Maybe it's an old thread, but I'd like to add on. I'd say the Hydro and Soma mix is better than a benzo/Ativan and Hydro mix. Maybe I'm biased. My tolerance to benzos is WAY up there (been on them for years... I take 6 mgs Ativan a day just as a maintenance dose for anxiety, and sometimes that's not even enough-- i.e., if I stopped or drastically reduced the dosage I would have a seizure= medication dependent).
It *is* safe to take them together-- WITH some exceptions... I have Percocet and Soma that are prescribed together. Alas, the "Las Vegas Cocktail". I have severe back problems, such as spinal fusion, scoliosis, and spasms, so it's not a recreational thing (although it does feel damn good... And it's a good thing I don't have recurrent prescriptions for them!). I also take a 2 mg Ativan with it, but I would not recommend taking a 3rd medication, especially a memory-depleting/BLACK OUT benzo, unless you are *very* tolerant to them and need them, medically.
The first time I tried the "Las Vegas Cocktail", I was unaware of what it was. I had been Rx'd Vidodin and Soma... I think it was 5 or 10 mgs of Vicodin and 350 mgs of Soma. I was like... Woo, why am I nodding off? Doc said take them together... So I looked it up and discovered that the mix was known on the streets as the Las Vegas Cocktail. It is "supposed" to feel like heroin, but I wouldn't know, I have never done or intend to do heroin. It made me really lovey-dovey. It's known as that, because (as the story goes), cab drivers in Las Vegas would/still do sell the two together. Which is why it is scheduled in some states, like Nevada, and unscheduled in others.
Here's the run down, in my opinion:
*Opiates alone will reduce pain, and w/out a tolerance, will make you feel kind of buzzed.
*Just one 350 mg pill of Soma alone will make you feel like you just had about 3 shots of liquor within 10 or 15 minutes, max... And it only lasts about 15 minutes. The high that is. The muscle relaxant properties last about 3-4 hours-- at least for me. I don't know what the max dose per day of Soma is, but my Rx says take 3 350's a day. This wears off after the 3rd day; tolerance quickly develops, because:
*It's pretty unknown, but Soma breaks down into a freaking barbiturate; specifically, Milltown. Hence the very fast "high" feeling.
*DO NOT DRINK on Somas... Even if it is HOURS later. TRUST ME. I had 2 Somas and about 4 hours later (thought the Soma was out of my system), had a few drinks and... Let's just say it wasn't pretty. Almost got arrested and made a fool out of myself, fell down, cut up my entire body, sprained a few joints and ligaments-- despite the fact that I only had 3 beers and it had been hours since I took Soma.
*As a general rule of thumb, do not mix medicine, unless they are Rx'd together. Even then, be careful and cautious, especially if you do not have a tolerance to benzos. Even a small dose of a benzo (say, .05 mg of Ativan or Xanax) will give most people some sort of walking black out/memory problems/recollection that they won't realize until later on. And that is why you shouldn't generally mix all 3. Once you add a benzo, if you have zero tolerance, you're likely to think a few things, such as "The Benzo wasn't strong enough/it didn't hit/didn't work", so you take more. Not realizing that benzos take about 45 minutes taken orally to feel anything, some mistakenly take more. And more opiates. And more this, and more that... Because those little benzos literally make you forget that you took more than you actually did. This is how accidental overdoses happen. And you can't IV benzo pills safely, and furthermore, they work better when taken orally. You CAN put them under your tongue if you want a quicker onset... Most benzos taste kind of minty, so it's not a problem. You have a huge vein under your tongue, which is why many people who use benzos for any reason (epilepsy, anxiety, recreational) take it sublingually. But some benzos, like Xanax, taste disgusting, so you probably do not want to put them under your tongue.
*As far as what's "better", it really depends on your tolerance to benzos, and what effects you're trying to achieve. If you're trying to get high, Hydros and Somas work. For me, a benzo/Hydro or benzo/Soma wouldn't work. But you MUST be careful, because benzos will cause you to black out, or make you forget what all you have taken.
Hope I have added some info for you.