It finally happened to me, benzo induced seizure

[volume-A]

Im 28 and have been taking benzos (valium) for the last 8 or 9 years on and off. The last 9 months ive been prescribed xanax also and here is where my trouble started. I work away so my doc would prescribe me 200 * 2mg xanax pills in an 8 week period so i was taking huge doses. Id even run out after 4 or 5 weeks and go through a horrible withdrawel but get over it and repeat

This time how ever what i thought would never happen to me happened, i had a seizure luckily infront of my work mates. I woke up in hospital with a shirt covered in blood from biting my tounge wondering how id got there even tho they say i walked into the hospital. It was so fucking scary.

Now im stuck in the middle of no where because of work and i still have another 5 weeks here, i feel like i need to go home and get some help but at the same time i need the money. I guess this is self inflicted but it still sucks.. anyway just having a vent

 

[nAON]

Sounds nasty. Only gonna get worse if you keep the benzo use up though.. 8-9 years is a long time to be using them regularly, what are you prescribed them for?

 

[effie]

That's terrible, I'm so sorry you went through that!

I know you need the money and it's really tough, but if you need some time off for your health, that should come first.. I don't know how it works elsewhere but here, if a doctor signs you off, your employer has to give you time off and you receive (at least some) sick pay - from the government if not from your employer. I think it sounds like you need to go home and have a break..

Do you have any benzos at the moment? Have you thought about managing this long-term?

 

[Legerity]

Sorry man must intimidating thinking about reducing or eliminating the benzos.

If you went through withdrawal cold turkey then you KNOW you are able to experience the anxiety. Benzos are pretty much anxiety killers, at least in my experience, rather than particularly recreational. I'm no pro and eliminating anxiety but I've sure had enough. Some things that seem to help:

-Learn to associate the anxiety with what is causing it and address that if possible
-Temporary reliefs like meditation or exercise
-Learning to feel the anxiety without it overwhelming you

I really can't say much about benzo withdrawal but speaking generally, drug of choice seems to serve a particular purpose rather than be random. If anti-anxiety helps you then maybe working on ways of handling the anxiety without any benzos before you start tapering may make the process less terrifying.

I don't mean to diminish it at all I'm sure it's extremely difficult.

 

[Alex000]

I've been on benzos on and off, too, for about 1 year. Most of the time I've been on them, but a few psych wards pulled me off a few times each for a few weeks at a time. Currently I take 2 mg Klonipin daily and Ativan as needed (averaging 1-2 mg daily). This just keeps me "okay", in fact I think an increase in Klonipin is going to be somewhat necessary soon. Knowing how it feels to be off benzos, I will never take myself off of them, ever. I'm quite young so I don't know how I will continue to use benzos without eventual very great increase in dose. How will this work, I wonder. I haven't had a benzo wd seizure yet, but they do scare me.

 

[Missykins]

I think that you will experience a little more than anxiety when coming off a huge benzo habit, and the seizure is just the beginning.

I don't know how in hell you got your doctor to write that script. Who is your doctor, Conrad Murray? Wow. He shouldn't have a license.

In my opinion, if you are really looking to quit, you need to detox in a hospital.

 

[volume-A]

Thanks for the concern and advice guys, its much appreciated.

The doctors have put me on diazepam 10mg 4 times a day and this is sitting comfortably for me at the moment. Ive decided to stick it out at work but ive taken until 30oct off just to chill out as my job can be pretty stressful in itself.

My plan is to obviously do a slow taper and i feel ill be fine with that, in a sense this seizure is a blessing as its been a huge wake up call. 8 weeks ago i ran my car off the road at 110km/ph snapping a power pole in half and walked away with only a scratch, id fallen asleep at the wheel from xanax. But in my benzo haze that wasnt enough to stop me.. this however has woken me up... ive read about seizures for years but i never thought it could or would happen to me but i pushed it to far and it happened.

And young Alex, sooner or later ull have to find a way to live without benzos, i thought i could stay on them forever but it catches up with u. Your better off learning to live without them before its too late

 

[Missykins]

Would you consider going to rehab?

 

[villian]

My plan is to obviously do a slow taper and i feel ill be fine with that, in a sense this seizure is a blessing as its been a huge wake up call. 8 weeks ago i ran my car off the road at 110km/ph snapping a power pole in half and walked away with only a scratch, id fallen asleep at the wheel from xanax. But in my benzo haze that wasnt enough to stop me.. this however has woken me up... ive read about seizures for years but i never thought it could or would happen to me but i pushed it to far and it happened.

I feel you. It took me 10 years and 6 seizures before I finally quit taking benzos. One of my seizures was behind the wheel and I also killed my car on a pole at high speeds and made it out fine. The main (only?) reason I stopped was I was up to the point of taking 14-16mg of Klonopin and I was still a nervous mess.. after a while the pills stop working.

Really try to keep to your diazepam taper.. alprazolam is one of the worst offenders when it comes to seizures. Honestly at the doses you were taking I'm surprised it took you this long to have one.

Best of luck man, it's a long journey. The withdrawal is long but it does go away. A proper taper will minimize the discomfort.

Would you consider going to rehab?

Benzo tapering/withdrawal is such a long process that it isn't well suited for rehab.

 

[Missykins]

Benzo tapering/withdrawal is such a long process that it isn't well suited for rehab.

Not so: there is the benefit of a medically-supervised initial detox, which is the most dangerous part, plus the behavioural part of a deeply
entrenched addiction to benzodiazepines and a relationship with a doctor that will basically do anything the patient wants.