http://prescription-drug.addictionblog. ... eigh-ph-d/I had panic attacks in my mid thirties. I was put on Clonazepam. I was kept on the drug for 18 years. I never abused it, and took it only as prescribed. Nine years into taking it, I started having strange health issues; my bladder, stomach, heart, bones, muscles I didn’t feel well a lot of the time.
Not one doctor ever told me I was in tolerance withdrawal, even though I clearly stated that I was on a benzo and had been for many years. In 2010 I was having a lot of tolerance withdrawal symptoms and made the decision to taper off. My doctor (who is one of the “best” in the area”) gave me very bad advice which I followed.
I tapered for 8 months. I became bedridden and unable to sleep during the night. Another doctor gave me Phenobarbital and sent me home to cold turkey on my own. I ended up in the hospital, deathly ill and out of my mind with terror, the hallmark benzo withdrawal symptom. I had almost every symptom that one can have in withdrawal. I was lucky I never had a seizure though.
The 18 month off of the drug was exceedingly cruel. I prayed for death every day. I had intrusive thoughts, looping thoughts, severe anxiety, terror, panic, paranoia, depression, hopelessness, and an inability to feel joy or comfort. I developed bizarre fears and phobias.
My body was a mess too. I had horrific pain in my bones, joints, muscles and eyes and ears. The fatigue was crushing. I also had severe cognition problems. I couldn’t use a computer for awhile as I forgot how. I lost things, and forgot things. I went days without showering as I had developed POTS, postural orthostatic hypotension. Standing was almost impossible some days. I used a walker or a cane for awhile. I was unable to work, and unable to participate in normal life. I felt removed from everything and the only emotion my brain could create was fear or shame.
It took three years for the mental symptoms to go away, and I-ll be four years free this June, and my body still is healing from the damage. I have blogged honestly about my journey so as to give hope and comfort to others who are suffering in benzo withdrawal. It is an almost unbearable suffering. It is primal suffering. And the sad thing is is that doctors are doing this to people, all over the world.
Aktueller Status: 5 Jahre nach dem Absetzen (Juni 2016)
http://benzowithdrawalhelp.com/2016/06/ ... f-freedom/Today marks FIVE years of being free from a benzodiazepine! Why is this such a momentous occasion? Because my journey to get free from the benzo I took as prescribed for nearly 18 years was hell on Earth. There were so many days during my taper that I thought I wouldn’t survive. I was bedridden; deathly ill. Then there was the decision to jump; to go cold-turkey and all of the unbelievable suffering that it caused. The first two years off were beyond anything I could ever have imagined. It was a very long, arduous, frightening, lonely, and utterly humbling journey.
But that’s behind me now. Thank God. Yes, I still have some lingering physical symptoms. However, I don’t let them slow me down too much! I have a full and happy life. I’m not the person I was when I started taking a benzo, or when I started tapering. I’ve changed. Remarkably. Benzo withdrawal allowed me the opportunity to become the person I always hoped and dreamed I could be. I’m strong. I’m loving. I’m compassionate and kind. I don’t get easily worked up about things anymore. Not much ruffles my feathers. I’m content in my skin, just as I am, flaws and all. You too can use this time in your life to become better (instead of bitter over what has happened to you because of a benzo).
Benzo withdrawal is an incredibly horrific thing to have to experience, I know. However, we do get to the other side of it. We do stop suffering, and we start living again. Life is SO SWEET on this side of recovery; I assure you.
If you are suffering today, know that it will come to an end. In time. Hold on. Keep going. Have faith. There were so many dark days I didn’t think I would survive. So many dark days I thought I would never heal. So many dark days I thought I was broken forever. Those thoughts and feelings were just withdrawal messing with me! They were all lies! Let my life be the proof you need to know that you will regain your ability to think, feel, and function normally again. You will be better than before. You will be brand new!
Ein weiteres Interview: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/van-winkl ... 66700.html
Ihre Website: http://benzowithdrawalhelp.com/