u/Financial_Owl8105

Has anyone here gone through benzo withdrawal and can share what symptoms they had?

I’m trying to understand what’s happening to me because it feels extreme and constant.

My symptoms:

- severe hyperarousal (like my nervous system is stuck in overdrive 24/7)

- my brain never rests, it feels like it’s constantly “on fire”

- intense insomnia / almost no real sleep, or waking after a few hours

- strong internal agitation, like nonstop adrenaline surges

- heart pounding even when my pulse is not high

- extreme sensitivity to sound (hyperacusis) – everything feels overwhelming

- I feel so sensitive it’s like I want to crawl out of my own skin

- digestive issues (constipation, bloating, can’t tolerate many foods)

- no “rest & digest” feeling for months

- constant nightmares / nightmare-like state even when awake

This honestly feels like hell, like my brain cannot switch off or recover at all.

What scares me the most is that nothing seems to work:

- benzodiazepines don’t “hit” like they used to (tolerance?)

- trazodone doesn’t help

- Quviviq doesn’t help either

I don’t know if this is:

- withdrawal

- crash

- or both at the same time

I also have severe ME/CFS (already had it before benzos, but it’s worse now), and the lack of sleep is making everything much worse.

I genuinely feel like I’m going to lose my mind from this constant hyperarousal and insomnia.

If anyone has experienced something similar, please share what it felt like and what helped (if anything).

Has anyone here gone through benzo withdrawal and can share what symptoms they had?

I’m trying to understand what’s happening to me because it feels extreme and constant.

My symptoms:

- severe hyperarousal (like my nervous system is stuck in overdrive 24/7)

- my brain never rests, it feels like it’s constantly “on fire”

- intense insomnia / almost no real sleep, or waking after a few hours

- strong internal agitation, like nonstop adrenaline surges

- heart pounding even when my pulse is not high

- extreme sensitivity to sound (hyperacusis) – everything feels overwhelming

- I feel so sensitive it’s like I want to crawl out of my own skin

- digestive issues (constipation, bloating, can’t tolerate many foods)

- no “rest & digest” feeling for months

- constant nightmares / nightmare-like state even when awake

This honestly feels like hell, like my brain cannot switch off or recover at all.

What scares me the most is that nothing seems to work:

- benzodiazepines don’t “hit” like they used to (tolerance?)

- trazodone doesn’t help

- Quviviq doesn’t help either

I don’t know if this is:

- withdrawal

- crash

- or both at the same time

I also have severe ME/CFS (already had it before benzos, but it’s worse now), and the lack of sleep is making everything much worse.

I genuinely feel like I’m going to lose my mind from this constant hyperarousal and insomnia.

If anyone has experienced something similar, please share what it felt like and what helped (if anything).

Has anyone here gone through benzo withdrawal and can share what symptoms they had?

I’m trying to understand what’s happening to me because it feels extreme and constant.

My symptoms:

- severe hyperarousal (like my nervous system is stuck in overdrive 24/7)

- my brain never rests, it feels like it’s constantly “on fire”

- intense insomnia / almost no real sleep, or waking after a few hours

- strong internal agitation, like nonstop adrenaline surges

- heart pounding even when my pulse is not high

- extreme sensitivity to sound (hyperacusis) – everything feels overwhelming

- I feel so sensitive it’s like I want to crawl out of my own skin

- digestive issues (constipation, bloating, can’t tolerate many foods)

- no “rest & digest” feeling for months

- constant nightmares / nightmare-like state even when awake

This honestly feels like hell, like my brain cannot switch off or recover at all.

What scares me the most is that nothing seems to work:

- benzodiazepines don’t “hit” like they used to (tolerance?)

- trazodone doesn’t help

- Quviviq doesn’t help either

I don’t know if this is:

- withdrawal

- crash

- or both at the same time

I also have severe ME/CFS (already had it before benzos, but it’s worse now), and the lack of sleep is making everything much worse.

I genuinely feel like I’m going to lose my mind from this constant hyperarousal and insomnia.

If anyone has experienced something similar, please share what it felt like and what helped (if anything).

Has anyone here gone through benzo withdrawal and can share what symptoms they had?

I’m trying to understand what’s happening to me because it feels extreme and constant.

My symptoms:

- severe hyperarousal (like my nervous system is stuck in overdrive 24/7)

- my brain never rests, it feels like it’s constantly “on fire”

- intense insomnia / almost no real sleep, or waking after a few hours

- strong internal agitation, like nonstop adrenaline surges

- heart pounding even when my pulse is not high

- extreme sensitivity to sound (hyperacusis) – everything feels overwhelming

- I feel so sensitive it’s like I want to crawl out of my own skin

- digestive issues (constipation, bloating, can’t tolerate many foods)

- no “rest & digest” feeling for months

- constant nightmares / nightmare-like state even when awake

This honestly feels like hell, like my brain cannot switch off or recover at all.

What scares me the most is that nothing seems to work:

- benzodiazepines don’t “hit” like they used to (tolerance?)

- trazodone doesn’t help

- Quviviq doesn’t help either

I don’t know if this is:

- withdrawal

- crash

- or both at the same time

I also have severe ME/CFS (already had it before benzos, but it’s worse now), and the lack of sleep is making everything much worse.

I genuinely feel like I’m going to lose my mind from this constant hyperarousal and insomnia.

If anyone has experienced something similar, please share what it felt like and what helped (if anything).

I really need some advice or support because I don’t know what to do anymore.

I’ve become very severe, and almost every night I go through the same thing. My brain won’t switch off at all. I lie down and feel like I can’t breathe properly, my nervous system is completely overactivated, and I’m stuck in this half-awake, nightmare-like state. I’m not getting any deep sleep.

I also think I developed complex PTSD from all the stress. I keep having intense dreams, waking up in panic, and I can’t fall back asleep. It honestly feels like after months of suffering, my brain has switched into some kind of chronic stress mode and just can’t turn off anymore. I don’t know how else to describe it.

Quviviq, trazodone, and benzos are not really helping. I even wonder if my benzo dose is too low, but I’m also tapering, so I’m scared of making things worse. It didn’t use to be this extreme before at this dose, but the constant stress from home made me worse.

This doesn’t feel like a typical “physical crash” anymore — it feels very autonomic. Constant dysautonomia, constant adrenaline feeling, no rest even for a minute. Every week it feels like it’s getting worse.

I can barely use my phone anymore, I just lie in bed alone with my thoughts and it’s overwhelming. Sometimes I feel like I’m taking benzos just to survive, not even for real relief — I just want a small break from this.

I don’t even have a doctor right now and I honestly have no idea what I should do.

Has anyone experienced something like this? What helped even a little?

I need some positivity right now because I honestly feel like I’m at my limit.

I’ve been going through a very severe and long period after many crashes. At the beginning I didn’t understand what was happening to my body. I pushed myself a lot, thinking it was just stress or anxiety, but I was feeling constant high pulse, extreme fatigue, and something that felt deeply wrong in my body.

Because I didn’t understand it at the time, I kept going until I basically crashed myself into a much more severe state. Now I’ve been stuck in this for months.

Right now I’m dealing with:

- very severe crash state

- hyperarousal / constant fight-or-flight feeling

- insomnia (I barely sleep at all)

- extreme sensitivity to light, sound, screens (even phone is hard)

- strong overthinking and anxiety loops

- weight loss and difficulty eating regularly

I also went through benzodiazepines before and tried tapering, which made things even more complicated and difficult emotionally and physically.

On top of that, my home situation is very stressful. My mother is very unstable emotionally, there is constant arguing and tension, and I don’t really feel supported or understood. It feels like everything I experience is dismissed or misunderstood, which makes me feel even more isolated.

Because of all this, I’ve been in a state where I can barely function. I struggle with basic things like showering, eating, or even being on my phone. I feel like I’m constantly overwhelmed and my nervous system never switches off.

I also feel a lot of shame about how I ended up here, because I tried to explain something was wrong early on, but I wasn’t believed. Now I feel like I lost control of everything and I don’t know how to get back.

I’ve had moments where I felt like giving up completely, and that scares me. I don’t want to be in that place, but the mental exhaustion is very real.

I’m not really looking for medical advice. I just need some kindness, hope, or stories from people who went through something similar and managed to stabilize or recover at least a bit.

Right now I just feel very lost and exhausted, and I really need some positivity or reassurance that this can get better in some way.

Thank you for reading.

I need some positivity right now because I honestly feel like I’m at my limit.

I’ve been going through a very severe and long period after many crashes. At the beginning I didn’t understand what was happening to my body. I pushed myself a lot, thinking it was just stress or anxiety, but I was feeling constant high pulse, extreme fatigue, and something that felt deeply wrong in my body.

Because I didn’t understand it at the time, I kept going until I basically crashed myself into a much more severe state. Now I’ve been stuck in this for months.

Right now I’m dealing with:

- very severe crash state

- hyperarousal / constant fight-or-flight feeling

- insomnia (I barely sleep at all)

- extreme sensitivity to light, sound, screens (even phone is hard)

- strong overthinking and anxiety loops

- weight loss and difficulty eating regularly

I also went through benzodiazepines before and tried tapering, which made things even more complicated and difficult emotionally and physically.

On top of that, my home situation is very stressful. My mother is very unstable emotionally, there is constant arguing and tension, and I don’t really feel supported or understood. It feels like everything I experience is dismissed or misunderstood, which makes me feel even more isolated.

Because of all this, I’ve been in a state where I can barely function. I struggle with basic things like showering, eating, or even being on my phone. I feel like I’m constantly overwhelmed and my nervous system never switches off.

I also feel a lot of shame about how I ended up here, because I tried to explain something was wrong early on, but I wasn’t believed. Now I feel like I lost control of everything and I don’t know how to get back.

I’ve had moments where I felt like giving up completely, and that scares me. I don’t want to be in that place, but the mental exhaustion is very real.

I’m not really looking for medical advice. I just need some kindness, hope, or stories from people who went through something similar and managed to stabilize or recover at least a bit.

Right now I just feel very lost and exhausted, and I really need some positivity or reassurance that this can get better in some way.

Thank you for reading.

Hi everyone,

I have severe ME/CFS and possible MCAS, and I’m really struggling at the moment. I’m losing weight and I can’t eat properly without crashing. My body just doesn’t tolerate normal meals right now.

I’m considering starting Nutridrink or similar medical nutrition drinks because I need some way to get calories and nutrients in, but I’m also a bit scared because of MCAS. I’ve read mixed things — for some people it works really well, for others it triggers symptoms.

My blood pressure is generally okay, but my heart rate is very unstable even with small exertion, and crashes make everything worse. I feel stuck because I know I need nutrition, but I’m worried about reactions.

Has anyone here with MCAS and/or severe ME tried Nutridrink or similar supplements?

- Did you tolerate it?

- Which flavors/types were the safest?

- Did it help with weight loss or energy at all?

- Any alternatives that worked better for sensitive systems?

I’d really appreciate any real experiences or advice. I feel quite lost with what I can actually tolerate right now.

Thank you ❤️