Author: hatmaker510
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 7:45 am
Hi Josh and welcome,
First of all, if you are still having benzo withdrawal, I would suggest you go to your family doctor or the ER to request some kind of meds (unless you’re already beyond that). Because you’re right, benzo w/d can be deadly.
As for you having a seizure, well, I don’t mean to be rude or doubt you, but I’ve never heard of a person being aware of having a seizure. They are anything but coherent during and after for several minutes. However, that said, I’m certainly no doctor and my knowledge is limited, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
Now, something you may not have considered is something that is extremely common when someone stops taking benzos, whether by cold turkey or tapering – and that’s rebound anxiety. There’s a very good chance you could be suffering from rebound anxiety from stopping the benzos. Now that doesn’t negate the physical pain of your withdrawals. That’s why I suggested you see someone about medications that can help you through the remainder of this.
I do know what you’re going through, because before I started suboxone I was on over 6 MG of xanax PER DAY!!! Yes, PER DAY! I ended up being taken off ALL my meds – including all my opiates and the xanax – cold turkey – while hospitalized. This was in Dec 2008. What they did for me was put me on phenobarbital to reduce the chance of seizures from the xanax w/d. I was a real mess at that time, so I can’t really explain how I felt, but it was nothing major or painful enough for me to recall it.
What I’m saying is you WILL get through this. Consider seeing a doctor to make sure your risk of seizures is past, or they might want to put you on something like phenobarb. But at least let a doctor determine if it’s necessary or not.
You sound damn determined and that will help you get through this immensely. And your post will help many many people. You said you’ve been reading Suboxone TalkZone….Do you recall reading his blog about "Are you anxious? Are you sure?"? That’s a great blog post of his. If you haven’t read it and you’re interested in his take on anxiety and benzos, especially as it relates to opiate addicts, you might be interested in tracking it down. If you have any trouble finding it,let me know and I can get you the link.
Sorry for the long-winded post. I wish you the best. And thanks for sharing what you’ve been through with us.