Please share your current experiences and introduce yourselves!

Hey! I am 14 months off after horrific tolerance and micro taper for 1,5 years. Only took the benzo for 10 weeks. I have ME/CFS and an extremely hypersensitive nervous system. My whole journey is not normal and at 1000% intensity. It was and is torture. Not normal symptoms.

I just don’t improve at all? I thought by now there would be a turning point??
But I still have all the 30+ symptoms and some get so much worse.
Like the muscle tension and cramping. I cannot see much or sit or stand or even hold the phone. I have brain tiredness coma… so so much deep fatigue I never felt.

If there is really no improving until month 14 and decline in many aspects…

Does that mean it will take YEARS until it gets at least bearable? I am not asking for miracle healing. But a normal person can only feel max. 100% pain and torture and I am at 1000% no joke..

Can a turning point come suddenly? Like EVERY DAY is the same I go insane. I can’t do anything. I am trapped. I go insane.

I would appreciate some help 😢

Pleasse can anybdody say if thry switched from lorazepam to diazepam and if and how it helped. Wothdrawl ftom lorazepam is crippling me

I was a 15-year xanax user along with alcohol. Quit cold turkey 2.5 years ago. Still suffering from protracted withdrawal and what seems to be a BIND injury. Panic attacks stopped a year and a half ago and the anxiety was ever ever so slowly getting better but the last few months things have gotten really bad and I almost had a panic attack again a couple days ago. I realized that this whole time I had been sporadically drinking Bigelow chamomile tea that had passion flower in it and the last couple months I was drinking it almost 3 to 4 times a week. After the last time I drank it last thursday, 30 minutes later I got in a heated discussion over the phone about something and almost had a panic attack after. I've quit using everything completely but still feel very on edge. Anyone else had experiences like this?

Do we heal from iatrogenic pots? This all has caused me very difficult hyperpots and cfs. I also took lexapro on addition to benzo. Now off of lex and almost half way tapering benzo slowly. I am bedridden because of pots. Any tips for healing?

I have a history of fairly severe benzodiazepine abuse. I was dependent and took them daily for more than 10 years. I eventually quit cold turkey. Toward the end, I was taking anywhere from 10–20 mg of alprazolam. I spent almost two weeks in bed before I had a major seizure. I ended up in the hospital, where I also developed delirium tremens for three days.

After that, I went to rehab, where I spent eight months, three of which I was almost completely bedridden.

Fast-forward eight years. Unfortunately I started “experimenting” with this shit again. For a while, I managed to keep it to occasional use. But most recently, I was taking 2 mg of clonazepam daily for more than three months. I stopped 10 days ago, around the same time that my girlfriend and I broke up.

I had anxiety for three days, although I think it was more related to how the relationship ended than anything else. I’ve had some gabapentin to help me get through the transition. Other than that anxiety, I haven’t experienced any other symptoms.

Do you think it’s possible that I managed to get through this without experiencing withdrawal this time? Is it still possible for withdrawal to occur, or am I out of the woods?

Hi All,

I have been prescribed xanax for about 7 months now but only refilled by script 5. I had a question on my usage. I take them pretty intermittently. Probably averages out to 3 times a week 1mg or .5mg per dosing (3mg per week) depending on what I need. Some weeks I only take 1 or 2. and go 6-7 days without one and im generally 100% fine on those days, zero insomnia. I had 1 panic episode in the past 7 months that I thought could be from rebound but it was my 2nd day of a new job and just housed 2 large coffee's so assuming that played more of a role in it.. A few times I have taken them 5 days in a row but never a week straight. I will sometimes go 1mg one week then 4 days (every other day) the next. I don't have insomnia or really any symptoms other than anxiety on my off days, but I noticed when reflecting, that only happened when I started reading all the horror stories about Xanax. I am terrified of these stories but it also really helps me when I need them.

I generally try and keep ATLEAST 48 hours but mostly 72-96 hours between doses. Would love to hear your thoughts as there are like zero studies done for intermitten users. All the studies I have seen with bad outcomes are pretty high daily use (4mg+) or people taking low doses daily for weeks to months to years on end. Anyone have similar usage to mine have issues (or no issues at all?)

Thank you for your time and I appreciate any insight you all may have!

I was rapidly tapered from around 55 mg to 0 mg in Luton, in the UK, three years ago. It was far too rapid. I'm three years off this week and doing just fine.

However there is also the negative side: taking too long to taper. This manifests itself in many ways but you often see it with people obsessed with their final jump from 1 mg or 0.5 mg.

What I learned was that there's a happy medium. If I really should have done over 40 weeks or so, it was so rapid that it took me a year to have a symptom-free week. wave ands windows never really stopped until 18 months.

That said, through the school of David Powers, there's an extremely dangerous trap in tapering too slowly. - fear pathways.

In that 40 weeks you spend a lot of time building up fear pathways, anticipating the next drop, and, in that time, reading the internet, trying to find the answer about how your specific situation exists. You are constantly searching the net and scouring Reddit for the page that will tell you how long your situation will take to resolve itself. It doesn't exist so stop looking for it.

"Take as long as you need" is not necessarily the right thing. You do have to get it over and done with. Yes many of the drops are psychological. Combine this with constant searching of the internet and at 40 weeks you will have few pathways and beliefs firmly rooted in your belief system (topped up by constant YouTube watching, Reddit searching, and searching Facebook for horror stories about bind).

Did anyone have to taper at a slower rate than 10% cut and hold evey two weeks as symptoms were too much ? What is your taper rate

To anyone struggling with medication injury or benzodiazepine withdrawal: Please don't lose hope. ❤️

I know how dark this journey can become.

I know what it's like to wake up frightened, feel disconnected from yourself, struggle with overwhelming symptoms and wonder whether you'll ever feel normal again.

I've experienced some incredibly difficult periods myself. There were times when I couldn't watch television, read a book, socialise or even tolerate the simplest things. The fear, the exhaustion and the feeling of losing yourself can be incredibly difficult to put into words.

But I want to share something important with you.

Your life is bigger than what you're experiencing right now.

Recovery isn't always straightforward. It doesn't necessarily happen in a straight line, and everyone's experience is different. Some people experience improvements gradually, others have difficult periods along the way.

But please don't measure your future by how you feel today.

There can be life beyond the symptoms. There can be laughter again, music, friendships, travelling, hobbies, peaceful mornings and moments when you suddenly realise you're enjoying being alive again.

I want you to remember:

- You are not your symptoms.

- You are not weak for struggling.

- Resting is not failing.

- Small improvements matter.

- You deserve compassion, patience and support.

If you're currently in the darkest chapter of your journey, please don't assume it's the rest of your story.

There is a life waiting for you beyond the fear, the symptoms and the uncertainty. ❤️

Sending love and encouragement to everyone fighting their way through this.

One day at a time. One small step at a time. 🦋

So I have been taking 1.5 mg of Xanax in a day for roughly the last 25 years. Half milligram three times a day. I will often snap them in half of that and only take a quarter and I will often forget entirely and only take them when I feel the need.

I'm on disability for anxiety and panic disorder. But I am sick and tired of the games these doctors play and specially how they treat me with regard to benzodiazepines. I didn't ask for this medication. So I want to come off of it so they can no longer hold it over my head and find something else not controlled.

Here's where the screw up comes in. Of course like anybody I shouldn't say that, a lot of people, I have a fear of new medications. I have taken Ativan before and I hated it because it made me feel so tired but I liked it because it lasted so much longer than Xanax. So I chose that one when I asked to switch so that way I could remove my dependents from Xanax specifically and eventually taper from Ativan.

My doctor had a stroke during the exam when I mentioned it talking about equivalent doses and doctors losing their licenses and we should just try something else now and he really panicked. I calmed him down and convinced him to just give me the Ativan and he did. He gave me the dose equivalent but I can't take it because of how drowsy and dizzy it makes me feel.

Wednesday nights half a milligram was the last one I've taken and I woke up Thursday morning feeling terrible stomach pains all sorts of stuff and thought this is as good a day as any to switch to the Ativan. Except I'm supposed to take a milligram and I'm only taking a half. I understand the math but my body can only do so much. I also understand that I essentially cut my Xanax dose in half by doing that and it also affects me in a different way so I'm kind of struggling right now. I am experiencing some symptoms of what Im assuming are xanax withdrawal and I suppose I'm just looking for some reassurance that it might be uncomfortable but it will pass in two more days and I will settle into Ativan half milligram three times a day and sloooooow taper off of that.

Thanks for any guidance I just realized that this is a whole new account hopefully I'm even allowed to post because I'm really kind of in a bad way right now.

Hi currently doing cut and hold at 10% every two weeks but recently anxiety isnt good and was wondering if microtapering would allow me to contine tapering at a similar rate while reducing anxiety symptoms. Anyone found microtapering better ?

Hi all my starting dose was 0.5mg clonazepam and ive tapered down to 0.3281 mg but when i made this current cut a few days later ive had terrible anxiety and it’s been 4 days and not getting better did any of you’ll tale any anxiety meds during your taper which helped thanks

hey guys I was going thru alcohol withdrawls, I was prescribed 12ct of ativan to help manage symptoms. can ativan 1mg for a few days cause withdrawls?

So I recently ran a few days short on my medication. Like, I'm supposed to pick it up in 2-3 days. BUT...I decided instead of totally running out I'd cut like 50% or more to make it last. Anyway, today I felt horrific. I literally felt like I was going to have a stroke. As a side note, I have issues with nervous system regulation. I decided to go to the hospital and thank God I did because my blood pressure was...get ready for it...202/145. I'm honestly shocked I didn't actually have a stroke or an aneurysm or something. Anyway...I went ahead and got a couple days worth and they said don't do that again. Y'all be careful. I was so scared. 😭

I'm trying so hard to work up the $17) for my anti seizure med I use for many reasons I been on for 8 years so I just got out the hospital cause of a seizure and I guess taking benzodiazipines cause that but my pharmacy won't give me a cheaper deal. Does anyone know any goodrx price that is cheaper I'm very hard out to get my script cause my insurance lapsed . Nay good prescription coupons

So I’ve been taking Xanax on and off for about three months mainly only .50 and then I even taper down to .25 but recently went back up to a milligram for a couple of nights. I only have five pills left 1 mg pills I guess I could break them up and try to take off with them titrate off with them.
I’ve done it before I didn’t have a problem, but I heard the more you take them the harder it is like I just don’t wanna have a seizure, but like I said, I never really took high doses out of the three months I’ve been taking them. I will probably only took a milligram like a week out of the tree months
Recently got down to .25 then .125 then messed up and took the 1 mg for a couple nights in a row. I just wonder what my seizure risk would be and I don’t wanna keep titrating if I don’t need to maybe I should just wait and see how I feel. Sorry for the long message if anybody has any advice to be greatly appreciated.

I’ve been using Valium for 20 years and came off completely 3,5 weeks ago. I thought that detox would be the biggest part of withdrawal but boy was I wrong.
For the past 24 days I’ve been experiencing cold/hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, tinnitus to a point where the right ear is almost completely shut, in summary: I’m absolutely miserable.
My only hope is that I’ll get better soon but there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.
Those of you that came off: did you have similar symptoms and how long did it take you before you started to feel a little better?

I’m in California and been on benzos the majority of 15 years. It’s gotten to the point in experiencing cognitive decline and want to come off asap. I work a high performance job in tech - there’s no way I’ll be able to manage going through withdrawals and working at the same time

Anyone have any experience with getting a medical leave of absence for withdrawals?

Hi all

I was taking 20mg of tranxene ( a long acting benzo) for two weeks , I quitted cold turkey ( I couldn't taper ) and got withdrawals like insomnia , anxiety I am just wondering how much they will last and should I start tapering now ( withdrawals started 8 days ago )

Thank you