So who likes benzos? El Benzo Threado Spectacularrrr 2nd Edition

[footscrazy]

Xanax is huge in our prisons too. Xanax & Avanza.

Yeah, I was surprised when I found out Avanza was big in prisons because it's not really recreational. I suppose it does knock you out though.

Never been a big fan of benzos, but I am looking forward to combining some of my ativan with codeine.

 

[puckboy]

I'm really over benzos... I used to fucking LOVE them, but tolerance sets in and you start using daily with regular high doses and it just leads to disaster. So much bad shit happened to me during those couple of years while I was abusing benzos / chasing that buzz they used to give, I'm not even going to go into it.

I still take 20mg valium daily but I'm going to get off them as soon as I can. Benzo addiction is horrible (especially for those suffering from anxiety disorders)

 

[madmick19]

in my experiuence with people taking benzos for anxiety t rarely works if it is the only way that people are addressing anxiety- each person i know on benzos- clients or not still get anxiety!!

i think benzos have to really be treated with repect, ive seen some memory loss and delierium from people taking them in large amounts over a short period of time, and i have seen people fit while coming off them in a detox after having hidden the fact from the workers.

be very careful with these espically round alcohol and other CNS depressants

 

[Sameria]

Had a bit of an anxiety attack a few hours ago (with full on nausea and mind wrenching worry, haven't had one that intense in years). I was waiting for it to happen. I've been pretty stressed recently and I just snapped today.

I split a 2mg Diazepam in half and it's worked wonders. Within the hour almost all my anxiety had dissapeared and my head was nice and clear. Only slight sedation, pleaseant, but not something I would chase after recreationally.

I really want to be able to have benzo's as something to help with my short term anxiety, so I think I'm going to stay far away from recreational use. I haven't really got an addictive personality so it shouldn't be too hard (I hope).

Madmick, what other strategies are there to deal with anxiety? I had a few appointments with a female psych fresh out of uni earlier this year (where my depression was the main concern) and she was fricken hopeless to say the least. She spent all 3 of my (expensive) sessions essentially saying I needed to calm down and think happy thoughts.

Marijuana has helped greatly in the past, but I've been using it far too much lately and it is starting to give me more trouble than its worth.

I really think I need to book an appointment with another psych next year. My head is all over the place at the moment, it's really starting to impact on my day to day life.

 

[Urbie]

I remember back in '03/'04 in Brisbane, went to this Rave with a fellow BL'er, a night of top notch pills, acid, went back to his place for recovery in the wee hours, dropped about 20-30mg's of oxazepam's (as I was popping a lot pharmies back then) started to suck couple of nang's after couple, I just got totally knocked out, and it took nearly 2-3 mates to unlock the death grip of the nang canister that I was holding, they couldn't even wake me up, I was snoring while they tired to unlock my grip.

Funny days

 

[Urbie]

i think benzos have to really be treated with repect, ive seen some memory loss and delierium from people taking them in large amounts over a short period of time, and i have seen people fit while coming off them in a detox after having hidden the fact from the workers.

be very careful with these espically round alcohol and other CNS depressants

He's not wrong, been there and done that so many stupid times,

I don't even do them these days....

8)

 

[mepat1111]

Sameria - find a good psych, benzos are not the answer. Benzos are a short term fix and will make things worse in the end. Anxiety takes effort and good psychotherapy to succeed in the long term.

 

[drug_mentor]

So I have managed to acquire 2 1mg ativan tablets. I have a tolerance to benzo's but nothing major, if I wanted recreational effects from benzo's I will usually use 20-30mgs of diazepam, 2mgs of xanax or about 60mg of temazepam which I usually will have a few whiskys with but not too many.

Obviously I am going to take the 2mgs straight up but I am wondering how this compares in effects to the usual dose of benzo's I would take. I have looked up a few benzo equivalency charts and they seem to say 2mg ativan is equal to 20mg diazepam but only 1mg of xanax. I have always understood xanax to be about 10 times as potent as diazepam mg for mg but these figures would suggest it is 20 times as potent mg for mg.

Because of the strange results from the benzo equivalency chart I am not really sure what to expect exactly from my 2mgs and was hoping someone could shed some light on this. Also how does lorazepam compare to other common benzo's in terms of effects? Is it particularly sedating? Pretty much any information on the recreational use of lorazepam would be great.

 

[Moral Decay]

So I have managed to acquire 2 1mg ativan tablets. I have a tolerance to benzo's but nothing major, if I wanted recreational effects from benzo's I will usually use 20-30mgs of diazepam, 2mgs of xanax or about 60mg of temazepam which I usually will have a few whiskys with but not too many.

Obviously I am going to take the 2mgs straight up but I am wondering how this compares in effects to the usual dose of benzo's I would take. I have looked up a few benzo equivalency charts and they seem to say 2mg ativan is equal to 20mg diazepam but only 1mg of xanax. I have always understood xanax to be about 10 times as potent as diazepam mg for mg but these figures would suggest it is 20 times as potent mg for mg.

Because of the strange results from the benzo equivalency chart I am not really sure what to expect exactly from my 2mgs and was hoping someone could shed some light on this. Also how does lorazepam compare to other common benzo's in terms of effects? Is it particularly sedating? Pretty much any information on the recreational use of lorazepam would be great.

those equivalency charts are for relief of anxiety, they are not comparing intoxicating effects.

Personally i think you should take both atavans but don't expect much from them. From what i remember i never got euphoria from atavan (lorazepam) all i ever got from it was really sleepy followed by no memory of after taking it the next day. Like COMPLETE amnesia brought on by lorazepam.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I'm really over benzos... I used to fucking LOVE them, but tolerance sets in and you start using daily with regular high doses and it just leads to disaster. So much bad shit happened to me during those couple of years while I was abusing benzos / chasing that buzz they used to give, I'm not even going to go into it.

I still take 20mg valium daily but I'm going to get off them as soon as I can. Benzo addiction is horrible (especially for those suffering from anxiety disorders)

hey man, let me know how youre going with it all. you owe me a pm

So I have managed to acquire 2 1mg ativan tablets. I have a tolerance to benzo's but nothing major, if I wanted recreational effects from benzo's I will usually use 20-30mgs of diazepam, 2mgs of xanax or about 60mg of temazepam which I usually will have a few whiskys with but not too many.

Obviously I am going to take the 2mgs straight up but I am wondering how this compares in effects to the usual dose of benzo's I would take. I have looked up a few benzo equivalency charts and they seem to say 2mg ativan is equal to 20mg diazepam but only 1mg of xanax. I have always understood xanax to be about 10 times as potent as diazepam mg for mg but these figures would suggest it is 20 times as potent mg for mg.

Because of the strange results from the benzo equivalency chart I am not really sure what to expect exactly from my 2mgs and was hoping someone could shed some light on this. Also how does lorazepam compare to other common benzo's in terms of effects? Is it particularly sedating? Pretty much any information on the recreational use of lorazepam would be great.

im not experienced with lorazepam but like MD (and right about the charts relating to therapeutic treatment, much the same as the opioid converters are analgesic conversions, but they are a good guide) said youll be fine using the two of them. i understand its not the most recreational benzo out there, itll just put you down or take care of your anxiety. but there are a lot of people who enjoy it. guess youll have to find out and tell us

 

[Sentience]

I dont really enjoy the high from the Ativan I was prescribed. I use it pretty much the way my doctor would like me to. It helps me sleep when I am on opiates and helps with panic attacks (Which I have learned are from a thyroid tumor).

Valium is a little nicer in my experience. I would do some recreational valium.

Benzos are a horrible addiction. I almost think its better to have an opiate addiction. I prefer using benzos as needed to prevent dependency and using other drugs to get high.


One thing I like about lorazapam though is that it takes the edge off marijuana, so I can get really stoned without getting paranoid or having a panic attack. Its more pleasant than being stoned by itself. It also intensifies my pain medication and helps with WDs.

 

[madmick19]

Madmick, what other strategies are there to deal with anxiety? I had a few appointments with a female psych fresh out of uni earlier this year (where my depression was the main concern) and she was fricken hopeless to say the least. She spent all 3 of my (expensive) sessions essentially saying I needed to calm down and think happy thoughts.

there are a few good books out at thew moment that are based on thereputic approaches the happiness trap is a good book by russ harris an australian- chapter 1 is here
i use a fair bit of his work in counselling with people at the moment, or mindfulness techniques youtube on mindfulness or mindfulness articles.

the yyoutube video is fairly full on and based on the cognitive neuroscience behind mindfulness attention and brainsystems.

as for your counselling sessions- you are the client demand the service that you are getting. If the counsellor or psych does not work for you ask to be referred on without charge; give them some feedback as to why you would like the referral. hopefully they will learn from this.

psychologists are not the only people who do counselling, i would suggest looking into other types of counsellors such as social workers or alternative background counsellors. there is a differnce in the professional background of the person.

i quite like narative therapy and an looking into training in this early next year.

one of the main sources of stimulation and threat detection is the amygdalya (almond) this works in unison with the hippocampus (seahorse). THe amygladya recognises threats and gets the body ready to respond in 1/1000 of a sec, while the hippocampus is a memory bank which scans the memory for similar experiences and triggers similar responses to the previous event.

most anxiety is usually a build up followed by a sense of relief when the situation is over, if you dont find relief than i would guess that you have trained yourself into almost a hypervigilant response to certain situations or are particulary vunderable in stress states. thats where counselling and cue desensitisation comes in- it helps you achieve the idea that things will be alright (relief) when you experience situations.

one thing that keeps major anxiety going is avoidance- cause you never experience that things will be okay on the other side of the experience. the more you take substances be it licit or illicit the less you have to use your natuarally occuring coping mechanisms that also create resilience in people. that is one of the main reasons that people who use drugs frequently usually have anxiety issues at the same time. i could go on for hours on the topic but i would encourage you to look at russ harriss book and go and find yourself a good counsellor who works for you

 

[Sameria]

there are a few good books out at thew moment that are based on thereputic approaches the happiness trap is a good book by russ harris an australian- chapter 1 is here
i use a fair bit of his work in counselling with people at the moment, or mindfulness techniques youtube on mindfulness or mindfulness articles.

the yyoutube video is fairly full on and based on the cognitive neuroscience behind mindfulness attention and brainsystems.

as for your counselling sessions- you are the client demand the service that you are getting. If the counsellor or psych does not work for you ask to be referred on without charge; give them some feedback as to why you would like the referral. hopefully they will learn from this.

psychologists are not the only people who do counselling, i would suggest looking into other types of counsellors such as social workers or alternative background counsellors. there is a differnce in the professional background of the person.

i quite like narative therapy and an looking into training in this early next year.

one of the main sources of stimulation and threat detection is the amygdalya (almond) this works in unison with the hippocampus (seahorse). THe amygladya recognises threats and gets the body ready to respond in 1/1000 of a sec, while the hippocampus is a memory bank which scans the memory for similar experiences and triggers similar responses to the previous event.

most anxiety is usually a build up followed by a sense of relief when the situation is over, if you dont find relief than i would guess that you have trained yourself into almost a hypervigilant response to certain situations or are particulary vunderable in stress states. thats where counselling and cue desensitisation comes in- it helps you achieve the idea that things will be alright (relief) when you experience situations.

one thing that keeps major anxiety going is avoidance- cause you never experience that things will be okay on the other side of the experience. the more you take substances be it licit or illicit the less you have to use your natuarally occuring coping mechanisms that also create resilience in people. that is one of the main reasons that people who use drugs frequently usually have anxiety issues at the same time. i could go on for hours on the topic but i would encourage you to look at russ harriss book and go and find yourself a good counsellor who works for you

Wow mick, thanks heaps for all that. Very helpful, very much true in my case :<

I've had anxiety and depression ever since I was a little kid, and I was always a little socially awkward (although I always had heaps of friends). Lately I've been withdrawing in my home by myself more than usual and smoking a lot of weed. Weed has always been great for my anxiety but I've been smoking a lot this year and it's beginning to have too many negative side effects.

My use of various drugs certainly hasn't helped my anxiety issues, but in saying that I my only real indulgence's apart from my DOC marijuana is the occassional MDMA and a few beers here and there (not a big drinker).

On the topic of benzo's, I've gone through 2mg of Diazepam in the last 24 hours (.5 doses roughly every 12 hours) and it has worked better than I could have ever hoped. My OCD is gone, my anciety is non-existant,I had the best sleep in years and I almost feel content with life. I'm already hesitant to go much further with benzo's just because of how well they work for me.

Thankfully I still find relief after stressful situations. My main issue with anxiety is that a lot of the time it is caused by really small things. For example I'll be ordering some fast food, have my order all sorted out, walk up to the counter and just freeze for a second or to. It's a lot of little thing like this as well as some major things that just build up and progressively become worse and worse.

The last couple of days my stress of finances and some family issues has almost driven me over the edge. I'm just glad benzo's were able to help me take a deep breath and snap back to reality. I'd really like to keep just a few valiums for the bad days.

Perhaps it might be a good idea for me to stay off psychoactive's for a few months and find a good psychologist. There isn't really many mental health services where I am (Central West NSW) so my choices aren't extremely broad, but I'll have a look around the surrounding areas. Any help is better than none I suppose.

 

[drug_mentor]

^ The reason you felt clearer the next day after xanax than valium is because valium has a much longer half life and is still affecting you the next day.

The ativan went well with codeine last week, was pretty sedating and overpowered the codeine a little, if I get another oppurtunity to try it I will use 1mg instead of 2 and see how that goes.

 

[Jabberwocky]

^i think DM is just pointing out the basics for other readers out there as well you might know the basics, but whats to say the next 4 joes who come reading in here do?

nbd js

 

[phase_dancer]

^i think DM is just pointing out the basics for other readers out there as well you might know the basics, but whats to say the next 4 joes who come reading in here do?

Exactly. I've been doing this ever since I got here, and I certainly learn from others' basic info. Hopefully it says something positive about the broad scope of our readership

 

[helohihello]

But yeah i do agree Alprazolam (aka XANAX) is for sure the best benzo out there right now. I've never tried midazolam so i dont know what its like, but from what i hear its probably better, especially sense its water-soluble and can be snorted or injected.

Can't believe no one has mentioned this yet. Xanax is water soluble, and apparently is being used more and more by injecting drug users (according to doctors) Although the same article says that it gives a high similar to Heroin when injected, so don't know if any of it is true. Injecting it makes it exponentially more addictive. I don't know if it's true that this is happening, but that fucking sucks for them if it is. Imagine trying to come off Heroin AND Xanax! :argh:

A lot of you have mentioned Xanax is more addictive than Valium. This is, afaik, simply because it comes on WAY quicker, like within minutes, and has a shorter half-life. I'm sure you all know this but when something comes on quicker it's easier for the brain to recognise that that was the thing which caused the feeling. Which makes it more addictive than say Valium which from what I've heard takes 30 mins to an hour compared to ~2-5 mins for Xanax or 1-2 mins if placed under tongue.

Someone else mentioned doctors are really starting to shriek at the word Xanax.
I think this is due to it's addiction + the Heroin addicts using it. Which kinda sucks in a way, it's amazing for quick relief from anxiety.

However, I really think addiction differs from person to person. I personally started on Xanax for anxiety and OCD, starting at .5 mg when needed, slowly working my way up to pretty much everyday, using SWIM's (literally) script, on doctors recommendation. Then I finally got my own script which was stupid really, I basically took a whole box in a month or so. I think that's ~50 tabs. Although that's nothing compared to SWIM who once told me she took a 6 month supply in a week!

That was one year. Then by the next year I was taking around 2-3 a day. I stopped after that year because I knew they could be addictive. I didn't get a single bit of withdrawal whatsoever. So I guess I'm just incredibly lucky. Everyone else I know who takes them regularly, can't stop without feeling like they're gonna die. Except for the one other person on this thread who said the same thing as me, but I don't really know whoever that was (cbf checking) so yeah lol

Personally I wanna try and get a script for Valium. The doc's usually try to get you on anti-depressants first, but I've tried basically all of them so that shouldn't be a problem.... But I think a longer lasting benzo like Valium would be better for general anxiety rather than something that wears off within a few hours.

Anyway I'm kinda rambling here but I am interested in this class of drugs just because they actually do what they are supposed to compared to other pharms I've tried which just suck massive dick.

Personally I find not much recreational value in Xanax. I mean it takes away all my anxiety so that's fucking awesome coz I can actually talk to people. It's like with anxiety I can't even think of what to say just coz I'm nervous, Xanax basically just takes that blockage away and I can think freely about what to talk about etc. But I get no euphoria whatsoever. I don't really understand how it could tbh.

The only time I use them in what could maybe be could a recreational way is when I'm not really too anxious but I take it just because I know I'm going to have a boring day and it just makes it fly right by. Everything just slides over you and you're content.

I've recognised the people who use benzo's recreationally (I only know people who've used Xanax, not any other benzo's) tend to go WAYY overboard with them. I mean the first guy I met who'd taken em recreationally said he took 4 bars in one night plus he was drinking heavily. I was like "no fucking way man, that's like 8mg's ffs!" Then he told me he woke up with bruises and scratches all over him, lying in the middle of a playground at 2:30 in the afternoon.

Another guy said he took 2 bars and was drinking heavily, couldn't remember shit the next day. He's done that a few times since. I know he's gonna get addicted.

BTW both these guys had ZERO tolerance to benzo's. It was their first time. I think that's just insane. Mixed with alcohol I think it severely lowers your inhibitions.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Can't believe no one has mentioned this yet. Xanax is water soluble, and apparently is being used more and more by injecting drug users (according to doctors) Although the same article says that it gives a high similar to Heroin when injected, so don't know if any of it is true. Injecting it makes it exponentially more addictive. I don't know if it's true that this is happening, but that fucking sucks for them if it is. Imagine trying to come off Heroin AND Xanax! :argh:

no xanax is not freely soluble in water, its mildly soluble at best. ive seen statistics of between 3-7%. you generally need a solvent such as propylene glycol to prepare benzos in an IV solution. trust me if it were freely water soluble, wed be the first to know here at bluelight that article sounds like a bogus heap of shit, i mean you can already tell that from reading xanax and heroin having a similar high. care to provide us with a link?

A lot of you have mentioned Xanax is more addictive than Valium. This is, afaik, simply because it comes on WAY quicker, like within minutes, and has a shorter half-life. I'm sure you all know this but when something comes on quicker it's easier for the brain to recognise that that was the thing which caused the feeling. Which makes it more addictive than say Valium which from what I've heard takes 30 mins to an hour compared to ~2-5 mins for Xanax or 1-2 mins if placed under tongue.

i agree that the shorter acting benzos are the more addictive.

Someone else mentioned doctors are really starting to shriek at the word Xanax.
I think this is due to it's addiction + the Heroin addicts using it. Which kinda sucks in a way, it's amazing for quick relief from anxiety.

However, I really think addiction differs from person to person. I personally started on Xanax for anxiety and OCD, starting at .5 mg when needed, slowly working my way up to pretty much everyday, using SWIM's (literally) script, on doctors recommendation. Then I finally got my own script which was stupid really, I basically took a whole box in a month or so. I think that's ~50 tabs. Although that's nothing compared to SWIM who once told me she took a 6 month supply in a week!

it does come down to the individual in question, yes. for instance i prefer longer acting valium to shorter xanax.

i really find it hard to swallow(pun intended) that someone you know took a 6 month supply of xanax in a week. if they were 1mg sticks then that would be 50mg a day, 100mg is they were 2mg sticks. thats an insanely high tolerance either way. im not saying its impossible, just extremely unlikely. but whatever, noone cares about dicksizing around here anyway.

I've recognised the people who use benzo's recreationally (I only know people who've used Xanax, not any other benzo's) tend to go WAYY overboard with them. I mean the first guy I met who'd taken em recreationally said he took 4 bars in one night plus he was drinking heavily. I was like "no fucking way man, that's like 8mg's ffs!" Then he told me he woke up with bruises and scratches all over him, lying in the middle of a playground at 2:30 in the afternoon.

Another guy said he took 2 bars and was drinking heavily, couldn't remember shit the next day. He's done that a few times since. I know he's gonna get addicted.

BTW both these guys had ZERO tolerance to benzo's. It was their first time. I think that's just insane. Mixed with alcohol I think it severely lowers your inhibitions.

you should educate these friends and direct them toward places like bluelight and erowid to further educate themselves and make them aware of what theyre putting in their body and what its doing to them. it sounds like theyre pretty naive thinking they can take risks like those and only come out of it waking up in a park with a few bruises because thats only the stuff they can remember. they might find themselves in some legal trouble one day and have no idea why or even end up injuring themselves or a friend.

 

[Jakeperson]

This one's for you p_d

Is there any dangers or complications in combining methamphetamine and benzo's specifically alprazolam with a low dose through out the high?

I ask this as meth some times gives me anxiety even through out the high.

 

[tyrael]

I'm sure you all know this but when something comes on quicker it's easier for the brain to recognise that that was the thing which caused the feeling. Which makes it more addictive than say Valium which from what I've heard takes 30 mins to an hour compared to ~2-5 mins for Xanax or 1-2 mins if placed under tongue.

This being the reason for an addiction, no. Psychologically, possibly. Physically, no. Regardless, IV/IM'ing any pill in generally a bad idea!

Regarding benzo/meth - I personally couldn't see any issues however I spoke with my Dr friend and he said no issues either...Other then possibly experiencing reduced effects.