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Benzo's long term use?

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Posted 2/20/2016 11:50 PM (GMT 0)
Is anyone on a benzo for along time??? I have been on one for over 16 years. I came across something saying it can cause dementia and seizures if stopped. I wish the dr. At the time who prescribed it to me warned me about this. He's retired now. So I been taking it ever day :(. I want to come off of it. Of course under my dr. Supervision bit afraid I will star having seizures. :(. Please help
Posted 2/21/2016 1:07 AM (GMT 0)
Bam,

With a supervised discontinuation at a slow and gradual pace, you will not be at risk for seizures.

You can consult with your current GP about this...and also see the site 'the road back' found in our Resources to read more.

S.C.
Posted 2/21/2016 1:25 AM (GMT 0)
SC

I Cannot find it in the resource centre. Is there anyone in here o. Benzo for a long time??
Posted 2/21/2016 1:39 AM (GMT 0)
www.theroadback.org/benzopretaper.aspx
Posted 2/21/2016 2:22 AM (GMT 0)
Am I the only one on a benzo?????
Posted 2/21/2016 11:22 AM (GMT 0)
I have been wondering the same thing recently and am going to ask my therapist when I see him today. I've taken Xanax (low dose) on and off for many years with no withdrawal when feeling better and stopping it. For quite a few years now I have just taken .25 mg in the morning when my anxiety is the worst. Lately however I have been experiencing an especially bad period of anxiety so I have increased the dosage to .25mg three times a day (still not the dose the doc prescribed which is .5 twice a day tho) which I thought should be fine. But now I'm noticing when it wears off the anxiety usually comes right back as well as these adrenalin rushes that drive me crazy. So...being the health anxiety nut that I am, I'm wondering if I'm getting addicted even tho it's such a low dose. I remember reading once that benzos won't become addictive if you take the proper dose when suffering from severe anxiety...but the problem comes in when people take larger doses when not really needing it. I also will ask him if it's better to take your dosages regularly or just "as needed" which it always says on my prescriptions up to now. I'll report back after seeing him.
Posted 2/21/2016 12:25 PM (GMT 0)
Please let me know what he says
Thank you
Posted 2/21/2016 7:59 PM (GMT 0)
I have been on klonopin for over a year. Every time I start to wean after about 4 days I get really anxious. I just started some intense cbt so my doc is hoping that we can wean after a couple months of doing that.
Posted 2/21/2016 9:26 PM (GMT 0)
Been on Benzos on and off for years. A taper with doctors approval will be just fine.
Posted 2/21/2016 11:46 PM (GMT 0)
I have made this statement many time here on HW, the world is all goosey about benzos because the party people have been using them recreationally, they had no real need for them and by playing this game they became addicted, all of you who use your med's responsibility will never get into these same situations.

Ativan and Xanax were designed to shut down a panic or anxiety attack and let a person get their feet back under themselves, Think about this, "why are you wanting to quit these medications", if you are or were diabetic and oral meds were controlling your blood glucose why would you even think of quiting. Benzos are the same if its working and you have some quality of life why quit, let your doctor do his job, if they think you no longer need this help they will give you a plan to exit this therapy as smooth as possible. I took xanax for over ten years then my doctor tapered me off and i never had one problem Peace
Larry ***
Posted 2/22/2016 1:48 AM (GMT 0)
I did speak with my therapist today and he agrees with lgm that, if taken responsibly in times of need, there will be no issues with addiction.
Posted 2/22/2016 4:50 PM (GMT 0)
I'm with Larry. He's 100% right. Those who abuse Benzos have given them a bad name, but I can personally say that a year and a half ago .5 of Xanax 4x a day gave me my life back. I've tapered since then and now carry it for emergency, but if I needed to go back up again, I would have no concerns about it. It's a Med just like any other that can provide amazing benefit.
Posted 2/23/2016 3:01 AM (GMT 0)
One clarification: there is "addiction & abuse" and there is physical dependance. Addiction/abuse is when you're using the drug outside of what is prescribed. Physical dependance is what happens after you've taken the drug everyday for as little as 2 weeks. As prescribed or not.

I was rx'd klonopin in July and it was a complete life saver. I'm certainly not "anti benzo", however, I do find it a heck of a lot easier to get ON than get off. I tried to wean down by splitting my pills in halves then to quarters and started having ugly withdrawals symptoms. Some people can quit and not experience symptoms. I just wasn't one of the lucky ones.

Once I got below .5 mg's a day, my w/d symptoms began to get worse. Nothing critical but I would wind up "up dosing" to make the symptoms manageable.

My pdoc would just tell me to cut the pills in half, then quarters then skip doses and I'd be "fine". No, not fine. I would be cutting the pills in 25-50% reductions, and my body just couldn't handle it.

I finally found a nurse practitioner who put me in touch with a compounding pharmacy that made my benzo into a liquid that I could taper slowly and more accurately. I've been tapering tenths of a mg for weeks now and still have weeks to go. I'm down to about .14 mgs 2x's a day.

Please do not go cold turkey if you've been taking it every day for 16 years.

Also, if you really want to go off of it, now is the time to get your coping skills straight and make them a habit. Coming off of benzos will increase your anxiety, chemically and mentally, so you need to be ready.

When you decide it's time to go off. Talk to a dr who has experience with titration. Many doctors think that you can taper over just a few weeks, and for many people it's simply not true.

Lastly, please also do not go to a "detox" center, from what I understand, they treat benzo withdrawal like any other drug withdrawal and just stop giving it to you. Going cold turkey would be cruel and potentially dangerous.


p.s. I'm not talking about people who take it "as needed", once a week, once a month, etc. If you've been taking it 1 or more times a day for months or years, I'd be really shocked if you didn't have a dependance on it.
Posted 2/23/2016 9:31 AM (GMT 0)
Hi

I have been on various Benzo's over the years and did abuse Valium but eventually got the help to stop and very slowly reduced the dose and had no problems.

I was also taking Tamazepam for a long time but stopped that successfully.

Benz's can be addictive but if you take them as prescribed they are a very effective medication.

Hibee
Posted 2/23/2016 11:57 PM (GMT 0)
well said ACCEPT you have told it like it is. you can develop a dependance even if taken as perscribed. every one needs to understand this and use due caution. i always recommend buspar first over a benzo and see if it works for you. sadly it dosnt work for every one
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