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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Benzos for Nicotine Withdrawal ?

B

BottleDryer

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 21, 2012
Messages
100
I started smoking again and I've been at it for two-three weeks now, but, I've "quit' and it's been 2 days since my last cigarette.
I'm experiencing some intense withdrawal symptoms, like extreme lack of focus, very irritable, and feeling jittery, hyper and lacking coordination (feeling "out of it).

I use to smoke for seven years around 3-4 years ago.... back then I quit cold turkey style but it took a couple of tries. (I can't remember what kind of withdrawals I had, if any).
I decided to stop again this time cold turkey style again.

Can benzo's help with coping from nicotine withdrawal ? Has anyone been successful with this method ? (I know I won't get any help from the benzo's in terms of concentration/focus).
I just want the feeling of feeling on "edge" to go away.
 
A low dose of benzos would help with the edginess, but seems like overkill IMO.

Have you tried nicotine gum or patches? I'd be looking at trying all of the OTC aids they have before trying benzos.

I used kava to help me quit smoking. Really helped with the agitation and anxiety, so maybe look into that.
 
Mel22 said:
A low dose of benzos would help with the edginess, but seems like overkill IMO.

Have you tried nicotine gum or patches? I'd be looking at trying all of the OTC aids they have before trying benzos.

I used kava to help me quit smoking. Really helped with the agitation and anxiety, so maybe look into that.
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This. It does seem like overkill, though, and dosing anywhere other than low so as to relieve, not remove symptoms, would seem a bit risky - you'd end up with a benzo addiction.

Try the nicotine aids, if they help - mind and body are inseparable, but your symptoms do seem more physical in nature than mine have always been. For psychological symptoms, benzos, I found, do not help, but nicotine didn't either - my biggest addiction was to the act and feeling of smoking, as I quickly noticed - no withdrawals whatsoever, as long as I'm smoking SOMETHING.
 
Maybe try L-Lysine. It's an essential amino acid that you can get as a supplement. I just started taking it and I find it reduces my anxiety and I've been smoking way less than usual. It acts like a natural mild benzo or barbituate.
 
Agree that using benzos is overkill and risky.
I have read that Wellbutrin does actually help quitting smoking, but a lot of people would use it and then when they have not smoked for a week or so they stop taking the Wellbutrin and then relapse into smoking.
For it to be successful they should carry on with Wellbutrin for about 4-6 months after quitting smoking for them to have a chance to eventually stay clean.
 
to me this is like using heroin to combat codeine w/d......bad idea. Jog or chew gum?
 
Don't fix a paper cut with a liver transplant.
 
doctors script benzos for the initial break in quitting ciggs.
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While i can see a theraputic window, it is small. It all depends i suppose on the Ds, dose and duration. Nicotine w/d is unpleasant but benzo w/d is hell. Unpleasent at one end of spectrum, fatal at the other.
 
well, you're almost over the hump! keep up the good efforts and dont give into the urge to smoke! benzos take the edge off, but the craving is still there.


i smoked almost 2 packs a day sometimes for more than 10 years when i decided to quit.

before i quit smoking, my dr gave me some wellbutrin samples to try at my convenience, if and when i decided to quit.
i secretly decided to quit and tapered myself down. allowed myself 5 cigs per day for the first week. the next week, went to 4 cigs per day for the second week. for the third week, i went to 3 cigs per day...stayed at 3 for about 3 weeks...then went to 2..then one cig per day. i'd smoke a little on that one cig throughout the day. throughout the process of quitting smoking, wellbutrin worked wonders to curb the cravings, but i still had to use other techniques to break the mental addiction part of it....blowpops, holding a pen while driving, eatting fruit, taking jogs everyday.. tried not to drink or party much during that time either.
i stopped taking the wellbutrin as soon as i could because the side effects made me a little "mental crazy".

it's been almost seven years since i quit :)

wish you the best of luck!
 
Nope

Tried it, doesnt work, It reduces the cravings but when they set in you are disinhibited and smoke a cig. Also, unless you take huge ammounts of benzos, It doesnt help with the irritation.
 
I love nicotine gum more than smoking. Id also recommend nicotine replacement therapies.
 
Benzos will definitely help you out, they'll probably help you out a little too much.

Whether desirable or not, benzos will have a greater net effect on you than either nicotine, or nicotine withdrawal
 
I would be concerned with picking up a new dependence with using benzos. Bupropion would be a reasonable option and there is a newer medication, varenicline (Chantix) that you can use along with nicotine replacement patches or gum. It's not FDA approved but clonidine has also been used as a second-line agent in nicotine cessation.
 
No, not during the day. You have to go through nicotine withdrawal. If you smoke less than 10 years and not more than 15-20 cigs a day you will feel nervous and on the edge for 3 to 5 days. After about 5 days the withdrawal stops.

After that it's psychological. Another week of craving but every day you will feel better.

Avoid alcohol. During those 3 to 5 days of nicotine withdrawal you can take a hypnotic benzo at night to be able to sleep normally. But not longer than 1 week.
 
BottleDryer said:
I started smoking again and I've been at it for two-three weeks now, but, I've "quit' and it's been 2 days since my last cigarette.
I'm experiencing some intense withdrawal symptoms, like extreme lack of focus, very irritable, and feeling jittery, hyper and lacking coordination (feeling "out of it).

I use to smoke for seven years around 3-4 years ago.... back then I quit cold turkey style but it took a couple of tries. (I can't remember what kind of withdrawals I had, if any).
I decided to stop again this time cold turkey style again.

Can benzo's help with coping from nicotine withdrawal ? Has anyone been successful with this method ? (I know I won't get any help from the benzo's in terms of concentration/focus).
I just want the feeling of feeling on "edge" to go away.
Click to expand...

Why not get on the patch?? Here in canada some of the provincial governments will pay for it. If the gum/patches/inhaler doesn't work then they will pay for... wellbutrin I think it is. Maybe there is something similar to that where you live? There's also vapes. Thats how I quit. Then I quit vaping 2 weeks after... its been 4 or 5 years now and I still don't smoke.
 
To the starter of this thread....if you make it to day 4 you will feel better. I am smoking again for a couple of years but before that I had smoked about the same time span. 12 to 15 a day.

You can do this cold turkey. Get out and exercise if you can. Just run until exhausted
Day 2 and 3 were the worst for me, day 4 I felt a lot better. Day 5 and I stopped constantly thinking about how a cigarette would be. Day 7 I felt great and Day 10 I asked myself 'why the fuck did you smoke that ugly shit if it does not even make you high'

A benzo at night for bad insomnia during the hardest 3 or 4 days would be fine. No need for wellbutrin which helps some people while others feel like shit as it is a pretty strong anti depressant.
 
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