Are you in the UK? I am in the US. Some doctors do not seem to happy to prescribe them, especially since I'm not using it for anxiety. I changed doctor's so I could keep getting them refilled.
Besides addiction.. some people in the medical field think that long term use causes early onset dementia. But when I brought this up with a different doctor they did not agree always. Personally I feel like I have memory problems and I'm wondering if it's the benzos.
I don't think 3mg is super high of a dose so you having those withdrawals is scary. I had also been prescribed 3MG of Xanax a day and ended up kind taking more than I needed. Even told them to put in the file to not give them to me after a few OD's. Luckily I was able to get back on them.
I take Ativan now, my psych did suggest a benzo with a longer half life. I wonder if that would work better for staying asleep which is the main problem.
Thank you for the link I will check it out. I started taking Vitamin D after hearing low vitamin D could mess with your sleep. Been on it for months but my vitamin D is still not high enough.
Insomnia is horrible.. I have mental health issues too but are more manageable than physical problems. I could have ripped someone's head off after telling me they were tired.
Hopefully you will do okay. You probably have tried Remeron, but if not it's worth a shot for just the sedating effect. Have you ever tried muscle relaxers? Back in the day Flexeril would put me out in 20 min. Now they have zero effect.
Sorry to have not gotten back to you sooner.
I am in the US, and in my area doctors (IMO) unless you get a really good one who can think for themselves, are sheep. I worked with many MDs and DOs in pharma, and the things I saw were truly frightening.
My doctor has now flagged me as an 'addictive personality type.' I did go through severe withdrawals with Xanax (and while 3 mg/day is not necessarily a high dose), I think this was due to the length of time I was on them coupled with the sudden stop - they do not even do this with alcoholics - I cannot fathom what he was thinking of. While I was physiologically addicted to them (my brain was used to them and went haywire when they were withdrawn suddenly), I was not psychologically addicted to them. And I do not have a "addictive personality disorder."
I have probably had almost every pain med out there. Let's see off the top of my head, this would include morphine (craniotomy), IV dilaudid (broken ribs), Demerol (kidney stones), and then the ones that are not as strong for various indications: percocet, hydrocodone, tylenol #3, tramadol, darvocet, etc., If I had an addictive personality disorder, I would be hitting the streets for H to get that high or going to the dark net to find pain meds - I do neither. Also, I have never suffered withdrawal effects from these meds. Same with alcohol - I used to be a functional drinker - I would come home from work and self-medicate my anxiety, insomnia, social anxiety, cPTSD with alcohol. I was able to stop drinking with no problem.
My doctor knows all this, and yet he has flagged me - so it will be difficult for me to get a benzos again in my area. And the absolute worst and infuriating part is that benzos are the only thing that have helped me - I was able to function on them very well (and as you said, at a relatively low dose). Now I can no longer function or support myself - and it is why I am here.
In reference to benzos and dementia (which I had not heard about), the product label for benzos includes a safety risk for retrograde amnesia (I think - would have to look this up).
In any case, through pub med I searched benzodiazepines and dementia to look into this. Every single study that I saw, and I looked at many, could not definitively conclude that benzos are associated with an increased risk of dementia. There were too many potentially confounding factors that could not be controlled for in the statistical modeling (eg, alcohol use, stress, smoking, genetics, family history, etc.). Further, there were other inherent biases that could not be accounted for.
However, just for a moment, suppose that benzos do come with an increased risk for dementia/Alzheimer's - then the benefits of benzos need to be weighed against this risk - and this is true for every single medicine out there. Personally, I think the risks of insomnia are far worse short term (and long term), than the potential risk of dementia when I am older (at least for me).
There are no meds (and I have tried many), that I can take NOW that would help with my symptoms of cPTSD, anxiety, social anxiety, insomnia etc., except benzos not to mention that without the benefit of benzos NOW I have no quality of life and cannot function to support myself. (which led me to being here). So I may as well have dementia now.
I have had flexeril, and it does knock me out at a 10 mg dose, but again, my doctor will not prescribe it. If I had money, I would order it online (US sources) - but I am down to my last pennies so this is not an option.
The other thing that kind of baffles me, is that many people are placed on other, severely toxic and/physiologically addictive medications to treat the symptoms associated with their disorders.
For example, toxic meds such as lithium (prescribed for BPD) or risperidone (prescribed for schizophrenia) come with some pretty severe, and common side effects. Not to mention that antipsychotics and antidepressants can also have severe withdrawal effects as do anticonvulsants such as gabapentin and Lyrica (which are used for neuropathic pain), and yet benzodiazepine use is frowned upon???
Please know I am not negating that BPD, schizophrenia, and/or neuropathic pain are devastating or that people should stop taking their meds. What I am saying is how dare doctors negate the devastating effects of insomnia and severe anxiety and how it impacts quality of life??? There seems to be an insidiously inherent judgmental bias that the impact of insomnia and/or anxiety is negligible compared with other psychiatric conditions. And, IT IS NOT (ok, sorry for the caps - but this angers me!).
My doctor told me that there were no other meds that could help me with insomnia - interestingly, he never prescribed Remeron. If I had a chance to live longer, I would definitely look into finding a new doctor even if I had to drive an hour or more away - or if I had money, I might hit up the dark net to get the treatment that works for me.
As far as I am concerned, health care in the US is a farce (and no offense to anyone - this is just my opinion - what doctors have done to me has completely ruined my life).
For those of you tapering off of benzos, I am with you and wishing you the best.
Please know that what I went through does not mean you will go through the same.
My advice, for what it is worth, would be to take it slow and easy - and most importantly, if you are tapering benzos, please do this at your own pace and what feels right to you. If your doctor does not listen to you, find another.
<3
