Help with ***** withdrawal

[bigswole30]

This is something hard to discuss, but here goes......

I have been on .5mg ***** 3 times per day for over a year for Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Well, I am out of ***** and I'm going through some really tough times.. I looked up the withdrawal symptoms and I have every one. People have a hard time understanding Anxiety and they think it is something that can be controlled with the mind. I have also read that in order to get off of ***** you are supposed to slowly taper off but I have completely ran out and have no means of obtaining more. I purchased a bottle of Psychotropin, but it does not seem to be helping much. Does anyone have first hand experiences with ***** withdrawals and how long it lasts?

P.S. Chad is so out of it he can't type. This is his girlfriend typing for him.

[CrazyTall]

Alcohol to numb the symptoms, but that might lead to alcohol dependance.
I'd just tough it out. I have with many drugs, including *****, and some much more powerful drugs. It only lasts a few days, then its over.

[bigswole30]

This is honestly the most debilitating thing I have suffered.

[HYPEBEAST]

All the withdrawl symptons are bull****, so you make small obersvations which you blow out of proportion on your own.
I have anxiety too, used to take a few sticks here and there its not so bad
These are drug companies, they make so much $$ off you. Research shows for every $1 invested into ads, they make $4 back, and they OD on advertising. There is a "psychological issue" for everything.

[BillCutting]

I took ***** every day for about three years at 2-3 mgs per day. I just tapered down and the withdrawl was nothing.

[bigswole30]

Withdrawal symptoms are bull****??? I can hardly type and I feel so disoriented. I have read over 20 books on Anxiety and went tp psychotherapy something is going on physiologically not just psychologically. I know all the breathing techniques, relaxation, etc. But this is a nightmare.

[cuponoodles]

Although 1.5 mg ***** is not very high, quitting it cold turkey is not a good idea at all. I would go see a doctor who will give you some pills to gradually taper off with.

[bigswole30]

I took ***** every day for about three years at 2-3 mgs per day. I just tapered down and the withdrawl was nothing.

Without going into details, I unfortunatly have no means to obtain more ***** to taper off.

[llueve]

So. you can't get any ***** because you don't have a prescription from your doctor and he doesn't open until Monday, or what? If that's the case go to a pharmacy anyways (preferably one where they "know" you if such a place exists). Explain the situation and the pharmacist (if he's not feeling like an *******) might oblige you by letting you buy enough ***** to get through the weekend, before the doctor can call in a new prescription. Technically that's not supposed to be done, but in situations like this exceptions can be made based on the pharmacist's judgment. Worst case scenario: if his symptoms are getting really bad try going to a hospital ER and they might hook you up with a prescription.

[jtmOBX]

Ive not been through it but Ive had friends go through it with other benzodiazepines. 1.5mg dosage of ***** is realitively low so hopefully he won't have the extreme jump in BP or anything.

If you go to a doctor you could probably get a prescription for .25mg or .5mg xr to use every other day or has he prescribes. Either way a doctor will take ***** withdrawal seriously, as he should.

If you cant go to the doctor crazytall's advice could work but you should watch out for alcohol dependance like he said.

[jtmOBX]

All the withdrawl symptons are bull****, so you make small obersvations which you blow out of proportion on your own.
I have anxiety too, used to take a few sticks here and there its not so bad
These are drug companies, they make so much $$ off you. Research shows for every $1 invested into ads, they make $4 back, and they OD on advertising. There is a "psychological issue" for everything.

You're wrong. Benzodiazepine withdrawals are very serious, when they occur. Taking a few sticks (******?) "here and there" is a lot different from taking it daily over a long period of time.

[gotmuscle?]

This is something hard to discuss, but here goes......

I have been on .5mg ***** 3 times per day for over a year for Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Well, I am out of ***** and I'm going through some really tough times.. I looked up the withdrawal symptoms and I have every one. People have a hard time understanding Anxiety and they think it is something that can be controlled with the mind. I have also read that in order to get off of ***** you are supposed to slowly taper off but I have completely ran out and have no means of obtaining more. I purchased a bottle of Psychotropin, but it does not seem to be helping much. Does anyone have first hand experiences with ***** withdrawals and how long it lasts?

P.S. Chad is so out of it he can't type. This is his girlfriend typing for him.

I feel for you bro. My brother was on pain pills and muscle relaxers for years because he was addicted. It took a lot away from his life. From what I experienced with him, it usually takes 2-3 days. He did it in rehab several times. I wish you the best...

[bigswole30]

My fear is reading about seizures.
And also, because I have recently moved to FL I do not have a doctor or insurance. And as embarassing as it is to say, I do not have the financial stability right now to go to the ER without insurance.

[jtmOBX]

My fear is reading about seizures.
And also, because I have recently moved to FL I do not have a doctor or insurance. And as embarassing as it is to say, I do not have the financial stability right now to go to the ER without insurance.

Seizures are realitively rare and are more likely to occur when a benzodiazepine is abused instead of used correctly. You shouldnt have to worry too much about seizures IMO.

If you absolutely cant go to a doctor then it is not at all impossible to tough it out and it helps when you have someone to keep and eye on the person and keep reassuring them theyll be fine.

[bigswole30]

Seizures are realitively rare and are more likely to occur when a benzodiazepine is abused instead of used correctly. You shouldnt have to worry too much about seizures IMO.

Thanks that is relieving to know. Never once have i used ***** for "recreational" purposes.

[jmil]

All the withdrawl symptons are bull****, so you make small obersvations which you blow out of proportion on your own.
I have anxiety too, used to take a few sticks here and there its not so bad
These are drug companies, they make so much $$ off you. Research shows for every $1 invested into ads, they make $4 back, and they OD on advertising. There is a "psychological issue" for everything.

Do you even think when you type??? Have some compassion man, geeez. This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I mean I know you're 15, and you don't know much...but c'moon. You have no clue what he is going through, and it sounds like you need to learn a lot of tough life lessons. Don't speak when you don't know what you are talking about. Do not post, just to post...it doesn't make you look very smart.

to Bigswole. Goodluck man, I'm sorry to hear that you are going through this. I am on .25 mg's 1 time a day. Came down from .5 twice a day. Are you on any type of SSRI/SNRI, I am on effexor right now....now that is some tough Sh** to get off of. The feeling when you forget to take it, is awful!! Anyways, hope your symptoms get better, and everything goes smoothly. Take care man.

[bobburn]

Do you even think when you type??? Have some compassion man, geeez. This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I mean I know you're 15, and you don't know much...but c'moon. You have no clue what he is going through, and it sounds like you need to learn a lot of tough life lessons. Don't speak when you don't know what you are talking about. Do not post, just to post...it doesn't make you look very smart.

to Bigswole. Goodluck man, I'm sorry to hear that you are going through this. I am on .25 mg's 1 time a day. Came down from .5 twice a day. Are you on any type of SSRI/SNRI, I am on effexor right now....now that is some tough Sh** to get off of. The feeling when you forget to take it, is awful!! Anyways, hope your symptoms get better, and everything goes smoothly. Take care man.

^^^My sentiments exactly. Unless you have gone through it, you've NO idea. It's not an easy thing, please learn how to keep your mouth shut if you don't know anything about it.

[bigswole30]

Do you even think when you type??? Have some compassion man, geeez. This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I mean I know you're 15, and you don't know much...but c'moon. You have no clue what he is going through, and it sounds like you need to learn a lot of tough life lessons. Don't speak when you don't know what you are talking about. Do not post, just to post...it doesn't make you look very smart.

to Bigswole. Goodluck man, I'm sorry to hear that you are going through this. I am on .25 mg's 1 time a day. Came down from .5 twice a day. Are you on any type of SSRI/SNRI, I am on effexor right now....now that is some tough Sh** to get off of. The feeling when you forget to take it, is awful!! Anyways, hope your symptoms get better, and everything goes smoothly. Take care man.

I was on Lexapro and Prozac at different times but neither seemed to help. Hence me having to rely on the *****.

I did some research and found that ***** is a short term drug and they reccommended to start on ****** for help with withdrawal. My goal is to be off of ALL anxiety medication.

[jtmOBX]

I was on Lexapro and Prozac at different times but neither seemed to help. Hence me having to rely on the *****.

I did some research and found that ***** is a short term drug and they reccommended to start on ****** for help with withdrawal. My goal is to be off of ALL anxiety medication.

Its good to get off of them, a lot of the SSRIs and the like are pretty nasty drugs IMO.

Youll get off of them alright if you work at it. Keep your head up for this week and youll be fine.

[Eshamed51]

Seizures are realitively rare and are more likely to occur when a benzodiazepine is abused instead of used correctly. You shouldnt have to worry too much about seizures IMO.

bigswole30 if your telling the truth about your dose a seizure would be very rare. I think your biggest problem now will be sleeping if you can get any rx get ****** for a few days or another benzo ****** would be your best choice for a few days. If not try some otc sleep supps. good luck.

[SoCool]

I'm truly sorry to hear that you're going through this. I came off of ****** and zanex about 3 yrs ago, I did it with prayer more than anything else. I know that's probably not what you were looking for but, I've been through it. Get a bible, read it even. Try reading psalms or proverbs. Try the book of ephesians or the gospels. I don't think there is alot you can do that would be healthy i.e., not replacing one addiction with another. You and your girl need to ride this out, be thankful you got someone there for you. Stop looking up potential symptons, stop scaring yourself. It might hurt but it won't kill you. Be strong. And oh yea, hypebeast sounds like a scientologist. Just because you haven't expierenced something doesn't mean its not real. When someone says how they feel, you can't logically tell them they're wrong, people can't control how they feel. They can usually control what they do.

[Eshamed51]

All the withdrawl symptons are bull****, so you make small obersvations which you blow out of proportion on your own.
I have anxiety too, used to take a few sticks here and there its not so bad
These are drug companies, they make so much $$ off you. Research shows for every $1 invested into ads, they make $4 back, and they OD on advertising. There is a "psychological issue" for everything.

please keep your mouth shut when you are ignorant. ive seen two very good friends have major withdrawal from *****. Both ended up in rehab and one had a seizure. the other had hallucinations and started seeing his dead friend. Just because you took a few xanies means nothing they are powerfull drugs that are very addicting and can ruin peoples lives.

[Abe the Cop]

All the withdrawl symptons are bull****, so you make small obersvations which you blow out of proportion on your own.
I have anxiety too, used to take a few sticks here and there its not so bad
These are drug companies, they make so much $$ off you. Research shows for every $1 invested into ads, they make $4 back, and they OD on advertising. There is a "psychological issue" for everything.

Obviously you know absolute sh(i)t about benzodiazepine withdrawl. Benzodiazepines and alcohol are the only two substances whose withdrawls can be fatal. I was started on 0.75mg/day (0.25 3x a day) and after two years I was up to 6mg/day (2mg 3x a day). Truth is, I was running out of my scripts 1-2 weeks after filling them (1 month scripts) and I went through the potentially fatal withdrawls many, MANY times. I assume you've run out of ***** because you take more than prescribed. I think you need to come to terms with what's really going on here and get off the meds. I would take this time to either 1) admit to your doc you have a problem and you need to get off ***** or 2) admit yourself into a detox center. That's what I did...7 times. After about a year of this cycle and after being in the hospital a couple times already, I went through my first ***** withdrawl related seizure. It wasn't until 5am that I finally fell asleep. I'd been sweating profusely and hallucinating dark spots out of the corner of my eyes. I could not eat and I had a terrible headache. After sleeping only a short while, I awoke to myself unable to breathe and biting down on my tongue so hard the I broke half way through and it turned black for the better half of a month. All the muscles in my face were tensed and my teeth were COMPLETELY bitten down as hard as possible. I had no possible way of breathing...I thought I was dead for sure.

This experience was absolutely nothing compared to my second encounter with benzo withdrawl related "seizure". The second time was the very last time I ever withdrawled off of benzodiazepines. I finally had enough and was admitted into detox (and a 21 day inpatient rehab afterwards). I was really upset that day and my girlfriend had come to visit me. I started shaking and my teeth were kind of "clamped down". I thought it was just cause I was upset, but my teeth started biting down harder and my neck and face muscles were quickly stiffening harder and harder. She walked me down to the nurse's station and they put me in a room to calm down. I was starting to really get scared because I couldn't even open my mouth enough to talk. Suddenly, my muscles in my neck tensed so hard that I couldn't move it. It was "flexed into position". Then, the worst part of all, my face did the same thing. It "flexed into position" as well. My teeth were clamped down and I felt severe pressure on all my teeth. My face muscles were all completely tensed to where I was making faces. My girlfriend was horrified and she just held my hands while this all happened. The nurses had no idea what to do. My girlfriend kept screaming, "get him a doctor!! Get him a doctor!!!" They gave me two injections of something. Then a doctor finally came and they gave me a different injection. The teeth clamping got worse and my face and neck muscles were violently contorting from different intensities of tension. Scariest thing that ever happened to me. I thought my teeth were going to break. Then I start shaking and making weird noises that I could NOT control. My girlfriend was terrified, as was I. Finally, after about half an hour it ended. Thank god. All this because of sudden cessation of heavy benzodiazepine use.

I honestly believe benzos are NOT worth taking. They are over prescribed and most people with even light cases of anxiety are willing to take them because they definitely help better than anything else. But ***** (**********) is a VERY potent benzo with a short half life. That means you need to dose at least 3x a day because after 4-5 hours you will notice a decrease in effect. Tolerance builds quickly and dosage needs to be upped to maintain effect. However, I was prescribed this medication for TWO YEARS and this is the case for many people. ***** is meant to be prescribed for short periods of time, like two weeks. But of course, like HYPEBEAST said (the only thing he was right about), doctors and the pharm. companies make a lot of money off prescibing these meds.

If I were you I would take this oppurtunity to be honest with yourself. Why are you out of your meds so early? Obviously because you abuse them. If you didn't abuse them you would still have your meds. It took me a while to admit that I was a drug abuser. True, I have anxiety. I have been diagnosed with the following taken right off of my Diagnosis sheet typed up by my psychologist:

Axis I:

300.01 Panic Disorder Without Agoraphobia
296.33 Major depressive disorder recurrent severe
304.80 Polysubstance dependence

So, there you have it. I'm not just another person saying "Oh, yeah I get anxious a lot, I have anxiety." I've gone through many evaluation with many different doctors since I was 3 or 4 years old up until currently. I used to have serious panic attacks and that's why I was put on *****. But I got addicted to it and I had to admit to myself in order to save my life and to save myself a lot of pain and discomfort that I am a full blown addict. If you run out of your prescriptions early and it happens more than just once, YOU ARE A DRUG ADDICT!!!. Don't ever let anyone tell you that benzodiazepines are not big deal, the withdrawls are all in your head because that's bull****. I spent years of my life studying these drugs. If you can survive the withdrawl period cold turkey and symptoms begin to go away, please, for you sake, your girlfriend's sake, your family's sake, DO NOT FILL THE NEXT PRESCRIPTION. If I could go back in time, I would have never refilled my prescription after I started running out early. I'd withdrawl terribly, not leave my room, but when the time came for a refill, I'd be halfway through withdrawls. You will continue to suffer if you refill your prescription and it will eventually get to a boiling point and you may end up in a detox, rehab, hospital, jail or maybe you'll die. Like I said, withdrawls from ***** (especially *****) or any other powerful benzodiazepine can be FATAL. You can not die from heroin withdrawls. You can't even get physically addicted to *******. But ***** withdrawls have the ability to kill you. And if it doesn't kill you, have fun with the seizures. Because if you continue to refill your medications even though you know you're running out early due to abuse, you are going to build up more of a tolerance and you will eventually be prescribed more. The more you take, the more dangerous.

Don't you want to remember your life with your girlfriend? She obviously cares about you, dude. She's probably very terrified like my girlfriend was. And the only way to end that terror for her, for you and your family will be to man up and take some responsibility for your actions and your problems and don't fuc(k)ing refill that prescription. And once you put this behind you, you can do what I did...become addicted 100% full blown to body building. Trust me, it's a much healthier addiction. Body building won't likely kill you, ***** has the potential to kill, especially an abuser. I know you might not like that word or believe that you abuse....but if you're running out of pills early, you are abusing them. I used to kid myself and say "Well, I have a tolerance and sometimes when my anxiety is really bad I just need to take more. I suffer otherwise." It's bull****. You are addicted. Benzos, especially ***** due to its quick onset and short half life, are VERY addictive. More addiction than heroin. And I would know because I was an heroin addict for three years as well. I took heroin because I was a basket case and it helped calm me down. But the real truth is, I was a drug addict.

Do yourself a favor and don't fill the next script. You will thank me later. Your girlfriend will be happy to have you back. Please do the right thing and give up the evil sh(i)t. Don't let a pill spell out an end for you. That's a sad way to go. I would know that as well as it was almost my own demise. I've been in and out of rehabs because of my anxiety related drug abuse problems and now since I've been clean for almost a year, I've never felt better. I'm only trying to help and trust me, this is pure, honest help. If you take this help you will be happy and you will feel better. If you neglect my help, you will only continue to suffer. The choice is yours.

[llueve]

^^^ Wow. Some passionate words and good advice if it's the case. The guy claims to not be misusing the *****, but to have run out because of his move to Florida. Anyways, he knows himself what the situation is. There's a good website with a lot of patient related information about benziodiazepines (tapering, withdrawal etc): http://www.benzo.org.uk/FAQ1.1.htm

[bigswole30]

Obviously you know absolute sh(i)t about benzodiazepine withdrawl. Benzodiazepines and alcohol are the only two substances whose withdrawls can be fatal. I was started on 0.75mg/day (0.25 3x a day) and after two years I was up to 6mg/day (2mg 3x a day). Truth is, I was running out of my scripts 1-2 weeks after filling them (1 month scripts) and I went through the potentially fatal withdrawls many, MANY times. I assume you've run out of ***** because you take more than prescribed. I think you need to come to terms with what's really going on here and get off the meds. I would take this time to either 1) admit to your doc you have a problem and you need to get off ***** or 2) admit yourself into a detox center. That's what I did...7 times. After about a year of this cycle and after being in the hospital a couple times already, I went through my first ***** withdrawl related seizure. It wasn't until 5am that I finally fell asleep. I'd been sweating profusely and hallucinating dark spots out of the corner of my eyes. I could not eat and I had a terrible headache. After sleeping only a short while, I awoke to myself unable to breathe and biting down on my tongue so hard the I broke half way through and it turned black for the better half of a month. All the muscles in my face were tensed and my teeth were COMPLETELY bitten down as hard as possible. I had no possible way of breathing...I thought I was dead for sure.

This experience was absolutely nothing compared to my second encounter with benzo withdrawl related "seizure". The second time was the very last time I ever withdrawled off of benzodiazepines. I finally had enough and was admitted into detox (and a 21 day inpatient rehab afterwards). I was really upset that day and my girlfriend had come to visit me. I started shaking and my teeth were kind of "clamped down". I thought it was just cause I was upset, but my teeth started biting down harder and my neck and face muscles were quickly stiffening harder and harder. She walked me down to the nurse's station and they put me in a room to calm down. I was starting to really get scared because I couldn't even open my mouth enough to talk. Suddenly, my muscles in my neck tensed so hard that I couldn't move it. It was "flexed into position". Then, the worst part of all, my face did the same thing. It "flexed into position" as well. My teeth were clamped down and I felt severe pressure on all my teeth. My face muscles were all completely tensed to where I was making faces. My girlfriend was horrified and she just held my hands while this all happened. The nurses had no idea what to do. My girlfriend kept screaming, "get him a doctor!! Get him a doctor!!!" They gave me two injections of something. Then a doctor finally came and they gave me a different injection. The teeth clamping got worse and my face and neck muscles were violently contorting from different intensities of tension. Scariest thing that ever happened to me. I thought my teeth were going to break. Then I start shaking and making weird noises that I could NOT control. My girlfriend was terrified, as was I. Finally, after about half an hour it ended. Thank god. All this because of sudden cessation of heavy benzodiazepine use.

I honestly believe benzos are NOT worth taking. They are over prescribed and most people with even light cases of anxiety are willing to take them because they definitely help better than anything else. But ***** (**********) is a VERY potent benzo with a short half life. That means you need to dose at least 3x a day because after 4-5 hours you will notice a decrease in effect. Tolerance builds quickly and dosage needs to be upped to maintain effect. However, I was prescribed this medication for TWO YEARS and this is the case for many people. ***** is meant to be prescribed for short periods of time, like two weeks. But of course, like HYPEBEAST said (the only thing he was right about), doctors and the pharm. companies make a lot of money off prescibing these meds.

If I were you I would take this oppurtunity to be honest with yourself. Why are you out of your meds so early? Obviously because you abuse them. If you didn't abuse them you would still have your meds. It took me a while to admit that I was a drug abuser. True, I have anxiety. I have been diagnosed with the following taken right off of my Diagnosis sheet typed up by my psychologist:

Axis I:

300.01 Panic Disorder Without Agoraphobia
296.33 Major depressive disorder recurrent severe
304.80 Polysubstance dependence

So, there you have it. I'm not just another person saying "Oh, yeah I get anxious a lot, I have anxiety." I've gone through many evaluation with many different doctors since I was 3 or 4 years old up until currently. I used to have serious panic attacks and that's why I was put on *****. But I got addicted to it and I had to admit to myself in order to save my life and to save myself a lot of pain and discomfort that I am a full blown addict. If you run out of your prescriptions early and it happens more than just once, YOU ARE A DRUG ADDICT!!!. Don't ever let anyone tell you that benzodiazepines are not big deal, the withdrawls are all in your head because that's bull****. I spent years of my life studying these drugs. If you can survive the withdrawl period cold turkey and symptoms begin to go away, please, for you sake, your girlfriend's sake, your family's sake, DO NOT FILL THE NEXT PRESCRIPTION. If I could go back in time, I would have never refilled my prescription after I started running out early. I'd withdrawl terribly, not leave my room, but when the time came for a refill, I'd be halfway through withdrawls. You will continue to suffer if you refill your prescription and it will eventually get to a boiling point and you may end up in a detox, rehab, hospital, jail or maybe you'll die. Like I said, withdrawls from ***** (especially *****) or any other powerful benzodiazepine can be FATAL. You can not die from heroin withdrawls. You can't even get physically addicted to *******. But ***** withdrawls have the ability to kill you. And if it doesn't kill you, have fun with the seizures. Because if you continue to refill your medications even though you know you're running out early due to abuse, you are going to build up more of a tolerance and you will eventually be prescribed more. The more you take, the more dangerous.

Don't you want to remember your life with your girlfriend? She obviously cares about you, dude. She's probably very terrified like my girlfriend was. And the only way to end that terror for her, for you and your family will be to man up and take some responsibility for your actions and your problems and don't fuc(k)ing refill that prescription. And once you put this behind you, you can do what I did...become addicted 100% full blown to body building. Trust me, it's a much healthier addiction. Body building won't likely kill you, ***** has the potential to kill, especially an abuser. I know you might not like that word or believe that you abuse....but if you're running out of pills early, you are abusing them. I used to kid myself and say "Well, I have a tolerance and sometimes when my anxiety is really bad I just need to take more. I suffer otherwise." It's bull****. You are addicted. Benzos, especially ***** due to its quick onset and short half life, are VERY addictive. More addiction than heroin. And I would know because I was an heroin addict for three years as well. I took heroin because I was a basket case and it helped calm me down. But the real truth is, I was a drug addict.

Do yourself a favor and don't fill the next script. You will thank me later. Your girlfriend will be happy to have you back. Please do the right thing and give up the evil sh(i)t. Don't let a pill spell out an end for you. That's a sad way to go. I would know that as well as it was almost my own demise. I've been in and out of rehabs because of my anxiety related drug abuse problems and now since I've been clean for almost a year, I've never felt better. I'm only trying to help and trust me, this is pure, honest help. If you take this help you will be happy and you will feel better. If you neglect my help, you will only continue to suffer. The choice is yours.

To be honest, when I was fired from VPX I no longer had health insurance and could not see my DR. Therefore, I had to obtain ***** from am alternate source (not good, I know). Sucks when you lose everything. I do not feel like I am a drug addict per say and actually used less than what was prescribed when possible depending on my anxiety levels. Needless to say, my life has been tough since getting fired from VPX. That being said, I do want to thank you for taking the time to post. Just wanted it to be known I was not "abusing" ***** or running out early because I was using for any reason other than what it was prescribed to me for..

[Eshamed51]

Obviously you know absolute sh(i)t about benzodiazepine withdrawl. Benzodiazepines and alcohol are the only two substances whose withdrawls can be fatal. I was started on 0.75mg/day (0.25 3x a day) and after two years I was up to 6mg/day (2mg 3x a day). Truth is, I was running out of my scripts 1-2 weeks after filling them (1 month scripts) and I went through the potentially fatal withdrawls many, MANY times. I assume you've run out of ***** because you take more than prescribed. I think you need to come to terms with what's really going on here and get off the meds. I would take this time to either 1) admit to your doc you have a problem and you need to get off ***** or 2) admit yourself into a detox center. That's what I did...7 times. After about a year of this cycle and after being in the hospital a couple times already, I went through my first ***** withdrawl related seizure. It wasn't until 5am that I finally fell asleep. I'd been sweating profusely and hallucinating dark spots out of the corner of my eyes. I could not eat and I had a terrible headache. After sleeping only a short while, I awoke to myself unable to breathe and biting down on my tongue so hard the I broke half way through and it turned black for the better half of a month. All the muscles in my face were tensed and my teeth were COMPLETELY bitten down as hard as possible. I had no possible way of breathing...I thought I was dead for sure.

This experience was absolutely nothing compared to my second encounter with benzo withdrawl related "seizure". The second time was the very last time I ever withdrawled off of benzodiazepines. I finally had enough and was admitted into detox (and a 21 day inpatient rehab afterwards). I was really upset that day and my girlfriend had come to visit me. I started shaking and my teeth were kind of "clamped down". I thought it was just cause I was upset, but my teeth started biting down harder and my neck and face muscles were quickly stiffening harder and harder. She walked me down to the nurse's station and they put me in a room to calm down. I was starting to really get scared because I couldn't even open my mouth enough to talk. Suddenly, my muscles in my neck tensed so hard that I couldn't move it. It was "flexed into position". Then, the worst part of all, my face did the same thing. It "flexed into position" as well. My teeth were clamped down and I felt severe pressure on all my teeth. My face muscles were all completely tensed to where I was making faces. My girlfriend was horrified and she just held my hands while this all happened. The nurses had no idea what to do. My girlfriend kept screaming, "get him a doctor!! Get him a doctor!!!" They gave me two injections of something. Then a doctor finally came and they gave me a different injection. The teeth clamping got worse and my face and neck muscles were violently contorting from different intensities of tension. Scariest thing that ever happened to me. I thought my teeth were going to break. Then I start shaking and making weird noises that I could NOT control. My girlfriend was terrified, as was I. Finally, after about half an hour it ended. Thank god. All this because of sudden cessation of heavy benzodiazepine use.

I honestly believe benzos are NOT worth taking. They are over prescribed and most people with even light cases of anxiety are willing to take them because they definitely help better than anything else. But ***** (**********) is a VERY potent benzo with a short half life. That means you need to dose at least 3x a day because after 4-5 hours you will notice a decrease in effect. Tolerance builds quickly and dosage needs to be upped to maintain effect. However, I was prescribed this medication for TWO YEARS and this is the case for many people. ***** is meant to be prescribed for short periods of time, like two weeks. But of course, like HYPEBEAST said (the only thing he was right about), doctors and the pharm. companies make a lot of money off prescibing these meds.

If I were you I would take this oppurtunity to be honest with yourself. Why are you out of your meds so early? Obviously because you abuse them. If you didn't abuse them you would still have your meds. It took me a while to admit that I was a drug abuser. True, I have anxiety. I have been diagnosed with the following taken right off of my Diagnosis sheet typed up by my psychologist:

Axis I:

300.01 Panic Disorder Without Agoraphobia
296.33 Major depressive disorder recurrent severe
304.80 Polysubstance dependence

So, there you have it. I'm not just another person saying "Oh, yeah I get anxious a lot, I have anxiety." I've gone through many evaluation with many different doctors since I was 3 or 4 years old up until currently. I used to have serious panic attacks and that's why I was put on *****. But I got addicted to it and I had to admit to myself in order to save my life and to save myself a lot of pain and discomfort that I am a full blown addict. If you run out of your prescriptions early and it happens more than just once, YOU ARE A DRUG ADDICT!!!. Don't ever let anyone tell you that benzodiazepines are not big deal, the withdrawls are all in your head because that's bull****. I spent years of my life studying these drugs. If you can survive the withdrawl period cold turkey and symptoms begin to go away, please, for you sake, your girlfriend's sake, your family's sake, DO NOT FILL THE NEXT PRESCRIPTION. If I could go back in time, I would have never refilled my prescription after I started running out early. I'd withdrawl terribly, not leave my room, but when the time came for a refill, I'd be halfway through withdrawls. You will continue to suffer if you refill your prescription and it will eventually get to a boiling point and you may end up in a detox, rehab, hospital, jail or maybe you'll die. Like I said, withdrawls from ***** (especially *****) or any other powerful benzodiazepine can be FATAL. You can not die from heroin withdrawls. You can't even get physically addicted to *******. But ***** withdrawls have the ability to kill you. And if it doesn't kill you, have fun with the seizures. Because if you continue to refill your medications even though you know you're running out early due to abuse, you are going to build up more of a tolerance and you will eventually be prescribed more. The more you take, the more dangerous.

Don't you want to remember your life with your girlfriend? She obviously cares about you, dude. She's probably very terrified like my girlfriend was. And the only way to end that terror for her, for you and your family will be to man up and take some responsibility for your actions and your problems and don't fuc(k)ing refill that prescription. And once you put this behind you, you can do what I did...become addicted 100% full blown to body building. Trust me, it's a much healthier addiction. Body building won't likely kill you, ***** has the potential to kill, especially an abuser. I know you might not like that word or believe that you abuse....but if you're running out of pills early, you are abusing them. I used to kid myself and say "Well, I have a tolerance and sometimes when my anxiety is really bad I just need to take more. I suffer otherwise." It's bull****. You are addicted. Benzos, especially ***** due to its quick onset and short half life, are VERY addictive. More addiction than heroin. And I would know because I was an heroin addict for three years as well. I took heroin because I was a basket case and it helped calm me down. But the real truth is, I was a drug addict.

Do yourself a favor and don't fill the next script. You will thank me later. Your girlfriend will be happy to have you back. Please do the right thing and give up the evil sh(i)t. Don't let a pill spell out an end for you. That's a sad way to go. I would know that as well as it was almost my own demise. I've been in and out of rehabs because of my anxiety related drug abuse problems and now since I've been clean for almost a year, I've never felt better. I'm only trying to help and trust me, this is pure, honest help. If you take this help you will be happy and you will feel better. If you neglect my help, you will only continue to suffer. The choice is yours.

Strong post everyone rep this man.

[bigswole30]

I'm truly sorry to hear that you're going through this. I came off of ****** and zanex about 3 yrs ago, I did it with prayer more than anything else. I know that's probably not what you were looking for but, I've been through it. Get a bible, read it even. Try reading psalms or proverbs. Try the book of ephesians or the gospels. I don't think there is alot you can do that would be healthy i.e., not replacing one addiction with another. You and your girl need to ride this out, be thankful you got someone there for you. Stop looking up potential symptons, stop scaring yourself. It might hurt but it won't kill you. Be strong. And oh yea, hypebeast sounds like a scientologist. Just because you haven't expierenced something doesn't mean its not real. When someone says how they feel, you can't logically tell them they're wrong, people can't control how they feel. They can usually control what they do.

Thank You very much for the post. I too have very strong faith and know God will not give me more than I can handle, but as the bible states God delivers you through the storm not from the storm. So, it is just very tough right now.

[bigswole30]

Strong post everyone rep this man.

Strong post but some things were worded a little bit offensive. This is Swole's girlfriend btw, and I know 100% that he isn't abusing any of his prescribed meds. Also, he IS 100% committed to bodybuilding.

I guess Abe The Cop is new to the boards and does not know much about my boyfriend and his role in the bodybuilding industry. No harm done, No offense taken.

Also Abe, I'm very happy you overcame your problem and I wish you the best.

[Eshamed51]

Strong post but some things were worded a little bit offensive. This is Swole's girlfriend btw, and I know 100% that he isn't abusing any of his prescribed meds. Also, he IS 100% committed to bodybuilding.

I guess Abe The Cop is new to the boards and does not know much about my boyfriend and his role in the bodybuilding industry. No harm done, No offense taken.

Also Abe, I'm very happy you overcame your problem and I wish you the best.

You shouldnt stay on benzos for more than 2-3 months. He said he was on for over a year and continued getting them after his script ran out. If that is not abuse then i dont know what is. Just because hes not taking huge doses doesnt mean he is not abusing an illegal drug which it is since he got them from an alternative source.

Therefore, I had to obtain ***** from am alternate source (not good, I know).

[bigswole30]

^^^ Wow. Some passionate words and good advice if it's the case. The guy claims to not be misusing the *****, but to have run out because of his move to Florida. Anyways, he knows himself what the situation is. There's a good website with a lot of patient related information about benziodiazepines (tapering, withdrawal etc): http://www.benzo.org.uk/FAQ1.1.htm

Thanks for noticing my situation and why I am out. Also, thanks for the link. My gf actually read the entire site earlier.