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Benzo withdraw

Brittyluff

Brittyluff

Greenlighter
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Messages
15
Location
Oklahoma, United state
My mom has been on xanax for decades. About 8 years ago something weird startef happening. Whenever benzos ere not in her system she could no longer walk.. Is she faking so he husband will netver let her run out of pills? If so why something so extreme. I have saw her crawl before. So if anyone has any input is would be appreciated.
 
I've never had benzo withdrawal or taken any recreationally (to get high) but yes what you're describing can apparently happen to people when they withdrawal from benzos. Or it could be an underlying mental health or physical problem.

Tell her to get into a detox/rehab place with medical professionals who will have her taper down and be able to monitor her if she wants to get sober from benzos but it has to be her choice to get sober from benzos. Good luck.
 
Hi Brittluff :)

Withdrawal from Benzos can be a very difficult process, you don't say if your mother has been tapering off ( slowly reducing the dose ) or stopping suddenly. It's really important she doesn't just stop suddenly as she could have seizures do tot eh down regulation of receptors in her brain caused by the Benzos.

There is a really good resource on the net called The Ashton Manual. I used the information in this to get myself of od Diazepam (Valium). Your mother should be consulting her doctor about this, maybe you could suggest she read the Ashton Manual as well.

Best wishes
 
I've never experienced benzo withdrawals. I was never a fan of them for rec use. Just made me pass out. But crazy shit happens when withdrawing from them. My uncle was hospitalized(a few times)because of his benzo and alcohol use. While in the hospital he said it looked like the walls were melting. But yeah try to talk to your mom about getting help even if she doesn't want to. My mom was in a similar situation, no where near as bad though. But she was taking Ativan, ambien and drinking over 3 gallons of wine a week. So about a month ago she finally came to her sense and checker herself into rehab and now she's doing great.
 
Thanks guys!! She doesn't taper off she just runs out. Sadly she doesn't want help. She will end up dead from drugs. This is a sad conclusion...but its truth. She has been a drug addict for 30 years or more. I guess she's okay with it, or to scared to change
 
I went through benzo withdrawal once, that was enough for me because I was pretty sick. Brittyluff, does your mom often run out of her pills and go through this? Maybe her doctor can give her something else that lasts longer to prevent this from happening. That sounds pretty scary.
 
Xanax is one of the worst of the bunch IMO, it's relatively short half life encourages re dosing and it's very hard to use it to taper with.

Diazepam has a much longer half life and enables a smoother taper, but the process only works if you are fully committed to getting free of benzos. I tapered 3 times from Diazepam and it's been about 18 months since I finished the last one, I have used Xanax a few times since but never slipped back into any kind of regular use and hope I can keep it that way.

It must be hard seeing your mother doing these things, she is fortunate to have people around who clearly love and care about her.
 
I went through some serious benzo withdrawal in 2008 where I tried to do it cold turkey from a high dosage. It actually gave me some short term mental problems. I was hallucinating and became paranoid and developed schizophrenic type symptoms.

The bad withdrawal symptoms don't even start until like 4 days afterward.

In my opinion the best way to come off of benzos is to go to a detox facility and use phenobarbital for a 7 day detox or so. Combined with tapering down before you to to detox. That is what I would do but it doesn't sound like she would be open to this. With the pheno it will help you get back on track faster as coming off of benzos even with a taper give u terrible insomnia and a myriad of mental and physical symptoms which a qiiekiu

Benzo detox is one of the most scariest and dangerous experiences I ever went through. I will pray for her.
 
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The onset of withdrawal is going to be very much dependent on the half life of the benzo you're taking, I think there is a chart on the site somew but I can't find it right now, this link in Other Drugs has a wealth of info and link ( the chart link is probably in there somewhere) :- The-Benzodiazepine-MEGA-THREAD-Direct-Benzo-Questions-Here

Xanax is largely out of your system in about 12 hours where as Diazepam is still there 3 days or more afterwards, I can't imagine trying to taper of a high dose using Xanax although it may well be possible at therapeutic doses.

IME dosing can increase very quickly as the initial effects of these drugs are relatively short in comparison to their continued presence in your system. To compound the problem the more you take the quicker your tolerance rises and you can find yourself with a serious problem in a very short period of time. I also found that when I relapsed months after a tapper my tolerance would rise even quicker, I suspect the effect on the GABA receptors in the brain is either permanent or takes a very long time to sort itself out completely.
 
Benzodiazepine withdrawal can be a real bitch if you completely wrapped your life around them. It becomes worse yet if you have taken benzodiazepines without any rhyme or reason.
Now for the good part. You can withdrawal safely and reasonably pain free. First, YOU HAVE TO put yourself aside, i.e no poor me attitude and stop lying to yourself. If you are so desperate and strung out, TAKE YOUR ASS TO A HOSPITAL, free clinic, community mental health organization, etc. You have a problem. There are a lot of people to help.
Learn how to titrate. Titration is one of your best friends. I have the gift of gab, so I'll try to give you the Readers Digest version. You can google titration, use links and information found on this beautiful website, ask a B-lighter or staff for help. The whole basic point is reducing your dose as little as possible over a period of time. Say I had a 1 mg Klonopin. Some people could be safely and smoothly off of it in a month. If that's too much like work and too painful, take six months or a year. Just keep lowering that dose little by little until your over it. Lastly, get involved in any kind of group therapy. There are N.A meetings everywhere.

I apologize for the long post, but people should not suffer or perish due to lack of knowledge.
 
The very best source of information I've ever found on Benzo withdrawal is The Ashton Manual (as already posted in this thread)

It is a great source of information based on years of work with real sufferers of long term benzo use. Not all countries will have the same kind of medical support available, some none at all.

Seeking professional support is always something that I would feel bound to suggest but if I'm honest I didn't and using the resource I linked to managed to rid myself of what had become a significant habit, in the end it is all about your personal resolve and support can come in many forms.
 
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