Dosage for Xanax vs. Alcohol? - worried about my liver.

[kend0g187]

I had been drinking, on average, the equivalent of about 8 beers a day (at home, on weekdays, everyday). I suffer from social anxiety and depression. I was prescribed 2mg tablets of Clonazepam - similar to Xanax. Today I took one pill in the morning and one in the evening and it was the first day in forever that i didn't drink any alcohol. Here's what will probably happen if I stick to the Clonazepam and if I don't.

Scenario 1: I take 0 - 4mg of Clonazepam in the morning - maybe I can avoid beer altogether in a given day, or maybe I drink 2 beers at night instead of 8 (I can't sleep sober, too much anxiety). In the occasional social situation (about once a week), I might drink up to 10 beers, even with the Clonazepam possibly still in my system from the morning. If my tolerance builds and I really don't want alcohol, I may take another 2mg of Clonazepam at night, totaling 6mg on the day.

Scenario 2: I ditch the Clonazepam and continue to drink about 8 beers per day, more in social situations.

For me, Scenario 1 is better in almost every way, but which do you think is better/worse for my liver?

Thanks!

 

[Keif' Richards]

If both options were truly equal, I would unequivocally vote for option A. Both Alcohol and Benzodiazepines exert their effects by working on the same neurological pathways, but you don't have a feasibly unlimited supply upon Benzodiazepines. You can only acquire them for so long as your prescriber is willing to give them to you. There is no law that states they can't aggressively withhold medication from you to the point of causing near-death. You don't ever want to count on these things last, especially given the fact that literature states pretty explicitly that there is minuscule evidence for continued benefit when using them in the form of maintenance.

Although Clonazepam (Klonopin) is not as hepatoxic as Alcohol is, being dependent upon either separately or both combined for extended periods of time is very discouraged. The primary issue associated with both Alcohol and Benzodiazepine misuse is that tolerance develops requiring increased dosages to achieve the previous effect or even to just keep withdrawal at bay. It's a better idea to try to find any way that involves you being free from dependence, but it's not a perfect world and you will ultimately live longer being dependent upon Benzodiazepines as opposed to Alcohol.

 

[Pickledlemons]

Scenario A is definitely better for your liver. Addiction to benzos is just as bad as alcohol when its comes to withdrawals though.

^^ and about the limited supply thing. Thats not really true anymore. There are easy ways to get any medication without a doctor or connections, in todays world.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Neither of these options should be your first point of call. You need to seek help in the form of counseling possibly? i too suffer from social anxiety but I took every route possible before taking the choice to use benzos daily.

I tried extensive counseling, SSRI medication (antidepressants DRs also use for anxiety) and blood pressure lowering drugs. May I add I tried many different variations of these and they did absolutely nothing.

Benzos were my final choice and they should be yours too. And BTW 6mg of clonazepam is an extremely high dose for someone with no tolerance.

I've also read some literature stating that benzos are 'bad' for your liver so either of the choices you're going to be causing damage if that's a concern to you.