Benzos Hallucinations (and recognizing signs/symptoms of) Benzo withdrawal

[Benjo Diazepine]

I often hear of the hallucinations one can experience from benzo withdrawal.
Can anyone that's been through this describe these in a way that the in-experienced can understand? Are they similar say to hallucinations from meth psychosis, LSD, DMT or say schizophrenia?

Also, I thought that I might have been dependent from benzos a few times now after extended runs. This last time I took clonaz in fairly high doses every other day for a good 4 months. It's been three weeks now since my last dose and I feel normal.. I think. (the other drugs I do tend to cloud the picture)
I'm tending to search for signs of withdrawal to no avail. Could skipping days really help that much with the moderately long half life? By week three I should be feeling withdrawal if I'm going to feel it at all, correct?
Benzos seem like such a strange creature- very subtle- with w/d sneaking up on you like I hear it can tend to do.. I mean I really should know when I'm experiencing withdrawal right?! That may seem like a very stupid question to some of you..
Thank BLers!!

(perhaps I should have separated these into 2 separate threads, meh)

 

[Toz]

Hallucinations, can't really say I've ever experienced that. More like anxiety with paranoia thinking I saw something or someone in the corner of my field of view every now and then. Also saw lots of flashing lights (red/green/blue) in the form of lines and dots in my vision while it was shaking. This was going cold turkey from 5mg clonazepam daily taken for about 2 years.

It could all just have been due to lack of sleep though, I didn't sleep for a solid 240+ hours.

If you don't feel withdrawal by the 3:rd week, there will be none. Withdrawal from clonazepam sets in 24-72 hours after last dose. Otherwise you are not dependant.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I often hear of the hallucinations one can experience from benzo withdrawal.
Can anyone that's been through this describe these in a way that the in-experienced can understand? Are they similar say to hallucinations from meth psychosis, LSD, DMT or say schizophrenia?

Definitely not like DMT or LSD in my experience, I have no idea about schizophrenia since I don't have it, perhaps a little bit comparable to meth psychosis although not focussed on meth-related stuff like imaginary bits of shard on the carpet like one does with meth. I only had mild withdrawal when I abruptly stopped both benzos and gabapentin at the same time, so maybe the "hallucinations" can be more severe for some people, but I would describe it as things like thinking I saw something (like a bird, insect, shadow, etc) out of the corner of my eye, having tunnel vision like being hyper-focused on staring at what was directly in front of me while other things seemed blurry, subtle things like large areas of a consistant texture looking weird, like a slapbrush drywall ceiling looking slightly meltish (but not to the degree of LSD), or a field of grass looking strange somehow. Sorry it's difficult to describe. Light and colours seemed brighter and sounds seemed louder. A hummingbird buzzed by my head and I was unsure if I had perhaps imagined it. Little things like that.

Am I correct in understanding that it has been 3 weeks since you last used clonazepam? I'm sure if you were going to get withdrawal symptoms you would have by now.

 

[Benjo Diazepine]

I figured it would be hard to describe! Thanks for giving it a shot. Your post is enlightening. They almost sound like illusions as well as hallucinations. I sure understand what it's like to hallucinate on meth. They seem very real, quite unlike psychedelics. Does one experience terror or anxiety during these? I've never experienced that on meth (well, perhaps anxiety and terror but-how can I say- not a direct result of the hallucination itself if that makes sense), although in retrospect they should have been terrifying! LOL
I hope that's not a recurring feature during the bulk of withdrawal and is a short acute initial phase! Man! I find it hard to imagine benzo withdrawal at all with the way it's talked about. Reading the list of symptoms is one thing....

Thank you both for your replies. Yes, it has been 3 weeks without benzos (until yesterday!) I figured I would be feeling w/d by now. I just wanted reassurance (I've been attempting to quit opioids lately and have overindulged). I think visiting benzo recovery forums can be very bad for ones mental health. The first time I thought I might be dependent on benzos was after I went to one of those. I had done benzos for a couple of months. The rational part of my brain said I was okay, but the people there insisted that I was probably hooked and should do a year taper (for example). At times I really thought I was going to die! I'm sure I could have just stopped cold turkey no problem, but instead did a 3 week water taper down to a minuscule amount and had massive anxiety. Now I know that it was induced by that forum and reading the horror stories there. I recall being told before that it may be up to 6 weeks before withdrawal manifests!
I think there's a tendency in those forums to attribute any sort of symptom to benzo withdrawal or for that matter create symptoms due to anxiety or whatever. Everyone that does benzos ever (even for as short a time span as a week) will become addicted, even though those dependent on benzos from even long term use represent a minority and those who suffer from PAWS an even smaller fraction.
I don't think it's a good idea for anyone not already suffering from PAWS to go there and only those in need of psychological support.
Honestly, I don't think anyone should go to those places. I find them dangerous.

A question or three for you, Toz or anyone: when you first entered withdrawal was the onset immediate or gradual and what is the first symptom that is noticable? In opiate withdrawal, one will start to yawn and get watery eyes for example- the warning that it's about to get a lot worse. Is there any physical warning that you're on the road to dependency?
I hope I'm clear in my questions. I think I could phrase things better but can't find the words.

 

[Znegative]

Benzo withdrawal is strange and definitely unique from opiated withdrawals but it's horrific and repulsive just the same (not to mention dangerous and life threatening).

I've never had hallucinations from it, but it seems to intensify the senses in an intense and abrasive way. Smells become foul odors, people talking sounds like the bantering of a grotesque tribe of fleshy baboons-everything seems overwhelming and ugly. For me, benzo withdrawal includes the above, but also intense spikes in emotion. Small things can have me crying and hyperventilating in a corner-and I'll freak out if anything goes wrong. I also sweat an insane amount, (which I normally hardly do when it's really hot out) and it can get so bad that my face will be dripping wet.

And of course you get la nick attacks and this weird 'rushing sensation in the chest which I especially hate.

With clonazepam you should start feeling withdrawals 48-72 hours since your last dose (though it's possible they'll arrive a day or two early/late). I think you're in the clear this time man.

 

[InHerOwnWrite]

For me i just can't keep my eyes still when withdrawing from benzos, they dart all over the place and the anxiety i normally have when talking to ppl is increased tenfold. And no sleep of course.

 

[T. Calderone]

I didn't have hallucinations during benzo withdrawal and I seem to remember being lethargic at first. I tried to get some sleep but my head felt dizzy when I closed my eyes the room started spinning. Maybe that caused me to start vomiting that night. I lay down again but as soon as I closed my eyes the spinning started again. Alternating between sweating like mad and chills for three days. But the worst was the gastrointestinal effects as I had diarrhea for a week and couldn't keep any food down. I went through this only one time and that's enough to know I can't do it again.

 

[Benjo Diazepine]

Benzo withdrawal is strange and definitely unique from opiated withdrawals but it's horrific and repulsive just the same (not to mention dangerous and life threatening).

I've never had hallucinations from it, but it seems to intensify the senses in an intense and abrasive way. Smells become foul odors, people talking sounds like the bantering of a grotesque tribe of fleshy baboons -everything seems overwhelming and ugly. For me, benzo withdrawal includes the above, but also intense spikes in emotion. Small things can have me crying and hyperventilating in a corner-and I'll freak out if anything goes wrong. I also sweat an insane amount, (which I normally hardly do when it's really hot out) and it can get so bad that my face will be dripping wet.

And of course you get la nick attacks and this weird 'rushing sensation in the chest which I especially hate.

With clonazepam you should start feeling withdrawals 48-72 hours since your last dose (though it's possible they'll arrive a day or two early/late). I think you're in the clear this time man.

Thank you BLer's for all your replies.
Z-Neg, that is quite the descriptive response! I especially like the bolded bits. "Repulsive" was an interesting choice of words. Yikes. What a nightmare! For some reason it reminds me of the film 'Jacobs Ladder' about the US armies use of the drug BZ, albeit fictionalized; there's that one memorable recurring scene where various characters shake at this ungodly rate.. if you've seen the film, you'll know what I'm talking about. Absolutely terrifying!

I remember when I first got really fucked up on meth and hallucinated. It never really occured to me that it could do that and it's pretty shocking when you first experience it, plus damn near impossible to describe to someone who hasn't experienced it for themselves. I'm imagining benzo w/d hallucinations to be quite similar in that respect. (not to mention the similarities to meth that Swimmingdancer mentioned,) That could drive one mad.

Hallucinations from a gabergic! Who would have thought?!
I'm feeling pretty grateful that I made it out of the woods, again! Maybe my 'every other day at most' rule paid off somewhat.
I really must stop playing around with benzos.
That should be obvious..obviously!

ETA: another thing the bolded parts remind me of is when I came off of some kind of X- pressed tabs, so who knows what the fuck was in it. It wasn't MDMA that's for sure. I had done a lot everyday over the span of weeks or longer and what you wrote in the bolded bits really sounds just like how I felt for a good 3 weeks. Everything was repulsive; it seemed like the pure underbelly of MDMA.. Molly with her masked ripped off. Every day I woke up and thought 'It's still there. I'm never going to get better'- this black cloud right above my head- I almost mean that literally! I really felt I was near insanity and wasn't going to snap out of it. Then one day I did.

I rarely touched a press tab again after that and only after having a damn good idea what was in it. Subsequently, I read about Sasha Shulgins wife entering into quite a similar frame of mind in PIHKAL. .. I'll have to take another look at that as I can't remember which drug was involved.
Am I going on a way OT ramble here? Oh well! HAHAHA

 

[LordOfTabs]

hallucinations come from xanax (alprolazam) usually, from what ive heard and read anyway. my personal experience, i went cold turkey from a massive dose of xanax and i already had these symptoms a little bit, but i still to this day see things in my periphrial vision move, sometimes my whole central vision is just flowing as if it were swaying back and forth in the wind in a really old cheesey ps2 game. hallucinations... more like illusions, (seeing a coat hanging on a wall and for a split second seeing a person instead of a coat) another good example is when your driving through a tunnel, its as if your on a treadmill, and your periphials (spelling sorry) are sort of Glitching torward you, mine seem to lag about 50 feet and vary in speed depending on how bad im feeling, if ive been stressed, or pretty much any mood except crazy depressed, if you want something specific i can discribe it to you just give me an example. ive been itching to complain for a while lol, i can think of perfect spot on examples for just about every household object. im trying to learn how to photoshop so i can post pictures but some things you just cant show in a video. its all perception really, ive also had schitzophrenic episodes unrelated to benzo use, and they are extremely similar. unless someone has a better answer i think the rebound anxiety and lack of GABA doing its job causes your brain to see these things out of paranora as if you were in fight or flight mode. when im having a bad visual spell, ive noticed i dont feel very much physical pain like if i stubbed my toe. so.. try and imagine walking through the house of mirriors at the fair, but less wavy and on a tredmill. honestly i enjoyed the visuals for the first week before i thought it was a problem.

does anybody here have any suggestions to make these stop other than taking anti-psychotic drugs? they do work and all.. its just a hassle.8(