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#1
Mar 18, 2011, 09:08 PM
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Have you ever had to go back on the med you're addicted to? I have had to kick benzos twice. My doc is fully aware of this. However, I'm having such awful side effects from an increase of Effexor that she has decided to drop the Effexor back down, add Paxil, and also add Klonopin for a short while(she wrote the script for one month). I am equal parts relieved and terrified. If you've eve gone though something similar, how did you keep it
honest and not slip back into addictive behavior? Last edited by gaia67; Mar 18, 2011 at 09:41 PM. |
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#2
Mar 19, 2011, 09:11 AM
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after being put on xanex which i didn't abuse i became an alcoholic-in recovery 21 yrs- in a year plus six mos. horrible experience. irresponsible gp. took 6 months to wean me off xanex.
pdoc is aware of that history, put me on klonopin that doesn't have a severe half like xanex. so i agreed to take it for acute anxiety. it works. taken for 21 years. yes my body is physically addicted now but i've been responsible with taking it. to answer your question re abusing it...you already know where abusing a drug takes you and you know it's a bad experience. take that knowledge and put it to good use. you never have to feel/abuse that way again. just take as prescribed. think your pdoc has prescribed the time line to see if it helps.
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Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours..~Ayn Rand |
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#3
Mar 19, 2011, 04:26 PM
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Yes I have had that happen. I was addicted to Xanax. I took it for panic attacks & after awhile, became addicted to it. I cold-turkeyed off, which you're NOT supposed to do - but I didn't know it. DUH.
Years later, I was again having a lot of anxiety and I was once again put on Xanax - I told the doc I'd been addicted to it, but he said it's the best for my problem -- ??? Anyway, I knew what hell I'd been thru before, so I just plain took it ONLY AS PRESCRIBED and didn't take it very long. I asked the doc to please put me on something else - and he did. He put me on Ativan, and I had a horrible reaction to it - so I quit taking that and haven't been on anything since. I swear - I could get addicted to lint .  I have a super addictive personality! I'm a recovering alcoholic too. God bless. Hugs, Lee
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#4
Apr 04, 2011, 09:59 PM
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u sound just like me i got out of inpatient stay in hospital on march 31 & they at first did 3 days worth of librium & my doc there was a cold turkey doc. it was not easy & like he said & u said it can be done i was under 24 hour medical care for the 3 weeks & the first ten days were not fun i got a rx of klonopin each month & started takin more on top of it mixin xanax & ativan & all the while got in awful shape also im a recovering alcoholic which benzos r just alcohol in a pill form. like my doc in the hospital said theyre not for long term or high doses like i took & most definitely not for us people who have super addictive personalities as u put it. for me im terrified to even think about a benzo anymore for people who dont get addicted when they do go off the safe thing is to wean cuz ur body is so used to the pills makin that brain chemical in ur central nervous system my bodys still makin adjustments & i havent had one for a month & for me im glad theyre gone
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im thankful for every day God gives me & for His grace love & mercy He has shown me over & over through all of my screwed up choices |
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#5
Apr 05, 2011, 02:08 AM
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I abused Ativan, it got really out of control for a short period of time but thankfully it was a short period of time. I was going inpatient for psych treatment and leveled with my psychiatrist that I was abusing the Ativan, which was really good as while I was in the hospital she tapered me off it safely. About a year later she prescribed me Klonopin for anxiety saying it was less addictive than Ativan. I've been on it for about 3 years now and I'm able to take it exactly as prescribed, well actually some days I take less than the prescribed amount, and I've been lucky I haven't developed any tolerance to it. So it can be done, you just have to be super careful and totally honest with your prescribing Dr.
splitimage
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 "I danced in the morning when the world was begun. I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun". From my favourite hymn. "If you see the wonder in a fairy tale, you can take the future even if you fail." Abba 
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#6
Apr 05, 2011, 02:29 AM
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I abused Ativan, it got really out of control for a short period of time but thankfully it was a short period of time. I was going inpatient for psych treatment and leveled with my psychiatrist that I was abusing the Ativan, which was really good as while I was in the hospital she tapered me off it safely. About a year later she prescribed me Klonopin for anxiety saying it was less addictive than Ativan. I've been on it for about 3 years now and I'm able to take it exactly as prescribed, well actually some days I take less than the prescribed amount, and I've been lucky I haven't developed any tolerance to it. So it can be done, you just have to be super careful and totally honest with your prescribing Dr.
splitimage
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"I danced in the morning when the world was begun. I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun". From my favourite hymn. "If you see the wonder in a fairy tale, you can take the future even if you fail." Abba
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#7
Apr 15, 2011, 04:30 AM
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I've been addicted to benzos before: xanax, valium, ativan and klonopin. They were originally prescribed for severe anxiety. Years later after getting off of them, I was put on Valium again and I did really well taking it as prescribed for the 2 years I was on it. I have a long history of addiction with many things (heroin, crack, pain pills and alcohol), so it was very hard but I did it. Now since moving to another state, no dr. will prescribe them b/c it's not in their policy so I have untreated panic attacks/anxiety.
On another note, I have an addiction to pain pills and I struggle with this because I live with chronic pain and am prescribed narcotics for this pain. It's the only way I am able to get out of bed and halfway function although they barely stratch the surface of the insane pain. So I have my husband hold onto them and hand them out every morning to help prevent me from abusing them. Perhaps you have someone in your life that could help you, if you are feeling unsure? They can be very helpful and wonderful for treatment of anxiety, you just have to be careful. You just have to honest with yourself and with your dr. Best of luck to you  -Jess
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"Trying hard to breathe now but there's no air in my lungs. There's no one here to talk to and the pain inside is making me numb. Try to hold this under control, they can't help me cause no one knows" - 3 doors down "changes" |
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