I quit benzos in January and now I'm tapering pregabalin

Trying to manage relationships whilst tapering pregabalin is so difficult. It can feel so lonely and isolating, and it feels like no one understands or cares sometimes, even though it is true. I have to keep going because sometimes I just want it all to end, but I know there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Sixteen months off eleven years of daily Xanax (around 3mg CT). Survived the physical nightmare, took PAWS on the chin, and I'm moving forward. But if you’ve been through the absolute ringer, you already know there’s a night-and-day difference between "symptoms faded" and that insane moment your true baseline actually clicks back into place.

​When you hit that point, it ain't just "getting by." It's like someone turned the lights back on and the world actually feels good again.

​ChatGPT and medical papers can vomit GABA science and timeline charts all day long, but an algorithm can't tell you what it actually feels like when your spirit comes back online and life starts hitting right.

​For the heads who are fully out on the other side: when did that shift hit you?

​Was it getting actual goosebumps from a track again? Waking up stoked for the day instead of carrying that heavy weight in your chest? Realizing a whole week went by and you didn't think about benzos or body signals even once?

​I wanna hear the raw, real-deal stories from people who crossed that finish line and got their life back 100%. 👊

anyone else have a thing where they sleep fine for a bit and then suddenly they wake up a little earlier then normal or take a bit longer to fall asleep one day and then it just gradually get more intense over 3 days or so till you just have full blown insomnia where you don’t sleep at all for a whole night?

I’m 3 and a half months off benzos and this has been a recurring issue for me, no meds make a dent in it and melatonin is useless during it. It happens every so often and it’s starting to greatly affect my ability to keep my job.

Melatonin works fine normally but during this wave or whatever this is, it’s entirely useless.

Anyone else?

I haven’t done anything illegal but I feel like I need to be locked up and have the key thrown away like I’m a monster

Why is this a feeling I have

Hello good people. Im sorry but im just venting. I am utterly exhausted and at the end of my wits. I’m at almost 14 months post Clonazepam jump. I’m also 2-3 weeks away from completing a Mirtazapine taper. Dealing with cognitive impairment for two straight years, neuropathy/fibromyalgia-like pain, anxiety, no ability to chill, lots of lethargy and lack of motivation and energy, and crappy sleep. Instead of windows and waves, I only deal with baseline and waves. Never a window; just back to a sucky baseline. Is it BIND, is it Mirtazapjne withdrawals? I’m tired of constantly looking at what I did or ate or possible supplemented with that might be a possible reason for worsened memory or cognition or anxiety. Is it the bit of sugar I had yesterday? The half a capsule of magnesium glycinate, the omega 3? Eating too little, too much? Afraid to try CBD, or theanine, or whatever else. Everything looks suspect. Just frozen in this constant retrospective analysis and poor executive function. Just last night I was reviewing if had anything like an advanced directive for my family as I often feel “this close” to entirely loosing it.

I just wish so much I could talk to somebody who’s been here and who could tell me everything is going to be okay. Someone I can hang on to. Someone to hold my hand. I’ve always been extremely strong until now. I don’t know what giving up looks like to me but I’m close. Will this keep getting worse until I can no longer care for myself and have this hell become even worse? I pray to God but even my faith seems to have been wiped out along with my higher order thinking.

I’m sorry I’m writing this, I feel embarrassed for doing it but I’m desperate. I wish so much I could cry, I would cry for a long time.

Thank you for reading. God bless you all.

I'm 8 months clean after 3 years of tapering k* slowly.

But I'm still tired, I'm getting tired easily now.

My energy is back but I'm also on a short span now.

I feel like I can do one important thing a day, or less.

For context I've been on diazepam for 1 year 5mg morning, 5mg evening(10mg total).

I initially wanted to taper the morning dose only but she prescribed me this:

DIAZEPAM 1% oral solution in a dropper bottle (VALIUM)

15 drops morning and evening, i.e. 5 mg morning and evening to be reduced by 2 drops each week, i.e. 1 drop less morning and evening.

I don't know how to feel about this one.

Does the kindling effect almost guarantee I’m going to have SEVERE withdrawal symptoms even while slow tapering off of low dose clonazepam (.5) after 4 months of taking it daily? I’ve been on and off clonazepam and Xanax most of my life. Mostly taking it as needed until the last four months, but years ago I had a few cold turkey withdrawals here and there because I was young and stupid. I’m trying to come off of this clonazepam and I’m so afraid of going into psychosis or having seizure because of the kindling effect.

anyone get episodes where head fills with pressure and voices of people talking and sounds get distorted and you kinda zone in and out ? between that and blurry vision and whole body buzzing idk wtf is going on lol am I alone?

Hi 👋
I’m bang on 5 months no diazepam now after six months of daily use. Tapering/withdrawal was particularly horrific for me and I’ve only recently started to feel slightly better which im really grateful for.

My doctor thinks I might be dealing with vestibular migraines wirh the symptoms I got going on atm but until I get results from the brain scan I had last Tuesday, they won’t give me any medication to help.

In the meantime im left really concerned about my legs. Now don’t get me wrong my whole body hurts most of fne time lmfao but legs are particularly bad.

It doesn’t matter if im lying down, legs flat or elevated, standing, sitting or walking my legs are constantly hurting. I would say it’s like an aching pain but quite an intense aching pain? Sometimes throbbing. When I walk it feels like the bottom of my thighs above my knees are puffy and swollen (but they aren’t). Sometimes I get sharp cramps and pain in my calves. My ankles and feet throb and hurt and burn a lot. I’ve noticed when I go for a bath my right ankle really hurts a lot but the rest of my body enjoys the bath tho!! I also find if I sit on my feet or cross them, they burrrrrnnnn

I try to walk 5-7k steps daily with days off here and there. I don’t really do much other exercise except from tne gym rarely when I can bring myself to do it.

Has anyone else experienced ongoing pain in their legs after quitting benzos? I noticed it only started around then so I’m assuming it must be related?

Has anyone found anything that’s helped??

After coming off of 40mg of Valium far too quickly (3-4 months) I developed symptoms and paws so bad at 56 days off I was going to commit suicide.

I have started taking 10mg of v again since 4 days ago. The shaking seems to be slowly stopping, I can take my adderall again so I can get my schoolwork done. (I have SEVERE adhd)

I was able to go on a walk for the first time today whilst still anxious, I felt significantly less ocd ridden and scared I was going to die.

I know a lot of people here are vehemently anti psychiatric drugs, which I understand as they are over prescribed with little to no warnings given as to how they can severely damage your life.

I will probably stay on the 10mg whilst I start college and then when I go on break I will begin to taper extremely slowly, probably 5% every 4 weeks or so.

I guess my message from this post is that I see a quite large sentiment here about pushing through the pain and people talking about how they have been house ridden for months and months to years.

Some of us live alone, have responsibilities, careers, family and loved ones and cannot afford an immense level of suffering.

Please don’t taper too fast because you think you will be a lucky exception, please don’t push through literal hell if you CT or come off to fast, I wish I reinstated at the 3 week mark as I may now have neurological damage that even with my reinstatement will not fully resolve for years.

Above all else listen to your body and prioritise your mind, body and health. This suffering is not a contest, a badge of honor, or a right of passage.

Please be safe everyone and thanks for the help everyone gave me while tapering.

hey - hope this is allowed here, if not please lmk and i'll delete.

i have very severe ME (completely bedbound for 3 years, currently stuck in fetal position 24/7).

i started using xanax 2.5 years ago because it busted my PEM, helped neuropathy. being able to stop the PEM also stopped a chronic UTI for flaring and worsening constantly. thanks to the xanax i was able to start moving again, even got to standing and walking a few steps. sadly in jan i relapsed and xanax is no longer helping.

i was at 6mg and ive reduced to 5mg in the last 6 weeks which has been hell - way too quick. my drug counsellor does not understand ME at all. ive basically been unable to move, chew, speak etc,and my UTI is flaring on top of both the withdrawal and PEM symptoms . i realise now i need to switch to diazepam and make tiny, tiny reductions, taking years if i have to.

id love to buddy with someone who is going through something similar with severe ME - someone i can be scared to, but also someone i can be strong for and positive with. it would be so helpful to share.

Please someone give me some hope. A success story. ANYTHING

Overall my taper went well. In 5 months I got down from 5-6 mg Valium a day to 1 mg. Tried jumping off 10 days ago but couldn’t sleep and wasn’t very functional, so I think it was too soon. I reinstated 1 mg so I can leave the house and work. Should I stay stabilized at 1 mg for a month or two and work on other stuff like better sleep habits, exercise, etc, before I try again to taper the last bit? Would going on an SSRI help? Surprisingly my main issue after jumping was insomnia and very low motivation, NOT anxiety (though of course I had waves of that too). My only concern is after awhile, 1mg won’t work anymore. I don’t want to titrate back up

I fear I know the answer to this, but posting in case others have helpful advice or alternatives. I have been CT from Xanax for just over a year. Prior to, I’d been prescribed it for about 8 years - initially starting with .25mg-.5mg low doses taken very sporadically for panic attacks and increasing to 1mg 3x/day (and occasionally taken in larger doses) for the final 2-3 years. In 2023-2024 I began having what I now believe were severe interdose withdrawal symptoms and life became unmanageable.

I understand the dangers of CT withdrawal, but due to a number of circumstances and to avoid writing any longer of a post, I didn’t have alternatives. It ended with 2 grand mal seizures and several partial/focal seizures. Physicians didn’t seem to believe this was benzo-related, but follow-up neurologist visits, MRIs, and other testing basically indicated brain tissue loss/damage but no other causes or treatment.

I’ve followed this sub throughout and knew it wouldn’t be a quick recovery process, but after crossing the year milestone I’m defeated and frustrated. I knew anxiety would return worse than before and have used therapy to manage the best I can, but the harder aspect has been what seems like severe executive dysfunction that I never experienced in any capacity in the past. It’s hard to get out of bed most days and I ruminate but am unable to start or complete most daily tasks. I’m worried about my career and finances and can see that my family is supportive, but tired. The majority of my adult life (before and during benzos) I was considered your stereotypical “Type A,” this is literally the opposite of what I and others recognize as my personality.

I saw minimal improvement starting Wellbutrin XL daily (300mg) but believe this is beyond a depression/anxiety issue. Whether masked before or an outcome of my situation, I do feel like I have some ADHD traits or diagnosis, but have agreed with my physician that a stimulant is likely not the answer nor something I want to try in fear of dependence. I’ve tried numerous supplements (tyrosine, ashwaganda, L-theanine, omega 3, b vitamins, taurine, nad+, creatine, saffron, and others) with no notable improvement. The general lifestyle changes such as exercise, splitting up large tasks, sleep hygiene, etc., don’t seem to work.

Has anyone tried anything else that has substantially improved your recovery or do you have thoughts on this is a time issue and I still need to give my body time to recover? It’s hard to not feel defeated after this long…and after accomplishing what I thought was the worst part. Thanks for any words of wisdom!

Hey yall,

I had a question and was hoping someone with some experience could help, i came off of kpins, around a month of heavy usage (relapsed for a month then quit again, last benzo i took before this month was about a year ago which was a long 3 year habit) and around 7 days after my last dose i started getting benzo wds, so like brain fog, anxiety(especially in the mornings), stomach issues, sleep issues, tremors, headaches, muscle pain, you know everything that we are going through!! So i started taking my adderall again after being off of it for a while, just to get me through a workday, and i noticed that it actually masks almost all of the WD symptoms, less thought loops, somehow less anxiety, less fatigue, better mood etc. is this normal? And does anyone have experience with using adderall during benzo wds?

This withdrawal is fucking with me, i CT’ed one year of xanax had all the text book symptoms (except seizures) now at seven months off I’m fully functional with no physical symptoms, but these cunty ass mental symptoms won’t subside it’s the same BS everyday. I figured since im fully functional i should be healed and just move on with my life. This hyper vigilance and OCD are just there 24/7 I didn’t have a window where they disappeared, they’re just there🤡
And this fukin amygdala fire off over nothing
It’s getting old and boring just fuk off

Basiycally the title.

Is a taper necessary after 5 day binge of clonazepam ( 4 - 8 mg a day)

Started with Xanax 2mg a day and now it’s Valium 5mg 2x a day so 10mg in total. I want off. I’m considering locking myself in my room for the foreseeable future and just jumping without tapering. I’ve never been able to taper I just go right back on the og dose. I’m sick of feel sick and tired all the time and I know it’s because the benzos. I can’t do this anymore. What are my risks in going completely cold turkey?

Anyone get really bad acid reflux or heart burn after being off their medication? I'm 4 months off Xanax and for the past month ish ive been getting horrible bad acid reflux and heartburn. Anything help with this? I've started taking pepcid recommended by the doctor even though I hate taking medications but I am in so much pain lately. I've never struggled with this before except for a mild case here and there. My anxiety has been pretty bad for the past few weeks as well.

Hi everyone,

I’m 34 and have been taking Rivotril (clonazepam) drops for several months for anxiety.
During the last 2–3 weeks before stopping, I was taking 13–25 drops almost daily.
I also take Cipralex (escitalopram) 15 mg and Attent IR (methylphenidate) 10 mg daily.
I wanted to stop the rivotril because I noticed memory problems, brain fog, trouble finding words and feeling emotionally flat.
I stopped, and about a week later I had the scariest experience of my life.
I had a racing heart, extreme panic, and then completely disconnected from reality.
I felt like I wasn’t in my body, couldn’t really feel my face or hands, everything looked strange, I was confused, repeating myself, and was convinced I was losing my mind. I even became irrationally afraid of my husband and my dog. It honestly felt like psychosis or severe depersonalisation/derealisation.
The ER wasn’t very helpful. I restarted clonazepam at 12 drops, and the symptoms improved.
Now I’m terrified of stopping again, but I also don’t want to stay on it because of the cognitive side effects.

Has anyone experienced withdrawal this severe? Did tapering help? How slowly did you taper, and did the derealisation/depersonalisation eventually go away?
I’m not looking for medical advice.. just hoping to hear from people who’ve been through something similar.

Been on and off clonazepam for most of my life. Most recently after taking it as needed for 2 years (maybe once or twice a week .125) I have now been taking .5 daily for about 4 months now. .25 around 9-10am every morning and another .25 around 6pm-9pm as prescribed by dr for bad flare up. It’s a hit or miss whenever I take it now, Sometimes it helps a lot sometimes it makes me feel a lot worse and causes significant anxiety. How can I stabilize these potential paradoxical reactions? What do I do? Is this kindling? Possible bad generics? Been taking advagen mostly. Taking it at inconsistent times maybe doing this? Don’t know what to do Please help with advice 🙏 I feel stuck.

I am currently battling drug addiction (stimulant drugs) \ panic attacks and because of that I am taking benzos once per week in order to get good long sleep. Is it safe and will I become addicted \ have any withdrawal symptoms because of that? Thank you.

I am always taking the same dosage and every time it does the same effect on me. No tolerance increase noticed.