I totally understand that the Xanex and like drugs can be extremely addictive. My mother became addicted to them years ago and is now in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s and it has been a long hard road.
I take all that into consideration and that is the reason neither myself or my husband who is a retired law enforcement officer will allow to happen. He keeps the medication and only will give it in very small doses when it is needed.
My doctor was very clear in disscussing the harzards and that she would be montiring this very closely. That was the problem with Mom her doctor was a quack and gave her a prescription for 90 at one time and did not see her ruegulary.
My doctor wants me back in a few weeks to see how I am doing.
Thanks for the advice on the Lexapro and will keep that in mind.
It’s a real hard decision to take that benzo plunge. You really have to weigh the pros and cons. And you have to do it without knowing how your body will react - whether you will be highly addictive, or not, will come off easily, or not.
Without the Valium I took to get to the doc appts I’d still be in bed, or dead. I was seriously disoriented and getting noticeably worse by the week.
It took me another six months to make the decision to do daily benzo and it was the best decision i made - i take Klonopin. It was the first med that did anything to give me a fraction of my life back. I went through a Valium withdrawal back in the 70’s so I know what I’m in for someday and I accept that. (my withdrawal was nowhere near as bad as the MAV state I was in) In the meantime, I’ve been able to do more things to get myself well. Walking, researching, driving, cooking, saving my marriage.
As I’m improving on PXP, I’m dumping little by little, things that i don’t need to be on. I just quit neurontin. Might not be a bad idea to take K down just a notch.
It just sounded to me that you were discouraging other folks not to atleast try the drug to see if it gives them some help.
— End quote
I was merely telling what happened to me.
Just like others have, with say, Topamax.
It’s beneficial for people to hear both sides regarding any type of drug so they can make an informed choice.
I “tried” the drug Joe. LOL. It did help in the beginning, then the Stephen King symptoms began.
But then I’m talking both Klonopin and Xanax. Klonopin can really suppress the nervous system much more than Xanax.
BTW If you think this about some big dose, I take .25 Xanax per day like you. Sometimes .50, but closer to .25.
Klonopin is the drug I call plain evil. I may never be able to walk the same again thanks to that drug. :shock:
My legs feel like they weigh 500 pounds at times and I couldn’t even push myself up off the toilet, that’s how weak my legs became.
Now Jules can tolerate Klonopin well, I cannot. The most I ever took was .50 a day, now I only take .125
I think Julie takes 1 or 2 whole MG. I’d be in the hospital slurring my words with double vision if I took that much.
We all have different sensitivities.
There is a difference between addiction and dependence.
You know your body is dependent on a drug to function when you try and taper and all hell breaks loose.
While there is obvously some danger involved with benzos, and based on Heather’s experience, they’re not for everyone. For me valium is a miracle drug. It’s THE only med I’ve ever found that had no side effects and killed acute vertigo attacks. Hain says the following about benzos:
Benzodiazepines are GABA modulators, acting centrally to suppress vestibular responses. In small doses, these drugs are extremely useful. Addiction, impaired memory, increased risk of falling, and impaired vestibular compensation are their main shortcomings. Lorazepam and Klonazepam are particularly useful agents because of their effectiveness and simple kinetics. Addiction, the biggest problem, can usually be avoided by keeping the dose to 0.5 mg BID or less. Similarly, low doses of diazepam (Valium) (2 mg) can be quite effective. Clonazepam (Klonopin), appears as effective a vestibular suppressant as lorazepam. The author prefers to avoid use of alprazolam (Xanax) for vestibular suppression, because of the potential for a difficult withdrawal syndrome. Long acting benzodiazepines are not helpful for relief of vertigo.
I use only .50 total daily, half of what Hain thinks can cause addiction.
I don’t get why he claims Valium is helpful, then states long-acting benzos aren’t helpful. That’s illogical.
Valium is a long-acting benzo. It’s half-life is 20-100 hours.
I crack a 5 mg tab in half and that does the job with zero side effects … actually 2 mg would probably do the job too but I would not even know it was in mysystem apart from the vertigo disappearing. S
Today was a good day mostly mav free; it is starting a little bit tonight but since it is now close to bedtime that is better than most days.
I will try the half dosage of Xanax again tonight. I want to see if it causes me any insomnia since last night was not a good baseline with the kidney infection which seems to be better after a day on the antibiotics.
I did notice I was able to get a lot more done today; not sure if that is the medicine or not.
Guess I should have explained That is the name I use on all forums to which I belong. Plus my husband and I have our own forum that is a catch all forum and the name of it is Time Travelers…that is where it started and the quote is something I have always believed.
That’s not only a great article for people using Benzos, it’s an even better article for doctors.
I can’t begin to tell you the horror stories I have been reading in many Benzo support groups
from people who have doctors who think getting off Benzos is a walk in the park.
It’s not about dosage, it’s about frequency. So there are many people who are in my low dose range
who use them every day, suffering just as much as the higher dose people.
Thanks for the article, Scott. And, thanks for sharing your personal experience, Heather. After reading so many positive posts regarding Klonipin since I joined this forum last spring, I decided last month to ask for a prescription to try. When I picked up the prescription, the pharmacist gave me strong warnings about taking it. I took one dose of 0.25 mg to see if it worked some kind of miracle. It didn’t. It just made me tired. I’ve been too scared to give it a longer and/or stronger trial. Now, I think I may get rid of the stuff. I don’t need to add more problems to the ones I already have.
I think that makes very good sense to me. I would personally never take one of these meds daily and non-stop for weeks or months. All doctors I’ve seen here in Australia have always told me to use valium sporadically when necessary (just getting a script for it here is like pulling teeth). If I am in a bad patch, I might use it two days in a row max and then have a full day or two off before having any more. I’ve been doing that for years now and have had no problems at all. Of course there are times when I don’t touch it for weeks or months.
I took one dose of 0.25 mg to see if it worked some kind of miracle. It didn’t. It just made me tired. I’ve been too scared to give it a longer and/or stronger trial. Now, I think I may get rid of the stuff.
— End quote
Do yourself a favor and throw it out.
If I can help one person to avoid what I am going through, it would be wonderful.
The scary thing about Klon is it has a very long half life and it builds up in your body to multiple times the original dose.
So when you go off it, you “think” you are okay and then WHAMMO. It could be weeks or over a month before it hits and all this
wild crap begins. I have read people’s stories where all they did was take a Benzo every day for 7-10 days. Then all hell broke loose
when they stopped. It’s as if Benzos “arrest” your neurological systems. I say system(s) because I refer to not only the central nervous
system but also the autonomic nervous system. The latter is what regulates the “biggies,” as in our unconscious functions.
Heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate etc. So it should not shock you when I tell you how many people have their autonomic
functions flip out after using Benzos. By tapering down Klonopin, I now have huge issues with Heart rate and problems breathing.
Even my blood sugar regulation has gone haywire. I frequently pant like a dog now. Lovely, eh?
If you ever get bored, read some stories in the Benzo support groups online.
Had I done that first, I would never have taken a Benzo for even one day.
I’m guessing it could take me years to get back to normal, if it’s even possible.
Someone should shoot my ENT who said, " Taking Klonopin long term is okay"
Klonopin is the reason I can barely walk right and some days I can’t walk at all. It’s too hard.
I fall on my face in the middle of the night because my legs lock up.
I have worse vertigo now, than before I took Benzos.
I got myself into this mess, and I have to get myself out.
It’s going to be a long and painful process.
I guess we’re all different. Back in the 70’s when they were giving Valium out like candy, I was taking 10 mg a day for 7 years. then Valium started getting bad press and I decided to come off. I weaned off myself at a pretty fast pace compared to what they suggest these days. It took three months. It wasn’t what I would call easy, but nothing close to what i’m feeling with MAV. And I had no residual effects.
It looks like benzos either work for a person and cause no issues except good effects or have the potential to destroy lives. How bizarre that it can have such radically different results in people. But then I could say the same for Topamax. Great for some, horrendous for others.
Julie, you must have the constitution of an Ox. Drugs never muck you around. You’re lucky.
That is the name I use on all forums to which I belong. Plus my husband and I have our own forum that is a catch all forum and the name of it is Time Travelers…that is where it started and the quote is something I have always believed.