Re: coming off benzos (w/response)

[Guest guest]

['s comments marked by **]

le wrote:

<<,

  I tried reducing by 2% and found it to be too much. When I say too much, I

had rebound panic attacks, constant insomnia, constant nausea and some vomiting

and laid in my bed! I am now cutting by 1/10 of a ml per day. You will probably

say this is too slow, but I am out functioning again, unlike late 2011 and early

2012. >>

** Why would I say this is too slow? Wasn't I the one that said to allow

your body to dictate what you do? Were you completely stabilized before trying

a 2% decrease?

I was not aware you were on a liquid.

le wrote:

<<I am able to look for work again, and have had some interviews. Insomnia and

some mild rebound anxiety are my only problems. I have talked to a number of

health care professionals about using melatonin. Their thoughts were that it was

okay to take but not daily. Also, if I was going to take it, only in small doses

under 1mg. >>

** That's your choice. I find that most people do better without it. Imo,

anything that manipulates hormones/neurotransmitters only complicates the

picture increasing the possibility of unexpected reactions.

le said:

<<I know you spend time guiding and counseling people everyday, but I mentioned

in an earlier post that my doctor has me on 200mg of trazadone, which was

prescribed to me in 2007. In 2011 when I went cold turkey off all my drugs, the

psychiatrist added remeron. I now take 18.25mg of this and have been taking this

since late Jan 2011.

So, I am tackling the benzo first. I am taking klonopin, which I know is not the

longest acting benzo, but so far I am managing. I continue to watch my diet,

exercise as much as I can and get as much -sunlight as I can. >>

** I'm curious why you chose the benzo first. The more toxic drug is the

Remeron. Generally, the benzo makes it much easier to come off the Remeron or

any other drug of its sort. I prefer to drop the more toxic drug(s) first.

le said:

<<Besides practicing breathing exercises, the above strategies are the things

that I am doing to cope getting off this drug at this point. Using melatonin is

not my only strategy for getting off the benzo.

The doctor who is helping me get off the klonopin thinks it is unrealistic for

me to be working. However, her only method of getting people off this drug is to

detox them and put them on other drugs such as anti-psychotics to substitute for

the extreme withdrawal her patients experience, as she articulated to me.>>

** This is the insanity of doctors today. Not only does this type of

solution take years off your life, it gives you brain damage (as does Remeron)

and gives you yet another drug to struggle to discontinue.

le said:

<<I tried to get in to see another doctor who understands how to taper. He is an

addiction specialist. He would not see me after my first consultation with him

because he says I have a history of anxiety and depression. I did not have

depression prior to being on these drugs. I only had situational anxiety while

working as a student nurse doing 12 hour night shifts during my university days.

It was during this time that I was prescribed klonopin and told to keep taking

it.>>

** le, you lucked out. If there was someone doing a good job getting

people off these drugs I would know about it. If this doctor is put off by

anxiety and depression in the face of discontinuation, he really doesn't have

much of an idea of what he's doing.

You can ask people here. Many of them went to so-called addiction specialists

only to come away worse off than when they began. The fundamental belief of

those who work as " addiction specialists " is that a person is no longer

" addicted " to the drug after several days to two weeks of being off it.

le said:

<< Most interesting about this whole situation is that the addiction specialist

who would not continue to see me has written a book about benzodiazepines and

their long term negative health effects. He describes in detail in his book

about how benzodiazepines cause depression and anxiety disorders!

Thanks for your advice and guidance. Like you said, I will have to continue to

listen to my body as I taper!

Thanks for your input.>>

** You're welcome.

Regards,

[Guest guest]

['s comments marked by **]

le wrote:

<<,

  I tried reducing by 2% and found it to be too much. When I say too much, I

had rebound panic attacks, constant insomnia, constant nausea and some vomiting

and laid in my bed! I am now cutting by 1/10 of a ml per day. You will probably

say this is too slow, but I am out functioning again, unlike late 2011 and early

2012. >>

** Why would I say this is too slow? Wasn't I the one that said to allow

your body to dictate what you do? Were you completely stabilized before trying

a 2% decrease?

I was not aware you were on a liquid.

le wrote:

<<I am able to look for work again, and have had some interviews. Insomnia and

some mild rebound anxiety are my only problems. I have talked to a number of

health care professionals about using melatonin. Their thoughts were that it was

okay to take but not daily. Also, if I was going to take it, only in small doses

under 1mg. >>

** That's your choice. I find that most people do better without it. Imo,

anything that manipulates hormones/neurotransmitters only complicates the

picture increasing the possibility of unexpected reactions.

le said:

<<I know you spend time guiding and counseling people everyday, but I mentioned

in an earlier post that my doctor has me on 200mg of trazadone, which was

prescribed to me in 2007. In 2011 when I went cold turkey off all my drugs, the

psychiatrist added remeron. I now take 18.25mg of this and have been taking this

since late Jan 2011.

So, I am tackling the benzo first. I am taking klonopin, which I know is not the

longest acting benzo, but so far I am managing. I continue to watch my diet,

exercise as much as I can and get as much -sunlight as I can. >>

** I'm curious why you chose the benzo first. The more toxic drug is the

Remeron. Generally, the benzo makes it much easier to come off the Remeron or

any other drug of its sort. I prefer to drop the more toxic drug(s) first.

le said:

<<Besides practicing breathing exercises, the above strategies are the things

that I am doing to cope getting off this drug at this point. Using melatonin is

not my only strategy for getting off the benzo.

The doctor who is helping me get off the klonopin thinks it is unrealistic for

me to be working. However, her only method of getting people off this drug is to

detox them and put them on other drugs such as anti-psychotics to substitute for

the extreme withdrawal her patients experience, as she articulated to me.>>

** This is the insanity of doctors today. Not only does this type of

solution take years off your life, it gives you brain damage (as does Remeron)

and gives you yet another drug to struggle to discontinue.

le said:

<<I tried to get in to see another doctor who understands how to taper. He is an

addiction specialist. He would not see me after my first consultation with him

because he says I have a history of anxiety and depression. I did not have

depression prior to being on these drugs. I only had situational anxiety while

working as a student nurse doing 12 hour night shifts during my university days.

It was during this time that I was prescribed klonopin and told to keep taking

it.>>

** le, you lucked out. If there was someone doing a good job getting

people off these drugs I would know about it. If this doctor is put off by

anxiety and depression in the face of discontinuation, he really doesn't have

much of an idea of what he's doing.

You can ask people here. Many of them went to so-called addiction specialists

only to come away worse off than when they began. The fundamental belief of

those who work as " addiction specialists " is that a person is no longer

" addicted " to the drug after several days to two weeks of being off it.

le said:

<< Most interesting about this whole situation is that the addiction specialist

who would not continue to see me has written a book about benzodiazepines and

their long term negative health effects. He describes in detail in his book

about how benzodiazepines cause depression and anxiety disorders!

Thanks for your advice and guidance. Like you said, I will have to continue to

listen to my body as I taper!

Thanks for your input.>>

** You're welcome.

Regards,