People tend to think of withdrawal as occurring upon cessation. However, through my experience and expert opinions, I learnt there are different stages of withdrawal.

1. Withdrawal symptoms during the treatment (once tolerance develops this can occur even while the drugs are still being taken)
2. Withdrawal symptoms during the reduction process
3. Withdrawal symptoms following complete cessation
4. Withdrawal symptoms that can continue for months or even years after stopping (“protracted withdrawal” or long term effects)

In my case, I experienced all 4 of these stages.

My withdrawal symptoms first emerged during the treatment due to the formation of tolerance. They were manifested by the worsening of symptoms and the development of new ones, including physical symptoms such as palpitations and psychological symptoms such as panic attacks, for which I had no history prior to being prescribed the drugs.

As I had not received proper informed consent regarding the drugs, I made several unsuccessful attempts at stopping but luckily I had the where-with-all to keep taking them until such time that I was able to get proper help back in New Zealand.

Upon reduction, I once again suffered from the worsening of symptoms and the development of new ones which left me unable to work for over a year. I had to endure the movie-like withdrawal symptoms you see on TV – only benzodiazepines are much more difficult to come off than heroin and the withdrawal lasts for much longer.

Although, I recovered from the worst of most of my withdrawal symptoms within the first year or so of stopping, I also experienced some protracted withdrawal symptoms including the panic attacks which continued for several years gradually improving with time.

See article 2.2 of Addictive Report Three for more details on my withdrawal.

See My Medical Experience (benzo dependency) in Japan for more details on symptoms etc.