The road to full recovery
Just over a year ago I found this group. The information I received enabled me to convince my psychiatrist to support me in crossing over from clonazepam (generic of Klonopin) to valium and to complete my taper from the valium. I have been benzo free since Oct. 2006, after taking up to 6 mg a day of clonazepam for over 9 years.
Someone in the group had suggested highlighting the most relevant information in the Ashton manual, so my doctor would be able to quickly read the text that he needed. I believe this, along with a complete schedule of crossover and tapering, and exact amounts of each dosage that I would need (I did need help figuring these out, as the brain fog was upon me), made the doctor feel I was sincere and responsible. I also suggested that I would come in to see him every 3 to 4 weeks and he could give me the necessary RX each time.
I am one of those people who crawl into their cave when sick, so I was unable to read or post when things got bad. That is why it’s been almost a year since I've been here. As you can imagine, during those 9 years of benzo use I was diagnosed with many illnesses and put on a multitude of psych drugs and even received several weeks of ECT. I am now off all psych and pain drugs. My memory and cognitive abilities took a great hit through all of this.
I have definitely had windows where I felt great. In fact, I had been doing so well, that I had forgotten about possibly still being in withdrawal. Recently my teeth felt loose and my gums ached for no reason, and I started to shake in the middle of the night. Ah-hah! These were a faint version of the withdrawals I went through, I had forgotten about them. Sometimes a short memory is a good thing!
It's been a long, hard journey, but in recent weeks I find I can read again with enjoyment, and I'm getting flashes of memories! So things can only go up from here.
Brenda