• The Dark Side 💕 Welcome Guest 💕
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads Urgent Hotlines
    Bereavement Mindfulness
    Suicide Support Anger Management
  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | Eligiu | deficiT | paranoid android

insomnia and benzo withdrawal.. cant lay down without panic attack

thank you so much bojangles that was a very helpful post. what does not kill me hopefully will only make me stronger. not more fucking weird lol
 
wouldit be ok to stay on the lyrica for like 6 months or something? I dont wanan withdraw from lyrica and benzos at the same time but I just want it clear that i can still heal while on this lyrica shit. I wanna wait out the benzo withdrawal and then either just keep lyrica or taper off. i hope it doesnt take longer cause of the lyrica.
 
Ive used and abused bensos for a long time.
This last time I had used Klonazepam and Alprazolam for about 9-12 months.

One day I was rushed to the ER for sepsis, while in intensive care I got some form of benso in a IV line + other sedatives.

Then I was moved out of ICU into a own room.. here my benzo WD started.

It didn't take long until I was in full blown delirium... At the time I was SO confused, lacked sleep and VERY paranoid.
I really saw men coming through the window to abduct me and spy-cameras in the corner.

Freaked out, ripped the tubes and lines out of my arm and locked myself in the bathroom where the staff found me on the floor shivering with fear.

This kept on for about 2 weeks until finally a doctor from the addiction center came to see me, he wrote a script and ordered me 50mg's of Oxazepam 3x/day for acute benso WDs.

30-40mins after i took the 50mg's tears flooded down my face... I became SO calm, like waking up from a terrible nightmare.. it was the best feeling in the world.

It was truly horrible, never ever had that reaction to my benso abuse..
Today im down to 40mgs of oxazepam/day and get daily Suboxone.
 
duneplanet said:
ok I agree with you. unfortunately school starts in a week :/ I really do need sleep, id feel a hundred times better if i had gotten some. I miss it so much. I was sleeping great on 3 mg but now 2 mg is like i went cold turkey or something. It gets so old not being able to ever turn it off. And yes im in the almost psychotic phase. also im 20 and have no access to alcohol. Would taking phenibut twice a week be good?
Click to expand...

I think lyrica acts on GABA and is keeping your GABA receptors downregulated.
Also, you say you cut from mg to mg, thats quite a big cut, considering the dose you are on. Cuts should be no more than 5%-10% of the dose and you should hold the dose for 2-3 weeks, make cuts of 0.25mg and when that feels too much, reduce the size of the cuts to 0.125mg and so on, but never cut more than 10% of the dose.
You may be able to go back upto 3mg, but ONLY if you have been on 2mg for less than two weeks (check this out on a benzo forum)
I also think phenibut acts on GABA receptors, so is a no-no.
I wouldnt come straight off the lyrica, I would taper that.
There are specialist benzo forums out there, they have experts who can give you sound advice.
I'm a valium addict who is tapering down by 0.5mg every three weeks, I am on 8.5mg, due to go on 8mg on Thursday.
 
Last edited:
Dune planet: having been through benzo withdrawals I feel your pain. Although mine weren't as bad as yours.

out of interest, how much were your taking daily and for how long.

I found that cutting from 1mg a day to nothing was actually easier than going from 2mg to 1mg. I was on a pretty fast taper (but hadn't been using for that long).

for the nausea and lack of appetite. I actually found that forcing myself to eat would help eliminate some the nausea and make me feel better. You will hate it whilst your doing it, but it is well worth it afterwards.

Also try and do something relaxing like sit in a warm bath or shower for ages.

Try and distract yourself with friends. I found this was great as it stopped me going inside my head and focusing on the psychological and physical pain i was going through. If your too sick to leave the house, invite them round. just chill and talk.

Steer clear of alcohol. it will make your withdrawal symptoms worse.

Lastly, I admire your strength. This is one of the hardest things you will ever do in your life. If you can get through this it will make you a much stronger person. Going through benzo withdrawal is a huge achievement, and you should feel very proud of yourself for getting to this stage. just keep in mind how you will feel about it once you are done with withdrawals and have this monkey off your back.

All the best.,
 
Duneplanet I just want to note that I've been reading handfuls of peoples individual experiences coming off lyrica and it 100% is not like valium wds.
It CAN create nasty wds coming off high doses, but the good news is they only seem to last 2 weeks at most. Other people were saying they still felt a bit foggy after 4 weeks, but its giving me the impression thats its not really more intense than coming off say an ssri.

And since you will also be tapering it I don't think you should really worry. I have taken lyrica before once for several months and stopped, and my anxiety just went up a tad bit for like 2 days. Which is the same reason I'll be using it for my paws.
My plan is to go on lexapro (I've ruled effexor out due to wds looking as bad as paxil) which worked great last time for paws, and lyrica together for 6 months just like you (the 6 months that is). After that I'm going to do a slow taper off both for about another 2 months. And I'm pretty confident at that point most of the paws shit will be over.
It worked with lex alone last time, but the paws are in a different league now which is why I'm adding the lyrica. Those 2 together will be a blessing I'm hoping for post drug depression/anxiety, and I'm fairly confident its going to work.

I'll definitely keep you posted and chances are we'll both be coming off around the same time.
 
yeah im planning on taking lyrica for a while before I taper cause I need it to get through school right now. Im not sure what is up with sleep. I was sleeping fine a few days ago now I barely sleep and im on the same valium dose of .5. Im staying on lyrica a good 6 months so the benzo withdrawal will die down.

psytaco this time i wasnt on benzos for very long, but since I have withdrawn from benzos about 3 other times this one is just as bad as the last ones. I thought I would never have to go through it again. Less hallucinations this time around but i slept last time i did it. thank you guys for your encouragement, is there anything I can ask my doctor for that would help me sleep? He works at a rehab so he wont give me anything like baclofen
 
also do you guys think the drop from .5 to zero will be that much of a difference? How much is .5 doing to my gaba receptors? Will they be in anymore shock? Im doing the best i can but i cant take much more.. I force myself to hang around friends but they all see im not the same person. I turn down chilling with anyone if they wanna do it at night cause I am aware it takes me 7 hours to fall sleep and i need to start early:D. I feel like that girl saying all the mean shit to me like i have no future and im a fuckup will effect the withdrawal.. i was nothing but good to her but she said some of the cruelest things you can say to a person. they repeat in my head all the time.. i already didnt like myself so she didnt help. plus ive been diagnosed with almost every mental illness in the book. I am hypersensitive to everything, have aspergers, ocd, sever anxiety, bipolar II, paranoia, some delusional or magical thinking.. intense hppd with constant visuals and constant hears ringing and static sounds. and feel so shitty when i dont get sleep that i took benzos partly because of that. i was so scared that i wouldnt get sleep and feel like hell the next day that i took them.. now im getting some of the worst insomnia ever. plus being told im weak by many people taht i need to grow a pair by my ex, rejected by the lama at the buddhist temple i go to.. I have some bad karma to say the least. I hope things get better this life time. i have a lot of compassiona nd sometimes can actually feel others pain. i dont see how this could do anything but drain the little life i had left. all in all they were all just bricks in the constantly growing wall.

"but it was only fantasy
the wall was too high as you can see
no matter how he tried he could not break free
and the worms ate into his brain"

I wanna be the wounded healer.
 
i know this sounds weak but paracetamol is great for the chills. its actually a great drug on its own when your not trying to separate it from codeine :)
 
i see my doctor tomorrow. what should i tell him? any meds i could ask him for that arent addictive?
 
if eel like im about to fly out of my fucking mind. down to .25 valium shaking liek crazy
 
How are you feeling now?
I'm sorry you are having a tough time. I'm going through benzo withdrawal right now and it sucks so I'm right there with you duneplanet.
 
duneplanet said:
imf eelin pretty terrible lol, how bout u?
Click to expand...

I'm okay...managed to get ahold of some ambien for tonight, which was cool cuz I've been up for 48 hours now. I have some seroquel too, which will knock me out. How are you feeling? do you have the cramps, chills and panic attacks? That was the shittiest part of going thru benzo withdrawal for me. I've tried Vicodin, alcohol, amphetamine, and seroquel and NONE of them did anything to help the pain. Klonopin was the only thing that worked. I used and abused benzos for 7 years though, so I'm pretty much an example of what not to do.

Hang on, I hope you find something to help you out...I'll be checking back.
 
Last edited:
yeah i have all of that. careful with ambien it effects the same receptors as benzos. serequel is fine tho. if u cant take it try lyrica, itsd helped me a bit. avoid alcohol too. and yea opiates just make me a feel a lil more normal they dont make me high or anything
 
Ms.Amphetamine said:
I'm okay...managed to get ahold of some ambien for tonight, which was cool cuz I've been up for 48 hours now. I have some seroquel too, which will knock me out. How are you feeling? do you have the cramps, chills and panic attacks? That was the shittiest part of going thru benzo withdrawal for me. I've tried Vicodin, alcohol, amphetamine, and seroquel and NONE of them did anything to help the pain. Klonopin was the only thing that worked. I used and abused benzos for 7 years though, so I'm pretty much an example of what not to do.

Hang on, I hope you find something to help you out...I'll be checking back.
Click to expand...

I would stay well clear of ambien if you are in benzo withdrawals.
You will only regret it if you dont.
It has a two hour half life, and acts on the same receptors as benzos.

I hope you dont mind the post, but I am a benzo addict on a taper and I know a bit about benzos and withdrwals and whats not good for them.
 
duneplanet said:
yeah i have all of that. careful with ambien it effects the same receptors as benzos. serequel is fine tho. if u cant take it try lyrica, itsd helped me a bit. avoid alcohol too. and yea opiates just make me a feel a lil more normal they dont make me high or anything
Click to expand...

Heres some information on lyrica

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregabalin

It acts on the GABA receptors like a benzo.

*For all of those in withdrawal, keep going you willl get there in the end.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top