Can getting off Lorazapam caus permanent damage?

[Pepper912]

My sister is having such horrible burning of her skin throughout her entire body.  She stopped Lorazapam after two months cold turkey and had horrible nightmares and withdrawals.  Now, four months later, she is still experiencing theburning skin, now her joints are starting to be painful and stiff.  She began on ambien at first, then did sleep walk, so the doctor put her on Lorazapam.  She was not told to not go off after the prescription ran out, just stopped.  She will get better, then will get sick again. Does anyone else experience any burning skin sensations from going off?  She also has anxiety attacks, but feels it's from worrying.  She's been to six or seven doctors and none of them will diagnose her problem.  It's not neuropothy, she's had MRI's of the brain, which is normal, an MRI of her upper back and lower back.  Any ideas?

[johncp]

I am going through this as well.  I was prescribed Lorazepam to take until my Cymbalta takes effect.  I tried to stop taking it today and already have this nasty anxious feeling.  This is crazy because i have only been on it a week.

What are the typical withdrawal symptoms of lorazepam?

[BabaluandOtis2]

Hi,

Going off a benzo cold turkey can be dangerous, not to mention the horrible withdrawals. Which can be very bad anxiety. Burning sensations of the skin and major muscle pains from all the tension knotting up my muscles were some of the symptoms I had experienced when my anx. was really bad.
Of course the longer you are taking the med and at what dose makes a difference too. But she should have been tapered if she was using it every night. But if she has bad anxiety, which it sounds like w/ some of her symptoms, she may need to go back on it until she can understand what is going on and why. There are many different ways of dealing w/ the anxiety.
Fours months later she shouldn't still be experiencing withdrawals from 2 months use, unless maybe she was using a very large dose.

it sounds as if she is just having very bad anxiety. And if she is constantly worrying about it, it only gets worse. And yes it comes and goes.
it wasn't until I had a horrible panic attack that brought me to the ER that I said OK, I get it....and started using my meds as I should have been (although my first Doc never explained my type of anxiety to me,and that it wasn't just a once in a blue moon thing,  so how was I supposed to know?) it was the ER doc who was just wonderful, telling me w/ the type I have I just can't use a half ( or 1/4) pill here & there. I had to use 3x day, w 1 at bed if needed. Well after about a week and a half, ALL those horrific pains and sensations were gone......I was dumbfounded.
Also the Er doc had me go onto some anxiety sites and when I looked at the list of symptoms my jaw dropped, there were soooooo many. So many I was having, like the incredible muscle pain & burning sensations among others that I would never had attributed to anx. But they were never helped w/ any pain meds or NSAIDS, which had always helped my back issues before. But this back/neck pain was different with knots that you could actually see on my back and neck. Had me bed ridden at times.
After using the med, my appetite was back in full force too ( which was a big symptom for me also....stomach issues and no appetite whatsoever) it was like I was starving, which I probably was but with the anx. just making everything so tense, I was so bloated, couldn't eat, couldn't "go"....never had a problem in that department before this started either.
Also, with looking back on it now, the horrible insomnia I was having ( I used to sleep thru anything) along with the acid reflux, were the very first signs of my anxiety. But I didn't have the right type of Doc, who was used to dealing with/ caring for people w/ anxiety. And it progressively got worse as life started throwing too many lemons, I just crossed that invisible line of anxiety where your body can longer handle it on it's own. Everyone's line and triggers are different And your body starts turning against you....whatever symptoms your mind might create, your body will be more than happy to oblige and give them to you. Very real, very physical symptoms. And the more you think about the ones you have, they will get much much worse. And the more you think about the other possible symptoms, you can soon have them too.

Your sister needs to go to a Doc who is familiar w/ anxiety. maybe she needs to be on some med for a bit, there are many different types, depending on the type of anxiety.
And once she learns more about it, it does become easier to deal with and understand.

Wishing your sister well, and some peace soon xoxo
Take care ; )