![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by mikel on April 8, 2002, at 11:50:59
I have been dealing with anxiety and depression for the last 3 years, trying various combinations of benzos and antidepressants. I have what I think is a winning combination of 10mg prozac and 800mg SAMe. I am in the process of reducing my xanax dose from .75mg/day to 0 over the past 3 mos. and I am almost there, down to the last 1/16th of a milligram. So far the withdrawal has been difficult but tolerable.
A month ago I developed prostatitis that my urologist suggested antibiotics, which so far have not helped a great deal (no culture was done). This may be totally unrelated, but I wonder if my prostatitis could be a manifestation of xanax withdrawl. In some cases they believe prostatitis is caused by increased muscle tension in the pelvic floor muscles, and one treatment approach is valium to relax these muscles. So it makes sense to me that my withdrawal could be associated with prostatitis. Anyone know of a connection between prostatitis and benzo withdrawal? Or for that matter, an association with prozac or SAMe?
Posted by andyboy on April 8, 2002, at 22:30:27
In reply to Benzodiazepine withdrawal and prostatitis., posted by mikel on April 8, 2002, at 11:50:59
hey check out my post above. similarities????I wonder....
Posted by mikel on April 9, 2002, at 13:18:31
In reply to Re: Benzodiazepine withdrawal and prostatitis. » mikel, posted by andyboy on April 8, 2002, at 22:30:27
Anybody,
I did read your post just after I submitted mine-interesting. I definitely have increased urinary frequency but I also have a bunch of other symptoms that wax and wane including testicular pain, pain on ejaculation, burning sensation in posterior urethra/perineum, and decreased urine flow (all well described for prostatitis). Do you have an of these other symptoms?
It's interesting that you did not say you were going down on your dose. If your symptoms are related to the Klonopin, not withdrawal, maybe they are tolerance related. That would explain why you got symptoms after 8 mos. If that's the case, then going up on your dose would make your symptoms better, while going down would make them worse (at least in the short run). It would be the opposite if the Klonopin in and of itself was causing the symptoms.
Anyway, my symptoms have gotten a little better over the last few days- I'll let you know how it goes.
Posted by andyboy on April 9, 2002, at 22:32:52
In reply to Re: Benzodiazepine withdrawal and prostatitis., posted by mikel on April 9, 2002, at 13:18:31
mike
fortunately, i have not had any other symptoms, just the frequency (which is a whole other can of worms...) but I am glad to hear your symptoms are improving. You know, if you bruise your elbow or skin your knee, its one thing-but when it comes to "you know what" there is obviously a considerably higher amount of concern, and my underlying anxiety (although vastly improved) has me all worried about what causing it. Just started ditropan xl-hopefully that will control the urge. Keep me posted.
Andy
Posted by pharmer on April 9, 2002, at 23:34:11
In reply to Re: Benzodiazepine withdrawal and prostatitis. » mikel, posted by andyboy on April 9, 2002, at 22:32:52
Hi Mike and Andyboy,sorry to jump in but I too have all the symptoms mentioned in your previous post's. I've been taking clonazepam-0.5mg/tid for 11 years in combination with other ad's. My symptoms started about 1 year ago,about the same time I started effexor. I'm scheduled for a scope up the GUY next friday. My urologist says my prostate is enlarged and wants to check for blockage. I've been to other web sites researching my condition and it seems to be a condition that effects many men. I'm assumming many of them have never taken physc.meds. I feel pretty stable at the moment so I've decided to not to link my condition with my meds. I guess i'm willing to accept prostatis as nature's course (age-43) and enjoy the therapeutic benefits i'm recieving from my meds. If they are the cause of my prostitis, then I consider it a small price to pay,compared to the mental hell i've been through the past 15 years. Rick
Posted by Blue Cheer1 on April 9, 2002, at 23:45:06
In reply to Benzodiazepine withdrawal and prostatitis., posted by mikel on April 8, 2002, at 11:50:59
> I have been dealing with anxiety and depression for the last 3 years, trying various combinations of benzos and antidepressants. I have what I think is a winning combination of 10mg prozac and 800mg SAMe. I am in the process of reducing my xanax dose from .75mg/day to 0 over the past 3 mos. and I am almost there, down to the last 1/16th of a milligram. So far the withdrawal has been difficult but tolerable.
>
> A month ago I developed prostatitis that my urologist suggested antibiotics, which so far have not helped a great deal (no culture was done). This may be totally unrelated, but I wonder if my prostatitis could be a manifestation of xanax withdrawl. In some cases they believe prostatitis is caused by increased muscle tension in the pelvic floor muscles, and one treatment approach is valium to relax these muscles. So it makes sense to me that my withdrawal could be associated with prostatitis. Anyone know of a connection between prostatitis and benzo withdrawal? Or for that matter, an association with prozac or SAMe?Hi Mike,
You can almost bet on it being related to benzodiazepine withdrawal. It happened to me when I discontinued Valium. Of course, the urologist prescribed a course of Cipro for 6 weeks (no effect). Stress is a common cause of chronic prostatitis, and there aren't many things more stressful than discontinuing BZDs. A psychiatrist who did some of the basic research in developing Valium recommends tapering off a benzodiazepine 50% of your baseline dose in the first 2-4 week period, then interrupting the taper process for several months (staying at 50%), then continuing with the final taper attempt. You might consider going back up a little until your prostatitis resolves - then resume the withdrawal.
Good luck,Blue
Posted by mikel on April 10, 2002, at 9:54:23
In reply to Re: Benzodiazepine withdrawal and prostatitis., posted by mikel on April 9, 2002, at 13:18:31
Blue,
So if your symptoms were due to withdrawal did they eventually go away on there own? How long did they last? Any reoccurance?
Thanks, Mikel
Posted by Ritch on April 10, 2002, at 10:02:05
In reply to Re: Benzodiazepine withdrawal and prostatitis. » mikel, posted by Blue Cheer1 on April 9, 2002, at 23:45:06
........A psychiatrist who did some of the basic research in developing Valium recommends tapering off a benzodiazepine 50% of your baseline dose in the first 2-4 week period, then interrupting the taper process for several months (staying at 50%), then continuing with the final taper attempt. You might consider going back up a little until your prostatitis resolves - then resume the withdrawal.
>
>
> Good luck,
>
> Blue
Blue,Thanks for mentioning that tidbit of advice on the BZD withdrawal. I bet you could also apply that to an SSRI withdrawal successfully. I have been trying to ditch Celexa for the last month, and to stop it cold gets really tough after a few days and then I have to break down and take another small dose.
Mitch
Posted by Blue Cheer1 on April 10, 2002, at 16:44:34
In reply to Re: Benzodiazepine withdrawal and prostatitis. , posted by mikel on April 10, 2002, at 9:54:23
> Blue,
>
> So if your symptoms were due to withdrawal did they eventually go away on there own? How long did they last? Any reoccurance?It's been 7 years since it happened, but I guess the prostatitis lasted about two months. It'd never happened before, and it hasn't recurred since then. I had been on 10-15 mg/day of Valium for 20 years, and when I started the taper I was at 8 mg/day. I had 2 mg. tablets (scored), and I was using a pill cutter trying to get below 1 mg. When I couldn't, I added some tincture of Passionflower and Valerian Root for sleep. It still didn't prevent the withdrawal syndrome. My eyes were bulging out, and it felt as though my head was being pulled up to the point that I was going to leave the ground. What's strange is that five years prior to that, I was able to taper off Valium from 10 or 15 mg/day without difficulty. It was during a sertraline for depressed lithium patients study. However, at the conclusion of the study, the sertraline was unavailable and I switched over to Prozac, added Valium to reduce the jitteriness, and got hooked again.
From Kaplan & Sadock's "Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry" (4th Edition): "Withdrawal from diazepam produces a syndrome starting on the sixth day that peaks on the seventh day and largely disappears by the ninth day and that is characterized by tremor, dysphoric mood, muscle twitches and cramps, facial numbness, insomnia, anorexia, weakness, nervousness, weight loss, and orthostatic hypotension."If you go to google.com and search for "andrew weil prostatitis", you'll see some good natural remedies that were helpful to me. (Along with Cipro, the urologist prescribed Tranxene, which I didn't take -- so even he recognized the stress component.)
Take care,
Blue
Posted by Blue Cheer1 on April 10, 2002, at 17:11:49
In reply to Re: Benzo and other? withdrawals » Blue Cheer1, posted by Ritch on April 10, 2002, at 10:02:05
> ........A psychiatrist who did some of the basic research in developing Valium recommends tapering off a benzodiazepine 50% of your baseline dose in the first 2-4 week period, then interrupting the taper process for several months (staying at 50%), then continuing with the final taper attempt. You might consider going back up a little until your prostatitis resolves - then resume the withdrawal.
> >
> >
> > Good luck,
> >
> > Blue
>
>
> Blue,
>
> Thanks for mentioning that tidbit of advice on the BZD withdrawal. I bet you could also apply that to an SSRI withdrawal successfully. I have been trying to ditch Celexa for the last month, and to stop it cold gets really tough after a few days and then I have to break down and take another small dose.
>
> Mitch
Hi Mitch,I have trouble getting off SSRIs now, too. I don't know if it's age or increasing severity of illness, or what. Once, I got off 200 mg/day of Zoloft in 9 days (I'd become manic), but lately I get a lot of anxiety when I'm tapering off ADs. I guess it's because it's also working on OCD symptoms.
Right now, I'm on my 2nd day off Trileptal, and I'm nervous and depressed. My doctor told me I'm the third patient who's become even more depressed following Trileptal discontinuation. So, it's possible that it has both antidepressant and antimanic properties.Good luck with your Celexa withdrawal.
Blue
Posted by Ritch on April 11, 2002, at 0:54:25
In reply to Re: Benzo and other? withdrawals » Ritch, posted by Blue Cheer1 on April 10, 2002, at 17:11:49
> > ........A psychiatrist who did some of the basic research in developing Valium recommends tapering off a benzodiazepine 50% of your baseline dose in the first 2-4 week period, then interrupting the taper process for several months (staying at 50%), then continuing with the final taper attempt. You might consider going back up a little until your prostatitis resolves - then resume the withdrawal.
> > >
> > >
> > > Good luck,
> > >
> > > Blue
> >
> >
> > Blue,
> >
> > Thanks for mentioning that tidbit of advice on the BZD withdrawal. I bet you could also apply that to an SSRI withdrawal successfully. I have been trying to ditch Celexa for the last month, and to stop it cold gets really tough after a few days and then I have to break down and take another small dose.
> >
> > Mitch
>
>
> Hi Mitch,
>
> I have trouble getting off SSRIs now, too. I don't know if it's age or increasing severity of illness, or what. Once, I got off 200 mg/day of Zoloft in 9 days (I'd become manic), but lately I get a lot of anxiety when I'm tapering off ADs. I guess it's because it's also working on OCD symptoms.
> Right now, I'm on my 2nd day off Trileptal, and I'm nervous and depressed. My doctor told me I'm the third patient who's become even more depressed following Trileptal discontinuation. So, it's possible that it has both antidepressant and antimanic properties.
>
> Good luck with your Celexa withdrawal.
>
> Blue
Thanks,That is interesting what you say about the Trileptal situation. I tried it and it made me *very* wired up. My pdoc tried switching a couple of patients from Tegretrol to Trileptal and they both become manic and had to be switched back. I felt it (trileptal) had an antidepressant effect-it was just too intense.
Mitch
Posted by paxvox2000 on April 12, 2002, at 19:53:31
In reply to Re: Benzodiazepine withdrawal and prostatitis., posted by pharmer on April 9, 2002, at 23:34:11
Yeah, I've come to that same conclusion. I hate the "wake and pee" every 2 hours, but that is better than the wait 2 hours to get to sleep. I have been the antibiotic route with limited help. Have used Flomax (bad SX) and Cardura (which causes me to have paresthesia in my face and lips of all places, so I had to stop taking that too.
PAX
Posted by David 43 on February 12, 2004, at 15:50:51
In reply to Re: Benzo and other? withdrawals » Blue Cheer1, posted by Ritch on April 11, 2002, at 0:54:25
Hello,
I HIGHLY recommend this site for anyone who uses Benzodiazapenes.....
www.benzo.org.uk
David
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.