Quote:
Originally Posted by Wander
Hi everyone! just been catching up on some of your posts. You are all in my thoughts.
A week ago things got really weird. Sweating, shaking, severe exhaustion, paranoia, agitation, and sensory distortions. No mood issues though. At first I thought it was due to my new pain killer. Seroquel calmed the paranoia but the sweating continued. It clicked to me the next day that I had been reducing my benzo dose. Too fast it seems. I increased the dose and the symptoms disappeared within a day. Since then I have taken the pain killer twice with no issues. Today I saw my T and he agrees benzo withdraws. I was only down to 2.25 mg of Clonazepam having come down from 3 mg over a month. However, I was on 8 mg a day at the beginning of the year, and much of last year, and mid-range doses for the last ten years due to PTSD. Now I am settled back at 3 mg. My T suggested I stay on this dose for a while as the Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue affects my nervous system and while it is in a bad flare-up messing with a CNS drug like a benzo is a bad idea. I am so frustrated. I just want to be off it but in reality it is going to take years, and that is if all goes well. Damn meds.
Tomorrow I have a face to face appointment with my pdoc as everyone in my state has gone back to work as of this week. Thankfully our government got control of Covid and now we have no cases in our state, and only a handful in Australia. My odd neighbour thinks covid is a conspiracy and doesn't actually exist. I have heard more reasonable conspiracy theories but to say it doesn't exist is beyond me considering the mountains of evidence. It is also insulting to those who have suffered and died because of it. He can happily think that only because he lives in a state that was barely hit by it. He even hugged me by surprise to show his lack of fear of it. This pissed me off. I would suffer intensely if I were infected. He was rambling and bouncing a lot (and at least over 50 years old) so I suspect he has mental health issues too. I tried to reason with him but it was pointless. Another one of the 11 people who live in my small apartment complex was taken by police to a psychiatric ward last week. As he lives above me and I can hear his footsteps I had noticed he never seemed to sleep and was very active. This all happened in two days. No one in the complex knows I have Bipolar, just PTSD, but it seems I am not the only one. I was glad that people here don't seem judgemental of mental illness. I still won't tell them I have bipolar. Not until the police come to get me.
|
Tapering Klonopin is often felt to be perhaps the single most difficult med change in our area that one can try to make. I have done it, as well. Hang in there. You'll get through it, it is just going to take awhile. A long while. Oh, all right--a long, long while.
It was always my feeling, having spent a whole lot of time in Australia for work and falling in love with a girl from Ultimo in Sydney, that in general, Australians were a bit more enlightened overall than your average American--just my personal opinion, nothing more at all. I love my country and I love Americans. This nation's people have made some pretty amazing contributions to the world, in its very brief history. However, it is just a fact that a pretty large percentage of our population is not highly formally educated, and I believe this does tend to account for some of our more colorful conspiracy theories and philisophical viewpoints. Not that formal schooling is required to become educated. Not at all. All one has to do is read. Abraham Lincoln's all-time favorite activity. And look how he tunred out.
Almost moved to Sydney. Interesting to contemplate how things might have been different for me... ANd btw, I love this time of year in NSW...
Just read a very recent study of metnal illness in the current USA. These folks came up wiht a number of roughly 20% of the population currently suffering from either a major mental illness or adddicion. I would think that might be pretty accurate.
Hugs!!!!!!!