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Benzos cross-prescribed to Klonapin and Xanax XR ?

i'm going to disagree with most of the other posters and tell you to rely on the advice of your doctor.

yes, you are taking very high doses of benzos every day, and if you stop immediately, you are at much greater risk of seizures or even death. however, because your doctor knows what you take daily and for how long you have been taking it, he's not just going to cut you off and laugh while you shake on the ground.

i've met people with severe anxiety issues (e.g. bad agorophobia, where they wouldn't leave the house at all for months) that were legitimately prescribed like 12 mgs of xanax a day long-term. i wouldn't advise someone who gets mild panic attacks sometimes to take that amount every day or anything, but apparently it allowed this person to lead a much more normal life (in tandem w/ counseling, etc) where other treatments had failed. then again, i wouldn't advise anyone to take anything because i'm not a doctor. so there you go, take what you read here with a grain of salt and take your doctor's advice over ours. if you really question his ability, ask another doctor.

I wasnt telling him to not have faith in his doctor....i was, like you, teling him to not have blind faith in his doctor.....meaning, if his doctor tells him to do someting, or take this medication at these doses...than its a good idea to researh it on you own as well in oreder to understand it even more making sure he knows what hes doing.....not all doctors know what they are doing, bu not all doctors are idiots. And its also true you must be completely honest with your doc as to what benzos you are taking so he can properly help you.

But I think we can all agree that this person(the OP) has gotten himself into a potentially very dangerous situation and believe it or not people...it is possible for him to be cut off from his daily benzo dosage at any time...there are a hundred scenarios I could think of explaining this, and allthough they are unlikely, they are still possible, and your life is worht more than to risk it on soething lie that. You never know, for example, your doc could find out that youve been taking extra benzos on the side and he would interpret that as you abusing your medication and consequently cut you off from all of your rescriptions immediately....and this obviously puts you in a deadly circumstance for obvoious reasons.
 
oh yeah, j.b., i don't disagree with what you're saying at all. i think it's always wise to inform yourself about what you're taking and it never hurts to question a certain treatment program if you believe it might not be the safest/best course of action. additionally, i totally agree that taking additional medication in addition to what's prescribed can severely hamper the treatment's effectiveness, limit the dr's ability to properly diagnose and treat symptoms, and be potentially dangerous or life-threatening. and sure, the doctor could stop prescribing or the OP could be stranded on a desert island for that matter, but no decent physician would allow someone to go cold turkey off high doses of benzos taken for more than a couple weeks. hell, go to the er, and they'll prescribe. anyway, my point was only that this guy's physician, with the advantages of medical training and face to face interaction, is in a much better position to diagnose and treat him than some dudes on the internet who don't know him but know a cursory amount about certain drugs, like most of us here.
 
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stray cat, while you make some excellent points, the problem here is the OP has NOT been honest with his/her doctor about what he/she is taking and exactly how much. That needs to happen before anything else can!

For some people, long term benzo treatment can be the right choice, but there are so many issues with benzo treatment that can actually worsen anxiety in the long run, which of course, would not be desired.
 
for sure. i made the mistake a few years ago of selectively ignoring the "as needed" on my ativan prescription, and now i pretty much get panic attacks if i don't take 3mg a day. definitely not an optimal long term daily treatment option in my case or for a lot of people who have things like "generalized anxiety disorder" but don't have the patience to let low-dose ssris or whatever other solutions take effect.

also, OP, you should be honest with your doctor about what you're taking. if it's only been a couple weeks u've been taking that amount, u can probably safely scale back over a period of time yourself. otherwise, i'd say tell for sure.
 
I may not know ALL the details and what not of the OP's medical history and current medical treatment.....but I do know how much medicine he is taking for what medical disorder and I know for a fact that that is a DANGEROUS amount of benzo's to be taking for anyone....much less someone with just severe anxiety. Those doses are clearly for people with serious seizure disorders only...not for people who have anxiety...its stated in ALL of the respectable medical journals on the web.....very clearly.....anxiety disorders- 0.25- 0.5 mg's on average (allthough it could increase a little more than that obviously because of individual circumstances and because of tolerance developed overtime) and people suffering from severe seizures- 2 mg's - 4 mg's a day on average....which is till less than what you are taking fo anxiety. And like I said....I have a VERY SERIOUS anxiety disorder where I feel like im having a heart attack several times a day...its horrible....and all i get is 0.5 mgs 3x a day of klonopin......allthough I need a little bit more than that to completely take care of my symptoms...the point is still there that your taking way too many benzos for your disorder....its extremely dangerous.
 
you guys were definitely right.... he was not actually aware I was on both at the same time. It was a mix-up from him being on vacation and his fill-in prescribing me the XR since I was having a period of freak-out and my gf was visiting and i didnt want to ruin the time.


Now I have cut it back to just 3mg of Klonapin a day. I definitely feel more anxious but definitely worth not risking a deadly withdrawal later on


thanks again guys. i even forwarded this to my psych
 
OP,
Can you please tell me the difference of how the XR Xanax "is safer" than the IR Xanax??
6mg a day of IR Xanax, taken a couple times a day is no different than a dose or 2 of XR Xanax. At the end of the day, your body has consumed 6mg of Xanax. I understand what you mean by the IR being absorbed by the body much quicker, but that's why you have to redose several intervals during the day. The XR you take in the morning and at night. I don't see a big difference, as I have been on both.
 
My psychiatrist does not want me on kpins and xanax at the same time. I take kpins for restless leg syndrome and he took me off those and put me on something else that REALLY upsets my stomach. I see him Saturday. (I don't know why he is open on Saturdays.) I have been on both kpins and xanax for years now from my general physician. Kpins for the legs, xanax for panic. My psychiatrist does not seem to think very highly of my GP. I don't think very highly of my psychiatrist, but I'm on disability from a nervous breakdown and have to go to this doctor. :-\
 
OP,
Can you please tell me the difference of how the XR Xanax "is safer" than the IR Xanax??
6mg a day of IR Xanax, taken a couple times a day is no different than a dose or 2 of XR Xanax. At the end of the day, your body has consumed 6mg of Xanax. I understand what you mean by the IR being absorbed by the body much quicker, but that's why you have to redose several intervals during the day. The XR you take in the morning and at night. I don't see a big difference, as I have been on both.

It is much safer because of how the drug is manufactured.....yes a 2mg XR contains the same amount of xanax as a 2mg bar, but it's like anything else..... you can rip 10 shots of vodka within an hour, or take those 10 shots and pour them into a big mixed drink that you slowly sip on all throughout the day.... what sounds safer to you? same amount of alcohol.


I hate all this prescription shit im really losing my mind.... I have so much going for me and so many fucking opportunities and privilege that 99% of other kids don't have, not to sound like a douchebag, but it's all messed up by this horrible anxiety/(alleged) bipolar, whatevr disorder. makes me feel liek im going crazy.


I am now authorized by my doctor to take up to 6mg of Klonapin a day (although I always try and take as little as possible), and 1200mg Lithium. Eat good food, work out, take vitamins.

Stopping the Xanax XR has been pretty rough in the last couple days.... since I've stopped taking it, anxiety has surged up again, and mood has been not as stable, just feeling shittier etc - so instead I take the increased dosage of Kpin, which I don't like doing because it makes me feel like I am constantly popping pills.

I wonder if it might be best in the long run to cut the klonapin out, and just take the Xanax XR, but there must be a reason he thinks Kpins are better for me at this period in my life. Will talk and find out why scientifically.

This is NOT the kind of doctor who hands out pills. In fact, for a very long time he refused to give me anything except the lithium and other off-label pharms like gabapentin to try.


Can anyone relate to what I'm going through? He is convinced it's because I am a type of bipolar, which supposedly starts to kick into gear around this age (21). Just so shitty cause it's thrown off college, entrepreneur activities, social life etc

ON the bright side of things, I had my first and fucking epic 3-some in the guest suites overlooking the river and city skyline, with my girlfriend and her friend (who's even hotter than her, and neither are usually slutty) (big thanks to Tequilla & blow), they start making out getting naked im like oh whaa then giving me double-dome, gf tells me she wants to watch me bang her friend etc... straight outta a movie, I woke up and wasnt sure if that really just happened

also same morning, i got an email on my blackberry saying that studio "X" in LA bought the rights to option one of my fathers __________ into a new hbo mini series or studio feature....illlin!!

sry to get off topic but that was more therapeutic than any prescription drug :)



Need positive vibes not so much fucking klonapin and all these drugs, I feel like they have opened pandoras box in a way....
 
Dude.....why did you just stop taking the xanax xr?....didnt we have a long conversation on how that could seriously put you at risk of seizures??? Im glad your lowering your dosages but PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD...do it correctly!!!...do it SLOOOOOWLY!!!!I honestly suprised you didnt have a seizure...your a lucky man.

Anyway, if I read your post correctly...it says your ONLY taking 3 mg's of klonopin a day????

if thats true...ITS FANTASTIC!...im so glad for you.....yor on your way to living a much safer, healthier lifestyle. And thats the best direction you can be headed in.

Let me know if you have any questions about anything....im here to help....and as soon as you hit 50 posts..you can PM me if you like anytime.

*BTW...high five for that fucking awesome gf on girl experience you had.....thats def one of my fav fantasies.....sry ladies...man talk. IGod I hope you werent lying....that shit sounded awesome....allthough, it makes me sad my gf left me because of MY drug addiction and now I have to have sexual encounters with random girls....I dont like it that way for some reason.
Anyway..who cares what I have to say abot that..

good luck man,
jamesBrown
 
OP,

Congrats on your first threesome, and many more to come!

Yes, I totally understood your analogy about the shots being like the Xanax, I guess I didn't explain what I meant by asking you that question.

Say you were taking 6mg of Xanax IR per day. Now, you cant just take all 6mg at once (well you could but around 7 hours later you'd really be feeling like shit and would have already taken your daily prescribed dose. So, basically, you would have to take 1mg every 3 hours to keep at your 6mg limit, or you could do 2mg intervals. But the thing is, at such a high dose, if you miss taking your pill you're going to feel shitty. Even before it's time to take a dose of IR you may be feeling crappy. You will be having like peaks and valleys all day with your anxiety.

On the other hand, you have the Xanax XR, and you take 6mg in the morning (but studies have shown that it is really only effectice for 12 hours, so you really should take 3mg twice daily). This keeps a constant level of Xanax in your bloodstream over the course of the day helping to combat any anxiety. You will not have those peaks and valleys, and that's important if you are on a high dose.

Sorry for the rambling, I'm just trying to let ya know about the two. I have read that you are lowering your benzos per day, and that's great to hear!! Wish ya luck!!
 
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