Valium withdrawal

[Ronnie T.]

Hi,this is my first post on AZ.Can anyone help me with some questions about Valium withdrawal? It all started about 2 1/2 months ago when i hurt my back real bad and had to be hospitalized for a week.the docs gave me Valium,they really helped a lot.A friend had more when mine ran out so I used them for a combined total of two months.A persistent head ache was the signal for me to put them away and when I did severe anxiety set in,needless to say the docs said I wasn't hooked-bs!!I couldn't sleep for 2 weeks,wasn't hungry at all,and I consider myself lucky to have made it this long if you know what I mean !! I was an occasional drinker,but alcohol causes a rebound effect as well as salt, motrin,coffee ect... I believed that It was passing after 3 weeks when today out of the blue BANG another attack!! I should tell you that I have read two books and have logged countless hours on the net researching benzo addiction and am aware of the obvious... I guess my question is-has anyone had this similar reaction and what do i have in store for me? will my life resume normal function and when? any Input would greatly be appreciated. Thanx

[cubmanben]

A couple of things. One, I'm currently withdrawing from Klonopin. Also a benzo like Valium, a little more potent, but obviously used in smaller dosages and am having similar reactons. As someone who was prone to anxiety, it's made that a little worse from time to time.
If I may ask, did you just quit cold turkey or did you taper down? Often times, as I'm sure you've read doing your research, that can cause some rebound effects. As far as why you're getting episodes even after it's out is that again, probably something you've read, but your body gets used to having the drug blocking those GABA receptors and slowing your CNS system down. Your body in turn tries to compensate for this change, which is why often times people have to up their doseage every so often; but what happens when you stop is that your brain is working double time and suddenly the stopping mechanism is gone, so you've got your senses over-reacting and are also extremelyl sensitive and it takes some time for the body to re-regulate itself. So likely, what you've got is just some repairs going on. It's uncomfortable, but fortunately is actually a sign that things are healing.
I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Ashton Manual, but it's got some great information in it. Also, I found another site that I visit occasionally called benzowithdrawal.com that has a lot of folks on there who have gone through or are going through the same things and are also very helpful.
Best of luck and I hope things get going more smoothly for you!!

[Ronnie T.]

Hey thanks Cubmanben, I was starting to think nobody ever had this problem or at least a similar one. To answer your question yes I did quit cold turkey,also I have read in its entirety The Aston manual and wile it was very informative its basically aimed at the step down demographic.I will say that the anxiety episodes have become even less frequent than when I made this post,I still have some very weird stuff happening to me like frequent gas,hungry every two hours,nothing is fun or entertaining,vivid nightmares and dreams and muscle twitching.Just for reference its been exactly40 days since I stopped using Valuim. Thanks again and I will update when I have had some new changes.Peace!!

[Loren7979]

My crappy psychiatrist recommended valium as a long term solution to anxiety, as well as wellbutrin.  I started having more problems.  He is against change.  I quit the wellbutrin.  Some things got better.  Now I know I'm addicted to the valium.  I am feeling tolerance withdrawal symptoms now.  I am ready to go down that road to recovery..  I have done the research.  I am pissed at my doctor, but now only I can fix this.  Best of luck all.  I hope I feel better on the other side and I hope you do too.