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Benzos Permanent Damage to GABA receptors?

i'VE been on and off for YEARS. I find myself going through depressions when Im not on it, like there's not enough serotonin or happy hormones (gaba) in my body. The effexor definitely helps the anxiety, but coming off benzos, I have found I have not been completely back to normal no matter how many months Ive stayed off (8 mos in the past). I'm sure it's not permanent, (hopefully, but it does take a LONG time.

And Im moving to a country that prescribes it like candy. Great help that will be.
 
I've been off benzodiazepines for ~20 months now and I feel much better now with respect to withdrawal symptoms than I did a year ago when it took me over 2 months before I started talking to people at the university. You could say the recovery is very slow so you can't feel any progress day to day or week to week. Often withdrawal symptoms set back out of nowhere and you're feeling worse for a few weeks, and then suddenly it gets better again. In my opinion it's hard to expect serious improvement before one year after quitting especially if you were on benzodiazepines for years. I took them for 9 years, well, right now I'm happy with the progress I have considering the period of time that I spent dependent on BZDs. It's not like I'm 100% happy with my life but my problems are not related to BZD withdrawal any more.

As for SSRI/SNRI antidepressants and actually antidepressants in general, they never helped me and no matter how deeply depressed I'd be, I'd never ever take them again. Buprenorphine might actually be a step in the right direction, its antidepressant properties seem to come from an increase in monoamines production which is mediated through kappa antagonism, buprenorphine actually increases monoamine biosynthesis while SSRIs, SNRIs, and other reuptake inhibitors only increase the levels by trapping in synapses what's already available. If anything, this leads to less monoamine biosynthesis in the long run.
 
shreddedlettuce said:
I second that 100%.
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I swore them off so long ago, because the withdrawals were worse than anything. But something happened and I HAD to get help for my disorder. I broke my rule and tried Effexor, and I've never thought with as much clarity as this, ever. It was the best decision of my life. I'm just terrified of an apolcalypse now where I can't get the meds (I have GAD, anxiety/panic disorder, and borderline bipolar).
 
I'm with you guys in regards to SSRIs. I've tried them in the past for short periods of time and they have only caused side effects. I've also heard the withdrawal from there is a nightmare.
 
blue comet said:
I'm with you guys in regards to SSRIs. I've tried them in the past for short periods of time and they have only caused side effects. I've also heard the withdrawal from there is a nightmare.
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AGREED

I think only people trying to fit in a life they dont want will find antidepressant relieving depression (creating a cloud of happy delusion, well thats what it did to my aunt and grandma) as for anxiety if it works you clearly have Serotonin imbalance. Docs just throw those away cuz they are psychoactive and non-abusive (not fun). Their REAL medical use is for lower than 30% of population (at least in canada).
 
kvsouth69 said:
I swore them off so long ago, because the withdrawals were worse than anything. But something happened and I HAD to get help for my disorder. I broke my rule and tried Effexor, and I've never thought with as much clarity as this, ever. It was the best decision of my life. I'm just terrified of an apolcalypse now where I can't get the meds (I have GAD, anxiety/panic disorder, and borderline bipolar).
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It looks like you have a naturally upregulated 5-ht2 receptors (I think this is also what causes my GAD and SA). Those receptors are downregulated by antidepressant and ironically psychedelics (but with psychedelics instead of a 3 week discomfort before the effect you get a trip but the effect wears off after months so gotta do another trip but I personally prefer once a month than once a day). Downregulation alleviate symptoms.

Before I tried psychedelics I was borderline bipolar thinking id die if I wouldnt give a homework back (Highschool), had panic attacks before oral presentations etc. then My first psychedelic experiance wiped the bipolarity and cleared it by objectivity and it turned panic into confidence. Sure its not like a Med that does it all for you have to do 50% of the work and you also get periods where you doubt, but you get more out of it and the best is that if there is an apocalypse you will keep the change psychedelics have done forever at some level.
 
adder said:
I second that you should abstain from all substances that affect GABA and/or glutamate before you start feeling better at least for half a year or more. Caffeine is a GABA antagonist, so it will lower your GABA levels and lead to increased withdrawal symptoms. Cannabis will do the same as it reduces GABA release. All stimulants affecting monoamine levels are a big no-no as they will add to excitatory overdrive. Alcohol has a wide spectrum of effects impacting both GABA and NMDA receptors, so it will make withdrawal worse. At first it may alleviate some symptoms if you drink enough, but once it wears off, you're going to suffer even more. NMDA antagonist dissociatives are another class of compounds that can alleviate symptoms at first, but they will aggravate the withdrawal once the effects wear off.

I'm not really sure about nootropics like piracetam. They may have some modulatory effect on NMDA receptors or increase glutamatergic neurotransmission indirectly. From what I remember, 2 years ago when I took piracetam after using DXM at low doses for a week or so, it increased my anxiety and depression. However, I've been on 600-1200mg of piracetam for a couple of months now again and it seems to help me concentrate better a tiny bit. It's been almost 2 years since I quit benzodiazepines and I can drink two cups of weak coffee a day with no big problems, however, caffeine still affects me more strongly than it used to and I abstained from it during the first year after quitting. I'm also kind of addicted to tobacco snuff and it sometimes makes me anxious if I take too much, so staying away from tobacco may be a good idea too.
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I agree with all you say but i'd add the prodrug of an endogenous peptide as a solution towards anxiety and cognitive deficit; Noopept. It is not a racetam. Also it has no effect on GABA production,release or metabolism. I also like the neuroprotective effect that could be useful in bad withdrawl cases.
 
Just an update regarding my situation...

I'm doing my best riding this out. I sort of took a step back when I took 100mg of gabapentin to see if reinstating would be a good idea. That one pill caused more problems then relief and sent me into a huge funk for about a week, and I still have some lingering effects from it. Namely, my anxiety and de realization are a little worse. I also had a different reaction when I drank alcohol with some friends. I also have a difficult time concentrating on watching TV.

I've thrown away all gabapentin and opiates that I had, and so far I feel better. I'm able to drive again and have resumed going out and socializing.

That said, I still have my major problems. They are; SEVERE anxiety, major anger, de realization/irrational fears, physical symptoms (rapid heart beat, anxiety-induced physical pain), cognitive impairment, and hair loss.

This continues to be very disruptive to my life. I can't drive and it's hard to function at my job. Interacting with people is difficult due to cog fog and anxiety, and I struggle in social situations.

I'm doing my best to stay strong in the midst of all this.
 
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