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  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | Eligiu | deficiT

Mental Health Benzos for severe anxiety and PD

Sounds to me like you really need some official medical advisement on how to taper down correctly, if that is the path that you and your doctor agrees upon.
 
AlphaMethylPhenyl said:
Sounds to me like you really need some official medical advisement on how to taper down correctly, if that is the path that you and your doctor agrees upon.
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Yes, you are right. I do need medical advisement, but I won't be able to see my doc for about a month, so it's helpful to at least read other people's thoughts about this issue. I've read a few posts on this forum about tapering down succesfully, it won't hurt to read about what others did, at least it will be informative.
Two different psychiatrists told me two very different things about the in and out cicles of benzos, so I guess there's more than one way to do it? Thanks!
 
Well I'd wait to see them if I were you. Benzos aint nothing to frick with.

I know psychiatrists vary on their moves and opinions. I guess the one that knows you best and is most careful would be the one I'd stick with, if you can parse it out.
 
I think you probably know the answer to your questions better than anyone. Getting off benzo's after being on them so long is hard, but it will be different for everyone. Work through your anxiety without them, if you think you need one, hold off and try to work through it on your own. Talk to your doc about a taper schedule. Exposing yourself, as slowly as you need to to your fears and prove to yourself that you can handle it. Find new coping mechanisms and go to counseling.

As I said before, I think the psychological component is the biggest. I once stopped taking it for 3-4 weeks and suffered no ill effects, although this was years ago and I do not remember my dosage, but it was on par or higher than it is now, but I've also been on it for longer now. If you want to get off the medication, you have to work on whatever caused you to take it in the first place and whatever your fears are now.
 
Uppermind - I do understand what you're going through. If you don't feel ready to get off them, then maybe it is better to wait for a better time--I don't know what is going on in your life right now. But it is best to discuss all this with the doc. Let me know how it goes, there are not many of us on this forum who discuss getting off benzo's. At this time, I am not getting off them because of what is going on in my life right now. The alcohol was enough for now and I feel great about that.

Btw: Ashwaganda, Gaba supplements may help with WD if you need them. Good luck !
 
You can’t take them daily but they are totally necessary for severe panic attacks.

Know your body and brain. If you are having side effects or find it addictive or over-use, have withdrawal, or get a paradoxical reaction then these medications are likely not good for you and you should not use them.
 
Like I've said, you just don't know what the future holds....the thing I feared the most happened.
 
Captain.Heroin said:
You can’t take them daily but they are totally necessary for severe panic attacks.

Know your body and brain. If you are having side effects or find it addictive or over-use, have withdrawal, or get a paradoxical reaction then these medications are likely not good for you and you should not use them.
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I don't know why (actually I do), but after having spoken to him, I think the mod Andyturbo, who also has been using Klonopin long term like me, would probably agree, this language is a little annoying.

You most certainly CAN take them daily.

It is probably NOT THE BEST IDEA in the world, but many people have taken them daily for years without then losing their effectiveness or having caused completely debilitating life long issues.

Now, that being said, my usage HAS caused issues like fatigue and quite possibly worsening of depression which have led me to want to at least see if I can taper down if not replace/ or if not replace taper to a low amount and switch to also using something like gabapentin, but that being said, IF I cannot find something that works equally well for my anxiety with fewer side effects I don't know what my option will be.

So often people who advise against using benzos daily ONLY look at the negative side effects of the drug and NOT the negative side effects of living with untreated long term debilitating anxiety.

So that being said, despite not being a mod, I'd phrase this as "YOU CAN take benzos daily, and you MAY not experience debilitating long term effects (though it's likely you might), BUT it should be a last resort, and it is BETTER TO AVOID DAILY AND/OR LONG TERM USAGE of benzos, unless there is no other option.

Unless you have lived with the kind of anxiety that is not responsive to other treatments and used benzos daily long term and seen both the positive and negative effects I would not be one to judge.
 
So that being said, despite not being a mod, I'd phrase this as "YOU CAN take benzos daily, and you MAY not experience debilitating long term effects (though it's likely you might), BUT it should be a last resort, and it is BETTER TO AVOID DAILY AND/OR LONG TERM USAGE of benzos, unless there is no other option.
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Without going through withdrawal or gaining some tolerance yes, but many people don't know what that really entails until they're caught in the habit and so it's better just to tell people it can't be taken therapeutically every day. It's best taken as-needed, or semi-daily. Some time off the medication is almost necessary to keep efficacy.
 
It does but any of you psychic?, cuz u was on them 7 years then yanked, most beutal tribulation ever.

Worse than my psychosis in 05.
 
I'll just say that dependence is not addiction and that it's much easier to stop taking a medication when it's only used as prescribed beforehand.

As for rebound effects when cutting down, well they can be harsh. That's why I prefer Buspar.

There are two main philsophies when it comes to benzo use. One is that if benzos with a relatively short half-life are used as needed then the substance won't accumulate in the CNS enough for it to cause dependence. Another is that benzos with short half-lifes used as needed will leave an anxiogenic effect eventually when not used regularly so that they prompt episodes of anxiety, and that if there's a constant amount in one's system this isn't so and that it'll work on anxiety around the clock. As far as I'm aware.
 
Benzos to me are really only for alcohol addiction.

I tasted klonopin at the peak of my anxiety and it grabbed me by the booty.
 
As far as I'm aware, they tend to use librium for alcoholism. It was the fist benzo marketed, 1960 if I recall right.
 
I used to suffer from terrible social anxiety and climbing panic due to my Colitis symptoms erupting at anytime. The slightest thing would escalate and spiral away from me.

Benzos helped somewhat but for me Phenibut didn’t just eliminate panic and anticipatory anxiety out of stomach stuff. It made me sociable and the opposite of anxious.
 
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Captain.Heroin said:
Without going through withdrawal or gaining some tolerance yes, but many people don't know what that really entails until they're caught in the habit and so it's better just to tell people it can't be taken therapeutically every day. It's best taken as-needed, or semi-daily. Some time off the medication is almost necessary to keep efficacy.
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It hasn't been at all necessary for me to have time off from my Klonopin for it to maintain effectiveness and I've been it on more years than I can have count now, despite wishing I didn't need to take it.

Klonopin is one of those meds that many people can take for years at the same dose without it ever losing efficacy.
 
Fair enough; I haven't ever heard such reports but I believe it, especially for some individuals.

I tend to fare better if I take 2-3 days off in between every few weeks at minimum. I wouldn't want to go every day w/o breaks to avoid dependency or addiction/withdrawal.

Lots of <3 to everyone dealing with their issues.
 
OP - that's exactly what benzo's are designed for. I had severe anxiety with often several panic attacks a day and alprazolam saved my life and for the first time I felt like maybe I was okay and at 19 had a social life for the first time in my life.
 
Captain.Heroin said:
Fair enough; I haven't ever heard such reports but I believe it, especially for some individuals.

I tend to fare better if I take 2-3 days off in between every few weeks at minimum. I wouldn't want to go every day w/o breaks to avoid dependency or addiction/withdrawal.

Lots of <3 to everyone dealing with their issues.
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Yeah, I'd rather take days off but I've been dependent for far too long at this point for it to make a difference.

I mean the half life is so long I even could manage to take days off if I wanted to probably without even going into WD and it wouldn't matter as it would still be in my system and I'd be no less dependent.

It lasts for 12 hours and the half life is between 20-60 hours, so I'd need a long time without it for it to leave my system and then I could go into WD.

I've gone 3 days without before and didn't get WD and it probably wouldn't even set in for more than 3 days, so days off would do nothing for me.
 
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