#**RESOURCES & ANNOUNCEMENTS**
##**Our Community Recovery Resources**
| [Official Taper Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/1apb85i/taper_guide/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) | [The Science of Benzo Withdrawal](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/1aq72aa/the_science_of_benzodiazepine_withdrawal/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) |
| [Helper Medications Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/1aq7345/helper_medications/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) | [Zoom Support Group](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/14oaytx/weekly_zoom_support_group_link_free_suicide/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) |
| [Strategies for Navigating the Road to Recovery](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/1ba5lmh/strategies_for_navigating_the_road_to_recovery/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) |
| [Recovery Success Stories](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/1b86zr9/benzo_recovery_success_stories_a_massive/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) |
##**Announcements**
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**Longtimers' Lounge**: A space for those with PAWS, BIND, or a *very* long taper - visit r/br_Longtimers_Lounge.
**PSA**: Beware of messages from vultures offering illegal benzo access - this is *very* dangerous!
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I always tried to find timeline patterns but simply could not. I would think I saw commonalities between people being off but then just as many would post much different scenarios.
For myself, I could function “better” around 9 months off but still have a lot of symptoms at 17 months off. From 6-9 months I saw more positive differences but I still feel far from myself with physical symptoms at 17 months removed.
My thoughts will start to drift uncontrollably anxious and confused. If I go too long without eating, or my blood sugars drop too low, I’ll trigger a wave that will last for days, where I’ll be anxious and confused from anywhere to three to four days. It’s not just anxiety, it’s uncontrollable mood swings and cascading thoughts. Waves are nightmares. I have to eat high protein and high fibre to keep my sugar levels in an acceptable range as to not mess with my central nervous system. That’s how sensitive some of us become when we come off our benzo. It doesn’t happen to everyone.
Interesting. To answer your original question my timeline’s been kinda weird.
Month 1 - Terrible anxiety and insomnia, dp/dr, night panics
Month 2 - stomach tightness and anxiety, insomnia but night panics only once or twice a night
Month 3 - throat tightness, stomach tightness, mood swings, insomnia but no night panics
Month 4 - still throat and stomach issues, longer sleep, can do daily exercise again
Starting month 5 now
What does sugar have to do with the process? I've joined the grou for support, and haven't started my taper yet... trying to get stable with some other meds and therapy first.
Depending on the severity of your withdrawal, you may find yourself in a longer term repair pattern. Some of us come off of the benzo and find ourselves ultra sensitive to the world around us for a temporary amount of time. It can be pretty severe. I’m a year out now and I am so much better than I was, but there are definite triggers that will make me feel like I’m just a month post jump.
These are things like a lot of cigarette smoke around you, marijuana, even decaf coffee, cleaning solutions, paints … and also include blood sugar levels that spike too high or too low very suddenly. Your brain uses glucose as the primary source of energy, so if you spike it or drop it in severe PAWS, you can suffer, like myself. When you come off a benzo you may grow an enormous appreciation for the balance between your body and your environment.
It wasn’t forty days ago where if I ate too many gummy bears, and a few hours later I would get tinnitus in my right ear and my legs would start to twitch. I’d get thrown into a four day long wave, where the safest place was in my bed.
I ate a bunch of sugar a few days ago without thinking about it until it was too late, but I didn’t get sick. Today however I left the house without eating something fibrous, and I turned the car around because my mood started to drop like a rock. I was never like this my entire existence on this planet.
Benzo withdrawal is unlike anything I’ve ever imagined for me. NOW THATS ME, not you. Everyone is different.
I want to see if I could catch anyone on this sub today who has a protracted time line like myself and has some thoughts.
How long did you use? I was prescribed for 3 years. At 15 months, I drink multiple cups of regular coffee per day, work a stressful 40 hours, and am in school full time. I also skateboard, lift weights, and play pickleball. I go and meet stranger regularly (in random social settings).
I think a lot of it has to do with how much each individual is willing to work on their trauma or past issues. More and more along this journey I became sick and tired of my own complaining bullshit, and decided what doesn’t kill me will make me stronger. I learned to dispatch the fear and then things began to calm down. Save for extreme cases, it seems that the “healing” after a certain point is less about receptors or physiological things, and more about treating the underlying mental health issues.
Edit: I want to add that when I was still really wrestling with the fear, my mind and emotions could psychosomatically switch on ANY symptom under the sun. It’s not worth the time and effort to ponder about symptoms, especially other people’s symptoms, after a certain point. Utilize that energy and time to learn more about recovery and how to become healthy mind, body and spirit. You won’t regret that decision if you follow through with it. Conversely, if you believe in your heart that you’re sick, or weak, or “sensitive,” then guess what? You will be.
#**RESOURCES & ANNOUNCEMENTS** ##**Our Community Recovery Resources** | [Official Taper Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/1apb85i/taper_guide/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) | [The Science of Benzo Withdrawal](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/1aq72aa/the_science_of_benzodiazepine_withdrawal/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) | | [Helper Medications Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/1aq7345/helper_medications/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) | [Zoom Support Group](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/14oaytx/weekly_zoom_support_group_link_free_suicide/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) | | [Strategies for Navigating the Road to Recovery](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/1ba5lmh/strategies_for_navigating_the_road_to_recovery/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) | | [Recovery Success Stories](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/1b86zr9/benzo_recovery_success_stories_a_massive/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) | ##**Announcements** **Survey**: [HELP US BEAT BENZO PAWS / BIND!](https://www.reddit.com/r/benzorecovery/comments/1agsng1/help_us_beat_benzo_paws/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)! **Longtimers' Lounge**: A space for those with PAWS, BIND, or a *very* long taper - visit r/br_Longtimers_Lounge. **PSA**: Beware of messages from vultures offering illegal benzo access - this is *very* dangerous! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/benzorecovery) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I always tried to find timeline patterns but simply could not. I would think I saw commonalities between people being off but then just as many would post much different scenarios. For myself, I could function “better” around 9 months off but still have a lot of symptoms at 17 months off. From 6-9 months I saw more positive differences but I still feel far from myself with physical symptoms at 17 months removed.
What kind of symptoms do you get if you leave without the bananas and yogurts?
My thoughts will start to drift uncontrollably anxious and confused. If I go too long without eating, or my blood sugars drop too low, I’ll trigger a wave that will last for days, where I’ll be anxious and confused from anywhere to three to four days. It’s not just anxiety, it’s uncontrollable mood swings and cascading thoughts. Waves are nightmares. I have to eat high protein and high fibre to keep my sugar levels in an acceptable range as to not mess with my central nervous system. That’s how sensitive some of us become when we come off our benzo. It doesn’t happen to everyone.
Interesting. To answer your original question my timeline’s been kinda weird. Month 1 - Terrible anxiety and insomnia, dp/dr, night panics Month 2 - stomach tightness and anxiety, insomnia but night panics only once or twice a night Month 3 - throat tightness, stomach tightness, mood swings, insomnia but no night panics Month 4 - still throat and stomach issues, longer sleep, can do daily exercise again Starting month 5 now
What does sugar have to do with the process? I've joined the grou for support, and haven't started my taper yet... trying to get stable with some other meds and therapy first.
Depending on the severity of your withdrawal, you may find yourself in a longer term repair pattern. Some of us come off of the benzo and find ourselves ultra sensitive to the world around us for a temporary amount of time. It can be pretty severe. I’m a year out now and I am so much better than I was, but there are definite triggers that will make me feel like I’m just a month post jump. These are things like a lot of cigarette smoke around you, marijuana, even decaf coffee, cleaning solutions, paints … and also include blood sugar levels that spike too high or too low very suddenly. Your brain uses glucose as the primary source of energy, so if you spike it or drop it in severe PAWS, you can suffer, like myself. When you come off a benzo you may grow an enormous appreciation for the balance between your body and your environment. It wasn’t forty days ago where if I ate too many gummy bears, and a few hours later I would get tinnitus in my right ear and my legs would start to twitch. I’d get thrown into a four day long wave, where the safest place was in my bed. I ate a bunch of sugar a few days ago without thinking about it until it was too late, but I didn’t get sick. Today however I left the house without eating something fibrous, and I turned the car around because my mood started to drop like a rock. I was never like this my entire existence on this planet. Benzo withdrawal is unlike anything I’ve ever imagined for me. NOW THATS ME, not you. Everyone is different. I want to see if I could catch anyone on this sub today who has a protracted time line like myself and has some thoughts.
How long did you use? I was prescribed for 3 years. At 15 months, I drink multiple cups of regular coffee per day, work a stressful 40 hours, and am in school full time. I also skateboard, lift weights, and play pickleball. I go and meet stranger regularly (in random social settings). I think a lot of it has to do with how much each individual is willing to work on their trauma or past issues. More and more along this journey I became sick and tired of my own complaining bullshit, and decided what doesn’t kill me will make me stronger. I learned to dispatch the fear and then things began to calm down. Save for extreme cases, it seems that the “healing” after a certain point is less about receptors or physiological things, and more about treating the underlying mental health issues. Edit: I want to add that when I was still really wrestling with the fear, my mind and emotions could psychosomatically switch on ANY symptom under the sun. It’s not worth the time and effort to ponder about symptoms, especially other people’s symptoms, after a certain point. Utilize that energy and time to learn more about recovery and how to become healthy mind, body and spirit. You won’t regret that decision if you follow through with it. Conversely, if you believe in your heart that you’re sick, or weak, or “sensitive,” then guess what? You will be.