and a half without one(xanax that is). I went through jaw chattering involuntary, crazy facial feeling (that i still have to this day), tongue feeling weird on right side, and numerous more. In that time frame i only drank , maybe, 4 times, and only broke down and had some cigs while drinking on two of those occasions.
Yet everyday my body and mind, my body more so, is saying take the benzo so these crazy feelings will go away. Yet i keep torturing myself saying my body will reset at some time.
I've tried beta blockers, muscle relaxers, anti-depressants , neurotins and lyrica. I've went for numerous massages. I've tried physical therapy. I've tried acupuncture. I've tried vitamins and liquid magnesium . I've tried cold packs and heating pads and muscle creams. Yet none of this will make my right side keep from having this palsy feeling and clinching up under the skin(like my body is about to lock up on the right side), like deep, like below the muscle. Even started the CBD oil recently and still no relief.
I gave in after the year and half without a benzo and took one in morning before work for like a week, about month or so ago. Then was like "No I got to keep going, my body will reset", I would tell myself.
Well all i can say is i don't see any relief in sight. And benzos really are horrible to take. They obviously mess your whole central nervous system up, and way worse than beer and cigs could ever do.
I know or have known people that do bars every day. All I did was one .5 a day. I couldn't imagine trying to come off that kind of withdrawal.
Benzos suck!
Hello. Sorry to read of your experience, my heart goes out to you! What strikes me about your comment is that you have mainly right-sided complaints. I know you've already spent a lot of time and money on various healing modalities but the having symptoms that are all one sided points to the condition being very likely to respond to homeopathy. If you're in the right head space to try another approach then perhaps find an experienced homeopath in your area and have them treat you. This therapy works in a holistic way and not only takes the symptoms into consideration but the whole person. I do hope things are always improving for you. xx
@@tearosekennedy678 Can homeopathy heal withdrawal?
I had a prescription and used it as directed. 20 years later it took months to quit taking it. Then it took around six years to recover from the damage it did. These are dangerous drugs. It should be illegal for doctors to prescribe them for any more than about a week.
Kindling omg I didn’t know of this. I’ve detoxed off benzos before and the first time was easy but this time I am struggling really bad like it’s harder and I couldn’t explain it until I watched this video so thanks.
Doctors and Drug dealers in my book are the same, except one is legal and supported by the government and the other is not. They do the same amount of damage as drug dealers. Difference is, people put their lives in the hands of these so called doctors. They took an oath. This makes them worse than drugs dealers actually. I hope Karma comes back to haunt them all for ruining so many lives including mine. I'm pretty much crippled thanks to them. Wish I would have stayed away.
I hit rock bottom in feeling hopeless with Ativan dependence after being on it only 2 months. Terrible symptoms. After only 2 weeks I started to have to take it, not to feel calm like you should, but only not to feel great anxiety from NOT taking it. Now, I'm going through withdrawal, down from 2 mg per day to 1 mg per day. Blood pressure very high most of the time, hot flashes. Today I fell asleep peacefully in a nap about 2 hours after taking my morning dose of .5. NOW, I have the crazy notion that I'll NEVER have any peace at all unless I'm under the maximum effect of an ativan dose (after about 2 hours from taking it). But, I have to have hope for the future. That someday I'll be free of this horrible anxiety brought on by being addicted to this tiny white pill and the hot flashes that I go through and terrible thoughts that my life will NEVER be like it was before ativan... Oh, by the way ativan made me so terribly thirsty that I messed up my body chemistry drinking too much water and went into hyponeutremia, which is dangerous low blood salts which can kill you. I found out that I'm supper sensitive to all meds. I'm a senior with a slow metabolism so these terrible drugs stay in my system SO LONG. I have hope that yoga will help me lower my blood pressure and anxiety. I spend much time trying not to be terrified. But, sometimes I see that things might get better. That there will be a life for me after ativan. I just have to hope i"ll survive it. (I'm having an enormous hot flash right now!!!) Emotions raging, --- terrified that my body is doing this. But, I have to keep trying. NEVER start taking a benzo. They can rob you of yourself!!!
My friend was put on ativan in her 70s and successfully withdrew. Recovery was long but she got better! I speak in my book specifically about feeling like I would never be able to sleep without a pill again. That's the benzo talking. Don't listen our bodies are miraculous. You will heal❤
im too old to quit, and they really do help me, but as some have stated, their doctors will quit prescribing them. im totally freaked out as my doctor retired and i see my new one in two weeks. i might end up dr shopping. i know at my age i wont survive withdrawls.
Thanks for your video and all of you posters. I am not alone. My Psych NP dumped me with no warning after she had been prescribing KPin for many years. Luckily, I had hardly ever taken the full dose per day so I managed to hoard a whole bunch of medicine. I started my titration in 11/18. Was too ambitious and tried to titrate too fast, what a bad idea! So I started to taper correctly in 1/19. I was at 3 mg per day, now I am at 1 7/8. I make very small cuts and wait for my body to tell me I'm ready to move on. I enlisted a GP to help with titration. I mostly need him for Trazodone and Vistaril scripts so that I can get to sleep. These two medications really help. If I can get my sleep that really helps. I also try to run at least half an hour a day. I feel that the GP is condescending to me. I keep and give him a titration schedule. It feels like he is pushing me to titrate faster. He says, "You are going to have to accept being uncomfortable." Why? I wonder if he could tolerate the level of discomfort that I felt when I attempted to taper too quickly. He also calls the visit, an "emotional" visit and tried to charge extra for the level of complexity. I kid you not. I told his medical assistant that the visit is med check. Before becoming a teacher, I worked in the medical mental health field for eight years after graduating from college. I worked in a clinic for two psychiatrists for three years. No visits were ever called, "emotional" visits. They were med checks and the patients had other diagnosises. I haven't kept up on the DSM lately, but there is probably a dx that corresponds to titrating benzodiazepine. He sneers and talks down to me. Fortunately, I have enough hoarded to finish my taper. When I get closer to the end, I have a doctor in mind to go see who is known for best practices in titration. From many sources, I have seen the last. .5 KPin is the hardest. I would like to convert to liquid Valium because it is easier to titrate in much smaller increments. This GP has never heard of Heather Ashton. He doesn't know best practices for titration. But for the time being, he is cheaper and very close to my house. I can't believe the dumb things he says to me. How did he get through medical school and manage to get and keep his doctor's license? Anyway, KPin saved my life. I suffered from terrible panic attacks and had two chronically sick family members that I had to take care of by myself. Well situation for both family members has resolved and I don't have to be involved. I also think the benefit of being on clonazepam is that my body has grown unaccustomed to panic attacks. I think the KPin might have healed this. The only challenge is to finish out the titration. I also wish the best of luck to everyone else on their journey and my congratulations to those who have finished it. Peace.
As someone who has had addiction problems for over 15 years.. I always find it kinda funny that due to avoiding the stigma of being called drug addict, we always try to separate addiction from just physical dependency,
which can occur just as easily by doing drugs prescribed by your clueless doctor for way too long.
While addiction has that mental craving towards the feeling we want to have with certain substance, if you are on benzos longer then a period of 2 or 3 weeks, or only in case of anxiety attack, the underlying issues are the same. Our bodies will adapt to the substance we are taking and in the case of abruptly stopping we will expirience withdrawal. It does not mater if we are a drug addict or just someone taking medication as prescribed.
Also, just a friendly reminder, quiting benzos cold turkey is worse then doing the same with heroine. The "safer" drug here, depending on the dose, time period you were taking it and your own body ability to cope with sudden lack of the substance you made your body be suplied with regulary, benzos and alchocol can kill you or give you life long difficulties.
Just as a rule of thumb, try to get educated on whatever you porposly put into your body for prolonged period of time. The idea that Jordan Peterson, after taking benzos for more then 2 years, which towards the end, he wouldn't be able to survive a single day without, was just dependent, but was not a drug addict, did a major disservice to societies understanding of what it means to be dependent on something..
Missed opportunity there to raise some awarness towards the dangers of prolongued benzo use. Getting off them, if you are one of the people who's body is sensitive towards them, may take months to years of slowly tapering.. While I recognize their life saving potential, when in an immediate crisis due to panic attacks, people, just be careful. Your primery doctor is not also a pharmacist.. He just cares of trying to fix your immidiete problem, but he also might be totaly clueless, even though he has the best intentions, that using them for months or years without brakes, makes your own gabba receptors completly dependent on them, and benzo withdrawal, from what I have seen is hell that just goes on and on, and heroine withdrawal in comparison is a walk in the park..
Same deal with alcohol.. The worst drug there is, yet so normalized in Western society. Quitting it cold turkey, after drinking for years every day, is also a good way to die horribly..
God bless you for all you do and giving so many of us more information we can share with family and friends!!! 🦋
You're welcome, thank you for supporting my efforts!
is 1.5 mgs of Klonopin, 0.5mg's , 3 times a day considered a large dose?, been on it 3.5 years , now it's time for it to go, been on it too long and it's reached tolerance, luckily, I don't updose to compensate for that,
Tony James I'm glad you haven't updosed. That will being you that much closer to the finish line. According to the Ashton Manual 1.5mg K is equivalent to 30mg valium. That is more than I ever took, but it's also not an uncommon dose, unfortunately. Please check out the links and resources I have provided below this video before attempting to withdraw. You will learn about your options so you can develop a safe and slow withdrawal schedule
yes, thank you for the kind advice, also my Doc is onboard with this also, not sure how well , or how long a taper should be (to her) , yes,I'm looking at the Ashton Manual now, looks doable, as long as I go in Strong, and taper slow, listening to the body etc . also I've got a great diet, no caffeine even, and no other meds,
I was on that same dose for 13-14yrs. You got this. Glad you found her way early...
RicanChula7
I was on the same dose.
It took me a long time to come off that dose, but it's doable.
I was also abruptly withdrawn and had a severe withdrawl because I have low sugar.
So Good diet, light exercise helps.
Magnesium and L-theanine helped me a bit and melatonin
B vitamins too.
Stay present and don't expect --your limitations will subside, very slowly
It's a difficult situation to even discuss so much information.
The only way out IS THRU
Tony James
Anytime stay around you'll need support and loved ones and doctors do NOT understand.
At all, in most cases.
Also call it Central Nervous System damage when explaining it
It is more compassionate
Because it's exactly what happens
4.5 years after withdrawal and I'm still sick. Ringing ears, muscle pain, burning legs, insomnia, emotionally numb
THANKS XANAX.
Yes I tapered over a year. I was on xanax for about a year and a half before my taper
Sleep is on and off. 50/50
this scares the living shit out of me :( .... fuck ... i am damned and never will be better
Everyone is different Tim
Yup. I've improved enough to drive comfortably
4mg xanax for 3yrs, quit cold turkey, 34 hours after last dose, 2 seizures ,broke my back, left me with a permanent tremor in my left hand. I am 6ft4 200lbs and I was 35 then ,it would kill me now. Don't play with benzos..
Im 52 and was cut c/t I had a seizure it knocked out my teeth. They put me in a detox center? I never abused drugs in my life. Took clonz as prescribed. in the detox center I was the oldest one in there, and they left me lay in my own piss. I left and a new doc put me right back on clonz. I have to work or I will end up homeless. I have no family or support, so I have no choice but to stay on, So if they stop prescribing clonz to me, it is my death sentence. I have been on clonz for 20+ yrs. that experience was so horrifying I was hallucinating n whole body cramped up I sware I could feel my body shutting down, I knew I was dying, intense fear I couldn't leave or drive, I even forgot how to take a shower? I am better staying on the clonz. at least I can remember how to take a shower, isn't that weird? I actually forgot how to do every day things, I forgot how to multiply, use to do without even thinking. I just can't lose my job, then I won't have health insurance Yeah I was speaking to this other woman who was cut off and she lost her job and apartment, she was on the streets going thru benzo wd. she hasn't been seen or heard from since.
I've been on k pins 3x daily since June of 2017 so almost a year. Probly 3 months ago I tried cold turkeying and lasted 2 weeks with symptoms just getting worse. As I was explaining this to my psychologist she did bring up the word kindling and I believe I understand your point of view better than hers. My symptoms of withdrawal anxiety always gets worse when I drink.(and ive drank on and off pretty heavily since 18 and I'm 25 now.)I first started my prescription for about 2 weeks and stopped for a week and started back up. At this point I think im just going to have to make the decision to stop drinking for life. But the sad part is I started effexor and cold turkeyed that(which gatewayed me to benzos because of the withdrawal/permanent anxiety that drug gave me. And now that I'm on benzos and through my alcohol use and benzo use I probly would have withdrawals for years. Don't really like the idea of being on benzos for life but I don't see a better option. Thanks for the video very informative.
Another thing that stood out is you can't replace a benzo with an anti psychotic which is exactly what my psychiatrist did at one point smh.
John Dowle I understand. There are no guarantees that one person will have an awful withdrawal and one will not. I wouldn't want to pressure anyone into getting off meds, but unfortunately getting off needs to be considered because many people are being forced off their benzos by doctors who are getting heat for overprescribing. I would suggest having a plan in place, just in case.
I was on then for 7 years. I'm only 5 months off of them, because I had developed multiple new issues. I am working on overcoming this but I know it will be a drawn out process. I would not reccomend benzos to my worst enemy, it fixes one problem and adds on several other ones. Not trying to scare you but this is what happened to me.
John Dowle best of luck mate.
Effexor was the worst thing ever for me to stop. I thought I was going insane. Terrible ,terrible drug.
So what is a person to do? Suffer terrible panic attacks all day everyday & other symptoms like disassociation etc .. Either way you look at it .. there is going to be emotional suffering .. whether it’s from the mental illness itself or going off the medication. For many who have an extreme level of genetic anxiety & depression there isn’t any other way. I’ve been told that I will be on them for the rest of my life. My quality of life has been amazing for the last 14 years of my life. I have no plan of ever coming off.
Great video.
I'm off benzos for 17 months 😁
nybeachgirl 1976 How? I've been taking valium for 20 years and my new doctor is going to stop prescribing :(
Congratulations!
Simon Lavelle please look at the info in the drop down menu under this video to find help. Also, watch another video on this channel about this very problem here ua-cam.com/video/Zdrw9hzXtE0/v-deo.html
545 days sober 75per healed
Does hydrocodon mess with your gaba receptors.
I dont think so. While uncomfortable, I got off of those pretty easy but I kept moving around. I work out alot so that helped but I did have to go to a detox facility.
I'm 49. Been heavily addicted to amphetamine for about 25 years. Rohypnol, xanax and valium came creeping up when I was about 25-30. Insane amounts. Long story short... Today I can take one 10 mg valium at night without any problems. But I got a diagnosis, severe add and adhd for about 15 years ago and I just grew away from the whole thing. Didn't like being a "vampire" at night on speed or a zombie on bens. It's a long road. But I'm not stupid enough to believe that I'll be safe forever. I'm still an addict... But it's been 6-7 years now and I feel fine with a valium at night now. I can run my bar and I like it like this. Im not even really concerned about it. Not lying to people and I can live again. But I'm dependent on the valium. Nothing to lie about. But is that so wrong? Here in Thailand everything is sold over the counter and they see it like "its your own responsibility". So it is possible to take it responsible. And I've talked to doctors here and they agree. If I don't take my valium then I'm not OK. Now I'm OK and it isn't a "mania"
There's nothing wrong with responsibly choosing to take a substance that you feel may help you. What's wrong is ignorance when it comes to the potential injury that substance can cause. If you are never injured by your medication then that's wonderful! If at some point it turns on you then it's good to be prepared with the information you need to help yourself. Unfortunately, just because something helps someone one day that doesn't mean it won't hurt them later on. That's just the nature of these drugs unfortunately (and I'm not talking about addiction but actual brain/body damage) If you're educated and decide it's worth the risk then that's your prerogative. No judgement here. Best of luck and congratulations on staying sober! Well done!
That’s if your lucky enough to have a Dr that knowledgeable about them
I've been taken 1mg of Ativan/Lorazepam 3 times a day for almost a year now, prescribed by a psychiatrist that told me they were safe to take like this. I was having a rough time before I started taking them, where I became physically sick for over a month, couldn't eat, sleep, stressed about it all. Ended up having to go to a outpatient treatment center and was prescribed these just to calm me down.
I'm definitely better than what I was, learning coping skills, and my counselor and CBT has helped so much.
I'm going to see a new psychiatrist and she said he might try to just get me off them completely in one go. This thought terrified me, and she said it won't happen cause she won't let it cause even she knows it can be bad to do that.
I'm terrified to get off these, even though I hate taking them. I really do. I hear nothing but horror stories about them and I'm not sure how to taper when the time comes. I'm scared and stressed over this.
Can anyone give advice? :'(
How are you now?
So I have to ask if you have a brain injury from a explosion your saying that it's not ok to take these meds
Psychotropic medications don't address the problem of a brain injury, which is structural damage. They can alleviate certain symptoms but also can exacerbate things in the long run. Deciding whether or not to risk taking a benzodiazepine daily for any reason is a personal choice. My responsibility is to inform people as much as possible about that choice so they can make an educated decision.
My withdrawal from Xanax was hell.
Lasted months, was strange I didn’t know at first it was withdrawals because I didn’t know about the dark side of benzos, I knew about opiate withdrawals but Jesus they are nothing compared to benzo withdrawals!
Can’t I just go back to my regular debilitating anxiety 😢
right?
Yes by going through withdrawals from benzos and sorry you won't have any anxiety after withdrawal......like you had ... I'm 6 months off and I'm way too strong... I'm having serious withdrawal but still I'm seriously strong
Coming up on 4 years on Xanax. I wish I’d never switched from Valium!! My doctor didn’t warn me at all!! I’m usually out of pills a week before my refill.. and my god do I suffer!! I’ve tried all kinds of natural supplements to help my anxiety... but nothing kills the panic like Xanax!! I have chronic pain too, so if I can get relief somewhere.. I’m going to grab it!! This video just makes me feel like I’ll never be free from this drug!! 😰
suboxone helps with chronic pain but you'll have to be off all benzos first.
Post-acute withdrawal from valium and klonopil is AWFUL! The memory loss, anxiety, insomnia, brain fog, the inability to function!!! And that is what awaits you after you safely taper off. Horrible, dehabilitating post-acute withdrawal which can last up to 2 years!
2 to 4 weeks, that’s 2 long as I know people who became dependent after 10 days.
Me too
Howzer The man thats me, not physically but mentally
What if you have taken 2 pills of benzos for one day. Can you develop withdrawal symptoms?
Why would you not get dependent on something tht mkes you fell better?
Gave me the worst experience in my life yet I still love them
Yes, that's often the case until you learn the difference between fear and love. ❤
Jocelyn, your Benzo Brains videos were my "aha" moment. After five years of poor health, I realized that the Xanax I was being prescribed was causing tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. I went to over twenty doctors and specialists in my quest for answers, and it was your videos (and Baylissa's) than finally made everything make sense. One question: You mentioned you were on Effexor and a benzo. Did you taper the Effexor first, the benzo first, or did you taper concurrently?
John Staight I ended up switching to Cymbalta and I got off the Cymbalta first, then the benzo
@@BenzoBrains I'm currently taking 1mg. Xanax , twice daily. I was taking 5mg Valium 3 times a day for a severe, generalized anxiety disorder. Before I ever started taking any of this stuff, from the moment my feet hit the floor until I would finally go to sleep, I would have EXTREME muscle tension in the right side of my body... when I say bad, I mean VERY BAD... so bad that I saw a N.U.C.C.A. doctor every 2 weeks because my spine would get pulled way out of alignment. To this day, I don't know what is causing it. I have a job but no insurance and medicaid doesn't want to pay anything for a CT scan. Just watching this made me afraid of taking my medication. I sometimes go a weekend without taking anything and I'm fine except I'm right back where I started... EXTREME anxiety. Addiction scares me since I was addicted to alcohol for 15 years. I was drinking up to a half gallon of whiskey a night (minimum). I drank so much that I passed the lining of my stomach during a bowel movement (before benzos). After I quit drinking, almost 1 year of pure hell passed by before my stomach could heal. Another year went by and lost jobs over how severe my anxiety was. Finally, I was put on benzos and could somewhat function and hold down a job. I'm terrified of addiction and as we speak, I have skipped my evening dose of Xanax. I don't know what to do... I need to find out what's causing the trouble in my neck since it's in pain all the time and it even showed on the x-ray that my neck gets pulled out of alignment. Fucking medicaid is worthless and I don't even know where to turn or what to do. 😔
@@BenzoBrains Is kind of a which came first, the chicken or the egg.... the musculoskeletal issues or the anxiety... I've gone through alcohol dt's COLD TURKEY!! If benzos are worse, I don't even want to imagine!
@@mayhem-method-5450 I thought I was dying a slow death. Wouldn't wish this on ANYBODY. 3 yrs after and I still feel lingering effects...thats where weed and CBD has saved my life.
@@BenzoBrainslove your video
Situation needs your advice
Family friend- 63 year old female been on SSRIs SNRIs for 10 years one and off . 12 years ago took benzos (binged) but somehow tapered of .
Latest trauma had thr patient carelessly pescribed Ativan 1-1.5mg a day for 90 days . Also on mirtazapine .
Switched to valium/ diazepam alas the Ashton manual taper method
The withdrawals are DEADLY. The Akathisia and sense of inner helplessness being the worst.
21 days now no Ativan, switched to vacuum 5-10mg daily to taper.
What period should we expect for the PAWS/BIND symptoms to reduce ? Elderly patients are at risk especially.
Many thanks for any help . Love your content . You're more helpful then the 10000 other pharma machine Dr quacks.
best coverage I could find
I know I have already thanked you for still being there for those of us behind you, but again Thank You!!! You are an angel!
Learning to Let Go . You are angel too ! Both of you have helped me so much .
Wow, Thank you for the kind words, but I am no different then you, just trying to get through this one day at a time! But truly thank you!
@@learningtoletgo5147You will never get of
Is it possible to withdraw benzos completely
Yes if it's done right. Watch my tapering playlist for info
I've been on 40mg for 20 years. Because of the negligence of my counseling and psychiatry doctors they left me on this medication for over 20 years. Thankfully enough my PCP has allowed me to go at my own pace, I am withdrawing myself. I have been using the Heather Ashton method. So far I'm down to 18 mg from 40. It isn't easy, but I'm doing it. If only more doctors would look into the Heather Ashton withdrawal from benzos more people would not have to suffer or die Because of the neglect of being left on these drugs for so long. Dr. McCauley is by far one of the most understanding, compassionate, and patient Dr I have come in contact with and thankfully enough he took over my medications and is working with me.
Samurai Storm where is the dr located I can’t get help
My mom is coming off decades of Valium use... COLD TURKEY!
She is hallucinating and is mad at her whole family. She thinks we are doing things to her thru electronics, and poisoning her food etc
Is this normal?
I’ve never in my life seen her behave like this.. I feel like I’ve lost my mom forever.
Why cold Turkey? Can she not do a slow taper? Psychosis is a common side effect but it likely wouldn't be as bad if she weren't old turked. The healing time from cold turkeys vs tapers tends to take longer as they're much harder on the body. I'm sorry I know you feel you've lost her but it is possible to heal, even when you're older.
Benzo Brains Because she had a medical event where she became dehydrated and got confused taking too much benzo plus hydrovodone (prescribed by her doc) and she ended up in the ICU... The doc cut her off cold turkey.
I’m really scared for her..
I’ve literally been on the phone with her today many times and she’s in some sort of psychosis because she’s accusing me of all kinds of things... Telling me to go to Walmart and buy her some Valium. 🤦♀️ She’s threatening to die..I’m afraid this is gonna end badly.
But her doctor probably not wanting the liability just cut her off... I think largely because I was so angry with him when I found out in the ICU that he had my mom on Valium 10 mg 4 times a day and hydrocodone 4 times a day
@@acstone3048 ok so this is a tricky situation but if you can collect some research, create a taper plan for your mother based on my videos then take in a loved one with your for support to meet with the doctor perhaps you can calmly discuss a safer option for getting your mother slowly off benzodiazepines. You can go to benzoreform.org and even show this site to her doctor as it's a physician focused site, instructing doctors on benzodiazepine best practices. In the meantime in may be wise to seek out a physician who will be more willing to listen because he doesn't feel threatened by his own stupidity. Prescribing benzos and opiates together comes with a black box warning and is strongly advised against. He probably knows he could have killed your mother
I didn't have the choice to taper. I got put in jail an cold turkeyed after 9 years of klonopin. When I got out I asked my doctor to put me back on a low dose but the dick face wouldn't. I gotta see him tommorow cause it's part of probation. I'm not taking any meds he gives me. In my opinion it's all trash. You can deffently experience phycosis with withdrawal. No doubt it will get better.
Ugh...
#2 is like all doctors
I'm all messed up
Great write up
Getting off heroin and methadone at the same time was a fucking cake walk compared to getting off benzos. How they’re still prescribed like candy is mind blowing to me
Does anyone know why benzos are classified as a psychiatric medication or any medication for that matter? I have searched every medical dictionary and there is no definition for mental illness, it will simply direct you to the term psychiatric which has a limited definition of having to do with the mind. The mind is limited to ones thoughts or ideology, no connection to biology or physiology. How can any drug or substance that is limited to effecting only the biological be consider a psychiatric medication. The only real mental disorders were always limited to phobias and none traditional or uncommon thought process or the way one feels about things. That is why all psychology in the past only used cognitive and or verbal counseling methods for therapy. The benzo drugs or poison simply destroys the G.A.B.A. A receptors ability to allow the gaba transmissions to bind to the receptor which of course cuts off over 30% of our systems required data to function properly leading to a state of extreme excitability. Can anyone help with this question? Thanks, Gene
Hi benzos are classified as psychiatric because when pfizer came out with Xanax, they also came out with a new psychiatric illness called anxiety. This seems to be the pattern of psyciatry's relationship to the pharmaceutical model. Come up with a drug, match that to a new addition to the latest edition of the DSM, prescribe a crap ton of drugs and make a crap ton of money. Welcome to modern psychiatry.
I have been on & off benzos since 2010. I had several years where I stopped and still had low level depression and anxiety but far less frequent panic attacks. I just got used to feeling depressed without medications. A few years ago after a move and being advised from my parents that I should seek professional advice for my depression and anxiety I met with a doctor. Previously I had been on about 3 medications and one of those was an SSRI or other anti depressant where they would bounce me from one to another without finding out that worked and so many negative side effects. I felt like a guinea pig so I said I would never go back on anti depressants from the crazy way it made me feel and the way it made me act when I was on them. I was highly suicidal on some of them, acting totally erratic and throwing things out of my window, some of them made me feel like my body was being electrocuted. I was also prescribed sleeping pills at the same time that gave me short but vivid hallucinations before I went to bed and didn't help me sleep very much at all. I woke up feeling more tired. So when I spoke with my doctor I shared this information and got back on just klonopin. I explained my past experiences and also the fact I've been in drug/alcohol recovery since 2012. I didn't want to go back on benzos because it felt like cheating but I also didn't want to have panic attacks and feel like not living was the way out. I was beyond the notion of wanting to hurt myself and was just in a place where I did not want to even exist (which is part of where my username came from). Anyways I got back on a low dose of klonopin and it immediately helped but along with it came a lot of euphoria and irrational thinking that I was blind to. I got the dosage lowered and explained this to my doctor and said I didn't want to ever raise the amount and want to use CBT, meetings, in conjunction with just klonopin to recover. I'm still on klonopin now and don't really want to be on it. I don't feel bad from it I just feel normal which I think is the intended use for klonopin. It's not to make you feel amazing and high its to make stop the stress. I've gone a few days without taking medications by my choice and I feel ok and have a certain level of sharpness and acuity in my thoughts and feelings with only the slightest amount of anxiety. I'm not sure if I'm at a crossroads but I would like to get to the place where I can just have klonopin for extreme cases as a safety net rather than a daily routine. It's very easy to just say the bottle says I can take up to this many a day as needed without checking in with yourself to see how you feel. I'm not saying anyone else should do what I'm doing but just sharing my experience. I definitely am the kind who is prone to overworrying about things and have gone through a long withdrawal that was about 14 months the first time and I had a dream that someday I would feel normal again like klonopin made me feel. Now that I feel normal and have a manageable level of anxiety its like I want to stop but I know that's not right. I think it's very easy to condemn klonopin and it's very abusable. I think people should look into alternative remedies and solutions before getting on medication. What seems like forever may just be a road bump in your life but not everyone is the same. I had dealt with suicidal anxiety and depression from 3rd grade stemming from early childhood traumas and being raised in an physically and abusive home which messed up my framing and perception of the world and people. I still have trust issues which I am working to overcome. Maybe in a few years I will be able to come back to this comment and see if I ever stopped taking the medication. I just want to say that it's easy to condemn a medication that at one point made you feel so good and also have this sort of hatred and jealousy for it after feeling like you were duped for ever having taken it. I felt like anyone who was still taking it after I stopped was a fool and projected my experience onto them. In retrospect I feel this was me projecting my feelings and experience combined with not truly wanting to stop when I did. For me taking or not taking klonopin is a quality of life question. Some days just knowing I have klonopin in my pocket is enough peace of mind that I won't take it. I want to work with my doctor to develop a plan to slowly reduce my intake and continue to work on getting to the core issues and remember to keep growing and learning and that feeling bad is a natural human feeling and understanding why and what is causing you to feel bad can help you heal and make decisions that can cause interpersonal growth and a radical sense of self acceptance for who you are, who you have been, and where you aim to be.
I also want to add that being able to share with others exactly how I am feeling, especially others who have similar experiences, is such a relief. I remember the first time I realized I was not alone and how so many others struggled in similar ways to me and knowing you are not 'alone' in that struggle was and is such a relief all on it's own.
@@exzisd shame and blame surrounding treatment is not helpful. Either you decide it's time to taper or not. However i would not recommend suddenly stopping. Klonopin has a longer half life and you may not feel the full effects of a cold turkey until your off for a week or so. I would recommend microtapering as demonstrated in my pi cutting and use water to taper your pill videos. Also, once you're off be careful about using as needed as this can cause kindling which can injure your brain more and more each time you do that. Best of luck
Meditation is a great help...I didn't even believe it but I tried and that can encrease your Gaba up to 20-30%.
At least try deep breathing for five minute 2-3 times a day...
Dont ever start benzo!!!
Bs therapy might relax someone but you can’t Meditate all day
Peter. How are you now?
Almost 4 weeks kpin. CT. Utterly insane! I feel like I'm in another dimension. ;)
How do you get off temazepam?
Please watch my tapering playlist to learn how and then if you have any questions after I'd be happy to answer ua-cam.com/play/PLiYfSj-zJmteBF9Zi99liC3H-PxzB2NkP.html
Awesome video, I was taking three pills of .25 a day of xanax to get high when I was only supposed to be taking one a day for anxiety. I stopped cold turkey and developed psychosis and called 911. Benzo withdrawal is no joke, it's very serious and disgusting.
It is horrible. 100%. Going through this hell right now.
I live in Scotland in the U.K and I have a severe Benzo dependency the docs say dont dtop taking them cause you might have a fit and die but they cant help me until I reduce my intake first. I think this sends the wrong message to people so the docs are basically telling you to just keep breaking the law until I can get myself down. It is help getting my dose down to a normal dose that I need and at least I wont have to put my life in danger in the process. I think it is better under the control of a doctor rather than a drug dealer as that is the only other option if someone genuinely shows a will to get away from something they should receive the help I know I got myself into the mess I am in but I take full responsibility for my stupidity. But I am trying really hard to get my life back I have reduced my methadone from 120 mls daily to 60 mls daily in the last year so I think I have shown how dedicated to getting my life back but the N.H.S wont help me with my Benzo dependency not very nice of them I can barely afford to eat as I have to buy my own meds and they might even end up fake and kill me but they dont seem to care
I have been slowly tapering off benzos for about 5 months and almost completely off the drug. I was taking about 1.5mg of Xanax in a 9 month period for my panic attacks and to help me go to sleep. I started to taper back bcuz my body was becoming so depedant on the drug that I wasn't able to function properly beccause I would begin to start getting withdrawal symptoms just 12 hours after taking the last dose. It would start off with a mild headache which would only intensify little by little and then I would begin to get extremely agitated and I would start to get high pitched sounds from normal noises and the lights would begin to like brighten up then go back normal and I would begin to feel confused and start getting like mixed emotions. I was told oh just taper off .25 mg every week and you should be ok, idk about anyone else but this didn't work for me. I tried doing this but like the symptoms were still there even after stopping and some people say its postwithdrawl symptoms but I just think it's because the brain wasn't able to get back to normal in a proper time so it still feels like it needs the drug. I just started to take it again because I was getting sleepless nights and just starting to get anxiety attacks over and over again. I came up with a plan of what I think better suits my body so instead of tapering off every week I took the normal dose and took .25 mg off and the first week I had strong symptoms then they got mild and like by the second week my body got used to that dosage and I spent 2 weeks on that dosage and then I went back another .25mg and I spent 2 weeks of some discomfort then my body got used to that dose and I stayed on it for another 2 weeks then went back another .25mg. I have been doing this and as of right now I would take what would medically be considered a .06mg of Xanax and I really only take this bcuz its enough to help me go to sleep and I don't experience any symptoms off of this so hopefully by the end of this month I'll be able to get off and not rely on these pills for anything. I hear they have a medical device called a Alpha-stim which helps like with anxiety, depression and insomnia so I want to see if I can buy it.
I am on 0.5 mg on klonopin for one month, can i cold turkey or going tapper, please ur help needed. 🙏 n what is alpha-stim please please help me
Nothing like some good withdrawal videos to calm the nerves and sooth the soul knowing that others have bitched themselves, but not me.
Most people prescribed benzos, dont abuse them.
Exactly, most of those injured by them are taking them as prescribed. In fact, in my experience interacting with thousands of people online, many who abuse benzos at high doses have a comparitively easy withdrawal experience, physically speaking.
I have taken valium for 40 years is there any hope im 70
@JamesGlisson-f3o yes! I have seen people your age and older successfully taper and heal from long term benzo use. Healing is always happening and always possible 🥰 please be sure to check out my tapering playlist to avoid the kind of mistakes that could make this process more painful and debilitating than it has to be.
I was hoping to find something comforting I didn't know to help me start my taper. No. 😔
If you need help with tapering you can watch the videos on this play list or any of the other videos on my channel for information and comfort ua-cam.com/video/02VQSCqa6zE/v-deo.html
Binkle Babe We can do this my friend! If I can...so can you!! You know I’m here for you! 🙏❤️🦋
Binkle Babe The thing is, a lot of people taper off the drug with no problems but those stories aren't interesting so you're only ever going to find the bad stories online
Fay Kiname How do you know that to be fact? It seems quite the contrary. I believe those stories would be all over the support sights and other social media as well, giving people hope if it were that common. It’s not as severe for everyone, but after being in touch with so many personally world wide, few are going unscathed.
This video is frightening af
Hi, Jocelyn - great channel. I wonder if you have any knowledge of people getting various heart arrhythmias/palpitations when tapering. I've tapered from 1.5 to 1 mg xanax in a month. I realize now that is fast. I developed arrhythmias (not fully checked out yet) and, while I don't want to backtrack in my dosing, I also don't want this to continue or get worse or kill me. It helped to dose 24/7 vs just at night but it's only about 80% better and arrhythmias occur several to many times a day for a few minutes or an hour+. Anyway, I'm holding but wondering how long this might take to resolve. Thank you.
Hi yes this is common. Sometimes various medications help people with these issues while going through withdrawal. But eventually it clears up.
I have the same hung, if you look at the withdrawal from benzodiazepines you will seed that’s a symptom along with chemical fear, Im tapering now, but I had this while on the med, they did work for sometime, but I became tolerant.
With God you can overcome anything!
Satan is God of earth, good luck.
Your a ray of sunshine
I'd thumb this down because I was expecting a hopeful tip on what to do 😖
Robert Long I have an entire channel dedicated to educating people on what to do, this particular video is designed more to spread awareness. You may be specifically interested in my tapering playlist. Go to my BenzoBrains main page and have a look around; I'm sure you'll find something helpful
Benzo Brains
Jocelyn !
You were my first step in what to do. You I owe a life debt ... I tried cold turkey April 2017 thanks to my Dr of after 6 years use that I can just stop it.
It was your video I found that gave details in what to do... BUT I didn’t listen clearly and made one dose into 3, not 5. I did it sort of right... but it worked for a short time and then stopped and all severe symptoms happened and seizure like Feelings , jolts ... agoraphobia...
I tried again with water titration and doing 5% instead. I was ok until I got to 50% of each dose .., still 3 not 5
I Valium but only 2 weeks worth- pushing my dr. It worked sooo much better ... but still to fast.
Here I am 6 months post - and full depression...
Idk .. denial .. I think maybe my neck injuries did something...
Head pressure, loud as hell tinnitus, occipital Neuralgia...
Either way .. I thank you .. I send everyone to your videos! ❤️
Regarding my thumb down comment - this is a great video to use for friends and family
I'm currently tapering..... It's hell, absolute hell..... Never in my life has my body felt so crap..... The feeling of exhaustion is all dam day....
took my xanax for 7 days .25mg. stopped cold turkey. 🥶 I'm on day 3 finally slept 3 hrs 😁 Thank GOD I caught myself. My withdrawal symptoms were derealization. depersonation day 1 and almost all day 2. Started to feel better after 52hrs. I finally feel like I'm in my brain lol I do get like a chemical anxiety feeling. but it's all part of the withdrawal phase. Just have faith and stop the drug. It's hard for some just don't do it cold turkey and have GOD with you at all times! Hang in there everyone! Day at a time.
Good to know. You realised it soon enough to stop the dependance
.25 🤣🤣
I'm on 2 mg lorazepam
I've taken it for 1 month what do I do now
Diazepam 5mg daily for 1 month
I don't feel addicted but panic made me search forums and stuff
How do I get of them please help
If you don't believe you're very physically dependent you can try making a small cut and wait a week or two to see how you do. If you're good keep going in this way. If you find you're suffering, stop, consider going back up to your original dose and then develop a mico taper plan as explained in the videos on my tapering playlist.
@@BenzoBrains oh my God thank you for responding thank you so much
I was struggling with depression anxiety and at social events
So I started taking 5mg dose every day for 1 month
And I was shocked when I found that this so called drug is worse than cocaine
I don't think I'm dependant but it says to stop gradually not cold turkey
I've experienced anger outbursts couple of times especially this morning I shouted at my grandma for trivial stuff
I will try to cut dosage to half and even more next week
It should work
If It doesn't work I will try micro cutting as you suggested
Once more thank you
@@NWOLFF9719 glad to hear you're aware of the subtle changes to your personality and are taking action. Cutting by half is a lot. You might want to try by 1/4 instead but it's totally up to you
@@BenzoBrains I think yeah but less I take the better
Longer I use it chance for addiction increases
I will see how it all plays
Thank you
Bentzos are still a damn good medications if you don't go over board with them and have a good reasons to use them, like panic disorder, severe anxiety and such.
I just hate how this drug is demoniced by addicts, and doctors wouldn't want to script them even for those people who may benefit the most. Atleast, that's how it is here in Finland, i bet there are lot of countries with not nearly as dire regulations.
MrJerkkeri it seems you missed the entire point of this video. The concerns presented here are in regards to benzos that are taken as prescribed, not in going overboard or using them recreationally. I agree, they're very effective and they work immediately. They're like magic. That's why they're prescribed so frequently. But the magic comes at a cost, and for some that cost is far greater than for others.
Benzo Brains Like i said, regulations are probably not nearly as dire elsewhere so the problem is probably opposite where you are from. Im lucky enought to have those bentzos scripted by doctor.
Anyway, this does't change the fact that this drug is good, but demoniced because of addicts.
I've been using bentzos couple of years now because of severe panic disorder, and i must say, without these drugs things would be way worst, i probably would be in mental institution by now or killed myself.
The way i see it, bentzos never bring me good feeling, they just neutralize my fears.
Ofcourse it would be great to live a normal life without any medication, but that doest seem to be an option at the moment.
MrJerkkeri there are a lot of reasons for anxiety and while all may not be fixable, there are many options that are considered to be more effective and safer in the long run than benzos. If you have access to a good wholistic medical practitioner they can run more in depth bloodwork and screen your genetics to see what may be a contributing factor the the physical part of your anxiety. Of course, any form of mental illness is still highly correlated with life events/ environment and so while the benzos may be a useful intervention for you right now, I hope you are also finding ways to address the root causes of your anxiety. Anxiety is real, it can be debilitating and there's always a reason for it, usually both physical and emotional/spiritual. Just know that there are many people suffering from a benzodiazepine injury right now who wish all they had to deal with was their original anxiety, ptsd or whatever it was that originally motivated them to get a prescription for benzos.
Benzo Brains Im well aware of treatments, causes and symptons of anxiety and panic disorder. I've read some much about anxiety related texts that you wouldn't even believe.
I know bentzos can cause really strong addiction. Thats one of the reasons i usually try and suffer the symptons of my anxiety before those fears come too much to handle without benzos. Just that thought that i have benzos with me can ease my mind. Ofcourse bentzos are not good in a long run when used often. I go to therapy almost every week, but have not yet realize what exactly is the cause of my anxiety, but im working on it. Im just relieved that they give me bentzos, this would be way too much to handle without drugs. I have a constant fear of a heart attack.
MrJerkkeri I understand the feeling. Again, addiction isn't the problem I'm addressing. It's brain injury. Most people on benzos aren't addicts. If not taken daily I do believe they are less likely to damage a person's central nervous system. However I have met people, myself included who were disabled after less than a week of daily use. I didn't know it was the medication. So I continued to medicate those symptoms with other drugs my Dr prescribed. My argument isn't that these drugs should be banned or vilified. I believe patients have a right to informed consent. How can we make appropriate health decisions when we're not aware of the signs and symptoms of a benzodiazepine related injury? How can our doctors advise us when they don't have access to the relevant information? If people are aware of the absolute hell that may result from regular benzo use and still feel it's worth it, then that's their choice and they have a right to that. But I was never given that choice. I spent more than a year bedridden as a result and even 3 years later now, I'm not fully functional. I take no drugs, I eat healthy and am finally able to exercise somewhat regularly, but I would give anything to have just gone back in time and never touched that initial prescription.
I was on klonopin for 9 years I had to go into a detox last year and they kept me for a month because of how severe my withdrawls were. Doctors are not explaining this to anyone. Even 1mg of klonopin was hard to drop. Even after that I have had symptoms a year later
@Soccer Lover it was very uncomfortable to do but well worth it. Especially the peace of mind of not having to depend on a pill to feel normal, having to make sure I had enough while traveling. I'd definetely tell anyone to detox, not only is it addictive but with age it's said it could lead to things like alzheimers.
I am on 0.5 mg on klonopin for one month, can i cold turkey or going tapper, please ur help needed. 🙏
@@khajababu1403 honestly best to talk to your doctor about that, although if you're only on it for a month and at a dose of 0.5mg I highly doubt addiction will set in. It seems like short term treatment and a low dose. The concern really starts when you've been on it for several months daily or years that's when dependency sets in.
@@NickRyanBayon TanQ.. But, I didn't understand the difference b/w addiction & dependece. Please explain it 🙏 one more thing can i go back to old myself?
@@khajababu1403 dependency is when you need a medication or substance to feel normal, it's what happens as a byproduct of your body adjusting to a substance. In this case benzos cause a tolerance to it and stops producing GABA a neurotransmitter in the brain. Then it depends on the drug in this case a benzo to release GABA into the brain. Addiction is different in that it may come on after dependency on a drug when they benefits of the drug are longer there, it's a series of behaviors that develop in a person in order to avoid withdrawals and issues that come from dependency. Some people can be dependent on a drug but not addicted, but all addiction is rooted in dependency. For example you may require and need a drug to function but you don't have to be addicted.
In some cases though when dependency sets in most people take more of the substance, change to a stronger one, or begin engaging in addictive behavior to seek out more of the substance, this leads to addiction.