[Icare dixit]

Have you ever had withdrawal symptoms?

[BeyondtheRainbow]

No. I've been on benzos for years and have come off cold turkey before (while IP), changed what I was taking, etc and never had a problem. That does not mean I will stop them on my own or rapidly (my pdoc plans about 2 years to get off when I'm stable enough to start tapering) but my body doesn't really mind. My pdoc says this is partly because the way I use them my level goes down and up daily so I'm used to fluctuations.

[~Christina]

Coming off benzos to fast can cause all kinds of shyt like seizures, Its always best to come off slowly on a taper schedule, Or do a IP detox. Much safer that way.

[Hobbit House]

I taper off... usually means a week of no sleep.

[still_crazy]

ugh. klonopin. tapered 2x. both times were hell on earth. at one point, i had to take midrin for severe headaches.

on the plus side, it turns out the klonopin was making my depressive episodes a whole worse and making my mood less stable, overall. im also now able to sleep at night without any kind of "help," and ive found other ways to handle my anxiety, agitation, etc.

having said that, benzodiazepines can be helpful. during (hypo)mania, psychosis, etc., benzodiazepines can provide some much needed relief w/o the problems one gets from the neuroleptics, anti-convulsants, etc. Its not either/or, of course. Popping some ativan with a neuroleptic can often=better, faster results and a lower dose of the neuroleptic. always a good thing.

if you choose to take a benzodiazepine on a regular basis, my personal advice would be to ready for at least some problems when+if you start tapering. slow tapers make the process easier to deal with, but there are some people who go thru hell even on very slow discontinuation schedules ((not everyone, of course)).

[BlueInanna]

Benzo withdrawal can be pure hell. Try to taper down with the help of your doctor.
Are you quitting by choice? or doctor's orders or..?

[Icare dixit]

Originally Posted by BlueInanna

Benzo withdrawal can be pure hell. Try to taper down with the help of your doctor.
Are you quitting by choice? or doctor's orders or..?

No, I don't use them. I prefer wine or whisky. I'd never suggest using them to anyone. Definitely not as maintenance treatment, which could be considered abuse, maybe even warranting a substance-induced BP diagnosis.

Akathisia, the opposite effect as that of benzos, as mentioned in the Med (A&)Questions thread, can be dangerous, especially if combined with mania/psychosis or depression. Like with continuous, heavy use of alcohol, you only make things worse, I'd say.

But I am curious.

[BlueInanna]

I have them for akathesia & restless legs, pdoc said that's the standard treatment. I tried some other thing that was for parkinsons, it ended up having some anti depressant in it and I went manic.
They do help my anxiety, but the next time I go off of them (since they are not healthy and can lead to early alzheimers, etc.) will be hell. And talk about restless legs, that can go on for years after some people quit benzos.
Best to avoid if you can... And you already know about wine & whiskey hazards I'm sure I don't need to tell you. And I'm no angel.

[Unrigged64072835]

When I last switched pdocs I went to a clinic that doesn't prescribe them, so I was off of them pretty quick. I had some rebound anxiety but otherwise was okay.

Everybody is different, though, so work with a pdoc on it.

[wiretwister]

yes they have simply wonderful withdrawals ... but I was only "dependent" .. as I was told .. not addicted ... lol ...

[Angelique67]

I got benzo withdrawal syndrome which is basically every symptom for years after, because I was cold turkey'd against my will in 2013 after about 30 years on benzos. I recommend not ever starting benzos because of the deepest hell I ever had. I would have rather stayed on them the rest of my life than go through that absolute hell again.

[halus1]

I came off benzos a number of times in hospital. I was taking quite a bit of Xanax - up to 8mg at the end - my brain was basically mush. It was terrible - couldn't remember anything much, terrible withdrawals.

[Guiness187055]

I take two benzo's and I can go days without them if need be. No withdrawl symptoms at all except for a little extra anxiety the first day without them.

[Kiya]

I was just asking about this too because I just interviewed a new pdoc, that I was forced to go see, and she won't do tapers. She said no benzos period. I've been on 2 for a decade. She wanted me to quit cold turkey also. I said I believe that's extremely dangerous. She only replied "hmm". She told me it is extremely dangerous to taper by myself and doesn't recommend it- that I would have to do that in a drug rehab center, and someone else would have to set that up; she doesn't do that.
Not sure why she thinks quitting immediately is ok but taper isn't. 😱

[Sunflower123]

Had the worst withdrawals ever with Xanax. Will never willingly take it again. Switched to Klonopin then Valium. With the Valium, there is no withdrawal so I only take it as needed for anxiety which isn’t everyday and sometimes not even every week. Really happy to be off Xanax. Didn’t think I’d ever be free of it.

[pirilin]

When I was taking xanax, I had withdrawal symptoms about 5 or 6 hours later.
Now I take klonopin to sleep @ .75gm at night and don't have any.
I'm going to take 'em for life, which in my case, it won't be long, I'm gonna be 68 in Dec.
Call me an addict or dependent or your choice of words, but I won't quit. I'm no quitter.

I don't think I've ever had benzo withdrawal, even when I fairly quickly reduced my Ativan from an all-time high of 6 mg to 0 mg in about a month, though I hadn't been on such high doses for long. Actually, I was only supposed to be taking 3 mg max. I was sort of abusing it.

I have been on 0.5 mg Klonopin for about 8 years now, and have taken 1 mg Ativan for about 3 years daily. My pdoc said going off Klonopin could be risky. We did both agree that I will try to get my Ativan back to 0 mg again (and be a prn instead of daily med). My pdoc said we'll do that slowly, but at least 1 mg isn't too high of a dose.

I recently got off of Geodon after 8 years. Antipsychotic withdrawal syndrome can also be rough. It was 1 year of slowly being weaned off Geodon. I had a heck of a time and experienced many withdrawal symptoms. When they were bad my pdoc would raise it again for a while. Then lower it and stay lower for a while before lowering it again. It was good that I worked with my pdoc on this.

[zbmom]

Yes, years ago I was on daily klonopin and getting off of it was a nightmare. I only take ativan as needed now, not every day and not too much. I'll never take a daily Benzo long term again.

[bioChE]

Nah, I️ go on and off Klonopin all the time. Never really deal with withdrawal.

[tecomsin]

I'm glad I never got hooked on benzos. I might take an ativan twice a year, if that. I was really worried about the long term risks of benzos and I regret ever taking them regularly. 50 mg of Lyrica will sedate and calm me down if I am really anxious as long as I don't build up tolerance and take it every day.

[Kiya]

Originally Posted by Jennifer 1967

Had the worst withdrawals ever with Xanax. Will never willingly take it again. Switched to Klonopin then Valium. With the Valium, there is no withdrawal so I only take it as needed for anxiety which isn’t everyday and sometimes not even every week. Really happy to be off Xanax. Didn’t think I’d ever be free of it.

I also had bad withdrawals when a hospital refused to give me my daily xanax. 30'hours of misery. They eventually relented for all our sakes.
I was switched from xanax to Valium 6 years ago. I have Ativan as a prn.
I did try to take myself off Valium slowly and got pretty sick - gave it up as a bad job.
Not sure what my next move will be, but it will include a lot of research.

[99fairies]

What do you feel like when you are detoxing? Everyone says its hell. But I want more info about what it feels like. Physical, emotional, mental?

[WildcatVet]

The community health center pdoc where I'm going doesn't/won't prescribe them...and I wouldn't take them anyway...but the buspirone I'm taking does a pretty good job.

[Beana77]

Benzos made my anxiety worse (rebound anxiety) and less stable overall. I got very addicted and my doctor stopped prescribing it. Even though I tapered, I still went through terrible withdrawal. It lasted for months.

If you can avoid getting dependent/addicted in the first place, that is best. If you are already dependent and want to get off, go as slowly as you can under a doctor's supervision. Some find they need to go into inpatient detox.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Originally Posted by 99fairies

What do you feel like when you are detoxing? Everyone says its hell. But I want more info about what it feels like. Physical, emotional, mental?

Depression, cold sweats, panic attacks, rapid heart beat. Best bet is to taper very slowly.