Benzodiazepines - Withdrawal feeling, but still taking benzos

[churchpk]

Hi,

I have been taking 20 mg diazepam sublingual, once daily, usually at night for the past 6 months.

I did take 25 mg on Monday night, didn't notice much of a difference, however, last night around 8 pm (the usual time I take 20 mg), I felt the withdrawal feeling in my head (been through this a couple times years ago, very aware of this feeling).

So, I took my usual 20 mg, went to bed and hoped it would be gone in the AM, and here we are, the next day and it appears it is still there.

Can you be withdrawing from it even though I've been taking it? I only took 25 mg the one time..usually never more, or never less.

Any input would be great! For context, I don't take anything else psychoactive other than micro dosing psilocybin twice a week.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

It's likely something else causing you the discomfort and not benzo withdrawal if your dosages and source of the benzos have not changed at all. Could be vitamin deficiency, the flu, stress, low blood sugar or many other issues.

Has anything else changed in your life or routine?

Sometimes when I'm on benzos I can actually psychologically trick myself into thinking I'm in withdrawal but I'm not, especially if I've been taking them for a long time.

 

[churchpk]

Hmm, I take a lot of supplements so it would be unlikely that it's vitamin related, unless there's a specific one that I should take to try see if that was the cause. Stress could be likely, I don't think I'm sick, and everything else appears as status quo.

I'm prescribed these, and haven't changed much, forgot to mention I did take a 2.5mg IR Dexedrine yesterday too, but it was such a low dosage I didn't even feel it. (also prescribed these but never take them, was the second time in a year).

I used to be on Xanax and this would be the feeling I get when I take those, as the half life is so short it gives me the withdrawal as soon as the next day.

If nothing else,t to try, I will still micro-dose the mushrooms as planned today, and just monitor it, could be nothing and as you said, just psychological.

Thank you for the feedback.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

Hmm, I take a lot of supplements so it would be unlikely that it's vitamin related, unless there's a specific one that I should take to try see if that was the cause. Stress could be likely, I don't think I'm sick, and everything else appears as status quo.

I'm prescribed these, and haven't changed much, forgot to mention I did take a 2.5mg IR Dexedrine yesterday too, but it was such a low dosage I didn't even feel it. (also prescribed these but never take them, was the second time in a year).

I used to be on Xanax and this would be the feeling I get when I take those, as the half life is so short it gives me the withdrawal as soon as the next day.

If nothing else,t to try, I will still micro-dose the mushrooms as planned today, and just monitor it, could be nothing and as you said, just psychological.

Thank you for the feedback.

You could actually be taking too many supplements which is quite common, but who knows.

The shroom microdose might help, might give you a reset. Good luck

 

[Snafu in the Void]

Then again you could be right too because I was taking RC benzos that were certainly more powerful than Diazepam

Yeah I experienced something like that with diclazepam. Fuck that RC

 

[Just a little pinprick]

Yeah same here,it started after about a year of daily use of about 40 mg, this was the reason I stopped taking them .

 

[emkee_reinvented]

I'm prescribed these, and haven't changed much, forgot to mention I did take a 2.5mg IR Dexedrine yesterday too, but it was such a low dosage I didn't even feel it. (also prescribed these but never take them, was the second time in a year).

I used to be on Xanax and this would be the feeling I get when I take those, as the half life is so short it gives me the withdrawal as soon as the next day.

At first the long halflive of Diazepam would be my first blame. But as you experience them on Alprazolam too. If I asumme 1x daily intake, or were you taking them more often like 2x 0r 3 x a day?

The Dexamfetamine was a threshold dose at most. Very doubtful it played a big part.

 

[axe battler]

Only one way to find out if it's withdrawal... Take a little bit more and see if the withdrawal disappears. Diazepam is fast acting.

After a while of daily use then your normal dose will stop masking the anxieties you started taking valium for initially, simply due to tolerance. Physical and mental.

Do you think you could cut back 2mg per 1-2 weeks with the goal of stabilising on a lower dose and saving the rest for times of desperation??
Or even tapering off entirely. I would have killed for a benzo script at one point, but now I'm really not so fussed, as I know it's pretty much impossible for me to take them like a normal person. I wreck cars, finances and relationships on benzos.

 

[JackARoe]

But the precise same dose of a physically addictive drug like benzos taken daily, will sooner or later cease to be sufficient after physical dependance has set in, and unless dose is increased linearly with rising tolerance, dependance and additionally withdrawals, you can be withdrawing on your maintenace dose.

Wise words. I know sometimes we see posts of someone scripted 80-100 mgs of oxycodone a day or 3 mgs of xanax a day and sometimes we read these and think that person is lucky to have a script. Yet when you read most of these posts the daily amounts barely hold them anymore. Another reason to keep daily use of anything in check. There are a few that maintain and are fine but the bulk need every increasing doses to get their med to work. But I also think the opposite is true. If a person tapers they can balance out too by slowly going lower.

Sharing widsom will treat you well AT. Because it looks like you have put thought into it and are not just coasting like some of the other posts I read of ever increasing doses of medications.

 

[December Flower]

It is possible OP is experiencing withdrawal, you never know with this class of drugs

September last year I started taking benzos once daily at bedtime

In January I started getting very real withdrawal. Tremors, anxiety, paranoia, racing thoughts, etc

Then again you could be right too because I was taking RC benzos that were certainly more powerful than Diazepam

Exactly. It is quite possible he is experiencing WD, especially if the symptoms vanished after taking it at night.

I wish there was a giant sign orbiting earth that read "Do not fuck around with Benzos", zepam, zolam, zepine, it's all the fucking devil

 

[JackARoe]

I wish there was a giant sign orbiting earth that read "Do not fuck around with Benzos", zepam, zolam, zepine, it's all the fucking devil

There is, it is here https://www.bluelight.org/xf/threads/please-be-responsible-and-dont-abuse-benzodiazepines.886044/

Not really the devil, just a special med for some people and not others. I too know someone (at least some years back) scripted benzos just to calm the stomach muscles so he could eat. So some of the actions are needed in medicine. But to pop them everyday without a doctor's prescription or under a doctor's care for everyday anxiety that we all get can turn into the devil.

 

[December Flower]

There is, it is here https://www.bluelight.org/xf/threads/please-be-responsible-and-dont-abuse-benzodiazepines.886044/

Not really the devil, just a special med for some people and not others. I too know someone (at least some years back) scripted benzos just to calm the stomach muscles so he could eat. So some of the actions are needed in medicine. But to pop them everyday without a doctor's prescription or under a doctor's care for everyday anxiety that we all get can turn into the devil.

Yeah I know, but most actual severe chronic pain patients would need opiates, if we're being honest. Our medicine has just gotten so damned careful with them, unless patients are over 80, then it's "go at it", it's ridiculous.

I'm speaking mostly of recreational use, ofc, but benzos also get prescribed for things like insomnia, at least here - that's a serious overkill. Schizophrenia, srsly.
Especially considering the fact that long-term use comes with epileptic attacks during withdrawal.

 

[churchpk]

All very interesting posts to read in this thread for sure!

Just as an update, I took the shrooms (225 mg) shortly after making this post, and I don't know if the WD just went away on it's own, or it the shrooms reset it as mentioned above.

Either way, I'm happy it's gone and I will try taper back to 15 mg per day as I never wanted this addiction to begin with.

This all actually started a few months after quitting my daily alcohol addiction, it was a conversion addiction and I am still happy to say I am just a few days over 1 year sober from alcohol, now it's just the benzo addiction to kick which will be much easier for me than alcohol was.

But still, it will be a long road as I have been using it as a sleep aid for so long, might have to try go back to chamomile tea and CBD or magnesium, but again, still feels like a substitute for a different addiction lol.

The weird part is I don't even have a sleeping problem, if anything, the diazepam is worsening my sleep quality and maybe just helping me initially fall asleep 10 minutes faster than it would if I didn't take anything at all, I think it was just an excuse to be addicted to something after the boredom of not drinking anymore set in.