You deserve a great deal of respect for the time you give to others and it is easy to know that you truly care about others

After the freaky paranoias and the endless thought ruminations of the ghosts of Xmas past, then it's coming to awareness with benzo belly agonies. Peeing constantly,inflammation still bad. A year they said for a recovery. Flooding emotions is being embraced fully. Horrible feeling to be so disassociated by brain damage. I felt nerve damage like a frozen face after the swollen face I had taking them. Much love to you for sharing this,thank god for you.x harmed patients is an understatement , disabling healthy curable people,medicating normal then failure to explain the lengthy process of regrowing neurology. Brain damaged patients with central nervous system injury's,, awful consequences for taking prescription drugs.

Thank you for taking the time to do this.😊

I've been listening to a lot of your episodes lately. They're fantastic! Love your voice, attitude, and the way you structure the show. I'm 6 months into tappering off of an SSRI that I've been on for 23 years. I've taken benzos but never long-term. Regardless, I still find that there's a lot of overlap between benzo and SSRI withdrawal. Thank you for all you do!

We need a podcast like this! Thank you 🙏

I love your broadcast, thank you

I'm only eating, brown bread, squashed avocado's, houmous with red pepper, chicken, smoothies, innocent ones with pure fruit. I bought keffer the other day but it went off as I thought it might taste horrible, I'll try it now. I never touch alcohol, period. I don't like the feeling of alcohol. Thank you for this once again, now I know. It will get better but these symptoms will last years, they should be sued for this bodily damages in a court of law.

My homeopath has a friend who's a director and he's doing a documentary on benzos and opiates. I'm going to be in it. I'll keep you informed. Maybe you can spread the name of the film when it's finished.

Thank you

This is amazing. You are so genuine.

Your podcast is a little island of calm in a angry storm.

Thanks D. A great podcast. An old one, that I have listened to before. Been in a bad wave of late. It’s been brutal. I can identify with being emotionless through my 33 years of K use and now in a 9 month withdrawal. Our daughter is about to give birth today. I wonder if I will show any emotion. Surely I will!! . Also I experience Benzo belly. Great info from you today. I need to find your book again. Haven’t a clue where I have put it. Take care of yourself. I hope things are getting sorted concerning your parents situation. 🙂❤️

I listen it before I go to bed.

I'm going through it as you speak. I'm trying to find a alternative that can get me through the worst. I can't handle cold turkey. Can't go to rehab either. Any suggestions ? Xanax and colonopin ary issue. 1 and half a day.

Oh god, it's such a relief to know I'm not dying. Ten years on z drugs, I was taking them convinced I'd be dead soon because of course they couldn't find anything wrong. That degree of pains makes me think, is it benzodiazepines or is it something else.. It was a year after z drugs prescribed for 10 maybe 11 years and without realising, I took another anti anxiety pill. I have bounced around on different named benzodiazepines now for 14 whole years. Thank god this withdrawal was a true awakening to me, its just the symptoms are so bizarre when we were given something to sleep or relax. Who'd have thought it would affect our entire digestion, that is the crippling part. I had no emotions for 14 years, I feel like crying sometimes and I am so glad I can feel. I am not a machine anymore, it's just the beginning of real empathy at 6 months in. I'm so grateful for your words, it does feel good to be coming to human being. I think the unable to feel love or care or anything else good or bad, was as bad as the existential fear, terror and immenent death feeling. I think was the only feeling I had almost, terror and never being able to connect and feel comfort from another human. I lost my whole family to this brutal prescribing, they brain damaged me into acute protracted withdrawal and I did not know that little white pill was what was causing all of that isolation for everybody else and myself. I ended up driving them away for their own sake, it would have looked like I didn't care but I was assisting them escape because I had to do this and did not want them suffering it. Literally cut myself off from them to suffer alone, work it out by myself. I thought, get better or die but I still didn't have the answers, so I had to look like a heartless monster. I hope one day they will know why I was like that. I know what it is and not to touch any anti anxiety medicines ever again, now it's just a case of time and dealing with these gi symptoms is awful. I noticed I could feel the trousers on my legs today, I had such nerve damage I couldn't feel my clothes. I have inflammation in the upper digestive tract, it feels like my kidneys and I am going to pee all the time. I look fat but it isn't fat, it's inflammation. All this stuff I had to research on my own. The best I got from a Dr was, well you are Not dying because if you were dying you'd have done it by now. My problems started when still on zopiclone, one gp noted I was double dosed this poison by Dr lind, he said he'd never heard of such a high dose, then he put me on half. I think that's when I started having withdrawal symptoms while still taking the drug. I was taking as prescribed and it looked so tiny, one little oval pill. That little oval pill destroyed all my sex drive making life comfort less but who can have intimacy in benzodiazepine withdrawal pain and anxiety. It was chronically untreatable because I was still being prescribed it. That's a scary situation to be in. I wonder if anyone else had crippling pains in their intestines and kidneys, I still fall into wondering if I'm dying still.. I'm banking on the fact I should get better and better, even if it takes 2 years. I'll have to wait but I'm hopeful when I see peoples recovery and they are symptom free. It seems impossible to imagine not having this inflammation and gut, digestion, kidney problem. Its hard to imagine, one little plutonium like pill could damage so many body systems. The overthinking no brakes is making my comment rambling, sorry for this. Thanks for these comments and of course for the video. This has to be the most important thing ever for others to hear. Gps in Scotland do not warn and have no idea what our symptoms mean, very very scary they are so uneducated on these reactions. I took medicine as prescribed for years and it damaged me to the point I was a walking ghost, who'd believe it. I think they should be sued for disabling people. The chronic addiction and reliance was also something I never knew until I was prescribed this rat poison and yet we are victimised further by the ignorance and duration of these agonies getting better. My gp pissed me off so badly, when I called to explain I was having intolerable symptoms she reacted as if I'd relapsed, oh and you were doing so well, I really am sad and angry with her as she doesn't care or bother to try to understand. I'd rather die than relapse but I really don't think she believes that. Awful and emotionally upsetting as I fight for freedom from this. It would make you cry forever the stigmatisation of addiction when trying my best. It makes me determined I will prove I'm not incurable and then ill write how I feel and what's happened to the partners at the practise. If you don't want to help addiction patients or think they're unsavable, do us a favour and don't try to specialise in the field. There's no effort to see those who are really really interested in recovery, they refused to taper so I nearly killed myself doing cold turkey. Total neglect, she must be killing patients by refusing treatment and rehab, counselling doesn't save people, that's what she offered, councilling for benzodiazepine dependence. Zopiclone followed by etizolam which was Internet medicine and I thought nothing to do with zopiclone, I stopped that as I became dependent almost immediately.. A full year I was addicted to etizolam.. After a protracted withdrawal and all the symptoms I'd had for years obviously unable to get better, I still had no clue I was self medicating protracted withdrawals.. Then a friend who was really ill herself had xanax, the biggest mistake I ever made. She was taking me into terrible situations to get these things so I knew I couldn't respect myself interacting with that demographic. I still have a lot of love for her but our addiction feeds off each other so I had to let the connection go.. I asked the Dr for help and she refused to taper me safely. So I had to put myself into a near death experience where she nearly killed me by refusing medical help. I had a seizure and collapsed, blackening my eyes. Distension of the upper belly to the point of looking 9 months pregnant, this is Awful, I had people ask me if I was pregnant. Gastritis, I have this now. I wonder if my family will ever know what really happened to me.. I was poisoned into Central nervous system injuries, I think I had miscarriages because of this too. Oh THANK GOD, THANK GOD THANK GOD I'M NOT DYING, was listening to the increased frequency of urination, that's what I thought I was dying of. I'm peeing all the time and can barely go out sometimes. The indigestion, inflammation, urinary problems. This has been huge, thank you soooo very very very much. I've been getting all these tests done, I can't go out without knowing where I can pee for goodness sake. The nervousness and digestive problems, so it's symptoms that can be done with, oh my that means I could have a normal life again..not only I can have a normal life again and be emotionally stable, ill be able to love properly and receive the help I so badly need. I just couldn't do that beforehand, the anxiety and pain was too bad and was never going away. I know I can never take another pill or drug ever againxxmargaret

I too feel more connected to humanity. It's great especially since I'm a indigo child.

Wow, I'm so emotional constantly, huge benzo belly after eating, Gi and constant urination is crazy. This can all be attributed to benzo withdrawl?

Don't beat yourself up for what you didn't know.

I drink Lifeway Kefir probiotic drink. In the US, it is in most grocery stores refrigerated near the yogurt. They have several flavors.

Does exercise help benzo belly? I had cted from klon. It's been a year almost. I have gained weight. I am not getting much sleep either and still I have been exercising but nope I am not sweating much. I sweat only when I take vitamin d and that gives me headache. I am still on another anti psychotic med. I am so messed up because of psychiatric medicine. And I have uti too.

In this process I've really learned to be with people when they suffer without giving advice. Advice is a judgement and can be arrogant.

I never seen this one. My homeopath is about to work on my gut. This should be good.

its been 36 days out of that 4 years klonopin the worst thing im having right now is stomach pain which sometimes goes to groin area with acidity which makes my blood pressure rise like hell worst was around 175/125 140bpm its better but im stressed 24/7 its stays around 150/105 but when i lay down and chill it goes 118/75 heart rate rarely goes above 110 im 25 i wanna include groin pain is like a sharp one i pretty much experienced every symptom under the sun i cant even write the list is that big ....

I'm 19 months out benzo free. But now it's been 1 week my benzo belly is at its worst. I think was not managing my stress well prior weeks, I let it build up. Now my stomach is super sensitive to what I eat even drink. Walking around and doing mild activities hurts my stomach. Any little movements tenses up my stomach. I get bloating, uncomfortable pain, nausea, gagging. I can't push through because I'll get out of breath with increase heartrate, stomach spasms. I get relief from laying down and not doing anything. I use a ice cold rag or an electric heating pad for relief. How can I get like this this far out is this Protracted wd. Thank you for all your podcast it's a life saver. Do you have any suggestions to help me through this painful process. This is my hell right now.😭

I have TAPERED from 80, 90, or 100 mgs. PER DAY for 2 years, now. I went through the hardest time and finally got down to 7 mgs. per DAY. But the problem is that when I got to 2.5 mgs. and stopped, the anxieties CAME BACK. So I had to go back to 7 mgs. per day. Now, I am afraid to cut down some more. What should I do?

Constipation is a real problem with me. Despite eating loads of figs and prunes, I still have problems

I have recently come across the term 'MS Hug'. Condition where the diagphram goes into spasm in Multiple Sclerosis patients. Very painful. The same type of thing can happen in benzo and psych drug withdrawal. I have had this for a very long time. I suggest those having mid-section pain and spasm to look at this. In fact, I have been tested for MS a few times due to various symptoms. Which was negative. Turns out it was the meds all along. Antispasmodics can worsen withdrawal symptoms. Which makes sense as it contains anxiolytic properties. Be aware of this.

Does everyone heal?

COMMENTS POSTED PRIOR TO TRANSFER This video was transferred from our Easing Anxiety Channel (kzfaq.info) to our new Benzo Free Channel on January 22, 2021. All comments associated with this video prior to January 22nd could not be transferred in their original format. Instead, we have listed many of those comments below in a single post for your reference. For a complete listing of all of our videos, please visit our website at www.easinganxiety.com. COMMENTS PRIOR TO January 22, 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Viper 7777 • 1 month ago Yes. Ive been off klonopin 4 yrs and feel the same. I watch something beautiful on tv, tears. Puppies playing, tears. Stories of hope, tears. I never used to cry. Thirteen years with no emotion. Now it floods out. I would rather feel again than be an emotional zombie. I think this is normal when we are healing and processing again...😊 Easing Anxiety • 1 month ago @Viper 7777 Hi Viper, Great to hear from you again. I think it's been a month or so. Yes, the tears do come. I can relate to everything you said. So often, they sneak up on me now and I didn't even know they were coming. In my opinion, tears have to be shed some time. And if we block them for years, whether mentally or with meds, they don't go away, they just wait until that wall goes down. That's the way it was for me. And like you, I'm so glad I got them back. They actually feel good...you know, to feel again. Thanks for the comment. Take care and keep in touch, D :) Michele Received one of the highest number of hearts from you • 1 month ago Hi D 😊 I wanted to wish you and your family a happy Thanksgiving I hope you have a nice peaceful day. Easing Anxiety • 1 month ago Hi Michele, Thank you. And the same to you. I hope you have a relaxing holiday weekend. Thanks for all of your support over the last couple of months. Warm wishes to you and yours, D :) d master • 1 month ago Can you ask Angela peacock for interview?😁 Easing Anxiety • 1 month ago Hey d master, Yes, I can. Great idea. I worked with Angela to help promote the film "Medicating Normal" during its premiere, but we haven't talked in some time. I'll see what I can do. Thanks, D :) Katie Owens • 1 week ago Tapering off Valium was switched from Xanax to this for the taper . Having sore tummy just wanna know what I can take for the constipation if anyone has had that is there anything to counteract that and or water retention it seems. Easing Anxiety • 1 week ago Hi Katie, As you know, digestive issues are common in withdrawal. I can't recommend any substances or supplements here, since I am not a medical professional. I had luck with Senna when I was going through withdrawal, but most of my digestive issues were the opposite problem. Water retention is also common and often related to chronic inflammation in the gut. It's one I still struggle with. I wish you well and hope you can find some relief. Best, D :) Katie Owens • 6 days ago @Easing Anxiety thank you. Maybe it’s not related to the withdrawal then and I just need to adjust my diet . I was taking these less then a year where you on them for a longer amount of time ? Thanks for your reply by the way 😊 Easing Anxiety • 6 days ago Hi Katie, Great to hear back from you. I was on clonazepam (Klonopin) for 12 years. Like so many of us, I had no idea it could cause dependence. I tapered for 18 months and I've been benzo-free for over six years now. I'm much better than I was, but I still have some lingering symptoms. Thanks again for reaching out. Best, D :) Katie Owens • 4 days ago @Easing Anxiety great to hear that you tapered . It’s crap to feel even that when you taper with a doctor you still get symptoms. Were you on a high dose ? My doc removed the midday pill recently a whole one and within four days I was waking up in panic attacks. Had to ring her and ask her to slow the taper . I guess that’s how it has to go ? If the symptoms are two much they need to go slower so you just check in with your doctor ? . Hard to function with a two ear old and drive and work part time whilst weining off and feeling uncomfortable symptoms 🙈. I bought vitamin B complex as I assumed this would be a good supplement to help with the nerves . Did you take anything like this to combat the anxiety and hyperousal the taper can cause (if you had that even) . Easing Anxiety • 4 days ago @Katie Owens Hi Katie, Thanks for the response. I was up to 2 mg of clonazepam for a few of those 12 years, which as you probably know is equal to 40 mg of diazepam (Valium). I tapered for 18 months, but wonder if going slower might have been a good idea. I know how hard this is. I did take a B-complex vitamin for a while during my withdrawal per doctor's recommendation. Tests showed I was low. I tried other things along the way to help with anxiety and symptoms, but few showed any relief for me. I decided to continue as naturally as possible to let my body heal on its own. Don't know if that hurt or helped me, but it's the path I took. Everyone reacts differently so finding the best path for you is key. As I mentioned, I am not a medical professional and I can't give medical advice. Best, D :) Katie Owens • 3 days ago @Easing Anxiety that’s fair . I appreciate your honesty . Wow that’s a lot of Valium my goodness. What were you on it for do you mind me asking ? I am on lexepro about ten years a low dose . For generalised anxiety. But after I had my baby two years ago my anxiety was so severe and chronic and I had bouts of terrible panic attacks and depersonalisation so I started taking Xanax but then buying it privately and taking 2mg a day but irratically over time when I feel better . I admitted all to my doc when she saw I was in withdrawl and now she switched me to the equivalent of Valium and is tapering me a little more each week . I am now on 12 mg of Valium per day and I felt that reduction massively that week when she reduced it from 15 to 10mg so I had to tell her and she added back in 2mg to slow the taper down . I feel my nervous system is just on high high alert. I’m glad you mentioned vit b complex as I just bought loads of that and started hoping it will help. I still have the odd couple of drinks the weekend and I am a busy mother and part time worker . It’s hard . I should probably take it a little easier and slow down during this tapering time as my body needs time to balance back out . Certainly need to avoid the couple of drinks the weekend because that’s a big no no to begin with mixed with Valium! Easing Anxiety • 1 day ago Thanks Katie, I will always be honest and as objective as possible on this channel. It's something I promised from the start, and it's definitely something you all deserve. I was on clonazepam for stomach distress. I guess my GP thought my stomach problems had something to do with anxiety. No warning of complications, of course. :) I know childbirth can lead to a variety of mental health difficulties for some women. I'm so sorry for your struggles. It sounds like you are making great progress on your taper. Don't be worried by small setbacks, we all face them at times. Feeling on "high alert" is very, very common. I felt that for a long time. Finding a balance between life and healing is hard for all of us. Withdrawal can be a very arduous process for our bodies, and finding the right balance to allow yourself time to heal is important. I still struggle with that to this day. As for the alcohol, that's up to you. Alcohol does act on the same GABA receptors as benzos and can complicate the withdrawal process for some. But, it's a decision you have to make and one you can discuss with your doctor. I wish you well, and thank you again for your taking time to write. Best always, D :) paul yancey • 1 month ago Hello "d"....good timing on this ...dealing with some issues of the stomach now...being lazy today and watching weather channel ...snow for you ...rain for me...hope you have a great Thanksgiving .....also best wishes to everyone else who's here today .."happy Thanksgiving to all" ...be safe ....Paul Easing Anxiety • 1 month ago Hey Paul, Thanks. I'm glad it's good timing. This was actually the most downloaded episode of the podcast so far. I think it goes to show you how many people deal with digestive issues during w/d. And yes, we got snow last night. A few inches. I was out shoveling this morning, which believe it or not, is one of my happy places. I love the peace and beauty of a fresh snow. I'm guessing you don't get too much of it down your way. Have a great Thanksgiving and take care. Best, D :)

My benzo belly is so bad I’m starting to think I have Crohn’s disease. I’m having a colonoscopy soon. But these symptoms started after quitting 5 mg diazepam

D...pls a YT about ambien....ty

At 6:40, yes I feel emotional and highly human.

Videos like these drive me crazy. I use to abuse mexican klonopins and alprazolam for decades and then had to stop cold turkey a few times for months a time and i never got any withdrawals or any side effects what so ever. Heavy use 6-7 2mg xanax twice a day or 10 2mg klonopins a day only to get high never had anxiety nor panic attacks..

My lord, I was prescribed a huge amount of ciprofloxacin whilst in withdrawel. My tendons feel like they need to be ripped apart. I'm tappering down and the symptoms are getting less hurrendous but... Less hurrendous, not better are the words I choose because it's still unbearable and left me feeling like I can't breathe and like my body is strangling it's self. It's really hard, I just want my life back. Thank you for this information, it really helps to understand why I feel like I do

You talk to much for that (small) amount of information.