Benzos How RC and abused benzos can bring you to your knees...

[speedballs_over]

Ok, not everyone, for sure.

Here's a typical story. I was on clonazepam, I had my anxiety well under control. I believed my clonazepam was working fine. Then I learned about RC benzos and dove right in, Nov. 2014.

Fast forward a year and a couple months and I'm in deep with clonazolam. I couldn't taper it, it's almost impossible to taper benzos alone, e.g. without medical support.

So... Like a little bitch I end up crying my eyes out in shame and disbelief as I finally came clean with my p. doc. My doctor is really cool. We worked out an appropriate Valium taper that we mutually control (no dose changes unless both of us agree.)

It was a couple months of hell at the end, and a year lost to bad memory - that was my price. Oh, and a loss of some trust with my doc and therapist.

If you take that shit or abuse prescription benzos get onto an Aston Taper asap, for your minds sake.

Fuck RC benzos. Almost fucked up my life more than dope. Be wise. I finally threw out the last 200-mg of etiz I had stashed this morning. Ah, the relief of knowing I'm doing this properly and not fucking up my brain is better than any benzo high.

 

[David Wooderson]

Congrats on cpming to terms with your addiction
In my relatively limited experience in overcoming drug abuse it seems people who are proactive in their treatment are more likely to reach their goals.

May I ask what kind of daily dose you were on before you realized that you had to come clean with your doc and get help?

I think because klonopin doesn't have such an immediate effect that other benzos have like xanax, that people assume that its not powerful but its harder to come off kpin than xanax due to the half life and other factors.

I was on 8mg prescribed and when they decided to start weaning it was going to be .25mg every month......for 32 months.

I insisted on an impatient detox, nobody would take me due to my dosage and even when I found that place that would help, I ended up in full withdrawal psychosis.

Not sure of the exact taper but it was very rapid for what my doc wanted to take 32 months to do, they did in 3 weeks and it almost killed me literally, but in the end success!

More threads need to be made by ppl who have the firsthand experience with RC benzos in reference to addiction,and battling addiction, etc.

Sometimes the biggest battle is starting the battle, picking up the phone, doing research, the lack of information of rc benzos would have me procrastinating for years due to the incoherence of reports.

My benzo abuse was all prescribed and most health care workers wanted nothing to do with me due to complications is treating such high tolerance, and all that research is there in black and white.

Hope things continue to get better

 

[speedballs_over]

4-mg clonazepam, prescribed. Stopped the prescribed stuff on days I took clonazolam. Doses when I went in and came clean, 2- 4-mg/ day clonazolam, 35-mg Valium/ day (took both most days).

I'm at the beginning of my taper, again, at 70-my/Valium per day. Should start dropping soon.

 

[keeping]

after the horror of a two year etizolam addiction, cold trukeying it, fits, insomnia, paralysis i've learnt a new respect for these drugs, these medicines.. now all i have is a stash of 25 diclazepam and thats all i could ever meed

 

[speedballs_over]

Should the BL community post a sticky about RC and prescription benzo abuse? It's seems appropriate now that we know many, many people come here for questions on starting with them or how to get off of them.

Next to opioids, and maybe in a few years it will surpass them, benzo addiction is costing society and individuals their former lives (a lot of jail and other c/t deaths) and quality of life for many.

This is serous stuff, real hard core harm reduction. An addiction worse than an IV addiction!?! Certainly, from my own experience!

There's no bupe for clonazolam, just a long, rough Valium taper- if you're lucky.

"Should I try heroin or Xanax?" As a sticky?

I'd say if it was b/w heroin and a week supply of Xanax. It's dealers choice, they both can hook you in the first few uses. Biggest difference is the law, access and deathly/deadly nature of each - opioid is acute, benzos is during withdrawal.

Edit: thank you to those who replied. I'd like to keep this discussion going. Is there a mega thread on benzo withdrawal/dependence or just the big benzo thread? It's a bit too pro benzo for my tastes.

 

[Sychonautx]

Yeah, benzos suck a dick. They are the drugs I love, but also hate with a passion. They have there uses, but should be very limited.

I was on a 50mg a-day Diazepam + other benzos, mostly Pyrazolam, Etizolam and Xanax addiction for around 3 years.

The only way is going cold-turkey in my book, as hard as it is...

 

[SKR]

^ And yet that seems to go against every ones recommendation and for good reason when seizure/death are real possibilities with these drugs - Do you care to elaborate on your experiences Sychonautx? How was CT for you?

 

[RDP89]

Yeah, benzos suck a dick. They are the drugs I love, but also hate with a passion. They have there uses, but should be very limited.

I was on a 50mg a-day Diazepam + other benzos, mostly Pyrazolam, Etizolam and Xanax addiction for around 3 years.

The only way is going cold-turkey in my book, as hard as it is...

I'm sorry but that's the WORST possible advice. People have died or suffered very serious sometimes permanent health problems from going cold turkey.

 

[David Wooderson]

i've learnt a new respect for these drugs, these medicines..

I said the same thing after coming out of a long battle.

The only way is going cold-turkey in my book, as hard as it is...

That is something you think and goes against the nature of this website of providing harm reduction!

From someone who almost lost their mind and almost died a couple times....while under medical supervision....if you want to not have your brain feel like the famous drug commercial with the egg and the frying pan, nor do want to die convulsing in seizures in extricable pain, than get serious medical attention.

Perhaps you were able to do it, perhaps you are the most hard core person in the world, but what you did could have killed you and it might have damaged you, you don't know for sure.
This also doesnt work when you have a tolerance that would kill others if they took your daily dose, it's much more complicated than you are putting it.
I survived cold turkey benzo and methadone, and I'm forever emotionaly damaged but I used again, and got a bigger habit......
I beg anyone in these straights to seriously consider treatment at all costs because it can work.
If anyone needs info on finding help or needs to talk hit me up.

 

[DoesntLearn]

Yeah, benzos suck a dick. They are the drugs I love, but also hate with a passion. They have there uses, but should be very limited.

I was on a 50mg a-day Diazepam + other benzos, mostly Pyrazolam, Etizolam and Xanax addiction for around 3 years.

The only way is going cold-turkey in my book, as hard as it is...

Man doing that can straight kill you! A long brutal valium taper i believe is the only way. I would rather the long drawn out taper over risking death from going CT with benzo withdrawl ANY day because i want to live to see another day.