I have had anxiety and insomnia issues for decades. Fourteen years ago my doctor put me on benzodiazepines to help with both the anxiety and insomnia. What he didn’t tell me was that they are highly addictive and should only be used for short periods of time. Also, long term use actually increases the issues of anxiety, insomnia and creates host of other health issues like IBS, GERD, fibromyalgia and more.

When I tried to taper myself off of this pharmaceutical it was impossible. I was on Xanax which doesn’t have a very long half life in your body so you’re basically going in and out of withdrawal all day. My psychiatrist had no idea how to safely take me off (the best protocol is switching to a longer lasting benzo like Valium then slowly tapering over a long period of time.

The longer you’ve been taking it, the longer the taper will probably take). They wouldn’t switch me to another benzo and they would try to taper me in huge jumps (25% or more) which put me in the hospital twice for seizures, hallucinations and pretty much going crazy. It was a nightmare.

I finally discovered Functional Medicine nutritionists and doctors three years ago. I was diagnosed with Pyrrole Disorder. This is an abnormality in biochemistry that causes you to lose large amounts of zinc. Zinc balances out copper in the body. Without zinc to balance the copper, it builds up in the body and brain. This causes anxiety, insomnia and a host of other “mental disorders” and can be treated very effectively with just zinc and B6 supplementation and a clean diet.

The hard part remains tapering off the benzos after so many years. After a LOT of research, I tried CBD oil as part of my treatment. I had some results – it did help a little with the anxiety but didn’t help with insomnia. And the effects would disappear completely within a few days.

I live in Texas so there weren’t a lot of options back then and everything I was finding online was incredibly expensive. With working being a challenge through all the withdrawals and having a list of other supplements to buy plus organic food, it didn’t make sense to keep purchasing it as part of my toolbox. But I kept hearing such great things about it!

I found a Functional Psychiatrist in the last year and she also has encouraged the use of CBD. The Texas market has opened up recently so there are more options. I’ve tried several brands with little success.

Kathleen and I have worked together on other projects over the last couple of years. When she told me that she was working with CBD I gladly signed on to test the products. I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially since this was the first topical CBD I’ve tried. On the off chance that it worked, I called my husband to let him know that I was going to try for a nap so he wouldn’t wake me up when he got home from work on a Friday.

I slept for 14 hours! I haven’t had more than 5 consecutive hours of sleep in so long I didn’t know what waking up and not still feeling tired felt like. My poor dog, who sleeps (or not) with me must have also been suffering from sleep deprivation. She cuddled with me right after I put it on my arms and she was also out for about 10 hours.

I’ve been using it now for several months and it seems to give me exactly the sleep my body needs. My sleep patterns are finally resembling something normal as I become less and less sleep deprived. And I’m also getting deep sleep, something that long term benzo use can disrupt so you don’t go through the entire sleep cycle. I can’t say enough about how this has changed my life. Sleep deprivation is the worst kind of torture and I’ve finally found some relief!

I know there is a huge community of people out there going through the same thing I am with the benzo withdrawals. I work with Veterans with PTSD that could benefit from this. My dogs that have separation and/or storm anxieties have had their lives changed. I know that Grandma’s Natural Remedies can help you both learn about how CBD and Cannabis work and provide relief to any health issues you are suffering from right now.

Learn more about benzos and CBD here.

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