Benzos Drugs are not working for me anymore.

[LynnD]

I am finding that, here lately, no drug, not even Benadryl, is working for me at all - and I don't even abuse the drugs.

I take Clonazepam once to twice a week (up until this week, it has been once a week) and it would only be if my anxiety is really high.

Last week, I took the entire prescription I recently filled - 7 mg - and it didn't even work, it didn't even make me drowsy!

I have also been taking Benadryl because I am allergic to pollen, dust, perfume, cologne, you name it, I'm allergic to it. The Benadryl worked for about one day and then after that day, it stopped working too.

I didn't abuse the Benadryl but between Sunday and Monday I drank an entire bottle of Benadryl and nothing happened! I didn't even get relief from my symptoms!

I am lucky that there is no risk of me having a Grand-Mal Seizure since I am already on anti-seizure medication. Yesterday I refilled my Clonazepam prescription and took 3 mg, I felt nothing. I spoke to my neurologist (the doctor that prescribed the anti-seizure medication) today and told him my problem with the Clonazepam; I even took 3 mg today and told him this; he said that he could see that I wasn't relaxed at all - not even a little. He then decided to increase the dose of one of the anti-seizure medications that I am taking (the anti-seizure medications I am on are pills I take daily and they have no cross-tolerance with benzodiazepines), even though we both know there is no risk of me having a Grand-Mal Seizure from stopping the Clonazepam Cold Turkey due to the anti-seizure medications; I have Simple-Partial Seizures, these seizures involve me having an overwhelming sense of fear I cannot control that is usually preceded by a quote I am unable to identify - the Simple-Partial Seizures usually happen four days after I stop taking Clonazepam (even at a low dose) but I have now discovered that the seizures are happening even right after I take the Clonazepam. My neurologist thinks I have built a tolerance (and so do I) so he and I both agreed that it is best if I stay away from the Clonazepam for a while (especially since it doesn't seem to make a difference if I take the Clonazepam or not - the seizures are happening either way; he wants me to keep taking my "regular" anti-seizure medication though) since I have an appointment I want to use it for in August (I plan to take 2.5 mg or 3 mg then - my normal dose would be 3.5 mg, this is because I have a natural tolerance to drugs - my family doctor and neurologist know this; it was actually my neurologist who told me this - he told me this when we tried 1 mg of Clonazepam then 2 mg of Clonazepam as well as other benzodiazepines over the years - it seems the "normal" doses that work for others don't work for me; this was discovered before I started taking Clonazepam "regularly").

Has anyone ever had this issue where it seemed all drugs they were taking stopped working for them, no matter how high the dose they took (even if they weren't a previous abuser)?

I plan on trying the Clonazepam again in a month from now (May 25, 2018 ) to see if it works; hopefully my tolerance will be reduced back to what it normally is by then - hopefully I can take at least 2.5 mg or 3 mg and feel relief. I would try another benzodiazepine but I have found that Xanax and Valium have made me sick and Ativan does work but my physician won't prescribe it anymore - he would rather keep me on Clonazepam because I have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (this is due to being bullied for 19 years; I am 28 years old and am still bullied sometimes today even though the people who are bullying e are either the same age as me or older than me - the people that are older than me that bully me are people that used to live on a street I lived on in a former city; I left that city and moved to one close by but one of the bullies that lived on that street works in the local mall and will make rude comments every time she sees me, what's worse is she is the manager of a store and I contacted the corporation but was told that nothing could be done since she said she wasn't doing anything wrong - they would rather believe the manager instead of a customer). I also can't be put on anti-depressants or anti-psychotics because of my epilepsy, so my options are limited.

I doubt I will take anything until May 25, 2018, hopefully my tolerance will have lowered enough for my normal dose to work; if it does, I will take that dose for my appointment in August. I also don't drink alcohol or do other drugs nor do I smoke so there is no chance of cross-tolerance at all for me.

Sorry for the long post, it's just that I find it weird that my body won't allow any drugs to work right now, even though I haven't gained any weight or had any other changes in my life. I am still wondering if anyone else has had an issue like this before - one where they all of a sudden find that no drug is working for them, not even something over the counter that is not related or cross-tolerant to a drug that they normally take.

 

[d1nach]

Your lucky you didnt throw yourself into a delerium chugging a bottle of benadyrl im guessing is like 250-300 mg of diphenhydramine due to anticholinergic syndrome or experience panic from a rapid heart rate.

I am not a doctor but id be very careful with the assumption " I am lucky that there is no risk of me having a Grand-Mal Seizure since I am already on anti-seizure medication."

Have you tried cbt?

 

[LynnD]

I didn't drink the entire bottle at once; I consumed half of it over three hours one day, the same amount over three hours the next day, so that is probably why I didn't have any negative side effects - the negative side effects you are talking about will only happen if I consume a large dose all at once, I know this from suicide attempts with various drugs (In 2002 and 2003 I tried overdosing on Wellbutrin, when Tylenol PM exitsed I tried overdosing on that - this happened various times from 2003 until 2005; and in 2006 I tried overdosing on Dimetapp Cough Syrup - I did this three times. Nobody knew about any of those attempts, I claimed they were stomach bugs each time because of the nausea and vomiting but would still have heart palpitations along with that - I haven't made a suicide attempt like that in a long time).

I have not made the assumption that there isn't a risk of not having a Grand-Mal Seizure, either. I stated that my neurologist and I have agreed that it is best for me to stay away from the Clonazepam for a while; I am already on anti-seizure medication that prevents Grand-Mal Seizures. I still have Simple-Partial Seizures but they won't kill me. My neurologist has been working in this profession for over 30 years and teaches neurology plus knows everything about seizures (as he is always prescribing anti-seizure medication and referring patients for EEGs or other tests pertaining to seizures) so this is not an actual assumption - it is a fact based on what I was told by a professional.

I have tried Cognitive Behavioural Therapy; I had a shitty psychologist in the past and gave up because of him (he is no longer working in the province I live in - he left a little while after I stopped seeing him (I put in a complaint about him as well since he was very rude and made nasty comments that no psychologist should ever make). I am now on the waitlist to see someone else to try it again.

 

[Lobsterbutch]

CBT is going to be the best bet with working through all of the things you mentioned but you already know that LynnD, the thing I noticed that sucks about the mental health field is that you get doctors that know it all, or rather, believe they know you better than you do, and that the reason you aren't improving is because you aren't doing what they told you, and if you tell them "well I did do that", then they believe you aren't doing what they told you correctly. People who treat you as if you are below them somehow. It's impossible to get results with people like this, but its tough to avoid them because there are a lot of them out there, and when it comes to their conduct, its really only obvious to the people they treat.............so when they get complaints, they try to make it seem as if its part of your problem. BUT there are still lots of good ones, and I've found with myself that the only realistic long term treatment for my psycological issues are CBT and other types of therapies.

What anti-seizure medications are you taking? I'm curious to see if there could be some interaction between the two. Not cross tolerance, but some down stream interaction which is causing diminished/non existent effects from other drugs. Clonazapem does its magic on GABA, Benadryl does its anti-cholinergic stuff, but there could be something in your other meds or diet that's causing these to not work.

Do you smoke? I know when I was prescribed xanax I was told to avoid smoking as nicotine would expedite its metabolism (or otherwise reduce its effectiveness and duration), im not sure if oral tobacco or nicotine aids would do the same thing, as im not 100% sure it was nicotine that caused this to happen, but I certainty noticed it when I did smoke (and I always smoked).

And last thing, any recent changes in diet or body health like liver diseases or medical conditions concerning stomach or the body's metabolism or anything like that? Changes in how the drug is getting processed could explain some of that. Other than diminishing returns due to long term tolerance gains, as using benzos long term in therapeutic doses (not using recreational or escalating doses) can still cause diminished effect, though that wouldn't explain the benadryl problem.

 

[Lobsterbutch]

benzos produce recreational effects for a lot of people. I don't personally get that and really just get numb anxiety wise, but I had a very close friend who killed himself IVing solutions of Clonozolam and propylene glycol, he was VERY addicted to it, and every other benzo he was ever prescribed or bought online. Only thing is he killed himself while in a benzo blackout, he didn't die due to overdose, but he would tell me how euphoric and kick ass doing it felt and that it was literally the best high ever, and he did butt loads of opioids too. Besides, you can get a lot of anecdotal accounts of recreational use right here in Other Drugs. LOTS of people use it recreationally.

Benadryl is useful for what its good at, and it makes me really drowsy as long as I dont take it every night, but awhile back I took it every night to sleep and tolerance ramped up so bad I was taking 25-30 benadryl pills (25mg each) every night just for the basic effects, not the delerious, dysphoric trip that some people mega dose it for.

DXM is useful, it can make you trip but that isnt advisable but it has interesting effects as an NMDA agonist and it has properties in reversing opioid tolerance and other things I believe, but I've never had luck using it myself.

MDMA is neurotoxic, it has been shown to improve depression in small doses in controlled settings, and infrequent doses, and has been shown to help with PTSD, but if you buy "MDMA" on the street, you'd be lucky to get something with ANY MDMA in it, most "MDMA" I've found in my area has turned out to be meth and/or research chemical stimulants.

Ketamine has also been shown clinically to help greatly with depression, but this is also in controlled medical settings, small doses over long periods of time, and regular re-evaluation of symptoms. People taking ketamine in depression studies are not k-holing every other day. Like with MDMA and LSD studies for depression treatment, they are "micro doses"

And Amphetamine is a bad bad idea for depression. Amphetamines tolerance balloons fast, comedowns magnify depression symptoms, use causes malnutrition/sleep deprivation over long periods of time if the user isn't taking precautions against it/ isnt being vigilant with self care (which is a symptom of depresionn) and amphetamine tolerance comes from the neurons that release dopamine being destroyed via the drugs action, which isn't easily repaired over long periods of use, which would continue to make the depression worse, and at a certain point, the damage would become irreversible. And Meth is MUCH worse with all of this, AND meth from the street is not pure and likely contains other reaction products that are super bad for you.

I'd say go see a doctor and tell him everything about your meds not working, then see where to go

 

[Rafayte]

benzos produce recreational effects for a lot of people. I don't personally get that and really just get numb anxiety wise, but I had a very close friend who killed himself IVing solutions of Clonozolam and propylene glycol, he was VERY addicted to it, and every other benzo he was ever prescribed or bought online. Only thing is he killed himself while in a benzo blackout, he didn't die due to overdose, but he would tell me how euphoric and kick ass doing it felt and that it was literally the best high ever, and he did butt loads of opioids too. Besides, you can get a lot of anecdotal accounts of recreational use right here in Other Drugs. LOTS of people use it recreationally.

Benadryl is useful for what its good at, and it makes me really drowsy as long as I dont take it every night, but awhile back I took it every night to sleep and tolerance ramped up so bad I was taking 25-30 benadryl pills (25mg each) every night just for the basic effects, not the delerious, dysphoric trip that some people mega dose it for.

DXM is useful, it can make you trip but that isnt advisable but it has interesting effects as an NMDA agonist and it has properties in reversing opioid tolerance and other things I believe, but I've never had luck using it myself.

MDMA is neurotoxic, it has been shown to improve depression in small doses in controlled settings, and infrequent doses, and has been shown to help with PTSD, but if you buy "MDMA" on the street, you'd be lucky to get something with ANY MDMA in it, most "MDMA" I've found in my area has turned out to be meth and/or research chemical stimulants.

Ketamine has also been shown clinically to help greatly with depression, but this is also in controlled medical settings, small doses over long periods of time, and regular re-evaluation of symptoms. People taking ketamine in depression studies are not k-holing every other day. Like with MDMA and LSD studies for depression treatment, they are "micro doses"

And Amphetamine is a bad bad idea for depression. Amphetamines tolerance balloons fast, comedowns magnify depression symptoms, use causes malnutrition/sleep deprivation over long periods of time if the user isn't taking precautions against it/ isnt being vigilant with self care (which is a symptom of depresionn) and amphetamine tolerance comes from the neurons that release dopamine being destroyed via the drugs action, which isn't easily repaired over long periods of use, which would continue to make the depression worse, and at a certain point, the damage would become irreversible. And Meth is MUCH worse with all of this, AND meth from the street is not pure and likely contains other reaction products that are super bad for you.

I'd say go see a doctor and tell him everything about your meds not working, then see where to go

I think benzos has not recreational use, they do not cause euphoria, pleasure or well-being. DXM is a dissociative for trash, cause hallucinations not ever good, cause a high really lack of value and cause very unpleasant physical side effects.
MDMA only have been shown neurotoxyc in animals with 300 times a normal dose. And alcohol itself is a powerful neurotoxine. Ketamine can be used occasionally with caution and amphetamines are used by doctors since the first 20 century and can be used smartly without troubles. If alcohol can be used without preoccupation all the drugs we say here too because are all less dangerous

 

[nagami]

this thread should be good

 

[Lobsterbutch]

I think benzos has not recreational use, they do not cause euphoria, pleasure or well-being. DXM is a dissociative for trash, cause hallucinations not ever good, cause a high really lack of value and cause very unpleasant physical side effects.
MDMA only have been shown neurotoxyc in animals with 300 times a normal dose. And alcohol itself is a powerful neurotoxine. Ketamine can be used occasionally with caution and amphetamines are used by doctors since the first 20 century and can be used smartly without troubles. If alcohol can be used without preoccupation all the drugs we say here too because are all less dangerous

i dont know why you deleted your earlier post that my other post was a response to, makes it kinda confusing since it was really just a response to your other post, but since your *new* post is basically the same as the other one, it can just be read as a response to yours, just slightly out of order.

and Nagami, you're right, this thread is good, sorry LynnD for the rambling, it didn't really add anything of value to the original post and topic............it's a bad habit of mine, among others

 

[PerpetualAnhedonic]

Ummm.....perhaps this is simply your brain and body's way of trying to get you to take a hint, telling you to stop being a moron, OP....like chugging bottles of fucking diphenhydramine for Christ sake (what in the fuck could have gone through your mind to determine that this was a good idea?)....or 7mg of clonazepam.....or any other stupid shit you've been choosing to do.....with serious health conditions to boot.

Sounds like now is a good time to cease your excessively reckless drug abuse and only take your doctor ordered medications as directed...just a thought. Sorry if I'm harsh/blunt, but seems like you're not getting the message, one which you seem to clearly really need.

-PA

 

[Jabberwocky]

Yes, a little harsh and blunt. Please try to avoid derogatory comments, however foolish the OP’s choices might have been.

Acceptance and compassion for people who use drugs, not judgement please. Well, discernment is good, but not moral judgement.

 

[LynnD]

Thanks for the rude comments PerpetualAnhedonic and toothpastedog; this thread is now closed. My choices were not foolish as I have severe allergies (the Benadryl issue) and it's hard to deal with - Claritin didn't work when I tried it in the past and other over the counter antihistamines have not worked for me either. I needed relief from the allergy symptoms - you experience the harsh symptoms I experienced then tell me if you would do whatever you could to relieve them.

I'm on Lamotrigine and Keppra for epilepsy, by the way.

I had also stated, in my original post, that I spoke with my neurologist (who is a doctor) and told him that the Clonazepam wasn't working so we agreed that I would abstain for a while.

Also, I can't take a lot of drugs due to my body being screwed up thanks to a brain injury I had since birth (sensitive to negative side effects or the drug doesn't work at all) - I'm not in a wheelchair and I can speak and do most things other people can do but I don't have a sense of smell (but I never stink since I clean a lot and make sure my clothes are fresh), I have no peripheral vision on my left (therefore I can't get my driver's liscence), I have poor visual recall, and severe anxiety (since a cyst covers the entire right side of my brain and is covering the amygdala, which controls emotions such as anxiety). The cyst can't be removed since it's now covering the entire right side of my brain and the neurologist I had when I was younger was neglectful and ironically isn't a neurologist anymore - he would treat sinus issues and allergies when I saw him and, when I was six years old, I said he should become an allergy doctor, and in 2014 I found out he has indeed switched professions - he is now a pediatric allergist.

Finally, I don't smoke (due to allergies) or drink (due to epilepsy). I'm trying Cognitive Behavioural Therapy on my own; I purchased a book for that and am going to go through the exercises.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Have you considered seeing an allergist? OTC stuff is better than nothing, but those folks can be really helpful.

And I wasn’t sure what you meant about the thread being close... that means you’ve addressed the OP as necessary? Lemme know if you us to close your thread formally.

Part of my is curious if high dose DPH with epilepsy. I mean, I have no idea, but I wonder if it would mess with seizure threshold (not that I really know how epilepsy works.

I also wonder is the epilepsy meds are dulling the clonazepam, but again no idea.

Kudos on keeping away from cigarettes. That is incredibly good. And for the CBT, although you still may want to find someone to work with in it. It can be a challange, but a good CBT trained therapist will do much more than any text on CBT could.

 

[zephyr]

Have you been on bl before as I recall a blr with the same issue re cyst on brain.

You seem very well educated in your physical health and also in drugs. I wish you all the best. Benzos do build tolerance so its not suprising they dont work.


I would pursue surgery for your brain cyst further and not give up. It might not be able to be removed completely byt can be partially cleared over time .

Once thats dorted it could help your symptoms.

X

 

[PerpetualAnhedonic]

Yes, a little harsh and blunt. Please try to avoid derogatory comments, however foolish the OP’s choices might have been.

Acceptance and compassion for people who use drugs, not judgement please. Well, discernment is good, but not moral judgement.

Yes, I suppose you are right TPD, about the derogatory statements, as well as acceptance and compassion. All the way, I am wholly in agreement with you. I appreciate your honesty and being straight with me, and I take your suggestions respectfully.

Athough I maintain that I was right in my overall message, I guess I went a little too far in my wording, and I was wrong in that regard. I guess I'm just under a lot of stress and people's blatant, ridiculous high level "foolishness" regarding substance use has really been peeving/bothering me more and I've been a little more of an asshole lately. I've seen far more brain-dead/brainlessness and idiotic decision making here by many people lately than usual, and it can get old. That's not to say I haven't made poor decisions over my own usage career, but never to these heights...

I apologize for being harsh OP, I guess I felt that a little tough love was warranted and needed here considering your circumstances and choices. As unwise/unintelligent as you came off, I shouldn't have used the derogatory term "moron" to describe you. It was rude and I was wrong to do so, and I can admit when I'm wrong.
Most importantly of all, however, I hope I didn't discourage you from posting in the future.

-PA