cfs, hhv6, mycobacterium, hsv1, cmv, pirovirus, and Epstein Barr virus.... digestive system
GOD GIVE IT, AND GOD CAN TAKE IT AWAY Posts: 655 | From new york | Registered: Dec 2009
| IP: Logged |
Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
I use Valium for muscle pain...I use Restoril for sleep. They do two totally different things for me, though I do believe Valium is sedating for most people. It just isn't for me.
It might be a good idea, since I believe Valium is more mild than Restoril, but your doctor should be able to guide this.
Valium is often prescribed for muscle aches and pains, and that is the only thing I take it for. I get a a lot of muscle pain in my back, shoulders, and back of neck and that is what I use it for, a few times a week.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
ok thanks for your answer, i did not fall asleep its after 7 AM saturday morning and i took a tiny piece of valium last night, and all i got out of this experience is a headache over my left eye.
i am going to take the restoril and get some sleep....me and my sister had plan to take in a movie today, tyler perry movie, why did i get married too...now that will have to be put on the back burner, because sleep IS important, and i need some sleep right now...
my head is killing me. at this point the valium is useless to me, i have 5-htp, i read somewhere that 5-htp helps with figgitness. and aniexity..
i hate headaches...i usually DONT GET or suffer with headaches..hope it go away pretty soon. i cannot take headache medication, i am prone to ulcers...
posted
Both Valium (diazepam) and Restoril (temazepam) are benzodiazepines. What matters is that they build tolerance and you need more over time to achieve the desired effect.
Many people who have built tolerance have a rough time getting off benzo's and experience a wide range of w/d symptoms and rebound symptoms, which are different from a herxes but feel the same.
You can experience w/d in between doses, even when you are not changing your dosage. As your body becomes used to (tolerant) a particular dose, if you don't increase your dosage to accomodate your increasing tolerance, you may experience withdrawal in between each regular dose.
5-htp and all those other things - OTC or not - are not recommended. It is just toying with neurotransmitter levels like a Yoyo. Aka, switching the drug of choice.
Getting off the drugs should be the goal, not substituting one for another.
An example is like someone quitting heroin to become an alcoholic. Then they quit drinking, and start taking benzodiazepines - they are just switching their drug of choice.
Your body can't heal and balance itself out until you quit toying with it.
posted
Street - There are benzo withdrawal support sites where you can tell someone how much you have been using and other info, and they will give you a good taper plan.
Different benzo's have different suggested taper plans.
Good luck. It may not be easy, but it is worth it.
Posts: 42 | From Lymeland USA | Registered: Mar 2010
| IP: Logged |
Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
Your body can't heal and balance itself until you get some sleep. Every Lyme doc out there will agree.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Of course, sleep is absolutely vital. But, especially in the U.S. how we go about that is often more of a boomerang effect.
Benzodiazepines add stress to the liver. That needs to be considered, too. When the liver is stressed, it will cause insomnia and sleep dysfunction. When the liver is stressed, the NMDA excitatory brain reaction prevents sleep.
Also, along the lines of liver stress but also neuro-excitability, many of the sleep meds trigger porphryia and that increases anxiety, insomnia and toxicity.
As well, light in the eyes late at night prevents the brain from making melatonin, necessary for sleep and healing. If we can't sleep, it's good to stay in the dark, at least letting our bodies rest. Anything other than a red light (as used in a dark room or at astronomy "star parties") will ruin all chances for that whole night to get what we need from our brain chemicals and hormones.
- you can find list of drugs that are safe or unsafe regarding porphyria here. Also - more of an explanation as to why this part of liver care is so very important to all lyme patients. This knowledge can not only save brain cells, it can save livers, and lives. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
I distinguish between drugs that make people feel better and drugs that actually cure something. I consider abx to cure certain things. Benzo's and many of the CNS drugs do not cure anything - they cover up symptoms and give people a false sense of relief. That is fine within itself, but the problem is that in the long-term it will cause more problems than good.
Since you have some of your meds listed - I will use them as an example -
The Cymbalta can cause anxiety, irritability, paranoia, suicidal thoughts, etc.
Then the docs prescrible benzo's to help with sleep, because they assume people are irritable due to lack of sleep and other non-drug related issues.
Combining those two drugs alone brings on more anxiety and tolerance issues.
So they bring on the Seroquel to reallly help knock you out at night. The Seroquel can cause a lot of fatigue, so you wake up tired. Assume you are not getting enough rest and increase the benzo's.
When you are still tired - it is blamed on the Lyme.
Rifampin and Diflucan have a reputation for causing a lot of serious drug interactions. Rifampin and SS/SNRI's have done in many people - those things are drug interactions.
They are not herxes. They are not Lyme or Bart. symptoms. Drugs, drugs, drugs.
I have found that when doctors/patients start taking so many medications to chase an increasing list of symptoms that nothing good ever comes of it -- Lyme or no Lyme.
Posts: 42 | From Lymeland USA | Registered: Mar 2010
| IP: Logged |
MariaA
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9128
posted
i'm sorry, you're very wrong about that. Actually, about many of the points you're making. Have you ever treated a Lyme patient? No? Then how do you know that 'nothing good ever comes of it'? Some people with neurological issues are very much helped by suppressing seizures and helping anxiety and things like that. Please don't over generalize.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
Ototoxicity--The Hidden Menace; Part I: Lives in Upheaval
� November 2003 by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
Excerpts:
What Is Ototoxicity?
To many doctors, ototoxicity just means hearing loss or tinnitus. Others consider only drug side effects that affect the inner ear as being ototoxic. However, Stedman's Medical Dictionary defines ototoxicity as the "property of being injurious to the ear."
Therefore, any side effect of a drug that damages our ears in any way is ototoxic whether it damages the outer, middle or inner ear.
. . . hearing loss . . . tinnitus, dizziness, vertigo and numerous other cochlear and vestibular (balance) problems . . .
There are at least 743 drugs that are known to be ototoxic. Here are just 84 of them:
. . . BENZODIAZEPINES such as Diazepam (Valium) . . . .
Haley
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 22008
posted
Escape,
Thanks for the really great links. There are some helpful charts.
Keebler has some great suggestions for natural sleep.
It's very difficult to fight Lyme and not sleep. I think sleep is one of the most important things for me.
Posts: 2232 | From USA | Registered: Aug 2009
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[confused]](graemlins/confused.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic