benzo menzo

hey all! I am so glad to have found this site. Anyways...I have struggled with a few illnesses in my short 26 years on this beautiful planet. Although I try to stay positive I will admit I am very up and down. I struggle with horrible anxiety beacuse of this. I used to get bad panic attacks, cut out coffee and didnt really have them after that, but the anxiety is still very much there. I was recently diagnosed with lpr and this is by far the worst illness thus far. I used to take xanax and got kind of did my own tapering(horrible withdrawl) and it seems like right after that i was diagnosed with lpr. I am now on klonopin .5mg and i was told that benzo's relax your LES(which if not functioning properly can cause gerd/lpr) which makes it weaker. My question is: since this is a small dose every day(and i skip a few days here and there) would it be okay to quit cold turkey, or should i taper off. If i do taper off what would be a good taper or what would your advice be for one that you might have used on this dose? I know its a small dose but its already causing me horrible anxiety that i have to get off of it...i have been on benzos for months now Its weird thinking not to be on them anymore. I know that sounds horrible because benzos can be bad for you(long term use, depending on the person) but i just feel so much more relaxed on them. Anyways...just typing about this is causing me tons of stress. Thank you so much for reading and any advice would be awesome. Thank you:)

thank you jolleg

stacey77

Hey there, welcome to HealingWell.  I understand your questioning the use of a benzo but one must weigh all the facts and decide with their doctors. I've seen many people refuse needed medications due to scary websites.

I would strongly suggest that you take this concern to your GI physician before trying to wean off of a medication that may not be bothering your LPR at all.

That said, Benzodiazepines are physically addicting and can be psychologically addicting in some people...possibly leading to abuse in these addictive personalities. Yes, some people will experience withdrawal when on long term or high doses and need to taper appropriately.

There are Benzodiazepines other than Klonopin and I don't feel they should all be lumped into one catagory. You should try and find out as much as you can about a drug and that includes the good points as well as the bad.

I wish you the very best and please keep talking with us.

Kindly,

Kitt

stacey77,

I just wanted to add a few things that help me:

Surround yourself with a support network. It can be friends, family or anyone you feel will help and support you. Coming here is a great idea.

Keep an anxiety diary. Get organised in your fight for recovery. Keep a daily diary of your mood hour by hour. You may start to see a pattern emerging which may be very helpful in identifying possible trigger factors. Rate each day out of 10. 10- you had a great day, you felt confident and happy. 1- you had an awful day, you felt overcome with your anxiety etc.

Believe you can get better. It is possible to overcome anxiety no matter what causes it. Never stop believing-you will overcome this. I am a believer and I am also one of the mods on the GERD forum so I understand how GERD can cause anxiety all to well.