Well, it has been a really rough road back to the person before she took a benzodiazapine. I am not there yet as I am still feeling the effects of benzo withdrawal. Actually it is more of a long withdrawal syndrome that is different for everyone.

I am only on 7.5 mg of Mirtazapine now for sleep issues. I do not regret tapering off klonopin or the other meds that I felt chained to for years. I do not feel well and it has been really hard but I am holding on to the day that I will feel well again. I realized that my personal journey with benzos started at the early age of 15 when my GP prescribed librax (a med with librium in it) for stomach cramps. I became addicted to it and used it for anxiety for years. I have been on benzos altogether for 44 years.

It is hard to imagine that I spent my entire adult life on that stuff. It is no wonder that my body and brain are still trying to adjust. I am really hoping and praying for a full recovery one day.

I have realized that I am just a person with many issues that stem from coming from an alcoholic and abusive home. I am not all of the labels that were put on me over the years. These labels have not benefited me but have instead benefited the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industries. I have made many poor choices in life and one of them was to believe that I was defective and incapable of working. I lost my career and I existed and stagnated on psychotropic drugs for 20 years and benzos for 44 years. Not everyone is going to come to this conclusion for themselves and that is OK. I made a choice to rid my body of these chemicals but I did it safely and slowly. I informed my doctors and one of them helped me with prescriptions to wean off.

The Ashton Method is by far the most widely used method for doing this so please do your research if you are considering coming off of a benzo and also get the help of a professional. Most of them are clueless about the withdrawal effects and tapering strategies of coming off of a benzo. I tapered off of klonopin over a year period.

I wish all of us luck and blessings for a full recovery.