Sam-e or Bacopa for Benzo withdrawal..
castillo 05 Apr 2014
Will sam-e or bacopa help? I know I'm low in both serotonin and dopamine due to a neurotransmitter test done years ago. Now i'm sure my Gaba levels are all screwy due to the benzo usage.
Will sam-e be too stimulating? I am just afraid to put myself through any withdrawal again. Throughout my benzo withdrawal I was take Rhodiola, relora, ashwagandha, holy basil, and magnesium. Inositol helped with sleep but made me depressed and I thought it was suppose to help with depression??? Any experiences with SAm-e or Bacopa? CAn i take SAm-e, Rhodiola and Bacopa together???
Edited by castillo, 05 April 2014 - 05:00 AM.
castillo 05 Apr 2014
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castillo 06 Apr 2014
Kompota 07 Apr 2014
castillo 07 Apr 2014
Man the worst feeling of benzo withdrawals is feeling awkward in society. Although my symptoms are dumbed down, it just feels like I am very withdrawn and don't belong among people in the world. It's almost like I was everyone pass me by.
Sorry I meant "almost like I watch everyone pass me by."
neuralis 14 May 2014
I had great success coming off clonazepam using bacopa.
I used it anywhere from 2-6 mgs a day for 4 months. Then when I decided to start coming off it I stabilized on 1 mg and kept on it for a month. About 2 weeks being on 1 mg I started taking around 2 grams of bacopa daily. After 2 weeks I had a relapse and took up to 6 mgs a day again. This went on for a week. During all this time I kept on taking Bacopa.
When I decided to resume my original plan to get off benzos I didn't immideately start taking the 1 mg I took before. I reasoned that I had taken quite a lot during the week I was able to go a day or two without taking any. I had a pill in my pocket ready to be taken at the first sight of acute WD the symptoms. But they never came. There was NO ACUTE WD symptoms at all! By taking 2 grams of bacopa for couple of weeks before quitting I completely elimininated the need for taper. I was planning for a 1 month long taper at best, but it was not necessary! Stabilizing on 1mg was way worse than going cold turkey with bacopa.
That's to say there we're no acute symptoms, but unfortunately I can't say the same for protracted symtptoms. It's been 2 months I still struggle with them daily. I think the only thing that helps for protracted WD is time and maybe flumazenil.
NB! Don't forget this is all anecdotal, please don't go and try quitting benzos cold turkey just because it worked for me.
Edited by neuralis, 14 May 2014 - 12:03 PM.
castillo 14 May 2014
Didn't that amount of bacopa make you dead tired??? It makes it hard to wake up in the mornings. its odd how it worked for the acute withdrawal and not the minor ones that last after. Is there a scientific reason for this? Is it possible bacopa can be stimulating?
Edited by castillo, 14 May 2014 - 01:15 PM.
neuralis 14 May 2014
I actually almost didn't feel anything from the bacopa itself, it just made me a little withdrawn from my surroundings.
To my knowledge acute WD-s are caused by the downregulating effects of benzodiazepines on the GABA system. Meaning that using benzos for extended periods of time degreases both your endogenous GABA and the receptor sites it can bind to. GABA being the main inhibitory neurotransmitter protects your brain from going into overdrive. Acute WD-s = too many neurons firing at the same time. That's why there's a chance of seizures during withdrawing from benzos because there's too many neurons firing at the same time for the mind to process. Now Bacopa has been demonstrated to upregulate the GABA system. Meaning it increases both the endogenous gaba and the receptor sites it can bind to. Basically it stops your brain from going into overdrive.
Now I believe the protracted WD-s are coming from the coupling of GABA receptor into inverse agonist formation. It takes lots of time for this change to reverse. That's why protracted WD symptoms can last up to two years in some cases. If my own situation doesn't improve in the fallowing months I'm going to travel to Perth to get Flumazenil therapy which is supposed to reset the receptor into it's normal state.
Edited by neuralis, 14 May 2014 - 08:04 PM.
castillo 14 May 2014
Wow I never knew it was so complicated!! Considering I only used for 2-3 months at 0.5-1mg, can i have protracted withdrawals? I took a little kava two nights ago and it was bad news..i was wired. Now I'm just sticking with rhodiola and relora and want to add back bacopa as I stopped to try the other two.
neuralis 14 May 2014
It's impossible to tell as everyone is different. How long have you been off benzos?
castillo 14 May 2014
I was just going to edit...I've been off for 2 1/2 months and I still feel like something is tightening around my brain, a humming in my left ear, feeling like my vision is cross eyed with floaters, heaviness in legs, tight skin, fear and an overall feeling like im in a fishbowl(I guess this is called derealization?)
Edited by castillo, 14 May 2014 - 09:49 PM.
Duchykins 15 May 2014
Don't underestimate the power of hot baths/showers.
For the acute withdrawals I ultimately had to use about 30mg of picamilon before my legs settled and my aches stayed away long enough for me get some sleep. This was on top of the usual theanine, lysine and taurine
castillo 15 May 2014
Has it improved for you with picamilon? I thought it was a no no being a gaba agonist? That is one i have not yet tried.
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Duchykins 15 May 2014
Since stuff like picamilon and phenibut have benzo-like effects, using them for benzo withdrawal may be questionable, but using them for withdrawal from other classes of drugs is a different matter. I didn't have anything else around at the time except some valerian and bacopa and the pharmacy fucked up my refill at the last minute, leaving me in the lurch, so for me it was not a matter of getting off ambien for good. I of course have a physical dependence from taking one every night for 7-8 months, but not an addiction, and I got back my ambien after a handful of days and a new pharmacy (what fun that was).
The way I handled it is not the ideal for withdrawal treatment cause it wasn't planned and it wasn't tapered.