Does anybody find benzos alleviate the majority of their symptoms?

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

I believe benzos should be treated like narcotics.

Unlikely to happen, given the revenue stream they produce for both the prescribers and the manufacturers ...

I think a more workable possibility would be to force Drs who prescribe them above a certain limit to take an extended instructional course in the proper way to taper patients off these potential killers, and reward them for doing so.

But tapering someone off these things is a loooooong and arduous process, and as far as I know, it currently requires a fair amount of additional training and special licensing. It also requires a lot of patience and commitment, sooooooo .....

As well as I remember from your previous thread, you've been tapering off for about 2 years now, yes? Good for you for sticking to it and taking it very, very slow, which is the only way to allow your brain and CNS the time necessary to recover and rebalance between the battering of constant cuts ....

Unfortunately, Drs keep doling them out like candy.

Well, for the prescribing Drs, they're like party favors in terms of the rewards ....

EDIT ..... Damn and blast .... just realized that you stated in your post a few above this one that you had been tapering off for about 2 years..... that slipped thru the cog-fog slats when I was posting just now ....

 

[2Cor.12:19]

But tapering someone off these things is a loooooong and arduous process, and as far as I know, it currently requires a fair amount of additional training and special licensing. It also requires a lot of patience and commitment, sooooooo .....

.. just realized that you stated in your post a few above this one that you had been tapering off for about 2 years..... that slipped thru the cog-fog slats when I was posting just now ....

Ha! Yes, it is a long process. I don't want to sabotage @Sophiedw original post here, so I'll message you my taper chart to give you an idea how slow it really is.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

I'll message you my taper chart to give you an idea how slow it really is.

It gets even slower as your cuts drop to tiny increments.

I'm guessing that you've already looked into water tapers, but if not, YouTube has a lot of info, and it may be the only realistic way to get over that last hump, when the cuts get teensy !!!

Again, congrats on your smarts and patience !!!

 

[SlamDancin]

I’ve been trying the Allopregnanolone today and my first impression is that it doesn’t feel like a benzo but it may have some mood boosting ability. No pronounced sedation so I think I’m safe on that front. My first impression is it’s mildly nice

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

@SlamDancin
Thank you so much for checking in, much appreciated. I was wondering if you were moving forward with the allopreg or had reconsidered ....

My first impression is it’s mildly nice

Actually, that sounds pretty good ...

 

[SlamDancin]

@YippeeKi YOW !! My pleasure. I took some this morning after waking up and I can definitely say it’s got no ‘sinking into a cloud’ feeling of a benzo and it’s anxiolytic ability is very subtle so far. For whatever reason the benzo site of the GABAA receptor gives those drugs a distinct feeling from every other GABA agonist/PAM that I’ve tried thus far. That tells me that benzos are rightly too good to be true. Anyway AlloP is worth a shot in my opinion and I’ll keep experimenting with it and see what chronic dosing can do.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

I can definitely say it’s got no ‘sinking into a cloud’ feeling of a benzo

After our last exchange in this thread, I started wondering, and worrying, whether Allopreg, functioning as it does as a form of GABA agonist, would have some of the same nasty consequences as benzos, but have been too totally wiped to do any kind of research. And I was pretty sure you'd done your homework so I stopped worrying.

From your initial response, it would seem not. I'm really pleased for you, and your courage in trying something that might have gone the other way should be noted. So Im noting it here, and you definitely get the Intrepid Voyager Chalice ....

Please keep posting as you can !!!!

 

[Mary]

Obviously it’s not a long term solution but i do find benzos like Valium and also z drugs (zopiclone) alleviate the majority of my symptoms atm. I’m more looking at this as a research tool. What could be lacking in my nervous system that allows benzos to make me feel so ok - psychical symptoms as well, fever etc. Especially the symptoms of hypersensitivity - that make sense. But what is it that could be lacking naturally to allow gaba receptor agonists to basically make me feel fine ( I mean not fine, but functional). Very stuck. Any nutritional or supplement ides welcome.

It might be taurine. Taurine helped me get off of lorazepam - it helps with neuro- or excitotoxicty in the brain, it's a GABA agonist, it helps with sleep.

And Metabolic profiling of a myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome discovery cohort reveals disturbances in fatty acid and lipid metabolism
says in part:

Pathway analysis points to a few pathways with high impact and therefore potential disturbances in patients, mainly taurine metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism, combined with primary bile acid metabolism, as well as glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism and a few other pathways, all involved broadly in fatty acid metabolism.

 

[LINE]

Benzos were the only thing that took off the neurological edge (anxiety) I had but only used them when needed due to addictive properties. I discovered GABA as a supplement which changed the whole game. An important note is that taking GABA through the oral route did not work, however using it subliminally made an enormous difference. Sleep is much improved (can take before bed) and that edgy anxiety has pretty much disappeared.

This product seems a bit better than just GABA (has a pinch of tyrosine and glycine) - Source Naturals Serene Science, GABA Calm. Magnesium also plays a role in the glutamate/GABA issue as well. Magnesium will repel the glutamate, thus saving GABA. Vitamin B6 plays a role as well.

 

[christiankatz]

@Sophiedw I wish I'd never started benzos (Klonopin). It turns out to be a nightmare for most. I'm hoping I can discourage you from taking them. It makes symptoms worse and the withdrawal is incredibly painful and long-lasting. I'm on a forum, BenzoBuddies, and if you go there, you'll see the nightmares it has caused SO many people. I'm doing a micro-taper, which should take a couple of years, and even at that pace it's hard. There's also the YouTube channel medicating Normal and you can learn about what it's done to people there also. It seems to be a secret to most of the world. Here's the link. (4) Medicating Normal - YouTube
and for BenzoBuddies BenzoBuddies Community Forum - Index

P.S. I agree with you. They're great for a while.

 

[PatientlyWaiting]

Unlikely to happen, given the revenue stream they produce for both the prescribers and the manufacturers ...

I doubt they're making too much money, the last time I picked up my clonozepam prescription (generic klonopin) it was 46 cents. These drugs have been around for so many years and are available in generic form.

 

[Irat]

@Sophiedw I wish I'd never started benzos (Klonopin). It turns out to be a nightmare for most. I'm hoping I can discourage you from taking them. It makes symptoms worse and the withdrawal is incredibly painful and long-lasting. I'm on a forum, BenzoBuddies, and if you go there, you'll see the nightmares it has caused SO many people. I'm doing a micro-taper, which should take a couple of years, and even at that pace it's hard. There's also the YouTube channel medicating Normal and you can learn about what it's done to people there also. It seems to be a secret to most of the world. Here's the link. (4) Medicating Normal - YouTube
and for BenzoBuddies BenzoBuddies Community Forum - Index

P.S. I agree with you. They're great for a while.

Agree,never ever get hooked on a benzo .I m sorry you have to go through withdrawal now, @christiankatz it's brutal.......but yes benzos did also help most of my symptoms,and iI m someone who does not tolerate any medication or supplements. I did tolerated 0,5 lorazepam. BUT,I never ever took it more than ones a very 3,4,or 5 months .mostly when I had to go to an appointment.nowadays I don t take any.its just too dangerous