Please help!!! Is it possible im going crazy???

[Srm1135]

Three weeks ago under the supervision of my doctor I switched medications from 8mg/day of Klonapin and 150mg/day of Effexor for 15mg/day of Lexapro and 1mg/Ativan four times a day.

My anxiety and stress levels have been through the roof. The mornings being the worst. My mind is constantly racing and I can't get my thoughts in order. I have been down this road before with severe anxiety lasting a couple of weeks, but never this long and never this severe. I just had my 36th birthday and when I was younger never in a million years thought I would still be victim of this problem. I just flat out feel like I am going crazy and my sanity is slipping away from me.

[Enduronman]

Friend,

It's going to take more than 3 weeks to allow the body/mind/spirit to acclamate from 8mg of klonopin a day...with the longest half life of any benzo. And effexor generally gives people energy, which may explain some of the klonopin to begin with. 8mg is a bunch of klonopin man! Kinda surprised by that amount honestly. Lorazepam is pretty strong stuff though so you should be ok in another week. Best way the make it happen faster, drink lots of water to flush out the other meds that still remain. Also, lexapro has made other peoples anxiety worse in the beginning too bruh, double edged sword persay...water, water, water....IMHO

[Srm1135]

Friend, It's going to take more than 3 weeks to allow the body/mind/spirit to acclamate from 8mg of klonopin a day...with the longest half life of any benzo. And effexor generally gives people energy, which may explain some of the klonopin to begin with. 8mg is a bunch of klonopin man! Kinda surprised by that amount honestly. Lorazepam is pretty strong stuff though so you should be ok in another week. Best way the make it happen faster, drink lots of water to flush out the other meds that still remain. Also, lexapro has made other peoples anxiety worse in the beginning too bruh, double edged sword persay...water, water, water....IMHO

Oh, don't tell me that about Lexapro. I've been on almost every SSRI over the past year and none have worked the way that Zoloft did for me in the past. Unfortunately, I think I built up a tolerance being in it for so long that I had to switch. I haven't been drinking any water. Plenty of Gatorade though. Is that no good? And yeah the Klonapin dosage was pretty high. And I stopped taking it cold turkey too. Thanks enduro for the reply.

[Enduronman]

IMHO, gatorade is usually sucrose, fructose, dextrose, glucose,..and will force the body to "hold" fluids for rehydration and electrolytes so unless your puking, running a marathon, or have liquid passing out the wrong end, then drink water to force the body (blood, liver, kidneys) to replace the toxic water faster, with clean un-klonopinized water....Occasional gatorade, mostly water bruh...Flush that s**t out!!! Whizz every 20 minutes!! The more you do, the quicker you'll feel better..

E.

[Srm1135]

IMHO, gatorade is usually sucrose, fructose, dextrose, glucose,..and will force the body to "hold" fluids for rehydration and electrolytes so unless your puking, running a marathon, or have liquid passing out the wrong end, then drink water to force the body (blood, liver, kidneys) to replace the toxic water faster, with clean un-klonopinized water....Occasional gatorade, mostly water bruh...Flush that s**t out!!! Whizz every 20 minutes!! The more you do, the quicker you'll feel better.. E.

Taking your advice and just opened up my first water. I used to drink tons of water when I was in the gym everyday. But since this thing hit I haven't had the mindset or energy to hit the gym. I dropped from 205 to about 175lbs. I am 6'3 and look like a twig. But water from now on it is.

[Enduronman]

PS: Maybe just think about dropping 5mg off that lexapro and see if that helps too....It could be just a tad bit much for the first month. I think usually 10mg is a starting point but I'm def no PHD bruh!!!

[Enduronman]

Man, I miss the gym too!!! 5 years straight, then POOF!... You WILL return to that gym, I hope I can too... I loved eatin iron!

[Srm1135]

I am sure that i have spoken to you about this before . I will tell you that benzo withdrawal is more than pure hell and i am sorry to say that there is not much you can do but hold on and tell yourself again and again and again and again that it is only the drugs and nothing more . I have done lots of research on this and in fact from one of the worlds best and the only thing that fixes it is time . There will be times when you question your own sanity but it is only the drugs or should i say the lack of drugs and your brain over firing trying to rework itself . The benzos effect your brain by taking the place of the natural workings of the gaba receptors and when they are removed the receptors go into overload trying to fix things . Trust me it gets better as it goes along but it can and normally does take some time .

Thank you. I think what is bothering me too is that I feel three weeks should classify as a good amount of time for recovery. Especially since I'm on a different benzo. I don't know. This site is such a gift though. Thank you all.

[Srm1135]

I'm not sure I have the Ashton thread. The first posts I made about my ordeal were made when I was barely able to type. That's why I came back and revisited the beginning and explained myself again.

[Srm1135]

OK Book number one . Hope and renewal . You tube site . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bd61SjJGRI I still watch this on bad days . Ashton manual - http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/ One thing i found helped was to move . Get up and move around . I would pace my yard . I know understand why drug addicts do it .

Thank you for the info. When I was freaking out bad before my wife forced me to take a walk. When I got back for some reason a good deal of the anxiety had abated.

Read the Ashton manual. Just can't win. No matter what you take there is always that downside.