benzo withdrawal help

[strgchris]

So I decided to get off of a series of drugs and it's been hell. 6 weeks ago I dropped kratom, then a week later oxycodone, then kolonopin and nuerontin spaced apart at the advice of my doctor as they were causing me a lot of issues. Anyway, was doing great until the kolonopin it's been a nightmare. My lasts dose was 2 weeks ago tomorrow I started feeling much better today but still no sleep. I do have a medical marijuana card where I live and was wondering if anybody has had any luck with a high cbd strain at back end of a benzo detox to assist with sleep, brain zaps and twitching? My p doc is aware of what I am going through and gave me a scrip for ambien but am trying to avoid anything that will suppress my gabaergic system. Thanks!

 

[deos68]

So I decided to get off of a series of drugs and it's been hell. 6 weeks ago I dropped kratom, then a week later oxycodone, then kolonopin and nuerontin spaced apart at the advice of my doctor as they were causing me a lot of issues. Anyway, was doing great until the kolonopin it's been a nightmare. My lasts dose was 2 weeks ago tomorrow I started feeling much better today but still no sleep. I do have a medical marijuana card where I live and was wondering if anybody has had any luck with a high cbd strain at back end of a benzo detox to assist with sleep, brain zaps and twitching? My p doc is aware of what I am going through and gave me a scrip for ambien but am trying to avoid anything that will suppress my gabaergic system. Thanks!

high cbd strains would be an excellent choice as they have anti anxiety and anti seizure properties given that you need to medicate like crazy it will def help you during withdrawal
consider yourself lucky many people dont have access to MMJ
i have a cbd tincture which is a 15:2 cbd to thc and imo better than xanax

 

[danglesmcgee]

Getting of the benzo's is VERY HARD. the physical dependence is profound. I personally went through 3 long and angonising months of benzo withdrawal. You biggest problem will be klonopin, it has a very long half life, ie. it stays in your system for a long time (up to 12 hrs). Hence the withdrawal period will be long. Benzo's surpress your ENTIRE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. from head to toe, and you body needs to re-learn how to regulate its CNS and Gabba transmission once again. your body is very intelligent and in time, will re-wire itself to function without so much gabba in its system. Marijuana saved my life during my withdrawal. But its best to stop taking the klonopin completely, and taper off using diazepam as it has a much shorter half life. (research Dr. Ashton, and the ashton manual for benzo withdrawal.)

DO NOT TAKE AMBIEN IF UR TRYING TO KICK THE BENZOS! Magnesium helps the comedown period, helps to balance the electricity.

good luck...its not easy.

 

[strgchris]

Thanks I wish I had access to some diazapam unfortunately I do not. My doctor basically said here is some ambien after not sleeping for a week and a half and told me if I couldn't handle it anymore to check myself into a behavioral center. Thanks but I would rather detox at home. I still have some k pins but refuse to take them after the hell I have been through. I can see some significant improvements already. I Am just desperate for sleep.

 

[danglesmcgee]

When i came off 18 months of excessive benzo abuse i had severe insomnia to the point of severe hallucinations. You can have a seizure and die from benzo withdrawl. The "zaps" your getting is your CNS re-adjusting and learning how to regulate its gabba levels. Let the intelligent machine you live in repair itself and eventually you will return to normal, your body always remembers what you did too it and it shall indeed remind you 8)

 

[strgchris]

So skip the marijuana then? How long did it take you to sleep again? How long did the twitching last?

 

[danglesmcgee]

No, marijuana is good for benzo withdrawal. It comes from the earth but the benzos...some white labratory filled with imperfect humans that can produce a substance that at .125mg !!!!! (thats like a grain of salt) can surpress your cns and put you to sleep. clonzepam (klpin) i believe was originally made for people who have severe epilepsy. Anyhow, my withdrawl lasted about 4 months. (i was taking 4-5mg klpin/day + 50-60mg valium, +30-60mg of temazepam. it was madness. the twitching about 2 months. the twitching is the least of your worries, its a good sign though that your on the mend. It took me 2 months to be able to sleep more then 1 hr.

 

[strgchris]

Thanks man the people on this site are awesome. I will embrace the twitching then as a sign of good things to come!

 

[strgchris]

Just bought a cbd/thc tincture 2:1 I will try it hopefully get some sleep. Keep you poster thanks for the input. Much appreciated

 

[strgchris]

Did you taper first? Did you go to treatment or detox hospital? The psychological aspect is killing me. Ill get Windows where I feel normal then out of no where I will be a complete mess again. Good thing I have a patient wife. Thanks for the words of encouragement much appreciated.

 

[strgchris]

Hey buddy your inbox is full. So here you go.Wow thanks man I really appreciate the insight! Yea I am doing ok. On Wednesday I actually started sleeping more than 2 hours granted its with trazadone. The psychological aspect I am talking about is confusion and crazy mood swings like you said and horrible migraines that make my brain feel disconnected from my body. Initially it was like I had a head full of acid and speed Fear of fear total mind trip, fear of grocery store lines fear of the store just like a horrible acid trip. I feel like I am starting to stabilize my and stress response is normalizing. I am becoming more able to moderate my emotional response. I still have many of the same symptoms just far less severe. The fucked up part is my back is the reason I got put on all these drugs to begin and it's still fucked up. I have multiple disc herniations and a moderately servere nerve root impingment. My p doc won't prescribe any more benzodiazepines he said once I was more than a week out there is no point in reinstating. Idiot I know. My wife called him when I was about a week out because the withdrawals were so intense, and my doc said take him to detox. I didn't go. I called him in another week and let him know what was going on and he gave me ambien.I have an appointment with an addiction/pain specialist on the 21st I am trying to get in sooner. I never took the ambien I have some but refuse to prolong this process. I have some pot and a cbd thc tincture 2:1. I read the cbd, thc can actually help heal and protect your neurons. Is that true? I haven't tried it yet though my state of mind is fragile and am a bit apprehensive on how it will affect me. I am going to wait a few more days and then try it. Is there anything else you have tried? I think will start with a low low dose of the tincture weds. Thanks for the support man I really do appreciate it. Oh and the last time I took a kpin was on the 21st of last month only .25 mg. I had to stop the nuerontin on the 26th it was actually making my withdrawals worse way worse. My doctor said that was ok as well I think he is crazy. I can't believe I didn't seize. I hate doctors. Here are some things that have improved. Less twitching almost none existent. Sleep, stress response, random phobia's, mood sucks but stabilizing, sensitivity to light sound, I startle less easily, coordination. Thanks again

 

[thehornetjho]

Hey, am also going through benzo withdrawal, ten months out but still experiencing a load of symptoms. Want to see if a CBD product will help with my withdrawal but worried that CBD might be a GABA antagonist and slow down my recovery? In withdrawal we're told to stay away from anything that might interfere with your GABA receptors like alcohol. Does anyone know for sure whether or not CBD is a GABA antagonist and will effect my recovery? Thanks a lot

 

[strgchris]

Preliminary studies show that it may be an effective as an antipsychotic and does not activate your cb1 receptors as thc does. Cbd nor thc agonize your gaba a receptors, although some studies I have read demonstrate a moderate antagonism of your gaba b systems. Here is what has helped me in withdrawal take phosphatydalserine twice per day along with gaba in high doses. Phosphatydalserine along with gaba will allow gaba to cross the blood brain barrier sligtly. There is no direct agonism of your gaba receptors so don't be concerned about receptor downgrade. Stay away from caffeine and sugar. A ketogenic type diet is best, paleo being ideal. Eat tons of green leafy vegetables. Take folate, and it would be even better if you could get a prescription for deplin. Deplin is l-methyfolate which which is the only type of folate the brain can uptake. And of course I have used a high cbd strain or heavy indica in moderation. If you decide to do so tread lightly start slow see how you react, small doses work best. Very slow. Oh and most importantly exercise like crazy your brain won't heal without blood, so get moving. Hitt training works best think crossfit but less spastic and more focused. Jim stoppani's workout and diet called 6 weeks to shred on bodybuilding dot com would be a good start. Oh and zinc and magnesium before bed acts as a moderate nmda antagonist. Most importantly do your research and talk to a doctor before trying anything so you know what best for you cbd. The pot book by Julie Holland is an excellent reference. Good luck

 

[EnlightenedOne1]

I'm currently on an 8 month taper from 4mgs of clonazepam a day after a year on. My dr. is lowering the dose. 0.5mgs every month......PAWS can be a nightmare but if you exercise, it will increase your recovery time..

 

[dopamimetic]

Yeah, anything GABAergic is to avoid including the Z-drugs like ambien, as well as THC / CB1 agonists as they are known to reduce GABAergic neurotransmission which explains the anxiogenetic effect pot has sometimes (as well as the stimulation afaik). CBD I don't know about, it is said to be anxiolytic but could also be anxiogenic - maybe dependent on the dosage - as it is a 5-HT1a agonist possibly reducing serotonin due to auto-receptor agonism. At least I felt that it was not effective as an anxiolytic for me, but I'm very sensitive to 5-HT lowering possibly due to either genetic predisposition or previous SSRI use & withdrawal.

But glutamate / NMDA antagonists like memantine could be very beneficial, at least I felt that it is and study evidence supports this.

There is a very interesting thing about GABA reuptake / GAT1 inhibitors like tiagabine (Gabitril) in that they possibly do not or much less induce tolerance & withdrawal syndrome as the BZDs do, but you definitely don't want to take it during BZD withdrawal / PAWS. But if the anxiety persists, it could make a good alternative as it showed robust anxiolytic effects in studies. As well as phenibut might be, it is considered addictive though as well and also has a withdrawal syndrome - that is qualitatively different though and could possibly be more similar to the one from gabapentin/pregabalin, as these substances are quite similar in the mode of actions with the GABA-B agonism being suggested to be a minor effect in the overall action of phenibut.