Hi! To give you a bit of background about myself I'm 28 and I'm exactly 3 years off of Ambien. I started taking ambien from about summer 2012 to early 2014, at first on and off, and by the time I finished and cold turkeyed, I was on a much higher dose and taking it daily. I had a few symptoms with the most troubling being strong burning nerve pain. I was gradually becoming better until I slipped up in summer 2015 and took a few months of daily high dose ambien which of course led to the same skinburn like symptom, only stronger. this time though I tapered with the help of a doctor. Also in between those times I had a bit of trouble with baclofen addiction, though that was nothing compared to benzos.
Now here I am, exactly three years after finishing the taper which was also the last time I touched ambien or a benzo, and 1.8 years since the last time i took baclofen, feeling almost completely healed. My skin is still a bit sensitive and itchy (this symptom hasn't actually improved much), but the burning is almost completely gone. Showers, although significantly better than they were, are still not a pleasant experience which leads to skin sensitivity. But other than that I would say I am about 85-90% healed.
What bothers me is that if I have something important to attend that makes me anxious, i get some burning skin, not as bad as it used to be but still. Also happens if get angry or upset I get a bit of skin burning.
Does anyone have any advice for me, maybe there's something i can take on an as needed basis when I feel the symptoms. I'm specifically looking for something i can take as needed, not day after day. Maybe something that can reduce glutamate and/or benzo symptoms. Obviously I know that gabaa/gabab agonists would work for symptoms, but i want to avoid these.
Also not as important, but if anyone has any suggestions for the sensitive/itchy skin I'd love to hear them. every skin dr I've been to hasn't helped too much.
I would really appreciate any help, thanks.
