Doctors' advice on how to stop long-term use of phenazepam. Phenazepam and prednisolone withdrawal syndrome, how long it lasts, symptoms
Every VSD patient who takes psychotropic drugs, despite his condition, wants only one thing - to reduce their dose or stop taking them altogether. Have you tried this too, more than once?
Cancellation of phenazepam during long-term use.
I’ll tell you the continuation of the story about a VSD student who once abruptly stopped taking phenazepam. He constantly took 1 tablet at a dose of 0.005 grams per day for 8 years, regardless of his general condition. Here I am talking specifically about a patient with vegetative-vascular dystonia, who took the drug in a therapeutic dose, albeit for a very long period. And not about those completely healthy people who take 20-50 phenazepam tablets at a time along with alcohol, to turn off the feeling of fear and as a result, a feeling of “high”. Phenazepam is not a drug, but it removes fear. The sea becomes knee-deep for a person.
The desire to reduce the dose or stop taking a psychotropic medication is present in almost all patients with VSD and panic disorder.
The reasons for this are as follows:
1. If I take psychotropic medications, then I am a drug addict.
2. Fear that there will be a dependence on drugs and withdrawal syndrome. This is especially feared when taking benzodiazepine tranquilizers (phenazepam, etc.).
3. Pronounced and varied side effects on the body of antipsychotics and antidepressants.
4. They are afraid to take any medications - what if something happens!
In order to begin the process of reducing the dose or discontinuing psychotropic drugs, several generally accepted conditions must be met:
1. Cancellation of psychotropic medications is possible and indicated only after complete compensation of the panic disorder and the disappearance of 99% of symptoms for at least one month.
2. If you continue to have anxiety and other symptoms of VSD, then there can be no talk of any cancellation.
3. Cancellation must be carried out with a reduction in the daily dose by a quarter every 10 days. Faster withdrawal may lead to exacerbation of VSD. Benzodiazepine tranquilizers should be discontinued gradually over a shorter period than antipsychotics and antidepressants, under the cover of weaker sedatives.
Abrupt withdrawal of phenazepam.
The beginning of the story about a person with VSD who abruptly stopped taking phenazepam, in the article “Withdrawal of phenazepam.”
While constantly taking phenazepam, his condition stabilized, and he decided to stop taking them for the reasons stated above. Phenazepam tends to accumulate in the body, and, after withdrawal, continues to act for several more days. Such abrupt withdrawal of the tranquilizer on days 4-6 reduced the concentration of phenazepam in the blood below the required level, and the condition began to deteriorate sharply - symptoms of VSD appeared. On the 11th day, phenazepam withdrawal syndrome appeared. The acute phase of phenazepam withdrawal syndrome with such a small dose lasts about two weeks. This syndrome goes away completely in a month. And so, a month of torment passed, but the symptoms of VSD did not leave - they either intensified or decreased, but did not disappear completely.
The last story ended in the seventh month after stopping phenazepam. During all this time, the person did not take any medications (even Validol and Corvalol were prohibited). Sometimes I took an infusion of a teaspoon of ground Valerian roots at night. Here you can argue about covering up withdrawal with weaker sedatives. But a man put his life on the line - either pan or perish.
About 4 years have passed since then. What happened next?
The patient, a 47-year-old man, learned to deal with panic attacks. He completely resigned himself to the fear of death and did not panic when incomprehensible symptoms arose. During all this time, there was not a single panic attack. During this entire period he did not go to work - he had no physical strength. I did a little housework.
If for the previous 7 months there was hope that the symptoms of VSD would slowly subside and go away (they either intensified or weakened), then after 8 months it became clear that this would not happen. Some kind of malfunction in the nervous or hormonal systems of the body does not make it possible to restore health. Severe general weakness developed, which did not allow him to engage in any physical activity. It was difficult for him to leave the house. An excess of adrenaline and tension in the autonomic nervous system did not want to return to normal.
When changing body position, even after simply turning to the other side, in a lying position, the pulse sharply increased to 150 beats per minute (orthostatic tachycardia). This condition was constantly accompanied by extrasystoles. The aches in my bones and muscles continued and were very stressful. Then problems with the intestines began - repeated daily loose stools, especially in the morning, constant rumbling in the stomach, which continued even in sleep. There are undigested food residues in the stool due to increased intestinal motility.
It was concluded that phenazepam withdrawal syndrome had long since passed - it was observed during the first month of withdrawal. All symptoms observed further, despite the patient’s resignation to the fear of death, are a return of VSD - rebound syndrome (recoil syndrome) or rebound syndrome. Although the patient's mental state was quite normal and adequate, physically he appeared very weak.
Phenazepam or gidazepam.
The patient refused to take antidepressants and antipsychotics due to their strong side effects. Adaptol, afobazole and similar weak drugs did not give the desired effect.
He started taking 0.02 g gidazepam tablets. 3 times a day. And, lo and behold! If before the discontinuation of phenazepam, gidazepam had no effect at all, now it has eliminated all the unpleasant symptoms of VSD in 3 days. It turns out that during the period of abstinence from taking phenazepam, benzodiazepine receptors in the patient’s body regained their sensitivity.
This was a very pleasant and unexpected bonus! A step was taken to move away from a stronger tranquilizer to a weaker one - gidazepam. After 5 days, the dose was reduced to 2 tablets per day. Attempts to further reduce the dose of gidazepam led to an exacerbation of VSD symptoms, which were compensated by a return to the previous dose.
Three months later, for one month, instead of gidazepam, the patient took 6 glycised tablets per day. Glycised is even weaker than gidazepam and is not a benzodiazepine tranquilizer. The general condition was kept at a constant level. It was, although not a big one, but a victory - a complete departure from benzodiazepine tranquilizers. After a month, the patient left 2 tablets of glycised at night and one tablet of gidazepam in the morning.
In this rhythm, taking sedative medications continued for another six months. Then, one glycised tablet was gradually discontinued and a month later another one.
Currently, the patient takes 1 tablet of gidazepam, 0.02 grams per day, daily, regardless of his general condition. All prejudices and fears about the constant use of a benzodiazepine tranquilizer are absent. General health and physical condition are normal. He leads a healthy lifestyle. If the condition temporarily worsens, due to weather conditions or any other influences, the patient takes an additional hydrazepam tablet or a couple of glycised tablets for 1-2 days.
Thanks to the Lord God and willpower, the man left phenazepam. In the future, if possible, he would like to try to switch completely to the constant use of glycized instead of gidazepam.
Every VSD patient who takes psychotropic drugs, despite his condition, wants only one thing - to reduce their dose or stop taking them altogether. Have you tried this too, more than once?
Cancellation of phenazepam during long-term use.
I’ll tell you the continuation of the story about a VSD student who once abruptly stopped taking phenazepam. He constantly took 1 tablet at a dose of 0.005 grams per day for 8 years, regardless of his general condition. Here I am talking specifically about a patient with vegetative-vascular dystonia, who took the drug in a therapeutic dose, albeit for a very long period. And not about those completely healthy people who take 20-50 phenazepam tablets at a time along with alcohol, to turn off the feeling of fear and as a result, a feeling of “high”. Phenazepam is not a drug, but it removes fear. The sea becomes knee-deep for a person.
The desire to reduce the dose or stop taking a psychotropic medication is present in almost all patients with VSD and panic disorder.
The reasons for this are as follows:
1. If I take psychotropic medications, then I am a drug addict.
2. Fear that there will be a dependence on drugs and withdrawal syndrome. This is especially feared when taking benzodiazepine tranquilizers (phenazepam, etc.).
3. Pronounced and varied side effects on the body of antipsychotics and antidepressants.
4. They are afraid to take any medications - what if something happens!
In order to begin the process of reducing the dose or discontinuing psychotropic drugs, several generally accepted conditions must be met:
1. Cancellation of psychotropic medications is possible and indicated only after complete compensation of the panic disorder and the disappearance of 99% of symptoms for at least one month.
2. If you continue to have anxiety and other symptoms of VSD, then there can be no talk of any cancellation.
3. Cancellation must be carried out with a reduction in the daily dose by a quarter every 10 days. Faster withdrawal may lead to exacerbation of VSD. Benzodiazepine tranquilizers should be discontinued gradually over a shorter period than antipsychotics and antidepressants, under the cover of weaker sedatives.
Abrupt withdrawal of phenazepam.
The beginning of the story about a person with VSD who abruptly stopped taking phenazepam, in the article.
While constantly taking phenazepam, his condition stabilized, and he decided to stop taking them for the reasons stated above. Phenazepam tends to accumulate in the body, and, after withdrawal, continues to act for several more days. Such abrupt withdrawal of the tranquilizer on days 4-6 reduced the concentration of phenazepam in the blood below the required level, and the condition began to deteriorate sharply - symptoms of VSD appeared. On the 11th day, phenazepam withdrawal syndrome appeared. The acute phase of phenazepam withdrawal syndrome with such a small dose lasts about two weeks. This syndrome goes away completely in a month. And so, a month of torment passed, but the symptoms of VSD did not leave - they either intensified or decreased, but did not disappear completely.
The last story ended in the seventh month after stopping phenazepam. During all this time, the person did not take any medications (even Validol and Corvalol were prohibited). Sometimes I took an infusion of a teaspoon of ground Valerian roots at night. Here you can argue about covering up withdrawal with weaker sedatives. But a man put his life on the line - either pan or perish.
About 4 years have passed since then. What happened next?
The patient, a 47-year-old man, learned to deal with panic attacks. He completely resigned himself to the fear of death and did not panic when incomprehensible symptoms arose. During all this time, there was not a single panic attack. During this entire period he did not go to work - he had no physical strength. I did a little housework.
If for the previous 7 months there was hope that the symptoms of VSD would slowly subside and go away (they either intensified or weakened), then after 8 months it became clear that this would not happen. Some kind of malfunction in the nervous or hormonal systems of the body does not make it possible to restore health. Severe general weakness developed, which did not allow him to engage in any physical activity. It was difficult for him to leave the house. An excess of adrenaline and tension in the autonomic nervous system did not want to return to normal.
When changing body position, even after simply turning to the other side, in a lying position, the pulse sharply increased to 150 beats per minute (orthostatic tachycardia). This condition was constantly accompanied by extrasystoles. The aches in my bones and muscles continued and were very stressful. Then problems with the intestines began - repeated daily loose stools, especially in the morning, constant rumbling in the stomach, which continued even in sleep. There are undigested food residues in the stool due to increased intestinal motility.
It was concluded that phenazepam withdrawal syndrome had long since passed - it was observed during the first month of withdrawal. All symptoms observed further, despite the patient’s resignation to the fear of death, are a return of VSD - rebound syndrome (recoil syndrome) or rebound syndrome. Although the patient's mental state was quite normal and adequate, physically he appeared very weak.
Phenazepam or gidazepam.
The patient refused to take antidepressants and antipsychotics due to their strong side effects. Adaptol, afobazole and similar weak drugs did not give the desired effect.
He started taking 0.02 g gidazepam tablets. 3 times a day. And, lo and behold! If before the discontinuation of phenazepam, gidazepam had no effect at all, now it has eliminated all the unpleasant symptoms of VSD in 3 days. It turns out that during the period of abstinence from taking phenazepam, benzodiazepine receptors in the patient’s body regained their sensitivity.
This was a very pleasant and unexpected bonus! A step was taken to move away from a stronger tranquilizer to a weaker one - gidazepam. After 5 days, the dose was reduced to 2 tablets per day. Attempts to further reduce the dose of gidazepam led to an exacerbation of VSD symptoms, which were compensated by a return to the previous dose.
Three months later, for one month, instead of gidazepam, the patient took 6 glycised tablets per day. Glycised is even weaker than gidazepam and is not a benzodiazepine tranquilizer. The general condition was kept at a constant level. It was, although not a big one, but a victory - a complete departure from benzodiazepine tranquilizers. After a month, the patient left 2 tablets of glycised at night and one tablet of gidazepam in the morning.
In this rhythm, taking sedative medications continued for another six months. Then, one glycised tablet was gradually discontinued and a month later another one.
Currently, the patient takes 1 tablet of gidazepam, 0.02 grams per day, daily, regardless of his general condition. All prejudices and fears about the constant use of a benzodiazepine tranquilizer are absent. General health and physical condition are normal. He leads a healthy lifestyle. If the condition temporarily worsens, due to weather conditions or any other influences, the patient takes an additional hydrazepam tablet or a couple of glycised tablets for 1-2 days.
Thanks to the Lord God and willpower, the man left phenazepam. In the future, if possible, he would like to try to switch completely to the constant use of glycized instead of gidazepam.
anonymously
Hello Igor Yurievich, I really need your advice. Female, 29 years old, at the age of 16 I fell down the stairs from the 2nd floor at the dacha, hit my head hard and injured my neck, the night after the fall I experienced a terrible panic attack (then I didn’t know what it was ), before that I was always a cheerful person, I studied well, after the fall, horror began, I became depressed, I could barely move, I could not study and remember normally, but I was not treated with medication, I pulled myself out on my own, I was depressed for a little over a year very heavy, then little by little the mood began to improve, but along with this a strangeness appeared, I began to be afraid of space and the universe, when I looked at the sky I was seized with fear. Then this passed. I became a normal person. Ten years ago there was a relapse, a diagnosis of panic disorder, neurosis, the catalyst was a lot of accumulated stress, it was hell for four months, I was treated in the day hospital of the psycho-neurological department, antidepressants didn’t really help, and ten injections of Relanium worked a miracle, I became a person, plus I had an operation. After that she flew happy and cheerful. In 2009, stress accumulated again, headaches began, I began to shake, insomnia. A course of phenazepam 0.5 mg - 2 weeks, everything went away, I didn’t feel the need to drink it anymore, after a few months I I found out that my situation and mood during and after childbirth was excellent. A year ago, after the death of my father-in-law in 2012, and again a lot of stress and sleepless nights with the child, I felt an increase in anxiety, suspiciousness and fears for my health, plus I had a traumatic the situation has been more than a year, I injured my leg in the village, a strong itch began, I didn’t see what I was scratched on, I read a lot on the Internet, I was afraid that they didn’t get vaccinations against tetanus and rabies, I generally worked myself up with rabies, that the incubation period is more than a year if the lower limb is injured, I myself realized this, then I turned to a psychotherapist for treatment with phenazepam, adaptol plus apo-fluoxetine (Canada), acupuncture, after three months I slowly stopped adaptol, fluoxetine according to the scheme, it helped, and I began to stop phenazepam, but as soon as I stopped phenazepam, I wasn’t depressed, but I was shaking, and I had the idea that if I quit phenazepam at this moment, I would go completely crazy, because even subconsciously, I felt like I was playing Russian roulette, in general, I drank it more for years, I didn’t increase the dose, mostly 1 mg, it happened that with severe anxiety 1.5 and I remember exactly 2 days I took 2 mg, but I never raised this dosage higher. For a year I drank naturally intermittently, then I stopped, then I started, then I didn’t drink for a month again a couple of months, with the dosage reduced to 0. 25 mg once a week. And this continued until July, until I received a neck injury, a complication after the removal of tonsils, in the form of neck ostiomyelitis, I thought I would never be able to walk again, that is, it was as if the injury and infection overlapped, for half a year I was physically exhausted from the pain, naturally the diagnosis was not made right away, in July I stopped taking phenazepam, I felt that, in addition to my physical torment, withdrawal symptoms began, and in August in neurology they started injecting me with it again, it began to go away a little, but I could walk I practically couldn’t, so I lowered it again, I felt worse, the end of August, September, October I drank 0.5-1 mg, in November I stopped drinking for exactly 11 days, I was terrified at night, I couldn’t stand it, I drank 1.5 mg at night out of fear I drank it, lowering it to 1 mg, and realized that I was so poisoned by it, citing my good physical health, my neck was cured, and that the very sight of it made me sick, and terrible side effects from taking it had already begun. My memory became terrible, complete confusion in my head, porridge. I stopped abruptly at 1 mg, plus I was given membrane plasmapheresis, but they warned me that no matter how you look at it, there will still be a withdrawal syndrome. In general, today is two weeks, after plasmapheresis and abrupt withdrawal, I take heptral from the medications that were prescribed for the liver, and glycine , I’m not covering up the withdrawal with anything else, but I’m just terrible, I sleep every other day, nightmares, terrible asthenia, I feel mentally exhausted, two days of headaches, flies, sand in my eyes, I’m shaking all over with fear, almost no appetite, severe headache, as if something is wrong with the vessels in the head, or if there is no pain, a state of some strange emptiness, as if there are no brains. Before plasmapheresis, the psychotherapist prescribed me Eglonil, I started to get a fever, they stopped me, Zoloft didn’t work, my anxiety got worse, Paxil I wanted to, but somehow after one pill I had a state of hallucinations, although I have never suffered from this, they have now prescribed Cipralex, but I doubt whether I should start it or return to apo-fluoxetine, another moment in the summer, they gave me three injections of Relanium, I it was much better. I don’t want to take phenazepam anymore, but I’m thinking about taking a course of Relanium. Please tell me what’s the best thing to do in this difficult situation, to endure Hell without hiding, without taking Relanium (It’s difficult to get, neurologists don’t prescribe it now), plus benzodiazepine as no matter what, or still start drinking Cipralex, I also heard about Trittico for dependence on phenazepam and Teraligen, but I’m also afraid to drink Teraligen, because there was a reaction to the antipsychotic in the form of an increase in temperature, the fact is that it’s difficult for me to choose an antidepressant, there was only one blood pressure which helped and then in combination with adaptol and phenazepam is apo-fluoxetine. I need help to alleviate my condition a little or should I endure this withdrawal. I heard that withdrawal symptoms from phenazepam should be easier for 2-3 weeks, is this true? I constantly convince myself that I can handle it and everything will be fine, but I’m tired, I want to somehow ease this withdrawal
You've been doing the opposite all along. SSRI antidepressants (of which you mentioned, although for panic disorder this is not the most ideal option, but at least something), which need to be taken for a long time (the longer the better) - until the symptoms of neurosis completely disappear, and then as a supporting treatments that ideally help and absolutely exclude addiction - you took occasionally; and you took tranquilizers (, phenazepam), which do not cure anything, cause addiction and only relieve momentary fear. Further, instead of stopping the tranquilizer extremely gradually and very slowly after many years of use, you abruptly quit it, and even intensified the withdrawal syndrome with plasmapheresis, carried out for completely incomprehensible indications. As a result, we encountered the same symptoms, only an order of magnitude stronger, with the withdrawal syndrome associated with tranquilizer addiction. The neck injury, most likely, was only a provoking and not a causative factor, i.e. the fall and worries about the POSSIBILITY of injury provoked the first panic attack. All the multiple “” that you describe represent one long-term, completely untreated neurosis, giving a constantly high level of anxiety with its “peak” states - sympathetic-adrenal vegetative crises, or, what is the same thing - panic attacks. Sorry, perhaps you are not in the mood for a “debriefing” right now, but the specific recommendation in your case is very simple: contact a competent doctor who will CORRECTLY select a serotonin-selective antidepressant for you and CORRECTLY stop the tranquilizer (which you will most likely be taking now, unfortunately). forced to resume). All the best!
anonymously
Thank you very much for your answer! I wanted to ask you about returning to phenazepam, because I won’t be able to see a good specialist for an appointment soon. Do I need to resume taking it, after I endured more than three weeks, the panic attacks decreased, the tremors in my legs went away, my sleep improved , but a state of emptiness and some kind of exhaustion remains in my head. Of course, I will take an antidepressant, strictly under the supervision of a doctor, but is it worth returning phenazepam or can it be replaced with another tranquilizer, for example atarax? Thank you very much!
Consultation with a psychotherapist on the topic “Phenazepam dependence, abrupt withdrawal” is given for informational purposes only. Based on the results of the consultation received, please consult a doctor, including to identify possible contraindications.
About the consultant
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Psychotherapist, psychiatrist, psychologist-psychoanalyst, candidate of medical sciences, associate professor, member of the expert council and presenter of regular columns of the journal “Our Psychology”, member of the public organization “Russian Society of Psychiatrists”.
When a person’s everything hurts, and the expensive and not very expensive tests carried out say that the person is completely healthy, then they offer him treatment for his nerves. Vegetative-vascular dystonia does not allow a person to forget about himself at least for a while. Treatment methods for VSD different and mostly useless, and searching for them takes up a huge part of a sick person’s life. Offended by everyone and everything, such a poor individual begins to look for. Having pestered the doctors and psychics a little, he finally receives a truly miraculous pill from the group of tranquilizers.
Tranquilizers are medications that forcibly calm the human nervous system. The therapeutic use of tranquilizers is mainly associated with their anti-anxiety effect. Tranquilizers are used to relieve anxiety as emergency medications. They are not intended for long-term use. As a rule, these can be gidazepam, phenazepam, diazepam (sibazon, seduxen, relanium), elenium, nitrazepam, tazepam, clonazepam and others. The group of these drugs is large, but the drugs listed above are used more often than others.
The very first days of taking these medications remove most of the annoying signs of the disease and increase vitality. Here I’m talking about really sick people suffering from vegetative-vascular dystonia, and not healthy amateurs visiting entertainment venues, swallowing trunks and wheels in packs to achieve mind-blowing pleasure.
Phenazepam addicts They start using a few tablets and reach several dozen tablets at a time; they quickly develop an addiction to the medicine. The need to constantly increase the dose to achieve the desired state. The drug gives a sedative and hypnotic effect. For a drug addict, the fog completely fills the roof and the consciousness looks at the world through a very small window. Nothing hurts and he doesn’t have any feelings at all. Nothing worries him. In this state, he can do anything and, almost always, will not remember anything about it. A stupid smile freezes on his face. Alcohol further increases this effect.
A person who uses high doses of phenazepam and similar drugs between doses has the following symptoms. He experiences very long periods of sleep, increased drowsiness, poor coordination, emotional freedom, double vision, slow and unclear speech, and constriction of the pupils of the eyes. The condition resembles a person who has drunk a specific amount of alcohol. Retribution for such behavior comes very quickly and inevitably.
How to remove phenazepam from the body in case of overdose?
Phenazepam poisoning is possible if you take more than 20 tablets of 0.0005 g each. per day or add alcohol to phenazepam intake. Help for this condition must be provided in a medical facility. But, before the ambulance arrives, you need to rinse your stomach and drink strong coffee. How to rinse the stomach at home? The procedure is very simple and accessible only if the patient is conscious. Heat about 2 liters of water that is warm to the touch. Throw a crystal of potassium permanganate into this water, stir and wait until the water turns a faint pink color. Then we drink this water until it stops, I don’t want to. Then we irritate the root of the tongue with two fingers and induce vomiting. These procedures do not replace hospital care, because the effect of phenazepam begins within a few minutes and increases over several hours.
A person suffering from VSD and panic attacks began and continues to take from one to three tablets, say phenazepam, without seeing anything wrong with it. In a sense, he's right. Almost all signs of the disease have disappeared and the person feels almost healthy. Due to the possibility of developing addiction and drug dependence, medicine does not recommend using benzodiazepine tranquilizers continuously for more than 2-3 weeks. When there is an urgent need for long-term treatment (several months), it is recommended to carry out the course in a dotted manner, stopping the drug for several days and continuing to prescribe the same individually selected dose again for a couple of weeks, followed by a break. To reduce the risk of developing tranquilizer withdrawal syndrome, when discontinuing the drug, it is recommended to reduce the dose gradually.
But you should know one important point. Addiction is when you are constantly forced to increase the dose of a medicine to get the desired effect. If you take 1 tablet a day for a long time, and the dose suits you, then this is not an addiction at all. And there is nothing to be afraid of here.
There is only one thing that worries me. If you suddenly left the house and discovered that you forgot phenazepam, validol and corvalol at home, write - it’s gone. Run home before the attack hits.
Cancellation of tranquilizers.
Then, after some time from the start of taking diazepam or phenazepam, constant drowsiness and lethargy begins, attention and memory disorders begin, and sexual desire decreases. All this, of course, is directly related to the dosage of the medicine and the duration of use. But it is still necessary to remember that these medications reduce a person’s attention and reaction speed. Therefore, they should not be taken while driving a car or when performing precision work. It is prohibited to consume alcohol, which, combined with tranquilizers, can lead to cardiac and respiratory arrest.
The doctor always prescribes tranquilizers for two weeks to a month. Then gradually reduce the dose of the medication and stop using it. Cancellation of phenazepam passes gradually and painlessly. But it doesn't always work out that way. A person takes these drugs for weeks, months, or years. The drug helps - that means everything is fine. In case of long-term use, mental and physical dependence on tranquilizers may occur. This condition can be a huge challenge for a patient with vegetative-vascular dystonia. Mental means that a person cannot feel normal if the tablets of this drug are not nearby. Physical means that a person experiences natural bodily pain and other discomfort, if once again he cannot take the medicine.
If you are reading this article, then you already know. You're just interested in the moment, namely withdrawal of diazepam or a condition that causes Rexetine for withdrawal symptoms. Or maybe another tranquilizer or antidepressant that you happened to get hooked on. After all, the withdrawal syndrome of tranquilizers is completely similar to the withdrawal syndrome of antidepressants. Only when antidepressants are discontinued, provided that the dose is correctly and gradually reduced, the possibility of dependence is minimal. Although they write that antidepressants do not cause addiction.
Here I am talking about those who take tranquilizers for several months to several years at a dose of 1-3 tablets per day. That is, the dose is therapeutic, and it was not the doctor who forced me to take the drug for such a long time, but life. Although in many cases, this is what our doctors prescribe. After all, benzodiazepine tranquilizers are very cheap and without strong side effects, like some of the new groups. The same new drug Zoloft costs exactly 15 times more than phenazepam.
Tranquilizer withdrawal syndrome.
So, let's begin.
Before you stop taking psychotropic medications, be sure to memorize the Lord’s Prayer. Read it several dozen times, during the most difficult periods, day and night.
1 . There is an assertion that you need to quit tranquilizers by gradually reducing the dose. Imagine that you will pour less vodka every day for an alcoholic. What will his behavior be? If he doesn’t punch you in the face, he’ll definitely get drunk somewhere else. With a gradual reduction of medications, tranquilizer withdrawal syndrome may occur. As the drug decreases in the body, anxiety increases, insomnia increases, etc. All the signs and symptoms for which you started taking tranquilizers are increasing. And out of fear for your life, you will definitely drink the entire dose or even more. Here you just need to be patient. I know it will be very difficult. But there is no other way. You can slightly smooth out the condition with a decoction of valerian roots, flowers and fruits of hawthorn, and motherwort herb.
2. The second way is to quit immediately. ..
In about a week, the medicine will be eliminated from the body, and the condition will gradually worsen. An incomprehensible weakness will increase. This condition is called rebound syndrome. Duration up to 7 days. Common manifestations of rebound syndrome are: insomnia, incomprehensible anxiety, irritability, restlessness, flu-like state (chills, terrible general weakness, sore throat, muscle pain), painful worsening of hearing (any sound causes an unpleasant response in the head), loss of appetite, itchy skin especially in the scalp, prolonged and constant headache. By the way, the body refuses food, and in this condition it is not without reason. After all, many diseases, including VSD, can be cured.
I chose this second method for myself. I stopped taking phenazepam one day immediately and without reducing the dose. For several months I was practically unable to work. It was very difficult. But I knew and believed that the day would come and I would feel better. This faith has always supported me. Today I do not take psychotropic medications.
Tranquilizer withdrawal syndrome will be observed for from a week to one month. This is the most difficult period in the patient’s condition. The symptoms will be so varied that you won’t find it enough. Basically, the symptoms that led you to taking tranquilizers and which you have long forgotten about while taking phenazepam will be present here.
After one month of testing, all symptoms should begin to decrease.
The drug you took has already left your body. The entire period of normalization of the body can take from one month to several years. The condition will slowly, but improve all the time. If you want to stop taking diazepam, phenazepam and other drugs that stupefy your brain, this is already a victory.
Know that you can do anything. Not a single person has yet died from the symptoms that your vegetative-vascular dystonia with panic attacks shows you. During this period, do not take any medications other than valerian tincture or decoction. No matter how bad you feel, bear with us, our dear. And you will definitely win.
I would like to say a few words about addiction to benzo tranquilizers. This is a very evil thing because there is no cure for it. Let’s take heroin as an example (what could be worse, it would seem?): there is treatment: Lyrica (pregabalin), methadone, buprenorphine, and a course of withdrawal symptoms with diazepam and tramadol and other methods.But there is no treatment for benzo addiction!
Foolish doctors will offer you “treatment”: antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, whatnot... But this will not in the least subside the severe benzodiazepine withdrawal and will not ease your suffering. Sometimes you can see addicted people wandering around to narcologists and psychiatrists, trying to find out how they can be treated - but there is no treatment! They are prescribed all sorts of nonsense that does not help. Here's a nice classic example:
* My son was prescribed phenazepam 100 tablets for 5 years in a row. per month 1 mg. (in addition to rispolept consta), now he has a strong dependence on it. (the doctor, having learned about this immediately, immediately stopped prescribing it). He recommended taking Afobazole and Strezam, which made it even worse. Now I prescribed chlorprothixene 1 tablet (50 mg) at night, which causes extreme restlessness and just rage. I do not know what to do. My son has been without phenazepam for 25 days. How long can this addiction last??? How to help my son???
Common symptoms of benzodiazepine withdrawal: depression, insomnia, tremors, chills and fever, flu-like condition, fear, increased sweating. In severe cases, symptoms may include hypersensitivity to light, hallucinations, or seizures.
Or, for example, here is the withdrawal syndrome in the words of an addict:
* I tried to cancel abruptly - I can’t sleep, terrible headaches, anger, irritability, some kind of depression, a feeling of fear, scared to go outside, goosebumps running all over my head and throughout my body, memory has worsened. No medications help.
The only more or less humane option for relieving benzodiazepine addiction is to climb down the “ladder” very slowly: every few days, slightly reducing the dosage of the drug. Sometimes it makes sense to change the tranquilizer. For example, at one time I came off clonozepam addiction with zopiclone.
And God forbid you go to a psychiatric hospital for treatment of benzo addiction. They will punch you in the face, tie you to the bed with ropes, and inject you with heavy doses of antipsychotics: aminazine and other rubbish that will make you feel even worse - and so tied up you will writhe on the bed from unbearable withdrawal symptoms. This is how they treated me...
So it’s better if you fall into the trap of benzo addiction - treat yourself at home, gradually gradually reducing the dose of the tranquilizer every day.