View Full Version : benzos
for those of you who took ativan, xanax, klonopin etc how long did you take them for and did you have any issues when stopping?
i could really use some positive stories
Not sure if you mean recently but i took ativan for about a year in the early 80s and had an awful time on them. The doc suggested i be weaned off them and it took almost 2 years to get over the effects of them. My experience led me to volunteering as a 'buddy' with MIND and i waould talk to people on the phone day and night, as well as visit them in their homes, to try to help with their withdrawal.
I made a promise to myself that i wouldnt take another benzo ever, and havent to date, but last summer i developed high blood pressure and was given propranolol (betablocker also known as inderal) and was horrified to discover that when trying to come off them the withdrawal symptoms were much the same, so was put back on them again and some of the anx symptoms went away...racing heart and tension. So in effect, im back on the tranx again after all these years...:weep:
Cathy xxx :)
eeyorelover
26-09-08, 17:35
Can't add any positivity about Xanax. I was on it 5 years and told that it was never meant to be used that long. Had a heck of a time coming off of it.
pinkpiglet
26-09-08, 21:50
My mum has been taking benzo'z for 33 years. She is addicted. She will never get off them now. The doctor has told her that she will only last two years without them. (bless her!) She hates them and is very bitter towards the doctors who originally fed her them as if they were sweets. My mum would advise anyone to stay clear of these drugs.
The problem is that Benzo's are probably the best anxiolytic drug available to date that give immediate relief without to many side effects.
But as they are horrendously habit forming should only be taken on an as and when basis for very short periods of time.
For further info read the Ashton manual here - http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/contents.htm
Having said that Benzo's are far better to deal with than the Barbiturates ( Phenobarbitone,Mandrax & Mogadon) I was addicted to in the 60's.
Just treat them with respect.
Decca
keepemlaughing
26-09-08, 22:59
Is Clonazepam a benzo?
Anxious_gal
27-09-08, 00:21
I take maybe one a week, at the most, so i'm not addicted, but I do always have to have one tablet on me as it makes me feel safer.
if your on them every day its only a matter of time before your body gets addicted to them.
Cheryl, anything that ends in 'pam' is a benzo (tranquilzer) :D xxx
Sorry your name is sheryl not cheryl.....:blush: xxxx
Stop?
Why stop?
Phill :shades:
Hi Phill2,
It's interesting that you say "why stop ?" - do you think it's better to keep taking them rather than withdraw from them, even if they are no longer helping ? .
My Doc was telling me the other day that there is a lot of study still going on about the long term therapeutic use of Benzo's for anxiety & pain etc.
Decca.
Hi Decca
My Dr 9who is also a sufferer) told me that the only valid reasons for long term benzo use are anxiety and as a muscle relaxant.
I've been taking 2 x 5mg daily for the last 5 yrs and they still work fine.
Phill :shades:
PS In the 70s they were called mothers little helper cause just about every woman that went to the doc got prescribed them.
That's how they got their bad name
I think its when you try to stop taking them that causes the probs. The anxiety and tension in withdrawal can be much worse than the anx they were pescribed for.
I guess as with any drug there are always going to be some people who they work really well for even over a long time, but in my experience of benzo withdrawal and for the other people i saw trying to come off them.... librium, valium, tranxene and the sleeping pills called mogadon, it was a painful struggle.
Cathy xxx
They have worked for me ,i would say they pretty much saved my life at one point. Now i have cut them down by about half as well as stopping other prescription drugs i was on of my own accord.
But now, the doctors will no longer perscribe me them even though they help reduce my anxiety, and in turn are helping me conquer my agoraphobia. Every trip the doctors now really pi$$ me off. Because no matter which arse! i see there; they are only concerned about what looks good on paper for them, and not me the patient.
I'am now on day 3 of 6mg per day and stepping into the unknown. Obviously i'am not deluded enough to think i can take them forever, but i do know my own mind, and was taking small positive steps myself. It is a fine line with me conquering the anxiety with agoraphobia, i hope they don't push me to far. Oh yes comming off them does indeed Suck!.
Yea - it does make you wonder whether it's better to just keep taking them.
I've been taking 2mg per day divided into 4 half mg doses for about 7 months, I was prescribed them to take along side my heart meds to help control my BP and heart rate as I'd reached the top dose of my heart meds.
I'm feeling loads better now than before I started taking them and like Paul feel that they probably saved my life as I was literally a couch potato.
So now that I'm feeling better I was wondering whether to start dropping one of the half mg doses ,but I'm not so sure now, my Doc's are sorta non committal either way.
Decca.
Hi Decca,
2mg per day isn't much at all, if i was in you're shoes i'd be reluctant to taper further. You have high blood pressure, and that can also be a side affect when decreasing the dosage of Diazepam.
Hmmm thanks Paul , that's given me something to think about. I just worry that they'll stop working for me and I'll get the original symptoms back and the longer I take them the harder it'll be to stop them.
But then I worry about stopping them in case my original symptoms return and it'll be pretty hard tapering the half mg doses by 10% anyway.
What a Quandry !.
Decca.
Decca
2mg/day equates to half of nothing.
When I broke my neck I was on 90mg/day.
Stop stressing about it and just do as your GP says.
Phill :shades:
Yea thanks Phill, I'm sure you're right, I guess I've been reading to many Anti-Benzo websites and leaning on the negatives.But I do feel that I'm taking them now as a matter of routine rather than need.
Cheers
Decca.
pinkpiglet
28-09-08, 10:53
I can see absolutely no reason why anyone should be prescribed benzo's for any long period of time, especially daily. My mum will never ever get her life back. She has lost the past 33 years (literally). She has so many health issues which are a result of the benzo use. They have damaged her body beyond repair. I for one take them for flying (1 2mg diazapam tablet usually does the trick) and when I recently went through a bad state of anxiety my doc gave me 14 2mg tablets. I was advised to take one tablet per day but only if i felt i really needed them. My doctor made it clear that i would get no more as she does not agree with the long trem use either. They are fine for short term use as sometimes we need something that will get us though the tough times. I know this is my second post to this thread but i feel that i really need to stress how much damage and upset benzo's can cause. BENZO'S ARE EXTREMELY ADDICTIVE IF TAKEN FOR LONGER THAN NECESSARY!
I can see absolutely no reason why anyone should be prescribed benzo's for any long period of time, especially daily. My mum will never ever get her life back. She has lost the past 33 years (literally). She has so many health issues which are a result of the benzo use. They have damaged her body beyond repair. I for one take them for flying (1 2mg diazapam tablet usually does the trick) and when I recently went through a bad state of anxiety my doc gave me 14 2mg tablets. I was advised to take one tablet per day but only if i felt i really needed them. My doctor made it clear that i would get no more as she does not agree with the long trem use either. They are fine for short term use as sometimes we need something that will get us though the tough times. I know this is my second post to this thread but i feel that i really need to stress how much damage and upset benzo's can cause. BENZO'S ARE EXTREMELY ADDICTIVE IF TAKEN FOR LONGER THAN NECESSARY!
Hi pink,
Firstly, i agree with what you say about you're mum as my gran was given them like toffee to, like you say at that age the odds are not in you're favor comming off them.
But try to picture this, then tell me if it changes the situation a little. Before i was prescribed them i could not leave my bedroom infact i couldn't even get out of my bed. I was in so much fear everytime i tried to stand up i thought i would collapse and die, everyday i felt like complete cra@p living in the worse possible nightmare i could imagine. Day to day things people take for granted became an impossibility such as, going to the shops for necessities, getting to the doctors and i had no money because the job center was out of bounds.
The Diazepam helped me break this, yes i'am addicted now but atleast i have some quality of life, of which i didn't have before. As for the issue 'are they good for you' No! ofcourse not, but which drugs are? Iam pretty sure that even legal drugs like alcohol,cigarettes,do just as much harm, anything taken on a daily basis becomes addictive. Seroxat became addictive to me with horrible side affects thats another story though:) . But anyway, in my opinion, its not like any of us are poping them for a buzz or for recreational use . They are a last resort for many ,and if we do get something possitive from them, then clearly there is a case for.
Cheers Paul.
pinkpiglet
28-09-08, 13:07
Hi Paul, i definitely get where you are coming from, believe me, i really do but i still stick by what i say! I don't know how old you are or how long you have been addicted and i sincerely hope that you do not develop the same complaints and illnesses that my mum has 33 years down the line. I will not go too much into detail as i do no want to scare anyone but i would like to think that in this day and age where 'mental illness' is more widely understood, doctors know more about drugs than they used to and other therapies are available then benzo's should only be used in the short term. More help and support should be given to patients as it is so wide spread these days there is most definitely a call for it. I appreciate that the benzo's helped you and i am comforted to know that you are now much better as i myself have anxiety and i know how terrible it can be. Would you not have preffered it that your doctor monitored you very closely and then weaned you off these drugs once you started to show signs of improvement? I do hope that I have not upset you in anyway & wish you all the very best in health & happiness. x
Hi Paul
I always thought I was the only one that went through not being able to get out of bed.I couldn't eat either as I was too scared to.Benzos cured that instantly.I have a low dose dependancy but at 10mg/day who cares.I have a full time job and a life again.
Pink
I've never heard of benzos having any long term detrimental effects.Are you sure it's not just your Mums age?
Phill:shades:
Hi there Phil...how many people outside of nmp do you know who takes benzos to give you any knowledge of the long-term use of them? I think a persons age has little to do with it sorry.
In my reply at the start of this thread i stated that i was on benzos for approx a year, maybe a bit longer and had a very bad experience, and an even worse one when withrawing from them. I was in my late 20s at this time. The people who i went on to help in my capacity as a volunteer for the MIND mental health charity, were all different ages taking them too.
Like any drug, some people cope well with them and others don't but i dont think age has anything to do with it...only that if someone has been on them for best part of 30 years or more, can you even begin to imagine what they must do to your body after all that time? she must have reached her max dose a long time ago, so now she's suffering from withdrawal while she actually still taking them...can you imagine that? not pleasent. If she denies her body these drugs now, she would be in alot of trouble physically, because how she feels mentally doesnt matter any more, that left a long time ago.
Its only to do with age because of time.
all this makes sense and thanks for all the replies but does 1 mg a day of ativan seem like a lot to you guys. it has been four months and i want to wean but i am no where near stable yet. i do not actually feel like it is helping but i do not want to add rebound anxiety either?
Hi Cath,
What dose were you on ? did they effect you badly while on them or just when withdrawing from them ?
Decca
Blue,
I think 1mg Ativan ( Lorazapam) is equivalent to 10mg Diazepam.
Decca
Hi dec, both really. I guess i had reached the max dose that my doc was willing to give me and if i remember right i was taking 30mg a day (3x10mg pills) and id started out the previous year on only 10mg a day. I dont know if 30mg was high with these pills (i started on ativan but he swopped me to tranxene later) or how they compare to anything around now? So when id reached the max for my doc he started to reduce them and it took 2 painful years altogether. The anx from withdrawal was far worse than the reason i was given them in the first place.
I can still remeber people i used to visit who had been on benzos for 10, 15, 20 years. Horrendous....BUT, i do also realise that i would ONLY have seen these people if you think about it. The people who didnt have any problems with them, i would not have seen would I? So i also realise that they dont effect everyone so badly.
Cath xxx
...but ive prob got the doses wrong on these, it was in the 80s! all i know is they only helped for a short time before i needed more and more, until one day my doc (or was it me) said "enough" :scared15:
Thanks Cath,
15 mg Tranxene (Clorezapate) is equivalent to 10 mg Diazepam and if you crossed to Ativan then Diazepam abruptly your body had a lot to cope with which could explain the problems you had.
Decca.
Yes makes sense dec...but were you a pharmacist in a past life? :D you're brilliant with these meds...xx (or is it that youve been on most of them at some point :weep: )
You're right Cathy - In your job you wouldn't have seen the success stories.
All I know is that without them I'd still be in bed with the doona pulled up around my ears instead of earning 6 figures a year and owning 3 houses.
To me they're a godsend and at 10mg/day not a problem.
Phill:shades:
Hi Phil, yes im glad they work so well for you, to enable you to go on with your life. Im always envious of people who can take meds without problems and keep to the same dose. My mum for example, who is now 74, has been taking propranolol for blood pressure and migraine for the last 20 years...always the same dose and never had any problems, no side effects and they keep her bp steady.
Me? ive been on 2 different betablockers for a year for high bp, including propranolol which im back on again at the moment because the other one disagreed with me even more than this one, and have had breathlessness, weight gain and some anx syptoms that were supposed to be relieved by them! they havent even really kept my bp steady, and the doc suggested swopping them for an ace inhibitor which is the more modern way to treat bp but guess what? if i try to stop the betablockers i get really bad anx, so in effect i go into withdrawal...:scared15:
So yes everyone is different and its easy for me to point out the downside of them because of my own history, but yes its unfair to the people they really help.
Cathy xxx :)
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