Benzos Xanax and Oxycodone

[db7132]

Hi guys! Need some help from any long term benzo and opioid users.

I have been taking Zolpidem 10mg every night for 4-5 years and benzos for about 7 years now everyday, beginning with 3 x 5mg Valium per day to 2 x 1mg Clonazepam to 1 x 1mg Clonazepam all in the past 6.5 years. I also have been on and off Oxys (doses range but usually and also atm 3 x 40mg IR). However, in December, I cut out my oxys and went cold turkey on all opiates for 2 weeks. This is when I started taking 1 x 1mg Alprazolam instead of Clonazepam and then after a month eventually taking 2 x 1mg Alprazolam which was my dose for the second month until about a month ago. For the past month, I have been taking around 2 x 1.25mg Alprazolam but a few times I took a full 2mg. I also started taking Pregabalin 100mg x 1 4 months ago and then took 2 x 100mg Pregabalin for months 2-3 and now have been taking 1 x 75mg to try to cut it out (less meds the better!).

In the past 10 days, I have had very little energy, been fairly nauseous feeling like my stomach is full of acid or like I have an empty stomach, increased anxiety, and a significant headache in the back of my head (feel like this is related to the Alprazolam). Literally, 10 days ago I was taking all my meds like I normally do and I noticed that one of those days was 1 of the 2 days that I took 2mg of Alprazolam instead of my normal amount, and I also took an increased 55mg dose of Oxy instead of my normal 40mg for the 3 nighttime doses over the course of 5 days and left all my other doses the same (40mg).

Can someone please explain why I feel like complete shit all day everyday? I cannot figure out if it is my meds or a health issue or what, but all I know is this all started right around when I increased my Oxy dose a few times to catch a better high. I dont know how doing this a few times when I have never had. a problem with a dose increase once or twice could potentially cause me to feel like this, so I am thinking it is the fact I have been taking more Alprazolam than I am supposed to.

Do you think it is because I was increasing my Alprazolam dose soowly and then juet stopped increasing it? Or is it because I take my Oxy only 2 hours after taking my Alprazolam? Please help, my quality of life is terrible right now and I need to get back to functioning regularly. I am struggling at work to focus because of this damn headache (feels like lots of pressure at the peak/top of the back of my head). The headache and the feeling of nausea/empty stomach (which i somehow still have even though I am eating at least 2 full meals a day) is really what’s killing me, so if anyone can help I would really appreciate it!!!

 

[WellTram]

You need to figure out dosing which would be stable. For example 2mg alprazolam 2 times per day ( if it was ok for you to only take it 2 times per day don't take it 3 times per day ).
If u were taking 40mg oxy and now increased to 55mg 3 times per day and u also lowered alprazolam this is stress for your nervous system.
If i were you, i would stay on 2mg alprazolam 2 times per day, 40mg oxy 3 times per day and pregabalin 75mg once per day.
You won't feel high or good for 2-3 days but after 3 days u will be ok 24 hour every day. And i stongly advice to taper alprazolam down SLOWLY. I take both and trust me starting to feel benzo wd coming is much worse than even full opioid wd. It' all u experience at opioid wd + panic, seizures...it's often deadly.
Now u don't see why to taper something when u have no issues obraining it but trust me that the day when u realize being dependent on something so fucking strongly is horrible even if u have it. Just pure thoughts of me being dependent makes me very lightly said "miserable" after 15 years of dependency and wds and relaps.

 

[db7132]

You need to figure out dosing which would be stable. For example 2mg alprazolam 2 times per day ( if it was ok for you to only take it 2 times per day don't take it 3 times per day ).
If u were taking 40mg oxy and now increased to 55mg 3 times per day and u also lowered alprazolam this is stress for your nervous system.
If i were you, i would stay on 2mg alprazolam 2 times per day, 40mg oxy 3 times per day and pregabalin 75mg once per day.
You won't feel high or good for 2-3 days but after 3 days u will be ok 24 hour every day. And i stongly advice to taper alprazolam down SLOWLY. I take both and trust me starting to feel benzo wd coming is much worse than even full opioid wd. It' all u experience at opioid wd + panic, seizures...it's often deadly.
Now u don't see why to taper something when u have no issues obraining it but trust me that the day when u realize being dependent on something so fucking strongly is horrible even if u have it. Just pure thoughts of me being dependent makes me very lightly said "miserable" after 15 years of dependency and wds and relaps.

I only increased my Oxy dose to 55mg 3 singular times: once about 10 days ago then two days later again and the next day after that again. So only 3 total doses, not even for a whole day.

I am thinking it is the fact that I am having trouble dosing out my Alprazolam. I have no idea the exact amount that I have been taking, just that it is somewhere between 1-1.5mg, as I am prescribed only 30 2mg bars. I wonder if it would be better to have my doctor prescribe me 60 1mg Alprazolam? That is the problem is my doc won’t increase me so I just tell him I am going on a work trip or vacation every 3 months or so and get my fill a week early so I can have enough since I use about 35 pills in a normal 4-week script period.

 

[WellTram]

Yes 60 pills containing 1mg would be better than 30x2mg pills. I personaly prefer 0,5mg pills but 1mg is ok. There are also 0,25mg but thats out of question for now.
U need to take approximately same amount of alprazolam every day and better even in the same time intervals. With alprazolam even 0,5mg makes a difference in how u feel. For example if i don't take my morning 0,5mg soon enough i will start to feel hot, uncomfortable...just very first symptoms of lack of the alprazolam in my blood.
Why do u prefer alprazolam ? There are options like clonazepam and diazepam that can help you not to feel so sudden "feelings that something is not ok" as fast as alprazolam do.
I am prescribed diazepam but for me it's really extremely weak after 15 years of using benzos and we don't have lorazepam or clonazepam in our country so i obtain myself 0,5mg and sometimes 0,1 mg alprazolam pills. 4 mgs are enough for me not to feel bad. And there is no amount that will make me feel that first alprazolam high i ever had.

 

[db7132]

Yes 60 pills containing 1mg would be better than 30x2mg pills. I personaly prefer 0,5mg pills but 1mg is ok. There are also 0,25mg but thats out of question for now.
U need to take approximately same amount of alprazolam every day and better even in the same time intervals. With alprazolam even 0,5mg makes a difference in how u feel. For example if i don't take my morning 0,5mg soon enough i will start to feel hot, uncomfortable...just very first symptoms of lack of the alprazolam in my blood.
Why do u prefer alprazolam ? There are options like clonazepam and diazepam that can help you not to feel so sudden "feelings that something is not ok" as fast as alprazolam do.
I am prescribed diazepam but for me it's really extremely weak after 15 years of using benzos and we don't have lorazepam or clonazepam in our country so i obtain myself 0,5mg and sometimes 0,1 mg alprazolam pills. 4 mgs are enough for me not to feel bad. And there is no amount that will make me feel that first alprazolam high i ever had.

Got it, that makes sense. I like the Alprazolam because it takes care of my anxiety a lot quicker and better than Clonazepam ever did, no matter how much Clonazepam I took, it will never work as well as Alprazolam does for me. I do miss how long Clonazpem would last, though. I only needed 2 months to taper down from 2 x 1mg Clonazepam/day to 1 x 1mg Clonazepam a day. With Alprazolam, I take it (1-1.25mg) every 12 hours, but I still seem to have a headache most days, you know that type of headache that you get from benzo WD. It’s terrible!

Thanks for the advice though! It seems you are the second person to believe these symptoms are coming from not taking even Alprazolam doses but I took a little more than 1.25mg for my first dose today (maybe like 1.3-1.4mg) and I still have a pretty strong headache and a little bit of nausea, I guess it it better than yesterday though.

What are the benzos you are currently taking, if you dont mind me asking, and how much and how often?

 

[WellTram]

Right now I take alprazolam - because of the same reasons like you. It's potent and fast to deliver effects. I take 4 or 5 doses and i start when I wake up ( 2-3 hours after ) with 0,5mg. That after a few hours i take another 0,5 mg and at 13:00 +- i take mostly 1 mg. Than wait 5 hours and take 1 mg and 1 more at 22:00. Sometimes more sometimes less, for example now should be sleeping but I am not cause of modafinil and i will take cinolazepam for sleep - u dont have this one in USA. It's like alprazolam but less anxiolitic and more hypnotic. I also had 75mg of pregabaline and 40mg SR oxy with my last alprazolam.

 

[db7132]

Dude that’s so funny, we almost have the exact same meds hahahaha. I have everything same as you except i take 1.25mg Alpraz x 2 and am trying to get back down to 1mg x 2 with my Oxy IR at 40mg x 3 and Pregabalin 75mg x 1 and I think 10mg Ambien x 1 might be the monoy one I take that you don’t and same for me with the Modafinil. I guess my Oxy MME is 1.5x yours though since you take SR Oxy.

What is cinolazepam? I see your description of it, but honestly never heard of it. Is it kinda like a Z-drug hypnotic? Like my Ambien? Cuz it sounds like a benzo.

 

[helpingout]

I don’t know if I read it right but I don’t agree with what you described as the problem with the other poster.

Sometimes when I take too much opiate I get this crippling headache like you described. Peak of the head. That kind of headache would usually come with a sickening nausea and I’d just be throwing up all day with my head in what felt like a vice grip. It wouldn’t stop until the opiates were out of my system and I was back down to my regular dose.

I don’t know what your problem is and frankly you sound a bit desperate like you’re clutching the pills hoping that a half mg here or a 10mg there will give you the balance you need. I’ve been there and I get that it is at its core a balancing act being addicted to soft drugs like Xanax and oxy.

That said I would not take the two closer together as there is super strong overdose risk and your already not keeping track of how much Xanax you’re taking and you have the 2mg bars which means mistakes are very easy to make. Couple that with experimental oxy increases to get high and you’re just asking for an overdose event.

Shit an overdose event would be the best explanation for the nausea and headache. Just not a “dead” kind of overdose event.

If I were you I’d try to get down off that benzo dose as much as possible. I was taking a half of a .5 mg Xanax dose intranasally, poor bioavailability, when I overdosed on a very minimal dose of heroin. It fucked my life up hugely. It’s so easy to overdo it with the combination of drugs your on. Even if you’re terminal or in severe pain the quality of your life is important and a crippling overdose before end of life care or during a critical point in your illness can be really fucked up and demoralizing.

It might be best to just pull back the throttle on all the drugs you’re taking. Bunker down to feeel a little sick for awhile as you decrease everything. Stabilize at the lower dosages and just try to enjoy what you have.

You’re like right there on the cusp of addiction and I really feel for you.

I’m not trying to lord over you and act like you need to change now you’re going to die.

I’m just saying “this combo is dangerous. The number of drugs is a little too much to keep track of and you’re also losing track. Time to run it back before you lose control. This is unsafe .” And I’m saying all that from a place of love and concern for your wellbeing and with hope that you get the highs you’re looking for but primarily that your drugs continue treating what they’re being prescribed for without losing the efficacy for the conditions they are prescribed.

 

[WellTram]

I have also sustained release dihydrocodeine and liquid oral drops form of tramadol - honestly i can't decide which to take. Oxy is most clean, tramadol in drops and for ultrarapid metabolizer is heavy hitter, dhc is more sedating than oxy...I want to figure out which would cover my needs by the lowest ammount of opioid taken so...probably i will go with 40mg oxy morning and evening and maybe some tramadol if i will need it during lunch hours.

Cinolazepam is old benzodiazepine sold under name Gerodorm. 1 pill is 40mg and it's prescribed only for sleep - like Z drugs. You should take 1 and go to bed. But it's almost the same feeling as alprazolam just little bit more heavy. I take it also during the day it has muscle relaxing and anticonvulsant properties just like almost every benzo and 8hr half-life.

 

[helpingout]

God damn that’s a lot of very heavy drugs. I hope they’re doing what you need them too.

 

[helpingout]

TLDR: the headache is probably from taking the extra oxy and some extra alprazolam. Think of it like a half overdose without the loss of consciousness but severe headache and vomiting. At least that’s what it was for me with heroin and Xanax.

 

[WellTram]

God damn that’s a lot of very heavy drugs. I hope they’re doing what you need them too.

I actually take much lower doses now. I hate being dependent mostly on benzos which i have been prescribed for 14 years and pain meds for 12. I want to figure out which of them would be best for tapering down even more. In past I was doing hydromorphone, fentanyl or easily 200mg oxy and 15mg alprazolam per day.

 

[vision conquest]

It could be the pregabalin.

There was a period where I was taking it everyday, not high dose...150-225mg daily, this was on top of my methadone and at the time regular benzo use...alpraz, clonaze, diaze.

Anyway the pregabalin seemed to agree with me for a month or two, I was actually using it to try and reduce my benzo use.

Then it just went bad and it felt very similar to what @db7132 is describing...I stopped taking the pregabalin and it went away.

Just something to think about, of all the meds you listed it is the most recent.

Just my two cents.

 

[WellTram]

It could be the pregabalin.

There was a period where I was taking it everyday, not high dose...150-225mg daily, this was on top of my methadone and at the time regular benzo use...alpraz, clonaze, diaze.

Anyway the pregabalin seemed to agree with me for a month or two, I was actually using it to try and reduce my benzo use.

Then it just went bad and it felt very similar to what @db7132 is describing...I stopped taking the pregabalin and it went away.

Just something to think about, of all the meds you listed it is the most recent.

Just my two cents.

Pregabalin in surprising in 2 things for me. How fast it leads to developing physical dependence and that it caused seizures. I have epilepsy but it's under full control of levetiracetam which is like sugarpill eliminating any seizures so i am not good sample but I had seizure after pregabalin in 300mg+ dose in combination with other meds and it's now known that it can do it. It's for treating partial seizures ( and anxiety, pain ) but somehow it really can be trigger for seizures. Be careful with this med, use low doses and best is to not use it daily.

 

[db7132]

D

I actually take much lower doses now. I hate being dependent mostly on benzos which i have been prescribed for 14 years and pain meds for 12. I want to figure out which of them would be best for tapering down even more. In past I was doing hydromorphone, fentanyl or easily 200mg oxy and 15mg alprazolam per day.

Damn, dude, how tf did you lower such a high dose down to such a lower dose? And how long did it take? I am trying to cut my benzo use in half.

 

[db7132]

It could be the pregabalin.

There was a period where I was taking it everyday, not high dose...150-225mg daily, this was on top of my methadone and at the time regular benzo use...alpraz, clonaze, diaze.

Anyway the pregabalin seemed to agree with me for a month or two, I was actually using it to try and reduce my benzo use.

Then it just went bad and it felt very similar to what @db7132 is describing...I stopped taking the pregabalin and it went away.

Just something to think about, of all the meds you listed it is the most recent.

Just my two cents.

How long did it take you to get off it?

 

[WellTram]

D

Damn, dude, how tf did you lower such a high dose down to such a lower dose? And how long did it take? I am trying to cut my benzo use in half.

I am tapering for 2 years but now it's 1 year since I did major decissions not to ever use memantine, no other opioids than dihydrocodeine SR, oxy SR, tramadol oral solution 100mg/1ml or classic 37,5mg/325 tramadol + paracetamol. Nothing else. I also quit smoking weed which was only making me tired and it dulled everything. From stinulants only caffeine and modafinil. Maybe sometimes ( when i am offered once in a blue moon ) I will do a line of meth but it's not my addiction. And benzos, well...I had many wd seizures and once it happened during my sleep and caused double fracture of my arm. And the last one was the most scary one because I seized and my parents saw like i hit the floor, i was not breathing and my heart was not beating for a maybe a few seconds than i suddenly took a massively deep breath and ...was conscies...diazepam helped me with tapering and when I use alprazolam i also take doses spred throug the day just to feel ok ( 0,5 mg mostly ) and sometimes 1 mg. My only way to sleep is to take promethazine 50mg and 15mg mirtazapine which i decided will not - maybe 25mg promethazine and cinolazepam. Mirtazapine is instant sleep drug and it can be good sedative antidepressant but it makes you fat even when u don't eat that much.
I take magnesium, prescribed liguid preparation of vitD, zinc, iron, C, K2, b6 - piridoxine. Magnesium with b6 really keep that gaba system less disrupted. I could take 10mg xanax but I don't have any reason to do it. I will not do much more than if i took 2 and i haven't took 2mg for a while now..

 

[gmanzalready1]

Hi guys! Need some help from any long term benzo and opioid users.

I have been taking Zolpidem 10mg every night for 4-5 years and benzos for about 7 years now everyday, beginning with 3 x 5mg Valium per day to 2 x 1mg Clonazepam to 1 x 1mg Clonazepam all in the past 6.5 years. I also have been on and off Oxys (doses range but usually and also atm 3 x 40mg IR). However, in December, I cut out my oxys and went cold turkey on all opiates for 2 weeks. This is when I started taking 1 x 1mg Alprazolam instead of Clonazepam and then after a month eventually taking 2 x 1mg Alprazolam which was my dose for the second month until about a month ago. For the past month, I have been taking around 2 x 1.25mg Alprazolam but a few times I took a full 2mg. I also started taking Pregabalin 100mg x 1 4 months ago and then took 2 x 100mg Pregabalin for months 2-3 and now have been taking 1 x 75mg to try to cut it out (less meds the better!).

In the past 10 days, I have had very little energy, been fairly nauseous feeling like my stomach is full of acid or like I have an empty stomach, increased anxiety, and a significant headache in the back of my head (feel like this is related to the Alprazolam). Literally, 10 days ago I was taking all my meds like I normally do and I noticed that one of those days was 1 of the 2 days that I took 2mg of Alprazolam instead of my normal amount, and I also took an increased 55mg dose of Oxy instead of my normal 40mg for the 3 nighttime doses over the course of 5 days and left all my other doses the same (40mg).

Can someone please explain why I feel like complete shit all day everyday? I cannot figure out if it is my meds or a health issue or what, but all I know is this all started right around when I increased my Oxy dose a few times to catch a better high. I dont know how doing this a few times when I have never had. a problem with a dose increase once or twice could potentially cause me to feel like this, so I am thinking it is the fact I have been taking more Alprazolam than I am supposed to.

Do you think it is because I was increasing my Alprazolam dose soowly and then juet stopped increasing it? Or is it because I take my Oxy only 2 hours after taking my Alprazolam? Please help, my quality of life is terrible right now and I need to get back to functioning regularly. I am struggling at work to focus because of this damn headache (feels like lots of pressure at the peak/top of the back of my head). The headache and the feeling of nausea/empty stomach (which i somehow still have even though I am eating at least 2 full meals a day) is really what’s killing me, so if anyone can help I would really appreciate it!!!

in my personal opinion.th3 oky may be your headache problem IV used all benzos.up and down doses of alprazolam.im currently down to the 0.5mg alprazolam cut the pregablin totally that made me W/d for 10 days .I'm now taking 30 mg diazepam.0.5 mg alprazolam and 2.5mg lorazepam at night .I did take the okys for a while but found when I ran out it stopped it gave me headaches and general lethargy didn't last long I don't intent to add oky back into my routine again.it messed everything up and it took a while to be back to my normal.hope this helps all the best

 

[gmanzalready1]

D

Damn, dude, how tf did you lower such a high dose down to such a lower dose? And how long did it take? I am trying to cut my benzo use in half.

use the Ashton manual for benzos reduction.i found that.using that plus half your diazepam into 2 halves b say to yourself you took a full 10mg sometimes mind over matter works

 

[vision conquest]

How long did it take you to get off it?

I just stopped cold turkey, but I had only been taking it for a couple of months and I believe the benzos I was taking covered any withdrawl from it.