Benzos A Question about alprazolam

[Furanku_]

I'm taking really low doses like .5-1mg once or twice a day, and it's been 4 days, I just love the fucking feeling of being free of anxiety, but I am usually very aware when it comes to addictions. So for me when should I start worrying about possible physical dependency.. Basically I am just asking how much longer I can go before stopping, and then maybe a months use will I still have a possible withdrawal?

by the way, marijuana + xanax, is a fricken crazy time let me tell you holy shit, i was about to straight bone this girl at 7/11 she was looking mighty fine, haha sorry, just a little floored. anyways yeah if anyone could aanswer my question, i'd appreciate it foshizzle.

 

[RTrain]

a month of daily use and you will most likely have some physical dependence. Horribly bad?...not really, but at that point it tends to get worse before it gets better.

 

[Moredopamine]

The best benzo advice you can get is to use them as infrequently as possible at the lowest possible dose. You don't want to go through benzodiazepine withdrawal - no one should have to.

Two weeks to a month might be enough to get mild w/ds with 2mg a day. Or it could be 3 months, or 6 - it varies dramatically, but it's always best to assume you're more sensitive to addiction than not. I assure you, once you start using the benzos daily (as you already seem to have started) the weeks and months fly by, and benzo addiction will have wrapped its dirty fingers around your mind faster than you can realize it.

The fact that you're clearly enamored by the effects of benzos and are asking "how long can I take these things before getting addicted" shows you are a prime candidate for benzo addiction. Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, try to use the drug as sparingly as possible.

p.s. 1-2 mg xanax a day is certainly not a very low dose, especially for someone with little benzo tolerance.

 

[Furanku_]

Would perhaps taking 2-4mg a week (NOT A DAY), just on certain circumstances keep me in a better condition to steer clear of it?

 

[Moredopamine]

Would perhaps taking 2-4mg a week (NOT A DAY), just on certain circumstances keep me in a better condition to steer clear of it?

Again, less is better. None is best. If you need it, then 2-4 mg a week is not a lot, but watch out for dose escalation/cravings for higher dose etc.

 

[Furanku_]

I think I love you dude seriously. I have a friend in real life who is just like you. Always has others' interests in mind, and always looking out for other people. I appreciate the advice and i'm going to take this to heart.

Yeah the cravings/escalations I felt on the second day. Ended up 1st day taking .5, then 2nd day I took 1, and then the 3rd day I took 2. Quick escalation huh? Well today I just went back to taking a .5 and felt decent, I'll be smart of this because of you bro I appreciate it good looking. You know it's just my whole life since I can remember has been filled with anxiety and reluctance, and now I find this pill that seemingly cures everything for me. I understand it's too good to be true. It sucks man.. Just trying to find some fucking peace and surety in my life ffs.

 

[bennyZA]

Would perhaps taking 2-4mg a week (NOT A DAY), just on certain circumstances keep me in a better condition to steer clear of it?

That regime would be fine, if you can keep to it... your self admitted love for xanax might make that impossible. It's very hard to keep something you love around you and not use it. I'm not saying you can't do it, I'm just putting that out there. I'm a former benzo addict and I'd hate to see someone else go through the pain I went through.

 

[Furanku_]

I could look it up easily but for you, bennyZA, what were the symptoms of your benzo withdrawal? Is it worse than an mdma comedown?

 

[twotoomany]

Benzo withdrawal is the worst. Even worse than opiate WD, and certainly way worse than an MDMA comedown. It can include seizures and death. All the advice you've gotten has been spot on. Use it ONLY when the anxiety is truly unbearable and stick to low doses.

 

[hangyourhead]

The best benzo advice you can get is to use them as infrequently as possible at the lowest possible dose. You don't want to go through benzodiazepine withdrawal - no one should have to.

This is great advice. Infrequent dosing and low dosages. Sublingual ROA and tagament helps me follow that.

I am also another former benzodiazepine addict (by my own prescriptions: clonazepam, alprazolam XR, diazepam, and temazepam and what I bought off the streets). I am no longer prescribed any benzos, because I had to get on Suboxone maintenance; So at the time I was down to 10-12mg valium daily, did a little taper and then got onto Lyrica (pregabalin) to which I give a lot of credit for allowing me to get off daily benzodiazepines. Since there's no generic for Lyrica yet, my insurance wouldn't cover it and it was ridiculously pricey so I got on gabapentin. The gabapentin has been keeping my anxiety at bay ever since.

 

[MoreFeens4Morphine]

Benzo withdrawals are the only withdrawals other than alcohol withdrawals that can kill you. If you have to even ask yourself "how much longer can I get away with this" then you should quit while you're ahead. I have severe panic disorder so I get 90 0.5mg clonazepam a month; but I take them every day because I need to otherwise I have severe anxiety. I go through withdrawals a few days out of every month because my 30 day supply lasts about 10-12 days. Your tolerance grows fast, and once it's up there it's really hard to taper off. At one point my withdrawals were so bad I contemplated suicide - I am not kidding. For harm reductions sake, just take xanax PRN (as needed). The worst thing with xanax is its short half life, so withdrawals set on faster than klonopin with a half life of approximately 50 hours or so (correct me if I'm wrong). Just look up benzo withdrawal symptoms on google and hopefully that will scare you straight. I'm not condemning the use of anti-anxiety medicine. There are thousands of people who need to take it every day for legitimate reasons - not just for recreational purposes. And as a last note: benzos are just trouble. Mixing them with any other drug can have adverse effects as everyone handles it differently. Especially with alcohol and opiates. Just look at all the celebrities that have died in hotel rooms with alprazolam and a combination of other drugs in their system at the time of death.

In answer to your question, since you're most likely going to continue your benzo use anyway I would say you can probably take them for about a week or two straight and quit cold turkey without any severe side effects; however, your anxiety will be a lot higher and will be triggered by things that never triggered you before. On the flip side of the coin, you may go through what you consider terrible withdrawals even after just a week of daily use. As I stated previously, that's the problem with benzos. Every time you take them, even if you're an experienced long time user you're playing Russian Roulette with a bottle of pills. So many different things play a role in how they affect your brain and body.

Be smart. Be safe. Be aware of your usage of xanax or other anxiolytic pharmaceuticals. They can be very fun, but that fun can cost you a huge scar on your face like it did me.

 

[bennyZA]

I could look it up easily but for you, bennyZA, what were the symptoms of your benzo withdrawal? Is it worse than an mdma comedown?

As others have stated, MDMA comedown is like a day at the beach compared to benzo wd. Now that you know what's in store, perhaps it's time to reevaluate how much a wonder medicine xanax really is.

 

[mrflowers00]

after a couple weeks it's easy to rationalize using it for just a little longer then just a little longer still and then you end up having withdrawals when you finally try to stop i wouldn't use it for more than 6 weeks that's the longest it's intended to be used for

 

[morphonorconic]

You should recalibrate your intentions and expectations with benzodiazepines. Questions like this are a classic indicator of typical addiction thought/behavior patterns. I cannot express in words the gravity of your decision and this juncture. Save yourself the misery and stop while you're still ahead.

I loved that relaxed feeling too- and so did everyone else- Being carefree and having no anxieties or inhibitions. But that feeling began to diminish, I began to increase the frequency and size of my doses, and a new brand of nightmare anxiety began to grow. Before I knew it I was abusing the hell out of high doses of alprazolam, but also diazepam, clonazepam and lorazepam, of which I usually had one or more and would take on top of the Xanax, and I was a mess with out of this dimension anxiety.

Getting out of that hell was one of the hardest things I've ever faced in my life, and you cannot possibly imagine the profundity of the horror, the horror, unless those powers of darkness have claimed you for their own...

 

[popstart]

I'm a recovering benzo and opiate addict. I was on prescriptions for both for over 20 years but I abused them and would run out early. Opiate withdrawal is horrible but nothing compares to benzo withdrawal. I never had any warning right before it happened, but 2 days after running out of xanax I would have seizures and wake up in an ambulance or the ER. Every time. I totaled a car during one, I had them in my sleep and in front of my son and friends. I got concussions, a broken arm, blown muscles and my tongue would be so bit up I couldn't speak right for nearly a week every single time. It was a nightmare!

On Oct. 28th 2011 I got so out of it that I planned my own funeral because I knew I was going to die the way I was going. I checked myself into rehab that day for 28 days and I've been clean ever since. But it's something I have to work hard at every day for the rest of my life. I hope you'll listen to those of us who have been through this and stop altogether before it becomes a problem, or at the very least limit yourself to a very small dose for only short amount of time. I would not wish what I went through on anyone. Benzo withdrawal CAN kill you, it's not something we just say to scare people. I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Furanku_]

Yeah I think I already got mild withdrawals just after a week use, and it really fucking sucks. I don't look good, my eyes are red and glassy and people at work are telling me I look angry when i'm not, my anxiety and panic was intensified and I had bad nausea, finally I split a .5 mg in half. I think i'm getting post-acute withdrawal. Let's see what tomorrow brings, because it was complete hellish feeling for most of today. I'm thinking it's best to stop before withdrawals get any worse.

 

[stickyicky41]

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do yourself a favor and stop while you can or you're gonna get locked up behind bars. thy change your brain chemistry if used over years..im still precribed them and its a shitty dependency TRUST ME.
if your having withdrawals and need more comfort get natural remedies...Valerian root extract, do some cardio (running, swimming or just working out in general.)

 

[mrflowers00]

black pepper and kava kava will help similar to a benzo just weaker but they also don't carry the same dangerous side effects and withdrawals

 

[Aeon Psyche]

I don't know why people find benzo withdrawl so bad..Tapering off is a must and I never had such bad experience with benzo w/d..

 

[Le'Mix]

Just don't use them. Plenty of Cannabis strains that can help anxiety but IDK if you even like it.
If you have bad anxiety(and it is a nasty condition) there are many alternatives than heavy benzo's. If you must use them, stick to Valium as it is the mildest one and NEVER dose more than once per day and never INCREASE your dose they are the golden rule to people who use them.

It will at least bring a feeling of control to you rather than escalation.