• 💊 OTHER DRUGS 💊 Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads 1 Notable Threads 2
    Dangerous Combos Addiction Support
    Emergency Services Benzo Guide v.1
    Addiction Stories Scary Case Studies
    Biology, Pharmacology & Drugs 101
  • Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Benzos Cannot tolerate derealazation/ foggy feeling from benzo withdrawl.... please HELP....

bdomihizayka

bdomihizayka

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 30, 2012
Messages
582
Location
Down the rabbit hole
As some of you know from my recent postings, I am really having a hard time coming off of benzos. I have been on Klonopin at 1mg 2xs a day and dropped to 1/2mg 2xs a day without any problems about a month into taking them. Last friday i split my dose in half again to 1/4mg 2xs a day and on monday I started feeling the withdrawal. Derealiztion, confusion, slow thinking, racing thoghts, stiff muscles, unable to sleep well, it really fucking sucks, and I've withdrawn from uppers and downers before, but nothing like this.

I can't stand the derealization, foggy, dreamlike symptom the most. I have anxieties to begin with and this just amp them up. It is absolutely horrific to feel like this. Can anyone recommend a remedy for these symptoms? I have never felt suicidal in my life except today, when I woke up and felt no better than yesterday; and I do own a gun and I'm scared to death I'll act upon it if the mental withdrawal symptoms don't settle down a bit. I'm an anxious person by nature and just cannot tolerate it, I can't even function.

I have vallium at my disposal which I know is easier to taper with but don't know the correct dosage; what would equal 1/2 mg of klonopin daily?

And again; and tips with the derealization part? IK have antidepressants as well, Anafranil (I have OCD as well) if they will make te withdrawal more tolerable or just exasperate them?

I'm so confused and out of it and desperate. Please any suggestions are welcome.
 
i'd start @ 2.5 mg/diazepam and see how i felt after an hour or so.
try to keep the dosage as low as possible..
so as not to negate the work you've put in already.

try to remember that this is temporary.
it won't last.
it may feel as tho it will.
but i promise-no..it won't.
hang in there. :)

when it's hard..i'd suggest going to 'the dark side' here on BL-
and putting in words what's going thru your head.
they're lovely over there.. and just wording/verbalizing
what's happening can be of help.

good luck.
<3
 
i'd do as token says, good advice. I've been there, the derealization is quite bad and it didn't even hit me until i was a week into withdrawal. There's not much you can do, if you are consuming caffeine at all that will definitely make it worse. Try to distract yourself. Your brain will go back to normal and the derealization will fade. It's also a sign that you are tapering too quickly. Stabilize on a dose that makes you comfortable and go down slowly.

.5mg clonazepam should = 10mg valium but i'd try to stay lower than that if possible. Don't torture yourself though, take just enough to not go crazy. Not sure about antidepressants but SSRIs made my derealization and anxiety worse.
 
i think 1 mg clonazepam= 1 mg xanax= 10 mg diazepam. dont quote me but i dont want you taking too much if your tapering. im on day 1 of one week im taking off. im doing it before my habit gets any worse.
 
^ I think it's .25mg clonazepam= .5mg alprazolam= 5mg diazepam. At least that's what a chart I read says but IMO kpins are so long lasting the equivalency seems off in a way. I've heard .5mg equals 10mg diaz as well, but not sure. I honestly would try a 5mg Valium when you wake up, see how you feel about 4-6hrs later, then see if it's enough.
 
suicidal ideation is a very real, very common aspect of benzo withdrawal. Believe me man I've been there. I never had a suicidal thought before my first benzo detox. By the end of my first night in hell it was looking like by far the easiest option... stick to your detox schedule as well as you can, but don't be afraid to updose and stabilize if it gets to uncomfortable. You will get through this. You will get to a point where you will see brain wake up more and more every week. Its actually really cool seeing your body return to a normal you didnt know if it would/could ever go back to, and its so worth it.

Best tip I can give though, for dealing with the depersonalization/derealization is to keep busy and keep around people. If you can keep yourself distracted it well help immensely (which I know was the last thing I wanted to do during detox but it really does help). Some of it you may have to white knuckle. You may have to go through months of white knuckling some major waves of anxiety and insomnia. But I promise you will get through it.
 
Really good post, moe.ron

Getting off Klonopin (clonazepam) is very, very slow and hard going BUT it is important to know that it can be done and the horrible state you find yourself in is temporary.

It's so important to know that the state of hellish confusion you're in will pass and YOU WILL COME BACK TO YOURSELF. This can't be said enough, and it's great to see people who have done the hard yards (and they are HARD) post here to tell others that there is light at the end of that tunnel.

Keep going. You will make it out. And when you do, you can spread the word too.
 
I can't tell you how hard it was withdrawing from benzos. To me it was 100 times rougher than opiates. If you need it, take a small dose of valium only enough to sleep. I wish I would have known that I was gonna get so sick and tapered slowly.
 
Hey man, thanks for sharing this, derealization, that feeling of no emotion, a soulless robot, a gray empty world where even your loved ones mean nothing to you?
Not sure if thiss is it or personalization? Its the worst feeling in the world, from E overdoses, stopped that favorite drug that week years ago, never again. But it passes quick plus feeling human again is a epic reward, so you got a great experience to wait around for certainly.

Thank you also for possibly helping others see the realities and reject common daily or regular addiction forming use of this common underestimated and dangerous drug.

I changed from this to Seroquel, far less fun but safe in comparison and not medicating benzos every day makes you feel better, more alive and ready for life, instead of the expected frustration, anxiety or pain. Look forward to this :-).

I do still get illogical feedback about possible side effects of Seroquel as if inferring benzos are safer with these likely results? I hope people learn from you, thanks for doing the hard work for us and God bless. I know you will be enjoying that great feeling of being human again any time now, its worth it. Get in touch with the guys at dark side, ominous name but a warm place. Cheers my man.
 
I feel your pain. I've been there.

First time I withdrew from benzos at 2008. It was very rapid taper and I had depersonalization and derealization very long after that wich didn't seem to go away. I was anxious and depressed whole that time and couldn't work.

2010 I started using benzos again on/off and since then have gained some experience with withdrawals.

Now I've come to the conclusion that the best thing (at least to me) has been that when derealization starts I try to accept it as a new reality and try to adapt to it as best as I could. I'm trying to cope with it rather than let myself remembering what kind of good reality it was with benzos and what kind of bad, anhedonic, grey reality it is now without them.

At 2008 I couldn't do that mentally. I was thinking then that my life is over now and I had only life when I was on benzos but now I have some serious mental or physical disorder that will ruin my life. Nowdays I'm able to think otherwise. Today I also use DXM wich I think is somehow resetting my brains and let me forget the past and the "benzo reality" more easily and preparing me to adapting this new benzo free reality much more faster.

Ex. I've now been able to drop my clonazepam from 1,5mg/day to 0,25mg/day under three weeks (now it is sixth day at 0,25mg/day!) and I'm feeling good. Really, I don't have any withdrawals. I'm not feeling normal but I'm feeling good. My blood pressure and bpm are also good and I can pray and meditate and feel peace.

Anyway, at 2008 taking DXM could have been catastrophical to my psyche. I wasn't ready yet. So I'm not saying you should take it at the moment. Or I won't say it will be answer for you but it might help _at some point_ of your way. Depending on your mental state. And that is very hard to estimate.

And of course I have Lyrica and baclofen and those acts kind of like airbags in withdrawals. I don't disagree. They do help. Problems is that I have been addicted to Lyrica from 2009 and phenibut over year so they don't offer me the same therapeutic value as one would get if he started using them with zero tolerance during benzo withdrawals. So I wouldn't put much of a weight for Lyrica and baclofen in my case because I'm constantly in small withdrawals from them also. I have been in benzo withdrawals before with Lyrica and phenibut and it hasn't been this easy before. So that's why I don't personally put much a weight for them.

Maybe this lack of torture is a combination of this slow schedule, dxm, ghrp:s, ketosis, intermittent fasting, good nutrition and antioxidants + other non benzo meds. I don't know excatly.

Anyway, I wish you best luck! And definately: You will feel better one way or another. Please don't kill yourself. I'm now better but I have been posting here many times about my bad situation with gaba withdrawals. Things will get better.
 
I know this is an old thread, but I somehow just ran across is and saw the last post was exactly a year ago and I'm feeling good vibes and just wanted to share some things.

I got on klonopin last September- 2mgs a day down to 1mg a day by the end of 2 weeks.... I tried to come off completely and suddenly about 3 weeks into use. I was thrown into a horrible derealization state, and was living in a fog..... it was like I was constantly tripping on LSD....

I did not reinstate on Valium, I rode it out.

This state of mind never let up.... until about April. I traveled to Russia (which holds a dear place in my heart and where all my friends live) and it relaxed me, and kinda popped me out of the fog.

I never abused benzos... this withdrawal was from 2mg klonopin for 1 week followed by 1mg klonopin for about 2 weeks and that's it.

I just want people to know the dangers of this class of drug.... it completely fucked up my life and psyche more than anything imaginable.

I read all these responses last year, and I wanted to thank this community for the support because I could not do this alone... you were all there for me. Sending my love....
 
glad to hear youre doing alright now man

do i understand this correctly... you were only on klonopin for a month? and your withdrawals lasted 6 months?
 
I'm in etizolam withdrawal now, but I think the worst is over. Benadryl & melatonin have helped me sleep like a baby, but the next-day depression and fatigue from the Benadryl is unbearable at times. Valerian and kava only exacerbate my withdrawal symptoms, I'm guessing because they act on GABA. The ONLY way I can sleep is with Benadryl.

After the first 4 days, I started back up on stimulants in low doses during the day. While they can aggravate the anxiety and tension, they also help dispel the brain fog and fatigue from the Benadryl. I really don't know what else would help, but I'm sure it's not wise to pick up a stimulant habit just to deal with benzo withdrawal :) "Riding it out" is the best answer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top