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Benzos switching from benzos to booze

S

Spadez87

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 2, 2013
Messages
175
ive been taking one benzo or another for 10 years. at one point getting up to 180mgs of valium a day. Im now down to 8 mgs daily.

I would like to start drinking again as due to the fact im an ultra rapid metabolizer of CYP2D6 i cant be medicated for my chronic pain or mental health issues.

So my question is could i say stop taking me 8 mgs valium and just start on like a 6 pack of beer? would the transition be smooth?

thanks
 
I don't know about smooth but it should take care of most symptoms its hard to say for sure since everyone is different as you know but the only way to know is start small and work your way up.

Please be careful
 
IMO if you do this you should start drinking before you are in benzo w/d. Ive drank before while in benzo w/d expecting alcohol to relieve symptoms, but it made me feel very strange with little relief. Also, it is possible that you will get very drunk before the w/d symptoms are relieved so be careful.
 
I'm not a medical professional but I don't think anyone qualified would recommend doing this. The major advantage of diazepam over alcohol is its long half life, it is metabolised slowly (relative to alcohol). Therefore with continued use, blood alcohol concentration of the drug remains more stable; it is easier to maintain the therapeutic effect of diazepam compared with alcohol. In my opinion, trying to medicate with alcohol is likely to result in erratic and potentially unsafe consumption. I think a doctor would recommend tapering with diazepam if you wish to end dependency. I think you should seek medical advice.
 
Id take a 8mg valium problem over an addiction to alcohol any day.

I agree that you should see a doc to taper off. Slow as possible.
 
This happened to me after a Xanax binge and I had no beer in the house. It hit me quick, I felt so sick and didn't know what to do. My sister advised me to drink some alcohol so I took a shot of the old man's scotch. That made my stomach feel worse but I held it down. Then mustered up the strength to drive to the gas station and buy a four pack. After a couple tall boys I was able to sleep for a couple hours.

Then the sickness came right back. This lasted more than a week with hot/cold sweats, vomiting, vertigo, insomnia and diarrhea. I could drink some beer and feel pretty much back to normal but when it wore off I was back to square one. Probably because of it's short half life. I was so weak and could hardly get out of bed. So for me it was not an easy transition. If you're anything like me, you're in for a rough ride but your mileage may vary. If at all possible, I would suggest a slow taper from the valium.
 
Yea I mean you really end up replacing the addiction with a worse one as you probably know drinking heavily can be very dangerous while in the state your in after abruptly stopping benzos but if you can drink responsibly like a beer or two here and there just to take the edge off theoretically things should be okay although your really just replacing one addiction with another. I wouldn't reccomed people do this though but I know you'll do what you do so be safe and don't get out of control with the drinks.
 
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Libertin said:
I'm not a medical professional but I don't think anyone qualified would recommend doing this. The major advantage of diazepam over alcohol is its long half life, it is metabolised slowly (relative to alcohol). Therefore with continued use, blood alcohol concentration of the drug remains more stable; it is easier to maintain the therapeutic effect of diazepam compared with alcohol. In my opinion, trying to medicate with alcohol is likely to result in erratic and potentially unsafe consumption. I think a doctor would recommend tapering with diazepam if you wish to end dependency. I think you should seek medical advice.
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you also have to consider this, alcohol lasts a hell lot less than diazepam so you'd have to drink pretty much every 1/2 hours.
no good neither for your liver/stomach nor for your wallet.
8 mg of diazepam really isn't that much and I see an alcohol dependence worse than a benzos dependence (especially at that low of a dose).

oh and also, alcohol dehydratates you (which benzos do not I think).
 
I hear you guys. A Valium dependence is a much better option from a HR side.

Tbh I'm looking for pain relief. My knees are shit and taking Advil is like putting a band aid on a gun shot wound.

Also I have no shortage of Valium. I got hundreds of Valium 10s, 5s and 2s so if shit hits the fan I'll just take some benzos
 
When it comes to recreational use, anything beats benzos........you do not want a benzo addiction!

Although I would never recommend to anyone to use alcohol for chronic pain. Alcohol personally made my chronic back pain worse so i quit drinking in 2003.

Advil is OK when mixed with other pain meds like vicodin. Be careful taking a lot of advil, not good for the stomach.

Valium IMO is the best benzo for pain & to relieve stress because of its long half life & I see you had a 180mg a day usage of Valium.......its good you got it down to 8mgs........

Good luck finding something to help you with the pain but I would stay away from alcohol.......
 
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It's just soo easy for people like us to rationalize irrational shit in our heads. I'm in a similar boat but I want bbooze that can kill me. Ughh so frustrating, I feel what u mean op same shit
 
TheLostBoys said:
When it comes to recreational use, anything beats benzos........you do not want a benzo addiction!

Although I would never recommend to anyone to use alcohol for chronic pain. Alcohol personally made my chronic back pain worse so i quit drinking in 2003.

Advil is OK when mixed with other pain meds like vicodin. Be careful taking a lot of advil, not good for the stomach.

Valium IMO is the best benzo for pain & to relieve stress because of its long half life & I see you had a 180mg a day usage of Valium.......its good you got it down to 8mgs........

Good luck finding something to help you with the pain but I would stay away from alcohol.......
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Yeah it will definitely screw up your stomach. The 800mg ones caused damage to mine and even after it healed it doesn't take much get it hurting again. I'd hate to see the damage I've caused from years of daily Tylenol use.
 
Spadez87 said:
Also I have no shortage of Valium. I got hundreds of Valium 10s, 5s and 2s so if shit hits the fan I'll just take some benzos
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I think I misread your original post, I thought you had none left. So my recommendation is check into the Ashton method. It's a slow taper. Benzo withdrawal for me was hell, made opiate withdrawal seem like a walk in the park. Wish you the best.
 
You should not use alcohol to replace benzos. It's short duration causes a quick spike in gaba levels followed by a quick drop which can cause seizures.
 
I'm a chronic drunk and booze is not your answer. Its not the answer to anything. I'll put it this way, if I was in your situation what would happen is i'd start drinking, get drunk, and think ahhhh...wtf...and take the benzos on top of the booze. BAD BAD things could happen up to death.

Leave the drink for when your benzo days are over........jmo
 
consideringyou're on such a low dose of valium, why not just taper that?

Then you can drink recreationally, but "a six pack a day" is by no meqns a form of treatment or medication for whatever symptoms you have IMO

Furthermore IME alcohol hardly relieves any of the benzo W/D symptoms, and being an alcoholic sucks big time...
 
Alcohol doesn't relieve benzo wd symptoms for me iether and i feel worse as soon as the alcohol wears off.
 
I usually feel like I need a pill or 5 if I start drinking, just a bad idea all around. I do understand the allure though..,
 
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