Day 82, benzo withdrawal

[@900Hilton]

You do look better. And you are not alone in this. It helps me to watch your videos because I start thinking I'm the only one going through this stuff. I think the not sleeping is a really big deal, especially over time and really helps to make things worse.

[@sixslow]

900Hilton thanks, and yea the no sleep is a killer for me. it makes everything else so much worse. I feel when I don't sleep things are really bad it's rough. Hopefully it goes back to how it was, I miss naps too!

[@pauldenetrhodes7918]

Mental note: don't get hooked on benzos

[@sixslow]

Paul Denet Rhodes haha seriously man, I wish someone would've told me the dangers of this stupid drug

[@Filthycoffin]

Dude the itching I’ve been thinking I’ve got lice this week🤣 I didn’t know. Sorry I’m commenting on a lot of your videos your an inspiration. I was ctd on my birthday September 11 of 1.25 k, 3mg Lunesta for sleep and viibryd. 40mg equivalent of Valium. I’m almost to 3 months SUCKS. Don’t feel lonely about thinking stuff is wrong I keep getting told I’m schizophrenic and bipolar because of this can’t wait to be where you are. I can’t sleep though I wish I could to get a break. Congratulations on your new baby and family.❤️🙏 I can’t wait to get back to my daughters.

[@twittwat7486]

Dude keep going, its going to get better and better I promise you. Hold on dude. And don't worry about the meaning of life. there isn't one, and actually thats ok!!! how lucky are we to just to get to experience this universe, to ponder it, for even a brief amount of time. Don't let that get you down! keep going.

[@sixslow]

twit twat thanks for your comments man. an yea im cutting out sugar for sure. trying to keep the diet pretty clean. damn you only.used for a couple weeks and suffered as well? how long did it take you to get back to normal, what's ya story ?

[@twittwat7486]

I took stilnox for only about a month. 1 pill, think its 10 mg or something per night. Then stopped abruptly and began getting out of control anxiety and panic attacks, which I did not attribute to the drugs. I thought that I had just suddenly become a panic patient. after a couple of weeks of struggling with this I approached a psychiatrist. Big mistake. He immediately put me on 3 mg of xanax a day, 2 pills in morning, 2 in afternoon, and 2 at night, as well as a potent anti depressant. I slowly became dysfunctional and after the first 7 days I had to cut down as I was beyond zombified and stuck in a deep depression, I did not even have the strength to answer any texts or phone calls, it was a very dark place, I could not work., and almost lost my job, was put onto 10 days of forced leave. I decided to cut the dose to 3 pills a day. about 3 to 4 days after that I began extreme symptoms, I cant even tell you what I was feeling. I was deeply uncomfortable, I could not sleep, my body was just reeling in pain and discomfort, I lay in bed moving around, moving my legs constantly, my arms twitching and moving on their own, I was wincing, complaining, keeping my wife up, telling her I need help... I felt this feeling of pure desperation. my skin was burning, I felt like there was hot larva running through my veins or that my nervous system was lighting up. from there I cut the entire dosage not knowing what was going on. it immediately got worse, I was so detached that it was as if I did not exist. It felt like it was permanent, that I had brain damage, the pain I felt was immense, my skin crawled and burnt to the stage where I could no longer take the pain, I could not stand still. I was deeply paranoid, on the verge of psychosis, very very paranoid. Could not eat, woke up with my entire body shaking and jolting uncontrollably every night. most bad attacks happened in my sleep. my dreams were terrible and of the sleep I did get every minute of it was accompanied by this weird and deep feeling of dread, which would also strangely wake me up. And the worse thing was that my family did not believe me. They thought that I needed help, and fought with me daily to listen to my psychiatrist and take MORE of the drugs. to them I was not getting better because I refused help and refused to follow the instructions of my doctors. I was lucky, I suffered through about 2 weeks of severe severe severe symptoms, I would say it took about 2 months for things to clear up almost completely. I'm 4 months out and still flinch easily and have the odd twitch but very rarely. more like an odd reminder of what happened. the brain fog cleared up completely at around 2 months, very grateful for that. I have not had a drink of alcohol since, 4 months now and I believe strongly that this helped me heal quickly. I am going to abstain from drinking for at least another 5 months to ensure that I am in the clear, as I would like to have the odd drink from time to time still. remember alcohol works on the same part of the brain as benzos, so it will just not allow your nervous system to heal and essentially lengthen recovery. To this day my family members and many friends still don't believe me, and brush it off as a short bout of extreme anxiety... it has essentially damaged my relationship with them, my folks especially. the fact that it was such a significant experience for me and has been brushed off by family has left me with terrible resentment. But I have also drawn a lot of positives from it, but I suppose post is long enough as it is. Essentially I took xanax for just over 2 weeks total and suffered immensely for it. Apologies for the long post. All I can say is that although the short period that I suffered might sound like childs play compared to your situation but I promise you it will get better. things that helped me were: 1. cutting sugar, acohol (even mouth wash), all other medication (besides the odd ipbrufen for severe leg cramps). 2. generally eating clean, low carb diet. 3. light exercise, especially when denationalization/detachment set in. night running alone was the most peaceful and helped the most. 4. staying positive and assuring myself even during the worst that it is definitely not permanent no matter how permanent it feels. And this is true, it is not permanent, some just suffer longer than others. 5. mediation (download "simply being" (even the free one is more than enough) or any other guided meditation app.). 6. not talking to family and friends about it as it was always a disappointing experience and lead to more sadness and anxiety. 7. reading less about other peoples issues online, sounds counter intuitive but the nightmare stories scared me and made things worse. I began to read more as I felt more healed, as I felt better I then found it very helpful to read about other peoples experiences. I would bet on it that you will improve a lot over the next month or so. I will definitely be following your channel to find out. Any any further correspondence will be much shorter I promise haha.

[@sixslow]

twit twat holy crap dude, I can't believe he put you on 3mg to start, that is a high dose. that doctor is an idiot! it's like he was trying to poison you and get you hooked. Doesn't seem you were on long but that's a pretty big dose. it's good you healed that quick, probably helps you weren't on it very long. this shit is crazy how we can get such severe reactions from such short time of use. im.glad you're doing a lil better. and yea im hoping this next month brings lots of improvements. I feel better every week so hopefully it's over soon. and don't worry about the length man I love reading other people's stories and their symptoms and stuff. makes me feel not so crazy! and yea, no alcohol, I've heard we have to wait 2 years after getting off to drink again. that's what put me back in withdraw is drinking

[@twittwat7486]

Yeah man... it was a scary situation. I have never felt so tormented, what an eye opener. The amazing thing is I have zero anxiety now, its like the experience was so scary that nothing else compares. I feel stronger, and you will as well. You will see it will suddenly just taper off fast. Well I'm talking here and admittedly my situation was easier due to a shorter period I'm sure. And yes, I do honestly feel that the doctor does that to basically create a client base. I live in a small town in South Africa and when I went to see him there were just tons of patients there all lit up to the max with drugs. They brought in drugs for everyone 3 times a day. he actually kept me in his psych ward for 2 nights, which was so absolutely over kill man, but i listened as he said he just wanted to monitor how I react to the meds, so suspicious in hind sight. Anyway once this goes away you are going to be a much stronger person than you ever were, I'm sure of that. Although our experiences are slightly different (mine being less severe) I must tell you that I found that once the depersanolization/detachment lifted I became way more positive and confident, and that was basically when the other symptoms began to lift a lot faster, or atleast become more bearable. I'm really hoping that due to my short stint that 1 year off the booze will be enough. But yeah if I react badly to it then i can tell you right now that booze will never touch my lips again haha. take care man and look forward to more vids. Holding thumbs on a fast recovery for you.

[@EvilisAnihilisUlsTFRID]

I totally understand the rollercoaster of feel bad - feel less bad, going "We've got this" to "Fuck this shit!

[@sixslow]

Evilis Anihilis Uls haha yup . That's how it was today. bad wave . It still trips me out how much it fluctuates

[@dkg2434]

The depersonalization/derealization part is the hardest for me, nothing feels real. I see and hear my self from the outside, I can’t look people in the eyes, I don’t know who I am. the anxiety I am going through here on week 2 is slowly killing me.

[@RayRayCrazy]

My mind is so screwed up I have constant racing and stuck thoughts like I have a hole in my brain,I feel like I'm watching a movie and repeat the same images in my head over and over. I feel like blowing my brains out.

[@Terra101]

You are not the only one bro. Are you withdrawing on bensos? There is a bunch of us feeling the same way as you, and its not unusual to feel this kinda stuff while withdrawing from bensos.

[@RayRayCrazy]

Withdrawing from Ambien, I was abusing it taking 5 pills a day.

[@Terra101]

But you decided to stop it yourself? If so, that is a big and brave decision you made and you should be proud of yourself taking that step. You will feel like shit for a while but it is gonna pass with time. Hang in there and stay strong, be proud of yourself! I believe in you and so should you!

[@RayRayCrazy]

Yeah I had to quit. I took 3 at one time and stayed up. I woke up and the kitchen was a mess and my bedroom was completely tore up, I was sleepwalking.

[@sixslow]

I feel pretty much identical, i feel like everything is fake, or like life is a movie or a dream, it's crazy. then my memory it's like its skipping through time I hate it. It's slowly gotten better though, hang on man. we got this

[@daninrecovery]

You say you aren't sure if you have had windows yet you went to the mall!! THE MALL!!! The craziest place other than walmart.

[@sixslow]

Dan Guenther haha, true. but I still.had crazy body pain an anxiety while there. I'm usually able to go places. I just fight with my symptoms while I'm out.

[@daninrecovery]

I hear ya brother, me too... my DP/DR is intense so Im home bound more, atleast my symptoms are starting to morph so I can go to the store here and there. Just know that going to the mall is a huge deal, I cant wait till get to that point. Anxiety in this situation makes everything so bad.

[@belinromero6577]

Dan Guenther , that sounds like a window to me, poor thing he doesn't even know it .he really is messed up

[@Terra101]

You sound and look alot better than before, almost like another person. Im really glad for you because i know what youre going through. I dont really have much to say right now but its really nice to see that you are feeling better, hang in there bro! :)

[@sixslow]

I appreciate it, things are slowly getting better. Thanks for the support!

[@TartanArmy85]

I get the itching feeling too! It's called Paresthesia. I can't stand it, it's like being attacked by mosquitos

[@vansajexora]

Dude, hold on. You're doing great. Acceptance is huge and a big mistake people make is that once they are feeling better they can just put all this behind them and not worry about it again. You'll have to be vigilant going forward. Skip the booze and other shit. My 2 cents...

[@sixslow]

jexora thanks man, yea it's starting to get a little bit easier. yea once I feel better I'm for sure not drinking, I'll probably never drink again. just isn't work it for me.

[@bva6526]

Thank you for givin a lit history bc i hadnt had time to watch the olders vids, Dont be to hard on urself , when you feel awful and cant cope then accept it and take time u need to lay down or soak in tub..feel so bad for you..i have so much advice to give on how i managed..

[@sixslow]

B Va thanks, I did take a nice Epsom bath. plan on doing another today. I feel I'm getting close to the end of this which is exciting! I'm just distracting a lot, gonna start exercising too. and cleaning up diet. I think those will help a lot. did you do a diet or anything special? what helped the most?

[@bva6526]

sixslow ...I cut as much sugar and as many cafinated srinka as i could stand ..but i was so just genuinely unhappy and overhelmed that i couldnt concentrate on sticking to a specific diet..cant express how bad the anxiety was..i stayed sweaty and frozen in fear for 6 months...i did try sum diff supplements but its been half a yr and still have trouble with brain fog and qord recall ...when i get home ill try to check my cabinet and see whats up there that helped. evthing youre saying , i felt and it was all benzo..my body hurt so much..my skin hurt, burned, baths helped and when i could brisk walks.. for me having a five yr opiate and benzo addiction and to now only taking one med (gabapentin) is awesome..i wish i coulda only recovered by natural means.. i promise i fwlt as bad as u describe..cant even express in words..will look at whats in my mes cab when i get in and see if my memory is jarred..like i said i still am foggy.. hang on..u do look much better..

[@sixslow]

i avoid anything with pure sugar, even very little fruit. i eat lots of brown rice, chicken, avocado, beans, salads, bread, etc...i dont drink soda/caffeine or anything like that. I feel like my diet is fairly decent. I have gabapentin but trying to avoid taking it just so my body can heal on its own. I have lots of trouble concentrating too it sucks. Did you cold turkey? what drug/dose were you on and how long did you take it for? you got the itchy skin stuff and body pain? i feel like the itchy skin is my nerves trying to work again.

[@maxwellbernstein9235]

I agree, the nerve pain is horrible, and I think the gut pain must be nerves too, whatever the cause, it's absolutely heinous!!! I also have the blafder pain but no blood yet. For comfort food, mashed potatoes with a homemade turkey gravy (clean) or even simply real butter are very calming for my nerves. They can put me right to sleep if it's after 6 or 7 at night and they give me great sleep. Melatonin also helps me at night. The dark is so soothing. On bad days, I try to sleep as much as possible. The visual stimulation in the light is just too much to bear and I prefer the calm of the darkness of night. I know what you mean about all the crazy the mental stuff too. I have a lot of DP/DR, intrusive thoughts and existential terror. This is so hard! I'm still tapering and really scared for when I jump and afterwards. I know this video is older. I hope you're feeling better now with more windows. It takes balls to go through this hell, that's for sure.

[@JaimeeLauren]

I found that consuming only whole plant foods (no oil or processed sugar) as talked about by Dr Greger & Dr C Campbell & Dr Bernard was extremely beneficial. No animal products helped my body heal quicker I believe. Those drs have loads of resources online which are free. Magnesium supplement really helped me too - it’s natures anti anxiety / muscle relaxant.

[@hightidelowtide6380]

I know been long time , hope your better. I've had 7 withdrawals in about 3 years. Using valium helps but scared of the addiction. I been withdrawing now for about 3 months. Used 10 mg valium for about 5 weeks last time then got scared and quit. Been homebound ever since feeling like shit. My mind lately telling me I have lupus because of the withdrawal symptoms, ugh brain just fucks with me.

[@edged_mindset]

from this end you sound a lot better. your speech and cadence is much more normal and not as fragmented

[@sixslow]

XIUXIU1313 yea definitely. my cognitive abilities have been returning. although during bad waves I lose it again. but things have been improving mentally by quite a bit. if it wasn't for the nasty physical symptoms I wouldn't feel so horrible.

[@kvakma]

You seem better tho I realize you feel out of sorts (likely cause u r). I learned not to pay much attention to myself during detox/withdrawal as it was so crazy - mentally & physically. One step forward then two back seems the norm with this process that appears to be quite slow, with intermittent improvements, then regressions. Hang in -- and try to keep it simple cause the body seems to crave some stability in its extreme agitation. When you doubt this is Benzos, just go listen to others experiences---it's relief to know we are not alone.

[@gowthamvignesh8040]

u r doing better hope u'll be alright within a month

[@sixslow]

Thanks, i'm hoping so to, at this rate i'm sure i'll be a lot better in a month!

[@gowthamvignesh8040]

sixslow i have seen all ur videos u have survived a lot u'll survive whatever is coming u r really a very big inspiration fa me cause im tapering off benzo i never even thought of cold turkey but u went cold turkey tat s jus unbelievable all the best avoid alcohol for some months and keep posting videos

[@nitzaperez7349]

Hello Sixslow, you sound better, and the name of Jesus you are going to get better and better you keep hunging on you are a fighter.

[@sixslow]

Nitza Perez thanks nitza!

[@greglong1432]

I used to take 5 mgs of Xanax daily for years. I tapered off them slowly with no real difficulty. Later on I was taking a high dose of Klonopin for years and tapered off that as well. A bit more difficult than Xanax but not any where's near a living hell. I now take Valium on an occasional and not a daily basis and it works well for me because this prevents a tolerance build up. What I'm saying here is that everyone reacts differently to drugs. Everyone. What might be a living hell for one person may be a cake-walk for another. I'm not promoting Benzodiazepines by any means. I suffered a whole lot more quitting smoking than I ever did from stopping Benzo's. Does that mean I went thru hell and cigarettes should be banned? Big tobacco won't allow that. This is just one person, sitting in a room. Not exactly someone I would take medical advice from.

[@nitzaperez7349]

Greg Long ! Hello I read you're comment how long did it take you to taper off xanax and konoplin sorry if I spell it wrong. Thank you

[@greglong1432]

Nitza Perez Hi, how are you. I basically did it myself without telling the Doctor. That way I could just go at my own pace. A Dr. will say 6 weeks and that's why some people suffer so much. I believe I took about 5 or 6 months for each of them. The slower the better. But then, I was on a high dose. I saw your comment this morning but I wasn't quite sure how to answer it. I could probably help you more if you gave me more information. 1. Which one do you take. Xanax or Klonopin? 2. How much have you been taking daily? 3. How long have you been taking it? Write back and tell me those three things and I can probably guide you a little better. I don't pretend to be an expert but I think I know more than Doctor's about it for the simple reason that Doctor's just go by what they read. They've never taken it so they don't really know. Don't worry about spelling. I'll figure it out. Take care!

[@nitzaperez7349]

Greg Long! Thank Greg Long for responding back to me, I take only xanax 1mg 3 to 4 time a day, I been taking it for 5 or 6 years I hate it I want my brain back I want to feel like my self again at first they work find but now is more my body is addive to it. Thank you Greg Long any little advice how to wean off I will appreciated. God Bless you

[@greglong1432]

Nitza Perez Well, that's a fairly large dose. Here's what I did. As I said, I didn't tell the Dr. That way I knew my tapering wouldn't be interfered with. Lets use 4 tablets a day for an example. I would lay out those tablets on a calendar. Or you could make a chart if you have children or someone else who would see it. I would take 1/2 of 1 tablet and throw it away. Very important. Flush it down the toilet! Then you have 3 1/2 to take that day. Do that for 2 weeks or so and when you feel comfortable with the change. Switch to 3 a day. Throw a whole tablet away. Take three daily for 2 or so more weeks. And just keep going like that until your down to zero. Its very important to throw what you don't use away. Don't save it. Flush it! When you get down to 1 mg a day you may want to only throw 1/4 tablet away and go even slower. When I got to that point, I was just taking a tiny sliver of one tablet a day. Get yourself a good pill cutter. They don't cost much. Just tell the pharmacist you need one. So basically, in about 16 weeks you will be almost finished. If you feel really bad this way, you can go even slower by only reducing 1/4 tablet a day every 2 weeks. One week if you can handle it. Then it would take about 20 to 28 weeks. But you probably won't need to go that slow. And since you take 3 or 4 daily, you might be able to jump start it by going to three a day right away. I'm glad your on Xanax. Klonopin was much harder. Stay away from alcohol during this whole time. Alcohol won't help it will make things worse. If you have trouble sleeping you can take an over the counter sleep aid like Benadryl. Its non-addictive. If you do that you can just get generic diphenhydramine. Same drug. Its the most common OTC sleep aid. Much cheaper. Heck, doing this, I didn't really have any withdrawals at all. I had some anxiety but that's normal because that's what I was taking Xanax for in the first place. I know it sucks to flush perfectly good Xanax down the toilet but that's what you have to do if you want this monkey off your back! When your done and you feel you can cope, tell your Dr. what you did and stop the prescription. I hope this helps. You can go faster or slower, its up to you. Exercise helps too, especially after you've finished. You need to find other ways to control anxiety. Lots of videos about meditation on You Tube also. That helps some people. Remember, flush what you don't take down the toilet and NO ALCOHOL DURING THIS TIME! You should do fine. Its the people who go cold turkey or withdraw too fast that have the, Living hell, they talk about in these videos. Good luck kiddo! Keep me posted

[@nitzaperez7349]

Greg Long! Thank you so much Greg I will keep you posted and God Bless you.

[@pausprius473]

Alcohol is to be avoided at all times as it triggers withdrawal, Even one drink is.

[@hbhfjiljfl3541]

Holy shit i got that chesr pain and burbing too holy shit man

[@marcel8289]

Did you try meditation? This definitely helps my anxiety

[@sixslow]

I haven't yet, anxiety has been manageable with niacin and eating yogurt/kefir, that stuff usually helps. it's the mental fog/pain that's really hard to deal with now.

[@marcel8289]

It changed my life. I also suffer from brainfog/head pressure and meditation really helps. I sincerely hope you get well soon!

[@JJ-yb9fg]

I'm in the same level everthing u say u have is because of the benzos I just want to know are we going to feel like this for ever

[@sixslow]

nah man it gets easier, it just takes a long time sadly, but we all heal. just gotta take it slow, one day at a time.

[@bettyb8739]

have you been tested for allergies and pancreatic function?

[@sixslow]

betty bernier not allergies. but yes pancreas and liver all that good.

[@sethstrohm8665]

sounds more like a case of GAD

[@douglaconti7113]

Seth Strohm its not. Its very much benzo w.d

[@bva6526]

qhoa