Like you, I took a benzodiazepine as prescribed. I hit tolerance (when the drug damages the brain and more is needed) sometime in the mid 1990’s and didn’t know what was wrong with me. I visited doctors—cardiologists, neurologists, internists, audiologists, therapists, etc.—none of them told me that the cause of my ill health was the benzo.

I stayed on the drug for many years, growing more and more sick and disabled.

October 2010, I began to taper off the drug and became bedridden. Many doctors who claimed to know about benzos tried to help me but they all harmed me.

Eventually, I was cold-turkeyed off the drug by a specialist who told me I would be fine. He was dead wrong. (Do not stop your medication abruptly as it can be life-threatening to do so.)

I have blogged honestly and openly about my recovery. It’s all here, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the wonderful richness and beauty of life after benzo withdrawal. 

As my brain and nervous system returned to normal,  I focused on achieving true well-being— a vibrant life without any mood altering substances. I found the way to go from barely surviving to thriving! I’d like to share with you what I have learned.