How LORAZEPAM destroyed my health and sanity for 4 1/2 weeks

[Dreambirdie]

Thanks @boohealth I will file the instructions and attempt them when my brain is working.

 

[Ema]

@Dreambirdie, have you ever tried sublingual oxytocin troches for sleep?

 

[Dreambirdie]

@Dreambirdie, have you ever tried sublingual oxytocin troches for sleep?

No, I haven't tried them. I know what oxytocin is, but had no idea that there were oxytocin troches.

Have you tried these? Are they prescription? And do they have the potential to throw all your other hormones and neurotransmitters into a major tailspin and leave you wishing you had never heard of them in the first place???

Right now I am real wary of taking anything beyond my usual "safe" herbs and supps. They might not be working spectacularly well for sleep, but at least they aren't making my life a total hell like that nasty Ativan did. It might be a very long time before I'm open to trying anything new and potentially dangerous. Or... it might never happen. After my last ordeal, I'm betting on never. But thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Ema]

No, I haven't tried them. I know what oxytocin is, but had no idea that there were oxytocin troches.

Have you tried these? Are they prescription? And do they have the potential to throw all your other hormones and neurotransmitters into a major tailspin and leave you wishing you had never heard of them in the first place???

Right now I am real wary of taking anything beyond my usual "safe" herbs and supps. They might not be working spectacularly well for sleep, but at least they aren't making my life a total hell like that nasty Ativan did. It might be a very long time before I'm open to trying anything new and potentially dangerous. Or... it might never happen. After my last ordeal, I'm betting on never. But thanks for the suggestion.

I haven't tried them but I am going to. They are prescription in the States but can also be found here:

http://www.antiaging-systems.com/145-oxytocin-love-drug

I know Belmar pharmacy compounds a few different forms as well:

http://www.belmarpharmacy.com/oxytocin.htm

They *probably* do not have the potential to do serious, long term disruption to all your other hormone systems in the low doses discussed for fibro pain, anxiety and sleep. They use really big doses all the time to bring on labor so I would guess there is a wide margin of safety and a relatively short time of effect. But it's hard to predict individual responses of course. Hertoghe is a big fan, apparently, though to be fair, he is a big fan of most everything hormone replacement related.

Experimental studies of the effects of intranasal OT have been conducted in adults with doses between 20 and 264 IU, producing no significant adverse side effects in clinical and healthy populations ( MacDonald et al., 2011).

Dr Jack Kruse also seems to be in favor, pointing to it's role in the SCN of the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is where the nervous system and the endocrine system meet and seems to continually come up in terms of dysfunction in ME/CFS.

I know from looking through old posts that a few people have tested low in oxytocin...I think @Valentijn was one but I don't think anyone has actually tried it yet.

My anxiety has been BAD these last few days. I hope that it helps because I am so ready to feel better already. I also ordered some lavender oil capsules which are supposed to be as effective as Ativan without the sides.

Phytomedicine. 2010 Feb;17(2):94-9. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2009.10.006. Epub 2009 Dec 3.
A multi-center, double-blind, randomised study of the Lavender oil preparation Silexan in comparison to Lorazepam for generalized anxiety disorder.

 

[Dreambirdie]

I haven't tried them but I am going to. They are prescription in the States but can also be found here:

My anxiety has been BAD these last few days. I hope that it helps because I am so ready to feel better already. I also ordered some lavender oil capsules which are supposed to be as effective as Ativan without the sides.

Phytomedicine. 2010 Feb;17(2):94-9. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2009.10.006. Epub 2009 Dec 3.
A multi-center, double-blind, randomised study of the Lavender oil preparation Silexan in comparison to Lorazepam for generalized anxiety disorder.

Hi Ema. Right now, I'm not willing to be a guinea pig. If you are, then go for it, but please be careful! Jumping out of the frying pan and into the inferno is what comes to mind when I think of messing with hormones and their unpredictable adverse effects.

My benzo-related anxiety is gone... alleviated by all the things I mentioned on this thread, lavender oil being a big part of the equation. I had to take A LOT of the lavender oil pills on a daily basis for four weeks (up to 14 pills/day) to get on top of the panic and anxiety. I think that's about 5 times more than the recommended dosage. It worked moderately well to ease the worst of the anxiety, and didn't give me any nasty adverse effects. It's not nearly as potent as Ativan, but at least it will not destroy your brain and trash your health, the way that Ativan can... and often does.

I will say that clearing all the benzos (and related anti-bodies) out of my system was A KEY PART of the recovery out of this hellish anxiety mess. I think N-A-C was essential to help my liver process that. But then, I did not taper down at all, so I had less of the lingering benzos in my system.

I still have to deal with my sleep... which is worse now... but at least I am not in benzo hell anymore. One step at a time is what I keep telling myself.

 

[belize44]

This is helpful to know, as I am about to embark upon a course of withdrawal from Xanax. I've been taking one quarter of a 0.5 mg tablet for about two years now. Will it be easier to quit this amount?

 

[Dreambirdie]

This is helpful to know, as I am about to embark upon a course of withdrawal from Xanax. I've been taking one quarter of a 0.5 mg tablet for about two years now. Will it be easier to quit this amount?

I have no idea how to proceed with tapers, but I recommend you discuss this with someone who does.

Good luck with it.... and good riddance to the Xanax.

 

[Rand56]

DHEA enhances the effect of serotonin and norepinephrine, thus it enhances cognitive function and reduces depression

hi Dreambirdie

I sure wish DHEA had an effect of reducing my depression.. It has had the opposite effect for me. I can't count that high the number of times trying it, varying dosages, different brands, and routes of administration whether it was oral, sublingual, or topical.

Anytime I have tried it always comes out to be a disaster for me. I have read that atleast in males it can be more easily converted to estrogen which is what I don't need. Also if in fact it raises serotonin, atleast in my case, I feel I need to be reducing serotonin levels.

Rand

 

[belize44]

I tried 5htp for nearly 4 days. At first, I felt really up and cheerful. Then on the fourth day I woke feeling depressed and ended up crying most of the day. I was really disappointed because I hadn't had a day like that for awhile. I am not sure the 5htp caused that or not.

 

[Dreambirdie]

hi Dreambirdie

I sure wish DHEA had an effect of reducing my depression.. It has had the opposite effect for me. I can't count that high the number of times trying it, varying dosages, different brands, and routes of administration whether it was oral, sublingual, or topical.

Anytime I have tried it always comes out to be a disaster for me. I have read that atleast in males it can be more easily converted to estrogen which is what I don't need. Also if in fact it raises serotonin, atleast in my case, I feel I need to be reducing serotonin levels.

Rand

Hi Rand. I'm sorry it didn't work for you. It's just more proof of how different we all are.

I think the reason 7Keto DHEA helps my mood is because it helps boost my adrenals. When I'm tanked, I can't be in a decent mood. And btw... I absolutely cannot take straight DHEA, as it throws me into a tailspin of hyperactivity. I can only take the 7Keto DHEA--VERY different effect!

 

[Dreambirdie]

I tried 5htp for nearly 4 days. At first, I felt really up and cheerful. Then on the fourth day I woke feeling depressed and ended up crying most of the day. I was really disappointed because I hadn't had a day like that for awhile. I am not sure the 5htp caused that or not.

I can't take 5htp either, but I can take L-tryptophan again... which is a relief. When I went through the Lorazepam ordeal, I couldn't tolerate L-tryp at all. I speculate that that's maybe because the GABA keeps serotonin in check, and with my GABA all screwed up at that time, my serotonin got out of balance.

Some things work for some of the people some of the time, and there is unfortunately no guarantee EVER for whom what will work and when. It often seems like a great big freaking crap shoot.

 

[beaker]

I'm sorry for those who have had bad experiences on benzos. ME/CFS causes all sorts of bad responses to many many meds.
Some of us are greatly helped by these meds. I have been on Klon for 25 years same small dose.
It helps my brain aches and neuro cog symptoms immensely. I could not think straight or function at the level I do ( not very high) w/o it.
My dr. and I have discussed the long term use at varying times. His opinion is if it's helping let's not worry about it since I have not needed any increase or had any problems with it.

I have tried many many many treatments and Klon is one of the few meds I can tolerate and that gives me some symptomatic relief. It's highly controlled substance in the state I live .
For years, medicare would not cover it. I am grateful that they finally do.
There are many things that other ME patients take that cause me horrible reactions. I would not wish to deny anyone their relief of symptoms b/c something caused serious problems for me.
( and they have)

 

[Ema]

Yay me!!

I took two walks around the grounds of our house today after being in bed since Easter with horrible Valium withdrawals. Things are far from perfect, but what a big step forward for me. Just in time to rake the leaves! I've missed being outside so very much so this is really meaningful. Hope I can continue and start getting stronger again.

Maybe my brain glutamate reduction plan is working??

 

[maryb]

@Ema
brilliant news. I bet you enjoyed it so much. It will get better now.