Unemployed, constant worrying and had extreme benzo withdrawal
My psychiatrists told me it was perfectly fine to take my medication to help me sleep. Problem is now I'm addicted to it and really want to taper off of it but if I don't take it, I end up staying up all night or wake up multiple times throughout the night. Always feel tired and unmotivated. My family problems keep me up as well🙁
It’s called withdrawl when you don’t take it or dependency, that’s why you can’t sleep when you don’t take it, and yes there are withdrawals from going off any benzo, I wish I was informed of this by my Dr. when he prescribed me clonazapam.
I’m still on Clonazapam it’s been 13 years, there is a YouTube on Benzodiazepines dependence It’s called The Benzodiazepine Coalition, they are people who have gone through withdrawl and have started a fight for informed consent, before doctors give these medications out to people.Thanks for sharing that information. I hope they win that battle. It's scary to think how easy it is to become dependent and how hard it is to stop. Are you still trying to come off it or was that too difficult? Thinking of you. - Lori (Team Member)
Oh no, I'm sorry to hear you're struggling now when you were just trying to feel better. Please talk to your doctor about this if you haven't already ... it may be worth it to look into a support group or therapy that's focused on insomnia, called CBT-I:
https://insomnia.sleep-disorders.net/cbt
The right practitioner will be able to address both your insomnia and the other issues affecting your life, like your family troubles.
We're here to support you! -Melissa, team memberMy heart goes out to you,
. It can be very difficult to come off benzodiazepines. The American Society of Addiction Medicine provides guidelines for tapering here: https://www.asam.org/quality-care/clinical-guidelines/benzodiazepine-tapering. But it really should be done under a doctor's supervision. If you think your current psychiatrist will be supportive and offer you other medications to counter the side effects (like the return of insomnia), then I would reach out for help. If you don't feel you will get that support, it might be time to find someone new. Please keep me posted. I'll be thinking of you. - Lori (Team Member)
