On Temazapam For 8 Years

[chrissa1]

I’ve been taking prescribed Temazapam since 2008 when I gave up alcohol. Starting on 20mg which was then raised to 30mg, when my husband died.

My surgery rang me up out of the blue, just before Xmas, to ask me to try to give it up. They didn’t want me to carry on because I might become addicted........Err hello,
I think I am.

They mentioned side effects like muscle control in my legs becoming lessened and becoming slightly forgetful. I’ve already noticed these things.

My question is: if I did come off it, would these side effects go away or has the damage been done already?

Thanks.

[Islay]

I can't answer the question about damage but have they started giving you a reduction in medication dosage Chrissa?
My MIL is currently withdrawing from long term medication and they have reduced the dosage and then she had to stop taking the dose one day a month

[chrissa1]

Not yet, Islay. I don’t know why they don’t just leave me alone. I live alone and the very thought of not being able to get to sleep worries me, greatly.

It just might give me an excuse to have the odd drink to help me and, I don’t want that to happen.

[Islay]

OK you need to talk to your GP and express your concerns, ask for a referral to drug addiction advisor for help.
Don't drink its replacing one drug with another and it won't help you in the long run.
Good luck sweetie xx

[chrissa1]

I will, Islay but Temazapam is a better thing to be addicted to than, alcohol.

Thanks.

[237SJ]

I'm no expert but I would think that for your muscles to be permanently affected, the drug would have to cause nerve damage and that doesn't seem to be how it works. http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/brain-and-nervous-system/a7628/temazepam/

[pastafreak]

It may be the lesser of two evils, but do you really want to be addicted to "anything"? Surely it's better to withdraw slowly and very gradually. The reasons for which you were prescribed it are past. You need to see if you can function without it...the odds are that you can. Good luck. x

[chrissa1]

Well, I’ve kicked smoking with the help of ecigs and I’ve kicked alcohol with the help of, Temazapam.

I don’t consider it an addiction, but a crutch and a necessity. :(

[jennyjoan]

You fight for your crutch Chrissie. This is happening to many surgeries and it is nothing to do with side-effects but their budget.

Same thing happened to my sista's friend - a lady who was fighting and dying with heart disease - her surgery tried to reduce her medication but she fought for it and won and has since died from her heart trouble.

If it is all you have and it gives you great comfort and sleep - fight for it. You have been on it for nigh on 10 years without much bother. Good luck Chrissa

[jennyjoan]

Might I add - you could try and lower the dosage ie 30mg to 10mg - it will still help.

[chrissa1]

Thanks for that, jennyjoan. It’s nice to have some support. I will try to cut it down a bit.

It would be good if a medic, (sqad) could come on and give his opinion as well.

Thank you all.

[ummmm]

Chrissa - are you still on ecigs?

[chrissa1]

Oh yes, ummmm. My Minicigs are brilliant.

I guess that doesn’t make me the queen of kicking addictions but they are harmless and so much better than real cigarettes.

[andres]

I'm amazed that your doctor has kept you on it for so long . You should have had regular review appointments. I think you should consider a 'weaning' programme to get you off Temazapan gradually.Not too sure as to recovering from the damage already done but surely you can't make your side effects worse by coming off this drug.

[chrissa1]

I did andres. Then my lovely kind doctor left the practice. He knew what I had gone through as he was my late husband’s doctor, too. When he left, the appointments stopped. I thought he had put a note on my file.

[ummmm]

Maybe he did. Maybe he was being kind at the beginning and then you slipped through the net.

Have you always had an addictive personality or is it triggered by trauma? You didn't just lose your husband did you...his death brought on another load of grief to deal with. Am I thinking of the right person?

[chrissa1]

I don’t think grief is the right word, ummmm but my life turned upside down completely, and life was very difficult for a good few years. I’m on antidepressants too and that’s why I just don’t want to rock a stable boat.

[Sqad]

In theory yes, you should not be on Temazepam long term and yes, you "might " get side effects and yes they "might" become a problem and they "might" not disappear if you reduce the dose or discontinue them.
A lot of "mights" there.
BUT....medicine is not about theory, it is about people.
Anyone who has known the disabling effects of insomnia and the depressive effects that it causes may beg for a compound like Temazepam.
You do not become addicted to this drug, but you may become dependent upon it.....two different concepts.
I agree totally with the post of JJ 21.54.
Sleeping tablets get a bad press.....probably in many cases undeserved.
I would continue the medication that makes YOU life tolerable and i am not convinced that the symptoms that you describe are a side effect of Temazepam.

[gness]

Sqad...I could hug you for that post.......xxx

Chrissa......take care....Gx

[chrissa1]

Oh!!!! Get in line, gness!!!!

Really, sqad??? You don’t know how happy you have made me. Bless you and thank you.

[anneasquith]

Great post sqad, ( yes it is me).