Benzodiazepine Withdrawal

I’ve been reading a lot of articles on your site because my granddaughter who is 14 years old thinks she has bi-polar disorder. We have taken her to the Dr. and the guidance counselor and psychologist in her school are helping. She was diagnosed as ADD a few years ago. She has some of the red flag symptoms but they could also be attributed to being a teenager also. I feel confused but we are trying along with her mother to get help for her.

I remember the first dose of xanax 1mg. I took. I had been through literally every test known to man and was having 10-12 panic/anxiety attacks a day. It had been 10 months since it all began–the day my first baby was one day old. 10 months of agony later I finally found a physician’s assistant who listened and watched, looked at the whole picture and gave me my first benzo–what a relief. I’m a disabled RN because of BP I and PD. When I was first diagnosed I read a book by a physician about panic disorder and how some people’s body’s just don’t make enough “natural” anxiety relievers. My pDoc told me to think of it as my vitamin b–benzo. Whatever works is what we need to do. The more you fight to stop the meds the worse the withdrawal and anxiety about it become. Nobody ever was against taking unneeded meds more than me and I always thought people who “relied” on benzos especially were weak, boy did I get a good swift healthy dose of reality with my very first dose. I FELT LIKE I COULD FUNCTION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER A YEAR. Yes, people like I was, can be judgmental, but I have found over the last thirteen years of bipolar/panic ups, downs and in betweens that we the patients are usually the hardest on ourselves. Maybe you need to look at why you feel you need to quit the ativan, which I have also taken, and just be thankful it works for you. Look for the positive!!! It’s just one little pill. I take 15 pills everyday and still can’t function on some days. I have a lot of medical problems too, but thank God for medication to help me get through the day. It makes me a better person and helps me function. The withdrawal is awful and we’ve all been there. I had to go to counseling to help me deal with the fact that I’d never be coming off my meds, but after fifteen years of watching people die from cancer as an RN, believe me there are worse things than taking benzos for the rest of your life. Jackie, been there, done that.

Benzos are the worst. If you take 15 pills a day you are a disaster. Drugs are poisons and they will kill you. i’m sure working in a hospital doesn’t help either. eat a good diet and try some hollistic therapies. or keep taking poisions to counteract the other poisons. you absolutely do not have to be on pills your whole life. what a lie

God how I feel for you and know your pain all too well. I have severe panic disorder my whole life and bipolar. Five years ago I started Lexapro which made me manic and intensified my panic attacks so my pdoc gave me 1 mg of Klonopin to take at night. What sweet relief! Anxiety was gone. Then my body adjusted so he prescribed 1 mg twice a day. Stayed with that for a couple of years. I have bought books, desperately tried to titrate down and was successful and got myself down to half mg of Klonopin. That lasted a while but the horrible panic attacks came back and so I upped my dose again. I hate it. It made me feel like a dependant drug addict. So I went cold turkey. It was pure he’ll. The worst thing I have ever gone through. I lasted only three days. Insomnia, shaking, body aches and the worst of all was I felt like I was going completely insane and losing my mind not to mention the panic attacks were worse than before I started taking the Klonopin. I went back on. I carry it with me everywhere I have so much fear of withdrawals. Well it stopped working. My body adjusted. Now I take 2 mg of Xanax in the morning and 2 mg of Xanax a night. I actually wake up with panic attacks now and I never did before and until I get that Xanax in me the panic and anxiety doesn’t go away. So five years ago I started on 1mg of Klonopin and now I’m on 4 mg per day of Xanax. I hate myself for it and wish I never started. I truly feel your pain and wish I could help more. The only thing I can tell you is that you are not alone!!! My body feels like a chemical waste dump I have to take so many pills for other medical conditions too and am also addicted to Lorcets. Hang in there. I’ve just come to accept that I need it but I still hate it. Take care. I’m in the same boat. Any other suggestions out there?
V

your pdoc should be able to help you with this. there are meds used for anxity in bipolar that are not as addictive but of course as with anything there are pros and cons. why not just stay on the ativan?

Re: getting off ativan
I took 0.5mg ativan daily until I went to see a psychiatrist and he suggested I get off the ativan. I replied; how, he said just stop talking it I don’t believe you need it any longer. Being a nurse I stated don’t I ween off, he replied that’s all in between people’s two ears but if you feel safer take one every two days for a week then stop.
I started doing so and a few days into it I forgot to take it all together. I suggest that you keep some in your presence and try what the psychiatrist had suggested. Then keep some and have one on ocasion when necessary.
Personnally I think it’s the fear of the reaction if one doesn’t have any in a situation where anxiety is too high !

I work for a mental health center in Indiana and a great many of our clients have been on Benzo’s for extended periods. We encourage our clients to use other ways to relieve anxiety such as guided deep breathing relaxation programs, exercise and warm/hot baths (it’s the cooling down from this that really relaxes you unless you are cold to begin with.) A chemical imbalance is a chemical imbalance and these coping techniques are far from 100% effective all the time but they are an alternative for mild to moderate problems with anxiety. Ativan, Klonopin, Xanax, Valium, etc. are fast acting meds and clients do tend to develop a tolerance for them. Frankly I’m surprised your insurance is still paying for it. In my experience most Medicare Part D/ private insurance companies stop paying for Benzos after the first month’s dose. Sometimes after the first 15 day’s worth.

I was on Ativan for 14 years, straight. I was on the highest dose that was allowed. I started seeing a newpdoc and they wanted to try me on Klonipin. I was scared to try it, but I did because I have BP,BPD,PTSD, and GAD. I had read that Ativan can cause mania. I didn’t think the Klonipin was helping so the pdoc put me back on Ativan. I then noticed a big difference in my mood. It was horrible, and it did cause mania syptoms. I am now on Klonipin and I feel much better.

Benzo withdraw.. Yeah, I remembered this part. I used to be on multiple, multiple Benzo. But Modipanol is the pain of my life. I used to be on 2x Modipanol a night because I couldn’t sleep. It then became insufficient, that’s when I start going to different Pdoc, trying to get more without getting caught by our government system (Taiwan). It eventually became a nightmare where I hold off not taking any for days, then swallow more than 10x Modipanols at once but only managed for 6 hours sleep… One day, Pdoc told me, if you are taking way more than legal limited and still not getting sleep, why’s the point of taking any? He added, they damage your brain, and make you dumb!!

He told me the best way to quit Benzo is under hospitalised treatment, intake a massive dose of Benzo.. once it washes out of your system, it’s out!! I did that from my very last suicidal attempts (NOT RECOMMENED), not only I am Benzo free now.. I was reborn to re-live my life again…

I took diazepam for 10 years at 5 mg daily but pdoc told me to get off it as it is bad for memory. He lowered the dose by 1 mg every 7 days and I was free in 5 weeks. I did not feel any difficulty. It is recommended that short-acting benzos which are more difficult to get rid of, may first be substituted to long-acting benzo like diazepam and then weaned off slowly.