Going back to normal benzo usage?

[Okiv99]

Has anybody had experience with previously building a tolerance to benzos and then going back to say once or twice a week usage? is it possible to keep tolerance low again or if you take 1mg xanax will tolerance immediately spike to 5mg (or what it was previously)?

 

[shreddedlettuce]

Yes had experience building a tolerance.
No, the chances of getting back to "baseline" IME is zero..

Be careful, and hope you get more answers.

 

[negrogesic]

How long have you been taking it and at what doses?

Long term use of xanax at say 1mg twice a week (say 1mg on Sunday and 1mg on Wednesday) will eventually put you in the state of interdose withdrawal, where you are always in slight benzo withdrawal in the time between doses.

It can start off VERY subtle, where you might find yourself being slightly irritable on the days you're not talking it, or slightly more anxious or not sleeping as well. Again, it can be extremely subtle. Eventually it becomes more prominent, but one still might not seem like they are in withdrawal.

Benzos are the sneakest class of drug out there. But taking them multiple times a week will begin to reduce the sensitivity of your GABA-A receptors, and this has massive implications.

Avoid it if possible. Take benzos for panic attacks only. Problem is, the more you take them the more you feel you need them.

The fucked up part is that benzos are extremely effective drugs. They are massively effective at reducing anxiety. They feel like a miracle drug for those who have anxiety. Thing is, it comes with a price.

Regular use of benzos are like taking out an ultra high interest loan against your anxiety. But eventually, with regular use, you will have to pay that anxiety relief back WITH interest. But it sneaks up on you.

I've said this whole thing before, but I know no one listens. That's because they work so well. Why stop taking a miracle drug because some guy on the internet said that they'll be hell to pay later? I wouldn't have listened either. But I've said this whole thing, in various ways, probably hundreds of times. Perhaps one or two people took it to heart

Benzos have caused me tremendous suffering, and also tremendous relief. But way more suffering than relief. I still use them in stressful situations and sometimes I get "re-entangled" (i.e., dependent again, to some degree). A single 2-3mg dose of xanax

They aren't like alcohol. You can have a few beers every night for years and quit cold turkey. You can drink hard liquor 3x a week and experience no interdose withdrawal. The reason is the differing mechanisms. Alcohol acts broadly and at low potency. Benzodiazepines act on a very specific set of dedicated receptors on a tiny pore on the GABA-A receptor (a little pocket where few other things than benzos act upon). This specificity and potency cause the GABA-A receptors to act defensively, to maintain homeostasis. Benzodiazepines disrupt this homeostasis more so than any other drug class I can think of.

 

[Okiv99]

How long have you been taking it and at what doses?

Long term use of xanax at say 1mg twice a week (say 1mg on Sunday and 1mg on Wednesday) will eventually put you in the state of interdose withdrawal, where you are always in slight benzo withdrawal in the time between doses.

It can start of VERY subtle, where you might find yourself being slightly irritable on the days you're not talking it, or slightly more anxious or not sleeping as well. Again, it can be extremely subtle. Eventually it becomes more prominent, but one still might not seem like withdrawal.

Benzos are the sneakest class of drug out there. But taking them multiple times a week will begin to reduce the sensitivity of your GABA-A receptors, and this has massive implications.

Avoid it if possible. Take benzos for panic attacks only. Problem is, the more you take them the more you feel you need them.

The fucked up part is that benzos are extremely effective drugs. They are massively effective at reducing anxiety. They feel like a miracle drug for those who are anxiety. Thing is, it comes with a price.

Regular use of benzos are like taking out an ultra high interest loan against your anxiety. But eventually, with regular use, you will have to pay that anxiety relief back WITH interest. But it sneaks up on you.

I've said this whole thing before, but I know no one listens. That's because they work so well. Why stop taking a miracle drug because some guy on the internet said that they'll be help to pay later? I wouldn't have listened either. But I've said this whole thing, in various ways, probably hundreds of times. Perhaps one or two people took it to heart, cause benzos have caused me tremendous suffering, and also tremendous relief. But way more suffering than relief.

I haven't been taking them recently. During previous period of abuse I got up to the point I was taking about 10 1mg pills eod-every third day and Im worried that stupid use ruined my tolerance. Now I just want to try and use them maybe twice a week max and im annoyed I used them like that previously because it was reckless and they dont even feel so good/addictive like some other drugs.

I appreciate your post warning me. One of the reasons Im wondering if I can use without spiking my tolerance that high again is I dont want to be taking that amount of pills and deal with the panic attacks/extreme anxiety I had for a week after stopping.

Are u saying even twice a week of a short acting benzo like xanax isnt possible then? Is it like alcohol where it takes the brain probably 4-5 days to fully recover (from bad hangover)?

 

[shreddedlettuce]

I can only share from my own experience.
If you already have hit those dosages ( I was taking about 10 1mg pills eod-every third day )....... even if it was long ago, getting any "tolerance" control or even "will these still work now" feeling is very slim.

it is possible, however, getting the relief you are looking for, when you really need it, will always be a "hit or miss" and not a guarantee like it was in the beginning.

Again this is IME.

Regarding the "Alcohol" comparison - this is a different puzzle with different pieces, and you can't compare a bad hangover to benzo tolerance.... again IME.

 

[Okiv99]

I can only share from my own experience.
If you already have hit those dosages ( I was taking about 10 1mg pills eod-every third day )....... even if it was long ago, getting any "tolerance" control or even "will these still work now" feeling is very slim.

it is possible, however, getting the relief you are looking for, when you really need it, will always be a "hit or miss" and not a guarantee like it was in the beginning.

Again this is IME.

Regarding the "Alcohol" comparison - this is a different puzzle with different pieces, and you can't compare a bad hangover to benzo tolerance.... again IME.

Dam I found I could take 1, 1mg pill and i would feel it and was hoping I could use them couple times weekly again. So I ruined chance of being able to use them by being reckless/stupid before. They work so well aswell.

 

[paranoid android]

I did after forced cold turkey off clonazepam. Now i always take breaks and dont get dependant

 

[Okiv99]

I did after forced cold turkey off clonazepam. Now i always take breaks and dont get dependant

How frequently do you take it now? Is it just once a month or something? One of my concerns is tolerance immediately jumping up in which case it is unsustainable because if having to take those large doses again the benzo hangove alone would be terrible.

 

[paranoid android]

I usually take 3mg of bromazepam and 0.5mg of clonaz daily for about 2 or 3 weeks then take a break

 

[Okiv99]

I usually take 3mg of bromazepam and 0.5mg of clonaz daily for about 2 or 3 weeks then take a break

Sry if i misunderstoon from first post but in ur previous use did you have a higher tolerance then(say u needed 5mg + 1mg to work? And manage to take that amount for 3 weeks now without your dosage needing to escalate to work?

 

[paranoid android]

Sry if i misunderstoon from first post but in ur previous use did you have a higher tolerance then(say u needed 5mg + 1mg to work? And manage to take that amount for 3 weeks now without your dosage needing to escalate to work?

Ya i used to e o 6mg's a day

 

[Dr. Morphine]

1) There are studies that suggest that taking benzos for more than a year increases risk of dementia.
2) Depends on your addiction potential. Some people can easily just take them once a week. Some people feel irritated or whatever else the next day when anxiety is noticed and keep taking them. It's easy to do... especially when you have 30 of them and can get more.

 

[shreddedlettuce]

Dam I found I could take 1, 1mg pill and i would feel it and was hoping I could use them couple times weekly again. So I ruined chance of being able to use them by being reckless/stupid before. They work so well aswell.

I wouldn't say you ruined it.
I would say you messed with the "timing" of the motor.

what I mean is one day you will take like 0.5mg and it would hit you like a truck, but on another day you could take 2mg and it would be "underwhelming".

I have been through this for the last 3 decades, and the bottom line is the "reliability" of these drugs working is impaired (I would say even to the point of 1 in 20 different times it works).

I am not trying to be a doomsayer, but am just trying to make the point that if taken recreationally or when not needed, it will effect the future use.

Only you know if it is too late, I can only speak from personal experience and the pointless attempts to get back to how they worked in the beginning.
I have since given up on trying to get the balance right, as I have a 0% success rate when it comes to knowing the pill I am taking is going to work the way it should...... as said 99% of the time it doesn't, but the 1% of the time when it does can be the "devil on your shoulder".

Hope this makes sense, and for full disclosure I still take benzo's, xanax included. But I don't expect to feel them the way I used to.

Good luck man, I hope you understand where I am coming from here.

 

[Okiv99]

1) There are studies that suggest that taking benzos for more than a year increases risk of dementia.
2) Depends on your addiction potential. Some people can easily just take them once a week. Some people feel irritated or whatever else the next day when anxiety is noticed and keep taking them. It's easy to do... especially when you have 30 of them and can get more.

Yeah I saw the thing about dementia but from what I remember its not prove n they cause it yet as opposed to correlate with it. Benzos also mess with sleep and anxiety,stress,sleep issues (which they are prescribed for) are all linked to dementia aswell.

I dont really enjoy the feeling of them but they help me get some stuff done. Ive been struggling with more social anxiety while trying to basically go back to normal life after being a recluse addicted to kratom. Was hoping I could just use them on tough days for important job interviews etc. Just maybe once or twice a week and not for a long time just untill my confidence is back where it was pre kratom.