Benzodiazepines :: Protracted Nitrazepam Widthdrawal After 40 Years
Dec 22, 2015
I was prescribed nitrazepam 40 years ago for myoclonic epilepsy. I tapered off it over three months. I then had a six month delayed reaction before becoming severely ill. I was bedridden for two years. I am gradually recovering but don't know if I will make a full recovery. I hope I do. I am finally free from depression after four decades. I had no idea nitrazepam was making me so ill. Has anyone else been so badly affected by benzodiazepines or by the withdrawal process?
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I have read several sources on protracted withdrawal symptoms. All that I have found in the extended symptoms were psychiatric in nature. As anyone who follows this subject knows, mirtazapine has more than it's share of physical pains as well. Anyone know anything about protracted withdrawals that are physical symptoms, such as headaches, back spasms, stomach cramps, etc,? God have mercy on anyone who's life has been negatively touched by this "medicine".
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After 6 months and 2 weeks, I am having what appears to be protracted recurrent withdrawals, which are withdrawals that all of a sudden seem to return after a period of getting better. I am having severe abdominal cramps, general sick feeling, sleeping problems, and I have to force myself to eat. I have gone from 204 to 167, but have been at 167 - 168 for 19 days. I have significant fatigue, no stamina, feelings of doom, wondering if this is ever going to end. Also, thoughts of going back on the drug. This has been horrible. If you are Christian, please add me to your prayers to Jesus. I need His help. I have been to the Emergency Room several times for chest pain, abdominal pain, and stroke symptoms, all of which were negative, including the labs (blood work).
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I take zopiclone as and when I need it - it usually ends up being once or twice a week (for about 6 weeks now.) A week ago I was going to a wedding, wanted to be well rested for it so I took 1 7.5 mg at around midnight and woke up at 7ish ready for the day. The ceremony was in the afternoon so I didn't start drinking until around 3pm (15 hrs after taking) however as soon as I had had a few mouthfuls of wine I came over a bit strange. Dizzy and felt like I'd drank more than a few sips. Started to feel a bit panicky and left my friends to go for a walk in the grounds. (I suffer from anxiety anyway so this isn't that unusual.) Whilst out there I felt unstable on my feet and had a fall, grazing my knees and spilling wine on my lovely new dress! I didn't trip... I don't really know what happened but my boyfriend saw me and says I just fell over nothing!! I had only had a few sips at this point so I couldn't blame it on the drink alone! During the wedding breakfast a few hours later I thought I was going to fall asleep in my food. But thinking it was just me being a massive weirdo and not at all putting the two together I continued to drink. I got very drunk much quicker than usual and was a general mild embarrassment to myself but fortunately no other injuries or major incidents! Anyway I know they say don't drink while taking zopiclone but I always assumed it meant that night! As in don't take it with alcohol or take it when you get in from a night out. But now I'm thinking was 15 hours enough time to leave AFTER taking?!!! It might just have been a bad day for me but I'm not normally that clumsy that I go falling about all over the place after a few sips of wine. Any comments or experiences would be welcome! I might just be looking for an excuse for being such an embarrassment but either way I think I will avoid taking the night before an event like that again
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I have had to start taking Citalopram again after being off it for 6 months. I am taking around 2 to 3 5mg diazepam a week for anxiety while waiting for it to kick in.
I have been taking Citalopram for 18 days. Are there any natural or less addictive meds I can take instead of diazepam? Read some where people say there are alternatives but not sure what they are.
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Very interesting to read the discussions on this forum. And especially helpful for me since I am on day one of stopping zopiclone and feeling a bit wobbly after just one night of no sleep (well, actually about two hours in fact), nightmares, sleep paralysis episode and sweating. I've been on Zopiclone since 2001, having been given it as a last resort after several years of chronic insomnia. I started with 3.75 and have increased roughly every four years. Now I've been taking 11mg, supplementing the 3.75 dose still prescribed for me with internet orders every few months. Somehow I couldn't admit to my GP's that I was doing that. I'm now retired and living a stress free life, so all the presenting circumstances for insomnia A&E way in the past. When I moved to a new life in a peaceful island environment at the end of 2012 I decided to come clean with my doctor about using internet 7.5 doses. But I've continued to take the 11 mg dosage until now. I haven't slept naturally for at least 14 years so I'm very scared of stopping. But the effects of the drug have got worse and now I want to stop. For a long time, my brain has felt foggy, I have a horrible hangover for half the day, really fatigues, forgetful and speech stammer. I've been reading up since last week and this is the most informative and supportive forum I've found. I looked at the CITA site and the advice seemed to be not to go cold turkey but to do a crossover to an equivalent dose of diazepam first and then reduce from there.
I met with my GP yesterday and he is supportive and has given me 2 mg pills of diazepam to make the tapering easier. He's also going to monitor me and see me once a week to check progress.
i feel really scared about this, for all the same reasons I've read here. Zopiclone has given me the security of going to bed and knowing I will lose consciousness. That's been huge and I've traded that off against the feeling of being dulled, impaired and drugged in my daily life. I've done lots of amazi things over these last 13 years, lots of achievements, but all against a background of feeling crap.
Last night was my first night without Zopiclone. I took 9 mg Diazepam at bed time (probably too late I think) and set up relaxation cd I've been using, a radio, a corner of my spare room to curl up in with my book instead of lying in bed sleepless. I was awake until around 3.30, when I think I slipped into a two hour dose. But had mini hallucination about the radio playing ( it wasn't) and me ripping the batteries out (I didn't) I also had a nightmare, which I've never had before, and some sleep paralysis on waking from it. My temperature went up and down too, with some sweating.
i will go on with this but would so appreciate any support or ideas. Many of you know too well how savage the effects are of acute insomnia and I know I'm in for a rough ride. I've bought some Phenergan but didn't take it yet. I'm also sending off for 5 HTP.
So that is night one over. Any words of encouragement welcome. I'm not at all sure I can do this, with a supply of Zopiclone still in my bedside drawer. But being sleepless and not on the drug feels better than sleeping badly with it.
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Want to taper off zopiclone can the gp just stop my zopiclone or do they have to allow me to taper off the right way.
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I have switched from xanax 1 mg to diazepam 10 mg in the hopes of getting off benzos I have tried a lower dose I use this for sleep only,Ihave been on the diazepam since 1/26/16. First at a lower dose 5 mg but was awake so I switched to 10 and am trying to stabilize on that dose and then plan to reduce at 5%. My problem is while I sleep well my days are bad, off balance sometimes dizzy.I also get sort of a buzzy zappy feeling in my head like when you come off of psych meds.Anyone else had this? Is it the d or wd from the x?
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Why is not working? taken 2 x 7,5 mg of zopiclone ...i so awake and it's 6 am ...
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I am currently going through a stage of not sleeping, it's been about 3.5 weeks since I have slept. Doctor's prescribed me stilnoct 10mg for a week as I did not sleep a wink for a full week. I am sleeping 4-5 hours on these sleeping tablets is that normal for 10mg? What to do after I've taken the course of tablets and I still can't sleep?
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I cannot believe that doctors and psychiatrists have not learnt. One of the biggest mistakes of the twenty century is Zopiclone and Valium and any other benzodiazepine! They are are causing so many people then labeling them addicts. The withdrawal from these drugs are unacceptable. The next thing they do is introduce antipsychotics, then on to the psychiatrist who finds other labels such as bipolar or depersonalisation. Why don't they ban new prescribing of these poisons. The poor people on them need to withdraw slowly at their own pace and not sectioned and left in psychiatric hospitals on an abrupt withdrawal. I am so angry writing this as I've just answered somebody's post! Let's all stand together and do something about it.
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it has been several weeks now, although I did have 2.5mg 3 weeks ago as I had a severe panic attack and 1.25mg last Friday for the same reason. However, I only took diazepam for 8 weeks and no more than 2.5 mg per day. Apart from above 2 small,doses far apart, I have been off them for 7 weeks.
I have sinking feelings, cannot get anything together, weepy, and also have been diagnosed with Hemiplegic migraine. I am usually very together and was only,put on the pills due to TGA. I hope someone can just reassure me I am not going mad and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. So many of you have had worse than me.
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Why don't doctors understand the hell they're putting human beings through. It's either falling on deaf ears or 'all in your mind' is a good one when referred to a psychiatrist when you're in withdrawal. The next thing is you are diagnosed with a mental illness and given a label. The best one is probably schizophrenia or they'll change it to maybe schizoaffective disorder then add more to the mix of antipsychotics. Unfortunately antipsychotics also lower the seizure threshold. So how can you taper of any benzo when you're at risk of seizure from the antipsychotics? Can any doctor answer please? All benzos and Z drugs work in the same way to give their posh name anxiolytics or hypnotics. All are additive, cumulative and have a different half life! So how and why do they keep on prescribing them? Why give diazepam and zopiclone combined with risperidone, or diazepam with Olanzapine? Does this make any sense? They knew in the 1970s these drugs were causing devastation, breaking up families, driving people to suicide. YET there are people even on this forum who are new to benzos. WHY new accidental addicts. Is it money from drug companies or sheer ignorance?
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I quit taking Xanax after a 3 week long use. I decided to quit cold turkey and doctor said it was safe since it was only 0.50 mg once a night.
I decided since I realized I was becoming dependent on it. this will be my 7th night without it and I can't sleep!
I took two zzzQuil capsules last night (total of 50 mg)
The ingredient is diphenhydramine (which is Benadryl)
ZzzQuil is a sleep aid
Is it safe for me to take this to help with my insomnia from not taking Xanax?
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I have had a panic disorder for 15 years. During that time I have been on several benzos to treat my episodes. I seem to remember back at the beginning being able to take a pill and feel completely relaxed and calm. Now when I have an attack, my medicine only seems to calm my mental state but it has absolutely no effect on my physical symptoms (tingling, rapid pulse, the jitters, sweating, etc.). Do I need to try a higher dose of my benzo (Xanax) or is there another benzo that might work better for me? Has anyone else had this happen?
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I'm currently a student and got valium off the internet to help me get to sleep. Because in halls as it's ridiculously loud, I ended up taking 50mg a night about 5 days a week..
Been doing this for the past 2 months and I've been reading stuff online about coming off it and it's frightened so much!
Should I just go cold turkey, how bad will it be and how long will it last? I really have the urge to go the doctors ASAP as I'm worried for my health but will this also go down on my health record and will it jeopardise being employed in the future if they ask to view my medical records? I can't believe I've gotten myself in this situation I feel so stupid and ashamed.
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Im 15 and 1/2 and my penis size has been the same for like 6years and it hasn't grown at all My size is 1" plz help because this problem has overwhelmed me for years and im tired of it.
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I am 32 years old and I have 1 child and for awhile i have been trying to get another and i have not been able to conceive ...I should start by telling you that i have been on yasmin for 9 years and i stop taking them for awhile to get pregnant but nothing happened so because of not taking the yasmin my period became off balance and i was put back on them by my doctor. i also had a surgery couple years ago called an umbilical hernia, can this be the cause why i am unable to have another child ? I would like to have another child before I am 40 what should I do ?
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I am a 17 year old teenage male. I am not overweight (I'm 5"8 and like 145 pounds which is around average for my height) but my doctor apparently told my parents that I have a high cholesterol level of around 140 which has gotten my parents pretty freaked out. However, my parents tend to freak out about alot of things, so I just wanted to know if I'm really high for someone my age and weight, and if this means I'm at high risk of a heart attack. Does anyone know how cholesterol works for teenagers?
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I am 32 years old and my BP 150/90 is it necessary to take medicine to control BP? plz suggest how could i control it without taking medicine.
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I have been on amiodarone for most of the last 20 years. I have a heart rhythm problem that killed my mother at age 25 and a sister at age 21. Initially I had problems with sleep and other symptoms until I got used to the drug. Nowadays I have to take care with the sun but have no other symptoms and ensure I have regular blood tests etc. If it were not for amiodarone I would probably not be here today.
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