passion4cannabis
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2013
- Messages
- 81
I can't remember how many times. Withdrawal just never ends so i pick it up again and then run out and feel like total shit for a while and then pick em up again. I'm in deep shit.
Benzos How many times have you gone off/on benzos?
- Thread starter passion4cannabis
- Start date
passion4cannabis
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2013
- Messages
- 81
How long were u on them? I only took it for a year but it fucked me up hard anyway.
passion4cannabis
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2013
- Messages
- 81
Whats wrong with being on them for life? They are like the only thing that works for me and you get the picture
I also wonder what the relapse rate are for benzos.
I also wonder what the relapse rate are for benzos.
Last edited:
cannablissss
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2015
- Messages
- 848
I was on 1mg of Xanax for 3 months, then my doctor took me right off and put me on Klonopin. So it wasn't really me getting off benzos just switching the type. My Klonopin was lowered from 2mg to 1.5mg to 1mg in 2 months. Then I was yanked off of it when I was put on 300mg of Gabapentin to be taken 3x a day. At first it really sucked, I had bad mood swings and I was irritated. Everything annoyed me. My anxiety sort of got worse. But when I realized my doctor wasn't putting me back on any benzo, I gave up and it got better. Started getting into DXM more and just smoking to ease the anxiety.
RDP89
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2012
- Messages
- 2,767
What is the longest you have gone off them?
pbuilder
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2011
- Messages
- 2,119
How long do each of these benzo periods last? What is the dosage like? How many months do you go off them before picking them back up.
passion4cannabis
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2013
- Messages
- 81
Memory gets really messed up, so i can't really remember. Maybe i would of been out of withdrawal if i stayed out longer, but i have roomates and they stress me out, like psychotically stressed out.. I dont know...
blue comet
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2015
- Messages
- 253
Going on and off benzos is a big gamble. Everytime you re-expose your brain to them, you have the potential to experience a longer and more severe withdrawal.
That's what happened to me. Got off benzos and ambien cold turkey. Went through a few months of hell but started to get better at month 4. When I started a new job I got gabapentin which led to its own problems (interdose w/d, side effects) and I had to take three ativans to deal with it. I stopped gabapentin (2 months use at 1200mg-2100mg) and took these three rescue doses at the end of March 2015 (over 8 months ago).
I'm still in bad withdrawal. Lots of physical symptoms (heart palpitations, nerve pain, shakiness, jumping out of my skin feeling, nonstop hair loss) and psychological symptoms (anxiety, derealization, irrational fears, waning depression & sadness, cognitive impairment, insomnia). I have not been able to drive or consume alcohol & caffeine in the past 8 months. I could do both with no problem when I first got off benzos and ambien.
SO there is a big problem with re-introducing this crap to your brain.
That's what happened to me. Got off benzos and ambien cold turkey. Went through a few months of hell but started to get better at month 4. When I started a new job I got gabapentin which led to its own problems (interdose w/d, side effects) and I had to take three ativans to deal with it. I stopped gabapentin (2 months use at 1200mg-2100mg) and took these three rescue doses at the end of March 2015 (over 8 months ago).
I'm still in bad withdrawal. Lots of physical symptoms (heart palpitations, nerve pain, shakiness, jumping out of my skin feeling, nonstop hair loss) and psychological symptoms (anxiety, derealization, irrational fears, waning depression & sadness, cognitive impairment, insomnia). I have not been able to drive or consume alcohol & caffeine in the past 8 months. I could do both with no problem when I first got off benzos and ambien.
SO there is a big problem with re-introducing this crap to your brain.
Project Will
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2009
- Messages
- 542
I got off benzos about 10 months ago. Was taking ungodly amounts - about 20+mg alprazolam per day or equivalent dose in other benzos just to not have a seizure. Withdrawals were a fucking nightmare. It doesn't make sense how a drug that feels so mild can cause such mind-bendingly treacherous withdrawals. Went through 3 rounds of phenobarbital - I was taking a lot of flubromazepam and the doctors were worried about the 100+ hour halflife and kept giving my pheno just in case.
Acute withdrawals lasted well over a month. Hallucinations, very little sleep, skin crawling, shaking, sweating, puking, crushing depression and anxiety... The list goes on. I still have high blood pressure and memory problems to this day. I was also coming off a 0.5g-1g per day heroin habit to make matters worse.
I've heard stories on here about people that were taking 50mg+ of alprazolam per day and can't imagine what they went through.
I'd rather get off heroin a few times than go through benzo withdrawals again. Life is pretty good without that stuff so hopefully I will never have to do either.
Acute withdrawals lasted well over a month. Hallucinations, very little sleep, skin crawling, shaking, sweating, puking, crushing depression and anxiety... The list goes on. I still have high blood pressure and memory problems to this day. I was also coming off a 0.5g-1g per day heroin habit to make matters worse.
I've heard stories on here about people that were taking 50mg+ of alprazolam per day and can't imagine what they went through.
I'd rather get off heroin a few times than go through benzo withdrawals again. Life is pretty good without that stuff so hopefully I will never have to do either.
cashfl0w_d0nkey
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
- Messages
- 933
Another "permanent withdrawal" person here. I'm definitely not touching benzos again. I was on them for two stretches of daily dosing, but abused them on a less than daily basis for the majority of 5-7 years or so.
At first, I was taking large doses on a more infrequent basis with the intention of getting wasted. After some point I started taking lower doses on a more regular basis, trying to walk the fine line between taking too much and still being able to go about my day. That latter phase is really where the problems crept in. I started to get headaches and agitation not long after taking a dose and decided to wean off (at this point it was clonazepam). At this point, I weaned very slowly and carefully and pretty much felt back to 100% after the process was complete. About a year later, I got back into benzos with phenazapam, etizolam, and alprazolam. Again, I started by taking large doses of phenazepam and etizolam somewhat infrequently, which eventually progressed to daily dosing with alprazolam. The period of daily dosing alprazolam only lasted about a month, and consisted of relatively low dosing of 0.5 - 1mg per day, but it caused the withdrawal from hell. I think at this point I had just pushed my GABAnergic system too far. That was something like four years ago, and I've touched alcohol a few times in that period as well as benzos on two one-off occasions (phenazepam and diazepam respectively), all causing serious rebound symptoms that told me pretty clearly to stop.
To this day, I feel like my ability to deal with stress is a bit compromised. I am pretty content in life for the most part, which is nice, however I have to take care to de-stress myself whenever I start to feel under pressure because I can still start to feel really bad (spastic, shaky, sick, etc) under stress.
At first, I was taking large doses on a more infrequent basis with the intention of getting wasted. After some point I started taking lower doses on a more regular basis, trying to walk the fine line between taking too much and still being able to go about my day. That latter phase is really where the problems crept in. I started to get headaches and agitation not long after taking a dose and decided to wean off (at this point it was clonazepam). At this point, I weaned very slowly and carefully and pretty much felt back to 100% after the process was complete. About a year later, I got back into benzos with phenazapam, etizolam, and alprazolam. Again, I started by taking large doses of phenazepam and etizolam somewhat infrequently, which eventually progressed to daily dosing with alprazolam. The period of daily dosing alprazolam only lasted about a month, and consisted of relatively low dosing of 0.5 - 1mg per day, but it caused the withdrawal from hell. I think at this point I had just pushed my GABAnergic system too far. That was something like four years ago, and I've touched alcohol a few times in that period as well as benzos on two one-off occasions (phenazepam and diazepam respectively), all causing serious rebound symptoms that told me pretty clearly to stop.
To this day, I feel like my ability to deal with stress is a bit compromised. I am pretty content in life for the most part, which is nice, however I have to take care to de-stress myself whenever I start to feel under pressure because I can still start to feel really bad (spastic, shaky, sick, etc) under stress.