Benzodiazepine info, news, resources and recovery stories

benzo

Benzodiazepines are prescribed primarily for anxiety and/or sleep issues. They are a highly problematic class of drug. Most people are not told the risks involved when they are first prescribed. This page provides information on the risks of taking benzodiazepines. It also offers information and resources for freeing oneself from benzodiazepine dependence.

Although all psychiatric drugs have potentially serious withdrawal issues, it’s the benzos and antidepressant drugs  for which there is really quite a lot of info on the web regarding withdrawal. It’s still mostly anecdotal and not studied, but it’s been recognized much longer that there are severe problems with withdrawing from these two class of drugs so it’s easier to collect information regarding such. So here is what has become a rather extensive collection of articles and stories that deal with just benzos.

Please visit: Psychiatric drug withdrawal and protracted withdrawal syndrome round-up page for a larger picture of how to more safely withdraw from all psych drugs including benzodiazepines. In these collections lifestyle changes are talked about and several books are mentioned to help one support body/mind and spirit.  

Psychiatric drug withdrawal and protracted withdrawal syndrome round-up is a compilation on withdrawal issues in general to help one understand the risks and benefits of withdrawal of all classes of psych drugs. Much about withdrawal remains the same in each class of drug.

Benzodiazepines can be dangerous to withdraw. It’s important to understand the risks. Medical doctors, including psychiatrists, are often woefully misinformed. Please educate yourself before discontinuing the drugs whether or not you are under the care of a doctor. They often do not realize how ignorant they are and can unintentionally cause their patients great pain and harm. Unfortunately it is often essential to advocate for yourself and stay safe. Sometimes the best we can do is find a doctor who is willing to learn with us. I was blessed with such a prescriber while I came off my cocktail.

See also: Peer support? This is the real thing. Free of institutionalization. (psych drug withdrawal)

And: the “It Gets Better” Series if you’re sick and in the midst of psychiatric drug withdrawal, this collection shows how things change over time. 

These are popular and helpful posts I’m highlighting at the beginning of this resource page:

News and general info on benzodiazepines:

Help for getting off of and recovering from benzodiazepine use:

Recovery Stories:

Benzo stories from my own experience (much of this has applicability to others in withdrawal, I often talk about my experience with others suffering from withdrawal syndromes too): **These archives  now span close to five years. They are a record of a time in my life when I was learning and transforming at a rate unlike any other time in my life. I say this as a way of disclaimer. In the earlier years of this blog I am processing shock and dismay. In the early years I am undisputedly angry. I have worked out much of that and see things in a much less judgmental manner now. This continues to evolve. I sometimes want to take down old posts because they no longer convey how I feel, but I realize that they may still be helpful to people who are going through something similar now. The journey got me to where I am today, it’s just odd to have some of it in writing here for all to see. 

Good books on how to deal with anxiety:

Online support:

There are other online groups and boards if you do a google search. There are also lots of videos on youtube that have been made by people coping with withdrawal.

See here for more info about Online Withdrawal Support

General info: Psychiatric drug withdrawal and protracted withdrawal syndrome round-up

I’ve found that all support groups and forums have their own particular culture and dogma. Please use your own best judgment. The most important thing to remember is that you are an individual and withdrawal manifests differently for everyone. Also be aware that the benzo boards in general know very little about the particular risks and dangers of other drugs one may be on along with the benzos and in fact often give very bad information. This is a generalization but it pays to be aware of a lack of knowledge and experience by people who sometimes act as if they know more than they do. Multiple drug situations get extremely complicated and most benzo folks think it’s benzos are always at fault when speaking about withdrawal issues when it may or may not be true in any individual situation. One board made it explicit to me that I was NOT ALLOWED to talk about other drugs at all after I gave some information to someone who had started a thread about antidepressants. The information I gave was limited to responding to a direct inquiry about a particular documented risk involved in taking antidepressants. This silence about another class of drugs in a benzo forum is a dangerous precedent to set and so if you have any other drugs involved in your taper I would recommend going somewhere you can freely talk about all of them. The same thing happens on antidepressant withdrawal boards where people are routinely on benzos and no one realizes how dangerous the benzos are.

Be aware all the psychotropics have serious issues as well as withdrawal problems. That some people sometimes choose to take other drugs to mitigate withdrawal from a drug is fine…it is their right to do so, but if information is withheld about the risks involved in doing so how is the board different from a psychiatrist saying everything will be fine while they feed us benzos.

As always informed choice is what is missing. Once the information is available people should have the right to make whatever decision is right for them.

Some thoughts on stopping psychiatric medications — things to think about before deciding if you should discontinue your medications For information for safer withdrawal in general

see: Psychiatric drug withdrawal and protracted withdrawal syndrome round-up (***To navigate the rest of the archives on this blog check out the drop-down menus at the top of the page) Also see:

Harm Reduction Guide To Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs & Withdrawal (newly revised edition)

***

Update 2016: It’s become clear to me that whenever it’s possible that it’s helpful for folks who’ve not begun withdrawal and have the time to consider a carefully thought out plan to attempt to bring greater well-being to your body before starting the withdrawal. That means learning how to profoundly nourish your body/mind and spirit prior to beginning a withdrawal. For suggestions on how to go about doing that check the drop-down menus on this blog for ideas. Anything that helps you learn how to live well can be part of your plan. That plan will look different for everyone as we learn to follow our hearts and find our own unique paths in the world. Things to begin considering are diet, exercise and movement, meditation/contemplation etc. Paying attention to all these things as you do them helps too. The body will start letting us know what it needs as we learn to pay attention.

*it is potentially dangerous to come off medications without careful planning. Please be sure to be well educated before undertaking any sort of discontinuation of medications. Do not assume your MD will know how to do it either. They are generally not trained in discontinuation and may not know how to recognize withdrawal issues. A lot of withdrawal issues are misdiagnosed to be psychiatric problems This is why it’s good to educate oneself and find a doctor who is willing to learn with you. See: Psychiatric drug withdrawal and protracted withdrawal syndrome round-up

Support Beyond Meds. Enter Amazon via a link from this blog and do the shopping you’d be doing anyway. No need to purchase the book the link takes you to. THANK YOU or make a donation with PayPal

Powered by WordPress.com.

Up ↑