Disclaimer: Do not consider this medical advice.
At this point, these are just my thoughts from lots of research. This will change in time as I am undergoing a plan to be benzo free without suffering protracted benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome.
I do not believe the answer is time at all, and I wasted more than 400 days of hell, each day worse than the last, in comining to this conclusion. I wonder how many MDs have gone through such an undertaking before glibly dismissing the issue altogether, or dismissing it as a matter only resolved by time.
I may not be an M.D., but I do hold a doctorate, and, more importantly, I am armed with thousands of hours of benzodiazepine research (even Malcolm Gladwell would give me his blessing). I wonder How many M.D.’s have that..
I am now working on a plan that will solve this, as of yet, unsolvable protracted benzodiazepine syndrome. I will play guinea pig and will report back my findings when the time is appropriate. Part of what I say below is part of this, but only part.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
My thoughts differ from many who are convinced that time will fix it eventually. I believe that is misguided. But, that is my personal opinion. It's not advice, and I cannot advocate anything. But happy to share my findings and thoughts.
Look into flumazenil. Also consider taking a low dose benzo. From my years of research, benzo use changes the conformation of the GABA-A receptor. I believe this may be permanent.
The best way I can explain this is that with this change in conformation, the GABA receptor site now needs a key to turn it on to properly activate the GABA system. Benzos are that key.
So, in essence, after benzo use, This your GABA system can no longer function normally without a benzo. The new conformation requires the benzo key.
This explains people's continued issues years after quitting. Many are simply stubborn because they are afraid to go on benzos again and be back at square one. Meanwhile, many are debilitated and can no longer function - many housebound and unable to hold a job. Meanwhile, flash back to when they were on benzos. They were likely high-functioning. The issues only kick in after benzo cessation. People hold on to the belief thinking they will eventually get better, sacrificing years of their lives for this hope. I do not believe time is the answer. The answer is to reset receptor conformation so that it no longer requires a key to work.
That is where flumazenil comes in. Flumazenil and some other GABA inverse agonists are said to fix the GABA-A receptor conformation. They "reset" it back to how it was pre-benzo use. Without that reset, you have a malfunctioning GABA system, and your GABA/Glutamate balance is out of whack. This creates a real Glutamate Storm in the brain which mimics Alzheimer's symptoms. With the reset of the receptors, GABA can now function properly without requiring the benzo key for activation.
Since you are completely off of benzos, now would be a good time to try it. It's not recommended for people still on benzos since it is a GABA antagonist.
I disagree with those who say you just have to ride it out and hope that it gets better in time. I feel sorry for them wasting years of their lives in the misguided hope that time will heal it naturally.
I suffered from all the horrific withdrawals after benzo cessation. The depersonalization, derealization, brain fog, and memory issues did not go away with time. I was debilitated and I decided to take matters into my own hands, researching diligently, as I would no longer accept a bad quality of life for an unknown period of time.
I decided to begin taking a low dose of benzos again. Sure enough, all of my symptoms disappeared and I felt absolutely normal again. I'm sure I have brain damage from the uninhibited glutamate running amok in my brain during my time off of benzos. But nothing that I really notice. I just feel absolutely fine again. And what a relief that has been! Able to highly function again. No longer debilitated and unable to do simple tasks. I am once again a professional, juggling multiple responsibilities at a high level. I am so glad I made this decision.
I will be trying a GABA inverse agonist, potentially flumazenil, at some point in the future when I am tired of taking small doses of benzos daily. For now, this is fine with me. I'm just so glad I decided to no longer be stubborn to stay off benzos after the hell I went through to get off. I was afraid to be back at square one. I realize in retrospect that I was likely only hurting myself by being stubborn.
I wish I had known how benzos likely permanently alter your GABA receptors before I had gone on it. I never would have taken them to begin with. But it is what is is, and I am happy where I am at now.
Honestly, I believe that benzo cessation can essentially create Alzheimer's-like patients. There is all of this talk about how benzo use may cause Alzheimer's. I think that is a misguided finding. I believe it is benzo cessation that creates the Alzheimer's risk.
New studies are showing that Benzos actually help improve symptoms of Alzheimer's patients. This makes total sense to me. Benzos increase GABA function. This inhibits the glutamate storm in Alzheimer's patients.
There is another way to go about it too. This is only a partial fix. Namenda aka memantine is an NDMA receptor antagonist. This inhibits the glutamate storm.
Your brain needs a GABA/Glutamate balance. GABA inhibits glutamate. Without it, there is no balance. Glutamate runs amok in the brain. I call it a glutamate storm. This causes a great deal of excitoticity (aka brain damage).
I started taking memantine after discovering it while I was off of benzos. I wish I had known about it when I was tapering off benzos. It could have prevented brain damage from the glutamate storm.
I say memantine is only a partial fix because it only addresses half of the issue. Glutamate is more in check. But you still have a malfunctioning GABA system upon benzo cessation.
So the second fix is to get the GABA system working properly again. Following my hypothesis, this can be done by going back on low-dose benzos again (my current choice) or taking flumazenil or another GABA inverse agonist to reset the receptors so that the benzo key is no longer required for GABA functioning.
I know I repeated myself quite a bit here. It is complicated and just trying to explain by simplifying it as best I can.
