CHAPTER 9
ANTIANXIETY, ANTICONVULSANTS, BENZODIAZEPINE,
AND SLEEP MEDICATION
PRE-TAPER
Starting Your Pre-Taper
Note:
This pre-taper addresses several types of medication as noted in the chapter
title. While you read this chapter, if the only drug named is a benzodiazepine,
please take that to mean the medications (Benzodiazepine, Anti-anxiety,
Anticonvulsant and Sleep Medication).
Physically,
during the pre-taper and taper, you will be addressing the immune system, and
what is called the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal-axis, cortisol, the adrenals,
along with other enzymes that regulate anxiety and sleep as well as other
symptoms associated with these medications. What may be physical, but is viewed
more as mental, will be anxiety, insomnia and other symptoms of how you feel
subjectively.
You may be
having heart palpitations, aches or pains throughout the body. Those side
effects are addressed with this program as well as any and all side effects you
may be experiencing.
You will begin
your pre-taper by taking the JNK supplement, Body Calm and Body Calm Supreme.
These three supplements are the basic ones used with these drugs and the
majority of you will not need any other supplements.
These three
supplements should take care of most or all daytime anxiety, panic attacks,
sleep problems etc. If you have taken a benzodiazepine for a prolonged period
and you have depression or a tingling or numbness of the extremities, the JNK
supplement will be vital. The JNK supplement includes the vitamin biotin in the
formula and prolonged use of a benzodiazepine will deplete biotin massively and
lead to depression and the tingling or numbness.
It is
suggested but not necessary for you to also use the JNK Liquid Booster. Clinical
studies of this supplement have shown it brings liver enzymes back to a normal
range. These drugs adversely affect the liver and as a long term plan to renew
your health and well-being, a healthy liver is essential.
A few
individuals will also have fatigue during the daytime while taking these
medications. You should include the Admax supplement if you are male and the
FemLife Supreme supplement if you are a female. If you are a female experiencing
PMS or menopausal symptoms, we highly urge you to include the FemLife Supreme,
whether you have fatigue or not.
Remember, as
soon as you start the pre-taper, you simultaneously begin keeping your Daily
Journal and keeping your graphs up to date.
Make
sure to note in your journal when existing side effects stop or when there is a
major improvement. This is very important.
Anxiety both
first thing in the morning and again in the afternoon are very common side
effects of benzodiazepines, anti-anxiety, anticonvulsant and sleep medications.
When using these medications, by the time you are ready to go to sleep at night
you are too stressed out and fatigued from dealing with anxiety difficulties all
day long. Sleep simply may not happen, and you could easily end up feeling
depressed due to this continuing cycle of anxiety, no sleep, anxiety, and no
sleep – endlessly.
Part of the
process of handling sleep is by addressing sleep during the daytime as well. You
will be taking the Body Calm and the Body Calm Supreme during the daytime to
help with any anxiety, but also to help set up your sleep when it is bedtime. It
is much easier to go to sleep if you are not all ramped up from daily activities
or from a constant daily anxiety.
If you are
also experiencing some degree of depression, do not be surprised if the
depression lifts during the pre-taper as your ability to sleep improves, daytime
anxiety abates or other symptoms you may be experiencing vanish. But, even as
you start to experience relief from your symptoms, do not
change anything;
just continue with the program. There are still many, many gains available as
you move through and complete The Road Back Program.
There are
optional supplements you can use along the way, but these other supplements are
here for specific symptoms that not everyone will have. Again, most people will
do very fine with only taking the JNK, Body Calm and Body Calm Supreme. Read
through the chapter, Nutritionals Used on The Program again if needed and for a
list of optional supplements.
Females
This section
may seem redundant, but it is that important for you to know. If you are a
female we strongly urge you to include the supplement FemLife Supreme. If you
read through the list of drug side effects you will find several drug induced
side effects that are female specific. These side effects range from all PMS
symptoms imaginable to full pre-menopausal and post-menopausal symptoms. Too
many times we have heard from females doing this program and they were doing
very well and then their normal PMS symptoms would kick in each month and it
would become difficult for them to tell if the problems were the tapering of the
drug, did they need to increase a specific supplement or were the feelings
totally PMS related.
The addition
of the FemLife Supreme removes this confusion that all too often can complicate
the withdrawal process. Additionally, many females were initially prescribed
their medication to try and stop symptoms that probably could have been handled
naturally in the first place.
Menopause
brings on its own body and mental phenomena and being able to handle those will
make this withdrawal program so much easier as well.
Another
example of an optional supplement is the Beta 1, 3-D Glucan. The Beta 1, 3-D
Glucan may be needed to help with daytime anxiety or insomnia by a few people.
If a protein in your immune system (Interleukin-2) is too low, that may be why
you have not fully responded to the main 3 supplements and the Beta 1, 3-D
Glucan is clinically proven to increase Interleukin-2.
This is also
the time for you to be looking at the drug-tapering portion of this program.
What
to do:
-
Get with
your prescribing physician and/or pharmacist and layout your drug taper schedule.
-
Plan out
the second and third reduction of the medication as well at this point to
ensure you are ready with the correct dosages of the drug.
The
Pre-Taper
For the next 7
days you will be doing your pre-taper. You do not reduce your medication during
the pre-taper, but, to state again, this is the time to also plan out the
reduction phase of the drug which starts after the seven days of the pre-taper
are completed.
Pre-Taper Goal:
Improved
sleep.
Vast reduction
or elimination of anxiety and or fatigue.
Lessening or
elimination of other drug-induced side effects.
Supplements you will take:
JNK
Supplement
Body Calm
Body Calm
Supreme
DAY
ONE:
Action:
Rate your
daytime anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia and other side effects. Use the Daily
Journal and rate anxiety, sleep and any additional symptoms you may be
experiencing from 1 to 10. Rate with number 10 being the worst and number 1
being no side effect or symptom remaining.
Rate the
previous night’s sleep first thing the next morning.
Rate the
daytime anxiety just before bedtime of that day.
If you take
your medication first thing in the morning, take the medication as normal and 1
hour later take the morning supplements.
How to
Do the Pre-Taper
Morning Supplements:
If you take
your medication first thing in the morning, take the medication as usual and 1
hour later start the morning supplements. If you do not take the medication
first thing in the morning, take the supplements first thing.
JNK
– Take 1 packet in the morning.
Body
Calm - 2 hours after the morning JNK, take 1 Body Calm capsule.
Body
Calm Supreme - 2 hours after taking 1 Body Calm capsule, take 1 Body
Calm Supreme capsule.
For the rest
of the day and evening rotate the Body Calm and Body Calm Supreme capsules every
2 hours.
Wind up with
the Body Calm Supreme at bedtime. If you take medication at bedtime, take the
bedtime supplement 1 hour before the medication.
Take the
supplements exactly as described here for 3 full days. If your graphs are
approximating Figure 1 graph in the previous chapter, remain with this schedule
for at least 3 additional days. If you do not rate yourself at a 4 or lower
after 6 full days, you can adjust the supplements a little.
How to
Adjust the Supplements if Needed
JNK
– Add a second packet of the JNK supplement around noon. This usually handles
the rest of a lingering side effect that might be related to anxiety, insomnia
and many other symptoms. A few people take 3 packets of the JNK each day,
morning – noon and the last packet around 4 pm, but that is rarely needed. If
you do need to increase the JNK supplement to more than once a day, try reducing
back down to 1 packet in the morning after 3 days.
Body
Calm and Body Calm Supreme – After 3 days on these supplements you may
have a favorite of the two. You can just use the Body Calm if it is the one you
know works best for you and the same for the Body Calm Supreme.
If you find
you are getting tired during the daytime and this is a new symptom for you, you
can take the Body Calm and Body Calm Supreme every 3 or 4 hours.
FemLife Supreme – If you are a female doing this program and you have
not responded as shown in Figure 1 in the previous chapter, adjust the JNK as
described in this section and start taking the FemLife Supreme. If you have
already started the FemLife Supreme do not adjust further.
The concept of
adjusting the supplements during the program is straightforward.
-
If you
felt an improvement after starting the JNK, but the symptoms came back later in
the day, take a second packet of the JNK about 4 hours after the first morning
packet.
-
If you
responded well to the Body Calm but the Body Calm Supreme is doing nothing for
you, only use the Body Calm.
-
If you
responded well to the Body Calm Supreme but the Body Calm is doing nothing for
you, only use the Body Calm Supreme.
-
If you
start getting tired during the daytime and this is new for you, take the Body
Calm or Body Calm Supreme every 3 to 4 hours instead of every 2 hours.
-
If the
Body Calm or Body Calm Supreme helps, but does not fully get you over the
symptom it is helping with, try taking 2 of the capsules instead of only 1
capsule.
-
If the
fatigue starts to lift with 1 Admax or FemLife Supreme capsule, but not all the
way, you can take as many as 4 capsules at one time of each supplement.
Mid-Morning to Noon Supplements: (Optional)
Admax
Males): 1 capsule
FemLife Supreme (Females): 1 capsule
JNK Liquid Booster:
Pour ½ capful of the Liquid Booster in about 14 ounces of water and sip over the
next hour if that much time is possible. You can drink in less time if needed.
Use the JNK Liquid Booster to wash down the Admax capsule or FemLife Supreme if
desired.
Make sure to
be keeping your Daily Journal and graphs updated each day.
The pre-taper
is really that simple.
After 7 full
days of the pre-taper, you are now ready to begin reducing the medication.
The key is to
keep good notes or at the least make a mental note how you felt. You can adjust
the supplements around as you like but be consistent with what you do.
If anxiety
always comes back at 12 noon exactly each day and it is not time to take the
Body Calm or the Body Calm Supreme for another hour, take one of these two
products about 11:30 am each day to help stop the noon anxiety.
If anxiety or
insomnia persists, begin taking the Cal Mag Supreme.
Remember you
can always call The Road Back at 1-866-892-0238 or send us an e-mail at
info@theroadback.org and we can assist with the pre-taper.