David Cope — I hope you’ve gotten off benzos and recovered since your comment above. Mostly I hope that they didn’t destroy your life long term. I was forced to retire early because of them, but have since recovered most of my mental and physical functions. Sadly, though, my career is now over…
Cleve’s — you’re far from alone.
All good advice, David, with the exception of any supplements. As the OP likely knows by now, most people in benzo withdrawal don’t tolerate any supplements at all, vitamins and magnesium included. I can’t say why, but I experienced this several years ago while tapering off of Klonopin and high numbers of people in 2 different online benzo withdrawal groups have confirmed it. The best I could do for myself was to eat a healthy diet, exercise, and practice mindfulness. It was, as most will say, the most horrific experience of my life—and it lasted about a year. Easy to understand why the suicide rate is so high among people coming off of these drugs; the physical and mental pain can be unbearable. The good news is that we do heal, so it does get better.
I’ve worked in healthcare for many years and have known a significant number of psychiatrists and prescribing psych-NPs. There is not one among them who truly understands the issues being discussed here or who fits Duane’s criteria for having made “a clean break.”
“But of course many of his ex-patients hate his guts for the human rights abuses he carried out on them”
**Very well put — as a former patient who continues to fight through the aftermath of 30 years on brain altering psychiatric drugs, I feel very much that my human rights have been profoundly abused.
“I wonder how much money it costs the taxpayer when a psychiatrist is added to the world. Most psychiatrists are going to leave a litany of iatrogenic disease in their wake, millions of dollars in disability payments, millions in lost productivity from the people whose lives they kneecap and destroy…”
**One more educated and highly skilled person here — on SSI disability due to severe benzodiazepine and SSRI damage to what used to be a great brain. Divorced and suffering in isolation, waiting for a protracted withdrawal to resolve. Hoping that it will…
The hardest thing is that no one — NO ONE — in my circle of friends, former co-workers, or PCP understands it. We truly do suffer this in isolation.
Removed for moderation.
David Cope — I hope you’ve gotten off benzos and recovered since your comment above. Mostly I hope that they didn’t destroy your life long term. I was forced to retire early because of them, but have since recovered most of my mental and physical functions. Sadly, though, my career is now over…
Cleve’s — you’re far from alone.
All good advice, David, with the exception of any supplements. As the OP likely knows by now, most people in benzo withdrawal don’t tolerate any supplements at all, vitamins and magnesium included. I can’t say why, but I experienced this several years ago while tapering off of Klonopin and high numbers of people in 2 different online benzo withdrawal groups have confirmed it. The best I could do for myself was to eat a healthy diet, exercise, and practice mindfulness. It was, as most will say, the most horrific experience of my life—and it lasted about a year. Easy to understand why the suicide rate is so high among people coming off of these drugs; the physical and mental pain can be unbearable. The good news is that we do heal, so it does get better.
I’ve worked in healthcare for many years and have known a significant number of psychiatrists and prescribing psych-NPs. There is not one among them who truly understands the issues being discussed here or who fits Duane’s criteria for having made “a clean break.”
“But of course many of his ex-patients hate his guts for the human rights abuses he carried out on them”
**Very well put — as a former patient who continues to fight through the aftermath of 30 years on brain altering psychiatric drugs, I feel very much that my human rights have been profoundly abused.
“I wonder how much money it costs the taxpayer when a psychiatrist is added to the world. Most psychiatrists are going to leave a litany of iatrogenic disease in their wake, millions of dollars in disability payments, millions in lost productivity from the people whose lives they kneecap and destroy…”
**One more educated and highly skilled person here — on SSI disability due to severe benzodiazepine and SSRI damage to what used to be a great brain. Divorced and suffering in isolation, waiting for a protracted withdrawal to resolve. Hoping that it will…
The hardest thing is that no one — NO ONE — in my circle of friends, former co-workers, or PCP understands it. We truly do suffer this in isolation.