Cerre923 : Italian proctracted WD Guy

[Cerre923]

Hi,

I'm 35 years old italian guy, and i want to tell you my WD story searching for help !

All it began in september 2014 when i experienced my first panic attack at  the disco with my friend.

I went to my family doctorand he prescibe me a Benzo call EN (the same of XANAX here in Italy) as i needed.
I abused because in 3 months i developed a fast tollerance and then i quit cold turkey.
i collapse in my first Withdrawl from benzo ( but at that time i didn't know that was a WD because my doctor didn't informed me).

In summer 2015 i went to my city hospital,for 3 days and the doctor during that time analyzed my body and all it was perfect.
They told  me that i suffered of Panic attack and  anxiety and gave me the "miracle cure " for my issues PAXIL and a mix of other medicine

For 3,5 years i take :

- 20 mg PAXIL
- 175 mg of neurolectical call in italy LYRICA
- 500mg Lithium call in italy DEPACKIN CHRONO.

i take the full dose for almost a years and then in the rest of 2.5 years i tapered the dose since i quit the LYRICA AND LITHIUM in june 2018 and also the PAXIL in december 2018.
(during my tapering i suffered a lot of symptoms maybe because i tapered so fast)

the most frequent symptoms were:

- dizziness, imbalance, i feel like floating in a boat (my worst symptom by now)
- Anxiety I can't handle a stress (by now)
- tremors, shortly of breath, brain zaps, heart in a chest goes fast, diarrhea, gut problem, heacaches, agoraphobia and 10-15 other symptoms

During this almost 26 months now my symptoms fluttuated up and down without a windows of relief.

Now, how you can imagine i'm hopeless and very tired it seems to me that suffer never ending.
i'm interested in some advise on to how to cope this hell.

I have the last 3 questions please answer me if you can:

1- Is that possible that the worst time of WD is beetween 24 and 36 months ? (i feel that this third years is worst to the first for me)

2- During all time i'm push my self to work and i'm still doing that in very bad physically situation can not able to handle a work stress,i work in a office to 9 a.m. -18 p.m. all day except the week end.

which tips can i adopte to approach the working time?

3 -i'm still smoking,not able to do some exercise, i'm DIZZY and exhausted 24/7 ,no diet.

in you opinion if i try to quit now a cigarettes can i have a WD from tobacco?

Is it true that the major healing is in a period 24-36 months ?

Thanks for your time and scuse me for this too long e-mail.
Best regards

Edited February 18, 2021 by Erell
Reduced size + removed real name

[Erell]

Hello Cerre 923, 

 

And welcome on SA.

 

This site is run entirely by volunteer Administrators and Moderators, all have been through or going through withdrawal.

There are no commercial interests or influences  involved.

 

And I'm sorry for what you're going through : unfortunately psychiatrists don't seem to understand how powerful these drugs are and don't recognize withdrawal syndrome.

 

-> I understand you've given all the infos above, but could you please create a drug signature ? Please include drugs, dates, discontinuations. Also include supplements. This will help us give you the most accurate advice we can, and allow us to see your history at a glance.
 

• This is a direct link to your signature:  Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

 

-> Your symptoms are unfortunately quite common withdrawal symptoms. we recommend our members to learn nondrug coping skills to help our Central Nervous Systems to heal. You might find ideas and tools in our "Symptoms and selfcare section" : 

symptoms-and-self-care

 

-> Are you taking supplements ? You might try magnesium or fish oil , some people find relief with these supplements (magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker and omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil )
If you do try them, please try one at a time and at low dose to see how it affects you.

 

-> You describe ups and downs : it seems that recovery from withdrawal is definitely not linear and tends to happen in a windows and waves pattern. This thread might help you to understand the healing process : 

the-windows-and-waves-pattern-of-stabilization/

 

You might also find comfort in our Success Stories : it can take time, but people do tend to get better : 

success-stories-recovery-from-withdrawal

 

On 2/16/2021 at 10:11 PM, Cerre923 said:

Is it true that the major healing is in a period 24-36 months ?

Honestly, nobody can predict how long it will take or if there are specific timeframe, there are just too much unknown and every journey is very individual.
However, there are things we can do to help our bodies : 
for example, do you drink alcohol ? What is your diet ?

 

On 2/16/2021 at 10:11 PM, Cerre923 said:

in you opinion if i try to quit now a cigarettes can i have a WD from tobacco?

I don't think anybody can tell you how your body will react if you quit tabacco. Perhaps you'll find this thread interesting : 

smoking-cessation-nicotine-e-cigs

 

Ok, this is a lot of infos. 

 

 

Again, welcome  

[quickquestion]

I am also going through Paxil withdrawal and know how hard it can be. I am sorry you're experiencing this. 

 

Did your benzo withdrawal symptoms subside while on the Paxil and Lyrica? How did you feel on them?

 

Are any of the symptoms you're experiencing now similar to those you experienced during benzo withdrawal?