Re: Getting off of Xanax and AF recovery failure

Hey guys thanks for the line-

Wired- yah it's definitely protracted w/d. I got very very severe AF in March of 2012. It was so bad that my naturopath wouldn't see me because she was certain I had Addison's. once checked to be negative by an endocrinologist I went back to her and she put me on 20 mg hydrocortisone (I hadn't done much of my own research on AF yet- not enough to know all the risks anyway)
After 3 months I was improving but still having anxiety and trouble sleeping so in June my doc put me on Ativan. I think the combo of the Ativan and hydrocortisone was the problem. Within 2 weeks I was having amnesia, scary severe memory loss (I forgot my name) and was doing flaky things (wander across the busy street with no realization of what I was doing) etc.. After doing some research I found that it was the Ativan that was causing this so I asked to stop. My doc said since I was only on for 2 weeks that I could stop c/t. From that point on, now 10 months later, it's been hell. I honestly don't remember all my symptoms because I had over 60 but to list some (most I still have); derealization, halleucinations, intense nerve pain, anxiety, panic attacks, terror, depression, tremors, tinnitus, insomnia (i would sleep 4-5 hours/week), intrusive and obsessive thoughts, inability to feel hot and cold..... and the list goes on.

I know this is benzo related because I never had any of those horrible symptoms with my AF, even though it was severe, before getting off the Ativan.

I then found out that hydrocortisone hits the same GABA receptors as benzos so over the next 3 months I tapered off of my hydrocortisone. So as of September 2012 I've been off all prescriptions and trying to let my body regulate itself.

It's worth mentioning that once benzo w/d started nearly all of my fatigue and symptoms of AF went away. My CNS and HPA axis was so revved up that my adrenals were getting pushed so hard that all symptoms subsided. That, of course, didn't last and I crashed bad again in January.

So here's my plan now: I worked with Dr lam for a few weeks as well as did a hair mineral analysis (I was 4 lows, 11 burnout patterns). Everything shows that I'm (big suprise) sympathetic dominant, which I obviously knew. I also got the book The Schwarzbein Principal for more diet advice and I'm making my own protocol now- no more doctors.

Each day I take:

500-1000 mg vit c
400mg pantethine
5000 iu's vit d
1 pill GB3
1 pill Paramin
500 mg Taurine
500 mg DHA

These I combine with an excellent diet of mostly cooked vegetables, lean proteins and small amounts of complex carbs. I left work over a year ago and stopped working out (I was a personal trainer) and do the rest/meditation thing.

I don't want to follow any 1 protocol by the book because I believe they all have their flaws so they need to be adapted to our individual needs. Also, given the benzo withdrawal we are in a whole other realm as far as symptoms go. It's hard to tell weather it's the AF or the w/d that causes anxiety spikes, panic and Depression most of the time but I'm trying to figure it out.

I really for the past 10 months thought I had to be the only one suffering from both of these problems. As much as I hate the fact that you guys are as well it's nice to have someone else that can understand it. I'm 28 now as will be 29 September 1. My goal is to be able to be on my feet before my 30th birthday. I want to do Parkour and gymnastics again and start to travel the world.

In good health-
Aerose

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