Opioids Benzo's and opiates - Really that dangerous?

[Intrinsic man]

All I ever read or hear about this combination is that no matter what, they are extremely deadly and should never be combined. I took 30 mg of hydrocodone (my normal dose) about 3 hours ago and am currently on the after high. I can't sleep after doing opiates so my friend, who always takes benzos after opiates to sleep, recommended that I do the same. I have done this a few times before and everything has been golden, same with him. I took 2 mg of Etizolam about 10 minutes ago and plan on feeling good for a little and then passing out.

My question is, why is this combination so terrifying to people? I understand there is significant danger if you take a lot of opiates, a lot of benzos and at the same time. But in situations such as these, I don't see why people would typically say definitely not. If my heart rate and respiration were significantly depressed, which they won't be 3 hours after my normal dosage, then I can see it being a problem which could be solved by taking them at different times. I think the dangers are being over exaggerated which is why I have spent so many nights not being able to sleep after opiates!

Any thoughts?

 

[80mg]

I died for almost a minute on the combination...you...de...cide.

 

[Intrinsic man]

I died for almost a minute on the combination...you...de...cide.

I hate to make assumptions but I'm going to assume you consumed much too much of both.

 

[liftedgift]

It is because you are combining two CNS depressants together which can be fatal, a lot of the time people die from vomiting and being too fucked up to wake up then choking to death. Although, alcohol and xanax are two CNS depressants it didn't compare to when i was on dilaudid and xanax.

That is the only time I really blacked out completely but still was concious enough to drive my car. I remember being one place, then the next minute it was like waking from a dream realizing I had just smashed my car. Scary scary shit.

But it's all about the dosage and even then it can just randomly happen, not exactly sure how much of each i ate but previously I have drank, eaten dilaudid and bars and didn't have this black out incident, but it only takes that one time you do to really mess ya up.

 

[Intrinsic man]

It is because you are combining two CNS depressants together which can be fatal, a lot of the time people die from vomiting and being too fucked up to wake up then choking to death. Although, alcohol and xanax are two CNS depressants it didn't compare to when i was on dilaudid and xanax.

That is the only time I really blacked out completely but still was concious enough to drive my car. I remember being one place, then the next minute it was like waking from a dream realizing I had just smashed my car. Scary scary shit.

But it's all about the dosage and even then it can just randomly happen, not exactly sure how much of each i ate but previously I have drank, eaten dilaudid and bars and didn't have this black out incident, but it only takes that one time you do to really mess ya up.

I completely agree but if the CNS depression can be minimized to acceptable levels, I don't see why there should be a problem. It's like that for any drug, even when you are not mixing them. You have to dose your opiates accordingly so that you don't end up going into respiratory failure. If you take too much, bad things can happen.

Of course you have to take extra care when mixing two CNS depressants, but what I'm saying is that I think it can be done rather easily. Maybe I am wrong in my assessment which is really the reason why I started this thread.

Right now, after mixing benzos and opiates (in a way that I felt safe which is what I mean by "dosing accordingly"), I am feeling quite fine. No severe respiratory depression that I can tell and I'm certainly not going to be blacking out.

 

[liftedgift]

Yeah I have definitely done my fair share of combining CNS depressants together. And you are right, if you know your limits it can go fine. But for me, sometimes benzos can turn on the "fuck it do it" switch in my brain and your limit is no where to be found.

I am not familiar with the benzo you took, but 30 mg of hydrocodone is not a lot to me so it should be all good.

 

[Intrinsic man]

Yeah I have defiantly done my fair share of combining CNS depressants together. And you are right, if you know your limits it can go fine. But for me, sometimes benzos can turn on the "fuck it do it" switch in my brain and your limit is no where to be found.

I am not familiar with the benzo you took, but 30 mg of hydrocodone is not a lot to me so it should be all good.

I get the same "fuck it" thing with benzos as well, but that only happens to me after using stimulants. After opiates it just relaxes me more, allowing me to sleep while also feeling content and euphoric. I don't really have any urges to redose after opiates.

Etizolam is newer so I am not surprised you are not familiar with it. It basically has a very short half life, like xanax, but is known to cause less black outs and amnesia. It's also much more euphoric and not as strong per mg. On top of all those, it's also one of the only benzo's that is a "hypnotic" meaning it has strong sedative effects that will help you sleep.

 

[80mg]

Yes..I did too much...slightly too much. I was able to handle 8mgs of xanax and 40mg of opana np and then I did 13mg of xanax and a 40mg...and yeah..woke up in hospital with a doctor looking at me amazed I was alive.

Mixing two CND is dangerous. I've done too without oding but it increases your chances alot...it's like drunk driving...sure most of the time you won't have a problem...but it's dangerous.

 

[brutus]

I have overdosed and actually died due to benzos and opiates. I had taken the combination a hundred times before and I took a smaller dose than normal of both drugs but that didn't prevent me from overdosing.

Benzos and opiates are dangerous when combined.

 

[Swain]

You would be surprised what can happen if the right conditions are present. YOu are right, if you are very tolerant to opiates and benzos, and dose accordingly, you are not guaranteed death. Plenty of us combine the two..

That being said the risk should not be marginalized. Overdosing on benzos alone we all know is not that easy. The same goes for opiates (assuming you don't IV a MASSIVE dose). Honestly in my opinion there is little risk of OD until you start combining. You might feel totally in control but there might come a day where you calculate wrong or mis judge, and being on two cns depressants you are not going to be able to say "hey I think I am oding.. I should do something about this, etc.." You will just slip away into the night. YOu better hope someone finds you.

But like you said, you nkow your own body, just be smart about it and remember if combining the two, you definitely should be doing less than your normal sized dose for each of the drugs as they complement one another.

People really get into trouble when they throw a night of heavy drinking in there..another cns depressant, and also something that is notorious for causing bad descirions to be made lol

 

[sockpuppet]

edjt

 

[80mg]

Yes. I'm truly blessed to not have brain damage and to be able to sit here and talk with you fine people today. I just had an IQ test several months ago and it was well above average. So yeah. But this combo is so dangerous. Everyone here who says it isn't is either kidding themselves, kidding you, or just plain doesn't know.

 

[adder]

Any depressant + depressant combination can be dangerous. Whatever benzodiazepine you'd take would definitely deepen opioid induced depression of breathing centre. However, I've taken various benzodiazepines along with strong opioids for a long time. Nonetheless, I had a very high tolerance for both classes of drugs so listening to your friend's piece of advice might not be so good if he's at least in half as terrible situation as I used to be. Well, even now I don't leave home without washing 4mg of clonazepam down with methadone syrup (of course it looks different in reality but I take them at the same time and it's all caused by my long abuse of clonazepam and methadone is actually nothing compared to things it's holding me off right now).

 

[Kenaz]

All I ever read or hear about this combination is that no matter what, they are extremely deadly and should never be combined. I took 30 mg of hydrocodone (my normal dose) about 3 hours ago and am currently on the after high. I can't sleep after doing opiates so my friend, who always takes benzos after opiates to sleep, recommended that I do the same. I have done this a few times before and everything has been golden, same with him. I took 2 mg of Etizolam about 10 minutes ago and plan on feeling good for a little and then passing out.

My question is, why is this combination so terrifying to people? I understand there is significant danger if you take a lot of opiates, a lot of benzos and at the same time. But in situations such as these, I don't see why people would typically say definitely not. If my heart rate and respiration were significantly depressed, which they won't be 3 hours after my normal dosage, then I can see it being a problem which could be solved by taking them at different times. I think the dangers are being over exaggerated which is why I have spent so many nights not being able to sleep after opiates!

Any thoughts?

Here are a couple of reasons why most BLers advise you to avoid combining the two.

1) If you're IVing heroin, you are never sure of exactly how much H you have in a shot. If you happen to get a batch of fire, your usual dose might send you to the ER. Throwing benzos and/or alcohol into that equation just add an extra layer of uncertainty.

2) You may not have noticed, but BL posters tend to cluster on either end of the bell curve: we've got a lot of very bright people posting here and a large number of absolute idiots. If we say "30mg of hydrocodone and 1mg of etizolam should be safe," someone is likely to assume that means that 60mg of hydrocodone and 2mg of etizolam will be fine, and hey, a couple of beers won't hurt either.

3) Unless you're talking about fentanyl, straight-up opiate overdoses are pretty uncommon. Most "heroin overdoses" are actually polydrug ODs involving benzos, booze or some combo thereof. If you're going to do harm reduction, one of the best ways to minimize the risk of opiate use is to avoid mixing CNS depressants. No one should in good conscience tell you that sharing needles isn't all that bad so long as nobody involved has Hep C, AIDS or some other blood-communicable disease - which is true, but which neglects to mention that there's very little way of knowing whether your shooting partner has one or more of these diseases. And no one should tell you in good conscience that mixing benzos and opiates is a good idea so long as you're cautious. It's a risky and potentially fatal move at best.

 

[80mg]

^ VERY GOOD!

I just wanna add..it cracks me up..that when I siad I overdosed you guys said that it was safe and I just took too much...then a mod said he OD'd on the combo and you all change your tune...haha.

 

[Znegative]

That was a very good post. Most likely, it will not kill you. The reason however that it is discouraged so much on bluelight, is that the combination is very unpredictable. What may be fine for one person can kill another. There is also always the risk with benzo's that you may black out and during that time consume more of them than you originally intended, which increases the chance of overdose astronomically. I myself have overdosed two times from the combination, on dosages of opiates and benzo's that I had taken before, which is why I say it's unpredictable..you might be fine one day, but hooked up to a respirator the next.

 

[kokaino]

The combination can be very dangerous depending on the dosages of the benzo and opioid used. Someone with a lot of experience (knows what he/she is doing) and a high tolerance can use the combination without much issue, besides maybe blacking out. It's certainly dangerous for the naive or less experienced individuals. The particular drugs should also be taken into account here. Not all benzos are equal and not all opioids are equal. For example, temazepam tends to produce more profound sedation and respiratory depression compared to all other benzos and morphine tends to be very hard on breathing (so again, respiratory depression).

Many people have died using benzos and opioids in combination. This is especially true of heroin users who used temazepam along with their dope in Europe and Australia back in the 80's and 90's. People were dropping like flies. In the early 90's it was so bad that deaths attributed to temazepam alone or in combo with either heroin or alcohol was above that of cocaine related deaths. Yes, a benzo had a higher death rate attributed to it than cocaine did in the early 90's in Britain, believe it or not.

So if you want to combine a benzo with an opioid, you should at least have some experience with both drug groups and be familiar with the side effects. I mean it is no big deal to mix 0.5 or 1 mg alprazolam or clonazepam with 20-30 mg of hydrocodone or oxycodone, I'm sure death will not be the end result. But higher benzo doses and stronger IV opioids like morphine/heroin, hydromorphone, etc should be taken a little more seriously and with more caution.

The danger comes not only from a potential overdose (which is not common), but also from blacking out and doing stupid shit that you otherwise wouldn't do. For example, driving the car, cooking, or going out and shoplifting, etc. Something that can be dangerous or can get you in trouble can be the result of such a combo.

 

[PeacePipeChief]

Im quite opiate naive , but without a clue I did a few mg's of Xanax (maybe 3-5?) with little to no tolerance to them , and because of that I ended out doing my first proper dose of an opiate and did bupe (no idea how much) , I only remember a tiny memory of shooting it , then feeling good for a few minutes I think then blacked out , all I remember besides that is taking 1mg of Xanax then I remember taking another half an hour later and the half an our Inbetween doses haha .

Glad I didn't die ay ... But now I'm really keen to get my hands on some diazepam because I now use codeine regularly .

 

[GourmetPez]

Before I did opiates for pain management I did methadone and Xanax recreationally. It was a lot of fun at first, but since I didn't do a lot of research on the methadone I didn't know about it's super long half-life. After a few days of doing this every night I noticed I was getting more and more fucked up. I started blacking out almost the instant the Xanax hit me. I was driving a friend home, and ended up nodding out several times without my recollection. After that I deemed doing the combo really unsafe. I did it once or twice on opana, an made sure I only stayed in my house, but I blacked out every time and would nod out constantly. I have several pairs of pants and shirts with tons of cigarette burns on them. Since then I haven't done them together because I know I've never been hurt, but I've been very close to endangering myself and others, and I don't want to risk doing any damage to anyone. As some have said, it's unpredictable what can happen. Just make sure you do your very best to be safe

 

[bighooter]

I usually find the heroin in the UK is usually so weak I wont bother getting heroin unless I got some benzos and or alcohol.

Done opiates + benzos hundreds of times and only OD'd once..,. but that was due to drinking a fair bit of alcohol aswell as slamming 2 bags of gear