Christy Huff, MD
@christyhuffMD
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Director @bzinfocoalition , cardiologist, advocate for safe benzodiazepine prescribing/deprescribing, lived experience. Speaker, writer. #writingcommunity
Fort Worth, TX
Joined September 2016
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I hate going to the doctor because I know how they think. I know how they blow off women and how they dismiss illnesses they don’t understand. I know because I am both a doctor and a benzo injured patient
#DoctorsAreDickheads
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This is what it took to taper off prescribed benzodiazepines: micro-reductions over the course of 3+ years with a lab grade scale and nail file. Almost 3 years later, although much better, I still have symptoms of protracted withdrawal.
#postyourpill
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I’m a physician, and I experienced an adverse reaction to Xanax after three weeks of prescribed use. If it happened to me, it can happen to anyone. No abuse or addiction required. Tired of this “blame the victim” mentality.
First of all, none of the people we interviewed abused Benzos. None. You are lucky you have never had an adverse reaction. Thousands and thousands have. Everyone we talked to used as according to prescription.
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These headlines are stupid. He has brain damage from prescribed Klonopin (and being taken off too quickly), but the media thinks addiction is the sensational part of the story. Physical dependence, adverse reaction, brain injury, whatever you call it-none of that equals addiction
Jordan Peterson recovering from tranquilizer addiction in Russia
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This myth has been harming patients for over 60 years now. Adverse events, including neurological damage, can and do occur with prescribed, therapeutic doses of benzodiazepines. For some, the drug is neurotoxic. It has nothing to do with addiction.
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Today I’d like to raise awareness about the group of patients who have lasting neurological dysfunction from prescribed benzos (protracted withdrawal).
@US_FDA
and the medical community say it’s rare, but it’s actually just under-recognized. More research needed!
#RareDiseaseDay
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Shelly is gone. Prescribed
#benzos
damaged her and ultimately killed her. Words cannot describe the rage and sadness I feel right now, to have lost another friend to benzos. RIP beautiful Shelly. I wish I could have saved you.
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At the school 🎃 👻 parade today. The only reason I made it through my
#benzo
taper from hell is pictured below. The thought of her kept me alive on so many days when I was so sick and I just wanted it to end. Life is still not easy, but I’m glad I made it to the other side.
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I’m a little over a year off Valium and I wrote this piece covering my journey healing from benzos thus far. I shared my story because I hope it can help many people!
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I’m weary of all the Jordan Peterson nonsense, so I’m going to give you some benzo news you can use. I’m 11 months off from my Valium taper, and this past year I’ve lost 75% of the weight I gained in my taper. I just bought a pair of skinny jeans 🎉 I’m taking my life back.
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#WorldBenzoDay
2020
I suffered a brain injury by taking a benzodiazepine as prescribed. At 16 months benzo free, I'm still recovering. Today, I remember my benzo friends who didn't survive. Shelly. Lori. Robert. They are the reason I'll never stop speaking about this issue.
I’m a little over a year off Valium and I wrote this piece covering my journey healing from benzos thus far. I shared my story because I hope it can help many people!
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Started physical therapy today. Told therapist I have a brain injury from benzo. Got the typical “this patient is from outer space” look. Described my symptoms in detail. She did her assessment and was surprised. “All those things you described, I see them.” Benzo injury is real.
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Last Valentine’s Day I was completely bedbound and at the very end of my benzo taper. Today, I ran the Valentine’s party for my daughter’s class, and I’m about to go out on a dinner date with my husband. What a difference a year makes! Grateful for my continued healing.
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Rant: During my
#benzodiazepine
taper, there were days I was so physically ill, all I could do was lie in bed and stare at the wall. If your loved one is going through benzo withdrawal, please don’t tell them to push themselves/just try harder. You aren’t helping the situation.
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My brain is slowly waking up. I was sorting through piles of clutter and realized I’ve been effectively dead the past 4 years. Technically alive, but too sick to take care of my basic needs or engage in life. I feel like Rip Van Winkle. All from a prescribed medication.
#benzo
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Thanks to my followers on the Twitter journey I started this year. I’m glad I can share my story and help others. In 2018 I tapered 3.5 mg of Valium. In 2019 I’ll taper off the last 1 mg. I’m the sickest I’ve ever been but I refuse to give up. 2019 is the year I’ll be benzo free
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#ThingsDoctorsShouldntSay
“Benzos don’t do that”.
Benzodiazepines affect your entire nervous system, so whatever the symptom, yes it probably can do that.
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So this happened today! It was a pleasure to share my lived experience on behalf of the community of patients who have suffered adverse effects from benzodiazepines.
#CSAMAnnual2022
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Day 1 benzo free. OK technically I’m just now missing my daily dose so I haven’t noticed anything different. I’m simultaneously happy I’m not tied to a pill and scale anymore, while scared that this end of taper will cause a flare in symptoms. Stay tuned!
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5 months free of Valium today. Health overall is better but I still have a ways to go. Symptoms I still find bothersome are pounding heart, inner tremor, toxic feeling in mornings, anxiety, muscle weakness, muscle spasm, and fatigue. Onward and upward!
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My story isn’t over just because my taper is finished. My body is beaten and broken. I have a long recovery ahead. But tonight I pause to celebrate this giant accomplishment. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
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I tried on and bought clothes at a store today. I haven’t been able to do this the last 4 years. Too sick from
#benzo
#withdrawal
. Healing is happening. I can’t wait to get my life back and be able to do the normal things most people take for granted.
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I survived benzo withdrawal due the kindness of strangers I met in the online benzo support groups. They provided me knowledge and support I was unable to get from the medical community.
@angpeacock1111
But, so thankful for our benzo community. I’ve had such amazing support these past few years from people I’ve never met.. the stories of survival give me hope for my own, eventual, recovery.
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Truth. Main reason I’m not freaking out about
#COVID19
(although I am taking it seriously). I’ve already survived the worst thing you can possibly imagine. I have no fear left.
#benzo
#withdrawal
Once you've been through psych med withdrawal, you can get through anything and I'm not just saying that. You've literally walked through fire; diarrhea and buckets of mucus are not going to be the thing that will take you down.
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Saw new PCP. Benzo taper has taken a toll on my body. She assigned me many new things including diet/ exercise/supplements. I said I’d do my best but I’m cognitively/physically disabled from the taper. Her response: try hypnosis to remove the barriers I’ve created in my mind 😡
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Just finished watching The Benzos Crisis episode of
#ThisIsLife
. Thank you
@lisaling
for raising awareness about the risks of benzodiazepines and how difficult it is for many patients to come off these drugs.
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I also took a benzo as prescribed by my doctor, and ended up with disabling symptoms during my multi-year Valium taper from hell. Almost a year off, while I’m improving, I still suffer symptoms from my benzo injury. This is NOT addiction.
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Why is it doctors are willing to write for and pharmacies are willing to fill the same benzo script month after month, but once the patient wants to taper off, they are treated like “drug seekers.” Doesn’t make a bit of sense, yet it happens all the time.
Called three pharmacies. Two pharmacists asked me why I wanted my benzo compounded. One pharmacist asked me if my doctor knew I was calling. Then the 2nd pharmacy called the 3rd one and told them I was calling around. This is so bizarre. Is it a crime to get your meds compounded?
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Every word of this tweet is true. Benzo withdrawal really is that bad for some of us.
Ppl who are experiencing benzo withdrawal are not hysterical or dramatic. We're being tortured from the inside out. Every moment is filled w/pain. If someone suggests you're being hysterical, pls know you're not. What you're experiencing is horrific & very much valid.
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2 months free of Valium today. Time flies when you are waiting for your GABA receptors to repair themselves (or whatever the heck is going on 🤷🏼♀️)
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Doctors, we have to make sure our patients are taken care of during this pandemic. If patients get cut abruptly off their long term
#benzos
, there will be a lot more deaths. Benzo withdrawal kills!
#medtwitter
#COVID
ー19
#coronavirus
A patient on xanax long term has found out their doctor's office is CLOSED.
This patient cannot get refills. This is extremely dangerous. What can we do
@BZInfoCoalition
@christyhuffMD
? I'm worried! 😳
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This is a picture of the view from my in laws back porch today. I made it here. Here’s to many more plane trips. I’ll never like them. But they get me where I need to go.
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I would’ve said the same before becoming physically dependent on Xanax myself. Made me severely ill, took 3+ years to taper off, still suffer protracted withdrawal symptoms. Family was profoundly affected. Addiction and phys dependence can be equally devastating in their own ways
Wow. Physical dependence is not worse than addiction. I’m not saying physical dependence on a medication is not painful & uncomfortable but addiction is devastating on the lives and families of loved ones.
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Everytime we lose someone from
#benzo
#withdrawal
related
#suicide
, I remember why I’m involved in advocacy. We lost someone again today, and it hurts every single time. It’s never gonna stop hurting. Ever. This isn’t right. People dying from following their doc’s orders.
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I was featured on this segment on
@NBCNightlyNews
. Disappointed they didn’t delineate the difference between dependence and addiction, but happy that the issue of the
#benzo
epidemic is finally getting recognized and hoping for more detailed coverage in the future!
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6 months off from my benzo taper. Healing is not linear and it’s frustrating. I’ve been hit with a horrible wave of symptoms this week. How is everyone else doing?
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Two weeks off Valium today. Time flies when you are in a cog fog. Anyhoo, nothing earth shattering to tell thankfully. I’m just very tired and my inner tremor sucks. I feel like I’m plugged into an electrical socket 24/7. A moment’s peace would be nice any day now 🙄
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Wow blast from the past. I wrote this letter about my benzo experience 5 years ago, while in the midst of dealing with breast cancer. I was never able to finish my breast reconstruction. Too sick from benzos. I am finally well enough and scheduled for surgery this week!🤞
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@shrinkrapdinah
As someone who has been gravely harmed by a prescription drug (benzo) and an advocate for others who have been harmed, I find this attitude extremely upsetting. Patients who have been harmed count too and have the right to tell their truth and be acknowledged.
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This is what many of us have to go through to taper off benzos.
Time to make the liquid!
Kitchen science bc pharma doesn't make small doses to taper. Plus I can't get liquid Klonopin in the US. Compounding pharmacy is not an option for me and is cost prohibitive.
#benzo
#prescribedharm
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Thank you, Heather Ashton, for your massive contribution to the knowledge base about benzodiazepines and how to safely withdraw. It wouldn’t be exaggerating to say your work, the Ashton Manual, saved my life. RIP.
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Benzos didn’t just hurt me. They hurt my entire family. This is the 4th
#MothersDay
my daughter has not has a fully functional mother. My husband lost his wife. My mom lost a daughter.
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My husband was on a business trip the last few days and I held down the fort at home. First time I’ve been completely alone for >24 hrs since 2015 (when benzos made me sick). I did it, and it was no big deal! I’ve come a long way from the days when I was too sick to be alone.
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I experienced adverse effects after just 3 weeks of Xanax. Took me over 3 years to taper off benzos. 17 months benzo free, and I still have damage from the drug.
Benzos aren't safe even for planned short term use for panic disorder/acute stress/insomnia.
I've seen at least 100 patients who got hooked for decades after planned short term use.
No sure way to predict when safe/when dangerous.
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Day 15: Thankful I’m looking better. People that know me routinely stop me to tell me how much better I look. I had one mom at school text me the other day asking for my beauty secrets 😂 Well I painstakingly and methodically tapered off the drug that was poisoning me. 🤷🏼♀️
#benzos
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Day 26: So thankful I was able to participate in the Christmas decorating this year. Last year I was near the end of my benzo taper and could not stand for more than a few seconds at a time. And yes, I decorated the dog this year too. 😂
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I had dental work done today, and was amazed by how easy it was compared my benzo taper days. So nice to not have to will myself to stay in the chair because of extreme terror, or be tortured by brights lights/squealing sounds of the drill due to nervous system hypersensitivity.
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My benzo symptoms are gone or greatly improved, so I’m resharing these symptoms to give hope to those of you still going through withdrawal. Chemical terror was one of the worst, and it started to lift about 3 months benzo free. It’s so nice to feel at peace again.
#benzo
WD sx 1: Chemical Terror. Horrific. It’s not “anxiety”. It doesn’t even compare. Imagine being a wounded rabbit about to be eaten by a fox. That’s the feeling. Now imagine trying to go about your day paralyzed by this fear you are powerless to control.
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The Valium-induced depression is gone. I no longer cry at the drop of a hat. My mood overall is good, although I do still feel down from time to time. But it’s normal stuff that I can manage. It’s also amazing how your mood improves when your body isn’t actively falling apart 🙄
Benzo WD sx 20: Depression. I’ve been depressed before, but this is a deep soul-crushing sadness. Like bearing all the sadness of the world at one time. Right now I feel like crying and I have no good reason at all (besides the damn
#Valium
). And I’m not a person who cries much.
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Benzodiazepine withdrawal.
Can you write a horror story using two words? I’ll start- Monday mornings!
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Happy Thanksgiving! I’m especially thankful today for my fellow benzo warriors. I’ve never met a stronger group of people, and I wouldn’t have made it through the past few years without them!
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Filing my doses for the week. Middle: 2 mg Valium for reference. Right: my daily dose of 0.25 mg. The pill chunk is so small it feels stupid to take it, but I’ve been knocked on my butt by a 0.25 mg cut before. So I’m just gonna taper a little lower. Almost there!
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My dad instilled in me a love for road trips and National parks. South Dakota was on our family bucket list but it never happened. Daddy died in 2012. So when I recovered enough from my benzo ordeal to get on a plane, it was the first place I traveled. He would have loved it here
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So it’s been 4 weeks already since I started physical therapy. She reassessed me today and I’ve made some objective improvements in my strength and balance. Yay! Subjectively, I don’t feel a lot better, but hey, it’s progress!
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Little things are happening in my brain. The person I was before this benzo sickness is coming back. Today I was at a cooking store and I saw a copy of the class schedule. I took it home to look at.
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I spent three hours at the dentist today for a crown and filling. Seven months off my benzo, and it’s still traumatic. It takes a lot of fortitude to lie still when your body wants to scream and go running down the hall. I feel like I’ve just run a marathon.
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