Taking Benzos. Yes or No?

[Kellen]

Against my better judgement I'm thinking of trying the benzo route. I need some relief and I have to go back to work soon. So I'm in desperate need to find something that works. I can't risk taking more time off or I'll get canned.

So I'm looking for a definitive answer ( if there ever was such a thing), does the bad out weigh the good with taking benzos? Does the relief they bring trump the side effects?

If yes what is the best to take?

How do they effect visuals?

Ive just read so many conflicting statements on here.

I really want to avoid becoming addicted. I've had enough of that in my life. Is that even possible?

[andrewcb]

You will become physically addictive but you can avoid dependency. Like my buddy who takes xanax which I urge everyone just to avoid is dependant, he can probably never be off them, benzos are his "thing" now. Stay at a low dosage and don't abuse them and when you decided you want to come off just take it slow and from my experience and this was for me on 30mg valiums it wasn't to hard to get off of which I have been off and on. Now opiates I was dependant I felt I needed them I couldn't live without them and that was a biatch to break and get off of. Hell try it for a week or 2 and if you don't like just don't take em. But imo if it comes down to it and I can't function and it is effecting my life in a bad way the addiction isn't even a thought in my mind. Hell at least I can run out to the store now and do what I need to do as oppose to just laying around all day. There are other "non-addictive"(I believe everything can become addictive) drugs you can use. I just found out gabapentin is used for animals and you can legally get online, so I will be ordering 180 300mg for 43 bucks for my horse *cough *cough 

[Kellen]

What I don't get is why do so many people want to come off it when it's working for them?

I was also thinking of trying flunarazine but the side effects look awful.

I guess with hppd you're damned if you do damned if you don't. I'm just scared of making things worse for myself.

[chrismo]

What I don't get is why do so many people want to come off it when it's working for them?

I was also thinking of trying flunarazine but the side effects look awful.

I guess with hppd you're damned if you do damned if you don't. I'm just scared of making things worse for myself.

 

 

This is why: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_effects_of_benzodiazepines

 

Clonazepam helped me in the short term but I'm glad I got off it when I did.

[Kellen]

So it's a short term solution that will eventually really fuck you up. Seems like a cruel joke.

I'm having a hard time right now and I couldn't imagine my symptoms being worse than this.

Chris did you go through withdrawal?

What dose were you on?

[andrewcb]

You gotta wean off benzos and the right way to wean off is if you were on kpins you would drop your dosage and throw some valiums in with it then eventually switch to valiums and drop dosage on valiums which is a far weaken benzo then kpins and if done right there would be little to no w/ds. And from my experience getting off benzos can cause a lot more anxiety then what you had to start with but it is just temp and goes away fairly fast, but then again I quit taking valiums at one time for 2 months and I just quit at 30mg and I drink grapefruit juice with every serving so it was like hitting a brick wall. But it is worth a try give it 2 weeks if you don't like it all you got to do is get off and you really wouldn't have formed a addiction. For a lot of people benzos is a must for long term because they are going to have anxiety forever. And no where does it say that it will eventually fuck you up, it says in a very very small percentage of people and it also says if you don't abuse them and take as directed and wean off properly there will be no problems. To me bottom line if I have a condition that is effecting my life in a bad way I will take what fixes it, the thing is everyone eventually wants to be off of drugs at one point or another so the longer you are on something the longer it take to get off, if I remember correctly to properly wean of of xanax takes a whole year of lowering xanax dosage, adding in the next benzo, dropping that benzo dosage, adding in another benzo, lower that benzo, add in 1 last one which is valium then lower that dosage and then finally get off. The most addictive benzos are the fast acting ones. If I remember right valiums have a halflife of like 74 hours and you don't really get a high or sedative feeling like you do with xanax or other benzos or at least from my experience. IMO it is worth a shot, start at like .5mg, if you like it bump up to .5mg 2x a day and adjust until you a happy with it. But remember there is a limit to how good you will feel so just because 1mg a day is working so well don't think well 2mg a day will make me feel even better, that is how you build tolerance and addiction. GL broski

[etardnow]

Even though I have not tried benzos myself, just reading about them tells me that its only a temporary relief pill.

So the choice is really up to you. The more and the longer you take, the less effective it becomes. You have to find the benzo that works for you too.

IIRC, some users such as Jay made it work for them by taking it only 2 times a week/every other week without noticeable tolerance but him too treats it as a 'getaway' pill.

[andrewcb]

Even though I have not tried benzos myself, just reading about them tells me that its only a temporary relief pill.

So the choice is really up to you. The more and the longer you take, the less effective it becomes. You have to find the benzo that works for you too.

IIRC, some users such as Jay made it work for them by taking it only 2 times a week/every other week without noticeable tolerance but him too treats it as a 'getaway' pill.

I totally disagree, a majority of people say it is only temporary relief because they don't get the strong benzo effect they use to get when first starting, I have been taking 30mg valiums for 2 years and yes from the first week to now there has been a big difference in a benzo feeling but as far as my anxiety goes it still works the same. That's how people abuse pills they take them, feel great because they are basically getting high at first and when that high wears off after a few days to a week they think they need to up their dosage or the pill isn't working anymore. I feel absolutely nothing from my valiums which is fine I don't like to be sedated but my anxiety is pretty much gone and I know it really won't get better so I wont up my dosage or go to a stronger benzo, you got to learn to be happy with what relief you can get. If you are taking only a few times a week that sounds more of a recreational use and not a medicated use. I took hydrocodone for 14 months at 60mg 20mg 3x a day and never had to change my dose and i actually benefited more from it after a week or so being on it because the high faded away and I would just experience the psychoactive part of it. Just my 2 cents

Also when it was time fore me to come off opiates cough syrup(dxm) worked very well dealing with w/ds. I hear gabapentin works great for benzo w/ds

[etardnow]

Depends on the individual user but tolerance is obviously a medical phenomenon, not just for recreational users.

I'm not too informed on different type of benzos and its tolerance rates but i dont think its out of line to say that everyday use will have diminishing effects. 

Its also worth noting that psychological expectations greatly effect on how the drug works as well. 

 

Yea i guess it doesnt hurt to try and assess the benefit vs negative

[Jay1]

There is no right or wrong answer.... I think everyone here knows my stance on doctors prescribing them everyday, but I don't look down on anyone who does.... HPPD is fucking awful and for some, benzos are a great way to get over those 1st couple of years. My worry is that people don't learn how to cope with hppd, med free, and then also have to suffer from the anxiety of coming off benzos as well as learning to cope with hppd in a med free situation.

 

As you are thinking about benzos to help you work... How about a 4 day on, 3 day off system? Assuming you work mon.fri 9-5pm sort of job:

 

mon - on

tues - on

wed - on

thurs - on

fri - off

sat - off

sun - off

 

You will find that on friday, you will still have some anti-anxiety effects from the benzo (especially if you use Klono).... then flush it all out over the weekend. It is not fail safe and you have to be very disciplined.... But it could work out for you... Ideally, as you get more comfortable at work, you could drop the thursday dose too.... 3 pills a week is very unlikely to lead to any withdrawal or tolerence.... 4 might be pushing it, but is obviously alot safer than taking every day.

[Merkan]

Since my HPPD is so intense its almost seizure like, i need 2,25 mg/day. Its all about how severe your HPPD is. What severe means is subjective though. If you use benzo to get over the anx i wouldnt recommend it unless you already tried CBT or meditation etc.

For me its like i am constantly bombarded with visual snow and my brain cannot keep up, projecting images of what i am thinking and other weird stuff. I tried 70(!) mg of diazepam when i was at the hospital, did nothing for me because i do not have anxiety. 1mg of Clonazepam kicked the symptom away instantly, making my brain function again.

So, for anx try not too, but Clonazepam has the effect that other benzos do not, even when you get used to it and the sedative effect goes away. If you have problems with your symptoms causing issues with cognition, that is a reason to go on Clonazepam. Its the lesser evil.

[Merkan]

^

Just wanna add that i took a lot of codeine and sleeping pills (even when awake) just to shut off the brain before i got Clonazepam. You do however wanna stick to the 0.5:s even if you are taking a daily dose. Up the dose slow and lower it slow. By taking 0.5 you can finetune the dose, of course with your docs approval., to where it does its best.

For instance i started at 1.5 mg which was too little and then went on 3mg but that was too much. So i ended up on 2.25 which seem to be optimal without overdoing it.

[Kellen]

It's not really the anxiety that gets me. It's the visual snow, cognitive issues,dp/dr, intrusive images and thoughts. The anxiety I can handle. I haven't slept without immovane for years and years now. When I don't take it my mind won't shut off. It just goes into hyperspace and my visuals increase and so does my tinnitus. Immmovane helps me eventually fall asleep for awhile. I'm going to see my doc today and try sinement first but I'm also going to ask for kpins just incase.

So even if the anxiety returns while on a low dose of kpins the cognitive issues stay in check? That sounds good to me.