Xanax 'script not working anymore; What other benzos should I try?

Hello, I suffer from anxiety and panic disorder. Currently, I'm prescribed 2mg bars by mouth three times daily, (6mg a day in total).
The alprazolam just isn't working for me anymore. I'll have a panic attack and take 8 bars; yeah it kills my panic attack slightly, but not like it used to. Just tonight I took 14 of my 2mg bars and didn't feel a thing, except maybe a little sleepy.

Are there other benzos I should try out? I was thinking of klonopin or ativan but definitely not valium... Diazapam does nothing to me at any kind of dose.
What would any of you suggest trying out for a month or two instead of my xanax?

I have taken klonopin and ativan before, but the only problem with ativan is that it does make me a little sleepy, but I took the ativan before I had any kind of tolerance to benzos.

Any advice would help, I'm open to any suggestions.
Thank you so much, - Natural

I only tested 2, Alprazolam/Lorazepam and I have to say that I feel that xanax is stronger but it fuck me up much more, with Lorazepam I have to take more but I can go to work on it at higher dosage than prescribe.

Try switching to klonopin or maybe ever 2mg Xanax XR. Valium always worked wonders for me. I seriously enjoyed the 200hr half-life the most about Valium.

And if you get some 'Simply Grapefruit Juice' from the supermarket, you can use the fresh squeezed GFJ juice to potentiate the benzos. Drink the class about twenty minutes before you pop the benzos.

try clonazepam... but i hope you realise 6mg of alprazolam/day is a huge amount of benzos... it will take you years to get off them if you continue at those dosages....

for me alprazolam works far beter than clonazepam, but for some its the opposite...

With the tolerance you describe, benzos are no longer going to be of any therapeutic benefit to you. If and when you run out of meds, the rebound anxiety is going to be far worse that your original anxiety ever was in the first place.

My best advice would be to talk to your doctor and get put on valium to start tapering off of the benzos. Maybe some sort of antidepressant would be more effective at combating your anxiety and panic issues at this juncture.

Yeah. If your tolerance is that bad, it may be the end of the benzo road and time to come off of them. And take a "holiday" off of the drug. But some state benzo tolerance is permanent. I don't know if that is true or not, because I rarely use benzos.

I did take some Ativan tonight and I'm really liking it much better than the Xanax I had last time. Xanax worked faster, but was more intense. The Ativan started to work slowly and the effects are more soothing and seem to be longer lasting. Can tell a difference in them for sure. I can act straight on Ativan. On Xanax, it's a little harder.

Klonopin is my fav benzo, I love it, but it has a much longer half life, and it turns into an active metabolite which can make it last longer

Out of your options these days its really only xanax/Kpin/Ativan (Zdrugs if you really wanted to try that) or gaba drugs(gabapentin/lyrica).

In order three are benzos, zdrugs (I call them benzos argue if you must) and non benzo gaba (works almost like a benzo, but not)

Also, hyroxyzine, technically an antihistamine but ACTS more like a benzo than a traditional antihistamine(diphenhydamine/benydryl)

Logical options
1)Switch to another benzo, again chances are you will only get one of those three listed
2)Raise xanax dose
3)Keep xanax +hydroxyzine and or gabapentin
4)Combination of 2+3

If that doesn't work then replace xanax in step three with a new benzo.

Hope I helped a little

Bronson pretty much nailed it. At huge doses like you're on, you're going to have trouble finding ANY benzo that works for you due to cross tolerance.

My advice would be to hook up with a PMM (psychiatric medication manager) who can work closely with you to get you OFF benzos for good (will take years most likely) and come up with other viable options.

This is the problem with people "self" dosing...where they take "one more, and "two more" to reach the desired effect when tolerance kicks in. The very BEST thing to do in those cases is keep in close contact with your doc and find a reasonable solution, not change your regimen alone.

Very best of luck to you!

As already stated, even with the long-acting benzos it wont make any difference with your tolerance unless you plan on taking 20 or 30mg doses of klonopin. I have been there and I know how frustrating it is when you take 10 valiums and 4 xanax all at once and all you feel is just slightly tired minus any anxiety relief. It's also a bad vibe when you know how far off the edge you are, making you even more anxious.

In my experience, I've found that benzo tolerance isn't permanent but it does end up taking quite some time to regain it. Like at least 4 months and maybe 1 year to get truly back to baseline. I had a klonopin addiction at 8mg+ daily. Eventually got off it completely and 1 year later my tolerance was back down to baseline. What does happen is even though you get back to base, your tolerance will now rise much faster than before. As if your mind suddenly "remembers" how to handle it and your tolerance will be right back up there in half the time.

I agree with everybody else that you should taper down slowly and seek an alternative at this point. I've found the SSRI Lexapro to be quite advantageous over its predecessors and much more effective at anxiety reduction and positive-thought induction. Also very low on the side effects problems, For example, Prozack made me effectively impotent and inorgasmic but on Lex it just makes it so I last longer, which my lady and I don't mind.

Barbiturates have the same problem as benzo's; tolerance and addiction.

Good luck, it sounds like you have a long road ahead of you.

Wow you have a huge tolerance. Popping those benzos like skittles will only make things worse in the long run. I hope you find something that works, good luck!

Try Bromazepam (0,5mg alprazolam = 5-6mg Bromazepam) but they are very different

You are lucky to get xanax bars in the first place, you dont up the dosage by 8 mg in one day, but to be honest the next best thing is valium. You arent gunna have a script much longer if you keep doing that, much less be able to change from one to the other

Natural said:

Just tonight I took 14 of my 2mg bars and didn't feel a thingl

Click to expand...

Uhm, if your tolerance is that fucking high you are not gonna get a script that will do shit for you. You basically have two options-

1-Get a kilo of phenazepam and a tablespoon

2-Start a taper off of benzos

I strongly suggest the later.

I have found that oxazepam is not that bad of one for a replacement. Librium is also good for anxiety and is less habit forming. I had to switch to K-pins to xanax. Suppose it was because had been prescribed them 3x a day for 5 yrs.

Also agree with a possible switch to Diazepam. It does have a long half life. If they are too addictive. Possible switch to Librium(substitute for Diaz) Try and get 50mg caps. Think it's spelled chlorodiazepoxide.

I quit taking my k pins because having to take 3-5 .5 mg tabs at once then was able to take 1 or 2 xanax that done more for me. Had also taken Valerian root with my benzo in the evening. Helped me a bit.

At doses that high, I'd need a diaper and a babysitter.

:0(

You should really start a valium taper. Alprazolam is a pretty potent benzo, and switching to something else won't really help.....Maybe triazolam?

Alprazolam is a benzodiazepine (as you know) and you've developed a massive tolerance to it which means you've developed a very large tolerance to benzodiazepines. Switching to another is not going to help because they all have a cross tolerance. Clonazepam is also prescribed for panic attacks but the only way it could "potentially" be any more effective for you than Alprazolam is if you take the same equivalent massive doses.

You've become addicted to benzodiazepines and have an extremely large tolerance. Alprazolam no longer works for your panic attacks and I'd assume no other will either. If you do find one that works than you'll still be taking the same doses and the effects will eventually fade away just like it did the Alprazolam.

Taper off the Xanax before you've been on it too long. Believe me, you don't want to find yourself on them for 10 years trying to get off them all the time and failing, fucking up your memory and cognitive functioning abilities. Forgetting what your saying to someone all of a sudden and then messing up what your trying to say with words in the wrong place of a sentence. Your emotions blunted and a sedated look on your face that you don't realize.

Listen to K'd out....please. If you DON'T start doing something NOW, you really could potentially end up with long-term issues.

This is not going to be an easy ride. It will likely take you years to successfully taper off a dose that high. You will experience some w/d's, including rebound anxiety, which is the worst aspect of this whole thing for you. The med you turned to for help with anxiety you ended up abusing (for whatever reason, even if for relief)...so now you are in a precarious position.

You need to get with a professional who has experience in dealing with benzo tapers, and what kind of alternate treatments you may benefit from in place of the benzos. The taper has to be extremely slow and monitored, due to the very significant serizure risk.

Benzos at this point just will NOT be a viable option, like we have all tried to explain to you. Due to cross tolerance, you will need MASSIVE doses of any benzo you try....which no NORMAL doctor will prescribe.

Start looking NOW for that professional who will help you, and when you meet with him/her for the 1st time, for YOUR health and safey, you MUST be 100% honest about the extent of your usage.

Very best of luck to you.

I'd try the Valiums. Like you, I tried them a few times and they didn't seem to do anything (esp compared to other benzos!), but when I ran out of lorazepam for a few months (fight with doctor, long story), I got through month 1 on Valium. It builds up in your system if you take it regularly, so you're not truly feeling Valium until you've taken your doses over several days. I won't say it replaced the Lorazepam (still felt a little agitated), but I was able to sleep and function.

And after I got over my fight with doctor, who thought I'd be dead from sudden withdrawal seizures, I said Valium would be acceptable! He didn't Rx it; said it was to addicting 8) and gave me 4mg Ativan again. The Ativan would be perfect if it didn't keep "losing its flavor" (its efficacy); the Valium apparently doesn't lose its staying power [as easily as the rest].

Might as well try it if they'll Rx it; try it for a good week, and it gets better after that, too. It's always in your system, and getting bolstered by the next doses. It's like what they say ADs are supposed to be: help with anxiety after a few weeks. (Except ADs don't).

Hope you update soon and let us know what you did!

any tips? I just took 3mg of kpins for my first time. why am i not feeling anything?