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Benzos Am I benzo dependent?

NorwegianElkhound

NorwegianElkhound

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 21, 2018
Messages
202
I was prescribed 40 10mg valium for a week long procedure...crazy I know. But I've been going overboard with them. I took 50mg several days, 30mg or 40mg for the rest of the week. (Not in that order)

I have 40mg left plus I'm due 5mg at some point today, can I safely taper with what I have?
 
If it's your first batch of vallies then I hardly doubt you'll feel much withdrawal no, it's when you take them for ages or stop and start then you get the kindling effect, which is basically worse withdrawals everytime you come off, then you start up and yep worse withdrawal when you stop

Its a piss take I only got 6 x 2mg vallies for serotonin syndrome and you got 40 x 10mg to last a week it's mad!
 
I agree with what is said above. I have followed your rapid detox and I can see why you could need such quantities. You did a heroic detox and i congratulate you on that. Use left-over diazepam for a mini taper if you have the willpower. I doubt that you will have big issues after what you have gone through in last week. Great job man!
 
NorwegianElkhound said:
How should i taper? 5mg at a time? 10?
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How much do you have left? 40mg?

I’d do 10 today, 10 tomorrow, 5 the next then 5 the last day and leave it at that. Keep the further 10 just in case you ever needed it. Always good to have Valium around.
 
Have you been addicted to benzos or alcohol before?
If you have no previous history of benzo use and only been taking them for one week you will most likely be alright. That's quite a bit of diazepam though so you might experience some rebound anxiety.
Diazepam has a very long acting metabolite (nordiazepam) so it can potentially work as a self-tapering mechanism (disclaimer: this won't work with long-term benzo users, do a proper taper instead).

I would do a very short taper if I were you, because you run the risk of actually getting more physically (and psychologically) addicted the longer you keep taking it and you'll have diazepam and nordiazepam built up in your system anyway.
Just listen to your body, take as little as possible IMO. Might even be able to skip a day if you feel no WD symptoms.
 
Benzo and opiate dependency don't have clear warning sings (maybe any addiction doesn't have warning signs either).

It goes from >not addict to >full blown addict with practically no transition. It won't be transparent and you won't know when you've crossed the line.
 
4meSM said:
Have you been addicted to benzos or alcohol before?
If you have no previous history of benzo use and only been taking them for one week you will most likely be alright. That's quite a bit of diazepam though so you might experience some rebound anxiety.
Diazepam has a very long acting metabolite (nordiazepam) so it can potentially work as a self-tapering mechanism (disclaimer: this won't work with long-term benzo users, do a proper taper instead).

I would do a very short taper if I were you, because you run the risk of actually getting more physically (and psychologically) addicted the longer you keep taking it and you'll have diazepam and nordiazepam built up in your system anyway.
Just listen to your body, take as little as possible IMO. Might even be able to skip a day if you feel no WD symptoms.
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I've been hooked on benzos almost 5 years ago but never touched one since. (Or not much) I outgrew them.

However I do remember being aggressive with my support person to get 2 instead of 1, so maybe the addiction is setting back in.

Every once in a while, Ill take Ativan and be like "oh I remember why I liked these!"

I'm really going to need it tomorrow though, because the support person watching me is boring and whack and. So I won't have any leftover
 
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NorwegianElkhound said:
I've been hooked on benzos almost 5 years ago but never touched one since. (Or not much) I outgrew them.

However I do remember being aggressive with my support person to get 2 instead of 1, so maybe the addiction is setting back in.

Every once in a while, Ill take Ativan and be like "oh I remember why I liked these!"

I'm really going to need it tomorrow though, because the support person watching me is boring and whack and. So I won't have any leftover
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The main reason I asked is because the brain reponds differently after going through benzo addiction (or pretty much any gabaergic addiction) and specially if you have gone through serious WD, it becomes worse and worse everytime you WD from them. This is also known as the kindling effect.
Sometimes even as little as 1 or 2 days of benzo use can trigger significant WD symptoms in ex benzo addicts. I can be very serious stuff...

And aside from the physiological factors, benzos are very insidious, most people don't find them euphoric like other drugs but they're still very habit forming.
It's a fucked up addiction to be honest... I've been through very mild benzo WD and it's super tricky because you think they fix your anxiety but then it comes back 10x worse once you quit. It's very hard not to take more benzos when you're having panic attacks over nothing, you end up in a vicious circle.

Once you're truly physically dependent you HAVE to do a proper taper if you want to quit, otherwise you'll probably fail and end up with some degree of brain damage at the very least. (Brain damage is not always apparent right away, but benzo WD will cause neurotoxicity and that's a fact).

Some might disagree with this but I think benzos should almost never be taken recreationally, they're a mega slippery slope and have one of the worst WD known to mankind.
 
I take clonazepam for about 7 years and it took me 2 years to feel that I can't live without it, so you're in a safe area for now, but after it turns into a daily and for a long time, there's no going back. For me, I have a lot of anxiety, but i miss benzo if i go without a day.
 
andrek159206 said:
I take clonazepam for about 7 years and it took me 2 years to feel that I can't live without it, so you're in a safe area for now, but after it turns into a daily and for a long time, there's no going back. For me, I have a lot of anxiety, but i miss benzo if i go without a day.
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Me too, I e been more anxious than ever and taking more klonopin and Ambien.
 
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