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Benzos How much xanax to sleep tonight but feel good tomorrow?

LifeLover42

Greenlighter
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
2
It's been a long week and a while since I've gotten a good nights sleep and I've got to keep waking up at 6 am for at least another week. I'd like to take some xanax tomorrow, smoke a little weed and chill out, and hopefully get 10-12 hours of sleep. But I want to make sure I'm able to get up and function at work the next day. I have pretty much an unlimited supply. How much do you know I should take? I have a pretty fast metabolism and I'm a 140 lb female.
 
Probably around 0.25 mg and 0.5 mg should make you feel sleepy. 1 mg will defintiely get you to sleep quickly, but youll feel groggy tomorrow.
 
Well, what are you prescribed? Are you prescribed it specifically for insomnia or is it for anxiety?

Having an unlimited supply to xanax is a DANGEROUS thing. I am in the same boat and I just got off almost a decade of benzodiazepine addiction due to having unlimited access. The first thought that comes to mind is "Benzodiazepines destroyed my life". But the honest truth is, I did. No one forced them down my throat. I don't want you to end up like me, been off daily dosing for almost a year now and I'm still dealing with post acute withdrawal symptoms.

Do not get in the habit of taking benzodiazepines for sleep, or anxiety unless you absolutely cannot function/live without them. Benzodiazepines are handed out like candy, and I have never had a doctor tell me "Be careful with these, you'll end up taking them for ten years". I'd go in there and complain it's not helping me with my anxiety, and ask for help, and their answer: add another 2mg, I'm prescribed 12mg xanax a day, and PRN which means pro re nata, aka, as needed, so if I wanted to I could take 20mg/day. INSANE that a doctor would prescribe me this.

If you cannot be swayed from abusing benzodiazepines (I consider any non-debilitating anxiety/insomnia to be consider abuse/self medication) start with 125 micrograms. Yes, I said micrograms, not milligrams. Half of 0.25mg = 0.125mg, a dose at which alprazolam is active in non-tolerant users.

My opinion regarding regular use of benzodiazepines: Unless you cannot function without them, like I'm talking you're locked up in the psych ward due to DEBILITATING anxiety, you should NOT be on a benzo. Obviously many people do not think this way, but I fucked up big time with benzodiazepines, ruining my tolerance permanently.

IMO it's fine to take benzos occasionally if you do not have a debilitating psychiatric condition, like if you're super nervous for a presentation at university, or have to fly on an airplane for work, etc. But it is so sad to see people dependent on benzos that could have benefited so much more from learning to COPE with their problems instead of masking them and numbing them out. That's what benzodiazepines do, they make you not care, they make you numb. They should NOT be used recreationally.

They are a tool, not a toy.
 
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^Good post. I recently just narrowly got out of the grips of what could have turned into a pretty bad benzo habit. Luckily I was able to taper back down to my prescribed dose of clonazepam, but it's still been painful. However, I never want to be at that point where I'm eating 4 bars in the morning to wake up..

Anyway, without tolerance, I'd say .25mg should chill you out, and help you sleep. Xanax is really potent, and it never ceases to amaze me how strong the stuff can be without tolerance when I've taken breaks. I think going above .5mg might be asking for trouble though if you want to wake up early, so I'd try to keep it under a mg.
 
0.125mg of alprazolam in a non tolerant user will definitely have a pronounced effect. I've been taking xanax for years and I still get a mild effect from that dose. Triazolam, another triazolobenzodiazepine like alprazolam, is prescribed in such doses.

I'd say 0.125- 0.25mg will be all you need to relax and fall asleep, and shouldn't leave you groggy the following morning. Just to clarify, a 1/16mg dose is half of a 0.25mg dose. I've had people ask me in the past, so...;)
 
^Good post. I recently just narrowly got out of the grips of what could have turned into a pretty bad benzo habit. Luckily I was able to taper back down to my prescribed dose of clonazepam, but it's still been painful. However, I never want to be at that point where I'm eating 4 bars in the morning to wake up..

Anyway, without tolerance, I'd say .25mg should chill you out, and help you sleep. Xanax is really potent, and it never ceases to amaze me how strong the stuff can be without tolerance when I've taken breaks. I think going above .5mg might be asking for trouble though if you want to wake up early, so I'd try to keep it under a mg.

QFT, it's crazy how the pills you once used to KO, eventually become a requirement to wake up!

And yeah, I recommended 0.125mg just to start with since this person has an unlimited supply of alprazolam, so best start as low possible if this becomes a regular thing. Having an unlimited supply is highly dangerous.

@OP an important question, have you ever had alprazolam before? Or any benzos (valium, ativan, klonopin, etc.)? If you're smoking weed with it, it's synergy is pronounced, so take a lower dose of alprazolam (0.125mg) to start with.
 
im not much of a benzo guy, all though im pretty sure im gonna get a script soon, so my sleepy dose is around .25-.5, and ill feel great in the morning. although you said your smoking weed on top of it, which usually leads to impaired memory and cognitive abilities throughout the next few days IME. Bad combo if you wanna function the next day, man.
 
Thanks, guys. I don't have a script or anxiety or insomnia. I just don't get enough sleep because I can't fall asleep early enough to get a full night, and I've been working several days in a row. So when someone handed me a bunch it seemed like an alright idea (for a one time thing).

Thanks for all of your feedback and the warnings, I appreciate both.
 
yeah i cant imagine taking benzos for sleep..thats such a bad move man..you would be better off taking small doses of phenibut, this would get you to sleep and relax you..it is also addictive though..

you hardcore benzo users needed 2 bars of xanax to wake up??meaning it had a stimulant effect at that point or you were in withdrawals so u needed it??
 
That's a great suggestion with the phenibut, but as you said it is habit forming, but for occasional trouble sleeping I think that's a great idea.

Usually I'd need 8mg (4 x 2mg bars) under the tongue before I could get out of bed, meaning both the desire to fight off impending withdrawal (although I would use an intermediate acting benzo during the night so I wouldn't wake up in WD, namely temazepam) and because at that point for me, it WAS somewhat stimulating, I noticed this paradoxical effect about two years into benzodiazepine therapy, although paradoxical effects are common with benzodiazepines.
 
^^^WOW, 8 mgs at breakfast, unbelievable..now at that point were u getting much true anti-anxiety relief from the xanax?or was it mostly to avoid withdrawals??i wonder if your natural gaba levels will ever return to normal??i assume your anxiety levels now are still quite high even a year off xanax?
 
At that point, my anxiety was 10,000 times worse than it was when I had started, due to my GABA being so fucked up.

It was all fine as long as I took the xanax, but if I didn't there were DIRE consequences.

To this day I have bad rebound anxiety and insomnia but honestly, in the time I've had off constant benzodiazepine therapy, I have learned more about how to cope with it than in 9 years on benzodiazepine therapy.
 
At that point, my anxiety was 10,000 times worse than it was when I had started, due to my GABA being so fucked up.

It was all fine as long as I took the xanax, but if I didn't there were DIRE consequences.

To this day I have bad rebound anxiety and insomnia but honestly, in the time I've had off constant benzodiazepine therapy, I have learned more about how to cope with it than in 9 years on benzodiazepine therapy.

Long term benzodiazepine therapy is a great way to use short acting drugs to avoid learning any real coping skills. If you want an amount to help you sleep, it depends how long you will be sleeping for. If you have 10-12 hours, you'll be fine with a bar (2mg). If you have less than that, I would recommend no more than .5mg.
 
My opinion regarding regular use of benzodiazepines: Unless you cannot function without them, like I'm talking you're locked up in the psych ward due to DEBILITATING anxiety, you should NOT be on a benzo. Obviously many people do not think this way, but I fucked up big time with benzodiazepines, ruining my tolerance permanently.

In my opinion long-term benzo use is perfectly fine. A lot of research supports this -- but only in the standard therapeutic doses -- not these absurd ones like 10+ mg a day. Both you and your doctor are a fool for getting that high, I'm sorry to say.


I can sporadically take 0.5-2mg of Xanax/Kpins a day ~5 days a week, and then ~2 days the next, and feel fine. Some people don't get ruined by the withdrawals. It is worth noting that I do take 5mg of escitalopram for GAD -- how about that for a confound.
 
even when i take a 3 week break now i have to take at least 3 bars to feel anything
 
yea it totally depends on your tolerance, and if your prescribed on what to take. For me I am prescribed 10mg a day for the past 14 years. I love them. They have helped me get through really rough situations, job interviews. (rough situations, like having 3 family members murdered in the same day) so im gonna stay on them forever. I already told my doctor. I never take them before bed though. That is probably because I take them all day so by the end of the work day I am so tired anyways I dont need to take any. I also get adderall 60mg and subutex 24mg. So i guess my storys a little different. I also went cold turkey from 10 mg a day, had no seizures, but felt like hell for 6 months. So if you want to take these remember there are consequenses. I can still go days without taking em too. I dont know why everybody says its the devils drug but its helped me so much in life. Got me a computer job, a house, a wife, a comfortable life. Do what works for you. It took me a few years to figure out what dose of meds worked for me. Please dont rip on me for anything i said cuz im just being honest and I know how people are on here. Ive been on here since 2000.
 
I started out recently at 0.5mg. Knocked me out pretty well with slight morning grogginess that wears off to the time work starts.

After a few weeks, I had to bump that up to a 1 mg. Be careful and don't form a habit.
 
yea im prescribed to xanax 2mg x5 times daily....3 30mg instant release adderall and 2, 8 mg subutex a day and i know exactly when i need to take my xanax. If I leave somewhere I will always bring like 4 with me just incase I know its time to take one....my body saying that and if i hav enothing i have an anxiety attack
 
temazepam ?
I have to agree here, if you're trying to use a benzo to help you sleep, Temazepam is a far better choice than xanax.

However, if all you have is xanax, I cannot recommend you a dose because everyone takes it differently. I can function on 6mg, while some people get floored by one milligram. I would take the advice others have offered in this thread and start at .25 mg, or even .125 mg. I personally recommend that unless you have a very serious and legit reason to have an unlimited supply (unless it's from the street), be very very careful because you're playing with fire. Benzo tolerance takes a very long time to go down, and once you want to get off you'll need to taper for months until you can get off of them safely. Quitting cold turkey can cause seizures and in extreme cases death. Alcohol and benzos have the only withdrawals that will kill you. Be mindful, those little pills have big consequences.
 
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